There’s been a lot of information about Battlerite Royale released in the past few weeks, so we thought we’d collect what’s been communicated so far regarding Battlerite Royale Early Access and add in a bunch of new information! We hope this answers most of your questions!
Why is Royale becoming a new title and not a mode?
Simply put, Royale became a significantly different experience compared to Arena. When working on Royale, it became obvious that sharing the same balance and philosophy as Arena restricted the possibilities within Royale. With the constraints from Arena limiting us, we made the decision to protect the integrity of both experiences and create a new game instead of a new game mode. Now after tuning and rebalancing champion kits, adding tons of cool items and consumables, revamping battlerites, and supporting this new experience with interface changes, new achievements, matchmaking, and ranking systems, we are getting closer to our vision.
What are the main differences between Arena and Royale?
In Royale, matches are played in a free-for-all environment with currently up to 20 players on a map 30 times larger than a normal Arena map. Your goal is to loot items, abilities, and consumables, collect gold, and purchase upgrades to grow stronger over the course of a match and fight to be the last player standing. Another difference compared to Arena is that you don’t have to play as part of a team, and can play solo. If you want to play with a friend, you can jump into duo mode. The signature Battlerite combat and input system will be familiar to Arena veterans, though all Champions have been fully revised for Royale, with some champions receiving larger reworks than others.
Here is a list of differences and new or updated features compared to Arena:
– Champion kits and Battlerites redesigned and rebalanced
– A majestic fantasy island map hand-crafted with new art, sound and music
– A day/night cycle
– Interactable map objects such as jump pads, portals, healing and resurrection shrines
– In-game items, gold, and vendor system
– New consumable item system with plenty of exciting choices
– Stats-system adaptations for Royale
– Menu UI has received a fresh new Royale theme
– The Ingame HUD has been re-designed and new features have been added
– Progression system adaptations for Royale
– New Matchmaking and ranking system
– Mount mechanical adjustments with footstep sounds added, and carrots! Lots of carrots.
– New chest types and cosmetics
– Royale Tutorial
– Network-system reworks and general game-optimizations to support this new experience
What changes can I expect on Champions?
Some Champions will remain relatively similar while others will have brand new abilities. We want to stay true to the identity of each Champion while making any changes necessary to make sure all of them are fun, exciting, and balanced to play in Battlerite Royale. Lethality needed to be increased as players need to be eliminated at a certain pace throughout the course of a match. This meant that we had to balance out defensive mechanics, in particular healing, shields, and crowd control. Tackling Support Champions has been more challenging, as their role is to prolong and defend themselves and their allies.
With the addition of consumables we’ve introduced additional hotkeys and another layer of strategy and complexity to combat. When balancing defensive mechanics we found out that EX abilities were not really doing their job in Royale. Many EX abilities are defensive moves such as crowd control, the ability to leech health, or to help you to survive longer in other ways.
We’ve thus removed EX abilities as well as the energy cost on R. Consumables are doing a good job filling the void of EX abilities.
How do Battlerites work?
With the addition of the in-game item system, your abilities scale in power depending on the rarity of the ability you obtain. We identified early on that any increased “pure stats” type of battlerite felt unnecessary as we would scale damage, healing, crowd control duration and cooldowns via item power instead.
Pre-selecting a battlerite loadout for abilities that are not available from the start did not make a lot of sense either (since everyone starts with only their M1 ability). The Battlerite system has therefore been revamped. Some battlerites have been incorporated into the core functionality of an ability and one selected battlerite for each ability is now unlocked by obtaining the “legendary” version of an ability.
What about Account Progression?
Players will be able to level up their accounts and will be rewarded with Royale Silver Chests. These chests grant the same type of rewards as Arena, but will only drop items for the Champions that are available in Royale.
All players will start from Account Level 1 as Arena and Royale account levels are separated.
What about Champion Progression?
We are working on having this implemented into Royale by launch, but are unable to guarantee it’s inclusion at this stage of development.
What about Daily Quests?
There will be new Daily Quests designed for Royale.
What about Achievements?
There will be a new set of achievements to unlock in Royale.
What about Sponsors?
There won’t be any sponsors on launch but we have plans on adding these in later. Some of them will yield similar rewards to Arena while some might be unique to Royale. Progressing sponsors in Royale will be separated from progress in Arena.
How will Chests work in Royale?
As the roster of Champions between Arena and Royale differs, there will be new types of chests for Royale. Some of them will be very similar to Arena chests but will guarantee that items only drop for Champions that are currently available. Some chests might be shared as well.
Can I purchase Chests in Royale?
We are still evaluating how and if we will sell chests in Royale. More information coming soon.
How much will Battlerite Royale cost?
Battlerite Royale Early Access will cost 19.99 USD/EUR and will be available on Steam by the end of September. Please note that the Steam pricing differs for different regions, as with all games.
I’m a Battlerite player and I own All Champions, what do I get from purchasing Royale EA?
If you purchased Battlerite during Early Access, the All Champions Pack or if you purchased The Ultimate Fan Pack BEFORE the launch of Battlerite Royale Early Access you will receive a 50% off coupon (valid for 10 days) on purchasing the Early Access version of Battlerite Royale.
Purchasing Battlerite during Early Access, the All Champion’s Pack, or the Ultimate Fan Pack will also net you the Legendary Ember Tiger Mount.
You will also be able to use any cosmetics you’ve unlocked in Battlerite Arena (for the Champions that have been released in Royale thus far)!
I’m a dedicated Battlerite player but I don’t own All Champions or the Ultimate Fan Pack, what do I get from purchasing Royale EA?
You will get access to all gameplay and become a founder of our new game. If you have an account level of 20 or more, you will receive the following exclusive item when purchasing Battlerite Royale Early Access:
- An exclusive Epic Ricky The Rocket Mount
- This mount is possible to receive by reaching account level 20 both before and after Royale Early Access release.
Can I receive all bonuses?
Yes, if you are a Founder or own the All Champion’s Pack or The Ultimate Fan Pack and your account level is higher than 20, you will receive the 50% off coupon, the Legendary Ember Tiger Mount and Ricky the Rocket Mount. You need to own any of these packages and have reached account level 20 before the launch of Battlerite Royale Early Access.
How do I receive my 50% discount coupon?
You will find it in your inventory on Steam when Early Access is released.
What about all my cosmetics?
Every cosmetic that you’ve earned or will earn in Battlerite will be shared with your Battlerite Royale account and vice versa. You can equip and showcase any item you’ve obtained in both titles such as:
- Outfits
- Weapons
- Poses
- Mounts
- Avatars
- Titles
Will the bonuses from the Ultimate Fan Pack be shared with Royale?
You can use your mounts in both Arena and Royale. We’re still figuring out if the other perks in the Ultimate Fan Pack will be shared. We will update you as soon as we know!
Will my name/nickname transfer to Royale?
Yes. When you launch Royale, the game will check to see if you have an Arena account, and if you do, Royale will automatically use your Arena name and email address.
When is the Battlerite Royale Closed Beta?
The first scheduled session is on Thursday, September 6th, 18:00 – 20:00 UTC for both EU/US. We will start with a very small test and invite more players gradually to be able to handle bugs and stress-test effectively. Testing will then continue with some days in between up until EA release. New batches of keys will be sent out for every test, when you received a key you have access to all upcoming test sessions.
If I’m part of the Battlerite Royale Closed Beta, will my progress be saved for if I later buy the Early Access?
No, the closed beta is isolated and will not be connected with the Early Access.
Will streaming be allowed on Twitch or similar platforms during the closed beta?
No, live streaming won’t be allowed during the closed beta. However, you are allowed to record for the creation of video content, take screenshots, and talk about your Royale experience.
When is the date release for Battlerite Royale – Early Access?
The game will be available on September 26, 2018 on Steam.
Why Early Access?
Early Access is a way for you to enjoy Battlerite Royale whilst in the final stages of development. With your support and feedback, we want to create the best Action MOBA Battle Royale experience possible and make sure it’s here to stay for many years to come. New content, primarily in the form of new champions from the Battlerite world, features, and cosmetics, will arrive in a steady pace throughout EA up until launch. We encourage you to provide your feedback as we sincerely believe that together we can achieve more. By supporting us you will play a crucial part in the development of Battlerite Royale whilst preparing yourself for the upcoming launch.
Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
Our goal is to finalize the game and leave Early Access within 6 months. Thanks to your support we will be able to spend time to evolve the Battlerite Royale experience to the high standard expected from a fully-fledged Stunlock Studios title.
Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?
Battlerite Royale will launch as a free-to-play title. One reason for Early Access is to help us figure out how to best turn Battlerite Royale into a free-to-play title. Early Access includes all current and future Champions that might come with a price tag on launch. Note that it is not yet decided if Champions will be sold, unlocked via in-game progression, or if they will be included as part of the experience once Battlerite Royale launches as f2p.
What is the system requirements for Battlerite Royale?
Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Processor: Dual Core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD 3000
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 3000 MB available space
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Where do I find Royale on Steam?
You can head over to the Battlerite Royale Steam Page and wishlist it today. See you on Talon Island!