How Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin is bringing a modern RTS experience to Xbox players

A retinues of the Stormcast Eternals’ hammer-wielding Liberators are making their way across the battlefield with one goal: to capture a Victory Point, which will determine the outcome of the battle. To do so they’ll have to fend off hordes of Gutrippaz, the cruel and cunning infantry of the vicious Orruk Kruleboyz – not to mention navigate difficult terrain that’ll slow down their movement and leave them vulnerable.

As the Stormcast Eternals gather resources, their forces grow in power, however, their more powerful units, like the Wyrmflame Stormdrake Guard and winged Prosecutors, soon enter the fray to take control of the battle – at the same time, however, the Kruleboyz unleash massing hordes of enemies and large monsters like the towering Mirebrute Troggoth to wipe these champions of Order out.

It’s not going to be an easy fight. But it’s going to be a heck of a lot of fun to watch.

This is what it’s like to play a multiplayer match in Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin, a major real-time strategy game based on Games Workshop’s® fantasy universe and developed by Frontier Developments, coming soon to Xbox Series X|S. Presenting a modern take on a much-loved genre, you’ll enjoy a narrative-driven campaign told from multiple perspectives, then jump into online, where you’ll select one of four distinctive factions in both 1v1 and 2v2 competitive cross-platform multiplayer modes (though you can play against the AI too, if you’d prefer). The game is played differently by each faction, with the fight changing dramatically as you unlock the next tier in the tech tree.

Realms of RuinThe game offers a fresh take on RTS, giving both newcomers and veterans of the genre a fun and engaging multiplayer experience. We wanted to make sure that the real-time interface was flexible and comfortable for both consoles and PC.

That’s why we’ve created DirectStep™ for your Xbox controller, which does exactly that. It’s possible to do this with DirectStep(tm) for your Xbox controller. Realms of RuinUsing a heading indicater, you can issue orders to specific squads. By pressing and holding the left joystick, you can rapidly send the squads to the selected direction by using the heading indicators. The length of the heading indicator – and therefore how far the squad will move from a single order – is impacted by the zoom level of the camera, allowing for precise orders to be given when the camera is pulled right into the field of view. The Direct movement order can be toggled, as well as the Attack one, which orders your troops to attack any enemy they come across.

The right stick offers complete 360 degree control of the camera, giving you total command over the view of the battlefield – meaning you get the opportunity to enjoy the game’s authentic, high-fidelity and beautifully-animated Age of Sigmar units fighting up close. Or, if you’d prefer to zoom out for a classic RTS perspective, we put that choice in your hands.

Realms of Ruin’s controller interface does much more than enable simple movement orders on Xbox, too. To select another squad on a different battlefield, you simply need to tilt the left stick to the desired target and press the A button. It gives you immediate control over that squad, and allows you to jump about the map in order to manage the conflict from multiple angles. If you’d prefer more traditional RTS movement orders, pushing the left stick in will toggle Reticule Mode. The camera is disconnected from the squad and can move freely. This allows you to plot individual orders in greater distances. With the D-Pad, you can hotkey units in groups. This gives you more control and instantaneous command of your forces.

Ultimately, the goal with DirectStep™ is to provide fast-paced inputs and fluid gameplay for players of any ability – whether they’re familiar with the heritage of RTS games on Xbox, or if they’re totally new and want to jump into a scrap for the first time. 

DirectStep is available to players from 7th to 9th July, when the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin Open Beta on Xbox. The Stormcast Eternals as well as Orruk Kruleboyz will both be available in competitive 1v1 matches. The second open Beta will take place later in the summer. Head to our official website if you’d like to learn more about it – we look forward to seeing you on the battlefields of the Mortal Realm Ghur!

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Realms of Ruin The game is soon coming to Xbox Series X|S, and we can’t wait to tell you more about the remaining factions and ways to enjoy the game as we get closer to launch.