It’s been a little over three weeks since I started playing NCsoft’s martial arts MMO import, and my desire to reach the level cap has lessened considerably. Blade and Soul is an MMORPG game with a twist – it forgoes orcs and rat infestations for a fantasy world influenced by Chinese and Japanese mythology. From the martial artist classes, the costumes and the different areas to the various enemies you encounter.
It all has a pleasant and refreshing Asian look and feel. blade and soul gold Like any MMO it’s an absolutely enormous task to cover it all, but I’m going to endeavour to break what Blade & Soul brings to this crowded genre. Do you enoy crashing your enemies with brute force as a Destroyer, or do you prefer beating them with a series of lighting fast combos as an agile kung-fu master? The seven different classes offered by Blade & Soul all have distinctive and unique play styles so you are bound to find one that suits you well.
I’ve always had different expectations from Korean MMO releases when compared to other MMOs from the West or Japan. Without fail, Korean MMOs have a certain standard that is aligned with every other contemporary they have coming out of that country. With that said, despite my being crazily hyped up for Blade and Soul’s release in the North American and European territories, I never expected BnS to ever revolutionize the MMO industry in any way, shape, or form, with the slight exception on the combat. All this comes together to complement a uniquely rewarding PvP experience.
Blade & Soul allows lower-level players to try to rough up level-capped folks in the arenas through normalization–a setting that evens out competitors’ stats–but that’s rarely wise since the absence of complete skills and their boosts from talent trees presents a monstrous disadvantage. Yet it’s not impossible. Skill reigns supreme in Blade & Soul (as does a decent ping), and a smart newbie can still technically take down a veteran. A single arena match provides enough evidence of why Blade & Soul enjoys such a healthy esports life in Asia.
Many NPC enemies use skills that players will use in the arenas, which should make for decent PVP training. The problem? They fight at a snail’s pace, and it’s possible to simply clobber your way through most encounters if you don’t mind chugging a healing potion every once in a while. Things were going so well in my first Blade & Soul MMO log. I was enjoying combat. The questing is pretty linear (go to town A, complete all the quests, move to town B, repeat) but the storyline was interesting enough to propel me along.
The free-to-play aspects of the game were a bit obnoxious but nothing I couldn’t ignore. blade & soul gold Crafting looked complicated, but I used my top secret method to overcome that (not crafting at all). Plus I loved the movement system. So what changed between now and then? Here’s a quick rundown of points I touch on in the video log. Grouping with other people for dungeons becomes much more common when you start reaching higher levels (currently at 35), and it all feels so pointless. No one talks. There are no traditional roles (healer, tank, damage) so it’s all just a free-for-all. Were I playing with friends I might dig that. Instead I’m even more annoyed with other people than I already was.
