14 DAY TRIAL // More details are slowly dripping in about Battleborn, the upcoming first-person multiplayer online battle arena title from Gearbox Software, this time with info about Rath, a sci-fi samurai who wields three blades and can unleash devastating melee attacks.
MOBA games are quite popular nowadays thanks to massive projects like Dota 2 or League of Legends, but this also means that a lot of new titles aim at capturing some of that popularity in more or less successful ways.
Battleborn from Gearbox Software introduces a new twist in the series, as it portrays the intense MOBA action from a first-person perspective, borrowing quite a few things from the likes of other titles made by the studio, including Borderlands.
After receiving details about quite a few interesting characters in the game, GameInformer has dropped a lot of info about Rath, one of the melee-oriented heroes in Battleborn.
Described as a sci-fi samurai, Rath comes from the Jennerit Empire faction and wants to once again prove his skill on the battlefield after guarding the empress.
To do so, Rath uses not one, but three different swords. The main ones are katanas that are dual-wielded and can be used to slash in vertical or horizontal patterns. The vertical attacks are a bit slower but more powerful and you can chain them together for bonus combos.
Of course, Rath also has three abilities that are rather devastating, starting with Catalytic Smash. This skill causes Rath to jump into the air and slam his third and quite massive sword into the ground. The impact produces a Shockwave in front, and if it hits enemies, they're stunned and knocked into the air, allowing for Rath's teammates to swoop in and earn easy kills.
The second ability is named Crossblade and provides a ranged attack for Rath, as he crosses his katanas and emits an energy projectile that travels a short distance.
Genetic Syphon is the third ability that allows Rath to attack an enemy and absorb a portion of its health.
Rath's ultimate skill is called Dreadwind and it's practically the same as the Dota 2 Juggernaut's Blade Fury. It causes the hero to rotate quickly with his swords on the outside, dealing damage to enemies, and can even go after fleeing opponents while engaged in the whirlwind maneuver.
Overall, Rath seems like an interesting character, although it's going to be hard for the melee hero to survive in the game considering most other characters are armed with long range guns, bows, and other abilities.