Blade and Soul On Trial

Ncsoft exhibited highly-anticipated Blade & Soul at G-star 2010 on November 16th. The following trial report is brought by 4gamer editors.


After a character is created, the game begins with a gorgeous cut scene where my character is faint, sinking into the sea slowly, which foreshadows the future storyline. Will different characters go through different stories in the cut scene? The answer will be unveiled by yourselves. Next are the tutorials. Players will get to an oriental site as newbies and start to train themselves with others.
















Blade & Soul is easy to master, employing similar settings with typical MMOs. Use the W/A/S/D keys to move around, the space key to jump and the mouse to set UI, etc. There is a featured F key which will have different functions according to characters’ situations. For instance, players can talk to NPCs when they are facing them, or equip costumes, pick up items in corresponding circumstances.











With the increase of level, characters can do Dash Jump or High-altitude Jump. Later, they can even leap onto roofs and vault over walls or walk on the water. These actions look elegant with an oriental martial-arts style.







In the aspect of battle system, each character has 3 bars, the red one stands for HP, the blue for MP and the green for SP which is required for jumping or doing other actions. The R key represents common attack, but the numeric keys 1-4 are used to cast skills at the cost of MP. The F and Tab keys will have different functions in the light of actual conditions.







Additionally, the game has a prominent feature. Every key will generate different actions based on different battle situations, such as when Blocking phase (Below has the explanation), when the skill is being cast, when the enemy is being pinned down to the ground, or when characters are falling to the earth from sky. What’s more, skill slots will change quickly in combat. In this way, various combo attacks will be released, giving rise to a strong sense of fighting.







Let me talk about the controls of producing combos, taking kung-fu masters for example. Press number 1 to release a skill and then enter into the Blocking phase, waiting for the opponent’s attack in 2 seconds. You will fight back automatically if you are attacked at that moment. When the opponent pauses for a while, you should continue casting other skills instantly, only in this way can you knock down your opponent with one blow. Combos can be generated continuously. Approach your enemy quickly then and press Tab key to bring it to the ground. Press number 1 again to complete a set of deadly skills.

In general, Blade & Soul is like a 3D combat game in terms of battles. Kung-fu masters always remind players of the hero Akira in Virtua Fighter.


It is said the Z/X/C/V key will be assigned different functions. According to plan, numeric keys 1-9 and skill slots will act in coordination and more skill types will be added. In comparison with mainstream MMOs, Blade & Soul adopts fewer keys in combat system and integrates the essence of combat games. In addition, there is another feature related to combat. Characters can lock on a frontal target automatically. Different from the Action Key F, characters are able to adjust their position slightly after auto-fixing the target and then launch onslaught, which is not the same with the targeting mode or the newest non-targeting mode.





















Credits: MMOsite

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