March of Giants’ Pioneer Playtest is live now on Steam, giving you a chance to try the 4v4 MOBA for free. In a battle of tactics and skill, you play a powerful Giant leading troops into battle as you coordinate with your team to destroy two of your opponent’s three Bastions, while defending your own line from the same fate. Intense one-on-one and team battles and strategic deployment await in March of Giants – here's everything you need to know to get started.
What Giants are available in the Pioneer Playtest?
Front and center to the action in March of Giants are the Giants you play as. Creatures of wartime Dreams and Nightmares, these towering titans each boast unique abilities designed to give them an edge on the battlefield. These are the active Giants for the Pioneer Playtest, with more on the way:
Melee
- Victoria – The Dream of Victory, her immolation spear burns away any enemy in her path
- Wolfgang – Once a brutal officer, this Nightmare of Rage now unleashes the beast within, leading packs of terrifying werewolves
- Voidmaster – This ancient Nightmare of the Occult was reborn to spread corruption through dark cultist and dread ritual
- Strykka – With a past shrouded in secrecy, this Nightmare of Agony lives again to take and deliver her shocking punishment
- Kragg – This Nightmare of Strength unleashes his caged brutality through disruptive charges and earth-shaking crowd control, dominating the battlefield
- Oriane – A chivalrous duelist who strikes with deadly precision, the Dream of Peace cuts down her targets in the hopes of a better day
- Iron Sister – The industrious Dream of the War Effort uses her crucible to forge hazardous zones and shape the battlefield with molten magma
- Trench Maw – A living troop carrier, the Nightmare of the Battlefield burrows beneath to ambush enemies with waves of Soldiers
- Ossuary – A swift specter who phases past defenses, the Nightmare of the Fallen collects armies of phantom Soldiers and unleashes them in ghostly charges
Ranged
- Solace - A champion of Arachia’s unifying church, the Dream of Faith revives his holy cause by healing allies and converting enemy Soldiers
- Flint – A master artillerist who rains death down from above, the Dream of Idealism and his war-shell, the Pride of Dawn, fight with the zeal of a new generation
- Malgrove – The Nightmare of Hate spreads dark roots beneath the battlefield, sniping prey from concealed positions while laying thorny traps
- Dreadnought – The Nightmare of Vengeance, who lays down devastating cannon fire and empowers bunker networks for sustained destruction
- Stratus – Born from tempest and ruin, the Dream of Storms ravages enemies with lightning and tornadoes
- Goliath – A veteran captain who inspires and empowers his Soldiers, the Dream of Courage uses tactical deployments to hold the line
All players will automatically have access to Victoria, Solace, Kragg, and Elaris, with four other Giants randomly unlocked. The rest can be unlocked with Giant Tokens, which can be earned by completing matches and subscribing to select March of Giants creators on Twitch.
You can level up your Giant during a match by amassing Merits, which can be collected by taking out enemy tanks, Giants, Outposts, and Bastions, or by collecting them from set spawn points on the map. Try not to get tangled up with a Giant brawl early in the game; focus on taking out tanks and racking up Merits so you can power up quickly and have an edge in the inevitable duel. And remember, you gain the most number of Merits by killing an enemy Giant – but they get the same valuable reward for killing you, so sometimes a hasty retreat is a smarter tactic than dying in glory.
How to Use Soldiers in March of Giants
Regularly throughout the battle, a wave of Soldiers and tanks will spawn behind your Bastion line and travel up each lane. In March of Giants, you have the unique ability to command these Soldiers throughout the battle to help you attack enemies or gather resources. When you walk amongst their ranks, your Giant will automatically rally a group of Soldiers to their side. These Soldiers will now march with you wherever you go, whether you’re pushing an attack or retreating to safety, and each Giant has a different number of Soldiers. To increase the number of rallied Soldiers you can have, use Merits to buy Max Rally items for your loadout.
Use your Soldiers to scout areas hidden in the fog of war or to quickly collect Merits and Supplies without you having to walk to grab them (Shift + D to send a small detachment). Your Soldiers can also deal serious damage to enemy Giants, so be sure to use them as part of your skirmishes to gain an edge; conversely, beware a charge of enemy Soldiers as they can quickly sap your health. Quickly stomp them out, send your own Soldiers to intercept them, or, if you're playing as Solace, use your Holy Conversion to convert those enemy Soldiers into allied ones.
Soldiers also play an essential role in winning every match. As you approach an enemy Bastion, it will be sealed tightly, and you won’t be able to damage it. However, when you send Soldiers to attack, its cover will open, leaving you free to chip away at its HP – until it turns its sights on you, or enemy Giants come to its defense. Since the Bastion attacks on a first-come, first-attacked basis, make sure you let tanks roll into its range before you, giving you the most time possible to attack. From Giant-to-Giant combat to tackling enemy structures to claiming neutral battlefield assets (like the powerful Siege Dozer), understanding and using Soldiers is critical to your success in March of Giants.
How Battleworks Can Give You An Advantage
In addition to Merits, you’ll also collect Supplies on the battlefield, which are dropped in increasing amounts with each wave of Soldiers and tanks. Once you amass enough Supplies, you can use them to purchase and place different Battleworks, shaping the battlefield to bolster your defenses or give an edge to your aggressive push. The Battleworks (and their Supply costs) are:
- Soldier Drop (10) - Calls a zeppelin filled with Soldiers. Great for replenishing your rallied Soldiers.
- Trench (10/1) - Digs a trench for Soldiers, buffing them massively against enemy Soldiers (10 supplies needed to start a new trench plus one supply per segment to extend). Good for defense points around key objectives.
- Giantslayer Bunker (15) - A gunnery bunker that attacks enemy units, including the Siege Dozer and Ironclad tanks, and Giants within its targeting cone. Protect it with Trenches for an even tougher emplacement.
- Ironclad (10) - Builds an armored tank to push the lane. Outposts and bastions will attack these first, temporarily saving you from their powerful salvos.
- Cavalry (20) - Sends a charge of cavalry ahead. They ignore buildings, but decimate enemy trenches and Soldiers, and slows enemy Giants on contact (cavalry amount scales with Max Rally). Good way to neutralize the advantage of Giants with large soldier rallies.
Note that some of these Battleworks can directly or indirectly be used in conjunction with a Giant’s unique abilities to give them an added boost. For example, Dreadnought’s passive ability allows him to build Giantslayer Bunkers in a shorter period of time and enhance their abilities when he’s in range, and his Q and W abilities can make those enhanced bunkers deal extra damage or shoot a missile at an enemy Giant. Solace’s passive allows him to gain energy when his Soldiers assault enemy Giants, and Victoria’s W ability grants her a shield based on how many ally Soldiers are nearby, making Soldier Drop a useful boost to both.
Key Points of Interest on the March of Giants Map
If your outpost and Bastion are well-defended and you feel confident taking time to venture between lanes, there’s plenty of opportunities you can find:
- Siege Dozer: Spawns periodically throughout the match. Send your Soldiers to claim this powerful war machine designed to deal severe damage to the enemy building you direct it to.
- Colossus: Located near the baseline of your center lane, activate this powerful turret to rain damage on enemy Giants pushing for your Bastion
- Abomination: This massive zeppelin spawns periodically, travels freely across the map, and deals massive damage to anyone fighting within its range
- Shop: If you want to purchase items outside of your equipped build, this is the spot to do it. There are set shop points near the top, mid, and bottom lanes. Take out your opponents’ shops to hamstring their ability to upgrade without returning to their baseline.
- Merit Camps and Supply Drops: The top, mid, and bottom lanes all have set points on the map that periodically spawn Merits and Supplies, giving you a quick, small boost. If you don’t collect Merits right away, they will accumulate; Supplies will respawn three minutes after being collected
- Augmentations: Claiming an augmentation point will grant one augment to each member of your team, allowing them to upgrade an aspect their Q, W, or E abilities. You can get augmentation points by destroying an enemy Field Camp, killing the Abomination, or from your friendly Augment Field Camp near your back line
If you’re near your baseline and need to change lanes quickly, don’t forget to use one of the shortcut tunnels that run between the midlane and the top lane, as well as the midlane and the bottom lane.
Pioneer Playtest Rewards
By completing PvP matches during the Pioneer Playtest, you can earn points towards unlocking Pioneer Status, which grants you the legacy of being an early player to shape March of Giants as well as these exclusive rewards:
- Pioneer Player Profile Badge
- Exclusive permanent Giant unlock
- Free Premium Early Access Pack (redeemed at the start of Early Access)
Play March of Giants’ Pioneer Playtest today on Steam!