Skip to main content

Is Total War: Arena a MOBA? It is and it isn't, Creative Assembly says

Plus: Rome 2 players to get "privileged access".

This week at the Game Developers Conference Creative Assembly announced Total War: Arena, a new free-to-play multiplayer spin-off that, on the face of it, sounds very much like a MOBA.

The truth about Arena, though, is a bit more complicated than that.

Total War: Arena features 10 v 10 battles, with each player controlling just three units. The philosophy behind it matches that of the biggest MOBAs: League of Legends and DOTA 2, in that it's free-to-play, is about two teams of players going against each other, and sees each player micro-managing units.

We definitely think the concept of a MOBA, the multiplayer online battle arena game, is what this is, but generally when people say MOBA they mean DOTA clone or League of Legends clone, and that is not what we are.

James Russell, lead designer of the Total War series

But, according to Total War lead designer James Russell and lead multiplayer designer Gabor Beressy, Arena doesn't play like LOL or DOTA 2, two names that have become synonymous with the MOBA (massively online battle arena) acronym.

"This is not a MOBA-game," Beressy told Eurogamer after the game was announced during CA's Total War session at GDC. "It's not a DOTA clone. How do you define a MOBA game? If you just say it's a multiplayer online battle arena, yes, it is. But it is Total War, so it's not a DOTA 2 clone. We're not going to have lanes and creeps and towers."

So, Arena isn't a MOBA, because it's nothing like LOL or DOTA 2, which is what most of us think of when we hear the term MOBA. But, according to Russell, Creative Assembly thinks of Arena as MOBA as the term was originally intended.

"We definitely think the concept of a MOBA, the multiplayer online battle arena game, is what this is," he said, "but generally when people say MOBA they mean DOTA clone or League of Legends clone, and that is not what we are.

"Some people would call this an MMO, and it is an MMO in that it is massively multiplayer and it is online only. So yeah, you could call it an MMO. MOBA should be an appropriate term, but it's been taken over to mean something else.

"We could say this is a Total War MOBA, and then when they're playing it people would go, 'No it's not!' But it is an appropriate acronym. It is a mutiplayer, online, battle arena."

Total War Arena grew out of a desire within Creative Assembly to create a multiplayer-focused experience based on the Total War brand. With the in-development Rome 2 set to provide the core Total War experience, which revolves around single-player, a slightly smaller team of developers is in the experimental phase on Arena, fleshing out how it will work.

"You've got 20 units in core Total War," Russell explained. "We've got three units in Arena. So you've got much tighter control over those three units. You've got a much more action-oriented design. We need to have as much gameplay and skill required to manage those three units as you've got in core Total War managing 20."

Beressy said Total War players can expect a familiar experience from Arena, despite these changes. "It is a Total War battle. We are going to keep the major pillars that fit the multiplayer in general. You still have massive armies, epic scale battles and all the spectacle of what Total War can offer, and we're still keeping tactical positioning of units. So everything that makes Total War battles fun is still there. We're not going to add the fantasy game mechanics MOBA games have, like the lane kind of gameplay.

"If we're going to add additional gameplay elements they will be based on reality, just like in any other Total War. We want to build a game that is realistic, and feels like you're on the battlefield with your troops. You're not just controlling heroes."

For the core Total War experience, see Rome 2.

Watch on YouTube

The idea with Arena is that the playable units will be history's greatest commanders. Russell told us this means you'll see warriors from many different time periods clash in what he described as "the ultimate mix".

The game will launch with units based on ancient cultures, such as the Greeks. When pressed on this, Russell said: "We are starting with ancient cultures. In the very first iteration we will be focusing on ancient world cultures, so Romans."

"Every Total War game is in a certain time period and you have to stick with it," Beresy said. "There's not enough room to go out of that. With Arena we can do that. We can start with Roman and Greek generals, we can have Attila the Hun against Genghis Khan in the future. All those really interesting scenarios could happen. That's the vision."

Now for the small print: this being a free-to-play game, there will be monetisation in the form of "accelerators". These enhance your ability to earn rewards, Russell said.

"The game loop is, you fight a battle and then you use the rewards you earn in battle to customise and improve your squad of three units you then bring to the next battle," he explained.

"From a monetisation perspective, we want to focus on enhancing your ability to get up through the content, to upgrade your units, basically to make that happen faster for you. You'll have an enhanced set of rewards.

"We don't want to hive off a load of the content to be premium only. Our philosophy is we want the vast majority of content to be available free to everybody if they earn it. We don't want to have pay to win mechanics where you distort the battle. That's absolutely not what we want to do. We want to focus on increasing the speed at which you can get to the higher level troops. But you don't have to be premium, you don't have to pay any money to get there, it just might take you a bit longer. This is all outside of the battles, right? There's no progression within the battles. The battles are their own tactical exercise."

Creative Assembly isn't ready to suggest a release window for Arena at all right now, but did suggest that Rome 2 players will get to play it before anyone else.

"We definitely want our existing core Total War players, the people who buy Rome 2, to have privileged access to Arena," Russell said.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com