STRIFE - a n00b review

I may not be the most qualified to review this game but I want to take a shot at it.

For someone like me (who is new to MOBA) this is the game to get into them on. The tutorial is great. (I'll never understand why people complain about having to do a tutorial, especially when the number one complaint is that your team-mate doesn't know how to play) . It's also obvious to see that the developers tried to create a positive (and non-toxic) atmosphere for the community.

They dev's created what seems to be a TRULY F2P and "NOT" P2W game. Any actual money you shell out is either for character customization or permanent boost to XP, both of which can be purchased by earning gems in-game.

I found the tutorial helpful and information from the other sources on how to play to be plentiful and easy to find. There are quite a few people and groups dedicated to Strife (though I fear their numbers are shrinking) including a Discord group. That said, I guess I am too new to understand why this game did not get off the ground. Even in it's current (and seemingly abandoned state-more on this later) state, it is playable and thoroughly enjoyable. Due too the limited number of people still playing, I found myself playing mostly 'VS. BOT' matches (teaming you and 4 other live players against the AI).

While playing, I ran into what almost seemed to be some kind of hack/bot attack, that would force my character to return to home AND 'STAY' there. All other aspects of the game were accessible and functional, I just couldn't move my player. This occurred several times, each time resulting in my being labeled as AFK and receiving a ban (each one longer than the previous) and being tagged as a 'leaver' in-game.

When I tried to talk about it with other players, my chats vanished from the chat window or were met with rather odd and sarcastic responses. Which leaves me to believe that the game has fallen under control of one or more players with a unique skill-set. I filled out a ticket but, was assured that that was a waste of time, as no ticket has been answered in almost 2 years and the dev's had gone silent on any and all aspects of the game for about the same period of time (which I found confusing when looking at a patch from December 6, 2017 that seems to have surprised most of the players).

If the current state of the game is that it is abandoned (DON'T buy any of the DLC or purchase any of the in-game currency) and there are as I suspect (and hope to be wrong about) hacks loose in-game, it's more than sad. Looking around as much as I did for info on the best MOBA to get into, Strife had some of the best reviews of ANY MOBA active or not, right now. With virtually zero comments on a negative or toxic community, a majority of reviews make reference to the notion that Strife was what they had hoped LoL would be, or Paladins, Or Hon, or other MOBA's. I was hard pressed to find ANY negative reviews of the game outside of the few posted here.

I even came across a few reviewers who expressed a desire to see Strife try to reboot itself, revive itself, etc. With the vast majority of companies focusing on MOBA's for mobile platforms now (only 3 come to mind for non-mobile platforms that may make an appearance in the next year or so) I think it would be a shame to scrap Strife completely WITHOUT ONE LAST DITCH EFFORT.

There is a need for MOBA with a different approach and eye on resolving the issue of toxic communities in the genre. Strife could have (and still could) filled that void. Maybe pushing the game hard from that angle with true commitment would be the fresh breath of life it (and the players) need.

*** I felt I needed to add to this review since originally posting. With the recent announcements that GIGANTIC and Paragon would be shutting down, it seemed like a good time to plea for a reboot of this game.

Being on the Discord channel with folks who play Strife, I’ve found this community is far from toxic (on Discord and in game) and that has been my solid experience. I have received nothing but good advice and support, along with a willingness to play and work with a newb like me every time I logged on.

I think the down-votes for 'lack of players' are hurting the game. It makes people not want to play. Yes, there aren't droves of people in que, but there is a good base group and it is possible it could grow.

With the ending of Paragon and GIGANTIC, some people will be looking for an alternative. If there was ever a time for the developers to show this game some more love and give it a reboot, NOW is the time. This game is doing better than BoA, which was thrown together using the heroes from this game. People want to see THIS game further developed, NOT BoA. AND people new and old to MOBA's ARE looking for a game just like this that supports the players and the idea of a non-toxic community.

People look at Strife and wonder what makes it special from all the other MOBA's. Someone summed it up rather well in another thread and their exact words were;

• - Dozens of pets with special active and passive abilities that any hero can use.

• - A crafting system that allows any weapon to be built out of any items

• - A crafting system that allows special perks to be added to items that make them function differently. 2 people could be using the same item, but one may build it for a carry while the other builds it to be useable for a tank. 

• - Units that can be spawned to assist in pushes.

• - Gold share to all allies, making support heroes not have to give all their gold to carries.

• - Select locations on the board that count as scouting wards, preventing the need of supports having to waste gold on consumables. 

• - Every person has their own courier from the start to bring items to them. 

• - Boot and consumables have their own slots separate from the core 6. 

• - Late game has a tome system and a carry weapon that utilize gold even after you have max slotted with all best in slots. 

• - So, it was pointed out that some MOBA's share 'some' of the above traits. The reply was 'Show me 'one' that has them 'ALL' and I will play it right now.'

All of that along with the 'penalty' bans for abandoning a game, starting at 30 minutes for the 1st and increasing in length with each leave or afk afterwards , (By the way, it is easy to find players from Lol and other MOBA's requesting such a system in those games.) STRIFE is THAT unique. In my opinion and I think I can speak for others, the game deserves a reboot.