Prime World's heroes give new meaning to "red versus blue"

Prime World 's warring factions are much like the symbol for yin and yang.

's warring factions are much like the symbol for yin and yang. Though they fight for different causes, they share quite a bit in common—especially when it comes to heroes. Not every hero is a unique snowflake like the Artiste or the Inventor; some have two distinct forms, with identical abilities but contrasting personalities and origins. Today, we'll be taking a look at five heroes with two separate incarnations each: one for the steampunk, forward-thinking Imperium, and another on the side of the nature-loving, holistic Keepers. Woah—these colors are blowing my mind, man!

Mountain Man / Quarrier

Who's got two giant fists and likes to smash people's faces in with them? This guy. As a tank with some decent damage skills, it's up to the Mountain Man to throw his weight around and put the hurt on anyone who's picking on his more-fragile teammates. Even walking around can contribute—his Giant Stomp slows enemies with each ground-quaking step, letting him get in close to nail a Shockwave that'll spike enemies into the air from the feet up. If things are getting crazy, he can use his Landslide to stun and knock back nearby enemies, or use Stone Man like a turtle retracting into his shell, becoming invincible at the cost of not being able to move. Stone Man will also create Native Terrain around the Mountain Man's location, which greatly buffs abilities for himself and other heroes.

Archer / Amazon

It's official: every MOBA needs a high-dps lady-archer who's accessible to newbies and deadly in the hands of a pro. The Archer's first step towards battlefield domination starts with New Position , letting her dash quickly to the perfect vantage point in a fight. This is where she can rain down a Flurry of Blows , firing a volley of arrows that deal crippling magic and physical damage. And runners will have nowhere to hide: her ultimate Decisive Shot automatically targets whichever hero has the lowest health in a huge radius, then snipes them with a weakling-seeking arrow. Makes me think of the last pitiful kid running for his life in that snowball scene from Elf.

Fire Fox / Flame Tail

Much to our dismay, this foxy caster is not sponsored by or affiliated with Mozilla. This caster can regen her health simply by casting spells, thanks to her Soul Harmony passive, while she deals bonus damage if she's learned Playing with Fire . Wind and Sparks is her go-to nuke spell, hurling an ember-filled gust at her target. You can slip out of trouble with the misdirection of Fox Trick , leaving a decoy in the fight while you sneak away unseen. Her magic damage DPS kit is rounded out by Flame-tailed , where she'll launch fiery orbs into the air that burn off target's heads like mortar shots.

Pied Piper / Rat Master

Josh loves this rodent-herding weirdo, and I think I'm starting to understand why. Using his enchanted flute, the Pied Piper commands rats to do his bidding—which usually involves swarming the enemy's vulnerable feet to a thousand small bites with Rat Eruption , or stealing Prime from other heroes with the conniving Rat Rogues , who'll seek out enemies and make their pockets a bit lighter. He can also amass his minion forces with the Call of the Flute , which will hypnotize soldiers (and even heroes, however briefly) to be his unwilling servants. I guess MOBA heroes don't listen to much music, because the Piper's ultimate, Charming Melody , stuns everyone within earshot before automatically enslaving enemy soldiers.

Lightning Master / Storm Thrower

Hey look, it's that hoverboard dude from Quake 3 Arena! Like any lightbringer worth his voltage, the Lightning Master can zap targets with a pulsating Lightning Bolt , or line up a multikill with the room-clearing powers of Chain Lightning . Enemies wearing non-conductive rubber? No problem—just hurl your skull-shattering Thunder Hammer at their heads, then laugh as they stand there, dazed or stunned. Opponents will think twice before pursuing the Lightning Master, thanks to Overload , which leaves an electrical trail behind him as he runs away. And Rage of the Skies takes a page from Zeus' book, striking every enemy hero on the map with a bolt of body-charring electricity. That'll teach 'em to play out in the rain.

The "two heroes, same skill set" angle can be a bit confusing at first, but it's awesome to see a different aesthetic on opposing heroes, even if they play exactly the same. Nival will be continuing to roll out new heroes on the Prime World website; check back here to see what we think of them.