Paladins stands out as a free-to-play fantasy team-based first-person shooter that blends action, strategy, and multiplayer elements into fast-paced 5v5 battles.
Gameplay
In Paladins, matches revolve around coordinating with teammates to outmaneuver opponents using a diverse roster of over 50 Champions. Each Champion falls into one of four classes: Damage for dealing high output from range or up close, Flank for quick strikes and mobility to disrupt enemy lines, Frontline for absorbing punishment and controlling space, and Support for sustaining the team through heals and buffs. Before matches, you build loadouts to tweak abilities, and during play, you purchase items from a shop to adapt to the situation, such as boosting speed or reducing cooldowns. This system encourages experimentation, letting you tailor strategies to your style while emphasizing team composition and positioning in a fantasy setting filled with magic, tech, and mythical beings.
Game Modes
Paladins offers several core modes to keep matches varied. Siege combines objective control with payload pushing, where teams fight over a central point to spawn a cart that must be escorted to the enemy base. Onslaught focuses on king-of-the-hill style gameplay, with teams battling to hold a rotating zone while racking up kills. Team Deathmatch is straightforward elimination, pitting squads against each other until a kill threshold is met. Payload involves one team pushing a cart along a track while the other defends. There's also Ranked for competitive play with bans and picks, plus occasional limited-time modes for fresh twists.
Champions and Customization
The heart of Paladins lies in its extensive Champion selection, drawing from archetypes like sharpshooting mercenaries to star-born monstrosities. You can adjust each one's talents to shift their role, such as making a healer more offensive or a tank harder to kill. In-game, credits earned from objectives buy enhancements like wrecker to shred shields or cauterize to hinder healing. Visual options let you personalize appearances with skins that change models and voice lines, ensuring your setup feels unique in every lobby.
Is It Worth Playing?
With its free-to-play model, Paladins remains accessible for anyone interested in hero shooters, especially on PC. Recent Steam reviews as of March 2026 show 84% positive from 359 entries in the last 30 days, while overall English reviews sit at 82% positive from 127,544 total. The game continues to receive player engagement, though official updates have slowed since 2024. If you enjoy strategic team fights with customizable characters and don't mind occasional balance tweaks, it holds up well against similar titles. Solo queue can feel uneven, but grouping with friends amplifies the fun in modes like Siege or Onslaught.
