For starters, hard mode is getting a lot more lucrative. “We’ve received pretty consistent feedback from players feeling they could use a boost to account for the added challenge,” says the company. It’s added much more high-end loot to multiple hard-difficulty dungeons, some tradeable and some not. A few easier dungeons will become normal dungeons too, mind you, as NCsoft argues they’re “a little long in the tooth,” but they will keep their hard-mode rewards for normal mode, so that’s pretty nice for casuals.
Blade & Soul fans can also look forward to quality-of-life adjustments to existing dungeons, a cost realignment for weapon upgrades, and an overhaul to a number of skill-related mechanics, including a reduction in Hongmoon Skill costs and a skill balancing pass that’ll bring the western version of the game to parity with the eastern. Check it out in the official dev blog!