Conqueror’s Blade Review 2020

Conqueror’s Blade is a team-based MMORPG where you play as a Hero leading your own squad of troops in field battles and sieges against other players. You can freely switch between any of the 11 weapon classes and level up unique skills that are adapted to your own personal playstyle. A key component to this game is commanding a vast variety of units to charge into battle alongside your Hero. This combination of weapon and unit choice allows the player to have true freedom for how they want to pursue the game. Please refer to this link here for the direct Conqueror’s Blade website and this link here for the Steam page.

Currently, Conqueror’s Blade has entered into its 4th Season and has already made many sweeping changes to how the game is played. Many classes have had their abilities changed over time, some have received hefty nerfs, and the introduction of the new Maul class has also affected how other classes are perceived. Each season has also introduced new units specific to the cultural theme of the season. They are unlocked by completing specific quests and require a bit of a grind to obtain – not all players are a big fan of this method.

Key Features

Integrated Strategy and Action Gameplay

Conqueror’s Blade combines strategic unit controlling mechanisms with action combat using your hero. A large part of the game is obtaining new units and levelling up skills for your weapons so that you can better defeat your opponents later on. New players will start off with weak “peasant” units and slowly move their way up to elite armoured infantry or cavalry. However, the game also evens the playing field by attaching a “Leadership” cost to each unit and capping every player at around 700 Leadership (unless they have bonuses from crafted armour). This forces a player to think strategically about their unit selection and help reduce the noob pubstomping that would have occurred. Every unit also can be levelled up through playing with them. As they level, you can allocate points into perks that can boost their current abilities or cover their weaknesses.

Incredible variety in playstyles

There are 11 weapons in the game that each have unique abilities that dictate the playstyle of the weapon. There are vast differences between how each class can be played and these differences are further accentuated by which units you bring into battle with you. Some players like to combine a ranged weapon with a shieldwall unit to engage in frontline harassing gameplay, others like to bring in a unit-killing machine alongside sword and shield units to charge into the enemy flank. The game permits very creative uses of heros and units – it is entirely up to you how you want to play the game. Conqueror’s Blade adds a whole new level of depth to the gameplay once you begin to learn how to work with your teammates and combine advantages from your heroes/units with theirs. Some hero abilities can knock-down shield walls, while others can lock opponent heroes into hard CC – using an effective combination of hero abilities and unit movements significantly improve your chances at success. This turns the game into more than just a Dynasty Warriors clone and players that enjoy using their brain while gaming will definitely want to try this out.

Player Controlled World Map

Groups of players in this game can form guilds called “Houses” that fight one another in weekly Territory Wars to gain control of fiefs on the map. This control grants them the ability to change tax rates, determine who can actually harvest resources on their territory, and generate additional funds for their own members. Up to 3 Houses can come together to form Alliances that help each other in Territory Wars in both attacking and defending their fiefs. Alliances can also engage in diplomacy with other Houses or Alliances to advance their own agendas – promises can be made, but they can also be broken. It is a very realistic display of how politics can be used to build and destroy your fiefs.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Fantastic strategic depth
• Large variety of playstyles and weapons to choose from
• Unique unit-controlling mechanics
• Houses tend to be kind to new players and offer support in starting the game
• Territory Wars are a great guild-based PVP feature that has tangible results
• Overall satisfying gameplay

Cons

• Long grind to fully level up units and unlock the final tier
• Servers have numerous lag-related problems
• Balance of certain classes and units is a constant issue
• Territory Wars don’t always work and can have bad lagging issues
• Bad player experiences with the support team

Overall Gameplay

Gameplay-wise, this review will give it a solid 9/10. I grew up playing Mount and Blade, and this is the best multiplayer version of that game I have ever played. Unit control plus strategy plus unique weapon classes with individual skills is an ideal mixture for me. Every part of the combat seemed to fit together very well to provide a satisfying gameplay.

Server Issues

However, issues like bad servers definitely ruin some enjoyment. Having played on the Frontier version of the game, it made me realize how many of my issues with the game are purely due to lag and lack of responsiveness from the server. The game itself is fantastic, but the surrounding issues diminish it. Although it only occurs in around 10-20% of my matches, it is noticeable enough to cause a good amount of frustration.

Classes

Despite what other players might say about specific classes, I personally feel like a casual player can definitely enjoy any of the classes as long as they try them all out beforehand. Different classes are good at different things – if you force a certain playstyle then certain classes will still do very poorly in your hands. Find one that works with how you want to play and you will still have a great time.

At the same time, there is one specific class that I think needs to be changed given how much it is able to do. Maul is the newest class that has been added and it just seems to be able to do so much compared to all of the other classes. It can kill units, kill heroes, knock down shieldwalls, has a charging ability, and can also use heavy armour. Some players might argue that the main drawback is it requires great stamina management, but even with bad awareness of stamina it is still able to do a ton of damage. It will be interesting to see what changes will be made, but I definitely do think something should be done about this class.

Units

There is a great variety of units that can be viably selected. Some units are more meta than others, but there are multiple types of units that you can use to fit into your own personal playstyle. If you have no particular preference, check out our unit guide for starters to have an accelerated path towards end-game units.

The only unit that I truly find a problem with at the moment is the Falconetti Gunners. If you decide to play this game longer, you can easily recognize these guys as the ones that drop a rain of cannons on you and your units. Some players argue that these are easily countered by melee since they can’t attack units within a certain radius, but they still do absolutely ridiculous amounts of damage and CC at a rapid rate. Very little has been done so far to take away that crazy power, and so keep in mind that these types of units do exist in this game.

Territory War and Houses

Although I am not too personally invested in Territory Wars, it is a part of the gameplay that can be an amazing experience. Of all of the houses I have been in, all of them have been supportive of new players. Veterans would take the time to show them the ropes and teach them the basics of how to use their units most effectively. When you get into the War you genuinely feel like you are fighting a battle against other players and things can get very competitive. There will be a gap between a newcomer and veteran player in terms of ability and in unit quality, but working together as a team with your House is a fantastic PVP experience.

The Grind

One of the biggest issues I have with the game is the amount of grind necessary to level up units and obtain previous seasonal units. A friend of mine who started this past summer has dedicated around 250 hours to the game and has only levelled up 2 of his units – neither of which are Purple units. It will take a casual player a few months to actually be fully fleshed out in units and equipment. This in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing – there still has to be a progression that motivates players to keep on playing.

However, the method for obtaining previous seasonal units is absolute garbage. Instead of doing 6/8 quests or 8/10 quests, new players now have to complete 8/8 and 10/10 quests. Keep in mind that some of the quests are things like “Defeat 5 heroes in a single battle 9 times” and “Have 240 unit kills in X battles in your group”. If you don’t hit that number, you just have to keep on playing game after game. For me personally, it took a lot of the fun out of the game when I tried grinding for them. Another problem area is that some quests require Deathmatches or Free Battles. If you happen to have work at that time, you are out of luck. There are no substitutions and you will end up having to pay real money to finish the challenges.

Place in the MMORPG Landscape

Conqueror’s Blade is a one of a kind type of game at the moment. No other MMORPG has the same gameplay mechanics, although games like Kingdom Under Fire 2 does come close. It has a unique blend of strategic use of units and straight action in using your hero to demolish opponents. If you have ever wanted to play as a captain leading your squad into battle – this game does exactly that. Teamwork is also an essential component to actually winning battles – working together and using cohesive strategies is an immensely powerful tool to succeeding.

Outside of battles, the player can also engage in open-world resource gathering, trading on the marketplace, completing fief quests, crafting weapons and armour, creating unit kits to replace fallen soldiers, and even engaging in duels with other players. These other areas of gameplay do take some time to get used to, but add a great amount of depth to the game. While other MMORPGs tend to have their own version of these features, Conqueror’s Blade is unique in that much of these features are tied to the player-controlled fief system.

Other than the starting main city and two connected villages, virtually every other fief can be taken over by player guilds through Territory Wars. When a group of players come together as a guild (otherwise known as a “House”), they have the ability to fight with other Houses during set times in the week to take over fiefs. The owners of the fiefs can then set “Tax Rates” on the resources the fief controls – thereby providing another source of funding to their own players. There are numerous other features like the ability to craft advanced unit kits and guaranteeing a weekly payout to House members that make fiefs a very coveted late game goal. No other MMORPG currently has this style of player-controlled territory management that is this integrated within the gameplay.

With these features in mind, Conqueror’s Blade definitely still has a place in the current MMORPG community. However, there are definitely issues that have to be considered when a player is thinking about committing to playing this game for any reasonable length of time.

Is this game worth playing?

Any player interested in strategy-action games should definitely try Conqueror’s Blade out. It is a free to play game and the current season rewards help speed up progression in the early stages as well. My recommendation would be for you to play till at least level 60-70 to truly have a good idea of what the game is really about. Joining a House will also provide a better idea of whether or not this game is for you. Refer to our beginner tips here and our unit guide here to reduce any regrets early on.

My review is geared around the gameplay and whether or not it is actually worth playing, but there are more considerations than that when it comes to determing the amount of time worht investing. Definitely take a read through Reddit here for a good idea of why quite a few players are upset at the lack of support, questionable servers, and seemingly unbalanced classes. Keep in mind that Reddit is not a great representation of the entire gameplay community, but it can still be a good way to see why you SHOULDN’T play the game.

One thing I will say though, is you should definitely not spend any money on the game until you are at Level 70 at the very least. The game provides with enough bonuses early on and the money you spend really will not make a huge difference. The reason why I say Level 70 is that at Level 60 you will begin to be placed against higher level opponents who could make the game much more difficult for you – for some players the difference is enough to put them off of spending more time on the game. Another reason is that at this point, you likely will have joined a House and experienced a few Territory Wars. If this is not your thing, then the end-game won’t really be for you. Worst thing you can do is end up spending money on a game that you later on find out is not really what you want it to be.

Kijin Verdict

Come for the gameplay, leave because of all the other issues you end up having to put up with. This game will draw you in with its unique, amazing gameplay that engages you for weeks and weeks. Unfortunately, you will realize after a certain point in your progression that things have slowed down quite substantially. You will begin to see the server issues, unit/class issues, and how much of a grind the game will truly end up being. New players at this point will either be burnt out or will slow down their pace and allow themselves the enjoy the game for what it is.

My advice for new players is to treat this game like a marathon, not a sprint. Definitely enjoy the early game progress and fully immerse yourself as much as you can, but once you hit the wall like all other players have, take a break and come back.

Beginner Guides

For any newcomers that are interested in starting the game, here is our list of beginner guides to help with the early game:

Conqueror’s Blade Top 12 Beginner Tips

Conqueror’s Blade Best Starter Units 2020

Conqueror’s Blade Top 10 Strategy Tips for Beginners

Conqueror’s Blade Beginner Bronze Guide

Conqueror’s Blade Beginner Nodachi Guide