Aima Wars: Steampunk & Orcs Impressions

This post is sponsored by Aima Wars.

 

Aima Wars: Steampunk & Orcs is a 3D sandbox MMO developed by DiP Online. Launching on Steam on December 17, 2019, this game features a steampunk fantasy theme and player-driven gameplay. Here’s a brief look at what to expect.

The Setting

Aima Wars is a two-faction game, featuring Humans and Orcs. It takes place in a world split in three. On the west side of the map dwell the humans, and on the east are the orcs. In between their two great continents lies an island chain where the greatest and most valuable resources exist. To grow and succeed, the two factions must battle out for territory as they try to claim these valuable resources, particularly Aima.

Each continent is populated by a number of NPC cities and settlements. Players can also build their own settlements in specific locations. Dragons also claim the lands, their dens scattered in the hills and mountains for those brave enough to face them.

The Gameplay

Each player commands their own fleet of airships, which have their own unique look and flair depending on the faction. There are multiple types of airships, from those designed with larger cargo space for hauling and gathering to those designed for speed, scouting, or outright assault. Ships can be piloted manually, or can be managed from a distance, similar to a real-time strategy game.

Each faction has a capital city, where players can access a common settlement to access their hangar, production, the market, repairs, and other features. Other settlements can be found scattered across the map, which have their own markets and where players can access limited functions. Players can found their own settlements as well, at limited locations across the map marked by a white home icon. These settlements are quite costly, and are likely to be held by more powerful players or guilds.

 

Controls and Combat

The controls of Aima Wars mirror a more realistic flight simulator in terms of speed and altitude, which means it can take some practice learning to turn, slow down, stop, and raise and lower altitude. Thankfully there are also some auto-pilot features in place to make it easier – assuming you don’t run into enemies along the way, that is. The game is keyboard & mouse only, so you’ll need to rely on WASD to move, space to fire, and additional keys to harvest and haul resources.

Combat itself is mostly automatic; your ship will return fire so long as it is in range of an enemy, be it dragon or player. This frees you up to utilize skills and focus on navigation, letting you keep your shields up longer and avoid falling into an enemy ambush.

What There Is To Do

In Aima Wars, you’ll have weekly and daily tasks to complete. These tasks often involve slaying dragons or gathering specific amounts of resources. Resources are marked on the world map, with some being reachable on your home continent, others require visiting the contested islands. There are also a number of tiered achievements you can work on, though these will generally involve content you’re doing daily anyway. Completing any of these will either reward you silver (the common in game currency) or gold (the rare in game currency which can also be purchased for real money).

All of this, of course, takes place while you are at risk of being attacked by the opposing faction. You may want to join up in a guild so that you have allies to share resources, and to coordinate defense and attacks. Bold guilds may venture onto the contested islands and claim the citadels at their heart, securing resources for their faction mates and making it more difficult for the other side to claim these resources.

Aima Wars: Steampunk & Orcs is a PvP game at its heart, with many features designed to make it easier to get into PvP and to compete as a free player. You can find it on Steam here.