Paladins Is Now Available As A Free Download On Switch

I don't like seeing free-to-play's on Switch. Pretty soon it will be riddled with it, and we will have to carefully read every title to avoid it.

@Jasspur PS4/XB1/PC has those free-to-play games too so what's your point? Sorry but the Switch isn't some special console where it's premium games only.

Downloading now!

@Jasspur free to play isn’t always a bad thing. Sure, Pokemon Quest wasn’t amazing, but I sunk 20+ hrs in nevertheless. Nintendo’s sushi game should’ve been free to play, and Fortnite, Arena of Valor and Paladins aren’t crappy games. Yes, not all F2P are great, but why be worried about good F2P titles?

Downloading now thanks.

I have yet to play this type of game, and while I "could" be playing Fortnite, I'm just to busy playing other stuff. I'll still give this a whirl now, maybe I'll like it.

@Fake-E-Lee Is Leroy Jenkins in there too?

Downloading it now. See you guys online!

@Jasspur @hieveryone I think he means as clutter at the eShop.

They have their own section at the PSN Store. Pretty easy to avoid them. They do not show up if you go to "full game" also.

@Whalehome WarFrame is also a pretty good choice once on Switch.

I’ll give it a shot. I have Overwatch on PS4 so I don’t see much of a point in getting invested, but I’ve heard you guys find it rea fun, so maybe I’ll see y’all online!

Is this the poor man's Fortnite?

@Agramonte
I’m excited to try that one out as well

@Jasspur I think you are exaggerating a little. It's just that some of these game-as-a-service multiplayer games have to be free to play to succeed, but not at all does it mean it's a trend that will take over all games.

@Jasspur What's wrong with F2P? The games coming to Switch so far (that I know of) Fortnite, Paladins, Warframe, and Arena of Valor are all fantastic games and not P2W.

Maybe you have a bad taste in your mouth from the infancy of the model, but there is plenty of good F2P games you can get a lot out of without spending anything - and certainly as much as you could with a full game +MTX and DLC.

@Agramonte That's really more of Nintendo's fault than anything else. They don't have a very well organized Eshop when it comes to the content on their.

Their online store and even the home screen are so mismanaged - we are long overdue for an update to help declutter them.

Now at this price I am interested.

@ReggieFils-Aime Yeah - It is pretty good and now it has tons of content if you starting from scratch.

They made a game called Dark Sector on PS3. Tons of people hated it but I really liked it. So I am a bit biased when it comes to DE.

@hippoeater yep... 100% with you on that.

Awesome, will download after work!

Downloading! 😊😊

Awesome, this is fantastic.

All I wanted was Overwatch on Switch

I'll give it a try. Why not?

@Spiders Can't speak for everyone but the problem for me is that these games mostly survive because of "whales", people that can't control their spending. So there's basically one person paying the game for multiple other people. I mean i've never bought anything from a F2P game but that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Now I can finally replace fortnite for my shooter fix

Brilliant! Sooner than I expected but unfortunately probably wont be playing until the weekend (especially as a new game came today!)

Think we may prefer this to Fortnite. Enjoy fps to 3rdps more.

@Ensemen I know what you mean but for someone with multiple consoles and not enough dough to buy 2 of every AAA game for multiplayer these free titles are great news to us.

Unless they are providing motion controls with this update, I'll stick with the PC version.

I really don't get how so many shooters are missing this crucial part.
This is 2018, not 1998.

@Agramonte Dark Sector was sick fun! Had a blast playing that game. Reminded me of Guyver some.

Wow what a nice surprise this game is. Really enjoying it so far. It clicked better with me then Fortnite tbh.. I’m thinking about buying season pass for this one.
If they add motion controls that would be perfect. Just played in handheld mode so far and it runs great.

Hope this increases the player pool it was hard to find consistent matches , someone would always not accept once queed up

Will try it out, but I want to focus more on Fortnite when it comes to shooters.

@Jasspur I find it funny that I've seen people complain about F2P, which, BTW, when done right is to the benefit of the Dev, the "hardcore" player and the "casual" player. Yet no one is complaining about the softcore dating cash in games, that are essentially late night dirty calls with "cosplayers".

@Nincompoop

No.
Not in the least.

@shani

Millennial?

@BARSAMAN Hm?

@shani

Well played ✌️

Bet it's true though 😊

@BARSAMAN
Well the term 'millenial' is very vague and doesn't have a generally accepted definition.
Aside from that, it just tars a group of people with one brush, therefore it's only meant to create and reinforce stereotypes.
And sadly, people only use the term 'millenials' for stereotypes with a negative connotation, completely disregarding the actual personality of the person they're talking about.
That's why I don't identify with that term and don't approve of stereotypes in general.

Now if your question actually was: 'Were you born in the 80's?' then the answer is 'Yes'.

But what I was trying to say with my previous comment was: what does that have to do with anything? 🤨

Well that explains a lot. Normally when I play, I'm usually the only or sometimes 2nd to only switch player in a team. So far today I had at least 2 other switch players per game (even a full switch team). Guess everybody was waiting for it to be free to play. In which case welcome, the more the merrier.

@Nix_coppa If you're here to complain about other people, just shut up and leave.

No, but in all seriousness: since when does something being free (even though we all know F2S games aren't completely for free) forbid criticism? That makes no sense.

@shani

Well it's probably the late 80's right? '88? 89?

No offence, it is a (very) bad, and indeed stereotypical, joke.

Come to think of it, it's a stupid comment.

You enjoy your games however you want it and I hope you have a blast doing it and learn something in the process.

Sorry if I offended you that was not the intention. Whatever your age is it doesn't matter at all.

GG's shani!✌️

Whistles

Im lovin it

@HobbitGamer YES!!!!! it does. One more person who enjoyed it out there... I'm not alone.

That video was the first I've looked at Paladins. It looks like a mix of Hexen and Team Fortress, am I on the right track?

Why does Nintendo keep wasting time on this ftp garbage?
First Pokemon Quest and Fortnite, now they're releasing this new crap?

Seriously, instead of wasting precious resources developing this horror they could've done gave us BotW 2 or Mario Kart 9!

Disappointed at you Nintendo!

@Nunya It's quite different with it's much deeper systems of customization when it comes to playstyles. The different talents, ability card loadouts (which reduce cooldown reduction, efficacy, etc) allow for so much fine tuning. In some ways it's much better than Overwatch.

I like the game
I still prefer Overwatch, which is far better in my opinion, but Paladins is still really fun when you don't have some people insulting you for absolutely no reason
But if I can't get my PC account on this, I don't think I will play it on Switch sadly

@HobbitGamer not even close...
@LightBeam Sorry. All the platforms are treated completely separate.

I'll try it soon. Seems better than Fornite.

@Jasspur its free so it costs you nothing to try.

Wasn't this game $30 a little while ago?

I tried it. Seems kind of fun. Not as fun as Splatoon 2 so I probably won't play it. I have no idea what different characters and weapons do. Do I need to pay real money for different ones? I'd never do that.

2 big issues: starting a game takes forever. Why the 60 second countdown to choose gear I don't even have? And the controls are just clunky and terrible. I can play dual sticks, in not one of these kids who magically can't play something without motion aiming, but they really jacked up the controls on this game.

Though I don’t own a Switch (yet), I have sunk a lot of time into Paladins on both the PC and PS4 and think it’s worth atleast a try. It get’s compared to Overwatch a lot but I think (very much my own opinion here coming up) due in part to not being brought down by Blizzard’s toxic community, it’s a much more fun experience. Not everyone is expected to instantly be a pro. You can be casual gamer and still compete, unlike Overwatch. I think there are a lot of easier characters to play as that’ll help you get into the game, and if you want more there are some trickier but potentially more rewarding characters you can play as. I think it’s just a ton of content for F2P and I definitely wouldn’t call it a pay-2-win. The Dev’s seem to really listen to the community too.

I've been playing since the Founders Pack launched on Switch, and it's a fun game that I don't regret paying $30 for. Enough fun that I've logged in almost every night for at least one or two matches.

It's F2P but not Pay 2 Win. You can't buy better weapons or gear, all the things people pay for are cosmetics, and most of those things are available to anyone who wants to grind for them. Spending time in the game opens up somewhat better abilities, but it's a level playing field, and the powers don't increase so much that a newbie is always going to get crushed by some Level 39 whale.

The champions are widely varied so you can pretty find a role you like no matter what your playstyle is, and there is a lot of tactical thinking involved. Some of those characters (okay, nearly all of them) are pretty cheesy, and the lore is all but nonexistent, but if you just want to do some team shooting in a fantasy environment the game is lit.

Graphics are impeccable and smooth as silk. I'm not a frame counter by any means but yes, this is one of the smoothest action games on Switch. And you will almost never get disconnected in the middle of a match like you do in Spla2oon all the time.

Not everything is perfect, of course. I have had the game hang before the match started a bunch of times, and the login pricess often goes awry. You can spend some serious time in the queue, waiting for enough players to commit to a match. And to this day I have not been able to get into a ranked match. Not that I've tried that often, because for the most part I'm happy to play with the casuals and just mess around.

Hopefully launching free play on Switch will help a lot with the whole "waiting for players" situation, as that is seriously the game's biggest problem right now.

It's free, so I have no reason to not try it. I suspect I will like it more than Fortnite. But hugely popular? I haven't heard a fraction about the game that I have about its rivals.

A bit disappointed that I can't bring my PC progress over to the Switch. I have it download but I think I'll wait till Hi-Rez makes a way to transfer progress. Either way, I can still play the game on the go. I also have Paladins on my Windows tablet so I'm good on the portable front!

@Trajan there actually a decent amount of options in the settings menu to tune he controls to your liking.

@Whalehome I actually dont agree with your assessment of sushi striker. Should it have been cheaper? Absolutely Even on 3ds where I bought it, $40 is a bit much and $50 is ridiculous on Switch. Free 2 Play would have made it into a grind fest that would constantly be asking for more money. At least with a paid product I know I can just pay once and be done with it.

@Pete41608 You need a reality check buddy. This game wasn't developed by Nintendo.

So this game is basically an Overwatch clone. I downloaded it for free and I am glad that I waited because I would have been really disappointed if I paid for this. As a free2play game it is pretty hard to complain about, but it is definitely a poor man's Overwatch.

@Oat How are you thinking it would work in grinding in that game? I only had an image of a certain number of times you could play per day or hour (unless you pay to speed it up). Like with animal crossing, Pokemon Picross, etc... otherwise, unless they drop the price to $5, I probably won’t play it unless they’ve switched it to this free to play model I’ve outlined. (I’m on your side about preferring to own a game than have it full of micro transactions as well. I think it should’ve retailed for $20-30 on Switch and 3DS)

@Nincompoop I haven't played it yet, but from the "Let's Play" videos I've seen I believe Paladins is more like a poor man's Splatoon 2 and Overwatch.

I tried a round. It was pretty fun. I thought the other team sucked really bad, only to find out you play against AI until level 5.

I am really really enjoying this game. I wish i had bit the bullet and bought the founders pack though, as now the same thing costs slightly more.

@Pete41608 Nintendo hasn't developed Paladins nor Fortnite, and I'm preeety sure Pokémon Quest wasn't either. So what exactly is your point here even if they were developed by Nintendo? Just because you, a single person, doesn't like them, doesn't mean Nintendo or anyone shouldn't invest money in them.

@DABYX
Interesting argument. I would imagine people that managed to acquire "multiple consoles" (and apparently current ones still getting major titles) generally have enough money to pay for games.

@Tiefseemiez You can imagine all you want lol. Yea we have 2 consoles, which we saved for, no we can't justify spending 80quid just to play a game together.

I love this kind of thought process, as gamers I'd have thought we get the brunt of it usually.
Eg. "If you can afford 'x games or consoles' but can't afford to go on holiday 5 tines a year then you shouldn't be doing it!"

Edit: I mean it does really boil down to greed for games but wouldn't you rather have 2 different games or a double of the sane just because splitscreen was omitted? ;]

How do you run ?

I’ve deleted it. Meh

I bought Battle Pass.. it’s that good! Tried Fortnite and couldn’t stand gameplay. Playing in handheld is great!
And for people saying it’s an Overwatch clone... You can find on internet information that development started before Overwatch

@Nincompoop No

@Nincompoop less Fortnite and more Overwatch. I got the founders pack and its awesome fun. 60fps all the way.

Don't forget that you only play against Bots until you reach level 5.

@BARSAMAN Nope, late 80's would be my little sister.

That said, it's not just (but also) about how * enjoy games but also a more general note.
Aiming with a stick is probably the worst possible method, because the way is longer and therefore the movement potentially slower, the movement area is a lot smaller and the stick always m9ves back to the middle when you release it.

Mouse and gyro aim allow for quicker movement while the movement area is a lot bigger and the cursor atays in position. Generally, these two aiming methods are more precise, faster, more reliable and more comfortable than aiming with the stick.

The problem is that millions of console users got used to this lackluster aiming method because they don't know any better.
And that's why many studios don't even consider implementing gyro aim, despite the fact that anyone who switched to gyro or mouse can confirm that it's the superior method.

So in essence, it's not even really about personal preferences but about technical progress.

@Ensemen Fair enough, but at least personally - if every disgusting business practice led me to abstinence, I'd have to be a monk.

The games themselves are good and not tainted gameplay-wise from thier MTX (besides, for example, obnoxious storefronts in Fortnite), but I get the sentiment.

I think it's so odd that the only way to play before was shelling out 30 bucks. Just seems backwards to me.

@Trajan Paying for characters is highly likely. If not the characters there will be something that requires reoccurring payment instead of unlocking things through skill and fun.

@GoldenGamer88 Actually, if Nintendo sees a trend of people paying for subscriptions and free to play, they will follow that business platform and only license games/stop selling media such as cartridges for us all. When they move to another console everything will be gone, because they will terminate the servers, and the re-occurring payments will become forced if you want to play anything of decent quality. Nintendo used to have the strongest stance against this before Iwata passed.

@Richnj I don't see how paying more and having your data in a very insecure place that could shutdown at anytime is beneficial to the player, but it definitely benefits the company. Those cosplay games sound completely uninteresting to me, so I wouldn't even pay a one time price for that cheap junk. Yeah, the cosplay shouldn't even exist in the first place. Steam is getting littered with dating sims and visual novels that cost as much as animated games. It's ridiculous, because it's on nowhere near the same amount of workload.

@Spiders I've seen many games with the non pay to win suddenly wind up pay to win. Some of them make it very subtle, but years down the road, you can usually find something as simple as a healing potion that is game changing. Check the what happened with Maplestories cosmetic approach. Archlord was also destroyed, White Knight Cronicles was shutdown. Anything on this business model has a death where it will never come back, because they require money to keep it going.

@nab1 I've watched it climb exponentially from the year 2000 forward. Many of my favorite titles changed the model, and even the non pay to win cosmetics take you so far out of the games setting.

@Agramonte Indeed it becomes clutter.

@Whalehome It's about the influence on the market to not let us handle our own data, games, the the inevitable server shutdowns. When the player base drops, the terminate the games because they rely on constant maintenance money.

@hieveryone Before the Switch Nintendo had a strong stance against it. I despise the other two consoles, and pc is full of unregulated trash. Nintendo is special, they're the only company that actually makes their own and knows games. Wait until you have kids begging you for 20 bucks to buy a cosmetic sucker stick that expires in 3 months or the servers shutdown because they aren't selling enough. I can play Super Mario 3 whenever I want and forever. These games will disappear whether you have a cartridge or not. It works like rental housing (far more expensive than payments to own a home, but people choose it anyway).

@Jasspur Yeah I stopped paying for online competitive multiplayer only games. They just never seem to last.

@Spiders I don't see what's supposed to be the other disgusting business practices. I mean things like DLC's are limited so you can only spend a certain amount of money so there's no risk of people overspending. I think a good solution to this problem would to either sell a complete version without microtransactions or limit the maximum amount that can be spent per month or overall.

I've been playing Paladins on PS4 for a few weeks now and really like it. I much prefer it to Fortnite but for multiplayer shooters I still prefer Splatoon 2. I don't seem to be able to get into this sort of team based shooter but I'm still trying to find my role and character I think.

Edit: I'm finding the controls very tough in handheld though. I may save this for docked only. Also, it needs motion controls.

I have played Paladins since it became FREE on wednesday. It's really fun to play with people online but i just can't get enough of killing all the bad guys!!!!

I'll probably give this a good tire kicking this weekend. I played the BETA a few years back and enjoyed it, but it's hard to commit to with Splatoon 2 (and back then Overwatch) a button press away.

@JayJ It's literally a poor man's Overwatch hahaha.
Once you get past the veneer, tactically it's actually pretty different - enough that some hardcore players I know (diamond/grandmaster/top 500, etc.) prefer it. It's certainly less toxic, but I imagine that's equal parts being less popular, and design (larger health pools/longer TTK, more MOBA-esque elements, etc.)

@Whalehome I was thinking that if it were f2p it would have grindy bosses that would almost surely kill you the first time unless you paid for more tries or power boosts. (similar to puzzle and dragons on mobile)