Panzar

Game overview

Released in 2013, Panzar is a team-based arena PvP MMO that features eight fantasy RPG classes to pick from, and players can fight on a large variety of maps and modes . Panzar is incredibly polished, and its 3D game play emphasizes on skillful combat that's made interesting thanks to the unique skill abilities of each class that resembles an MMORPG or fantasy RPG game. Expect a group composition to comprise of Tanks, damage dealers, healers and even support roles.

While game play is fun and addictive , the semi-low population causes long queues, especially on non prime time. The in-game cash shop on the other hand is a refreshing take on paying to progress , as Panzar's progression revolves around spending time to enhance your class, and not paying for items outright. Overall, Panzar is still a stellar game that could benefit from a shot in the arm and new players.

➔ Main points:

• PvP team focused arena combat matches
• Offers PvE in addition to lengthy tutorials to help integrate new players
• Eight fantasy style class archetypes to play, each with unique skills and progressions
• No traditional combat targeting which ensures realistic gameplay
• Pay to progress faster as opposed to pay to win

Full review

Intro

Panzar uses realistic combat aiming to test the player's reactions and skill in combat

For a team-based PvP MMO that was released in 2013, Panzar is one of those games that have been flying under the radar. In Panzar, players can play as eight fantasy archetype classes and jump into both PvP modes or PvE adventures to grow their class in a variety of ways. For new players, your adventure begins with the tutorials. The game has unnecessarily long tutorial sessions that can take up to thirty minutes to complete. The bright side is that they are specific to your chosen class and you can skip them entirely but it is suggested to play through them if it is your first time.

The key thing to note about Panzar is that it is strictly and primarily a PvP MMO. The game is built around having two teams battle it out on highly detailed fantasy setting maps, and players of each class archetype will fill in the roles of each team. This almost makes it feel like you're in an MMORPG raid, except you're fighting a team that consists of other real players.

Gameplay in PvP and PvE

What makes Panzar stand out from other third-person PvP games is that it is only one of a handful that offers fantasy style combat. It's definitely not an FPS game, and that's a huge plus. The combat is reminiscent of single player RPG games that emphasizes skill and knowledge of your class's abilities in combat. The fact that there are no traditional combat targeting also makes Panzar a realistic combat game, as players must manually aim by facing their opponents to deal damage, or heal allies. This is what the game play mechanics are like in PvP. There are a host of maps to play matches on, and the popular modes include Domination and Point Control, whereby teams must control the center of the map or take objectives within a time limit to win. Team work is also highly encouraged, which accentuates the abilities of each team's composition of classes, which will be explored in the following section.

On the PvE front, Panzar also rewards players who dislikes PvP but wants to team up to tackle the AI. PvE Adventures are procedurally generated maps where player teams can combat AI opponents to win matches, and doing so successfuly rewards players with the same benefits from winning PvP matches. These includes gold for currency, class experience points and crafting materials.

Classes and Replay Value

The gear and itemization progressions are individual to each class and will keep players busy

One of the best things about Panzar is how the game makes use of its eight class system. Each class is designed in a way to reflect classes that players are familiar with from playing fantasy RPG games or MMORPGs. There's Tanks as damage absorbers, Inquisitors as rogues, Paladins as healers, and these are just a few that are great examples of the holy trinity from the MMO genre. Each of the eight classes comes with its own unique skills and skill trees, where players can unlock more combat abilities and passive abilities to improve the class as they gather more skill points from leveling up through matches.

Better yet, regardless of which class you play, team matches are designed in a way to ensure that the team is filled with each of the eight classes, which makes it truly feel like a raid. You'll have healers, support, DPS and Tanks and if played with team work and cohesion, it should dictate the outcome of the match. Balancing is a work in progress however, as even now there are complaints that some classes are more overpowered compared to others, but the matchmaking system does a good job of ensuring that you are paired with and against players of the same combat effectiveness, depending on what gear you have on you.

The game truly shines when all the pieces - the eight classes - come together seamlessly in matches to create action packed moments that are driven by the player's skill in combat based on the understanding of their classes, instead of how much money they've spent.

Progression, Crafting and the Store

And speaking of gear in Panzar, it does play a huge part in the game's progression. Similar to many fantasy RPG games, crafting new gear is a big part when it comes to progression, and it's refreshing to see the game make use of this. Every match completion will award you with crafting resources. These will be used in the Store section to craft new gear for your class, and there's plenty of gear slots to fill, from head to toe, weapons and even accessories. It's safe to say that when you include the other classes you have yet to play, there's a lot of work to do and progression will be a long term journey which increases the game's replay value.

There's also the option to buy premium time for real money. This offers boosts to XP gains, currency gains and more. Most of the in-game purchases also mitigates progression delays, which means that players can pay to progress faster. There will be items that increases crafting success chance for example, among other things but it's good to note that you cannot buy gear outright from the store.

Is Panzar Worth Playing?

The fantasy setting is plastered in high detail in all the maps which will remind you of familiar RPG fantasy worlds

If you love fantasy games with emphasis on class archetypal combat systems, Panzar is definitely worth playing. The game truly shines when all the pieces - the eight classes - come together seamlessly in matches to create action packed moments that are driven by the player's skill in combat based on the understanding of their classes, instead of how much money they've spent. It's a real surprise that the game's population and popularity isn't as high as you'd think. Some regions are locked which means not many players can access the game on Steam, which could be a factor as to why the in-game population isn't as high.

But overall, Panzar checks both PvE, PvP and progression boxes to offer both short term and long term fun for players that are seeking a fantasy-filled team based adventures.