B.o.T for Android has finally come

Are you sure? No news in their FB or the discord server. Perhaps you signed up for the closed beta?

Yes it's a beta test app, you'll have to submit a form and they'll associate the gmail you provide and once confirmed, you can download the app with that gmail account, here's the link:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvlgOeMB5SJdkzRtnR78_kPE-ZWbBJsx_8SDoVoyi6eSFs2g/viewform

FlashAhAhh You can't see the app in play store if your gmail account hasn't been associated with their beta testing program, submit a form and try later, I think it's open to all countries.

play.google.com/apps/testing/com.rbuttongames.battlemechs

It's still at 1.3.6, which I'm pretty sure is still on the closed beta. I don't think the open beta will be available until 1.4 is released. I could be wrong, but that's what I thought was going to happen.

Any Android user can sign up to be a beta tester at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvlgOeMB5SJdkzRtnR78_kPE-ZWbBJsx_8SDoVoyi6eSFs2g/viewform

The last I heard, the minimum requirements were:

Android 5.0.1 and up.

ARMv7, ARM64, x64 architectures and suitable GPUs.

Saw it on their FB page, after 1.4 update it'll be open beta and is expected to be cross platform, you can play with players from both Android and IOS

Did not get mine yet. I'm trying to avoid regular random mode in War Robots, so sticking only with Skirmish mode and the Test Server or otherwise I will be up in Mechwarrior Online.

I registered...haven't heard anything yet. Just tried the download link and it didn't work, so I'll keep trying every few days or so. That little robot that can climb up mountains and walls looks really cool. Some of the weapon ranges seem a little weird, but either way, I can't wait to try.

Here's a quick honest review based on 2 days, and 11 battles in BoT:

The good
One of the things I like best about this game is the hanger. No upgrade timer, no "watch ads" button, no "casino spin game" button, no "casino card game" button, no "collect currency now" button. Just a pilot reviewing his load outs and preparing his gear for battle like it would be in real combat. Only 1 single currency. Also, all weapons (but 1-2) are meta. The pace is a slower game, no single shot kills. Robots are balanced, come with good base loadouts and everyone has the same number of points to spend (you can run 6 lights [1 point each], or 2 heavy [3 points each] or 3 medium [2 points each] bots or any combo up to 6 points.

The bad
It's in beta. After my first squad game while on comms with my War Robots clanmate (who also is in the beta) I had to close the app to reinvite him. According to other players, it's a known glitch. The other bad is that there is only one map (another map is dropping in a few weeks so it's less of an issue).

What to expect
Just watch Lloyd de le Mar's new BoT nom de plume youtube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC-qsbdnPwpIgupoK0ZNzxBg

How does it play
It plays well. Took me a few games to get used to having to manually aim at reds. (For practice, unclick your auto lock in War Robots.) You can shoot at different parts of a mech. (It's good to shoot at a light's legs so they can't run away for example.) War Robots feels smoother like it was made to be played on a phone while BoT feels like a phone/tablet/emulator controller would be a good investment long term.

The battles
Are fun. 5 v 5 players and some bots are AI (but they play way better then the AI bots in War Robots's first 10 or so games). There's no beacons (which I miss) so it's like TDM mode but aiming is more of an issue in BoT and having focus fire is more important then War Robots. (In War Robots you need your teammates less in TDM then in BoT).

How's the whole thing different from War Robots?
Well, quickly it feels like Walking War Robots used to be, 4 years ago. (judging from the videos - I did not play Walking War Robots back then) but the targeting is not as smooth (no auto lock - this is a skill aiming based game). Upgrading things are more complex then War Robots (all base gear is T1 but you can buy T2 and T3(best) stuff) and can change your bots and weapons. For example you could make bots faster, or have better armor(health) or your punisher type machine guns do more damage per round or unload faster.  BoT is super fun and with time, (more maps, bugs worked out, more players) this could be a better game then War Robots is now. It comes down to if they will be able to deliver on what they want to do. (For example they announced that they will be putting the IOS and android players on the same server, and they have a rich backstory of the factions and plans for clans.) Time will tell.

I think competition will be good for War Robots as well.
I'm thankful to try out the BoT beta and hope the game continues to improve! It's off to a good start!

Edit - upgrade info added.

Wow!. Well done, [ツ] Beldanius . An excellent review. I've been pushing for people to try BoT for two weeks, but your brief few sentences did more to bolster BoT than all my efforts combined.