MOBA fans who were tired of the toxic, repetitive gameplay of long-standing titles might remember Paragon, the 3rd person, skill-shot, MOBA with better-looking graphics than any other on the market. Fans lost hope for it to return when it was shut down in 2018, but now Omeda Studios has bought the rights to Paragon and has renamed it Predecessor, and is already making progress in returning the title to its full glory.
Although Predecessor very much resembles Paragon, there are a lot of changes and removals that may upset returning fans. The first and most obvious is the severe lack of heroes. When Paragon was shut down in early 2018, it left a roster of 37 heroes, whereas Predecessor picks up only 20 of the original roster. According to Omeda’s development roadmap, they plan on returning “old favourites” but have also already introduced a new hero, “the Huntress.” While some fans are annoyed with having to wait behind original characters to play their mains from 2018, others are excited to see what direction Omeda Studios takes to make Predecessor stand out.
Another more obvious change Predecessor makes is the shape and size of the map. Not only do they include a tutorial map consisting of one lane (still only available as a tutorial map, but leaves hopes of a future 3v3 game mode) but the three-lane map familiar to all MOBA players takes on a larger jungle with more monsters and buffs to pick up. Along with the larger jungle is an increase in the tiered level design, with rising ledges only accessible to some heroes, making escapes and chases more varied. This change makes Predecessor unique in terms of the popular three-lane system and could help them dominate the genre.
In their effort to make Paragon look more and more like a traditional MOBA, Paragon’s old card system is now replaced with a store, containing upgradeable relics and items focused on increasing certain hero stats. This is probably one of Predecessor’s biggest changes in terms of gameplay, but it may do more harm than good as it becomes increasingly comparable to more popular, free MOBAs like SMITE and League of Legends. While the road map contains numerous goals to increase performance and flesh out the roster, it looks like the core mechanics are here to stay.
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Matthew has been a lifelong lover of video games since he could first hold a controller, and among his favorites are narrative-heavy, singleplayer games like; Divinity: Original Sin 2, Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Hollow Knight. Matthew also plays tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and Call of Cthulu. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s in Sociology and minored in English.
