First Impressions: Paladins: Champions of the Realm (NS)

I feel like at this point, after having spent 5 hours playing Paladins: Champions of the Realm on the Nintendo Switch, that I am only somewhat capable of writing about this game.  Although I have no real way of determining how many of those 5 hours was spent in loading screens or waiting for the timer to countdown while I customized my champion.  So maybe 4 hours?

If you are anything like me, you may not have even heard about P:CotR before it was announced that it would be released on the Switch during Summer 2018.  In short, each player picks a character (of which there can only be one on each team) and you attempt to kill the enemy team as frequently as possible (since you respawn after being killed) while also achieving some other objective; if your objective is not already to kill the other team as much as possible.  Each Champion comes with their own weapon, skills, and additional abilities.  One of the core components that allow this game to function without issue, is that you are supposed to be able to play a character for free and not be at a real significant disadvantage than someone who has purchased a Battle Pass (or whatever they are called in this game).

Well, after playing a 2-3 matches a day, off and on, for a couple of weeks, I can say that I do not feel like P:CotR is really my thing.  Yet, I continued to play it for at least a week more.  Why?  I actually do not have an answer beyond feeling compelled to do so, possibly hoping that the game grows on me.  But so far it really has yet to do so.

As Grover, I would usually get the Best Support award.

One of these reasons I feel that the game has not stuck with me, is that I tend to like to play Support characters.  These are the characters that will typically hold back, not deal a lot of damage, but instead heal their teammates.  When I sometimes play Team Fortress 2, half of the time I will end up playing the Medic, Engineer, or sometimes Pyro.  My aim, even when playing with mouse/keyboard has never been that great, so playing a Damage or Flanker never really leads to as many kills as other players who are much more proficient than I.

So the handful of times that the team I get assigned and someone already chooses to be the Support character, I will try to fill an empty roll (which thankfully the game tells you as characters are being chosen), which is not an issue for me.  I guess I am supporting the team by not picking another Support character, but I am not upset at not playing my preferred class.  What does upset me is when the person playing Support runs ahead of everyone else, or tries to act like a Frontline and goes full-bore against the other team, getting them selves killed so quickly that their special traits become useless.  On a similar note, when playing Support, I expect that some team members might actually try to protect me.  Instead, they are running all over the place while I am sitting there trying to hold my own in the one spot in the map that needs to be guarded in order for us to win the match.

Trying to approach the Onslaught Holding Area Didn't Turn Out Too Well.

Which brings up another thing.  In two of the modes, Siege, and Onslaught, your team is required to hold an area for a determined amount of time/points.  In Siege, this held area turns into a cart that you have to move by being in close proximity to it (it follows its own path and is essentially on rails) until it arrives near the enemy spawning zone and then you win that round.  Easily half of the Siege games I have played, the other people on my team seem more focused on hunting down the other team than trying to protect the cart spawning area.

Maybe this is because I do not have voice chat activated?  Maybe they do not realize what they are supposed to be doing to win that match?  Maybe they do have voice chat activated and are hunting down the enemy who said something about their Mom?  But no.  Because in the team shooting games I have played (of which I can count on one foot), communication is primarily possible between team members and not all of the other nine people you are playing with and against.

Whatever the reason is behind my frustrations with the game, coupled with my inability to actually be good, I think I might be done with Paladins: Champions of the Realm for now.  Or maybe for good.  Only time will tell.  Or if I delete it off of the Switch, unless of course Conklederp decides to take up the mantle for our house.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

I Had to do Some Self Atonement