Highlights
- Warcraft Rumble brings back the real-time strategy gameplay of the Warcraft franchise, challenging players with puzzle-like tower defense strategy challenges.
- Heroic Mode in Warcraft Rumble adds extra challenges to campaign missions, making players rethink their strategies and test their skills in completely new ways.
- The dungeon system in Warcraft Rumble offers deep gameplay, with rotating factions and relic choices that enhance the player's team, leading to rewarding final confrontations.
The upcoming mobile game Warcraft Rumble is the latest addition to Blizzard's Warcraft franchise, and this time around Blizzard is taking things back to Warcraft's roots as a real-time strategy game. Players will collect miniature versions of many iconic Warcraft characters and engage in almost puzzle-like tower defense strategy challenges that will test their team compositions, timing, and tactics. Although there is a standard campaign that sends players across numerous zones throughout Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, there are some additional ways to play thanks to the game's dungeons and its deviously challenging Heroic versions of campaign missions.
In an interview with Game ZXC, Warcraft Rumble Game Producer Elhora Davis and Art Director Jeremy Collins went in-depth on the game's various PvE systems and how features like Heroic Mode and dungeons will shake up gameplay and encourage players to experiment with new strategies to make the best use of their Warcraft mini collections.
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Warcraft Rumble's Heroic Mode Mixes Up Campaign Missions
Once players have progressed through a portion of Warcraft Rumble's campaign, they'll gain access to the Heroic Mode feature which allows them to replay campaign missions with additional challenges and mechanics. In a way, this is reminiscent of World of Warcraft's Heroic difficulty raids that often throw in a few extra hurdles for players who have mastered that encounter's Normal Mode version. Some of these Heroic revamps are particularly ruthless, which led the Rumble team to nickname the feature "Mean Mode" internally.
For example, we have a map called Dockmaster wherein you've got this dockmaster goblin, and he has a partner with him who is this ogre that throws barrels down two lanes of the map. He throws the barrels down one lane, and then he'll move over to the other lane and start throwing barrels down there. The original approach is like, "Okay, how can I time my push so I am moving when the barrels aren't being deployed so that I don't get hit by the barrels?"
But in Heroic, he's got a friend, and they're always throwing barrels down both lanes. So how do you circumvent that challenge? That was the question that we asked ourselves, especially with heroics. Now that players are used to seeing a level, what is the one thing that we can add that really changes everything and makes everything new?
This should bring in plenty of replayability as players may need to think about Heroic Mode encounters in a completely different way thanks to particular mechanical twists. While one team composition or approach might have easily worked on the Normal Mode campaign map, the Heroic version may call for something else entirely, and it's satisfying to finally triumph over a tough mission that seemed impossible at first.
Warcraft Rumble's Dungeons Are Surprisingly Deep
Warcraft Rumble will also feature dungeons that have an interesting relic system that should keep each run interesting. Each week, a particular "family" of miniature factions like Undead, Horde, or Alliance will be available for use in the dungeon. Players will then choose a powerful relic that will power up their team in some form. After each stage of the dungeon, players can then choose another relic, leading up to a final confrontation for some solid rewards. Each dungeon can be attempted twice before they reset, so players don't completely lose their progress if they fumble.
Dungeons differ from the campaign in that they are a three-map gauntlet. When you start a dungeon run, first of all, they are family-themed with rotating families based on the week. So we have five different families: Beast, Undead, Blackrock, Horde and Alliance. Depending on the week, that will determine the family that you are permitted to enter the dungeon with.
When you first enter the dungeon, you pick your specific leader, and you then pick a dungeon relic that will boost your army with a unique power. One example I enjoy is Really Big Candle. Really Big Candle adds 25 levels to your kobolds — the little guys that go around and collect gold — and basically makes them these swoll, nasty little rat men and they're extremely powerful. It's hilarious.
Later down the road, Rumble will also have larger-scale raid encounters against iconic Warcraft bosses like Onyxia, and these raids represent the pinnacle of Rumble's PvE difficulty according to the developers.
Warcraft Rumble releases on mobile on November 3.