Nexus Battlegrounds

Nexus Battlegrounds is a 2022 Third-Person Action Multiplayer Online Battle Arena developed by CCogStudios, Riot Games, PopCap Games and Ubisoft, and published by Electronic Arts. It is a crossover game, spanning various franchises (predominantly video games), and was release for the computer, phone, and Nintendo Switch.

General
Similar to other games of the same genre like Pokémon Unite and Heroes of the Storm, Nexus Battlegrounds is a MOBA game where players can take control of a champion from one of two different teams, Heroes or Villains. This take is similar to the common trope of "good guys vs. bad guys" commonly found in video games and movies, and also takes inspiration from the Garden Warfare series with two teams fighting one another with their own motifs as opposed to any character being able to fight.

Not every match will be themed around the heroes fighting the villains, however, as certain game modes will have heroes pitted against heroes or villains fighting villains so not every match will be the exact same.

Characters
All characters have a basic attack, a set of three abilities, and an ultimate which requires active participation in a match. All basic attacks, and damaging abilities depend on the attack style (melee or ranged) of the champion in play, as well as if the attacks are physical or special, and this drastically changes the way champions interact with one another. Ultimate abilities are abilities that charge up over time, whether through passively charging up or through active participation, and when used will affect the battlefield and champions before the percentage drops back down to 0%.

Matches
Matches are team-based, with two teams of six fighting with one another through one of three lanes, while also completing objectives such as pushing carts or destroying the enemy forts. During matches, players earn credits while dealing damage, healing, blocking attacks or completing objectives. With enough credits, players can upgrade any of their three abilities up to a maximum of two times each whenever they are in the spawn zones or after levelling up. Each ability has two upgrade branches, chosen on their first upgrade which determines what the second ability upgrade will provide. Players earn XP through killing enemy champions or minions, or even through jungle monsters.

Computer-controlled characters spawn in two categories, minions and monsters. Minions spawn from both bases, every 30 seconds, and multiple groups spawn for each lane which they head down and help storm the enemies and clash with enemy minions. There are four types of minions: Melee Minions, Ranged Minions, Leader Minions and Catapult Minions. Every 60 seconds, minions grow to the next level and become stronger over time which helps them whittle down their opponents.

The other category is Monsters, creatures who hang around in the grassy areas surrounding the lanes and roam around, attacking any hero or villain who get close. They give out loads of XP when killed, and respawn every once in a while.

Champions
Champions are the playable characters of Nexus Battlegrounds, and are first divided by their alignment (Heroes or Villains), and are then divided again by attack style and role. Currently, there are ?? champions, with ?? Heroes and ?? Vilains.

Every champion has an attack style, one of two which affects how good they are at killing champions:


 * Melee: Melee attackers are close-ranged fighters who get in nice and close to the action.
 * Ranged: Ranged attackers keep a safe distance from fights while at the same time putting in their own work.

Each champion belongs to one of six classes: Assassin, Bruiser, Skirmisher, Support, Tank, and Zoner. Each class has a different style of playstyle which gives players a general feel of how they should work with the hero, although it's not a super strict system.

Assassin
Assassins are incredibly mobile champions who pick off high-priority targets. They're not great at taking too much damage, but they love a good hit and run.

Bruiser
Bruisers wade into battles and can take hits while dishing them out. They aren't mobile like assassins, but they're good at harassing the enemy.

Skirmisher
Skirmishers are champions who initiate team fights

Support
Supporters heal, boost and protect their teammates with everything they have. They're quite fragile, but they can provide good utility across the board.

Tank
Tanks take charge by stepping to the frontline and absorbing incoming damage. They're not good at attacking, but they're great at dictating team fights.

Zoner
Zoners create unsafe spaces for enemies, discouraging them from advancing

Punishment Systems
In all forms types of online games, many people suffer the irritation of people "rage-quitting" or going "AFK", so Nexus Battlegrounds has designed a system that will hopefully prevent people's games from being ruined by toxic behaviours.


 * People who stay in their spawn for at least 1 minute, 30 seconds will have their champion taken over by an AI, who will play the game with that character while the original player can only watch or leave (points will not be given to them)
 * People who remain inactive for at least 1:00 will also have their champion taken over by an AI.
 * The first two systems are put into play so as to not punish the rest of the team for player actions, and also so as to not be too harsh to anyone who would unintentionally be forced out of the game.
 * People who disconnect from the game at any time during the match, whether through purposeful or unwilling disconnection, will have their champions taken over by an AI. Players who leave will suffer a penalty no matter what, however.

Trivia

 * Nexus Battlegrounds was originally a third-person shooter game called Project Atlas, but the creator decided that a MOBA would be better suited for a crossover, much like Heroes of the Storm.