Hands On In Arena of Valor Switch Closed Beta

Nintendo Switch are stepping it up in the second half of this year by adding competitive titles of all genres such as battleroyale phenomenon Fortnite and hero shooter title Paladins. Enter Arena of Valor, the stunningly successful MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) currently available officially on mobile.

Known in China as “Honor of Kings” with over 200 million players Arena of Valor is a free to play title that shares a classic format similar to League of Legends, Smite or Dota 2. Select your battle: Ranked Match, Standard Match, Custom Match and Arcade. Choose a match type: 5v5, 3v3 and 1v1. Then select a hero: there are currently 34 available though you start with a select few.

There was an application that is now closed for closed beta which is running until July 12th but many Twitch streamers are out in full force handing out keys. So whats it like to play? I have played it on mobile extensively though I admit once I heard it was coming to Switch I stopped playing knowing I would prefer to play it on my newest console that has a bigger screen than my iPhoneX.

Was it worth the wait?

In closed beta phase I can honestly say no it’s not but it is only closed beta. Understand I have a phone that is top of the line for graphics so Nintendo Switch’s Nvidia X1 chip makes minimal difference to me which may be the cause of low optimization I am experiencing. Load times are long, though menu’s switch smoothly while actual game play lags frequently which is always worrying for an Esports title or if you enjoy playing MOBA’s as strategically as possible.

The controls take a little getting used to which is natural, but after days in standard mode (because the lag I am experiencing is deterring me from going into ranked I have seen minimal improvement in making tactical choices) I’m still just clicking aimlessly hoping something works which is not how I play any other MoBA or AoV on mobile. Yet to try playing docked, I’m not sure how I will be able to knowing I can’t ping the map if I need to leaving me wondering what the priorities will be before launch. These experiences aside, it is very helpful now that spending points load automatically which helps new or readjusting players as they get use to the game on Nintendo Switch. You can turn this feature off when you’d prefer to customize your hero’s how you want, as you earn currency.

Is Arena of Valor on Nintendo Switch worth switching to?

Definitely, YES! Arena of Valor is the best MOBA out there. I am confident updates will see Arena of Valor maintain its competitive edge for the Esports scene on Nintendo Switch as Tencent Games also branch into battleroyale plus recently launched “football fever,” a weekend event celebrating the FIFA World Cup proving genuine commitment to bringing players solid updates. What is also worth noting is this is the first game that makes me want to set my Nintendo Switch up completely so I can experience this game on my monitor/television for launch in Autumn 2018.

Time to get back in and spend the last few days of closed beta jumping into ranked matches on my boy LuBu while trying to acquire Butterfly in her new skin, without an ounce of doubt Valhein will continue to reign supreme as MVP king!