The Battle Royale Genre
The year 2018 had a tremendous quality and quantity of games. Many new releases were put on the market, and some old titles got revamped and re-hyped. But, one game genre rocked 2018. This was the Battle Royale Genre. Many games were born and gained massive amounts of players throughout 2018. Some of these games include Fortnite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Realm Royale, Ring of Elysium, and Player Unknown BattleGrounds. However, Fortnite was the one that crushed the rest with its cartoony artwork and stellar design.
For those of you don’t know, Battle Royale games consist of a certain number of players being dropped onto an island. The goal is to be the last team standing. Around the island, there are compounds and buildings where you can find different guns and other items. Most games have a solo mode, and then some type of team mode. For example, Fortnite has solos (one person), duos (two people), or squads (3–4 people). They also have cycling LTMs, or limited time modes such as Solid Gold (all legendary weapons), etc. many other games copy this idea of having solo modes or team modes. This makes the game fun because it allows you to play with friends OR you can play with other random people. To be successful, you have to work as a team and have good communication. And, the team needs to be evenly balanced. Good/bad weapons need to be spread out among the team. We shall talk more about the “looting system” in the next paragraph.
In many Battle Royale games, there is a looting system. This means that you don’t just appear with your weapons. You need to run around and search for them, hoping to have good RNG. What is RNG? The RNG is basically, the randomness of the loot (weapons, ammunition, and other supplies) that you kind. It is the chance you will find a higher rarity weapon over a more common one. In most games, there is a tiered looting system. Legendary weapons are better than common ones. Generally, they will have high damage output rates, a faster reload time or a bigger clip. Understanding a games looting system is one of the most important things to know when you start a new game. Knowing the looting system will allow you to figure out which weapons are better than others. Also, many Battle Royale games have airdrops or supply crates that drop from the air throughout the game. These generally contain very good weapons and other weapons.
A new concept in video games that was introduced by the Battle Royale genre is the concept of choosing where you land. As mentioned, in Battle Royale games, you land somewhere on an island. This creates the question: Where do I land? There are typically many different and diverse places to land. There are cities that contain good loot, but these areas are typically hot spots for players. There are also smaller areas that have less loot but aren’t as populated. One might think as a new player, landing in the hot spots is a bad idea because you will die very quickly. Actually, one of the best ways to improve at a game is to land in these condensed areas. Why? It forces you to become better at the game. You experience many different situations that can improve you as a player. You are forced to fight other players, learn how to aim, and you start to understand how the looting system works. Landing in a less populated area won’t expose you to these situations, and you will continue to lose without gaining any progress on getting better at a game.
Now that we have covered some of the basics of the Battle Royale genre, let’s talk about sensitivity. No matter what shooter game you play, Battle Royale or not, sensitivity will play a huge role. What is sensitivity? Sensitivity is based on your hand-eye coordination. It is how fast your FOV (Field of view) of your character moves. What is the difference between high and low sensitivity you may ask? High sensitivity allows you to move where you are looking much faster. You can hit those 180-degree turn shotgun flick shots. But, it makes it much harder to aim long distance. See, low sensitivity allows you to make those precise hand movements to put your cursor on the target and to be able to hit the shoot. There is no “right” sensitivity. It is whatever works the best for you and allows you to be successful. You’ll have to experiment to find the sensitivity that you’re the most successful with.
How do you win games in Battle Royale? There is no easy way to win. You win by just playing the game. By playing, your aim and awareness improve. You get better at making decisions to win fights, and you learn which weapons you prefer and which ones are the best. The more you know your strengths and weaknesses, the better you’ll play. Not good at close range combat? Have items for movement and weapons for long range combat. Don’t like the burst assault rifle? Pick up the regular assault rifle. Not good at sniping and don’t want to get better? Avoid snipers, and make sure to call them out to your team. Having a good sniper can be a huge asset to your team. Another good tip is to always let your teammates know of good items and weapons that you find, because even know you may not need them, your teammate might. That little extra damage could change the tide of an entire fight! You get to know you and your team’s play style the more you play.
Well, now you know the basics of Battle Royale games! I encourage you to try them out, they are very fun and enjoyable. And, hopefully, by reading my article, you will have some of the necessary knowledge to get your first win! I wish you the best luck!
