MMO fans, this one’s for you. Don’t Lose Aggro is a single player MMO tank simulator developed by solo dev Oren Koren. The premise is simple – you play as a nameless plate-wearing tank and your job is to keep your party member alive and complete the mission. It’s even complete with bitchy teammates that bitch at you and stand in stuff.

This game hits close to home as a longtime MMO tank. Even though I was put on this planet to be a Holy Paladin, I played Prot Paladin for years to help my guild progress through Vanilla “World of Warcraft,” “The Burning Crusade” and “Wrath of the Lich King,” at least until we got another main tank so I could do what I do best.

Gameplay

There are three playable loadouts which basically function as different classes. They are:

• Crusader – Plays like Prot Warrior from “World of Warcraft”. Whirlwind comes with loadout. Says you get a defensive boost for each Toughness stack but that it also applies to the other shields? I’m not sure what to make of that, but I generally enjoy this loadout.
• Disc – Plays like Prot Paladin, rewards Prot Paladin gameplay with increased block chances and blocks reducing shield throw’s cooldown. Comes with Retribution, basically a mix of Holy Shield and Shield Bash. My preferred loadout.
• Vice Grip – A strange weapon that I’m not sure of its origins; trades auto attack for regular damage over time effect when you have aggro, PERMANENTLY stacks damage per Toughness spent. Definitely seems like the choice for longer events.

Spells and Abilities

Toughness is the game’s resource mechanic. Some abilities use Toughness, others generate it, having more toughness makes you take less damage, based on what I can gather from the in-game text. You can have up to three Toughness at a given time.

There are 9 abilities you can choose from per run. You start with one by default and get to choose others throughout your event. The Steam page says 10 but I guess I haven’t unlocked the last one:

• Movement options are tied to the Q key and consist of Charge and Ground Slam, this game’s version of Heroic Leap. I always use Charge out of comfort but I think it’s the better option anyway because Ground Slam is a little janky in its current state.
• Loadout exclusive moves are mapped to E and consist of Whirlwind for the Crusader loadout, Retribution, a mix of Holy Shield and Shield Bash, for the Disc, and Taunt for the Vice Grip.
• Aggro grabbers are mapped to R and consist of Taunt for the first two loadouts, or Retribution, basically a taunt on wheels, where you throw your sword at enemies to deal some damage to them and steal their aggro
• Next are the Utility moves that take up the final two slots on your HUD. Pull acts like Death Grip, where you can pull and organize enemies to a point on the ground, allowing you to follow up with other moves to grab aggro. Protect is basically Blessing of Protection, keeping your companion safe while you try to gain threat. Shield Throw is my absolute favorite move in the game, which is basically Avenger’s Shield.

As you level up in each run, modifiers are added to each set of abilities, adding Taunt to them, making them hit harder, decreasing their cooldown, or giving them other miscellaneous properties. It makes every run feel a tad bit different and I appreciate it.

Companions

What’s a tank without their party? As of now there are two companions, a Healer and a Ranger. There are more on the way, including a Summoner teased in-game, and a Mage and a Rogue teased on the game’s Steam page.

Both are clearly written from a tank’s perspective. They’re annoying, complain a lot, stand in shit, and die when breathed on. Admittedly, I have no idea how the Ranger works and don’t really care to. I only use the healer because she basically has a Consecrate that heals you while you stand in it. I told you, I’m a Prot Paladin who’s used to certain luxuries in life.

Game Modes

There are three distinct game modes:

1. An instanced dungeon where you fight through packs of goblins to defeat the captain and clear the run
2. A survival wave mode where you and your companion try to survive until the end
3. A raid boss battle straight out of Trial of the Crusader

All three have different difficulty options with modifiers like stronger enemies, different conditions for dealing damage, and more. All three are also fun as hell. I think the instance is my favorite but I can see the raid boss being my favorite once more encounters are made.

Other Bits

“Don’t Lose Aggro” comes with a full “WoW” talent tree to boost your character’s offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as empowering your companions. It’s fun to mix and match and find out what works for your playstyle, rather than relying on a cookie-cutter build like in “WoW”

There’s also this cute little Stormwind-looking hubworld, I like it. Maybe we can get one based on Silvermoon or Orgrimmar when the game fully releases.

Early Review

Here’s my short review: The game is fun as hell and scratches that tanking itch perfectly. It’s clearly made from love and has a ton of references to MMO culture, especially World of Warcraft.

But even when playing the game for five minutes, it’s clear where the developer’s attention went. Even though Koren was right to focus everything on the tank at first, every asset outside of the tank looks like it was taken straight from the Unity store and the enemy mechanics are a little janky.

Enemies can sometimes glitch through the floor or walls, then kill your companion without you even having a chance to intercept them. Obviously, this will be fixed throughout early access in preparation for the game’s launch, but it’s still something to note as we make our way through.

All in all, I’m excited for the game’s future, which promises more companions, companion progression systems, increasing party size with difficulty and more.

And Koren isn’t done yet, saying:

“My grand vision for the game contains almost all the systems you would expect from an MMORPG but in a singleplayer environment, including the banter you might receive from your companions!”

Don’t Lose Aggro is available as an Early Access title now on Steam for $9.99. A must have if you’re an MMO fan.