Lord of Heroes Gameplay Impressions | Anime RPG Without Hero Gacha

Let's take a look at Lord of Heroes, a new anime hero collector RPG that just released globally. Look past the seemingly generic name and you’ll find one of the best games of its genre… Wait, on second thought, it kinda makes sense, since you are the lord of Avillon and must recruit knights to defend your kingdom. And guess what? No character gacha! Yep, that’s right, you can recruit your favorites with a 100% chance. Watch the video below to learn more about our Lord of Heroes gameplay impressions.

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The lack of character gacha is a game changer, but this doesn’t mean that you don’t have to recruit heroes, level up and upgrade them, to six stars maximum in this case. The way that you get heroes to join your cause is by progressing in the main story or purchasing them with in-game currency, such as 3,000 or 6,000 crystals, or various amounts of Renown, this being a type of currency that you earn by conquering territories. It’s a different system alright, one that still requires you to explore every path within your reach, but at least it puts the gacha randomness to rest. Gear gacha remains in the game, but my advice is that you take advantage of the free pulls and save your currency to recruit new heroes in the Chronicles, of which there are more than 30, with a few variations thrown into the mix.

There are other ways to get new heroes such as contracts. You get to choose one hero from a select few and then you must log in every day for the duration of the contract, let’s say 15 days for the first hero, 30 days for the next… If you miss one day, the contract is void and no soup for you… I mean, no hero for you. This is a surefire way of getting a much-desired five-star hero such as Lairei, you should grab the chance because you will beat yourself up if you don’t.

What initially drew me into Lord of Heroes was the cool art style. It’s a crisp and bright anime design that shines throughout, with units that feel varied and suited to their unique positions. For a nice change, the female characters aren’t overly sexualized. The skill animations are astonishing, with a significant amount of posing and boasting thrown in for good measure. The graphics are really good, and that aspect alone will hit harder when you face colossal creatures in Raids or the Primeval Halls for the first time.

You get to pick from Guardian, Striker, Cleric, Sniper, and Warrior classes, with different elements such as fire, earth, water, dark, and light playing their usual roles. Once you get used to the medieval anime conqueror style, which is a neat idea, you begin to see what else there is to the game. One of the things that adds a welcome layer of strategy is the ability to switch between four formations. You do have to increase your lord level before unlocking all of them, something that won’t happen overnight, but once you do, you can get some boosts according to the layout of your party of five. You can pick units for the frontline and backline, with an offensive formation increasing the rate of survival for all heroes, while a defense strategy is meant to save the single unit in the back from harm. Or, in other words, Charlotte or Vanessa.

Equipping your heroes with valuable gear greatly increases their rating and survivability. There are six slots to fill: weapon, chest, gloves, boots, ring, and necklace, with the option to upgrade equipment with gold. The higher the piece, the bigger is the chance of failure, but you must do it often to stay relevant in PvE and PvP. Player versus player takes place in the Colosseum, where you must establish both an attack and defense team.

There are other things that you must master, such as understanding that you earn Spirit points when your heroes attack or suffer significant blows, and how this will be used to deliver their ultimate, a.k.a. Burst Skill. Assists are another important part of the game, as one hero lends the help of a teammate for a cooperative strike, although for the most part these seem to occur randomly – there’s a higher chance for it to happen if your enemy’s health is high. A devastating attack is the Chain Burst, which happens when two heroes simultaneously use their Burst Skills. Finally, keep an eye out for each hero’s Speed stat because this is going to affect the action gauge, ultimately determining how fast they get a turn in battle.

Well, this is almost turning into a Lord of Heroes beginner’s guide, so let me fill you in on other stuff. The Primeval Halls is where you’ll find special dungeons to farm specific promotion or experience materials, with many floors of increasing difficulty; You can – and should – dispatch your heroes on expeditions, and they will return after a few hours with tons of valuable experience and items; Make sure that you always fulfill your monarch obligations by solving political issues, which will swiftly turn into a mere case of choosing this or that reward; Join an alliance as soon as the option unlocks, because you’ll earn tons of rewards from your fellow members without breaking a sweat.

In closing, this is a really good hero collector RPG, with more than enough strategies to use in the battlefield. I’m enjoying the lack of a hero gacha, although that doesn’t mean that there is no grind to it – you must auto-replay battles to earn those precious materials, experience, and gold. I’ve been playing it everyday for nearly a month now and I’ve been ogling a few heroes for a while now – Charlotte is great, but Vanessa’s healing skills are quite the catch. If you're a fan of the genre, you can't go wrong with this one.

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