Introducing: Arkheron

The core experience of Arkheron is its unique Ascension Royale Mode. The game begins with you and your team dropped into the tower with nothing but your wits and your fists. The first few minutes are a familiar and chaotic scramble to find powerful items, called Relics. These Relics aren't just stat boosts; they're imbued with varying and unique abilities that form the basis of your gameplay and are important for underpinning your tactics.

As you stack up your gear, a deadly force known as the Abyssal Storm begins to close in. The only safe havens are the Beacons that appear on the map, but there aren't enough for every team. This creates hotly contested close-quarters skirmishing as teams vie for control of these safe zones. Every floor of the tower dials up the intensity, with fewer Beacons and more condensed combat until only the final two teams remain.

The showdown takes place at the very top of the tower in a climactic 3v3 final match to determine the victor and restart the cycle.

One of the most exciting aspects of Arkheron is its build-out system. Unlike other games that lock you into a specific class or character, Arkheron requires you to build out your playstyle and deploy your tactics on the fly based on the relics you can acquire. There are no pre-set roles or loadouts; your build is defined entirely by a crown, an amulet, and two weapons.

Every Relic provides different player advantages and strengths to allow players to go down different tactical avenues. Do you want to be tanky and be at the coal face of the action, or sit and run player support. It's all up to you and the Relics you discover.

Relics stack up to grant powerful set bonuses in Relic Sets. Collecting 2 or more items in the same lineage grants uplifts in their impact in the game and allows for further diversity in playstyle and greater ways to impact the fight.

If you collect all four items from a relic set, you can transform into an Eternal. This transformation unlocks a fifth ability, however it comes with a major trade-off! After becoming Eternal you are locked into that build for the remainder of the match. While being an Eternal is fun, it’s not the only path to victory and may have disadvantages depending on your competitors strategies. There are thousands of Relic combinations to be found in the Tower, many with unique synergies. Strategizing with your teammates to find not only the best build for your playstyle but also what harmonizes with the team can often be more impactful in gameplay than simply chasing a full Eternal set.

Before jumping into Ascension Royale a handy training mode allows you to get to grips with gameplay in a variety of ways. Set in the dungeons, you can freely experiment with different relic combinations on training dummies.

The Sparring Room allows a player to jump into custom training style match ups to accommodate up to 6 players. I.e. 2v1, 1v1, 3v3 and other scenarios you may face during gameplay. This provides strong situational style training experiences that makes for more challenging upskilling than the dummies! Arkheron also boasts an option of an Ascension Royale without the pressure of live opponents in a practice with bots option which is a fantastic way to hone your combat readiness.

Want to indulge more in the world of Arkheron, check out what our friends over at GameSpot have to say and jump across to the official site to join the play test.