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Battleborn game modes and first heroes detailed

More information on Battleborn is expected to be revealed around E3, but 2K Games and Gearbox are getting the party started today with new details on the game's story and competitive modes, as well as the game's first handful of playable heroes.

Ozzie Mejia

June 4, 2015 5:00 AM

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It's almost been a year since 2K Games and Gearbox Software first unveiled Battleborn, the blend of first-person shooting and loot-grabbing RPG. While 2K and Gearbox are promising a grand presence at this year's E3, today they're revealing some new information about the game. Specifically, they're revealing some new game modes.

The game's Story Mode will see players venture out to save the last star in the universe, called Solus, from a mysterious evil. The story can be played solo or with up to three other friends, either online or locally via split-screen. Parties can be comprised of any combination of a massive roster of 25 heroes. All of these characters can be built up persistently through something called the Helix System, in which characters can level up from 1 to 10 in a single story mission. That basically means all characters can max out their abilities in the course of a single mission or multiplayer session. Missions can also be replayed for better loot later down the line.

Battleborn will also feature three competitive multiplayer modes. Incursion is a tower defense horde mode that sees players band together, along with their army of minions, to protect their base from enemies. Devastation is a deathmatch mode that has teams battling to capture and hold territories. Then there's Meltdown, which sees teams guard minions and lead them to the center of the map, where they proceed to incinerate themselves. The team with the most sacrificial lambs wins. Five factions will be battling it out in multiplayer and those factions include the protectors known as the Peacekeepers, the preservers of order known as the Eldrid, the mercenaries known as the Rogues, the profiteers known as the Last Light Consortium (LLC), and the powermongers called the Jennerit Empire.

Finally, the first handful of the game's heroes have been revealed. They are:

• Montana - The hard-drinking brute that owns the battlefield with his minigun. Montana can use both fire and ice, but can also use a hard shoulder tackle in a pinch.
• Oscar Mike - A cloned soldier with the instincts to match, Oscar Mike brings the UPR-AR7 Assault Rifle and UPR-MkII Battle Augmented Deflective Armor Stealth Suit (yes, that acronym is indeed BADASS) to battle.
• Thorn - The last of the aelfrin, Thorn avenges her fallen people with her trusty bow and advanced Eldrid magic.
• Miko - Another sole survivor of her race, Miko is a mushroom-like creature that uses spores as support for her teammates. As for her enemies, she'll mow them down with sharp kunai.
• Rath - Often mistaken for a vampire, Rath is the mightiest swordsman to grace the Jennerit Empire. His three-energy blades have taken him far in life, all the way to the elite guard.
• Orendi - Best described as a chaos witch, Orendi uses her chaos magic to bring unpredictable results to battle and to her enemies.
• Marquis - The gentlemanly Marquis served as a butler in the old days, but the robotic servant has since become a deadly sniper, using his cane to take aim at his foes. He also has a mechanical owl named Hoodini at his side. You know, for the Clash of the Titans fans out there.
• Phoebe - The aristocratic Phoebe may look like a pompous princess on the surface, but she carries a mean sabre called Addonexus and has blended together magic and technology to make her a truly formidable presence.
• Caldarius - Caldarius rarely loses in close quarters, having been raised in the Jennerit Fighting Pits. With enhanced J-HTX Assault Frame armor, he's clearly positioned himself as one of Battleborn's toughest tank characters.
• Boldur - A dwarf with a temper as short as he is, Boldur the Unbearable carries a hefty axe forged by powerful runes.

This is scratching the surface, so look for more information about Battleborn to come during E3 in just a couple of weeks. Battleborn is shooting for a winter release on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 for $59.99.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?