Tower defense games usually give players plenty of time to think about where to build, what to upgrade, and how to survive the next wave. Rampartloom: PvP Tower Defense takes that familiar formula and throws another team of players into the equation.
The upcoming free-to-play PC game combines traditional tower defense mechanics with competitive 3v3 multiplayer battles. Instead of simply surviving increasingly difficult waves, players have to build their own defenses while actively trying to overwhelm the opposing team.
That creates a constant choice between spending money on survival or investing it into making life considerably harder for the other side.
Build Your Own Defensive Maze
Each player receives a lane that can be filled with defensive towers. Rather than enemies following one completely predetermined route, players can use their buildings to shape the path themselves.
Creating bends, longer routes and areas covered by multiple towers can give defenses significantly more time to eliminate incoming units.
Players can construct as many as 60 towers in their lane, although simply filling every available space isn’t necessarily the best strategy. Towers can be upgraded, and the layout may need to change depending on what the opposing team decides to send.
There is one important restriction: a valid route between the entrance and exit must always remain available.
Three Players Have to Defend Together
Rampartloom divides each team’s territory into three positions consisting of two wings and a center.
Wing players form the first defensive line. Anything that survives either outer lane continues toward the player defending the center, making that position the team’s final opportunity to stop an attack.
Players can select whether they prefer WING or CENTER before entering matchmaking.
The entire team shares its lives, meaning one struggling lane can quickly become everybody’s problem. Keeping an eye on teammates and adjusting attacks accordingly could therefore be just as important as perfecting your own maze.
Attacking Comes With a Risk
The economy is where Rampartloom becomes particularly interesting.
Gold is used for defensive towers and upgrades, but the same resource is also needed to send assault units against opponents. Those units aren’t purely offensive either. Sending them increases the amount of gold received during future income cycles.
Invest heavily in assault units and your economy can become much stronger later in the match. Do it at the wrong moment, however, and there may not be enough gold left to defend against the enemy’s next attack.
Playing too safely creates the opposite problem. A player who pours everything into towers may survive comfortably early on but could eventually find themselves economically behind opponents who took more risks.
Coordinating attacks between teammates adds another layer to that system, especially if several players can pressure one part of the opposing defense at the same time.
Twelve Factions Change How Matches Play
Rampartloom currently features 12 different factions, each bringing its own defensive towers, appearance and upgrade options.
Players won’t simply select whichever faction they want before every battle.
Instead, two randomly selected factions are offered before a match. Players choose one, while the rejected option enters a shared team pool. Teammates can then swap selections before the draft becomes locked.
The system should prevent every match from revolving around exactly the same builds while encouraging teams to make the best of the factions available to them.
Solo Players Can Still Jump In
A full premade group isn’t required to play.
Players can enter matchmaking alone or create a party with up to three Steam friends. After selecting a preferred position, matchmaking takes players through the lobby, faction selection and eventually into the battle itself.
Matches run on dedicated servers, while bots can occupy empty positions whenever there aren’t enough human players available to complete both teams.
Rampartloom Playtests Will Run Every Weekend
The first Rampartloom Playtest took place from October 3 until October 5, 2026, but that wasn’t a one-off opportunity.
Developer-hosted Playtests are scheduled to return every weekend for 48 hours, running from Saturday at 09:00 UTC until Monday at 09:00 UTC.
Players interested in participating can request access through the Steam Playtest system. The test build is only playable during the scheduled weekend periods.
As expected from an ongoing Playtest, the current version isn’t representative of a finished product. Balance, performance and available content can all change as development continues.
Player feedback will also be used to help shape future versions of the game.
A Different Kind of Tower Defense
Competitive tower defense isn’t an entirely new concept, but Rampartloom is leaning heavily into teamwork rather than turning the genre into a simple one-versus-one race.
Having two wing players feed into a shared center defense means mistakes don’t remain isolated for long. Combine that with a shared life pool, faction drafting and an economy where attacking opponents can strengthen your future income, and there is plenty happening beyond simply placing towers.
Whether that translates into balanced competitive matches will become clearer as more players get their hands on the Playtest.
For now, Rampartloom is giving tower defense fans another chance to find out every weekend.
The full game is planned as a free-to-play release for Windows PC through Steam. Controller support is currently not available, with the game designed around keyboard and mouse controls.
