Update: A previous version of this article stated that this was to be an open alpha week. It is, in fact, just a far larger invite pool than their currently running scheme.
Atlas Reactor is Trion Worlds’ attempt to mix XCOM and a MOBA, which after the incredible job Firaxis did on a second XCOM game sounds like a mighty good idea to me. It’s bright and colourful as all MOBA-inspired games must be now, and it’s been in a closed alpha form for the past few months. Now it’s having a sneak peek week, where a much larger group of people will be invited to play and try their best to burn the servers to the ground. The wonderful world of stress testing.
Interested in the MOBA half of this but never picked one up? Here’s how to pick the right MOBA.
They’ve got a lovely quick trailer to show off that it’s happening too:
The Alpha will have 14 characters, split broadly across three groups that match the tank/dps/healer archetypes you’ll be used to from MMOs. It’s a little more complex than that, with different characters serving different roles based on how their abilities shape the battlefield and hit enemies, while two different support characters could have entirely seperate means of buffing and healing.
They’re also testing the real money transaction system they’re putting in place, but will be doing so through a series of ‘credits’ given to players. There’s a big ol’ progression system in place that allows for the unlocking of various cosmetics. Progress sadly won’t carry over to anything that happens afterwards.
If you want to know a bit more about Atlas Reactor, Fraser took a look at it last year.
Thanks, Polygon.