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Orcs Must Die Unchained beta enters second phase

The free-to-play multiplayer tower defense, Orcs Must Die Unchained, is entering Phase 2 of its beta and that brings along a lot of changes.

Ozzie Mejia

March 25, 2015 9:25 AM

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After taking the most recent incarnation of the Orcs Must Die Unchained beta to this year's PAX East, developer Robot Entertainment is ready to shift the beta into its second phase. Phase 2 launches today and brings along with it a heavy dose of changes and balance tweaks.

While the patch notes are fairly extensive, here are some of the changes that are in store for players:

• Bosses now spawn during minion waves (starting when a Warcamp gets to level three)
• There is an entirely new weaver model for character upgrades
• Heroes level and become more powerful during matches
• Combat is more interesting and is easier to parse
• Hero abilities have been completely reworked
• Players can now customize their Hero builds with traits that can benefit heroes and or teammates.
• Cliffside Clash (2 Lane Map) has been refined, and a new Orc-themed map called Unchained Fortress has been added
• Ranged combat is far more rewarding and players will have an easier time fighting off other heroes with ranged abilities
• Card packs and gibs have been replaced with a simple, direct "purchase with skulls" system
• There are numerous new Traps including Grinders and Barricades
• The offensive and defensive jobs are split up now, allowing far more control and strategy around Trap-building and Minion-leading roles players want to pursue
• The Minion model is brand-new. A large number of uninteresting choices (particularly with some Minions, items, and Traps) have been replaced by gameplay elements that make matches more interesting

Those looking to sign up for the Orcs Must Die Unchained beta can register on the game's website. Orcs Must Die Unchained is set to release in full later this year on PC and PlayStation 4.

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?