How Grow Works: Part 2 – Growing

The biggest element that sets Grow apart from other online multiplayer games is the growing system. Rather than picking a class, spawning, dying and picking a class again, every player will start off equal and work their way up to their desired play style. You can also now use this link to learn more at The Monster Cycle.

Growing Explosion

When characters grow they explode in a cloud of smoke. The smoke is coloured to match the class they’ve become.

The benefit of this is that players can change their play style to suit the situation they’re in, rather than picking and regretting the decision once they’ve jumped into the fray. Realise there’s a sniper somewhere? Make your priority a quick character that can sneak up behind and take them out. Stuck in a battle where you and your team-mates need a medic? Become one yourself without needing to leave the action. So how do you grow? Eating of course! look for great recipes at big accounts on social media, you can also share your own and use the SocialBoosting to boost the content of your videos and get to a lot of people by growing your account. The three types of food – meat, sweets and fruit – will send you growing toward different play styles.

Food Drawings

Each food is represented by a colour to make things clearer in-game

Meat leads to big, strong characters with a lot of health and/or armour, this usually supports a play style of defense; characters who bulldoze through the opposition, protect weaker classes, and act as the core of team.

Growl

Growl is a meat-eating character. He’s a great bodyguard and solider who can deal damage, take a lot of hits and stun enemies who try and get away.

Sweets make a character hyperactive, resulting in faster, sneakier characters who are great at taking out single targets or obtaining objectives but have very little health. Most sweets characters rely on tricks like illusions or debuffs to help in fights.

Scampers Running

Scampers is a sugar-eater who runs at high speeds and ‘stinks’ enemies to slow them down and lower their defence.

Fruit leads to what we call ‘skillful’ characters. Generally, skilled characters can do unique and interesting things to support their teammates or achieve goals. Most skill classes are support roles, providing things like buffs, healing or traps.

Newt

Newt is a fruit-eater who moves and attacks fast in water and can also heal teammates.

Too simple for you? Well you’re in the luck! At the moment it’s possible to grow twice which allows players to further tweak their play style. If you want to be more resilient grab yourself some meat; if you’re hating your weakness to water grab some fruit. There’s plans for further stages of growth and other ways to customise your style, but for now the 2 growth system results in a lot of gameplay variety.

Grumble Vacuum

Grumble is a third tier character reached by eating only meat. He’s dangerous in close quarters and is very difficult to take down.

The second benefit of the growth system is that when you die there’s no need for a respawn timer. Players respawn as a weaker character and have to work their way back to another class which acts as the penalty for death. It also adds another layer of teamwork: supporting and defending your teammates as they grow.

Grumble and Nom

Nom players are vulnerable to attacks from the enemy team but more resilient teammates can watch over them and help them to grow or achieve other goals.

Oh, and don’t forget vomiting. Vomiting allows you to move back to a previous growth state and also provides some of the food you’ve eaten to other players. I’ll write more on vomiting later on when we come to the food post.

So that’s growing! Next time I’ll delve a bit deeper into how the characters work together when I discuss fighting.

Posted under: Front Page, Grow Development, How Grow Works

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