Warrior Epic is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game title rife with instanced dungeons in a progressive campaign map. But while the subscription model is free-to-play, to make this game really stand out, players will have to indulge in the micro-transaction business model in place that, ostensibly, sustains this ‘Diablo’-esque title.

The concept is simple enough, though the interface might require a little more time to get totally comfortable with it. The maps are linear in nature, but you have a staging area that allows you to pull in your characters and invite others into the instanced zones. Or you can join a battle through a zone. This does pertain to the multiplayer element of the game, and there is a sort of story arc that ties it all together, but Warrior Epic could well have been placed alongside Diablo II on Battle.net and you would have had a very similar experience.

Is that a bad thing? No. But it is hardly innovative or compelling and therein lays the biggest downfall of the game – there is simply little here that drives the game in terms of leaving players hungry for more. True, the game does drive forward to different environments, with better chests to loot and better drops, and you can end up with a stable full of warriors drawn from the game’s classes. You have an initial set of classes – pit fighter, devotress, ranger and the furry Pangolan. Each of the classes can refine a bit more, and you could take your Pangolan along the shaman route or go tamer (think pet class). Illusionists can go down the necromancer path or the spellbinder path.

Everything starts in your hall, and there is a lot of customization available here. You can build special rooms to enhance the abilities of your stable characters, there are barracks to manage and you can even decorate to a point.

As mentioned, this is a game that is built around micro-transactions and that means gold. To get new warrior archetypes, you have to buy them. Warrior Epic has foregone the need for gold farmers by allowing players the opportunity to purchase gold for in-game use from the launch interface. Interestingly enough, not only can you buy new warriors, but you can sell yours in the Item Shop. Or if you don’t want to sell them, you can sacrifice them.

When you begin the game, you select the Play Now feature in the Main Menu. This will allow you to select a warrior from your stable, and then you end up in the War Room. Click on the map and it will show you available locales for your quest. The map even goes so far as to show you the artifacts you might be able to collect in that map as well as the recommended character level. You need to complete the zones to unlock the next areas on the map.

The game does have a nice feel to it, though it is very linear in nature. You can play it easily in windowed mode and that, in fact, is how the game launches. The view is isometric and the animation is not quite as smooth as it otherwise could be.

The sound will not stretch any sound card and is comprised mostly of music and the sounds of battle.

The monsters in the zone are slightly different than what one would normally see, and they have level attributes that you can see when you click on them. You carry three skills into the battle, which – depending on the character and class you have – determines your fighting tactics. For example, a dungeon ranger might have a slow arrow, a poisonous arrow and a flaming arrow at his (or her) disposal. Some of these arrows are AoEs, and each has several attributes to consider. The slow arrow will show you the range, the piercing damage, the duration of the slow and the cool down (5 seconds). So Warrior Epic is tactical to a large degree. The controls will not present a problem in this regard either; they are intuitive and easy to understand and use. You may have to work your way through the menu areas in your Hall (a lot of static screens utilizing the same isometric look), but once you understand the concept, you should be able to focus on the meat of this game – the missions, and party combat system.

The community is also pretty good, and players should not have a difficult time in finding a game to join.

Warrior Epic is not that innovative (as mentioned), and may well be a niche game, but it is a decent game that allows for a lot of customization, a guild leaderboard and solid graphics. Taken for what it is, Warrior Epic is a nice casual multiplayer (or single-player) experience.

Gameplay: 7.0
The strength of this game lays in the multiplayer dungeon-crawling elements. The control mechanics won’t hamper that experience and while the general gameplay seems a bit on the slow side, the game does have its merits.  

Graphics: 7.0
The animation is not as smooth as it could be but the environments are lush and nicely handled.

Sound: 5.5
Minimal at best with just battle sounds and a looped musical track.  

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 6.0
This could have been on Battle.net as part of the Diablo II experience. Not much in the innovation department but nice array of customization options. And the way the micro-transactions are handled is nice.

Multiplayer: 7.0
A solid community and you can have a bit of fun on the joint missions.

Overall: 7.0
Good community and nice array of customization options create a pleasant, albeit not original, experience.