It is now 1:30 in the morning and my head is still buzzing from the Dominion beta. Though the beta was supposed to end today around 4:30PM EST, it was extended until sometime after midnight. I can honestly say I spent most of that time playing the Dominion beta. It was a total blast – addictive in a way very few games that last only 20 minutes can be. It’s like a shooter, but with the bonus appeal of unique characters, character progression, and the complications that come with team composition. I think it will be nice to talk for a minute about just how much good Riot has done with this game mode and why I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on it again.
Let’s get one thing straight: Dominion is Riot’s best product to date. I will stand by that until I see a strategy so infuriating that I’m ready to call it quits. Until that time, though, Dominion rules. Playing League of Legends on Summoner’s Rift was always a lot of fun, but in the MOBA world it was the evolutionary equivalent of a tadpole growing flippers. Those flippers were shiny, but the MOBA tadpole could already swim pretty well.
Dominion is the proper, get-out-of-the-water-and-start-breathing-oxygen step in the process. This is the kind of battle arena I’ve been looking for. It is fast paced. It is incredibly active. It is as physically thrilling a game as I’ve played in a very long time.
For a while, I wondered if Dominion was the right play for Riot, especially if it released next to so many other high profile games. The release window is actually what makes Dominion a fantastic product. Riot knows it can’t keep our attention. Riot knows we will be playing Diablo 3 and Battlefield 3 and DotA 2 and SWTOR. It seems Riot also knows that we will want a break from those games, too, and the 20-minute Dominion matches fill that role perfectly. Dominion can easily become the default wife-is-in-the-shower or got-a-few-minutes-before-class game.
Now it all boils down to release. I’m so impressed with Dominion that I don’t really care how it happens. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if Riot just flipped the beta switch and left it on tomorrow. I’m relatively certain that won’t happen, but the fact that it was running for a majority of the day leads me to believe we’ll be seeing it soon. I mean soon as in the actual definition of the word. Like probably early next week. I know, it feels so far away, but honestly, Dominion is worth a few days wait.
