Magic: Legends Beastcaller Gameplay and Previews

Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment showcased their upcoming MMORPG Magic: Legends during this year’s PAX East. As a result, we can now check out roughly 16 minutes of pre-alpha gameplay footage featuring the game’s Beastcaller class and read a couple of hands-on previews. First, here’s some gameplay, courtesy of IGN:

Now, let’s check out Massively OP’s preview:

My guide for this demo experience was Magic: Legends Executive Producer Stephen Ricossa. He describes the game as an “action RPG MMO, in a modern MMO space.” By “modern MMO” he means that a lot of the expected MMO trimmings are there, including persistent character progression, auction halls, and a focus on group combat synergy, but in a more tactical, ARPG format. While missions are limited to just your party, there are social zones where players can interact with each other and meet up for groups.

All missions scale to one, two, or three players, at three different difficulty modes. I asked if there was any possibility of groups larger than three, such as raids. Ricossa said that the team chose groups of three strategically because different classes and colors have very specific strengths and weaknesses. If your group was larger than three, all of these weaknesses could be covered, and a lot of the more interesting mechanics they have worked on would fall apart. He did admit, though, that if they hear from players that they really want larger scale encounters like those of Crpytic’s other MMOs, that could be a possibility in the future.

And one from PC Invasion:

We had a chance to play through two different demos. After choosing a class (we decided to go with a red mana-based character, the Geomancer, that specialized in fiery attacks), we set out on our mission. This involves taking on adversaries while attempting to “cleanse” statues of evil. As expected, you’ll have to stand in one glowing spot in order to get the job done, while fending off opponents that come at you.

What’s great is that your character has an array of attacks in their arsenal. For example, there are basic attacks that are good for striking. However, since this is Magic we’re talking about, the real power lies in the spells that you can cast. This includes unleashing surprisingly powerful attacks like a lava burst that covers a good range of land. You can also throw a directed earthquake at opponents, as well as performing a leaping attack. Not only is this useful for a quick strike, but also for getting out of the way of certain danger.