| Blade & Soul | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer(s) | NCSoft |
| Publisher(s) | NCSoft |
| Platform(s) | PC |
| Release date(s) | Korea (June 30 2012) USA (January 19 2016) Europe (January 19 2016) |
| Genre(s) | MMORPG |
| Rating(s) | T |
 |
This section or article is incomplete. |
Blade & Soul (Korean: 블레이드 앤 소울) is a Korean fantasy martial-arts massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by NCSoft (Team Bloodlust). On September 13, 2012, NCSoft announced that Blade & Soul would release in Western territories, which eventually happened on January 19, 2016.[1] An anime television adaptation began airing on April 3, 2014 on Tokyo Broadcasting System and other stations.[2]
This game is based on the Wushu Chinese fighting styles and cultures. Your hero is honorable and feels compelled to right the wrongs of the world. The lore in the game includes the death of your clan and your character's need for vengeance (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
- This game has been confirmed to be free to play. In game purchases will be available.
- PvP: Optional flagging system. Players need to equip PvP outfits to participate in open world PvP. When a person is hit and staggered or even pinned down, it will be seen as that on both peoples side. So head locking or even pinning a person to the ground and smashing them will be possible.
- Arenas: There is also instanced PvP where you queue up either solo to engage in 1v1 fights with other players, or join with 2 other people for 3v3 matches/ 5 other players for 6v6 arena matches respectively. Gear and statistics are balanced in 1v1 and 3v3 to make for a competitive experience without gear dependency whereas 6v6 is heavily influenced by the gear you obtain through PvE.[3]
- Training: Bo-Pae System where players collect Bo-Pae pieces to combine and match bonus stats.
Gameplay[]
Blade & Soul features a combination of martial arts inspired combat and qinggong in an open-world environment. Players create playable characters that explore around the world by completing quests assigned by various NPCs. The game uses a real-time battle system in the third person camera view and requires players to "combo" a series of attacks, much like that of fighting games. According to NCSoft, the game also features an innovative “Downed” mechanic, allowing players to recover from the brink of death. Players begin with “player-versus environment” (PvE) but may participate in “player-versus-player” (PvP) combat later in the game.[4]
Character Customization[]
According to the developers, Blade & Soul will provide a highly customizable system and it has been stated that NPCs in the game were made with the character customization system.[5] Customizations a player has access to include hair styles, facial structures, eye color, height, and body sliders.
Races[]
Characters may be one of four playable races based on the four benevolent animals (the Qilin, the Dragon, the Turtle, and the Phoenix):
- Jin: Basic human appearance. Consists of Blademaster, Kung Fu Master, ForceMaster,Soul Fighter, Assassin and Warlock
- Gon: Darker skinned yet very muscular people. Consists of Kung Fu Master, Soul Fighter and Destroyer.
- Yun: Female only race. Consists of Soul Fighter, Blademaster and Forcemaster.
- Lyn: A rather short part animal type person. Consists of Forcemaster, Summoner,Blade Dancer and Warlock.
Classes[]
- BladeMaster: Capable of powerful and agile sword maneuvers.
- Kung Fu Master: Uses their fists and feat to powerfully beat down foes.
- Force Master: Uses Magic and Aura to destroy enemies with the power of nature.
- Destroyer: Pure powerful machines capable of smashing through foes with a massive weapon and power.
- Assassin: Capable of invisibility and sneaking up on foes with quick and lethal force.
- Summoner: Able to summon pets that aids in combat.
- Blade Dancer: High damage, high agility class with powerful chains but lacking in defense.
- Warlock : mid-range combat and highest burst damage in game, and can summon thrall. Pretty soft, only able to block attacks from the front and low number of Iframes.
- Soul Fighter : The only class that is able to deal heavy damage up close and from a distance.
Development[]
Weeks before NCmedia day, NCSoft announced a new Unreal Engine 3 based MMORPG only known for its codename Project [M]. For the next two weeks, a teaser website was updated revealing more information about the project.
During E3 2007, Sony revealed that they had entered into an exclusive deal with NCSoft to produce new titles exclusively for the PlayStation 3. This contract included titles from both existing intellectual properties owned by NCSoft.[6]
On February 2010 it was announced that Blade & Soul alongside Guild Wars 2 is being developed for release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. However, since then, there have been no updates on the development of the titles for the consoles.
The first closed beta test was scheduled for 27 April 2011 while the open beta test and commercial release were to be determined within the year.
In July 2011, Tencent Holdings gained publishing rights of Blade & Soul in China, and made its first appearance at ChinaJoy 2011.[7] Blade & Soul launched in China on November 23, 2013 with an open beta which seamlessly moved into official launch.
The second closed beta test was scheduled from August 29 to September 10, 2011. During this event the Assassin class was playable for the first time.
After an open beta test on June 21, 2012 with a record number of 150,000 players, NCSoft confirmed that the official Korean Blade & Soul launch would commence on June 30, 2012.[8]
In 2013, Hyung-tae Kim has stated that an English version of the game would indeed be released sometime in 2014 after China commercial launch, the new Blade & Soul anime in Japan alongside Taiwan and Russia.[9]
On May 20, 2015 Blade & Soul has been announced for NA and EU region and is set to release this winter. Closed beta officially began on October 29, 2015.
NA and EU beta testing occurred over the course of five weekends beginning on October 30, 2015, and concluding on December 21, 2015. [10]
The official launches of NA and EU servers occurred on January 19, 2016.[11]
Gallery[]
.jpg "Blade and Soul Art (10).jpg (180 KB)")
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ Announcing Blade & Soul September 18 2012
- ↑ Blade & Soul Fantasy TV Anime's 1st Promo Streamed April 3 2014
- ↑ Blade & Soul PvP May 19, 2017
- ↑ FAQ September 13 2012
- ↑ Massively March 2 2012
- ↑ N4G April 14 2010
- ↑ MMOsite February 26 2012
- ↑ Blade & Soul Dojo February 26 2012
- ↑ 김형태 Hyung-Tae Kim Interview at NCSoft "Blade & Soul" studio June 11 2014
- ↑ MMOs.com January 27 2016
- ↑ Blade & Soul December 29 2015
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External Links[]
- Official Website (English)