As promised, Blade and Soul’s massive UE4 graphics upgrade went live late last night – probably while the bulk of you were sleeping. “[T]he game has been upgraded to Unreal Engine 4 to improve graphics, network optimization, performance, and more. No player progression will be affected by the update,” NCsoft declared this morning.
If for some reason you don’t care about your video games being strong and pretty, then you might be more interested in the addition of the game’s 14th class, the Dual Blade.
“Dual Blades have two specializations: The Way of the Shifting Blades and the Way of the Lotus; each with different gameplay mechanics. The Way of the Shifting Blades is a high skill-cap specialization, which focuses on switching between the Skyfang, Skyblade, and Fangblade stances. Players must weave stance changes in-between attack rotations – with each stance unlocking several situational abilities. With high combo potentials and high damage output, Way of the Shifting Blades is deadly poetry in motion. The Way of the Lotus on the other hand, requires players to be precise with resource management. The specialization conjures imagery of a swordfighter under falling lotus blossoms, unleashing a deadly floral flourish. Player attacks build Petals, which unlocks the Primordia effect, which can buff and enhance other combat skills. Being able to effectively stack and trigger Primordia at the right time will be the key to unleashing the combos of this stalwart swordfighter.”
As part of the launch festivities, NCsoft has rolled out a Call to Arms event for new and returning players and a Soul Arena event. There will also be a login event kicking off September 22nd.
