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Everything you need to know about Netmarble's upcoming MMO strategy title, Iron Thrones

Heading to mobile this week

Everything you need to know about Netmarble's upcoming MMO strategy title, Iron Thrones

This week, Netmarble and developer 4Plat are set to release the next big thing in the world of mobile —Iron Throne, a cinematic MMO strategy game with rich, tactical battles, a gripping story, and some fun city-building elements that feel like an entire game within a game rather than an afterthought.

In Iron Throne, your goal is to become king by defeating your enemies and forging sound alliances. Not only will you need to successfully navigate the game’s exciting single-player quests, you’ll also have to work with other real life players to increase your influence over the realms.

Conquer the darkness

Iron Throne takes a fun, accessible approach to strategy. Battles feature dozens of troops on the battlefield, and you can use as much or as little strategy as you want. Your different units—Infantry, Cavalry, Archers—operate on a rock, paper, scissors style wheel. Cavalry are strong against Archers, Archers are strong against Infantry, and Infantry beats out Cavalry. You can also bring in Siege troops to do sweeping damage from afar.

You’ll have a chance to scope out your opponent’s troops ahead of time, so you can fill your army with units that have an advantage before arranging them on the map strategically. You can also select a Hero to lead your troops into battle. These legendary characters have special powers, including the ability to summon fireballs or a hulking ogre, to knock out your enemies en masse.

All of this action plays out in three distinct battle modes. Dimensional Battle is the game’s story campaign. Featuring a colorful cast of characters and impressive cutscenes, they’re a great way to dive in as a beginner, and offer up excellent rewards for building out your kingdom.

For folks itching to get out and compete with other real-life players, Iron Throne’s Battle Royale mode pits you against 20 other players in a struggle to see who will be the last man standing. You’ll want to make sure your troops are prepared, and that you have your best strategies at hand if you want to make it to the top. Team Deathmatch battles, on the other hand, put you in an alliance with other players in 20vs20 battles. All players have the same stats and powers, which makes for fun co-operative combat on a huge scale.

Become a master craftsman

You can boost your troops’ and Heroes’ powers through the game’s in-depth crafting system. Using rewards you win in battle, along with the resources you collect from your town, you can create and upgrade armor and weapons. Equipping your Heroes with better armor will make you substantially stronger. Iron Throne features beautifully designed armor and weapon sets that will make you look incredibly intimidating on the battlefield, too. It’s great fun experimenting with different combinations to come up with an enviable set of armor and powerful, rare swords.

Staking your claim

All of that combat and crafting requires plentiful resources, which you’ll manage in your town when you’re not out fighting the forces of darkness. Build barracks to train new troops, cultivate the town’s surrounding fields, mine for ores, and construct hospitals to nurse any wounded soldiers back to health. As you expand, you’ll gain an ever increasing number of resources to help you expand your influence in the world.

You’ll also be able to upgrade your buildings, including the city walls and the Citadel itself - the impressive castle from which you rule. Upgrading your Citadel will increase your experience as Lord, increasing your resource production rates and battle prowess, while improving the city walls will help protect you from other players seeking to invade your town. You can prevent sieges by increasing the wall’s durability and placing traps to ward off unwanted intruders.

An MMO for the ages Iron Throne has rich resource management, it has settlement building, and it’s a complex, yet easily approachable strategy game all bundled into one. There’s a lot to soak in here, so if you’re looking for a deep MMO strategy title to seek your teeth into, this could be the one to beat.