Since its debut at G-Star 2015 (the largest video game show in South Korea), Master X Master has grown significantly, with more content, and above all with an almost complete VF (only the dubbing of the heroes, a rather anecdotal detail). But who is Master X Master? Perceived by many players as yet another free-to-play MOBA from a studio eager to surf on a recipe that works, NCsoft's title is actually a hybrid game that is eyeing the side of Diablo. The game is indeed split between PvP and PvE, each grouping two game modes. Before delving into the technical aspect of Master X Master, let's take a look at the story, since there is some. The Earth is invaded by heaps of enemy monsters and to save it, the last hope rests on the masters, the famous Masters, gathered on the deck of the Dredgion ship. Similar to the heroes of any other game, these playable characters here are largely from the many licenses from NCsoft. The fan service works thunder, which allows us to find familiar faces of the Korean publisher's family. Poharan and Jinsoyun from Blade & Soul, Mondo Zax from Wildstar, Rytlock from Guild Wars 2, Kromède from AION, the cat Kat from Lineage 2, or even Statesman from City of Heroes. In all, just under 40 characters are available, two-thirds of which are exclusive to Master X Master.
The big innovation of MxM is to offer not one hero, but two, which can be interchanged on the fly.
Each character has their own skills, and there are all the usual classes with the sniper, the tank, the support and many more. Small specificity all the same: each hero is linked to an affinity, all integrating into a system of "Shi Fou Mi" which will remind you of your best hours on Pokémon. The "fire" heroes will decimate the "plant" characters, for example, who in turn will spank the "water" affinity hero. A detail that is important in PvP, but also in PvE because in each level, the enemies have one of these three affinities. We will therefore be careful to choose our heroes with the right sensitivity in order to make our lives easier. Yes you read correctly, I spoke of "his" heroes. The big innovation of Master X Master is to offer not one hero, but two, which can be interchanged on the fly, subject nevertheless to a cooldown. A very simple feature but which allows to widen the tactical possibilities, especially that the unused master regains life. Depending on the situation, we can therefore radically change teams. Is it better to associate a Sniper with an assassin? Choose a water character with a fire fighter to play on affinities? Or even opt for an attacker and a medic in order to be able to help colleagues in a somewhat devious instance? It's up to you to ask the right questions.
YES, MASTER
Instances are one of the great specificities of Master X Master against the competition. The game offers five environments, each with multiple paths that will have to be taken to reach the final boss. These instances are fairly short and have a difficulty that varies over five levels, from "normal" to "nightmare", depending on your gear and skills, with your XP rank having little bearing on the power of your hero, knowing that the faster you are, the higher the reward in gold, XP and loot will be. The improvement of your master is due to three factors: the investment of gold in his powers, the crafting of components to improve weapons and finally, the use of Mods. These are a system of skill boosts that are combined together in a bar that has a maximum of 6. Simply put, this system is very similar to League of Legends runes. In terms of gameplay, Master x Master borrows a lot from hack'n slash since you direct your master with the ZQSD keys, while aiming is controlled by the mouse. We can therefore attack while moving, knowing that the primary attack is on the left click. The skills are three in number, with one affiliated with the A key, another on E, while the ultimate attack is placed on R. No headache there either, which allows you to take the game in hand almost immediately. We also have a dash to get out of complicated situations, although the latter is subject to a rather long cooldown. To change heroes, nothing could be simpler, they are located by default on the Tab key or on the mouse wheel, while you jump with the space key. This very intuitive gameplay allows you to quickly grasp the possibilities offered by the game, whether it's dodging boss attacks, or escaping from an overly violent enemy.
LEAGUE OF THE STORM
To vary the pleasures, Master x Master also offers temporary PvE instances, which change every five hours (but in practice the same one comes back for several days, the rotation being currently weekly) and which offer to get a specific loot, this which is useful for unlocking new masters. These levels are there too in the fan service, players who have sanded Blade & Soul will immediately recognize the lair of Leviathan where we face Poharan, while veterans of Guild Wars 2 will recognize the catacombs of Ascalon as the we travel with Rytlock Brimstone. When it comes to PvP, Master x Master offers several options here too. The first consists of direct 3v3 clashes in an arena whose walls come out and hide in the ground, which has the effect of forcing players to change tactics as the game progresses. This mode is very simple: just kill the opposing players, the team with the most kills at the end of the game wins. To balance the game, it should be noted that all PvP modes reset the powers of masters, while the effect of mods is halved.
Finally, the last PvP game mode is called "Titanic Ruins". This is the MOBA side of the game, in which we find all the classics of the genre. We have a fairly open map with three lanes, a faux-jungle that contains AIs to farm experience, and altars that allow you to summon fallen heroes, a kind of mega AI that is very useful for putting pressure on a given line. Very similar to Heroes of the Storm, this mode also offers titans that we can summon from time to time, and who will go up the central lane to try to destroy the enemy heart. NCsoft has also integrated a small specificity, because if we manage to defend ourselves against these titans, we will be able to recover relics called titanites. Once four of them are in possession of the team, one of the players will be able to transform himself into a titan, and thus benefit from an incredible power for about thirty seconds. Very classic, this MOBA mode should not attract the hardcore of the genre, but proves to be sufficient for occasional players, especially thanks to its system which allows your team to choose to face players or AIs. Finally, we must not forget the mini-games of the masters which offer various activities such as small platform levels. Otherwise, be aware that the game has a fairly simple guild system which will above all allow you to earn XP if the players are diligent. Still, in good Korean free-to-play, you'll have to spend time grinding, the prices in the store being quite high.
