Paragon, the eye candy-filled MOBA from Epic Games
Paragon is a free-to-play third-person science-fantasy MOBA made by Epic Games - the guys that brought you Gears of War - using their very own Unreal Engine 4. Now, now - we know that its closest comparison is Hi-Rez's mythological MOBA Smite, but Paragon feels different to play.
When Paragon was announced by Epic Games way back in 2015, people thought it was going to be a shooter game like Overwatch or Paladins because of how detailed the characters are.
But, to the surprise of everyone, they revealed that it was a MOBA running in Unreal Engine 4. Like the usual MOBA mechanics, the goal in each game is to reach and destroy the enemy nexus by killing enemy heroes and minions, and destroying towers in a large, three-lane map.
Being in third-person view means that every hit is a skill shotBut, what makes Paragon different from Smite or any other third-person MOBA?
Well, first, it runs in Unreal Engine so expect jaw-dropping visuals. Take note, the trailers that Paragon releases are rendered in-game and not CGI and that's just neat.
Second, all the heroes are free so don't worry about the credit grinding - in this case, reputation grinding. If that's not enough, Epic Games releases a new hero every three weeks so the roster of heroes grow larger.
Third, instead of a normal flat arena like what Smite has, Paragon's visually stunning map, named the Monolith, makes use of verticality to either provide or obscure vision and to spark more action. This gives players a chance to shoot or ambush enemies from above or surprise them from a lower position.
The lanes are tiered in a manner that there's a high lane, mid lane, and low lane, each corresponding to the height of their terrain. This means that you can look down on the map and start planning your move before engaging.
The jungle is the only thing that's a bit depressed in between the lanes. It still serves as the fog of war - you can't see what's inside the jungle from your lane unless you place a ward so there's that sense of wonder. Instead of bushes, shadow pads can be found in the jungle that renders you invisible and puts you in the "shadow plane". This feature is a bit tricky because if, by any chance, an enemy hero is also in the shadow plane, you will be able to see each other.
Fourth, each hero is beautifully designed and unique, and the fact that the game runs in Unreal Engine only adds up to the characters' eye-popping aesthetics and animations.
Fifth, instead of the usual scheme where you buy all these items to augment your hero, Paragon uses a card system where you can collect cards from loot boxes and create your hero's customized decks. During a match, destroying towers and killing enemy minions and heroes grant you card points which you spend in buying cards. For new players, the auto-equip feature for the cards is enabled by default.
Epic Games did this system to simplify the items for newer players and to eliminate the "meta staleness" in creating hero builds. However, I don't feel that it properly executes the purpose that it was intended for.
The only problem that I encountered was the somewhat inadequate optimization of the game. There were times wherein my screen would freeze for a second or two. I had to turn down my graphic settings a bit even though I was running a 7th Gen i5, 4GB of RAM, and a 4GB GTX 1050. I still want to try cranking the settings up and see if the problem was with my internet or not. I mean, I am playing from the Philippines so maybe there was a bit of internet traffic.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed playing Paragon and I will still play it. I would highly recommend Paragon to those who crave for a MOBA that induces excitement and shows something new and fresh. Paragon looks very promising despite being just a year old.
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