Just a couple days ago, Yi-Lin was added to Orcs Must Die! Unchained as a part of the Wu-Xing Battles update.Yi-Lin is a damage oriented melee hero that utilizes twin hook swords to dish out tons of damage.

If you’re going to be using her then you're definitely going to need to know what her actual skills are, and we've got them lined up right here so you don't have to launch the game to find out.

Abilities

1. Moon’s Reflection: (Passive) Alternating between abilities grants Yi-Lin a small amount of health and energy, her primary resource for attacking.
2. Stone Lotus: (Primary Attack) A basic, close-range melee strike.
3. Imperial Reach: (Secondary Attack; Cost: 10) A downward strike with extra range that deals extra damage to enemies with lower health.
4. White Tiger Claw: (Cost: 20) A cutting strike that wounds affected enemies. This wound causes DoT in addition to making your primary attacks deal more damage.
5. Tempest Strike: (Cost: 20) Yi-Lin whirls around, slicing enemies and sucking them into a vortex for massive damage. Lasts for 2.2 seconds.
6. Jade Sentinel: (Cost: 00) Switches to Jade Sentinel mode. During Jade Sentinel, Yi-Lin cannot attack or regenerate energy. However, her movement speed is increased by 30% and she only takes 50% damage.

Upgrades

Tier 1

All of the upgrades in tier 1 enhance the Moon’s Reflection passive.

1. Generous Moon: Moon’s Reflection now triggers in a radius around Yi-Lin.
2. Inspiring Moon: Moon’s Reflection energy regeneration is increased by 100%.
3. Healing Moon: Moon’s Reflection health regeneration is increased by 20%.

Tier 2

1. Element of Speed: Jade Sentinel’s movement speed bonus is increased by an additional 15%.
2. Element of Renewal: Every time Moon’s Reflection is triggered, the cooldown for Tempest Strike is reduced by 2s.
3. Element of Surprise: Imperial Reach’s width is increased.

Tier 3

1. Aspect of the Shadow: During Jade Sentinel, all of Yi-Lin’s Aggro is dropped.
2. Aspect of the Lotus: Stone Lotus’ damage buff on bleeding/wounded targets is increased by an additional 15%.
3. Aspect of the Tiger: Stone Lotus now has a 10% chance to execute minions with more than 75% remaining health upon hit.

Tier 4

1. Blessing of Skill: White Tiger Claw’s wounding effect now also decreases enemy movement speed by 30%.
2. Blessing of Power: Each successive strike of Tempest Strike deals 15% more damage. 
3. Blessing of Health: Cooldown: 60- When health falls below 20%, health and energy regen will be increased for 10s.

Yi-Lin has some really interesting builds that allow her to either focus on being defensive or on offensively shredding opposition. But my favorite part about Yi-Lin is her passive, Moon’s Reflection, which encourages you to string moves together. Combining this with the fact that her skills-- barring Tempest Strike-- don’t have cooldowns truly makes her playstyle feel uniquely action-oriented, which is honestly refreshing.

If you enjoyed this article, then check out our beginner’s guide to Orcs Must Die! Unchained. And if you want to know more about the process behind Yi-Lin’s creation, then you can read this article from the official blog discussing just that.

The road to becoming an E-Sports pro-gamer starts on July 9, 2016, with qualifying tournaments for Paragon, SMITE, and Orcs Must Die! Unchained. The E-Sports Bush League is a minor league organization that provides a middle ground between the average, everyday player and the Professional E-Sports Player. 

"There are many positive results from participating in an E-Sports team and any kind of tournament if you sign up, keep an open mind, have plenty of patience and a willingness to grow," said Anthony Han, an ESBL Team Captain for Paragon. "Compared to physical sports of all kinds, E-Sports is similar in terms of what is expected and needed to be a good team member." 

From the initial sign-up to the actual competition, the E-Sports Bush League (ESBL) will mirror how professional tournaments are run, so participants will get an understanding of what is expected of them in a professional setting. 

Founded in 2016, E-Sports Bush League is the creation of two former, semi-pro gamers James Wagner and Mark Deola. Their company's mission is to help competitive amateur and semi-pro players make the leap and get to the professional level. Their league acts as an incubator for talented gamers looking to make their way into the pros.

For more information or to sign up, visit www.esportsbushleague.com.

On the heels of the exponential growth of live-streaming gaming, E-sports Bush League has announced the launch of the first ever E-Sports minor leagues.

Major professional sports such as hockey, baseball, basketball have their own minor leagues. It is in these lower levels that players spend their time perfecting their art and mastering their game. Currently, there are no minor league systems in place for E-Sports. Now, E-Sports players can do the same.

The first 3 games will be Paragon, SMITE, and Orcs Must Die! Unchained, with more games to come in the near future. From the initial sign-up to the actual competition, the E-Sports Bush League will mirror how professional tournaments are run, so participants will get an understanding of what is expected of them in a professional setting. E-Sports Bush League Tournament will hold their first minor league competition this summer between the months of July and August.

In a press release, Commissioner James Wagner stated:

"We noticed the current atmosphere of the E-Sports industry is entirely focused on the professional players and tournaments for those players. The E-Sports Bush League intends to provide a middle ground for the average everyday player and the Professional E-Sports Player." 

This league will give players an opportunity to showcase their skills, win prizes, gain sponsorships, and receive invites from professional teams. The site will host seasonal tournaments with cash prizes, sponsors, and shout casting to assist those individuals looking to break into the Professional Ranks. E-Sports Bush League hopes to help the average everyday player become a professional player in what is currently an overly-competitive market. The minor leagues will be open to all players who wish to compete.

The league's scheduled tournaments will all be happening online and running on the GamerLaunch.com Platform. Gamer Launch is the flagship product of the Launch Media Network, creators of publishing platforms, data analytic tools and mobile apps for the gaming industry.

Founded in 2016, E-Sports Bush League is the creation of two former, semi-pro gamers James Wagner and Mark Deola. Their company's mission is to help competitive amateur and semi-pro players make the leap and get to the professional level. Their league acts as an incubator for talented gamers looking to make their way into the pros.

To learn more or to register for the league, gamers are encouraged to visit www.esportsbushleague.com directly.

SOURCE: E-Sports Bush League

Even without cracking open your wallet or logging into your Paypal account, there are a ton of game worlds ready and waiting to be explored.

Which of these eight games are you planning on trying out, and what free to play titles would you recommend we give a shot this month?

Let us know what we missed or what's coming out soon we should be paying attention to and we'll be sure to include it next month's look at available free PC games!

Bio Menace

Get It Here

Looking for something super retro? This old school Apogee Software game from the early '90s is now free through GOG.

Gun down monstrous beasts, grab power ups, and avoid flaming traps as commando Snake Logan in this platformer blast from the past!

Trove

Get It Here

Another cutesy, blocky game, the graphics in Trove are like a hi-rez version of Minecraft, but with significantly more dragons and explosions.

Made by Trion Worlds (developer of Rift and Defiance), this is equal parts MMO and craft-focused block game that's exactly what you'd expect based on the visual style.

Unturned

Get It Here

It looks like Minecraft and its a multiplayer zombie apocalypse survival simulator. What more do you want?

If you love DayZ or blocky Lego graphics, there's no reason not to download this Early Access Steam title and try your luck at surviving the zombie hordes.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained

Get It Here

For you team-based multiplayer junkies, Orcs Must Die! Unchained is now in open beta, giving a new option for fans of fantasy titles like Dungeon Defenders.

Pick your hero, place a horde of deadly traps, and mow down orcs and trolls by the hundreds as you fight through endless waves!

Hearthstone

Get It Here

OK, I'm sort of breaking my promise of skipping the super obvious ones, and Hearthstone is certainly not a new game, but there are big changes coming with the Whispers Of The Old Gods expansion. This new Cthulhu-themed add-on is not only bringing in more cards, but also major tweaks to some of the staples that were in need of re-balancing.

A few of the changes aren't making long-time players happy (as the go-to cards like Ironbeak Owl, Leper Gnome, and Big Game Hunter are undergoing revamps to make them less powerful or more costly) but I'm looking forward to jumping back in now that the standard strategies are out the window and players have to come up with new ones.

If you love Warcraft lore and dig CCGs like Magic: The Gathering or Might And Magic: Duels of the Champions, now is a great time to jump into the completely free Hearthstone.

Tree Of Savior

Get It Here

A newer MMORPG entry, this one clearly has some bugs to work out still, but that art style is pure nostalgia greatness. Picture some of the classic Mana titles in a sandbox MMO world, and you're pretty much at Tree Of Savior.

There's a ton of class options to play through and at the moment also a thriving player base. If you don't want to put down the money to get into a traditional subscription-based MMORPG or have gotten tired of Guilds Wars 2, definitely give this one a try.

React

Get It Here

This is an incredibly simple game based around one tiny idea: a nuclear reactor is about to explode, and the guy who knows how to turn it off is nowhere to be found (for some reason Homer Simpson comes to mind). You've got to stop the reactor from blowing, but the problem is you don't have any clue how the console works.

Even that description is over complicating things. This game is all about finding which two buttons on your keyboard will turn off the reactor when held down. Problem is, they reset every time you play, and you've only got six seconds to figure it out!

Obviously you won't be putting hundreds of hours into this one, but there's an undeniable rush to trying to figure out which buttons to hold down before that explosion sound hits, and it actually gets sort of addicting if you mess up several times in a row. A strange obsession hits as you realize you have to master this diabolical little indie game!

Path Of Exile

Endless deadly dungeon corridors await! Love ARPGs like Diablo 2, Torchlight, or my current obsession Grim Dawn? Then Path Of Exile is an excellent option for the frantic clickfest fanatic, offering up that classic action RPG feel with skill tree builds, progressive loot, hordes of enemies, spikes shooting up from dungeon floors, etc. Best of all, its F2P!

While there are some negatives to be found and obviously a few gameplay elements that could be tweaked, pay attention to how many hours the negative reviewers typically have sunk into this game. When many of the “not recommended” reviews have hundreds to thousands of hours spent playing, you are obviously doing something right.

2016 is solidly cruising along (its May already somehow?) but there's still little over a month left before the summer hits and all those huge game sales through services like Steam and GOG arrive.

If you are looking for a new gaming obsession but don't fancy dropping $50 - $60 for the latest AAA release, there's a whole lot of quality titles in nearly every genre worth trying out that won't cost you a penny.

We'll skip the super obvious ones this time around: you all know you can sink hundreds of hours into countless matches of MOBAs like Dota 2, League of Legends, and Heroes Of The Storm, and you don't need me to remind you.

Instead, we're going to dive into a diverse range of games from action RPGs to tower defense, MMOs, collectible card games, retro classics now online for free, and even some really offbeat indie excursions that deserve to be played by a wider audience.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained is a Playstation 4 and Windows exclusive free-to-play, co-op action tower defense game that stands out because of the wit and humor featured throughout the play-through.

However, finding materials to continue your journey can always be a pain. Using our Orcs Must Die! Unchained Materials Guide, you can find out which monster drops which materials so you aren't stuck searching for the loot you need.

Donkey Fat

Common

• Monsters Who Drop It: Orcs
• Quantity of Drop: 50
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Parts

Dwarven Blueprint

Rare

• Monsters Who Drop It: Dwarves, Sarge
• Quantity of Drops: 10
• Used to Craft: Traps

Ethereal Motes

Common

• Monsters Who Drop It: Orcs, Kobolds, Satyrs, Human Soldiers, Ogres
• Quantity of Drops: 50
• Used to Craft:  Traps 

Forgotten Armor

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Human Soldiers
• Quantity of Drops: 4
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Minions

Guidestone

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Orcs, Human Soldiers, Ogres, Kobolds, Hunters, Satyrs
• Quantity of Drops: 1
• Used to Craft:  Traps, Keystones

Hobgoblin Contract

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Hobgoblin Healers/Shamans
• Quantity of Drops: 25
• Used to Craft: Guardians

Kobold Tears

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Kobolds
• Quantity of Drops: 30
• Used to Craft: Parts

Living Tome

Rare

• Monsters Who Drop It: Trolls
• Quantity of Drops: 5
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Traits

Mountain Flower

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Human Soldiers
• Quantity of Drops: 20
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Parts

Ogre Humors

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Ogres
• Quantity of Drops: 10
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Parts

Radiant Clockworks

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Orcs, Human Soldiers
• Quantity of Drops: 2 or 6
• Used to Craft: Traps

Radiant Crystal

Rare

• Monsters Who Drop It: Earth Elementals, Bosses
• Quantity of Drops: 1
• Used to Craft: Traps, Gear

Radiant Wand

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Frost + Fire Ogres
• Quantity of Drops: 4
• Used to Craft: Traps

Rift Core

Super Rare

• Monsters Who Drop It: Earth Elementals, Bosses
• Quantity of Drops: 1
• Used to Craft:  Traps

Rift Ember

Uncommon/Rare

• Monsters Who Drop It: Earth + Fire Elementals, Bosses, Dread
• Quantity of Drops: 6
• Used to Craft: Heroes, Traits

Rift Shard

Rare/Super Rare

• Monsters Who Drop It: Earth Elementals, Bosses, Kobolds
• Quantity of Drops: 1
• Used to Craft: Traps

Rough Gems

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Giants
• Quantity of Drops: 12
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Bosses

Self-Help Guide

Common

• Monsters Who Drop It: Bears
• Quantity of Drops: 2
• Used to Craft: Traits

Summoning Lamp

Rare

• Monsters Who Drop It: Earth Elementals, Bosses
• Quantity of Drops: 1
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Keystones, Bosses, Guardians, Minions

Troll Giblets

Uncommon

• Monsters Who Drop It: Trolls
• Quantity of Drops: 20
• Used to Craft: Consumables, Parts

Get Out There and Play!

Now you're ready to take on the universe of Orcs Must Die! Unchained. Start killin' orcs and smashin' dorks on their official website here. 

Orcs Must Die! Unchained has been dangling in front of us for far too long. This long-anticipated third-person shooter is a MOBA style fight to overtake the opposing team's fortress before you fall victim to the same fate.

Although it has a 5v5 game with 3 different maps, this game differs from other MOBAs in its genre in a few different ways. The main contrasting factor is an obvious cheekiness that keeps the game lighthearted and sarcastic. 

Besides its charm, Orc Must Die! Unchained focuses on summoning different types of minions to assist you on the battlefront. Combined with the ability to lay traps for your opponents, the quirks of the game will win you over by keeping you interested and making you laugh.

First Things First, How Do You Win?

Your main objective in Orc Must Die! Unchained is to lead your minions into your opponent's rift. Each team has a rift that is located in their respective fortress. 

Your team will face off against the enemy team as you attempt to clear a path for your army of minions, all while fighting off your opponent's horde. 

Each team will start with a static amount of Rift Points. These points will steadily decrease each time an enemy minion enters your rift, so it's a race against the clock to see which team gets the most minions into the other's rift. 

How to Play the Offense

Since your minions are obviously a very important part of the game, the most vital piece of your offensive puzzle is spawning your minions. 

To do so, you and your team will both have to visit the War Camp, which is identified by a shield with two swords behind it. It'll be the same color as your team. 

When you follow the icon on your mini map, you'll see the towering, wooden doors on your main screen. Press "F" to enter. 

Summoning your Minions

Once you're inside the War Camp, you'll see 5 available slots for Minion Cards. Each player on your team can play 1 card, provided he/she has enough leadership points. 

Leadership points are displayed right underneath the card, right next to the stone fist icon. Access leadership points can also be spent on upgrades, which will unlock more powerful minion camps. The longer the game goes on, the more your should upgrade your minions.

Your minions and your team will then exit the War Camp and automatically begin fighting towards your opponent's rift.

Leadership Points

To earn more leadership points, you simply have to fight next to your minions on the fields of battle. 

Strategy

When you choose to play the offense and you're going to push, always remember to stay with your minions. If you run ahead and attempt to make your own path without them, it will neither be an intelligent move nor a pretty sight for you.

How to Play Defense

Once your minions are released and begin to attack your opponent's fortress, you can head to the outer edge of your fortress, called your Front Keep. 

Here you can lay traps for unsuspecting enemies to trigger.

How to Lay Traps 

Traps can be placed using "F." It will use your available coins (the top icon to the right of your character portrait). You can only place traps you already have in your inventory.

One important thing to note is that traps can be placed anywhere -- on the floor, the wall, or even the ceiling. 

How to Collect Coins

Players can earn coins by taking down opponents and their minions on the field of battle. 

Play With a Strategy in Mind

As you play through the match, don't forget to keep laying traps as you earn more coins. These can be vital in tipping the scales against your opponents, so traveling back to the front of your keep to continuously place traps is a great strategy. 

Whenever you're passing through your Front Keep, you should always glace at your coins. This is the easiest way to remember to keep laying traps. Another great way to remind yourself is to make a habit of laying traps as soon as you spawn minions. 

You can also use your traps to defend other aspects of your fortress, not just your keep. Try placing them next to your Rift instead of your keep to defend different areas based on how the game is progressing.

How to Use Your Guardian

Your Guardian is a gigantic minion that is fighting for your team right outside your keep. 

It will protect its lane at all costs, meaning that it will fight off any minion or hero that approaches it. 

Besides offering an extra boost to your defensive line, your Guardian will also grant a regeneration aura to any minions or heroes next to it. 

Using it to Your Advantage

Make sure you aren't ignoring your Guardian, since it's an important thing to take advantage of during your match. 

Use your traps not only to defend the entrance to your fortress, but also to defend your Guardian. Much like an important chess piece, it's not necessary to your victory, but can assist you greatly if it's kept alive.

Make sure to also go and fight alongside your Guardian if your health is getting a little low, since it will give you health. It will also give your hero a chance to collect Coins and Leadership Points.

General Tips and Tricks

To Defend or Push

When the game starts and your team summons your horde of minions, you have a choice. You can start by going on the offense and fighting alongside your minions, or you can go on the defense and begin setting traps for your opponents. 

It's important to communicate with your team and split up instead of everyone going to one side and ignoring the other. For example, if everyone goes to push with their minions and no one is there to defend, that lane will be wide open for you opponents to come knocking down your rift. 

There are also many different heroes with different abilities, and these should be taken advantage of as well. If your hero has a lot of waveclear, he/she should fight with the minions. If your hero is a better hero-to-hero fighter, he/she should move to place traps because you will be able to defend yourself against incoming heroes. 

Make Sure You're Using Your Hero's Abilities

As I mentioned above, each hero has his/her own special abilities that make him/her unique. 

These can be used by pressing "Q" and "E." You can see the cooldown by the grey area slowly moving in a circle on the icon (much like World of Warcraft).

Each hero's abilities are specialized for offense, defense, or both, so make sure you read up on which hero you chose and so you can play them how they're meant to be played. 

Pummel Your Opponent by SPAWNING MORE MINIONS

The biggest factor to remember is to always go back to your War Camps to push out as many minions as you can.

Upgrading your minions is the best thing you can do to improve your chances at winning, so make sure you're keeping an eye on your Leadership Points as the game progresses. 

What Platform Can I Use To Play?

Orcs Must Die! Unchained can currently only be played on the PC or the PlayStation 4.

What Computer Specs Do I Need to Run it?

Minimum Specifications

• Windows XP/Vista/7/8
• Intel Core2 Duo 2.66GHz
• 4GB Ram
• 10 GB free HD space
• GeForce GT8800 with 512 MB VRAM
• Running at 1024x768 screen resolution with "Death Physics Quality," "Video Quality," and "Audio Emitter Limit" set to Low.

Recommended Specifications

• Windows 7/8
• Intel Core i5-2320 3.0 GHz (or better)
• 6GB RAM (or better)
• 10 GB free HD space
• GeForce GTX 555 with 1GB VRAM (or better)
• Running at 1920x1200 screen resolution with "Death Physics Quality," and "Video Quality" set to Medium. "Audio Emitter Limit," set to "High."

Off to the Fields of Battle!

Now that you have a head start on Orcs Must Die! Unchained, you're ready to try it for yourself.

Equipped with some knowledge, you'll have a leg up on your opponents which will make winning that much easier. You can brush up on even more gameplay and strategy by visiting the official website here. 

First you will have to register an account to your email, but once that's completed you can download the game straight from the website (or the link in your email) here. 

Orcs Must Die! Unchained is the third iteration of the popular Orcs Must Die! series. In keeping up with the latest gaming trends, Orcs has moved from a tower defence to co-op and now, the latest version, is a competitive 5 v 5 multiplayer.  

Robot Entertainment has put a lot of time into creating the newest version. They have been in closed Beta for a while with sights set on a late 2014 release, but took the user feedback and realized they wanted to do more. So, they left it up to the people already in beta, did some major work for a couple of months. Now, the game is going back into closed beta on March 24th.  

The goal of Orcs Must Die! Unchained is to get your minions into your opponent's rift. This is done in a combination of attacks on your opponents and defending your keep. There are guardians to protect their lane, give heroes regeneration, and attack opponents. Each hero has its own attributes to help them in battle and players lay traps to protect their keep. Players are able to pick some of the types of orcs that attack depending on what is needed for the team. 

While the game is coming along, they still have more work to do on the community side. They are still working on the important aspect of how players find friends to play with and clan creation. Currently they are heavily focused on creating a community to give feedback.

Orcs Must Die! Unchained will be free-to-play and Robot Entertainment will sell additional heroes, skins, traps, and weapons in an in-game store. Unchained is slated for PC and PlayStation 4 sometime in 2015.

We've been lucky enough to get our hands on some alpha keys for what is sure to be one of the hottest games in 2014 - Orcs Must Die! Unchained

What is it? 

Just revealed at PAX East, Orcs Must Die! Unchained is a fast-paced Fortress Siege action game in which teams of heroes battle head-to-head to attack and defend ancient strongholds. For the first time in Orcs Must Die!, teams of players are responsible for both sides of the battle -- building traps to stop the enemy assault AND summoning their own armies to lead against the enemy defense. Check out the awesome review for more details! 

How to get an alpha key

Easy! Just comment on this article and tell us why you love the Orcs Must Die! series. The best and most creative comments will win 1 of 20 instant access Alpha Keys!

When will you announce the winners?

The contest runs from today (5/6/14) through next Monday (5/12/14). Winners will be announced and contacted by the end of the week.

What are you waiting for? Tell us why Orcs Must Die! is the greatest!  

Disclaimer - any or all of the super amazing comments may be used by Robot Entertainment and you could become internet famous. Just a forewarning....

As an avid Orcs Must Die! fan, I was beaming with excitment at the announcement of Orcs Must Die! Unchained. My mind immediately filled with strategies of placing traps, arranging sentries, and awesome victory dances. As I watched videos and looked at screen shots, I started to wonder what this Unchained version was all about. Shall we dive in?

Is Orcs Must Die! Unchained a MOBA?

You will compete in games of 5v5, and before the match starts your team picks from a pool of heroes. Mobs will spawn and travel down pre-defined lanes like lemmings. The minions have one goal - travel down their lane, enter the enemy castle, and destroy the enemy rift.

Sounds a lot like League of Legends, Dota 2, and the countless other MOBAs that have sprung up over the last few years, right?

Image Credit: IGN

How is Orcs Must Die! Unchained Different?

One of the first things you may notice when you start playing is that you get to pick a "deck". No, this isn't a card battle game and Orcs Must Die! veterans will be familiar with this setup. In order to defend your rift, you set various traps around the map, and the traps you have access to are the ones you put in your deck! The minions you can spawn are decided on the cards in your deck as well.

Speaking of traps and minions, this is another huge difference you will find once you start playing. There are no towers to push, so your minions march their way across the map nearly unhindered. I say nearly because the traps do a great job thinning the enemy herd, but the stronger the minion the more resistant to the traps they are. How do you get stronger minions? You can upgrade your spawners which allow you send more powerful minions across the map, helping you take out the enemy rift.

Image Credit: Bubblews

Heroes of course play a huge role in the game. You don't move with mouse clicks and your abilities aren't bound to the Q, W, E, and R keys. Orcs Must Die! Unchained uses traditional W, A, S, and D movement. You aim with your mouse with left click being your primary attack and right-click activating a special move. This control scheme will feel familiar to Orcs Must Die! fans, and any FPS player out there will feel right at home. Heroes also have two other abilities bound to the Q and E key, helping mix up the gameplay and keeping things interesting.

Image Credit: PlayscopePC

Strategy is the key to success in any team based competitive game, and here its no different. The strategies start at hero and deck selection. Will you play a defensive hero, someone that roams around looking for a gank, or will you specialize in taking down minions while making yours better? What traps are in your deck, where will you place them and how will they combo with other players traps?

From there, when you first get into the game, which minion card will you select for your spawner? Will you spend your points to upgrade the first spawner or to unlock a second? If you focus on a second spawner, which will you upgrade first? It takes a team effort to unlock and upgrade so you want to coordinate.

The third strategy before the first wave of minions spawn is trap placement. Which ones will you put down? How will you place them? You want to kill as many minions as possible with your traps so placement and combos are key. A tar-pit to slow down enemies with arrows shooting out of the wall allows the arrow trap to trigger more often on the same minions.

So What Do We Call It?

The official term for the game is Fortress Siege, and this is a very apt title. By its nature, it is very much a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena - it's just not like a typical MOBA. It is two games of Orcs Must Die! being played against each other at the same time.

You can call it whatever you want. Me? I'm calling it fun, and I'm about to join another match. I'll see you on the fields of battle.

This year's PAX East was graced with our Next Gen MMO panel! It was epic fun and quite interesting.

Thanks to our great panelists (from left to right on stage):

• Stephan Frost (Design Producer, Carbine Studios)
• Ian Fisher (Director of Design, Robot Entertainment)
• Dave Georgeson (Director of Development, Sony Online Entertainment)
• Kjartan Pierre Emilsson (Principal Game Designer, EVE/CCP)
• Stephen Johnston (President, Guild Launch)

With this panel you get to hear, right from the developers, where they think the industry as a whole will go as we roll into the next generation of MMOs.

Topics Covered:

• Why do you love your job? 1:50
• What do you see as the strongest evolutionary force in MMOs right now? What impact will it have? 3:50
• What do you consider the most effective business model? Do you think we'll see any new business models in the next five years? 8:00
• Player generated content? 15:10
• How are MOBAs changing the landscape for MMOs? 22:05
• What do you see as the biggest challenge facing MMOs in the next five years? 28:30
• What do you imagine for the future of MMOs? 34:05
• Audience Questions 39:40

Again thanks to our awesome panelists and even more thanks to the seemingly endless line of people who attended!