The AR game Wizards Unite will celebrate its first anniversary in June 2020. The successor to Pokémon GO is still enjoyed by many players and continues to evolve. In our “Find Your Next Game” series, we will show you everything that has happened in the past year.
What is Wizards Unite? The AR game comes from Warner Bros. Games and Niantic. Warner Bros. holds the license for Harry Potter. Niantic is responsible for the mobile hit Pokémon GO. They have mainly transferred their “augmented reality” mechanics to Wizards Unite.
In Wizards Unite, however, you don’t hunt Pokémon; instead, you try to save the wizarding world of Harry Potter. You must free objects and bring them back to the wizarding world so that the world of magic is not discovered by the Muggle world (that is, normal humans).
Wizards Unite – The Pokémon GO for Graphics Lovers
These are the contents of Wizards Unite: In Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, you are a wizard fighting against numerous creatures from the Harry Potter universe. All of this takes place in the real world: The inns or greenhouses are real attractions located in your city. The collectible objects, including the figures and items that you need to free, are scattered throughout your city.
Wizards Unite incorporates many other elements that you can explore while walking through your city:
- Over 100 different creatures or objects that you know from the Harry Potter series must be battled or freed using magical energy
- All these collectible objects can be gathered in your registry for later viewing
- In fortress battles, you can team up with friends to face stronger opponents and earn rewards
- Choose between 3 professions that must work together in fortress battles
- Portmanteaus can only be opened after you have traveled a certain number of kilometers – This is the equivalent of eggs in Pokémon GO
- Daily tasks give you an incentive to check the game regularly
- Build friendships and send each other gifts every day
The fortress battles are among the core elements of Wizards Unite. They represent the greatest MMO factor in the game. In fortress battles, you can determine how strong your opponent is and what rewards you receive from the battle through the use of rune stones. It is important that players with different professions are present at the start. They complement each other and are crucial for victory.
In the fortresses, you can really cast spells. There, you attack your opponent with spells or defend yourself with them. If you execute your spells well enough, you can eliminate your opponents.
You can also use the same spells in the most important part of Wizards Unite: in the battle against Found Guardians, who guard your collectible objects. You can drive away the Found Guardians with your spell and send the collectible objects back to the wizarding world.
What is the goal of the game? There is no definitive end. You must try to save the wizarding world and therefore drive away the Found Guardians. One of your goals should be to collect all the collectible objects in your registry.
You yourself should become stronger over time and can level up. You can also use gifts from your friends for this, as well as gain XP through various actions in the game.
What makes Wizards Unite special?
Wizards Unite is a bit more complex than Pokémon GO. Among other things, there is a skill tree that you can level up. For this, you need to collect books and then take classes. When you complete the classes, your skill tree grows, allowing you to unlock additional abilities. For each of the 3 professions (Auror, Magizoologist, and Professor), there is a separate skill tree that you can level up.
An exciting point is that you can create all important items yourself. By cultivating plants and brewing potions, you can create XP boosters and other useful items. With the tonic for trace detection, for example, you can attract more collectible objects to your area. Although you can buy the items in the shop, all items can also be crafted yourself.
Anyone who has not yet played Pokémon GO will likely be amazed by the aspects of connection with the real world. Inns, greenhouses, and fortresses are all places that exist in the real world. You can visit them yourself and interact with Wizards Unite there. This way, you can discover places in your city that you may have never paid attention to before.
For Harry Potter fans, Wizards Unite provides the perfect setting: Every character and creature that had even a small role in Harry Potter can be found in Wizards Unite. This starts with Harry Potter himself and his friends and ends with magical creatures, such as the Hippogriff Buckbeak.
A great AR game in the shadow of Pokémon GO
How successful is Wizards Unite? You can simply look at the download numbers in the app stores:
- PlayStore for Android: Over 10 million downloads and nearly 300,000 ratings, which gave an overall 4 out of 5 stars
- App Store for iOS: Download numbers not known, but at least 8600 ratings gave an overall 4.3 out of 5 stars
If you look at the numbers for Pokémon GO, the game seems almost tiny:
- PlayStore for Android: Over 100 million downloads and over 13 million ratings, which gave an overall 4.1 out of 5 stars
- App Store for iOS: Download numbers not known, but at least over 26,500 ratings gave an overall 3.8 out of 5 stars
It must be noted that these data do not accurately show how many players are still actively playing both games. They are just the pure download numbers.
This is what makes Wizards Unite different from Pokémon GO: Despite the significantly lower player numbers, Wizards Unite keeps introducing features that Pokémon GO players envy. For example, there is a start button for fortress battles here, so you don’t have to wait the usual 2 minutes. This is something trainers have wished for the raids in Pokémon GO for years, yet it has never come.
Wizards Unite’s stunning graphics are also widely admired. The magical creatures are beautifully animated and look almost like they do in the Harry Potter movies.
Wizards Unite offers many features that are truly remarkable, yet it still stands in the huge shadow of Pokémon GO. Because there is one problem it hasn’t overcome yet: why should one stop playing Pokémon GO and start playing Wizards Unite? The target audiences of both AR games overlap significantly. Wizards Unite has not managed to capture a large portion of players for itself.
What has recently changed in Wizards Unite?
These were the COVID-19 adjustments: Similar to Pokémon GO, Wizards Unite was also significantly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The central idea of Wizards Unite, going out and exploring, was heavily restricted worldwide due to lockdowns.
The developers responded in April 2020 by introducing the traveling knight into the game. With him, you can now engage in fortress battles from home and fight with other players who are also staying at home in a fortress. This way, you will always find fellow players for your fortress battles without having to leave your house.
Due to COVID-19, several other things were also adjusted, such as the finding of magical energy throughout the game. Previously, this energy could be obtained only by visiting inns. Now it can simply be found on the street.
This has been changed long-term: In Wizards Unite, there have been several long-term adjustments over the past year. For example, the registry where you collect the found objects has been revised.
Previously, you could collect them to reach ranks. Once the ranks were full, further encounters with these collectible objects did not seem worthwhile. Now, these ranks repeat again, earning you prestige ranks the more often you collect the collectible objects.
Is Wizards Unite worth it in 2020?
Wizards Unite remains a hidden gem among AR games even a year after its release. It doesn’t yet have the player numbers and thus the attention that Pokémon GO has, but Wizards Unite does not need to hide behind its big brother.
The developers keep introducing new events to the game. Brilliant events take place regularly, highlighting special collectible objects. Additionally, every month there is a Community Day that should entice you to go outside.
Especially during the COVID-19 crisis, Wizards Unite reacted admirably, making it significantly easier to play from home.
Generally, the developers pay close attention to the community and implement features that are in demand. This is a point that Wizards Unite likely does better than Pokémon GO. In Pokémon GO, there is often criticism that Niantic does not listen to its players.
Potential: Positive Future
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a brilliant game that holds a lot of potential. The major problem currently is that it is overshadowed too much by Pokémon GO. The target audience of AR fans is well covered by Pokémon GO, and Wizards Unite has not really managed to capture a large new audience for itself yet.
The developers are continuously working on the game: Especially through the many events, players never get the feeling that there is nothing to do. The team listens to the fans’ desires and earns points with the community.
The team now needs to ensure that more interested parties take a look at the AR game. It offers a lot of potential, and especially fans of Harry Potter can dream and feel like real wizards in this game.
If Wizards Unite continues like this, it could experience significant growth, as summer is approaching and people are beginning to go outdoors more after the peak of the COVID crisis. There are good opportunities to explore the city with Wizards Unite and engage in some wizard battles against Found Guardians.
Noah Struthoff
Editor at MeinMMO
