Bellatores Preview

Bellatores comes from Korean developers with a clear goal: to make a faction-based PvP sandbox MMO that gives players a real medieval fantasy experience. The game is built on Unreal Engine 5 and isn't afraid to be compared to other games in the same genre, like New World or ArcheAge. 

You may have heard the hype about its faction wars, PvP arenas, and huge world, but does it live up to the hype? That's what you're here to learn. A lot of the story content in the beta is still hard for people who don't speak Korean to understand, but Bellatores puts you in a world where factions are fighting each other. You start by picking a faction. There were only two in the closed beta, but they plan to add five.

The red quests lead to a main story, but for the first part of the game, you'll mostly be talking to NPCs, sometimes going back and forth with the same ones for a long time. It's not the most exciting way to tell a story, especially when you want to get to the action. But if the developers add more details, the lore could become more interesting and engaging.

The story wants to create a strong sense of politics and territory. The story could turn into something more like a living, breathing war simulator, where your loyalty matters, since each faction is supposed to be in charge of a different area. But right now, questing is mostly just the same old MMO loop: talk to one NPC, walk ten feet, talk to another, and do it all over again. So far, it doesn't have any characters that stick with you or make you feel strongly. But localization and more in-depth storytelling might fix that.

From the first moment you play, Bellatores lets you dive into classic MMORPG systems like weapon mastery, crafting, faction loyalty, and exploring an open world. You can use any two weapons at once, and each one has its own skill tree and set of abilities that you can improve. You get these skill points by using the guns, which makes you want to stick with your favorites.

The game also has a deep talent system similar to Diablo IV. It starts at a central point and spreads out, opening up more unique traits. You won't be able to get the most out of it in one run; you'll have to make wise choices. A big part of progression is gathering, crafting, and processing materials. If you've played games like New World, these things will feel familiar.

You need to unlock certain levels to use more powerful weapons, and you can make better gear by collecting, crafting, and upgrading it. That being said, not everything makes sense right away. The UI is clean, but it's also very Korean, which can be confusing, especially if you don't know how these kinds of systems usually work in Eastern MMOs. There are a lot of tabs, icons, and subcategories in menus, which can take some time to get used to.

But the game makes more sense once you get into the groove. Bellatores is also different because it doesn't have traditional leveling. You don't level up your character; instead, you level up your weapon mastery, crafting skills, and gear tier. It's more about using your skills and roles to get better than it is about grinding XP bars.

Bellatores' combat system is like that of a modern action MMO. To attack, click the left mouse button; to dodge, click the right mouse button; and to use skills tied to your weapons, click the left mouse button. You can have up to 10 active skills with each weapon (with passives unlocking the extras), and switching between your two chosen weapons in the middle of a fight is easy. The variety of weapons is impressive—daggers, swords, hammers, orbs, spears, and even a healing ank—but the fighting is too slow right now.

When you start to fight, you'll notice a big problem: animation locking. When you attack, your character has to move, which makes it hard to change positions in the middle of a fight. Some players might like this slow tactical pace, but it can make your character feel like they're stuck in cement. It's not so much about being smarter than your opponent as it is about getting into a groove and hoping you don't miss. Welcome to the game world! There's room for fun here, but the system needs to change to prevent boredom.

You might also notice that the enemy AI isn't very aggressive. They usually move around in circles, attack in predictable ways, and don't put up much of a fight once you know how they work. Some mobs are put together at random, with no clear purpose, in fields. They seem to be waiting to be farmed instead of helping the world or the story. The enemies range from humanoids and goblin-like creatures to beasts. The early variety is good, but it's not clear how diverse or competent the enemies will be in the late game.

The good news is that the game rewards skill. You can unlock strategic depth if you learn how to use a weapon. Weapons that focus on AoE, like the orb, make it easier to farm mobs, while weapons that concentrate on dueling, like the spear or daggers, feel better. The bad thing is that a lot of these weapons feel weak while you're leveling up, which makes the game unbalanced and pushes you toward meta builds even before you get to PvP.

Combat also feels real; each hit has weight, and movement feels deliberate. Some people might like that, especially if you like battles that are slow and planned instead of fast and button-mashing. For some people, though, it might seem out of date. Every encounter needs to feel rewarding, especially in a game where you have to grind for dozens of hours. Right now, they don't quite hit that mark.

Instead of a traditional character level, progression is based on how well you use weapons and craft things. The more you use a weapon, the better it gets and the more nodes you can unlock in your ability tree. But to unlock higher-tier gear, you have to earn the right to use it. You aren't just grinding mobs for loot; you're grinding for the right to use that loot. Some people might think this system is too strict, but it ensures that not everyone can pick up the best gear and use it right away.

There are also levels for crafting and gathering. Everything, from mining to logging to skinning, fits into a bigger economy. Crafting stations let you make things like items, potions, and gear, but you usually have to process the raw materials first. It's an old system, but it fits the theme and gives you rewards for spending time on it.

Interestingly, progression isn't only linear. You will find that a lot of your power comes from being an expert. The game tells you to choose a weapon path, a gathering profession, and a combat style instead of trying to do everything. If you ever want to switch lanes, you might have to reroll or retrain, which could turn off some players who like to try new things.

Bellatores seems to sit in a strange middle ground. The lighting, especially at sunset or early in the morning, makes for beautiful moments. But the texture quality can be poor, especially on rocks and distant objects. The game was created in Unreal Engine 5, and it could look great with more work, but right now it doesn't feel right. Some parts look atmospheric and immersive, while others show rough, placeholder-level graphics.

The armor designs fit with the game's gritty medieval tone, and the character models are good. If you prefer realism over fantasy, you will like the look. That being said, the beta version's performance wasn't very stable. Frame rate drops occurred frequently, especially in crowded places. This could mean memory leaks or optimization issues that still need fixing.

If the developers improve texture quality across the board and make the game run better, it could look great even without trying to be too realistic. But for now, the art direction is good, not great, and some zones not matching up with others can break immersion at times.

Bellatores' sound design is simple and effective. It doesn't leave a lasting impression, but it complements the gameplay. Weapon swings and ability effects get good feedback, and sounds from the environment help you feel like you're in the game. Still, nothing in the audio landscape stands out. You won't be humming any of the theme or battle music later.

You might hear swords clashing, the sound of a forest, or the grunt of an enemy as they fall. But those times seem more like background noise than planned events. This might not be for you if immersive audio is essential. If Bellatores developers focus on these things in future updates, they could improve the game: a deeper musical identity, stronger audio cues during fights, and environmental sound effects that tell stories.

Bellatores is an ambitious PvP sandbox MMORPG with some exciting systems. The faction system could lead to huge wars, with PvP happening on massive open-world battlefields. The game world is split into territories for different factions, and fighting gets worse as you move into areas that are up for grabs. You can technically be attacked anywhere, but the complete layout of safe and neutral zones is still unknown.

If you like crafting, gathering, and leveling up your character through systems instead of loot boxes, this game has a lot of potential. The UI is clean and simple, with useful navigation tools and a clear system for tracking quests. It has built-in transmog and customization options, and right now there isn't a predatory cash shop, but that could change by launch.

But there are also several problems that you should pay attention to. Combat needs to be faster, more responsive, and smoother. Jumping and moving around feel stiff. Getting together feels strange and old. Because health doesn't regenerate, players have to spend extra time waiting, and mounts are hard to control, even though they look real. If you have the time, you might like some of these systems, but a lot of them make you leave before you even get to PvP.

Bellatores is still figuring out who it is. Is it a hardcore sandbox game? A casual PvP game? A game that lets you make things in a medieval setting? Right now, it tries to do a lot, but it doesn't do any of it very well. Not that it won't; there's real potential hidden under the clunkiness. There are bones there. The structure can hold something that lasts. But only if the developers are willing to fix what's broken, speed up what's slow, and clarify what's still unclear.

Bellatores needs attention right now, but it also requires time. You might be disappointed if you think this will be a genre-defining release. If you want to watch a game, test it, and help make it better, then keep this in mind. It will be up to how much work gets done between now and launch to see if it becomes the next big thing or a cult classic.