On September 24, the game Ashes of Creation Apocalypse was released in Early Access. Is it worth playing and do fans of the MMORPG have advantages?
What is Apocalypse? Apocalypse is a standalone PvP game for the MMORPG Ashes of Creation. You play as an avatar, but you cannot freely move through the world; instead, you can only join arenas through a lobby.
Currently, Apocalypse offers you a game mode, Battle Royale, but two more are expected to follow in the future.
To play Apocalypse, you only need an account on the official website. The PvP game is free and will remain permanently online from now on.
Why could Apocalypse be interesting? Currently, Ashes of Creation is still in a pre-alpha stage, so Apocalypse is the only way to get familiar with the combat system.
Additionally, the PvP game offers rewards that you can later transfer to the MMORPG.
Battle Royale with Many Abilities
What can I experience in Apocalypse? In the Battle Royale of Apocalypse, you dive into a fight to the death with 40 other players.
You start without equipment and will be dropped over a map. On the ground, you will find, hidden in buildings, bushes, or forests,
- Weapons
- Armor
- Spells
- and explosive potions.
The goal of the Battle Royale is to be the last player standing, while the play area gets smaller throughout the match. At some point, there will be a final confrontation, where hiding can be particularly helpful at the start of a round.
How does it play? Apocalypse plays like a typical Battle Royale, where the equipment you find plays an important role. Those who want the best items usually get into skirmishes immediately after landing on the ground. A round can thus end quickly.
Notably, the revised version of Apocalypse features adjustments to the combat and movement systems. This was one of two major points of criticism at launch in December 2018.
Everything feels more dynamic and modern now. The animations are also smoother than they were a few months ago. Overall, this contributes to a greater gaming experience.
What is the performance of Apocalypse like? Since the release on September 24, there have already been various problems:
- The launch of the game was delayed by about 2 hours
- There were issues with the client throughout Wednesday
- For EU servers, there was a 4-hour maintenance on Wednesday
- There are some issues with latency and server lags
In the meantime, patches have been applied and everything ran smoothly in our last gaming sessions. Overall, the game’s performance has significantly improved compared to 2018 and runs more smoothly now.
Advantages for the MMORPG, but also Microtransactions
What rewards are there? For fans of the MMORPG, there are various cosmetic rewards that you can take with you to Ashes of Creation later.
Additionally, there is a free Battle Pass, where you can work through weekly quests. Everything you unlock will be usable in both Apocalypse and the MMORPG. This includes:
- Hair colors
- Weapons
- Armor
- and mount skins.
What do you get for real money? In addition to the free Battle Pass, there is a paid one. For this, you need to spend 1,000 Ember, which is approximately 10 Euros.
The legendary Battle Pass grants you:
- Additional skins
- XP, which allows you to level the free pass faster
- and new emotes.
Besides the paid pass, there is also a shop where you can directly purchase rewards from the pass. Individual skins cost between 800 and 2,000 Ember, while emotes range from 400 to 600 Ember.
Through the free pass, you earn 200 Ember per season, and through the paid one, you earn another 700. A season lasts for 12 weeks.
Fun Rounds, but Issues with Performance and Player Count
Is Apocalypse worth it? If you enjoy Battle Royale and prefer a setting in a medieval fantasy world over a shooter like Fortnite, then you will definitely find Ashes of Creation Apocalypse to be an interesting candidate.
For fans of Ashes of Creation, the game is also interesting because it offers special rewards.
However, the player count is currently still low, which means you may have to wait several minutes for a new match at inconvenient times. Additionally, there are still issues regarding lags and server uptime, at least in Europe.
Furthermore, the extensive monetization can be debated, although it does not provide any gameplay advantages.
Apocalypse is free, and with a download, you have nothing to lose. So make up your own mind and feel free to comment on your experiences with the PvP game.
