Group

My first foray had me playing a Jin, and I genuinely loved dressing her up. The character creator in BnS NEO Divine Gems still remains a head above the rest, and hasn’t changed in Neo. You can change the broadness of your shoulders, the size of your feet, hands, and because the game relies on sex appeal, even the breasts of your character. It’s a game that boasts designs from Korean concept artist and studio lead Hyung-tae Kim of MagnaCarta, now Stellar Blade, fame. This isn’t a knock against the game. It knows what it wants to be, and I applaud it for sticking to its guns. Sometimes you want to be sexy and kick ass, and Blade and Soul has always fulfilled this fantasy.

However, this time I opted for a Gon this time, shrinking him down in the expansive character to creator, to not be an absolute mammoth of a man as I slung around projectiles made of ice and fire, alternating to keep up status effects as a Forcemaster. However, I did end up remaking the character I played in the original Blade and Soul, a Jin Kung-Fu Master. She excelled in hand-to-hand combat, and I loved making use of perfect blocks to deal damage back to enemies, and even counter attacks at later levels. The dynamic action of that class continued to call to me, and in the end I abandoned my Forcemaster (which is Blade and Soul’s caster) for the raw damage my fists provided.

Other classes are available too. The Gon Destroyer slots into what I would consider cheap BnS Classic Divine Gems closest equivalent to a tank, and the Lyn Summoner, which is kind of a healer. But I wouldn’t say that any of these classes are defined in any real way, it really just impacts the range and damage you do. Since there are no true healers or tanks, the game relies on a “downed system” which allows for players to revive themselves if they can stay out of combat for a specific period of time. Aggro swapping is a popular technique, with players juggling the attention of the boss to give party members room to breathe and heal.