When Blizzard announced Warcraft Arclight Rumble, it didn't seem to have caused as much anger among players as it did when the mobile game was exposed last time. This may be because, unlike Diablo Immortal, Blizzard did not announce any major games other than Warcraft Arc at the same event, and there has been no appetite for players in the past, and there has been no exaggerated hype about it.
"Warcraft Arc Light Battle" is a game adapted from the Warcraft IP and oriented to mobile platforms, that's all.
With the exception of the World of Warcraft sub-section of the Reddit community, in most other places on the web, people seem willing to play Warcraft Arc. Players' expectations for this mobile game are low, and in a sense, its actual quality has exceeded people's expectations. After watching the game's official trailer, it's easy to understand that unlike most Blizzard games over the past decade, Warcraft Arc was not made for PC gamers.
"When I go to sandwich lunch, it's impossible to carry a computer with me, but I can sit and wait for dinner and play a few rounds of Warcraft Arc Wars." No matter where you are, you can turn on your phone and play, and then you can go back to your computer to play the game. Adam Kugler, deputy game director for Warcraft Arc, said, "I don't think PC and mobile games are mutually exclusive, but I believe they can coexist." ”
Nowadays, people have long been accustomed to using fragmented time to play mobile games, which is why the overall scale of mobile games in Asia is so large, and it continues to grow in North America. In 2020, the global mobile game market surpassed PC and console games in revenue. For many gamers, smartphones are like computers, they use their phones to chat with friends, watch Twitch live streams, or read articles. So it makes sense for Blizzard to design a game that fits the lifestyle of billions of people, and most players' reactions to Warcraft Arc reflect this.
"That's what I'm expecting (the game)." Reddit user MultiMarcus wrote, "I'm definitely going to try it out." I also appreciate Blizzard's honesty in the announcement, they said a long time ago that this is a mobile game. ”
"Honestly, this game looks like a lot of fun. I know everyone likes to criticize Blizzard now, but I'm still willing to play. Another Reddit user, Bagelstein, said.
As it stands, players will only be concerned about the paid design of Warcraft Arc – a problem that has always been a big problem in mobile games. In Warcraft Arc, players are challenged to mini RTS levels, and warcraft-themed characters (known as Mini) can be collected and deployed on the battlefield. According to the development team, the game does not contain any unboxing, card-drawing gameplay, or NFT non-homogeneous token content, and the only point of payment is that players can spend money and skip the extra time required to complete the task.
Many people pointed out that Warcraft Arc Wars looks very similar to Clash Royale, but pays more attention to PvE gameplay. However, Coogler stressed that there are many differences between the two games.
"We want to give players as much choice as possible." Kugler said, "For example, there is no loot chest system in the game. Whenever a game shows you something, you can choose from it, even in any system. When you're fighting an enemy, you can choose to add experience (points) to a character. All in all, we want players to make proactive choices during gameplay, not just random choices. ”
Many players described Warcraft Arc as a "copycat" of Clash Royale, but some welcomed the version developed by Blizzard. "Honestly, I'm interested in it because I'd been hoping for a company that would make a single-player/co-op game that's similar in gameplay to Clash Royale, but with more emphasis on PvE gameplay." Reddit user Kreeztoff wrote.
A few years ago, when Blizzard launched Overwatch, some players claimed that the game copied Team Fortress 2. But that's exactly how Blizzard makes games: Blizzard excels at taking the basic architecture of other popular games and building on top of that to make its gameplay easier to play... World of Warcraft borrows from Endless Quest, Heroes of the Storm borrows from Dota 2 and League of Legends, and Hearthstone is inspired by Magic.
From this point of view, Warcraft Arc Is no different from the above popular games. Blizzard's intention is very clear, that is, to reach a huge base of mobile game players.