Blade & Soul

Players of Blade & Soul can start to expect some more ranged warfare as the new Zen Archer class finds its way to the martial arts MMORPG.

Blade & Soul Senior Producer Nico Coutant has penned the game's mid-year update to provide the community with a peek at what's ahead for the second half of 2019. Most notably, Coutant admits that the big Unreal Engine 4 upgrade probably won't be released in 2019 as originally planned. However, a new video showing some of the development progress towards the goal has also been released.

NCSoft has released a brand new cinematic trailer for the upcoming Archer class headed to Blade & Soul Korea later this month. The trailer offers a bit of backstory for the twelfth job and primes the hype for the future release of the Archer in the west.

On June 19th, Blade & Soul players will see the deployment of the Empyrean Shadows content update. Players will be working to "stem the tide of evil and stop Mushin's grand plan". This marks the tenth chapter in the game's story. Content-wise, players will see the third class specializations for both the Blade Master and the Kung Fu Master as well as "the deadly Warped Citadel". Lastly, players will begin earning rewards with the newly added Fishing System.

Not long ago, Blade & Soul developers teased a new class coming to the Korean version of the game. Set to launch in June, nothing else has been said until the arrival of a new teaser image on the Korean site. The image shows off a pair of female archers, though devs provided no further details including whether or not there will be a male version. With the month of May waning and the imminent release nearing, it's apparent that more info should be coming soon.

From May 15th to June 19th, Blade & Soul players will be able to take part in the Scarlet Tears event in celebration of the upcoming Scarlet Conservatory raid. Players will take part in a number of phases during the event, each of which sees them rewarded with Polished Scale Fragments that are used to purchase items in the Dragon Express. Items include the 2018 Cosmetic Design Contest costume and the Reborn & Cryo Phoenix Weapon Illusion.

On April 24, the Blade & Soul servers will be reduced from five to two. Yura will be the NA server, while Jinsoyun will be the EU server after that date. The buying and selling of gold via the Currency Exchange will be disabled a few days prior to the merger, so players should get their exchanges done before that date or wait until after the 24th.

When Legends Reborn launches into Blade & Soul on April 10th, it will come with a number of significant changes to a variety of systems throughout the game. Dungeons and Raids,in particular, will be altered throughout the game. Several will have difficulty lowered, while others will receive buff increases. Other features going under the knife for changes include in-game events, items including costumes, bracelets, reward selection chests and more.

From March 13th to April 10th, Blade & Soul players will be able to take part in a number of events in celebration of Legacy of the Hongmoon Clan. Players can take part in hourly battles that will pit 20-combatants against one another in a "battle royale-styled PvP event" that will be a fight to be the last one standing. The fight will feature boosts that can be found for the duration of the battle, as well as monsters that will be on the prowl for unwary fighters.

Blade & Soul will be getting a big update on March 13th when the Legacy of the Hongmoon Clan content expansion arrives. Players can register on the official site to receive a free Hongmoon Ascension Pack which, among other things, includes a level 60 Boost Voucher. The dev team will be revealing more about Legacy of the Hongmoon Clan, but we do know that it will include the level cap increase to 60, new class specializations, a new storyline, a new island full of rare beasts and the Lyn Warden.

Starting February 6th, Blade & Soul players will be able to take part in the Prince of Darkness update that comes complete with a new 6-player Heroic Dungeon called the Brood Chamber. Players will also be able to play through "Blade & Soulmate", the annual event where "love is in the air".

The Blade & Soul team is uncorking the champagne for the game's third anniversary. In one of the more unusual ways to celebrate, players and fans can find a number of opportunities to be entered into a contest to score some custom Blade & "SOLE" Nike. There are a half dozen ways to get your name in for the drawing.

During a South Korean media event with the Blade & Soul team, it came to light that a new class is in the works. According to MMOCulture, the class will be a ranged damage dealer that will provide a challenging level of gameplay for longtime players. Those choosing the class will have additional manual control elements to use and will need to utilize angles and distance to maximize damage. There is no release window for the Korean version, let alone the NA version.

The Blade & Soul team took to the airwaves earlier this week to preview the next update. Theater of Mystery will be launching into the game on December 5th and devs showed off the Earthen Realm dungeon and reminded players they will be tasked with "unmasking the deadly secrets of the Dreamsong Theater" and much more.

A new letter has been posted on the Blade & Soul site to let North American and European players know that the class specializations update that was planned for December 2018 is going to be delayed to address player feedback and to allow developers an opportunity for an additional balance pass to make any needed adjustments.