Trove Hands-On Impressions at PAX East 2017

By Kevin Mitchell Posted on March 14, 2017

With a handful of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) under their belt, Trion Worlds officially released Trove on consoles today. It has already been available on PC since mid-2015. At PAX East 2017, I was able to go hands-on with the PlayStation 4 build of the game, playing online with others in the open beta.

A voxel MMO, Trove focuses not only on players being able to build their own house, but features plenty of dungeons for players to explore and fight massive bosses with their friends or random players. The main hub world gives you access to all of the game’s different worlds, separated by various themes and difficulties. Instead of a hard limit on the number of players inside each instance, Trove features a soft cap. This flexibility allows friends to join you even if the cap is reached.

As a free-to-play title, Trove does feature purchasable currency that can be used in the in-game store to unlock new dragons, costumes, and more. It was stressed during the presentation, that the developers would not implement anything that could be considered pay-to-win. The game heavily focuses on loot being a key component to the game. Think of it as a voxel-based Diablo, complete with a robust style system to alter the appearance of any of your equipment.

The developer account I was playing on had hundreds of items, so I was able to get a sneak peek at some of the most sought-after items in the game. From ice dragons to a raptor with a monocle, there are dozens of possible mounts to help you navigate the voxel-based environments. After familiarizing myself with the controls, I was directed towards the nearest dungeon. With my two swords, in this case looking like two harmless tree branches, I made my way into a small underground dungeon.

There are 14 playable classes, with standard attack mapped to the R2 button. You can also trigger special abilities, such as a whirlwind attack or summoning a giant ice crystal, giving you plenty of combat options. You start the game with a single class unlocked, but you can spend either in-game currency or real-life currency to unlock additional classes. Trove is very generous on what you earn in-game, so don't feel pressured to purchase gems since you can earn just about anything in-game without paying a dime. Even if you see a costume for sell, there is a good chance it is available via the trading system for in-game credit.

I only spent a couple of minutes in “build mode,” allowing you to destroy and freely place blocks. No matter what realm you travel to, you can instantly trigger your custom built home to appear on set places in the world called cornerstones. Outside of the game world, Trion Worlds takes submissions for community created content. After only fifteen minutes in the game, I found community created loot in both treasure chests and dropped from destroyed foes.

Although I enjoyed scrolling through the hundreds of items in the game unlocked on the developer account, I am more excited to see what I can find in the final release. It seems that Trove is heavily focusing on loot, and anyone that knows me knows that I consider myself a "loot whore." The team here at SelectButton will be heading into the voxel world of Trove very soon.