How Blade & Soul Will Change Free MMORPGs

by Natasha Kovic

A new day has dawned upon us in the world of free MMORPG games. The reputation for free game-play in this genre has been vastly agreed upon as non-satisfactory. They have been ridiculed for lacks in smoothness, ease of access, game-play, graphics and many other required facets that make a game in this genre enjoyable and worthwhile. These games are arguably the most globally popular genre in all of the gaming universe. Yet there are obvious draw-backs in playing any free games on any platform (drawing many people to search for deals and discounts on paid titles than playing free MMOs). That being said, there are also hundreds of high quality games that are available to play for free. Free app games on smartphones, downloadable content on an xbox or playstation console and many games available for the pc or mac. Free MMORPG's have yet to be atop the list of those games. Here is why...

Many free versions of the genre lack in free roaming space needed to keep a true fan of the genre excited to come back for more. The tap to attack features are usually redundant, unoriginal or lacking in visual stimulation. The leveling up and creation of characters can be often times lack-luster. The separation between powerful characters and low-level avatars can be quite frustrating to even out as well. Three elements found to be the biggest draw for any RPG is character creation choices, free world roaming options and combat. The pvp portion of MMORPG gaming is huge. It is the glue which holds these games together. Even with limited free roaming space or a basic avatar, the interaction and especially the combat, can keep a player coming back for more. A true gamer will be salivating to get back online for some spark-flying combat. So, MMORPG fans....get the napkins and let the drooling begin!

The gaming universe and the visionaries of NCSOFT present to you: Blade and Soul. Recently released in North America, 'Blade and Soul', grounded in true martial arts and innovative, anime' styled combat, has changed the world of MMORPG's for the better and will undoubtedly influence the genre from here on out. There are so many unique elements of the game that the amount of players online has already reached over a million in just North America alone. Let us discuss these elements.

Character creation on Blade and Soul is . The element of anime is deeply enriched into the visual appearance of characters and gear. Colorful, extravagant, hardcore and, quite frankly, seductive. A player of Blade and Soul can surely build a character that feels their own. The minions, enemies and bosses are exceptionally versatile in appearance, skills and powers. This is one very important factor in coming back to play more and more.

The free world roaming on Blade and Soul is truly what it should be and meets or exceeds expectations. A visual escape as any RPG should be. It is vast, colorful, dark, mood-setting and as realistic as an online fantasy-scape can be. The structural integrity is reminiscent of realistic villages and town areas, heavenly temples, jungles and waterfalls, as well as hellish environments and caverns. The mountains, sky and background are all flowing and placed naturally. Players travel through the world on foot or by flight. The animation for character flight is absolutely on point and there are many possible bonus skills and level-ups for speedier travel. As always, there is the feature of fast travel, or spawn-travel as well.

What is truly unique about the Blade and Soul environment is the dungeons, as well as the side quests they contain. There are literally an entire extra worlds' worth of dungeons in this free MMORPG. This is something that definitely sets this game apart from any other before it. The dungeons are a great place to team up and advance your avatars' skills, gear, possessions and level. You could spend limitless time questing the dungeons alone. Another fantastic aspect of the game is the prestigious arena! This feature is truly one of the most trend-setting aspects of MMORPG games ever seen. The arena is a place where players can get together and go heavy on PVP action. Before moving on further with the arena, we must first move on to the most anticipated portion....COMBAT!

What sets the combat apart from all other battle themed portions of MMORPGs is that every player comes into the arena at EVEN level. So a level 12 has no worries of being completely pummeled with no chance by a level 30 for instance. Nor can a level 30 come into the arena and take a beating by a level 12 and just sit back, laugh and use the same old power move over and over again. What sets apart players in the arena is not the level of player, but rather the skills, weapons and techniques acquired by that player over time. So a higher level player will still hold the advantage, but a lower level player can still win with smart combat. Shoot and scoot! So how does the combat go down? Read this very closely ...NO TAP TO ATTACK. Yes, you read that sentence correctly!

Blade and Soul is everything a player could want in classic, fighting-game styled, combat. It is as if Mortal Kombat and Elder Scrolls joined in union. A plethora of combinations, powers, abilities, defenses and power attacks make for endless excitement in PVP action. Just watching a video walk-through of the combat in the game is thrilling; the integrity to true martial arts combined with fantasy combat is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Whether dealing out an explosive barrage of mega attacks or taking a ferocious beat down of kicks and elemental blasts, the player will be hungry for more. Blade and Soul combat in the open world is just flat-out fun, but in the arena, it has caught so much fire that it may be deemed an e-sport in Asia right now. So for free MMORPG gaming, Blade and Soul is upgrading the platform for the better overall.