Blade & Soul

Blade & Soul is a third-person MMORPG with martial arts in an eastern fantasy setting. Players can expect spectacular battles and seductive characters, a sea of content for leveling up as part of a pair or team of players. The project was developed by the Korean studio NCsoft and is supported in Russia and the CIS countries by the company "Innova." The game is distributed under a conditionally free model with the option to connect premium services.

Blade & Soul's gameplay is built on an unconventional MMORPG scheme — with the dominance of fighting and slasher elements, expressed through various combo attacks designed for both melee and ranged combat. The action on the screen resembles Devil May Cry 4 and Ninja Gaiden 3, adjusted for massive multiplayer battles.

Four races and 11 classes allow you to create a character that fits your preferred play style. Mastering the numerous skills and techniques is quite simple due to the combat system not requiring targeting enemies — to strike with weapons or cast magic attacks, you just need to face the right direction.

The game has a limit on the amount of experience gained per day, so character development can take a long time. But there is a way to level up quickly.

As the character levels up, new abilities are unlocked and numerous characteristics grow. The points earned are invested in the main characteristics, and weapons, armor, and other equipment can be used to improve specific parameters.

The gameplay is made unique by the redistribution of points, which can be easily done at any time — this corrects development mistakes and changes the fighting style. Each character knows a dozen basic skills, and each of these skills has several secondary ones that change the main one.

The game world is based on well-thought-out eastern fantasy, combined with myths and legends of Southeast Asian peoples, as well as eastern-style architecture in buildings and the entire environment.

According to mythology, the world of Blade & Soul is divided into four parts. The main action takes place in the Middle World, where humans and other races reside. There is also the bright Land of the gods and celestials, the "gray" Lands of the dead for spirits and ghosts, and the dark Lands of demons, the lair of evil.

Long ago, the land of Naryu stretched across the entire territory of the Middle Lands, and its inhabitants were happy and carefree. This displeased the archdemon Manhwan, who fed on the hatred and anger of people. Gathering a huge army and attacking Naryu, he defiled the world of the living and their souls. Only the Guardians were able to stop his invasion and send him back to Hell.

Currently, Blade & Soul features two continents divided into locations, as well as a number of additional levels that can be accessed through portals. The levels in the game are spacious and varied — cities and villages, fields and meadows, deserts and coasts, dungeons with dangerous mobs, and boss lairs.

The story of Blade & Soul unfolds many years after the invasion of Manhwan — a treacherous demon who corrupted and endowed several Guardians' disciples with incredible power to steal the Twilight Blade. This weapon can free the demon and restore his former power.

The created character immediately finds themselves at the center of events, as their mentor is none other than Hong Sokyun, the great strongman and Guardian of the blade. After learning the basic techniques, the novice gets into trouble: enemies betray and kill Hong, steal the Twilight Blade, and frame the character as one of the traitors.

Now they must not only clear their name and find the sinister weapon but also prove their chosenness, ability to wield the blade, and restore the balance of power. The plot is divided into 10 acts, each with several dozen quests, about 30 hours of gameplay.

The choice of race in Blade & Soul determines the character's class, but this condition cannot be called strict. Each game race representative can try their hand at 4-7 classes, just the set of classes changes from race to race:

Classes differ in complexity, combat mechanics, and interface. Some may be difficult to manage due to the need to remember many combos and skills; some classes use mana, others — fighting spirit; the interface changes accordingly. Which class to choose read in our guide.

Moreover, Blade & Soul does not have a classic division into tank, damage dealer, and support — they are replaced by masters with their strengths and weaknesses, for example, a tank will not be able to withstand a hit if they do not dodge and constantly block enemy attacks.

Here are the classes in Blade & Soul: