The lid has been well and truly lifted on Gearbox’s latest shooter Battleborn ahead of E3 2015 with the release of a new trailer alongside a list of features and game modes.
Battleborn features a heavy emphasis on multiplayer action, but it will also host a Story Mode that can be played solo or co-operatively. Players will be tasked with trying to save the last star in the universe from a mysterious evil and will be able to jump into the roles of 25 playable heroes.
Each hero will have its own set of skills, weapons and powers, and characters can be levelled up (up to level 10) in Story Mode and multiplayer matches through the Helix skill tree system. Gearbox describes it as a ‘persistent progression system’ with players able to swap out augments in the skill trees, earn loot and unlock badges and skins.
Characters will be broken up into factions as detailed below:
The Peacekeepers are sworn protectors of Solus
– The Eldrid are preservers of the natural order of the universe
– The Rogues are mercenaries only concerned with their own survival
– The Last Light Consortium (LLC) are war profiteers, exploiting others for their own gain
– The Jennerit Empire rule others by force, valuing power above all else
The descriptions of 10 characters have been revealed so far, though the trailer shows a few more interesting heroes that showcase the diversity of the cast.
The crux of Battleborn will be a series of a multiplayer modes which cater for up to 10 players, including the wave-based Incursion mode where teams of heroes fight together against A.I. minions to defend their base and destroy their opponents. Devastation mode will be a classic capture and hold objective-based skirmish, while Meltdown appears to offer something a little different. In this mode teams will need to protect their minions as they ‘march to their death at the center of the map’. Points are gained each time a minion jumps into the incinerator and the team with the most points will be declared the winner.
In the final piece of information, prior to Battleborn’s E3 2015 appearance, we get a glimpse at the map, which shows us the areas where some frantic battles will take place.
Battleborn is set for release this winter on PS4, Xbox One and PC.