But possibly the biggest announcement came when the studio said it would be jumping into the arena de Battle Royale with Paladins: Battlegrounds. Sharing similarities with other popular shooters in the Battle Royale subgenre, such as PUBG and Fortnite, Paladins: Battlegrounds looks to set itself apart with unique gameplay elements and a more fantasy-oriented setting. Todd Harris, Executive Producer of Paladins said:
Specifically designed with team play in mind, Paladins: Battlegrounds looks to keep the survival gameplay and fog-based barriers that have become emblematic of the Battle Royale subgenre, but infuse that design with ability-based gameplay where attacks, buffs, and debuffs hold true to the core Paladins formula. With massive maps up to 300 times larger than a typical Siege arena, Battlegrounds will feature 100 players exploring, surviving, looting, and scavenging legendary gear around the map – and, of course, scoring frags.
According to Hi-Rez, Paladins: Battlegrounds will be free to all players when it releases sometime this year. Anyone attending the Hi-Rez Expo in Atlanta this weekend will be able to jump into the game’s alpha version on the showroom floor.
Looking toward the mobile front, Hi-Rez also announced that Paladins would be making the jump from TVs, monitors, and laptops to players’ hands in the form of a brand-new mobile game, Paladins Strike. Currently in development and without a firm release date, Paladins Strike merges the base game’s MOBA-centric champion gameplay with the view of a top-down shooter. Players can currently sign up for testing at HRXStrike.com.
As for the additions to the Paladins base game, Hi-Rez also announced the game’s 35th Champion, Moji. While no abilities for the new Champion were revealed during the keynote, Moji is part of the Leipori species and able to take the fight to the front lines on a two-headed dragon.
And while Moji brings variety to the game’s Champions, those looking for a bit more range in Paladins’ core modes and maps can look to the just-revealed Team Deathmatch mode. Differing from Onslaught by eschewing King of the Hill elements and focusing solely on team kills, Team Deathmatch also brings with it a new map in Trade District, upping the total number of maps in the game to 11.
Finally, it was revealed that Battle Cats will be the new mount type in Paladins. Twitch Prime members will have exclusive access to the Primal Prowler, the game’s first free Battle Cat, as well as the Twitch Prime Bomb King skin and other undisclosed content. PC players will have access to TDM, Moji, and Battle Cats beginning next week, with console players having access one week later.
Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more news and information on Paladins, Paladins: Battlegrounds, and Paladins Strike as it develops.
