Paladins Reveals First Lore Trailer: 'A Realm Divided'

Paladins is taking over. This year at HRX Hi-Rez Studios stunned and delighted Paladins players by revealing a brand new battle royale mode: Battlegrounds. In addition to this exciting new mode that no one even knew to ask for, Hi-Rez also gave Paladins fans the one thing that they were all asking for: some solid lore. During HRX, Hi-Rez released A Realm Divided, which provides a foundational lore upon which the team will continually build. Check it out above!

Here we see an interesting division between the Paladins, who at one point were banded together in unity to bring peace and order into the world. In a turn of events that seems woefully familiar, a great discovery which led to advancements in power and technology ends up driving the Paladins against each other.

Powerful crystals bring many things into the world. They bring new tools; they bring light and energy; they bring weapons. Unfortunately, as humanity endeavors to tap more deeply into this new source of power, things go wrong, and deadly accidents abound. The Magistrate, a powerful group of governing Paladins and magicians, decide to ban the common man from using crystals. Former Paladins strongly resisted this effort to consolidate power. The Magistrate eventually made a move to seize control, which led to swift and violent backlash. War was soon to follow, and things would never be the same.

The universe could go anywhere from here, and fans are already having a field day in the YouTube comments section speculating over certain in-game voice lines and what they might mean. We still have plenty of world-building to look forward to. Paladins Art Director Thomas Holt admitted at an HRX panel that Paladins still bares some of its sci-fi roots. The team is very intentionally pushing the world further into the realm of fantasy, and building this lore around the Paladins universe and its inhabitants will play a major role in that shift.

Stay tuned!