Gachas, gachas, gachas! That’s the typical reaction when going to the Play Store’s RPG area. However, so many hero collection role-playing games, also known as Gachas, are available nowadays that aficionados of the genre won’t have to worry for a long time. Nonetheless, certain games stand out from the crowd and provide a superior gaming experience. AFK Arena is one of those that has received widespread appreciation from critics and the public, so let’s have a look at what it’s all about.
AFK Arena: Essentials
Lilith Games, a Chinese video game development studio, created and distributed AFK Arena. This game was published for Android and iOS on April 9th, 2019. Since then, AFK Arena has been downloaded over 10 million times on Google Play alone, with a 4.6 out of 5-star rating and over 2 million user ratings.
In addition, the game has received 4.7 out of 5 ratings from over 26 thousand users on the iTunes App Store. It’s worth noting that the game’s development team is constantly upgrading it, fixing issues, and adding new content—one of the main reasons for the ever-increasing appeal of this hero collection RPG.
Gameplay
AFK Arena is a hero collection role-playing game, also known as Gacha.
It means you can acquire different heroes throughout the game and combine them into a squad to fight foes. That’s essentially the most basic version of it. But the real deal with the game comes once you know why Lilith Games called it “AFK Arena.” Unlike many other gacha games, you have little to no influence over your heroes during the battles in AFK Arena. Instead, they will fight automatically when the match begins, and you will only be able to manage some aspects like:
- To begin, you can arrange your heroes in whatever formation you like. You can put them in the front or back line, for example, which will change some of their powers and how they interact with their allies and enemies.
- Second, their specific skills will be presented in cards at the bottom of the screen throughout the combat. Each of them will have an energy bar that will fill up as the battle progresses. You can click the card when it’s full, and the chosen hero will use their unique ability. At first look, this appears to be a simple task. Still, with so many team combinations to choose from and how specific heroes interact with their teammates and adversaries, battle planning becomes quite tricky. This is, however, precisely what makes the game so exciting and enjoyable.
AFK Arena has a lot to offer in terms of game content. First, a campaign mode, the primary PvE option, is available, just like many other heroes gathering RPGs. You will unlock additional game modes as you progress through a Campaign. For example, you’ll eventually be allowed to enter King’s Tower, where you’ll have to go through hundreds of floors loaded with opponents.
Each floor you overcome will provide you with valuable gifts essential to your success. New adventures will appear in Voyage of Wonders every few weeks, and you’ll be rewarded handsomely for accomplishing them. You can obtain relics and heroic merits in the Arcane Labyrinth, which are particularly useful for rewards in the Champions of Esperia event. You’ll be able to play interesting and intriguing puzzle games in Peaks of Time and acquire a chest containing a variety of gifts, including some powerful artifacts. Finally, there is the Arena of Heroes for those who want to compete with other gamers. You can gain ladder points by winning battles and obtaining suitable prizes dependent on your rank. Overall, AFK Arena provides gamers with a lot of entertaining material.
Game Atmosphere
On the surface, AFK Arena appears to be a soothing and pleasant game. The ambiance is light, the characters are funny enough to make you laugh, and the entire vibe is excellent for a casual game. However, as you delve deeper into the game and discover its complexity, you will perceive it in a new light. This, however, will not harm the environment. On the contrary, putting up a team with good chemistry will feel extremely rewarding, mainly when you use some ultimate powers to wipe out other teams quickly.
Additionally, obtaining a highly rare hero or ascending some of your heroes gives you a sense of accomplishment. Still, there are some drawbacks, as playing this game can be difficult sometimes, especially if you get stuck and want to move on as soon as possible. Thankfully, the game has a lot of content, so even if this happens, you’ll still have many other ways to progress, and it won’t ruin the ambiance. This game is fun to play, and the developers deserve mention.
AFK Arena heroes
Lightbearers, Maulers, Wilders, Graveborn, Celestials, and Hypogeans are the six primary factions to which the heroes in AFK Arena belong. Each of these factions shares strengths and weaknesses. For instance, Lightbearers, Maulers, Wilders, and Graveborn have certain downsides that could lead them to counter each other if played correctly—knowing how to combine heroes to make the perfect team might give the entire team attack and HP benefits. The value of these bonuses increases as the number of heroes from the same faction grows. The exciting part is that Celestial heroes are treated the same as any other faction regarding team bonuses. Hypogeans, unlike them, have their inherent bonuses, which they will distribute to the team based on the number of Hypogeans in the group. This enables a vast range of team compositions, enhancing the depth of team creation even further.
In AFK Arena, there are five hero classes: Tank, Warrior, Mage, Ranger, and Support.
Tanks are heroes who can take a lot of damage while still shielding their teammates. Warriors are a physical damage class with a focus on high damage output. Mages are spell casters who specialize in blasting their opponents with spells or impeding their ability to fight. Rangers are speedy and nimble heroes who specialize in dodging enemy attacks and striking their foes quickly. Finally, supports are heroes who specialize in buffing and healing their teammates.
Game dynamics and fun are ensured by providing each player with multiple characteristics to consider when picking each hero. Based on the class chosen, heroes could pick different roles:
- AOE heroes deal large amounts of damage over an area, striking multiple enemies at once;
- Continuous damage heroes that specialize in dealing consistent damage throughout the fight;
- Burst damage heroes focus on heavy burst damage output;
- Buffers and Debuffers that will either help their teams or weaken the enemies in some way;
- Control heroes that can disable their opponents for a period;
- Regen heroes heal their allies; and
- Assassins that focus on taking down a single enemy at a time.
Artwork
When it comes to aesthetics, you’ll note that most characters appear as if straight out of a silly comic. On the other hand, their animations are well-done, with clean effects that aren’t too “overpowering” to look at. The makers wanted to create a game that was both simple and appealing to the eye, and they succeeded admirably. However, because many other games have far better graphics, some players may despise the aesthetics of AFK Arena. People want eye-candy games that look beautiful in today’s society. On the other hand, this simplistic graphics design works well with the game. It does not detract from the entire gameplay experience.
Tech Compatibility
The fact that this game looks relatively simple is a good thing regarding tech compatibility. Because of it, it sets pretty low requirements, making it playable on likely any mobile device.
AFK Arena: F2P or P2P
This is arguably one of the most significant factors when selecting a hero collection RPG. Yes, the game has microtransactions, just like the rest of the gachas. These contain a variety of packs and resources that you may purchase to help you along your way.
Still, compared to many others, this game is rather generous in terms of being entirely free to play. You can complete the game without spending any money. Yes, a VIP system in the game provides various advantages and bonuses based on your VIP rating. Unlike most other gachas, where VIP experience is earned solely through microtransactions, you may replicate VIP experience simply by playing the game and rising through the levels.
Yes, leveling up will offer you some VIP experience; thus, the game is far more liberal than most other games in this sense. As a free-to-play player, you will occasionally feel as if your progress has reached a snag, but this does not imply you will be compelled to pay to advance. On the contrary, you will quickly progress through the game and finally experience all the VIP content if you play daily, complete your daily and weekly objectives, collect every AFK award, and stay active.
Review Summary
When everything is summarized, this game is a lovely-looking hero collection RPG that is extremely fun and engaging. You will undoubtedly have a blast playing this one. In addition, it is much more generous than other similar titles, making it even better.
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