A Beginner’s Guide to Realm Royale
Brought to you by Hi-Rez to celebrate the Early Access Alpha release of Realm Royale – download and install the game HERE.
Realm Royale is quickly becoming one of the most popular games in the battle royale genre.
Although technically only in the Alpha testing phase, and therefore still being frequently tweaked and updated, the core elements of Realm Royale already have the feel of a full game.
While Fortnite continues to dominate both battle royale and gaming in general, Realm Royale’s take on the genre offers enough distinguishing features to feel like a distinct experience to other competitors.
If you’re looking to get into the game, or you’ve played but want a better understanding of the various unique elements of Realm Royale that separate it from other battle royale titles, we’ve put together a beginner’s guide covering everything you need to know.
The Basics
Originally announced as Paladins: Battlegrounds, Realm Royale is a battle royale spin-off of Hi-Rez Studios’ Paladins, which itself is a class-based FPS, similar to the likes of Overwatch.
The basic form of Realm Royale will be familiar to anyone who’s played a battle royale before. The game features one giant map, and begins by flying all players over it and allowing them to drop out and dive in whatever direction they choose.
Most of the fundamental mechanics of battle royale apply here. The objective is to survive for as long as possible, seeking out loot to power up your character while the battleground shrinks as the death zone – the “fog” in this case – closes in.
With its original roots in Paladins, Realm Royale brings a class-based twist to the battle royale genre. Unlike PUBG and Fortnite, in which all players start out equally unarmed and the same weapons are available to any who can find them, Realm Royale features various different classes with different capabilities.
Unlike Paladins, which features unique heroes with distinct personalities, Realm Royale uses a classic RPG-style class system. Players are given the option to choose from five different classes at the start of the game, each with different abilities – these are Warrior, Engineer, Assassin, Mage, and Hunter.
One feature that does offer something of a call-back to Paladins is the inclusion of mounts – rather than simply running everywhere all the time, players can mount up for increased movement speed when they need to travel long distances or run from the encroaching fog.
Staying Alive
There are various elements to keeping your character alive in Realm Royale. Each player starts with 1200 health, and there’s no way of increasing that number. To make yourself more durable, however, you can collect armor.
Armor gives you an extra shielding over the top of your health, and the maximum capacity of that shielding depends on the armor you collect. When you have a full set of the highest quality armor, you can have a maximum of another 1200 hit points in shields.
Both armor and health can be replenished by potions, or by the flasks thrown by Warriors if you’re playing as or with a player of that class.
Like other battle royale games, there’s a “down” mechanic – in this case, you’ll be turned into a chicken, only able to run around until you expire, are slain, or are saved by a team-mate.
Looting and Forging
As in most battle royale games, Realm Royale puts a heavy focus on collecting loot to equip your character for combat. In the opening moments of a match, you’ll want to pick an area to search for crates, which will contain weapons, potions, and abilities for your character.
Loot comes in different rarities – white, green, purple, and orange, in ascending order of rarity. The more rare an item is, generally the stronger it is, and this applies to abilities as well as weapons and armor.
Loot can also be collected by slaying enemies. Any loot an opponent held will be dropped upon their death, but you’ll only be able to collect items that are usable by your own class.
The Forge
The greatest loot, however, requires forging. There are forges dotted around the map at which players can make both Health and Armor potions, as well as Legendary armor, Legendary abilities, and their class’s Legendary weapon.
Using a forge requires spending shards – which can be obtained by disenchanting items you don’t need – but also takes time, either 30 or 60 seconds depending on what you’re crafting. During that time, you’ll need to stay within range of the forge, and other players will be able to see that it’s in use – making them aware that someone is in the area.
Legendary weapons take the most resources to craft, needing 120 shards and a chicken nugget, which can be obtained by killing another player. These also have a chance to be enchanted with an elemental property – Fire, Lightning, and Frost. Fire causes additional damage over time and reduces healing, lightning reveals enemies that are behind cover or in stealth to your team, and Frost applies a slow.
Forge crafting options:
- Health potions (3) – Cost: 30 Shards. Time: 30 Seconds
- Armour potions (3) – Cost: 30 Shards. Time: 30 Seconds
- Legendary armor piece (random) – Cost: 60 Shards. Time: 60 Seconds.
- Legendary ability – Cost: 90 Shards. Time: 60 Seconds
- Legendary Weapon – Cost: 120 Shards, 1 Chicken Nugget. Time: 60 Seconds
Classes
As previously mentioned, there are currently five classes available in Realm Royale – Warrior, Engineer, Assassin, Mage, and Hunter. While all the standard weapons and potions from loot crates are available to every class, the different abilities of each make for significantly different playstyles depending on which you pick.
Every class has a total of six abilities. These abilities can be levelled up over the course of a game, increasing in power and reducing their cooldowns.
Two of these are unlocked by default and are of a similar archetype for each class – a passive ability, and a movement ability.
The other four abilities are more powerful and diverse, but don’t come immediately unlocked. Instead, these abilities must be looted in the same way that weapons, armor, and potions are. Only two of these abilities can be equipped at any one time.
Each class also has a Legendary weapon, a hugely powerful weapon unique to their class, which can only be received from the Forge or by killing an enemy of the same class that already has it and collecting it once they drop.
While the Legendary weapons are the deadliest in the game, they also have drawbacks in certain situations, meaning it’s worth hanging onto another weapon to complement the Legendary once you obtain it. The Legendary weapons are one of the biggest factors that differentiate the playstyles of the various classes.
Warrior
The Warrior’s abilities to heal and repair shields make him both a good selection for those playing in groups, as he can provide utility for allies, but also make him a slightly more forgiving choice for beginners getting to grips with the game. The trade-off, however, comes in a slightly less formidable kit for direct combat than some of the more damage-focused classes.
Default Abilities:
Passive: Gain 5 health per second.
Movement: Heroic Leap – Leap a huge distance and height. This ability also deals damage on impact if you land on an enemy.
Looted Abilities:
Flask of Healing: Throw a flask that heals allies. The flask can also be used to self-heal by throwing it at your own feet.
Shielding Potion: Throw a flask that repairs shields. Operates in the same manner as the Flask of Healing.
Net Shot: Throw a net to temporarily reduce the movement speed of enemies.
Charge: Dash a short distance, dealing damage to any enemies in the path of the charge.
Legendary Weapon: Throwing Axe
The Throwing Axe is a projectile weapon with unlimited uses that deals more damage the further it travels before hitting an enemy. With a relatively slow projectile speed it gets trickier to use accurately the further you are away from an opponent, but the payoff for landing it from distance is huge.
Engineer
Where other classes are more dynamic, the Engineer excels in setting up in a defensive location, or in assisting a group to clear out other enemy strong-holds.
As a result, positioning is very important as an engineer, especially as the fog shrinks and shifts the battleground. If you can find a position in which enemies are forced to come to you, you will likely have the advantage. Get caught out in the open, however, and most of the other classes are likely to be better equipped for a straight-up duel.
Default Abilities:
Passive: Gain 5 shield per second.
Movement: Thrust – A huge vertical jump.
Looted Abilities:
Barricade: Deploy a barricade that blocks enemy fire for a short time.
Deploy Turret: Deploy up to two turrets that will automatically target nearby enemies.
Fire Bomb: Throw a napalm bomb that leaves a damaging, area-of-effect fire for a short time.
Healing Totem: Deploy a totem than heals yourself and allies within range.
Legendary Weapon: Plasma Launcher
The Plasma Launcher is essentially a grenade launcher, firing projectile vials that explode on impact.
While the other Legendary Weapons all require more precision, the Plasma Launcher deals damage in an area of effect, which is both its strength and its weakness. It can be effectively spammed into enclosed spaces or behind cover, and can be very effective against grouped enemies, but may not be as effective at assassinating single targets as most of the other Legendary weapons.
Assassin
As you might expect, the Assassin leans heavily on a mixture of stealth and speed while in combat to tackle enemies. In close combat an Assassin is best served by using their abilities to disorientate and otherwise prevent their opponent from hitting them, but they’re generally better served by trying to remain at a distance and pick people off once their Legendary Weapon is unlocked.
Default Abilities:
Passive: Gain 10% extra ground speed.
Movement: Blink – Teleport forward a short distance.
Looted Abilities:
Concussion bomb: Throw a bomb to either knock back enemies or push yourself forward.
Ghost Walk: Become unable to be targeted and increase movement speed, as well as removing any debuffs.
Sensor Drone: Deploys a drone to reveal nearby enemies.
Smoke Screen: Create a smoke screen that blocks enemy vision and gives you stealth while active.
Legendary Weapon: Sniper Rifle
The Sniper Rifle is the most powerful weapon in the game, with a headshot a guaranteed kill on all but an enemy wearing full Legendary armor at maximum shields and health. It does, however, come with the drawback of being unwieldy up close, and needing to be reloaded after every shot.
Mage
Where most classes use their abilities for utility but rely primarily on a weapon for most of their damage for much of a game, the real power of the Mage comes from its spells, offering combinations that can be deadly when used with skill and accuracy.
Default Abilities:
Passive: Gain 30% potion effectiveness
Movement: Soar – allows the Mage to fly for a short time.
Looted Abilities:
Explosive Flask: Throw a flask that explodes on impact, dealing damage and slowing down enemies.
Fireball: Shoot a ball of fire that deals damage to enemies it passes through.
Ice Block: Become encased in ice for a short time, healing and making the Mage immune to damage but also unable to move.
Wall: Erects a wall from the ground. Can be used as both cover, and to launch the Mage into the air if cast beneath them.
Legendary Weapon: Stone Spear
The Stone Spear is a burst weapon that can deal huge amounts of damage if you can land all three projectiles. While the other Legendary weapons deal much more damage with each individual projectile, the Stone Spear’s three mean that even if one or two miss you can still deal some damage, and the Mage also has other damage-dealing abilities in its kit.
Hunter
If you’re a specialist in the FPS genre looking for a class that will make the most of your ability to shoot people, the Hunter might be for you.
If you have great aim, particularly with projectile weapons, the Hunter is a hugely versatile class that can be incredibly deadly. Those that prefer to play smart rather than relying heavily on mechanics, however, may be better suited to another class.
Default Abilities:
Passive: Gain 10% weapon swapping and reload speed.
Movement: Dodge Roll – Roll in the direct you are currently moving in.
Looted Abilities:
Blast shot – Fire an explosive projectile.
Flare – Fire a flare that reveals enemies within range of the flare.
Proximity Mine – Lay a mine that explodes when enemies come close to it.
Withdraw – Leap backwards and enter stealth mode briefly. Can be used defensively as an escape, or offensively to chase by using it in the opposite direction to that which you wish to travel.
Legendary Weapon: Bow
Unsurprisingly, the Hunter’s bow is a projectile weapon. While the bow can be fired instantly, it has a very short “charge” time to power up the arrows to deal maximum damage. The Hunter’s bow at full power does a lot of damage and fires a very quick projectile, making it devastating in the hands of a master.