Lords Mobile

Lords Mobile
Developer(s)	IGG
Publisher(s)	IGG
Platform(s)	iOS, Android, Amazon
Release	February 26, 2016 (Android) March 30, 2016 (iOS) August 4, 2016 (Amazon)
Genre(s)	Strategy, massively multiplayer online game
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Lords Mobile is a MMORTS game developed and published by IGG. The game is free-to-play and offers in-app purchases. According to App Annie, the game is one of the top grossing apps (strategy) on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play. Official description of game states, that it has more than 65 million players around the world.

In 2016, Lords Mobile won the Google Play Awards for "Best Competitive Game",^[1] in 2017 it was nominated for "Best Multiplayer Game"^[2][3] and called "Android Excellence Game" by Google^[4].

Gameplay

Modes

Lords Mobile combines open-space RPG, Real-time strategy, and world-building mechanics. Its gameplay consists of several game modes. the most notable of which are PVP-battles. Players should develop their own base and build an army in order to attack enemy bases, destroy them, seize resources, and capture enemy leaders. Usually, players can attack only enemies from their own kingdom, but during the Kingdom War (KvK), all servers (sometimes, only one selected by system) are opened for attacks (excluding new servers which protected by shields). Players can attack monsters and other world bosses that periodically appear on the kingdom map in order to claim resources from them. In addition to the usual attacks, players can participate in contests, the purpose of which is to capture a location on the map, earning bonuses to either his or her profile or the guild he or she is a part of:

1. Wars for Wonders;
2. Feudal Wars;
3. Battle Royal.

View of battle field (attack of enemy's base)

The game also has several additional gameplay modes:

• Hero Stages - PvE-mode, the player fights through a series of challenges using unique Heroes. Completing the stages can earn the player new Heroes, Hero experience, and materials for Hero equipment.
• Colosseum - PvP-mode, the player, selects up to five Heroes and fights against another player’s preselected Heroes. Victories result in Hero experience and higher position on the Colosseum ranking. The game’s premium currency, Gems, is awarded to players based on their rank.
• The Labyrinth - PvE-mode, the player can challenge a boss in order to claim various resources and speed-up items. On occasion, players may earn a jackpot of Gems.

Attacks and defenses in the game require developed tactical and strategic thinking. The player should not only know which heroes to take into battle, what equipment to wear, but also be able to make quick decisions that are correlated with the current situation. Capturing locations (f.e. Wonders) requires in many respects the coordinated action of several players of one guild.^[5]

Guilds

Players can join or create guilds in order to collaborate with other players regardless of location. Guildmates are able to assist their allies with build time and research time. They can also earn rewards for their allies by defeating world monsters and making in-game purchases.^[5]

Characters

Lords Mobile features over 40 characters known as Heroes. They are divided into several types: Intelligent, Strong, Agile. All Heroes are unique with different skills, attributes, designs, and backgrounds. The strategy of the game assumes the need to improve these characters. Most of the Heroes are available through in-game purchase bundles while the game’s launch Heroes are all available by completing Hero Stages.^[5]

Reception

After its release, Lords Mobile received mostly positive reviews from critics, who noted that the developers managed to create a fascinating product with quality graphics. In his review for GameZebo Tom Christiansen pointed out that he barely made his way through the game's introduction. ("This sort of chore is typical (though to a lesser degree) in many mobile strategy games, but Lords Mobile has taken it to an extreme"). He called the "saving grace" a PvE mode in which players can control Heroes in real time and launch skills. However, the rest of the gameplay for him seemed like a routine job, from which he wished the developers to get rid.^[6]

Business and marketing

Lords Mobile banner in Hong Kong subway, 2017

The company conducts massive promotions in different parts of the world (in particular in China and South Asia): forms of marketing range widely from cooperation with a supermarket chain (Indomaret in Indonesia)^[7] to inviting famous Youtubers (f.e., Caster Wars in Thailand^[8][9]) and stars as representatives. The game's most notable celebrity endorsements are Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai (Cai Yilin),^[10][11][12], Korean actress Song Ji-hyo^[13][14] Japanese comedian Daisuke Miyagawa and gravure idol Rio Uchida.^[15]

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Lords Mobile official download page
• Lords Mobile official Blog