New content update in Blade & Soul

Korean fighting MMO Blade & Soul has just released its first content update, buy blade and soul gold titled Rising Waters, which is aimed at mid and high-level players as well as PvP. The latest announcement was made just as Blade & Soul hit a major milestone only three weeks into its launch: 2 million players in US and Europe. That said, don’t be surprised if by the time you’re Level 20 that you begin forgetting what the story is about in the first place. While the characters you meet aren’t necessarily forgettable, there are enough required fetch quests and kill quests to make the adventure a slog, and you don’t spend enough time with most of the NPCs before you need to move on to the next area with a whole brand new set of NPCs.

In between these quests are even more fetch-and-kill quests in the form of side missions that are technically optional (and not voiced like the main story missions) but are the fastest way to earn experience points so that you can reach the level cap of 45. The fact that some enemies are copied and pasted into later sections doesn’t help either. That said, don’t be surprised if by the time you’re Level 20 that you begin forgetting what the story is about in the first place. Of course, the first step to any MMO is character creation.

I was pleasantly surprised at the range of customization Blade & Soul offered for a free MMO. First off, the game gives you four different races to choose from: the Gon, Lyn, Yun, and the Jin. The Gon are a sturdy, physically-powerful people and the Jin, while similar, are slightly smaller and lithe. The Yun are an entirely-female race with a strong connection to the natural world, while the Lyn are a small, nimble race with large animal-like ears and tails.

While the characters you meet aren’t necessarily forgettable, there are enough required fetch quests and kill quests to make the adventure a slog, and you don’t spend enough time with most of the NPCs before you need to move on to the next area with a whole brand new set of NPCs. In between these quests are even more fetch-and-kill quests in the form of side missions that are technically optional (and not voiced like the main story missions) but are the fastest way to earn experience points so that you can reach the level cap of 45. The fact that some enemies are copied and pasted into later sections doesn’t help either.

Fortunately, the combat system has the active engagement and intricacy similar to a fighting game like Street Fighter that quests aren’t as boring as they would be otherwise. No matter which of the seven classes you select, from the melee-focused Destroyer and Kung Fu Master, to the more ranged Force Master and Summoner, you will need to be proficient in combat. Case in point, there is no healing class in Blade & Soul. Apart from dumplings which only work outside combat and healing potions that work off a long cooldown, most of your healing is done through landing hits (if you navigate your skill tree appropriately). More than that, if you find yourself needing to heal often, you’re doing it wrong.

Bloodshade Harbor is a 4 or 6 player dungeon, and its 24-player version is Nightshade Harbor. blade & soul gold These new end-game dungeons allow players to go against the evil Blackram pirates and Poharan’s boss, Admiral Hae Mujin. As for Mushin’s Tower, a single player Heroic dungeon, the area must be worked through floor-by-floor with unique and increasing challenges on each level. The Rising Waters content update also marks the start of Blade & Soul ’s PvP preseason. What does that mean? A new in-game UI will help players evaluate their skills and earn Zen Beans (PvP currency in Blade & Soul) from their battles against other players.