Warborne Above Ashes, a Sci-Fi post-apocalyptic MMO with a heavy focus on PvP, recently concluded its 7-day playtest. In this MMO, you take on the role of Drifters – heroes acting as your classes – thrown into a futuristic world where your goal is to fight in a “relentless war of six rival factions”. While at first it looked like it was all about the big battles, the available content was expanded throughout the test, eventually showing some variety.
Progressive Content Release
On the first day, there was a level cap of 20, which went up incrementally throughout the playtest. I really liked this mechanism, because it kept players around the same level all along. Moreover, the daily grind to reach the max level was pleasant but reasonable, thus encouraging PvP moments. I hope they’ll keep this system for later phases, and even for the release, which is assumed to occur in 2025. As well as a higher level cap, new content was regularly introduced too.
Varied PvP Content
For instance, Veinhold Extraction was released later in the playtest. Designed for small-scale PvP (1v1 or 3v3), this objective-based arena invites you to build strategies around timed engagements. In addition, matches only open at scheduled intervals, which adds to the stakes. A unique twist comes from the Drifter system—you can respawn as different heroes mid-fight, adding unusual layers to team compositions and tactics. Positioned as a faster-paced alternative to Albion Online’s Hellgates, the mode emphasizes skillful play while offering faction-related rewards.
Warborne also offers its own version of solo dungeons. Unlike Albion, which this title shares A LOT with, Warborne did not separate solo and corrupted dungeons: when entering a dungeon, you can choose to either expose it or leave it closed. If left closed, no one can jump in and attack you, but if exposed, you get twice the amount of loot (even if no one comes forward).
This allows you to seek fights or better rewards to expose your dungeons, while having the option to stay safe if that’s what you are looking for. I find the way they’ve organized this content – again, very Albion-inspired – is clearer than in the latter. Generally speaking, Warborne is less cluttered, and we’re introduced to the different systems quite well.
New Player Experience
Indeed, Warborne Above Ashes offers a smooth new player experience, featuring an introduction that clearly explains core mechanics. This tutorial even includes simulated PvP fights (against bots) to immerse you in combat, alongside guidance on faction systems, Drift Marks – your mobile base – and gear customization. Unlike titles that dump you into open worlds unprepared, Warborne makes sure its players grasp essentials like Drifter abilities, mods, and faction warfare before diving into its 24/7 PvP battles.
Even so, there’s still room for improvement: I’m thinking, for example, of a polish on some UI elements and perhaps, extending the tutorial on certain features released post-first day. In any case, Warborne is a deep but accessible experience, which I think many players would appreciate!
Drifters and Customization
So far, I’ve mentioned several (strong) similarities with Albion, but one of the biggest differences you will notice right from the start is the “class-like” system, called The Drifters. During this playtest, there were already more than 20 different Drifters available, each with a unique theme and ability that changes how your gameplay works. You can mix The Drifters with any weapons and gear sets you like, giving an impressive amount of character designs and team compositions. Still, note that gear plays a central role in customizing your build, notably through the abilities and passives you choose.
Additionally, there are stats gained from leveling up and a research center that can be used to research different skills and stats for your character. As a Drift Master, you have control of up to three Drifters – essentially distinct characters that can be given different gear. In most PvP situations, if one character dies, you can respawn in the same area as one of your other Drifters, basically giving up to three lives in different content.
Drift Marks: Mobile Bases
A large part of this content takes place in the open world of Warborne Above Ashes, where your Drift Marks serve as your personal and guild mobile bases. These hubs offer access to crafting stations, storage, and teleportation to the Bazaar – Warborne’s marketplace. You can relocate your Drift Marks to adapt to shifting battlefronts, though a fuel system limits movement range. Drift Marks can also be compromised by enemy factions, with destruction causing a retreat to starter zones.
Guilds (called Warbands) deploy larger Drift Marks to coordinate events, construct siege equipment like demolition robots, and exert territorial control. However, defenses like laser turrets around clustered Drift Marks can create hazardous zones, complicating enemy navigation during conflicts. These mobile bases blend survival mechanics with large-scale PvP, allowing you to leave tangible impacts on the world
Partial Loot System
If enemies can compromise your bases, you can imagine that your character can be too. However, Warborne is technically not ‘full loot’. When you die, you drop half of your inventory and one random piece of gear from your gear sets. For multiple Drifters, one piece of gear drops from each. This system avoids feeling overly punished in case of death.
There’s a certain amount of luck involved, since some parts (your weapon, for instance) are worth more than others. Nevertheless, I think it incentivizes us to try to gear up as best we can, since we only partially lose our stuff. Whereas in a full loot MMO, we’re more likely to compromise between gear quality and price when going PvP, given that we’re susceptible to losing everything.
All in all, I think this change bodes well for PvP. I look forward to seeing how players take to it as higher-level (and therefore probably more expensive) tiers of gear are unlocked.
Combat Gameplay
Aside from the good balance they seem to have found with the losses/profits to be made from gear drop, another incentive for us to go head-to-head is the combat gameplay itself. As I’ve said on several occasions, Warborne is very similar to Albion in many respects, and the combat gameplay is no exception.
You control your character in a top-down perspective (as in a MOBA), and have six active abilities at your disposal. I found the low cooldown time of these abilities very pleasing, helping to maintain a high level of dynamism during encounters. Furthermore, although Warborne is based on a target system, most of these abilities are skill shots, which, in my opinion, feel really satisfying.
Overall, Warborne’s combat gameplay is dynamic and impactful. It’s clearly among the positive features of the title. I’d even go so far as to say that Warborne’s gameplay has nothing to be ashamed of compared to its competitors. Although they’ve designed an MMO that’s very similar in structure to Albion, I get the impression that the developers paid particular attention to make the combat gameplay attractive, probably in an attempt to stand out. In my opinion, this mix of accessibility in the systems discovery and interactivity in its gameplay is a pay-off strategy.
Faction Warfare and Seasonal System
In this context, confrontations occur between six factions – Ashen, Sirius, Emberwild, Magnates, Ironcreed, and Shroud. In this playtest, only two of them were available, but we’ve already seen that each has its own characteristics. The next playtest, slated for April, is set to expand the role of these factions to feature “epic wars with thousands of players”. This faction system encourages the creation of social dynamics between individuals, groups and guilds converging towards common interests.
I appreciate that through factions, developers take care to incorporate a structure for players who won’t be part of guilds, without yet neglecting the latter. Online worlds are made up of many types of player, so making sure that each and every one of them can find a group to play with, regardless of their involvement, is always a good idea. If not, a vital factor in the long-term viability of the said world.
Seasons
These faction clashes take place over the course of a month-long seasonal cycle, with the map resetting after each ‘war’. This system aims to prevent the long-term domination of a given faction, while at the same time providing an opportunity to renew the experience by shifting allegiances and potentially introducing new features.
Even though it’s understandable that there’s an interest in regularly reshuffling the factions (similarly to what Foxhole does with its campaigns), this raises questions in the context of an MMO – where players traditionally come to settle long-term. This is not without echoing the Once Human situation, which recently backed away from its temporary server only policy, and is now running permanent servers as well.
Only time will tell how these seasons will work for Warborne Above Ashes. Will we have to restart the whole progression from scratch? Will it only affect faction affiliation? From my perspective, it’s very important to find the right balance here, as an MMO is normally embodied in a persistent world, and that’s what Warborne future players might be expecting.
Scorch Forge City
The ultimate stake of a season is set in Scorch Forge City, the heart of Warborne Above Ashes. Presumably, “whoever conquers the central Scorch Forge City first is the true supreme ruler of this season”. The conquest of Scorch Forge City represents an achievement at both faction and guild levels. Although victory appears on the faction’s seasonal record, the most effective guilds will likely receive exclusive rewards! This two-level system ensures that every faction member benefits from the capture of Scorch Forge, right down to the guilds that earn both prestige and loot.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed those 7 days on Warborne Above Ashes. Discovery has been made easy by the level of accessibility that developers have established. Gameplay, both in terms of activity loop and combat dynamism, lived up to my expectations. I didn’t mention it in the article, but performance were also very good for PvP battles of this scale (maybe up to hundreds of players).
Naturally, at this stage the balancing was far from perfect, yet this was merely a technical playtest. Even so, developers still made small adjustments to refine testers’ experience. I’m particularly enthusiastic about the idea of a massively PvP MMO putting factions at the heart of its gameplay. Factions, as social structures, offer Pick-Up players a way of spontaneously fitting in (which mass PvP modes in MMOs sometimes lack).
Despite all these positive aspects, there’s still one big mystery surrounding Warborne Above Ashes, namely its monetization. For now, we only know that the title will be F2P. Unfortunately, we have no guarantees as to the nature of the microtransactions that will feature in the store. I’m convinced that this MMO holds great potential for PvP enthusiasts, but if I had to say one thing to the devs, it’d be that P2W (or P2F and so on…) schemes could be a big turn-off.
For those who might be interested, a one-month larger-scale (6 factions) playtest has just been announced for April 24. To take part, it’s as simple as requesting access on the Steam page!
