The hero shooter game, Paladins, is adding a ‘unique’ new battle royale mode titled “Battlegrounds”.
Paladins, a free-to-play hero shooter video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios, has been known to take inspiration from other mediums. The base game looks and plays very much like Blizzard Entertainment’s popular first-person shooter, Overwatch, something that some fans have criticised in the past.
Now, the game looks to add a battle royale mode vastly similar to that of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite: Battle Royale, two games which have popularised battle royale gameplay. The description of the mode included in the Paladins: Battlegrounds trailer claims that the game is “the first-ever hero-shooter battle royale.” The following video is the official trailer for the new mode.
The mode, which was announced at the Hi-Rez Expo 2018, currently taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, will see 100 players being dropped onto a map, who will need to survive and ultimately be the last man standing by knocking out other players with weapons that are scattered about. Players will need to do this while a fog closes in on the map, much like the circle and storm in PUBG and Fortnite: Battle Royale respectively. Following the PUBG gameplay, bombs will also drop onto the map, adding to the challenge of survival.
The only real difference with Paladins, which sets the game apart, is that champions have class abilities and, in Paladins: Battlegrounds, players will have mounts to utilise.
Hi-Rez further described the game in a statement saying:
“Players spawn into a massive map—over 300 times the square footage of a typical Paladins’ Siege map. Then they hop onto their mounts and begin exploring, looting their way through more than four dozen outposts and tracking zeppelins that drop legendary gear.”
Paladins: Battlegrounds is due to release later this year, with an early alpha version playable at this weekend’s Hi-Rez Expo.