Generally, there are two distinct schools of thought when it comes to designing an MMORPG. There’s the traditional model, which employs combat based around global cooldowns, long casting animations, and more often than not, a multiplayer partying paradigm dubbed the Trinity – tanks, healers, and DPS classes. Then there’s the Action MMO, which tends to eschew the Trinity and global cooldown-based combat of traditional MMOs in favor of gameplay that resembles an action game, like the Devil May Cry series. Action MMOs typically have a harder time coming over to the West from their East Asian homelands, though Western fans of the genre regularly keep up with their overseas releases and are likely familiar with them through titles like Vindictus and Dungeon Fighter Online.
2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Action MMOs. Pearl Abyss’ Black Desert Online is set to release sometime this year, for example. And as of today, NCSOFT’s incredibly successful Blade and Soul is making its way to Western shores for free.
A trailer for the game can be viewed below:
Initially released in 2012, Blade and Soul now holds a lofty 3rd place position in South Korea’s rankings for MMORPGs, just behind titans like Maple Story and Lineage (in terms of online games overall, Blade and Soul still rests at an impressive 8th place). This is no small feat, as being massively popular in the Valhalla of massively multiplayer online games means your game likely enjoys thriving Player vs. Environment (PvE) and Player vs. Player (PvP) scenes.
Like most MMOs, Blade and Soul thrusts players into the role of a fledgling martial artist who must punch, kick, and decimate his or her foes in their quest for revenge and glory. It’s set in a world heavily inspired by Chinese mythology, where legendary magicians, sinister demons, and evil warlords abound.
Unlike most MMOs, however, Blade and Soul’s combat resembles more of an action game than an RPG. Instead of mounting war beasts and riding from one location to the next, players quickly dash, sprint, and fly their way to the next target before pummeling them with a flurry of fists and feet. The classic MMO elements of leveling, collecting items, and grinding for gear are still present, of course, but they’re accomplished in a flashier manner than usual.
Today’s patch introduces two new “epic” dungeons to what were previously the North American and European betas of Blade and Soul: Blackram Supply Chain and East Fleet Supply Chain. These dungeons are designed around the current Level 45 level cap and feature two difficulty modes, one of which is a 6-player Normal mode and a 4-player Hard mode, where enemies will no longer telegraph their attacks.
This is merely the beginning for Blade and Soul’s journey to the West. Over the next few months, NCSOFT will release more content for North American and European players that will catch them up with the Asian versions of the game. Among these upcoming features are more epic dungeons (Bloodshade Harbor and Naryu Labyrinth); a single-player dungeon reminiscent of Dungeon Fighter Online’s Tower of Despair, where players will combat waves of enemies and compete on leaderboards for fastest completion times; the Silverfrost Mountain expansion, which increases the level cap to 50 and expands the game’s storyline; and the long-awaited playable Warlock class, which revolves around ranged combat and summonable spirit minions. The Warlock may arrive sooner than fans had originally expected, too, since its class-specific gear has already begun dropping as loot.
No Korean MMORPG is complete without an extensive PvP system. As competitive games like League of Legends and StarCraft: Brood War have taught us, professional gaming is not to be underestimated in South Korea. In fact, it’s arguably the motherland of contemporary eSports.
Blade and Soul is no stranger to the eSports scene; NCSoft held a world championship for Blade and Souls’ one-on-one and three-on-three PvP modes last year. This championship featured Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan fighting for a $40k US prize pool. North America and Europe will be added to the championship this year, and the PvP season in these regions will begin once the Silverfrost Mountain expansion and the Warlock class have been added to the game.
Blade and Soul launches today as a free-to-play game with microtransactions. Those interested in downloading the game can do so here.