First off the first thing you are going to encounter in Evolve is the insane load times, and insane to the long side, not the quick side. This seems to only be a major issue on first loading into the system. Once in, even with re-shuffles of players, as long as the host is set subsequent loads seem to be cut in half.

There are major party issues. The game constantly says that the party is full or just spins for day. This is definitely an Alpha and I would wager that they are starting small and seeing what the system can handle instead of starting with too much and wasting resources. This is exactly why there is a Alpha so I can fault them for it, but I really want to because I want to play!

My initial impression is how is this going to keep me playing long term? It’s a great idea, but I don’t see the longevity of it. There are 3 maps in the Alpha, all of which are very very very similar. All night time, all outdoors, all jungle themed. I don’t know how long I’m going to be interested in chasing down 3 different monsters.

Modes. They say they’ll be more. I wish I could see at least one other mode right now.

Here’s one I came up with. Everyone is a monster and it’s a race to Stage 3 while they fight it out.
Here’s another one. 5 v 5. Team vs team. Each team is 4 and a monster. Team A is trying to keep their monster alive, while killing Team B’s monster. and vice versa.

They’ve really pigeon holed their game into this setup where you need 4 people on a team and it seems like it would limit Evolve’s options pretty severely.

This is a team game. So far most randoms don’t seem to get that. If you are a Trapper, for the love of all that is holy, use the damn harpoons and the mobile arena. If you get picked for Medic, you are the healer. HEAL.

The leveling is interesting. Getting the stars seems way off on what they count versus what I did in the level. It also seems the middle Mastery of each class is a million times harder than then the 2 sides. For Medic I had healed the required points in just a few games, and did the Sniper hits in just 2 games, but the Tranqs took FOREVER. Same with Support. The Orbital Barrage is absurd. Even with direct hits it is very slow to reload and most of the time you are just going to full on miss. It would be a lot easier if it tracked Wild but it’s on the Monster only.

So far I’ve gotten to level 12 and unlocked Lazarus the second Medic. I’d like to get 1 Ultra Skin unlock over the week-end to see how those shape up.

We have a Info page for the Alpha RIGHT HERE. Covers the levels perks and each character’s unlock tree.

Will update this as I play more.

Aplha started today for Xbox ONE (10/30/14) and only runs through the 2nd of November. So get cracking!

The Big Alpha contains 2 Monsters (Goliath and Kraken), 3 Maps (Fusion Plant, The Dam, and Distillery) and 2 characters for each of the 4 classes.

If you are in a party, no one in the party is allowed to be the monster. This is to keep from boosting.

Characters are Trapper (Maggie, then Griffin), Assault (Markov, then Hyde), Support (Hank, then Bucket) and Medic (Val, then Lazarus)
All of these characters has levels, perks, and abilities to unlock. Each item you use can be leveled up to 3 stars earning you bonuses.

Perks
Level 1 (0) – Jump Height – Increase jump height by 200% (Hunter)
Level 1 (0) – Climb Speed – Increase climb speed by 30% (Monster)
Level 2 (1,150) – Quick Switch – Cycle between items 10% faster (Hunter)
Level 3 (2,378) – Feeding Speed – Increase feeding rate by 15% (Monster)
Level 4 (3,802) – Jetpack Recharge – Jetpack recharges 25% quicker (Hunter)
Level 5 (5,454) – Damage Bonus – Increase damage output by 5% (Hunter / Monster)
Level 6 (7,371) – Smell Range – Smell range increased by 15% (Monster)
Level 7 (9,594) – Reload Speed – Items recharge or reload 10% more quickly (Hunter)
Level 8 (12,173) – Damage Resistance – Reduce incoming damage by 5% (Hunter / Monster)
Level 9 (15,165) – Cooldown Reduction – Ability recharge 15% faster (Monster)
Level 10 (18,635) – Capacity Increase – Increased battery or clip size by 10% (Hunter)
Level 11 (22,661) – Movement Speed – Increase top speed by 10% (Hunter)
Level 12 (27,331) – Stamina Increase – Traversal stamina recharges 15% faster (Monster)
Level 13 (32,748) – Health Regeneration – Self-healing over time (Hunter)
Level 14 () – Armor Regeneration – Armor regenerates 15% faster (Monster)
Level 15 (+7289) –

Character Progression
Freesytle Champion – Swim 25 Meters
Freesytle Champion II – Swim 100 Meters
Go, Go, Go! – Use a Dropship 10 times
Go, Go, Go! II – Use a Dropship 25 times
Map Maven – Win 11 Matches on Any Map
Trophy Hunter – Win 10 Matches
Stay Classy – Use a Class Ability 50 Times

Laser Show (Support) – Inflict tons of damage to the Monster with the Laser Cutter
Now You See Me (Support) – Cloak several Hunters at once with the Cloaking Field
Protector (Support) – Protect the Hunters from lots of damage with the Shield Projector
Duck And Cover (Support) – Decimate the Monster with the Orbital Barrage
The Support – Get 25 Support Awards

Quick Fix (Medic) – Heal lots of health with the MedGun
Sure Shot (Medic) – Shoot the Monster several times with the Armor-Piercing Sniper Rifle
Medic! (Medic) – Heal several Hunters at once with the Healing Burst
Sleepy Time (Medic) – Shoot the Monster several times with the Tranquilizer Gun
Silent And Deadly (Lazarus) – Mark the Monster multiple times with the Silenced Sniper Rifle
Revivified (Lazarus) – Revivify Multiple hunters with the Lazarus Device

The Medic – Get 25 Medic Awards
The Medic II – Get 100 Medic Awards

Tripped Up (Trapper) – Harpoon the Monster multiple times with Harpoon Traps
Thunderdome (Trapper) – Trap the Monster several times with the Mobile Arena
Hand Cannon (Trapper) – Deal a ton of damage to the Monster with the Machine Pistol
Good Girl (Trapper) – Follow Daisy for a great distance
The Trapper – Get 25 Trapper Awards

Laser Cutter, Shield Protection, Orbital Barrage, Cloaking Field

Mastery
Shield Projector – Level 1 – Shield teammates from damage 16 times (+2% Capacity)
Orbital Barrage – Level 1 – Do 19000 damage
Laser Cutter – Level 1 – Do 8500 damage (+2% Damage)
Earn 1 star in all items – Unlocked Bucket

Armor-Piercing Sniper Rifle, Medgun, Tranquilizer Gun, Healing Burst

Mastery
Medgun – Level 1 – Heal 19000 damage (+2% Capacity)
Tranquilizer Gun – Level 1 – Tranquilize Monsters 60 times (+2% Duration)
Armor-Piercing Sniper Rifle – Level 1 – Place 15 targets on Monsters (+2% Damage)
Earn 1 star in all items – Unlocked Lazarus
Medgun – Level 2 – Revive 8 teammates with MedGun
Traquilizer Gun – Level 2 – Tranquilize Monsters for 860 seconds
Armor-Piercing Sniper Rifle – Level 2 – Team Bonus Damage (Easy Got In One Game So Don’t Know #)
Medgun – Level 3 –
Traquilizer Gun – Level 3 –
Armor-Piercing Sniper Rifle – Level 3 –

Silenced Sniper Rifle, Lazarus Device, Personal Cloak, Healing Burst

Lazarus is unlocked by getting the 1st star on all of Val’s 3 Masteries.

Mastery
Lazarus Device – Level 1 – Bring 6 creatures back from the dead
Personal Cloak – Level 1 – Cloak revive 12 teammates
Silenced Sniper Rifle – Level 1 – Place 100 targets on Monsters

Lightning Gun, Assault Rifle, Arc Mines, Personal Shield

Mastery
Lightning Gun – Level 1 – Do 16000 damage
Arc Mines – Level 1 – Do 29000 damage
Assault Rifle – Level 1 – Do 6000 damage

Machine Pistol, Harpoon Traps, Pet Trapjaw, Mobile Arena

Mastery
Pet Trapjaw – Level 1 – Follow Daisy for 6600 meters
Harpoon Traps – Level 1 – Harpoon Monster 70 times
Machine Pistol – Level 1 – Do 5100 damage (+2% Damage)
Earn 1 star in all items – Unlocked Griffin

Rock Throw
Leap Smash
Fire Breath
Charge

You earn an additional 3 points after evolving to Stage 2 and 3 more points to spend on Stage 3.

Perks
Increase climb speed by 30%

Mastery
Fire Breath – Level 1 – Do 22000 damage
Leap Smash – Level 1 – Do 20400 damage
Rock Throw – Level 1 – Do 6400 damage
Charge – Level 1 – Do 15800 damage