Blade & Soul overview
Blade & Soul Review
Blade and Soul (BNS, bns) is a game in which graphics quality is the first thing that attracts players' attention. And today, anyone can personally check how seriously NCSOFT has worked on the game. And this test will show: that the promotional video did not deceive. The game is terrific. The Unreal Engine 3 that powers Blade and Soul may not be considered the most advanced in video games, but as the basis for an MMO, it allows you to implement everything you need.
The style of the game Blade and Soul
The style of Blade and Soul is reminiscent of manga, where half-naked girls are emphasized as sexy, and men are either effeminate or look like a mountain of muscle. Nothing is surprising in this. The project's art director was the most famous manhwa artist in Korea, Hyung Tae Kim. However, relatively realistic characters also come across.
Blade and Soul classes and races
At the moment, Blade and Soul feature four humanoid races: graceful girls of the Kun tribe, muscular giants Gon, girls with big ears and tails Lee and the closest to ordinary people, Jin. After choosing a race, you must select one of nine classes: blademaster, kung fu master, destroyer, force master, assassin, summoner, ling sword master, warlock or chi master.
The class defines not only the combat mechanics but also the interface. For example, some types use mana, while others use morale units. Blade and Soul abandoned the "trinity" (tank, healer, damage dealer), and almost every character can deal damage and skillfully survive using the class's strengths. This decision, of course, affected the group game.
Each class has unique gameplay. Assassins are shadow fighters who try to stab in the back. Slow but powerful attacks distinguish destroyers. Mages are masters of control spells and area attacks. Sworders are deftly parrying blows, responding with sharp and frequent seizures. Quick actions determine fist fighters both in defence as well as in attack.
Blade and Soul fighting style
The game has a unique and specific fighting style. In battle, the auto-target aiming system is used - the target in front of the character is automatically selected. For maximum effectiveness, learned skills must be combined in combos. And although the dynamics are lower compared to games in the classic fighting genre, the battles are exceptionally energetic for a traditional MMORPG.
Blade and Soul Character Development
Character development takes place in the traditional way for the genre: we gain experience, increase levels and learn new skills. Each hero has several basic skills and many secondary ones that somehow change the main ones. Blade and Soul encourage experimentation with the build: skill point redistribution can be done at any time for a very affordable price.
Armour and clothes in this gameplay are only a decorative role, and the character's parameters can be changed with the help of weapons and accessories, the most valuable of which is the bo-pay amulet. Eight magic fragments can be inserted into it, enhancing the characteristics. For example, if you collect pieces of one type, you will receive a set bonus, which in other games is issued for armour sets. With the help of reagents, you can improve fragments.
Blade and Soul quests
Quests at the moment are not particularly original and exciting. They can be quickly completed without reading the text but simply by running along the signs. However, Blade and Soul have one of the most impressive storylines (by MMORPG standards), capable of giving odds to most single-player games. Separately, the massive number of videos on the engine is worth noting.
Conclusion
It cannot be said that Blade and Soul stand out for their phenomenal uniqueness. Still, it is undoubtedly a high-quality, beautiful and exciting MMORPG from the genre's luminaries, which deserves to try.