NCsoft Q3 2024: NCsoft teases Aion 2 for 2025, says Throne & Liberty sales ‘surpassed internal projections’ - It's been one hell of a quarter for NCsoft - and we mean that for every interpretation of the phrase. As readers might recall, in its Q2 2024 earnings report back in August, NCsoft was seeing…
NCsoft’s Blade & Soul has launched its Ashland Village update - Look, you have to give Blade & Soul some credit for delivering what it promises. What's the new update called? Ashland Village. What's the centerpiece of the update? A dungeon that is named Ashland Village, taking…
NCsoft renames Blade & Soul Neo Classic to BNS NEO, confirms western launch - Almost a year ago, NCsoft announced a new spin on Blade and Soul called Blade & Soul Neo Classic. The game as planned would offer upgraded visuals but with a more old-school version of the game's…
Blade and Soul’s September update starts a new season pass and events - The September update for Blade and Soul hath arrived, bringing with it some modest events, fixes, and a new battle pass season. [AL:BaS]Let's start with the battle pass first: It's called the Mega Sacred Oil Pass,…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 466: Elder Scrolls Offline - Justin and Bree discuss PlanetSide 2's new developer, Elder Scrolls Online's rollback situation, the revival of Life is Feudal, and the resurrection of Legends of Aria Classic, with adventures in LOTRO, ESO, and World of Warcraft,…
Blade & Soul talks up NEO Classic’s updates to arena PvP combat skills and rewards - Blade & Soul fans already know that the upcoming NEO Classic servers will feature faction PvP battles, but sometimes you just want to duke it out 1v1 in an arena. Luckily arena PvP is coming to…
Blade & Soul NEO Classic discusses content tweaks while staying non-committal to a release date - The NEO Classic server project that Blade & Soul is working on seems to be a long time coming if prior posts are any indication, but that hasn't stopped fans (and us) from wondering when it…
Blade & Soul NEO Classic continues its Cinderlands highlight with a look at bosses and monsters - Attentive fans of Blade & Soul might have noticed that the last Cinderlands preview for the NEO Classic server was labeled "Part 1," so naturally that means that there is a Part 2 of the preview,…
Blade & Soul NEO Classic details Cinderlands redesign, combat refresh, and the end of gear upgrades - Blade & Soul continues the impressive trick of talking about its NEO Classic server while also holding its cards close to its chest at the same time, as NCsoft has put forth another pair of previews…
Blade & Soul NEO Classic showcases more Moonwater Plains visuals and vague faction battle updates - Previews for Blade & Soul's upcoming NEO Classic server continue to tumble forth from NCsoft, as the devs behind the action MMO are once again showing off more visual updates and some vague information about the…
Blade & Soul previews mechanical changes to NEO Classic’s Mushin Tower - NCsoft has been mostly focused on the visual updates coming with Blade & Soul's NEO Classic server, but now the studio is offering a look at a mechanical change - namely adjustments to the solo-focused Mushin…
Blade & Soul NEO Classic’s latest visual preview focuses on the Moonwater Plains - The visual previews continue to spill forth from Blade & Soul's NEO Classic server revamp. This time around, NCsoft is offering a close look at the visual improvements of the Moonwater Plains.[AL:BaS] Much of this preview…
End-of-Year Eleven: All the upcoming MMOs to watch in 2024 and beyond - We've said it before, but this time we really mean it: The future of MMORPGs looks amazing. Contrary to years when we've seen only a handful of longshot projects in development, 2024 suggests a field positively…
Blade & Soul shows off the lighting and visual upgrades of NEO Classic’s Viridian Coast - A location called the Viridian Coast should be as pretty as it sounds, and while the location in the original Blade & Soul was plenty picturesque, the MMORPG's upcoming NEO Classic servers appear to be enhancing…
Blade & Soul shares early gameplay videos and communication plans for Neo Classic servers - We're still not entirely sure just what Blade & Soul is doing with its upcoming Neo Classic servers, but it looks as if NCsoft is preparing to begin the informational drip feed if its latest Soul…
NCsoft’s Blade & Soul unveils ‘Neo Classic’ servers with enhanced visuals and gameplay - Blade & Soul is getting into the "new throwback" mood, like bringing back Crystal Pepsi only with a hopefully better reception. NCsoft has pulled the wraps off of the Neo Classic server, which promises to bring…
Blade & Soul rebalances Bloodshade Harbor, launches a new event, and details an NPC’s creation - Have you seen a tiny girl wielding a massive five-bladed chainsaw in a game and thought to yourself, "Wow, I really wish I knew how the developers concepted this character?" Then you're in luck because Blade…
Mobile MMO Blade & Soul Revolution adds new instances and new events - The revolution of blades and souls continues in Blade & Soul: Revolution, or at the very least the content updates continue, as the mobile MMO put out a fresh update last week with more instances to…
Battle Bards Episode 227: NCsounds - Syl and Syp return to the vast library of NCsoft’s MMO soundtracks, with games like Aion, Lineage, and Blade & Soul to keep our ears happy for decades now. With so much new music coming out…
Blade & Soul adjusts Shogun’s Lament encounter, adds new items, and begins new ranking season - The August update patch for Blade & Soul might not have too much in terms of brand-spanking new goodies, but what is in the patch may have value to players as it focuses on adjustments for…
NCsoft Q2 2023: Throne & Liberty delayed as revenues, mobile games, and MMOs decline - While we've already covered the major delay to Throne & Liberty revealed during NCsoft's investor call this week, there was more to the financial report worth calling attention to. For starters, the company saw continuing declines…
Blade and Soul lures players into its Chaos Avalanche Den - My mama always said that friends who try to lure you into their Chaos Avalanche Dens aren't really friends at all but probably serial killers in the making. But now my mama is playing Blade and…
NCsoft West restructures as NC America, with shared CM for Lineage II, Aion, and Blade & Soul - Back in February, we reported on a wave of layoffs that struck NCsoft West, which saw 20% of its workforce handed their walking papers and the company's CEO depart his position. At the time, a spokesperson…
Blade and Soul Revolution releases the Qi Blade Champion class and collabs with K-pop group MAVE - It has been some time since the mobile MMO Blade & Soul: Revolution has crossed our news desk with a larger story - the last one was in 2021 when it announced global server merges. Consider…
NCsoft Q4 2022: Guild Wars 2 had a great 2022, Throne & Liberty is still launching by summer - There's good news and bad news in the Q4 2022 and FY 2022 financial report, and the bad news might help explain why NCsoft decided to take an axe to its western subsidiary in the form…
NCsoft West loses CEO, lays off 20% of staff, says Throne & Liberty is not impacted - [Updated at the end of this article with confirmation of the 20% figure and news about the CEO, as well as NCsoft's statement to us. The original article follows.] With NCsoft's Q4 financials looming in February,…
Blade & Soul further reduces 2023 content plans in new producer letter - Blade & Soul is ending its January with a producer letter that offers fans several teases for the year ahead. One of them is immediate: NCsoft West says that recent additions of gold rewards for dailies…
Blade & Soul celebrates seven years and the new year in latest update - Blade & Soul is throwing a party and you're invited. The game's latest update is hosting several celebratory events to mark the game's seventh anniversary and ring in the new year, all of which is kicking…
Blade & Soul details the celebratory events arriving with its January 11 update - Blade & Soul is in a very celebratory mood with its upcoming January 11th patch, marking the game's seventh anniversary and the start of a new year all in one soiree of a patch. In fact,…
Blade & Soul revises Demonsbane score transition and rewards following player disgruntlement - On Tuesday, NCsoft announced that the transition to its next season in Blade and Soul would effectively mean that Demonsbane ranking would be disabled and cut short; instead, players would be compensated for the trouble. Demonsbane…
Blade and Soul prepares to celebrate its seventh anniversary on January 11 - It's been a seven-year ride for Blade and Soul since it launched in the West, a ride filled with skimpy costumes, extremely shiny skin, and a whole lot of smacking people with martial arts. And soon…
End-of-Year Eleven: The top MMOs to watch in 2023 - You know how some people like to push this narrative that "MMOs are dying?" If that were actually true, then my job to round up all of the up-and-coming titles every year would be far simpler.…
Blade & Soul releases the Dark Awakening update – here are the patch notes - The past several days have been spent by Blade & Soul talking up its Dark Awakening update, but now the talk is over and the update has gone live today, along with a set of patch…
Blade & Soul offers a closer look at the quests and rewards of its upcoming Chimera Lab Demonsbane dungeon - "What awaits in the Chimera Lab?" That's the question that headlines a preview from Blade & Soul as it casts a spotlight on the aforementioned wing of the Demonsbane dungeon, which is arriving as part of…
Blade & Soul adds a new Demonsbane dungeon, an auto-hunt area, and a holiday Treasure Trove this week - This Wednesday, December 7th, is bringing a new update to Blade & Soul, and despite some of the holiday cheer that it's partially bringing, the whole patch's subtitle - Dark Awakening - seems pretty grim. Then…
Battle Bards Episode 218: Peace and quiet - If anyone’s ever told you to “take a chill pill,” then the Battle Bards have your full dosage in today’s episode. Exploring peaceful and serene tracks from MMORPGs, Syl and Syp find their inner calm —…
Aion and Lineage II offer holiday promos, Blade & Soul suspends cheaters - It's the NCsoft News Bundle of Random Stuff! We've got news tidbits coming out of several MMORPGs under the publisher/developer's umbrella, so we're collecting them in one place just for you. I would call this the…
Blade & Soul warns against Windwalk Race cheaters and hands out achievement bug recompense - Blade & Soul is only on week two of its Great Windwalk Race and already people are trying to cheat in the activity, forcing the devs to rmove impossible leaderboard times in both weeks one and…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 396: Crowfalling - Justin and Bree discuss Crowfall, Blue Protocol, SWTOR, New World, Q3 2022 financials (for Blizzard, Pearl Abyss, Square Enix, NCsoft), and new patches (for DDO, Neverwinter, Blade and Soul, EVE Online, Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls…
Blade & Soul details its Windwalk Race event and crushes some of its bugs in a hotfix - Blade & Soul has had no end of trouble getting its Great Windwalk Race event out of the door. Readers will recall that the feature was originally slated to be part of its October update, but…
NCsoft Q3 2022: Lineage W drives QoQ revenues, Guild Wars 2 had a great year - NCsoft's Q3 2022 financials are another tale of ups and downs. While the South Korean MMO company's revenues have declined for the last few quarters, Q3 is up significantly - 21% - when compared to Q3…
Blade and Soul runs, jumps, and falls for its new Great Windwalk Race - After a short delay -- an extended maintenance period, really -- to fix a bug, Blade and Soul's newest update has breezed into town. Update 17.1: Wind Chasers introduces the brand-new Great Windwalk Race for players…
Blade & Soul un-delays its Wind Chasers update originally delayed over critical crash bug [Updated] - (This article has been updated with NCsoft's latest decision at the end.) All the nice Blade & Soul players just wanted to have a nice little wind-walking race to play together, for a treat. Unfortunately, that's…
Blade & Soul’s previously delayed windwalking race event gets a new release date of November 9 - Last month's Symphony of Destruction patch for Blade & Soul was meant to include a windwalking race event, but unfortunately it was cancelled because of some technical issues that NCsoft never really elaborated on. That's all…
Blade & Soul plays the Symphony of Destruction today – here are the patch notes - Today is the day when Blade & Soul players get to rock out. Well, they get to rock out as hard as a harp will allow them to, but since the Symphony of Destruction update does…
Blade and Soul previews tomorrow’s Season 5 battle pass - With four battle passes under its belt in 2022 so far, Blade and Soul may go for the full half-dozen by the year's end. In any case, it's going to hit Season 5 with tomorrow's release,…
Blade & Soul takes a closer look at the Musician class arriving later this week - Regular fans of Blade & Soul already know that this Wednesday, October 12th, is bringing the Symphony of Destruction update, with a bunch of new things to look forward to (except for windwalking races; those are…
Blade & Soul’s first-ever mounts are lockbox drops - Mounts are arriving to Blade & Soul once the Symphony of Destruction update goes live. That would probably be enough information for most, but NCsoft has provided some additional details about the feature that players will…
Blade & Soul delays release of a Symphony of Destruction event thanks to unexplained technical issues - One of the features due to arrive with Blade & Soul's upcoming Symphony of Destruction patch was a windwalking race event, which would presumably pit players against one another in wuxia-styled aerial sprints. Unfortunately, the game's…
Blade and Soul holds contest to celebrate the incoming Musician class - Are you ready to rock out with Blade and Soul's Musician class when it arrives on October 12th? NCsoft certainly hopes so, as the company is throwing some marketing weight behind the upcoming addition. To celebrate…
Blade & Soul adds a new dungeon, Halloween, and the Musician class on October 12 - Are you ready for the Symphony of Destruction in Blade & Soul? No, this doesn't mean the MMORPG is collaborating with Megadeth, but it does mean that the game is getting a new dungeon, new events,…
Blade & Soul teases in-game musical instrument in 10th anniversary video - Blade & Soul is celebrating 10 years in operation in its native South Korea with a special video, and while that might not sound like anything that's newsworthy on its own, it's the opening portion of…
Blade & Soul posts patch notes and season 4 battle pass for this week’s Autumn Overture - Later this week, players of Blade & Soul will be getting the Autumn Overture update and its various features. One of those features is a new battle pass, which will introduce more rewards for players according…
Blade and Soul’s Autumn Overture arrives September 14, followed by a shift to bi-monthly updates in October - The next content update for Blade & Soul has a date and a name: Autumn Overture, arriving on Wednesday, September 14th. The new patch will launch a new Fortune's Favor board, a fourth battle pass, a…
Blade and Soul’s Dawn of Darkness brings a new solo dungeon, new accessories, and daily challenge tweaks - The Dawn of Darkness update for Blade & Soul has arrived, casting its content-rich glow upon the lands of the Earthen Realm and feeding the players with new things to do. MMORPG nature is beautiful, isn't…
Blade and Soul outlines the solo dungeon arriving with its Dawn of Darkness update - The party piece of Blade & Soul's upcoming Dawn of Darkness patch is the Shrouded Ajanara, a solo dungeon challenge for players to take on. But how does that work, exactly? Well, friend, the devs have…
Blade and Soul’s Dawn of Darkness update emerges next week - Bored Blade and Soul players have a cure for their summertime blues: a new content update that's on tap for August 10th. NCsoft confirmed that the Dawn of Darkness update is set to arrive next week…
Blade and Soul moves swiftly to compensate for misplaced chests - A problem with the wrong goodie chests being handed out to Blade and Soul players has created a sour ripple across the community -- and left NCsoft scrambling to correct the mishandling of the virtual items.…
Blade and Soul’s Warden class gets a fire sword specialization - If you are already carrying around a sword large enough to cleave a building in twain, you might as well go whole-hog and light that weapon on fire. We presume this is the thought process that…
Blade & Soul shares the patch notes for the upcoming Infinite Inferno update - Like clockwork, the devs of Blade & Soul have put forth the patch notes for that update's next update ahead of the game's release. This means, of course, that the details of July 6th's Infinite Inferno…
Blade & Soul is introducing a third Warden spec and a new dungeon in the July 6 Infinite Inferno update - "Wardens have been wielding massive weapons with devastating effects, but what if these weapons were, literally, engulfed in flames?" That's the question being posed by Blade & Soul, and the answer is coming in the Infinite…
Blade & Soul’s Cursed Legacy update goes live - Ready for a new legendary dungeon, new accessories, and some returning events in Blade & Soul? Then you're ready for the Cursed Legacy update, which went live yesterday, bringing all of those things and other stuff…
Blade and Soul opens the Namdo Shrine dungeon this week - Just when Blade and Soul's players thought that they had explored every inch of Nykarri Island, NCsoft had a surprise left in store. The studio is opening up a new dungeon on the island this week…
Blade & Soul outlines fixes coming to materials, event rewards, and the broken Soul Boost meter - Community feedback for some of the latest content added to Blade & Soul has been coming in fast and thick, prompting a forum thread from the devs about a number of community raised issues and what…
Blade and Soul’s New Empires update gets patch notes as it releases today - Like clockwork, Blade & Soul released its patch notes yesterday ahead of today's New Empires update, just in case players are looking for some of the granular details of what's arriving. Regular players of the MMO…
Blade & Soul walks through the new weapons and item systems of its New Empires update - Who wants a new weapon in Blade & Soul? Come on, it's natural. It's not called "Absolutely Nothing And Soul," after all. You want a blade, right? Well, the game's New Empires update arriving on May…
Blade & Soul’s May 11 update crowns an empress, opens a new dungeon, and brings back Horde and Gourd - Next week sees a new chapter arrive to the Earthen Realm of Blade & Soul. The New Empires update launches on Wednesday, May 11th, bringing with it a new step forward in the game's story, a…
Blade & Soul refreshes the Celestial Basin zone and adds new events in Celestial Path update - It's time for the warriors of Blade & Soul to head to the Celestial Basin once more for rewards. That might sound kind of like typical behavior, but the Celestial Path update that went out yesterday…
Blade & Soul releases its Celestial Path update on April 13 - April showers bring May flowers, but April updates in Blade & Soul bring a renewed Celestial Basin and a return to the Soul Arena. Well, maybe not every April update for the game, but this April update for the…
Blade & Soul plans smoother mid-tier progression, continued updates based on feedback, and third Warden spec - While Blade & Soul isn't getting an itemized roadmap, what it is getting is an address from the game's producer team that offers up some plans for the immediate and distant future of the MMO.[AL:BaS] The…
Blade & Soul’s Unchained Chaos is live with new dungeon and Gunslinger’s third spec - Blade & Soul players have a lot to take in this week as Unchained Chaos is now live for the NCsoft MMORPG. The crown jewel for this update is of course the third spec for the…
Blade and Soul will sell class changes for a modest $100 apiece - Sick of your class in Blade and Soul, but you don't want to reroll? Starting tomorrow, you will have another option: to pay for a class change. This move puts Blade & Soul in a rather…
Here’s what to expect from this week’s Blade & Soul Unchained Chaos update - While Blade and Soul won't be seeing its next content update until Wednesday, March 16th, that doesn't mean that players can't get a headstart on knowing what's in the update thanks to a full set of…
Blade and Soul’s next update adds new Gunslinger spec, Demonsbane dungeon, and class swapping March 16 - Next week will bring some Unchained Chaos to Blade and Soul, which is the name of the update arriving on Wednesday, March 16th, not necessarily the state of the game. Unless that is how things will…
NCsoft Q4 2021: Guild Wars 2 did great, but Lineage W drove revenues - If you wondered why NCsoft would drop a bunch of teasers for its pipeline and NFT babble yesterday, it's largely because it was also dropping its quarterly financial report, which... well, depending on whether you're a…
NCSoft unveils new MMOs, a new battle royale, and new Blade and Soul game, plans Project TL release this year - NCSoft has apparently been extremely busy. A new announcement as well as a new teaser video from the publisher/developer showcases five new games that are in the works, ranging from action battle royales to MMORPGs to…
Blade and Soul opens the Sanctum of the Masters solo dungeon and starts several events in latest update - Blade and Soul is an MMORPG, but there are some time when players might want to test their mettle by themselves, without the benefit of a party or a larger group. For those people, the newest…
Blade and Soul will be the Valentine’s date you can’t get this year - Hey, can we talk real right now? It's not your fault that you peaked with Valentine's Day in the sixth grade when you got 32 cardboard cards and a brief profession of love from Jamie Peters.…
Blade and Soul adds the new Soul Fighter spec and celebrates six years in the Soul Resurgence update - Blade and Soul is six years old and it's celebrating by letting Soul Fighters slap enemies at mid-range with glowing hands of divinity. This week saw the Soul Resurgence update go live, bringing new content to…
Blade & Soul offers a preview of the Soul Fighter’s upcoming Divine Hand specialization - Why should your Soul Fighter in Blade & Soul have to get close to an opponent just to kick them around? That seems to be the entire premise behind the upcoming third specialization for the class, the…
Battle Bards Episode 207: Seeing Red - Have you ever gotten so mad that you literally saw red? Better yet, have you ever heard the color red when you’ve listened to an MMO’s soundtrack? In this episode, the Battle Bards explore the diversity…
Blade and Soul adds new PvP accessories and wintry events in the Winter Soulstice update - No, that word isn't misspelled; Blade and Soul's latest update is literally called Winter Soulstice, primarily because there are a number of winter-themed celebration events going on, and partially because the devs can't miss the opportunity…
Blade & Soul’s Demonsbane update is live with more story, events, items, and a dungeon - Blade and Soul players can face some new story or a new dungeon and its challenging layers of increasing difficulty thanks to the Demonsbane update that went live as of yesterday, bringing with it those features…
Blade and Soul breaks down the Demonsbane system arriving with tomorrow’s update - Tomorrow, NCSoft is adding some new content to Blade and Soul, including the Aerodrome dungeon, the centerpiece of the game's Demonsbane system that promises a ranking system and increasing challenge tied to that system. If you…
Blade and Soul Revolution to merge its global servers together - Even revolutions have to take a breather and consolidate now and then. And so it is for Blade and Soul Revolution. The mobile title, which pushed out its global version earlier this past spring, recently announced…
Blade and Soul adds its next epic quest, a new dungeon, and a new Demonsbane system on November 10 - Blade and Soul players had already known that the MMO's next story update would be coming sometime this month, but now they have a calendar date: Wednesday, November 10th. That's when the game's Demonsbane update will…
Blade and Soul promises more story content in November with the release of Act XI Part 2 - For those who have been playing Blade and Soul regularly enough that they're hoping for more story content, your time is coming soon. The month of November, to be exact, as the game's Act XI Part…
Blade & Soul brings its Blade & Ghoul events around for another season of Halloween fun - It's the spookiest time conceivable for Blade & Soul once again as the annual Blade & Ghoul events roll onto the live servers once more. Take part in a variety of events starting today and running until…
Blade and Soul prepares for the Halloween season with the return of Blade and Ghoul on October 6 - The spooky season is fast approaching Blade and Soul as the game prepares for its annual Blade and Ghoul Halloween event. This year, players can look forward to event quests that involve dusting off antique lamps…
The Stream Team: Firing up the Unreal Engine 4 update and swinging two swords around in Blade and Soul - Last week saw Blade & Soul unleash its new-and-improved Unreal Engine 4 version and its new Dual Blade class on the world, and MOP's Chris is looking to take a peek at both! Tune in today…
Blade & Soul’s UE4 graphics update and Dual Blade class have officially arrived - 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…
Blade & Soul’s Unreal Engine 4 update goes live today — here are the patch notes - We've been covering this update's arrival for a long while, and now it's finally arriving. It's Blade & Soul's big Unreal Engine 4 upgrade update, and it's launching today, bringing with it a whole lot of…
Blade & Soul offers a preview of the Dual Blade class arriving on September 8 - Blade & Soul continues to run down the feature list of its upcoming September 8th update, this time offering a closer look at the Dual Blade class that will launch with the new content patch. And…
Blade and Soul plunges into a new forest dungeon on September 8 - With several MMOs pumping out patches on September 8th, Blade and Soul is going to have to work extra hard to get your attention. How about the addition of a sinister forest dungeon with tons of…
Blade & Soul opens up pre-download of its Unreal Engine 4 update on the game’s launcher - Let's assume that you're a Blade & Soul fan who was sitting on your hands, not double-clicking the NC Launcher icon on your desktop until the game's big Unreal Engine 4 update launched on September 8th.…
Blade and Soul 2 offers a quick look at sword versus axe one-on-one PvP gameplay - There have been plenty of videos coming out of Blade and Soul 2, but a vast majority of them have been pre-rendered CG animations, with only one trailer actually showing active gameplay. That trailer count has…
Blade & Soul is getting its Unreal Engine 4 upgrade on September 8 - It's time for Blade & Soul to look better with the game's upcoming engine upgrade to Unreal Engine 4. That feels like it's been something that's been "coming soon" for half of forever, but it's really…
Blade and Soul’s Hongmoon Resurgence event goes live today - While it's not the incredibly anticipated Unreal Engine 4 update that Blade and Soul has been hyping, today's Hongmoon Resurgence update is giving fantasy players something new to fill the time as they wait. [AL:BaS]At the…
Blade and Soul to unleash Hongmoon Resurgence events next week - Have more time on your hand this summer than previously anticipated? Blade and Soul wants to fill up some of those long days with Hongmoon Resurgence events during the month of August. [AL:BaS]Kicking off on August…
Blade and Soul 2 officially launches in South Korea next month - There has been a lot of news coming from Blade and Soul 2 recently, such as an August launch window and additional game reveals like the starting races and a preview of its main theme among…
Blade and Soul 2 will be getting a South Korean launch this August - Up to this point, the mobile MMO prequel Blade and Soul 2 has only had the nebulous launch date of sometime this year, but a new press release from NCSoft confirms that the South Korean version…
Battle Bards Episode 197: A royal affair - Bow to your king and queens of MMO music royalty, for the Battle Bards have donned the crown, taking up the majestic scepter, and issued a proclamation that all sorts of royal music must be heard…
Blade & Soul hands scythe weapons to Warlocks and adds new events in today’s Endless Night update - Demons attacking a village, people swinging scythes, an update subtitled Endless Night: It all sounds like Blade and Soul is desperate to celebrate Halloween early. We're not complaining, though, as the MMORPG's newest update has plenty…
Blade and Soul tosses free level 60 character boosts your way - Blade and Soul is gearing up for a big week as it prepares to roll out its Endless Night content patch on July 14th. The centerpiece of this update is a third specialization for the Warlock…
Blade & Soul’s Endless Night update adds the third Warlock spec and a new instance on July 14 - Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. Take for instance the next incoming update to Blade & Soul, which is called Endless Night -- we're pretty confident that this particular update won't have soft…
Blade & Soul teases Dual-Blades class in new trailer - Blade & Soul certainly isn't hurting for character classes that wield a sword, or even classes that dual-wield, but what if there's a class that dual-wields swords? That's what's coming when the game releases its UE4-powered…
Blade & Soul: Revolution adds the Blade Dancer, the Blackram Supply Chain, and a new story act - Do you like the Blade Dancer in Blade & Soul but hate its relative lack of presence in a mobile version of the game? Good news, then! Blade & Soul: Revolution's most recent update has added…
Blade & Soul kicks off new challenges and content with the Winds of Summer update - It's summer time in Blade & Soul (also in the real world), and that means it's time for a challenge. Don't ask how the two connect; you're not going to get a satisfactory answer. The important…
Four Winds: Final thoughts on Elyon’s first closed beta test - Elyon's closed beta test came and went, and boy am I happy with what I played. It was unfortunate that the test fell on Mother's day weekend, since I couldn't play as much as I wanted.…
Blade & Soul’s Winds of Rage is live with new heroic dungeon and events - [AL:BaS]As promised, Blade & Soul's Winds of Rage update is live this week. The 12.1 patch includes the titular 6-perspon heroic dungeon Thornwind Cavern in both easy and hard modes, as well as a quartet of…
Blade & Soul previews Winds of Rage’s new talisman tier and daily rewards - What's an MMO without some sort of frequent bribery system to entice you to enjoy its content? A very rare one, that's what. Blade and Soul, not wanting to be left out of the party, is…
Blade and Soul’s next major update, Winds of Rage, launches May 12 - There's an angry wind blowing in Blade & Soul with its next major update, Winds of Rage. What does the angry wind bring with it? Probably a bit of cursing and the new heroic dungeon, Thornwind Cavern.…
Blade & Soul gives more details about its Revival PvP ranking system - As you might have been tracking, Blade and Soul has a massive update called Revival that's coming to the game in the third quarter of 2021. NCsoft has certainly not been shy in teasing and promoting…
Blade and Soul releases the patch notes for today’s Mischief Makers update - I didn't know I needed a class spec that involves a cat in a flying saucer shooting goofy weapons at enemies, but luckily the folks at Blade and Soul knew better and have added this option…
Blade and Soul prepares to send players to the Candycloud Carnival - The Candycloud Carnival is not like most other carnivals, so Blade & Soul players will need to prepare for that when it arrives in-game on April 14th. es, like most other carnivals, this one will ensure…
Blade and Soul launches its third Summoner specialization with its next patch on April 14 - Sometimes, you want a new specialization for a class in Blade & Soul that's grounded in something like a deep reflection on martial arts and secret techniques handed down through generations. Other times, you want cats flying…
Blade and Soul continues revving up its huge engine upgrade - You'll want to mark your calendar for the third quarter this year -- yeah, just block off the whole quarter -- because that's the release window for one of Blade and Soul's biggest updates to date.…
Daybreak’s owner Enad Global 7 acquires MMORPG publisher Innova for $109M - Enad Global 7 is once again in the news for us here at MOP with yet another buyout, this time regarding its February 25th acquisition of Russian publisher Innova to the tune of $109.8M. Innova, readers…
Blade and Soul’s Slithering Shadows update is live - Yesterday was patch day for Blade and Soul, introducing the Slithering Shadows update to the game along with a set of patch notes to accompany the launch. As one might expect, the notes give some more…
Blade and Soul’s March patch gives players more gear tiers to chase - How's your gear in Blade and Soul looking these days? Perhaps it needs a bit of freshening up, a bit of an upgrade. Well then hold on to your +5 pantaloons of progress, because March 17th's…
Blade and Soul Revolution introduces a large-scale Faction War PvP battleground in latest update - It's only been a week since Blade and Soul Revolution debuted on mobile devices, but that isn't stopping the game's devs from kicking out a fresh update to the title. The game's first update has introduced,…
Blade and Soul adds a new dungeon, new raid weapon, and renewed Soulstone Plains on March 17 - While a lot of focus has understandably been about Blade and Soul's upgrade to Unreal Engine 4, that doesn't mean there won't be updates in between now and then. To wit, the Slithering Shadows update on…
Blade and Soul 2 showcases a cooperative horde mode in latest game footage trailer - We already know that Blade and Soul 2 players are going to have to fight things, but not all threats roam the game's world; some come from a fiery sky fissure. That's the focus of the…
Blade & Soul opens a ‘Revival’ landing page touting visual upgrades, engine changes, and dungeon updates - Blade & Soul is very excited about its upcoming Unreal Engine upgrade to the point that a newly opened landing page is calling it a Revival. The page not only touts the overall engine's visual abilities…
Blade & Soul Revolution’s global edition hits mobile today - The Blade & Soul news just keeps on coming today, as Netmarble has officially released the global version of Blade & Soul Revolution to the AppStore and GooglePlay. "Players new to the Blade & Soul IP…
Blade & Soul’s Unreal Engine upgrade lands in the west this summer after all – here are the teaser pics - It's been a wild 24 hours for Blade & Soul's fanbase: Shortly after news broke that NCsoft was sunsetting the game's prototype Frontier World UE4 upgrade server in Korea - and everyone assumed that meant the…
Blade & Soul’s Unreal Engine 4 upgrade is coming this year in spite of Frontier World’s cancelation - We've updated this article at the end with a big update - the original story follows. If you were excited about the Unreal Engine 4 upgrade in the works for Blade & Soul, we have some…
Blade and Soul has kicked off its Blade & Soulmate event today - It's taken a little longer for Blade and Soul to start off its Blade & Soulmate event this year. (Just to forewarn you, there's no corresponding Blademate event just to ensure the event naming is parallel.) But…
Netmarble releases global edition of Blade & Soul Revolution mobile MMO next week - March 4th is going to be an interesting day for mobile fans here in the west as Netmarble is officially dropping the global edition of Blade & Soul Revolution on both Android and iOS. There are…
Texas snowstorm delays Blade and Soul’s next update - A lot of the staff here at Massively OP were chatting and complaining about the massive snowstorm that dumped a whole lot of snow and ice all over the country earlier this week. And while it's…
Check out the latest combat footage trailer from Blade & Soul 2 - We don't mean to shock anyone with this revelation, but Blade & Soul 2 is going to involve fighting stuff at various points. Possibly several points. If you're curious about what it's going to look like…
Blade & Soul delivers a solo dungeon and chocolate hearts with its Eternal Blade update on February 17 - The next update for Blade & Soul arrives on February 17th, and it's placing you in a difficult situation of fighting on your own. The new Spectral Shrine dungeon is a solo venture (except for the easiest…
Blade & Soul II begins pre-registration in Korea as a showcase video shares gameplay details - We know that the MMO Blade & Soul II is on our horizon here in the west sometime this year, but that horizon has gotten a bit closer in its native South Korea as the game…
Blade and Soul Revolution starts taking mobile pre-registrations - Fans of Blade and Soul are just a short time away from having that experience in the palm of their hands. Blade and Soul Revolution, the mobile edition created by Netmarble, has opened pre-registrations in advance…
Blade and Soul Revolution will release worldwide this year, opens pre-registration January 28 - It's been a while since this one came across our desk, so allow us a moment to refresh everyone's memory: Blade and Soul: Revolution, the mobile MMO being released by Netmarble that was first revealed in…
Battle Bards Episode 185: Taking Flight - Flying has always been both beloved and controversial in MMORPGs, but no matter what your stance on it, at least you can agree that when you slip the surly bonds of earth, you need an amazing…
The Stream Team: Happy 5th birthday Blade & Soul - [AL:BaS]Turning five and feeling alive! That's Blade & Soul's motto today as the MMORPG celebrates its fifth birthday in the West. And Massively OP's MJ is crashing the party to earn some festival tokens for herself.…
Blade & Soul kicks off its anniversary event with today’s patch - It's time to celebrate five years of Blade & Soul today with the latest patch, and you know what that means: events. The events kicking off today include a real-world giveaway for a new computer setup, with players…
Blade & Soul outlines the next round of system changes arriving in the five year anniversary update - Sure, the next update to Blade & Soul is all about marking five years of operation, but that's not all that's happening. As is ever the case for updates to the action combat MMORPG, there are…
Blade & Soul prepares to celebrate five years of operation - It's been five years since Blade & Soul's local release, and the team is going all-out in celebration complete with a big new desktop giveaway. Yes, players can have a shot at winning an Alienware rig…
NCSoft announces plans to release mobile MMO Blade & Soul II in 2021 - It's been rather quiet on the Blade & Soul 2 front for the most part, with the only major news coming from an NCSoft media day in 2017 that announced the mobile MMO is going to…
Grim and glad tidings spread across Blade and Soul - Do you like your holiday season dour or delightful? If you venture into Blade and Soul this week, you can have both! [AL:BaS]This week's Grim Tidings update is named after the addition of a new Blade…
Winter holiday events around the MMO universe, 2020 edition - Ho ho ho, it's Santa's younger brother Derrick here to do all of the jobs that Nick can't be bothered with this holiday season! Oh, my big brother always shows up when there are cookies and…
Blade & Soul offers special Blade Dancer bundles and its Christmas event with tomorrow’s Grim Tidings patch - The next patch for Blade & Soul adds a third specialization for Blade Dancer, and if you're enticed by the prospect of the Grim Blade option or just want to jump on the bandwagon partway the game…
Blade & Soul previews the item upgrade changes for its next update - With the next Blade & Soul update arriving on Wednesday players will have access to a new legendary ring and gloves. That means you should throw your old gloves into the garbage with great alacrity, like the…
Blade & Soul’s final major update of the year includes a new specialization and heroic dungeon - The last update for Blade & Soul this year arrives on December 16th, and it brings with it a third specialization for Blade Dancer. The new Way of the Grim Blade allows you to summon a spectral…
MMOs You’ve Never Heard Of: RISE, Carth, Hunternet Starfighter, World of Kung Fu, Heroes Evolved, Arelot Kingdom, and Project EVE - Welcome back to another quick roundup of some MMOs and MMO-adjacent titles you’ve probably never heard of. Of course, YOU have heard of them, because you are a supremely intelligent artificial intelligence network on the verge…
Blade and Soul celebrates the Thanksgiving season with the Golden Harvest Festival - Today is the day to give thanks in Blade and Soul with the start of the Golden Harvest Festival. As of today, players can take part in new events, check out the new Primeweald auto-hunting zone,…
Blade & Soul adds the Golden Harvest Festival and a new area with its next patch - When the next patch arrives for Blade & Soul, you can take part in the Golden Harvest Festival and make yourself some good eats. Put together a secret family recipe or just a good old-fashioned harvest feast,…
The Stream Team: Going all ghoul-ly in Blade & Soul - [AL:BaS]What? It's November you say? And Halloween is over? Pffft, nope! Not for Massively OP's MJ, and not for Blade & Soul. The holiday festivities continue with the Blade & Ghoul event, and MJ is just…
Blade & Soul just kicked off its Halloween event, Blade & Ghoul, running through November 18 - Just because you're some kind of martial arts master with a giant sword doesn't mean you can't enjoy the fine art of gathering candy in Blade & Soul during the game's Halloween event. Collect some taffy to…
Blade & Soul’s Halloween-themed Blade & Ghoul event arrives on October 21 - It's time for something even creepier to come to Blade & Soul than the Lyn or some of the game's female outfits: It's Blade & Ghoul, the MMO's Halloween-centric update, which is making its way on…
Blade & Soul’s Cosmic Horizon update goes live today — here are the patch notes - It's time for the Lyn to unleash star-powered hell on the foes of the Earthen Realm. This isn't the only thing that's been added with the launch of today's Cosmic Horizon update to Blade & Soul,…
Blade & Soul previews another round of item and system changes arriving with Cosmic Horizon - As ever seems to be the case with new updates to Blade & Soul, the upcoming Cosmic Horizon update will introduce some more tweaks to the MMO's items and systems.[AL:BaS] This time around, players will be…
Blade & Soul will add a new class, new dungeon, and new talisman tier in the Cosmic Horizon update - Players of Blade & Soul will soon be able to control phenomenal cosmic power in an itty bitty package when the Cosmic Horizon update lands on Wednesday, September 23rd. How, you ask? Because the game will…
Jukebox Heroes: The best of Blade & Soul’s soundtrack - Pretty game, strong story focus, really not for me. That's the impression I got from dipping into Blade & Soul a few months back. It's certainly a game with a whole lot of eye candy, but…
Blade & Soul Midnight Reborn update is now live - The update for Blade & Soul is happening now, but the real fun starts at midnight. Specifically, it starts in the revamped version of the Midnight Skypetal Plains, which is being made more challenging while also…
Lineage II rolls out Tales Untold content update for both core and Classic versions of the game - Blade & Soul isn't the only NCsoft MMORPG getting love this week: NCsoft West and 4game are dropping a major patch on Lineage II players across the west today too, and the best part is that…
Blade & Soul shows off a plethora of summer events starting August 19 - There are swimsuits. There will always be swimsuits. Did you think that Blade & Soul, a game with lady characters who are 60% leg by volume and wherein everyone appears to have a layer of oil…
Blade and Soul’s next update introduces a compound system to the mix - Are you ready for some foooootballlll? No? Well then, maybe you're more in the mood for some Blade and Soul instead. You've got that way about you. And if this is the case, then you definitely…
Blade & Soul’s Dark Passage patch is live today with a new 12-person raid - [AL:BaS]Happy patch day for Blade & Soul fans! Dark Passage is officially live today. At the core of the update is the Silversteel Laboratory, a 12-person raid for the level 60 HM 16 and up folks.…
Blade & Soul lists the features of the Dark Passage update arriving on July 22 - It's time for yet another Blade & Soul update, friends! Say hello to the Dark Passage update, which will be introducing a couple of new things for players to do in the Earthen Realm.[AL:BaS] Just what…
Blade & Soul shows off all the new features with today’s Divine Break update - Haven't you earned a break in Blade & Soul? The newest update is dubbed Divine Break, and it... actually doesn't give you a break at all; it gives you more stuff to do. That's somewhat unexpected.…
Blade & Soul details new items and a returning summer event arriving with the Divine Break update - Blade & Soul's upcoming Divine Break update isn't just about giving Force Masters a new spec. It's also about celebrating the summer season and having new items to chase, both of which have been outlined in…
Blade & Soul demos Way of the Lightning spec as Korean version preps new class - Players of Blade & Soul's western version are in for a treat, at least if they play the Force Master, as NCsoft West has posted a dev blog all about the character's third specialization, Way of…
Blade & Soul’s Steel Bonds update is now live - The first part of the Steelbreaker raid in Blade & Soul lies broken behind you. It doesn't lie lifeless behind you, or at least, not much more so than before; it was stuffed with a whole…
Blade and Soul confirms the launch of the Steel Bonds update for May 20 - Players of Blade and Soul have already had to deal with a Steel Uprising, and now that story is due to continue with the launch of Steel Bonds, which is arriving on Wednesday, May 20th.[AL:BaS] Steel…
Blade & Soul launches the Steel Uprising patch today - Bad news, Blade & Soul players, you are going to once again be fighting robots. This is a challenge. Reports indicate that robots are made of steel, which is quite strong. (Whether or not they run…
Blade and Soul hammers out a Steel Uprising patch - You know what would go down really nice right about now? A huge, hefty MMO content update. Or a shamrock milkshake from McDonald's. But we'll take the content update if it is all that is available.[AL:BaS]…
COVID-19 roundup: #PlayApartTogether, Blade & Soul perks, and Twitch Aid’s $2.7M charity raise - Welcome back to another quick roundup of pandemic-related MMO and gaming news. We'll start with the big one: The World Health Organization, which made gaming headlines the last few years for its widely panned "gaming addiction"…
Blade & Soul launches the Forgotten Souls update today - Gosh, don't you hate when you're going from the Earth Realm to the Spirit Realm and you forget all your souls? Has that never happened to you? Well, technically it isn't happening in the new dungeon…
Blade & Soul Revolution kicks off pre-registration for its English version - Yes, if you want to get Blade & Soul in a more mobile spin-off form, you can start pre-registration for the English version of Blade & Soul Revolution today. That doesn't precisely mean that it's open…
Blade & Soul previews the item changes and treasure trove for its Forgotten Souls update - How could Blade & Soul have a Forgotten Souls update? Souls are right there in the title! You can't forget about them! Ah, well, it's not going to do anyone much good to critique nomenclature when there's…
Desert Arena: First impressions of Shadow Arena, the Diet Black Desert of battle royales - Did someone just cast Arcane Echo? Because this'll be our second piece on Shadow Arena this week, following its deep-dive by our PvP columnist Sam earlier this week in Fight or Kite. But I just have…
Hands-on with Dragon Raja: First impressions of Tecent’s new mobile MMORPG - I enjoy mobile MMOs. It's a hit-or-miss kind of genre: Some are great, others are terrible. I personally love the adventure of finding those good ones. So when opportunity came knocking to try Archosaur Games' Dragon Raja,…
Check out footage of Blade & Soul’s upcoming Unreal Engine 4 client from the Korean server - It's a well-known fact that Blade & Soul is getting an engine upgrade to Unreal Engine 4. How much will that actually do for the game, though? Sure, we've all seen the trailers about the engine upgrade,…
Blade and Soul touches on the western UE4 update and lays out plans for the rest of 2020 - Senior producer Nico Coutant has provided a look ahead that will be of interest to Blade and Soul fans, marking the next few months of content and also addressing the Unreal Engine 4-designed elephant in the…
Blade & Soul patches in the third specialization for the Assassin along with Lyn Assassins - Yes, you can now make a Lyn Assassin in Blade & Soul. If you have a burning need to do an in-game version of that seminal children's classic The Littlest Contract Killer, well, you now have that…
Blade & Soul Korea announces ‘Frontier World’ alternate servers and continues its Force Master spec tease - Don't get me wrong, Blade & Soul players here in the west are getting some nice stuff with the next update, but the Korean edition of the game is getting some potentially envy-inducing things. Case in…
Valentine’s Day 2020 across the MMO universe - Per tradition, we've been covering the launch of Valentine's Day events in MMOs and MMORPGs over the last couple of weeks, but tomorrow is the big day and we can finally stick a pin in that…
NCsoft Q4 2019: It was a rough quarter for MMORPGs, especially Guild Wars 2 - NCsoft corporate had a solid financial quarter for the last three months of 2019, with increases in revenue quarter over quarter and year over year of 34%, thought the year in full was down 1% over…
Blade and Soul takes a closer look at the upcoming Way of the Phantom Assassin specialization - While by no means the deep dive that one might want for a new class spec, Blade and Soul has at least offered a more direct look at the new Assassin specialization that will be arriving…
Lyn Assassins and a third Assassin spec arrive to Blade and Soul February 19 - My favorite class in Blade and Soul is easily the Assassin. It has so many fun tricks, utilizes a reactive playstyle that lets you generally adapt to most situations, and provides opportunities to set up and…
Blade & Soul’s 4th anniversary event includes the new Hunter’s Refuge - Wait, we've had Blade & Soul for four years now? That doesn't seem right, but it is in fact correct, as evidenced by several things including the fourth anniversary event running with the latest patch. Players can…
Blade & Soul announces a costume set, PvPvE zone, and custom sneakers giveaway for its fourth anniversary - Blade & Soul's western version is going to be four years old soon -- on January 22nd, to be exact -- and it's got a lot of plans for the celebration, like a free costume set…
Tencent will host a cloud version of Blade & Soul in China soon - It's possible that the hacking cough that was Google Stadia's launch has turned you off from the notion that cloud gaming is the future, but Tencent still believes in it. It believes in it so thoroughly…
Blade & Soul’s Will of Iron launches today with a new dungeon and Destroyer spec - [AL:BaS]Will of Iron is officially live today in NCsoft's Blade & Soul, presumably the last major update of the year for the game's western version. The patch notes and launch trailer are up now; here's what…
Blade & Soul previews events that arrive with this week’s Will of Iron update - As is often the case with Blade & Soul patches, there will be events for players to take part in when they're not busy wielding two immense axes at once. For those who aren't playing the…
Blade & Soul previews Will of Iron’s new Destroyer spec, teases Korean UE4 graphics overhaul - The update arriving for Blade & Soul on December 11th includes a third spec for the Destroyer, the Way of the Iron Will, and it's a pretty dramatic spec change just from a visual standpoint. You literally…
Blade & Soul previews Will of Iron’s heart rebalance and fishing overhaul - Just ahead of the holiday, NCsoft announced that Will of Iron was on its way to Blade & Soul, with the Rise of the Silversteel storyline, the Hangar 0 dungeon, a third class spec for Destroyers,…
Battle Bards Episode 156: Feeling blue - Is blue a color? An emotion? A song? An overused alien skin tone? One thing is for certain: Blue shows up an awful lot in MMORPG soundtracks, which is why the Battle Bards have mined their…
Blade and Soul’s Golden Harvest Festival is live - Let's all go win some plates covered in food and then shove them into our filthy knapsacks so that we can turn them in for rewards! That's the central gameplay loop of Blade and Soul's Golden Harvest…
NCsoft Q3 2019: Another flat financial quarter as NCsoft pumps money into NCWest - Given the strange financial quarters that Blizzard, Funcom, Square-Enix, and Nexon had, you're surely wondering how NCsoft fared. And the answer is... about the same as usual, actually. In its third quarter 2019 investor report, NCsoft…
Blade & Soul brings back the Golden Harvest Festival on November 13 - Some games promise you a chicken dinner when you emerge victorious from a challenge. Blade & Soul will miss all that weak nonsense. Players who log in to the game during the Golden Harvest Festival between November…
Blade & Soul Korea gets an engine upgrade, new content, and the third Force Master spec in December - Things for the Korean version of Blade & Soul are looking pretty sharp if a new trailer is any indication. At the end of an esports event in Korea, a new trailer was broadcast that touted…
Blade & Soul’s latest update brings Halloween, crafting system updates, and new PvP equipment - I was pretty sure the only major thing coming soon to Blade & Soul was the game's Halloween event, but the patch notes that accompany the update that brings Halloween have offered up a slew of…
Blade & Soul’s Halloween event returns on October 16 - Blade & Soul is once again getting in to the spooky spirit next week with the arrival of its Blade and Ghoul event on Wednesday, October 16th, bringing back the Candycloud Park encounter and a bevy…
Blade & Soul Korea is getting Lyn Assassins and a third Assassin spec on October 7 - What happens in Korea for Blade & Soul happens here in the West, so consider this a heads up before the official English language PR. The action MMORPG is letting the diminutive Lyn become tricksy and…
Blade & Soul’s Storm of Arrows update is now live – here’s the trailer! - The patch notes for today's update to Blade & Soul are online, and it's forecasting a rain storm. The kind you can't really bring an umbrella for unless that umbrella is made of arrow-resistant material. Yep,…
Blade & Soul is splitting damage types and adding new bracelets with the Storm of Arrows update - The next update for Blade & Soul is dubbed Storm of Arrows and that sounds absolutely horrifying. You might say "it's just a little rain" if you're going to get drizzled on, but no one would say it's…
Blade & Soul provides a quick look at the upcoming Zen Archer class - Wednesday, September 18th, will see a Storm of Arrows rain down on Blade & Soul, and that storm is primarily caused by the new Zen Archer class, which is the marquee feature of the update. But…
Check out the trailers for Blade & Soul’s Storm of Arrows, launching September 18 - [AL:BaS]This week, NCsoft quietly announced Storm of Arrows for Blade & Soul, packed with the new Zen Archer class. Players who log in before September 13th will be getting a freebie pack with a costume and…
Blade & Soul patches in its summer event along with several quality-of-life improvements - It's time to celebrate the summer heat in Blade & Soul with the latest patch, as it brings Hongsil's Summer Blast to the game. But that's hardly the only thing being patched in with today's update,…
Blade & Soul kicks off its summer celebration on August 21 - All right, someone has to ask this question: Why does Blade & Soul's Hongsil Summer Blast involve collecting ice cubes? Why is that the token you get? Ice cubes are not difficult to obtain under normal…
Battle Bards Episode 150: The great plains - It may not be the most sexy or exotic of biomes, but plains tend to pop up in pretty much every MMORPG — and they always have music to adventure by! In this episode of the…
NCsoft Q2 2019: Guild Wars 2 may be eyeing a mobile version (again) - Those with long memories might recall that way back in 2010 prior to Guild Wars 2's launch, ArenaNet made a (small) bit of noise about developing a tie-in mobile app that would allow players to stay…
Blade & Soul’s Roots of Malice brings two raid dungeons and an event dungeon today - It's patch day today for Blade & Soul, and it's once more got another infusion of high-level content for players to take on. The Scarlet Conservatory continues to face a dangerous threat, and a new event…
Blade & Soul outlines item changes arriving on July 24 - The next patch for Blade & Soul is bringing some item changes when it arrives on July 24th, including the ability to send PvP items to other characters on your account. You'll need to re-seal weapons…
Blade & Soul is open for esport championship registration through July 26 - If you want to prove yourself the absolute best player in Blade & Soul, your chance to prove it is now. Player registrations are open for North American and European players to compete for a chance…
Blade & Soul producers reveal NCsoft’s plans for the game over the rest of 2019 - Here's the one bit of bad news for Blade & Soul fans from the latest letter from the producers: The Unreal Engine 4 will probably not be in the game by the end of 2019. But…
Blade & Soul’s Empyrean Shadows patch is now live – here are the patch notes - Patch day! It's one of the most wonderful days for any MMO, and Blade & Soul players can look forward to enjoying the update once the game is up from maintenance. While you're waiting for that…
Blade & Soul explores the Blade Master and Kung Fu Master’s upcoming third specs - When Blade & Soul's Empyrean Shadows update arrives on June 19th, Blade Masters and Kung Fu Masters will become even more, er, masterful with the addition of their third class specializations, and the latest dev blog…
Blade & Soul previews the item changes arriving with its next major patch - When the next major Blade & Soul patch arrives on June 19th, Skyforge and Shadowforge weapons are getting cheaper to upgrade, so players getting ready for the upgrade might want to hold off for a little while…
Desert Oasis: Comparing Black Desert and Blade & Soul’s design philosophies - One of my favorite MMO stories is how I got into Black Desert in the first place. It was right after I tried out Final Fantasy XIV’s Eureka. I was excited for the game mode but…
Blade & Soul reveals its next major update, Empyrean Shadows - It was only a few weeks ago that Blade & Soul's Scarlet Tears update went live, but the folks at NCSoft have already announced the next major update for the free-to-play martial-arts MMORPG, Empyrean Shadows. The…
Massively Overthinking: Tackling the ‘big four MMOs’ meme - Over the last couple of months, there's been a meme floating around the MMORPG subreddit. Someone will ask that the community recommend a game, and the responses will all look like "WoW/ESO/XIV/GW2" referring to the only…
Blade & Soul Korea teases a new archer class arriving in June - As much fun as magical gun-fu can be with the Blade & Soul Gunslinger, sometimes you want to go back to basics. Back to a simpler time when a bendy stick and some string could fling…
Blade & Soul’s Scarlet Tears update is now live - The latest update to NCSoft's free-to-play martial-arts MMORPG Blade & Soul has just gone live, bringing with it a fistful of new content for players to punch and kick their way through. The update, titled Scarlet…
Blade & Soul is bringing back the Dragon’s Bounty event for the release of the Scarlet Tears update - Blade & Soul has already talked plenty about the new Scarlet Conservatory raid coming with the release of its upcoming Scarlet Tears update, but that's not all that the folks at NCSoft have in store for…
Enter the Scarlet Conservatory in Blade & Soul’s Scarlet Tears update, coming May 15 - Blade & Soul has announced that its next major update, Scarlet Tears, will be going live on May 15th, bringing with it a new in-game event, the final two chapters in the Temple of Succession questline,…
Blade & Soul’s Legends Reborn is live today as NCsoft merges western servers down to two - It's time to be legendary in Blade and Soul, or at least adjacent to the rebirth of legends. Or something like that, as the Legends Reborn update in the game is live today and brings along…
Blade & Soul is patching up its dungeons for its next event on April 10 - The upcoming event for Blade & Soul is all dungeon-based, so it makes sense for it to come alongside a patch that's all about dungeons. When the patch goes live on April 10th, several dungeons and raids…
Blade & Soul brings in two new dungeons for the Legends Reborn event - Do you have a deep desire to fight a turtle with sharp weapons? If so, you are a monster for that fact. However, Blade & Soul has you covered by giving you a giant dragon turtle to fight…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 214: No fools we - Justin and Bree discus MMO April Fools' Day, Jumpgate's sequel, Funcom's new Secret World project, EverQuest 3, Rend's abrupt launch, Star Citizen's ladies, and Neverwinter and DDO's expansion dates, with adventures in Guild Wars 2, DDO,…
Netmarble reveals an English logo for Blade & Soul Revolution - If you were passing curious about Blade & Soul Revolution, one of the two mobile games spinning off of the original PC MMORPG, then here's some potentially good news. During Epic Games' "State of Unreal" keynote…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 212: Harry Potter, progression servers, and No MMO’s Sky - Justin and Bree discuss the Harry Potter mobile MMOARG; progression servers for RIFT, LOTRO, and EverQuest; No Man's Sky's MMO ambitions; WoW 8.1.5; Blade & Soul's next big thing; and The Division 2's sleepy launch. With…
Battle Bards Episode 140: Piano piano! - It’s one of the most powerful and versatile of musical instruments, and now the piano is getting its own featured show here on Battle Bards! The crew re-assembles, not to avenge, but to uplift beautiful, striking,…
Blade & Soul’s major Legacy of the Hongmoon update is live today - The latest major update for NCSoft's fantastical martial-arts MMO Blade & Soul, Legacy of the Hongmoon Clan, went live today, increasing the level cap to 60, adding new class specializations, introducing the Lyn Warden, and opening…
Blade & Soul offers more extensive previews of additional class talent systems - You might recall that Blade & Soul showed off its new talent system for a handful of classes last week. It was toward the end of the week, so we understand if you were a bit…
The MMO Bookclub devotes March to Tibia, Destiny 2, and Apex Legends - If you haven't been hanging out with the folks at MMO Bookclub lately, you may have missed a shift in the format that's expanded the club's monthly scope. Instead of only visiting a community-voted MMO selection…
Blade & Soul shows off the new talent system for Destroyers, Blade Masters, and Summoners - When the next update for Blade & Soul arrives, players will be able to start specializing their characters through the use of the new talent system. If you're wondering how this is going to work, the official…
Claim your Blade & Soul freebie pack before the Legacy of the Hongmoon Clan launches March 13 - The next major update for Blade & Soul, Legacy of the Hongmoon Clan, will be going live next month on March 13th, and while we don't know a whole lot about it just yet, NCSoft has…
Blade & Soul loses Producer Jonathan Lien - Rabbit Man is sad today because Rabbit Man heard the news that Jonathan Lien is leaving his post as producer for Blade and Soul. "I wanted to let you know that this is my last week…
Blade & Soul’s third anniversary event is live now - Yes, it's time for Blade & Soul players to enjoy the game's anniversary event, as it is live right now. That means players can pick up a new costume with futuristic aesthetics by taking part in the…
Blade & Soul outlines how to earn its Cutting Edge cosmetics for the three-year anniversary - To celebrate the third year of Blade & Soul in the west, players are getting the chance to getting some far futuristic-looking costumes and weapons. How do you get them? Anniversary quests! Players will get daily tasks…
Perfect Ten: Mobile MMOs to watch in 2018 - Love it or hate it, MMOs are going mobile in ever-increasing numbers. Last year saw a crop of acclaimed titles making their way to tablets and smartphones, including Old School RuneScape and Villagers and Heroes. While…
Blade & Soul prepares to celebrate its third anniversary with a sharp-looking costume - Can you believe that Blade & Soul has been out in the West for three years now? It's true, and it's what players will be celebrating starting on January 16th until February 3rd. Players can take part…
Blade & Soul developers share some information about the game’s next class - If you're eagerly looking forward to the name or footage of the next class planned for Blade & Soul... well, we hate to deflate your expectations, but neither of those things exist yet. There's no footage to…
Blade & Soul’s Theater of Mystery update takes the stage today - Today, NCSoft is pulling back the curtain on Blade & Soul's latest update, Theater of Mystery, which introduces an increased level cap, a new heroic dungeon, a new solo dungeon, a new in-game event, and improvements…
Blade & Soul previews the dungeons arriving in Theater of Mystery - It may be safely concluded that the eponymous Theater of Mystery in Blade & Soul's update of the same name does not refer to new dungeons. Not just because the two new dungeons are named Dreamsong Theater…
Blade & Soul previews weapon and gear updates ahead of its Theater of Mystery patch - The next update for Blade and Soul arrives on December 5th, and your gear will never be the same. Specifically, a lot of it will be easier to improve; the costs on improving Grand Celestial Weapons, Riftwalk/Dawnforged…
Blade & Soul’s Theater of Mystery update takes center stage on December 5th - It's almost showtime for Blade & Soul's next update, Theater of Mystery, which will bring a new heroic dungeon and a new solo dungeon to NCSoft's martial-arts MMO. When the update goes live, players will be…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 196: Shire consequences - Justin and Bree discuss LOTRO's progression server, Funcom's and NCsoft's next big things, Gamigo's plans for Trion's games, and updates for Warframe, DCUO, and Neverwinter, plus discussion on favorite playstyles, legacy server ideas, and the future…
NCsoft Q3 2018: NCsoft sales continue downward slide while online PC sales trend up - Slides may be fun when you're a kid, but they're not something you want to see when you're a multinational games corporation that's operating several online properties. Unfortunately for NCsoft, the company saw its fourth straight…
NCsoft formally reveals Aion and Blade & Soul sequels ahead of G-Star - This week's NCsoft game announcements aren't going to surprise most of you who've been following NCsoft for a while. We've known for many moons thanks to investor reports that the company was working on sequels for…
Blade & Soul kicks off the Golden Harvest Festival today - It's time for players in Blade & Soul to face the greatest challenge yet: staying awake after eating enough food in-game to kill a small horse. Yes, the Golden Harvest Festival has arrived again, and the…
Blade & Soul is already rolling on to its Thanksgiving events - While some western gamers might still be grumpy over the delay of Blade & Soul's class specialization update - which is not hitting in December as originally planned, leading our own commenters to use the word…
Blade & Soul reveals plans for upcoming December content update - Although Blade & Soul is still in the midst of its Blade & Ghoul Halloween event, the latest producer's letter from Producer Jonathan Lien is looking forward to the game's future -- its upcoming December content…
MassivelyOP’s guide to MMO Halloween 2018 - Whether or not you consider yourself too old to put on that Hulk or Sparkle Twilight costume and prance ("HULK PRANCE") around the neighborhood for free candy, MMOs make it easy for us to regress into…
Blade & Soul tweaks its Blade & Ghoul Halloween event based on feedback - So, let's take stock. The bad news about the upcoming changes to Blade & Soul's Blade & Ghoul event is that "soul" and "ghoul" are still not homophones unless you really don't know how to pronounce…
The MOP Up: Mutant Year Zero breaks down the barriers - I think a lot of us unfamiliar with the IP might be giving Funcom's upcoming Mutant Year Zero a wary look and a wide berth. But the studio is attempting to break down those barriers to…
Blade & Soul’s Blade & Ghoul Halloween event is here with reward and upgrade rebalancing - Halloween is officially live in NCsoft's Blade & Soul this morning as the Blade & Ghoul (yes really) event has kicked off. As we've previously noted, starting today and running through November 7th, level 50-plus toons…
Blade & Soul: Revolution on mobile gets official Korean release date - At a recent media conference, Netmarble announced that Blade & Soul: Revolution, the upcoming mobile adaptation of NCSoft's free-to-play martial arts MMO, will officially be releasing in Korea on December 6th. Following in the footsteps NCSoft's…
Blade & Soul’s ‘Blade & Ghoul’ Halloween event takes players into Zaiwei Ruins October 17 - [AL:BaS]Yeah, I feel like this Halloween event name doesn't quite work with the rhyme, but it does look cute on paper. "The veil to the Dark Realm is wavering over the Zaiwei Ruins, and its ghastly…
Blade & Soul previews its Korean winter update with a new trailer - The downside of games with asymmetric worldwide updates is that if you're not in the region getting updated first, you can feel a bit left out. Case in point, it's easy for Blade & Soul players…
Blade & Soul’s Warden’s Fury goes live today, introducing Warden class, Shadowmoor dungeon, and more - [AL:BaS]Today, Blade & Soul is receiving its newest content update, Warden's Fury, which brings with it Act 9 of the game's main storyline, a new dungeon, balance and system changes, and most importantly, the titular Warden…
Blade & Soul gives players a look at the upcoming Warden class and Shadowmoor heroic dungeon - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul players, have you ever looked at a sword and thought, "That's great and all, but it just looks far too sensible and practical"? Well you're in luck: The upcoming Warden class has got…
Blade and Soul promises an additional free character slot for all - [AL:BaS]Here's a nice dose of welcome news for alt-crazy Blade and Soul players: You are about to receive an additional character slot free of charge, thanks to the game bringing in the new Warden class. "Character…
Blade & Soul’s Warden’s Fury launches September 12 with a new class and ghost ship dungeon - [AL:BaS]Its revenues might have dipped slightly last quarter, but Blade & Soul is still marching along with its snappy content cadence, and next month it's marching up with Warden's Fury, its next big thing. Notably, the…
Western qualifiers for Blade & Soul’s $135K esports tourney are this weekend - [AL:BaS]Not many MMORPGs take a stab at true esports these days. There's World of Warcraft, of course, but other titles, like Guild Wars 2, have long since given up. Not Blade & Soul, however. NCsoft has…
Blade & Soul patches in the Frozen Firing Range event dungeon, new cosmetics, and PvP matchmaking tweak - [AL:BaS]Live this week in Blade & Soul is... swimsuits. But seriously, what's the obsession with bathing suits in MMORPGs? We cannot fight in bikinis and board shorts folks. I don't get the obsession, but regardless, new…
NCsoft Q3 2018: Aion, Blade & Soul, Guild Wars 2 revenues dip, while NCsoft teases three new titles - NCsoft's second quarter financials for the year hit this morning, and it's not exactly bad news. Sales are down slightly, but everything looks wimpy next to Lineage M's record-breaking debut last year. That's now "stabilized" according…
Netmarble’s earning report shows more revenue from North American markets than Korea - Netmarble has released its earnings report for the most recent quarter, which means that if you love looking through investment reports for various companies, you're soon to be quite happy. Of particular note is the fact…
Blade & Soul launches a frozen event dungeon to keep you cool for the summer - [AL:BaS]If you want to stay cool in Blade and Soul for the summer, you're going to have to get cool. The summer event that's kicking off on August 15th is going to definitely keep you nice…
Blade & Soul’s False Idols update brings new raids, better subscription benefits - [AL:BaS]Once the servers come back up today, Blade & Soul is going to have a lot to offer its fans thanks to the new False Idols content update. The core of the patch is undoubtedly a…
Blade & Soul buffs up its subscription benefits in its False Idols update - [AL:BaS]It's always a great feeling when you get a good bang for your buck. While Blade and Soul isn't changing the cost of its subscription, it is making the premium membership more lucrative -- and attractive…
Blade & Soul’s False Idols update rebalances battlegrounds, dailies, and hard mode loot - [AL:BaS]Are ya ready for Blade & Soul's next big thing? It's called False Idols, and it's bringing sweeping change to multiple game systems. Expect new buyable loot in hard mode dungeons, a soulstone rebalance to make…
Blade & Soul’s False Idols update includes two endgame raids - [AL:BaS]Among the highlights of Blade & Soul's upcoming False Idols update are two raid dungeons for endgamers to explore. NCsoft's lightly previewed both in its most recent dev blog on the game. "Everyone in the Earthen…
Perfect Ten: Best MMO debuts by year, 2007-2017 - Continuing from my previous column that went back to 1997, I'm going to be running through the second decade of graphical MMORPG launches and picking the best title to debut in any given year. From doing…
Choose My Adventure: Final Fantasy XI in review and choosing our next MMO - Here's the weird part about this week's column: I'm going to tell you, in short, that Final Fantasy XI is still a good game once you get past the initial hurdles involved. I am also going…
Blade and Soul crushes summer boredom with its Celestial Dawn patch - [AL:BaS]Aww, don't be sad, weird little old man with long pierced bunny rabbit ears! I know you're feeling left without purpose, now that you're in the summer months, but may we suggest a little Blade and…
Blade & Soul offers the notes for the Celestial Dawn patch on June 20 - [AL:BaS]It's almost the dawning of the age of... celestiality? You know, there's probably a reason why Blade & Soul didn't make that joke for its Celestial Dawn patch, which arrives on June 20th. Seriously, you can…
Blade & Soul shows off enhancing your gear with its new Augment system - [AL:BaS]Legendary accessories in Blade & Soul are the sort of things that you know you can wear for a very long time without replacing. That's good, but it also means that you've hit a dead end…
Blade and Soul throws the kitchen sink into next week’s patch - [AL:BaS]You know it's a really good and meaty content patch when a studio can get more than two blog posts out of it. Blade and Soul's Celestial Dawn fits that bill, because NCsoft is still talking…
Battle Bards Episode 122: Happy town - In peaceful villages and bubbly burgs, you just know that there’s bound to be an abundance of happy music! Whenever the Battle Bards regroup to lick their wounds and drink the terrors away, they often find…
Blade and Soul preps two bonus events for its Celestial Dawn release - [AL:BaS]Seriously, what could be better than a juicy content drop for your favorite fantasy MMORPG? Well, how about a pair of events that tie into the patch and give you an extra boost to get caught…
Blade and Soul rounds out its Nightfall Sanctuary raid - What MMORPG actually releases a fully-fleshed out raid in this day and age? You have to milk that content drip by drip, giving players just enough to be challenging but not enough so that the top…
Blade & Soul pits players against the Grand Celestial Emperor in June 20th’s Celestial Dawn update - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul is just refusing to slow down its wild content rollout, and it'll continue down that path this June with Celestial Dawn. Due out on June 20th, the update is framed as a battle…
Blade and Soul promises a new class, engine upgrade, and new raids - [AL:BaS]Feeling like your Blade and Soul character has hit a plateau in his or her development? Then it's probably time to graduate to the next level, thanks to an upcoming job extension feature that will transform…
Blade & Soul Korea teases pair of new classes - [AL:BaS]Late last week, NCsoft's Korean-language website for Blade & Soul began popping a "new update" tease for players: a silhouette of a fighter-type character wielding one hell of a sword emblazoned with a dragon. The English-language…
Blade & Soul promises an engine upgrade and more ‘lifestyle’ content - [AL:BaS]If you feel like Blade & Soul is looking a little dated, you're not alone in that sentiment; the developers feel the same way. A new video from the development team reveals that work is underway…
Exit light, enter Blade & Soul’s Eternal Night update - [AL:BaS]Today is May 9th. And that is a wonderful, marvelous day if you happen to be a Blade & Soul fan, because it's the day when NCsoft is dropping its Eternal Night update for players to…
Blade & Soul is tweaking dungeon rewards to prefer newer dungeons - [AL:BaS]Stop just doing the old, familiar dungeons of Blade & Soul. Do the new ones instead. Even if you'd rather not for whatever reason, you won't be given much of a choice in the matter soon;…
Blade & Soul’s Eternal Night patch will rebalance weapon material requirements - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul's next big thing, Eternal Night, is launching in less than two weeks on May 9th, and if you're an economy player or even just occasional weapon upgrader, you should definitely point your eyeballs…
Blade & Soul delays its Eternal Night update deeper into May - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul players are going to have to chew on a bit of a sour grape today, as NCsoft announced that it made the decision to push the upcoming Eternal Night patch back a week…
Blade & Soul patches in a fight against a robot - [AL:BaS]A new Blade & Soul patch has arrived, and it is indisputably the best patch the game has seen because it allows you to fight a giant robot. Don't waste your time complaining that a giant…
Blade & Soul’s Automaton Assault event dungeon goes live tomorrow - [AL:BaS]Tomorrow's a big day for Blade & Soul players: NCsoft is dropping a new update with both content events and gameplay tweaks. The headliner is the Automaton Assault event dungeon, which will be open through May…
Blade and Soul’s robot dungeon event kicks off next week - [AL:BaS]Call 'em golems, call 'em automatons, or call 'em war machines, at the end of the day, they're robots in a fantasy setting, and we have to be OK with that. Actually more than OK, because…
Blade & Soul’s Fire and Blood patch brings a new raid and skill rebalancing - [AL:BaS]Ready to kick off some new raiding adventures in Blade & Soul? The newest patch, Fire and Blood, adds the 12-person raid Koldrak's Lair for players to challenge in a team, and it's live as of…
NCsoft Q1 2018: NCsoft has hired 1000 employees in the past few years, considers VR and ARG titles - Everybody saw NCsoft's financials last month, I'm sure - Guild Wars 2 bouncing back thanks to Path of Fire, Lineage M driving revenue, and Blade & Soul outperforming almost everything, pretty good news all around. What…
Blade & Soul’s newest raid pits you against a sacred dragon - It's probably not the most encouraging of signs when a trailer for an MMO's newest raid mostly features player characters lying down following a wipe. But then again, what do you expect when your party is…
Blade & Soul’s Fire & Blood update is making hardmode dungeons worth your while - [AL:BaS]So what's in Blade & Soul's Fire & Blood patch next week, other than way too many ampersands that our CMS can't properly parse? Oh nothing much, just a crapton of new dungeons and an overhaul…
Blade & Soul brings single-player and group challenges to the Emperor’s Tomb - Dare you enter the forbidden Emperor's Tomb in Blade & Soul on March 21st? You probably do dare, since you always do the opposite of our advice. At least if you're going in there, make sure…
Fire and blood rains down on Blade & Soul - [AL:BaS]The only thing worse than one overpowering force hellbent on revenge... is two. This is the threat coming to Blade and Soul with its Fire and Blood content update on March 21st. Players can choose which…
Choose My Adventure: Farewell to Project Gorgon - Out of all the titles that I've played for Choose My Adventure, Project Gorgon is probably the earliest in its development cycle. It's also, by a sizable margin, the best in show. If you're looking for…
Massively OP’s guide to Valentine’s Day 2018 across the MMORPG-verse - Is your Valentine's day about love, friendship, or free candy from mom? In MMORPGs, it's about questing, murder, and free loot! So, yeah, kinda the same. Enjoy Massively OP's guide to this very pink not-a-holiday across…
Bless Online interview: Soft launch plans, why Gamigo bowed out, and avoiding pay-to-win - Bless Online is one of the biggest MMORPGs we're expecting to launch in the west in 2018. Over the last six years, we've watched it blossom in South Korea, switch publishers, and even go back to…
Blade & Soul heeds the Call of the Deep update today - Hope you don't have any fears about nasty things with sharp teeth swimming in the ocean under your feet because Blade & Soul's Call of the Deep update isn't going to coddle you with water wings…
NCsoft Q4 2017: Guild Wars resurges as Blade & Soul and Lineage M drive profits - NCsoft has money to cheer about this past financial quarter, as it posted another year of solid growth. Revenue and operating profit were up 87% and 86% respectively year-over-year, though of course the quarter doesn't quite…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 156: Downfalls and uprisings - Justin and Bree discuss MMO and MOBA sunsets, WoW's Battle for Azeroth, Alganon, DDO, Star Citizen, and Blade & Soul, plus a bit about Ultima Online and LOTRO, with mailbag questions on Guild Wars 2's classes…
Blade & Soul previews Nova Core PvP battleground, new Call of the Deep patch video - Will you heed the Call of the Deep in Blade & Soul when it launches February 7th? If you do, it might be for the new 6v6 battleground on the way. It's called Nova Core, and…
Blade and Soul’s Call of the Deep aims for next week release - [AL:BaS]Better get everything done you need to do in the rest of your life right now, because Blade and Soul is going to demand your full time and attention next week. On February 7th, this fantasy…
Guild Wars 2 makes SuperData’s top 10 list of ‘premium PC games by revenue for 2017’ - If you want SuperData's complete 2017 Digital Games & Interactive Media market brief, you're... not going to have to pay for it. It's free, or at least the "executive summary" is, assuming you're willing to put…
The Stream Team: Happy birthday, Blade & Soul! - [AL:BaS]Another year, another birthday! Crazy how that happens, right? Massively OP's MJ is all set to re-immerse herself in the world of Blade & Soul as TestSubject and her trusty furball sidekick, Sleepyhead. Now if there…
Blade & Soul previews its anniversary update and tailor shop in new videos - [AL:BaS]Video previews of patches are like a chance to try before you buy. Except that you aren't really trying so much as you're watching someone try it. Also, since this is Blade & Soul, you wouldn't…
Blade & Soul improves items with its anniversary update - [AL:BaS]The anniversary update for Blade & Soul brings with it, well, an anniversary event. But it also brings a number of other system changes to the game to reduce the number of different bits you have…
Korean prosecutors target former NCsoft VP for insider trading - Former NCsoft Vice President and Blade & Soul lead producer Bae Jae Hyu has landed in legal hot water thanks to an ongoing insider trading inquiry. The investigation began last summer when investors seemingly short-sold almost…
Blade & Soul celebrates its second anniversary with a new costume - [AL:BaS]Congratulations are in order for Blade & Soul as it celebrates its second year of operation, and as is most often the case with these celebrations, most of the presents are going to players. Yes, the…
Choose My Adventure Year in Review: DC Universe Online, Shroud of the Avatar, Guild Wars 2, and Secret World Legends - As our review of the past year of Choose My Adventure rolls onward (a bit longer than originally planned), we enter what I think of as the trifecta of disappointment. Why? Well, the word "trifecta" is…
Massively OP’s Winter Holiday 2017 guide! - It's that time of year again where the airwaves of certain radio stations are clogged with the same songs from the 1950s, television broadcasts are filled with specials about the nature of giving, and dozens of…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 148: Vampires, kobolds, and pirates - Justin and Bree discuss MOP's December awards, DDO, Secret World Legends, Path of Exile, Hearthstone, Sea of Thieves, RIFT, and Blade and Soul, with mailbag questions on returning to MMOs and love for Champs Online.
The Humble Bundle for the holidays is full of MMO goodness, including Guild Wars 2, Neverwinter, and Blade & Soul - So here's how the latest Humble Bundle is working. Drop $35 on the bundle and all of your money goes to charity, and you get to take part in the rolling advent calendar of bundle stuff.…
Blade & Soul’s Dawn of the Lost Continent launches today (and it has a flying pirate ship) - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul's biggest update ever is live today - or will be this afternoon once the servers are back from maintenance tonight! As we've previously profiled, Dawn of the Lost Continent lifts the level cap…
Blade & Soul’s Dawn of the Lost Continent revamps the wardrobe, adds personal damage meters - [AL:BaS]Arrrrr you ready for Blade & Soul's "largest update" ever? NCsoft's been teasing next week's Dawn of the Lost Continent since the beginning of November, and the studio's adding to the previews today with a peek…
Blade & Soul grants character boosts, Blade & Soul Revolution struts its stuff on mobile - [AL:BaS]With only a few weeks left before Blade & Soul drops its "biggest patch ever," NCsoft is gifting players a bundle of goodies to prime the crowd for Dawn of the Lost Continent. Anyone who logs…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 144: Harry Potter and the Deathly ARG - Justin and Bree talk Guild Wars 2 mounts, the Harry Potter ARG, SWTOR's merge, WoW, LOTRO, Pocket Legends Adventures, Android games, and Bluehole's Ascent: Infinite Realm, with mailbag questions on GW2 marketing, visual effect shenanigans, and…
Blade & Soul teases Dawn of the Lost Continent’s sights and storyline - [AL:BaS]When Dawn of the Lost Continent drops in Blade & Soul next month, the upgrade to level 55 will be accompanied by a "sweeping story of epic proportions," or so NCsoft says. Indeed, a new dev…
Netmarble announces Blade & Soul Revolution mobile MMO - If Lineage Revolution didn't get you fired up for mobile MMORPGs, maybe Blade & Soul Revolution has a better chance. Netmarble, again licensing one of NCsoft's popular MMORPG IPs, announced ahead of G-Star that it will…
Blade & Soul’s Dawn of the Lost Continent drops Dec 6 as the game’s biggest update ever - [AL:BaS]NCsoft just keeps the Blade & Soul content train coming as the game slides into its second birthday early next year. Next up on the docket? Dawn of the Lost Continent, which lands on December 6th.…
WildStar, Blade and Soul, Aion, and Lineage II come under DDoS attacks - Hackers launched an offensive against NCsoft yesterday, targeting several of the company's MMORPGs in a series of DDoS attacks. WildStar, Aion, Lineage II, and Blade and Soul all posted warnings about the issues to let players…
NCsoft announces Blade & Soul 2 for mobile - Among the flurry of NCsoft reveals this week was word that the company is working on a follow-up to Blade and Soul for 2018. The teaser for Blade and Soul II was shown at NCsoft's Media…
Blade and Soul has a tasty spread coming for the Golden Harvest Festival - [AL:BaS]Take equal parts Thanksgiving dinner and autumn trips to the local cider mill, and you're going to end up with Blade and Soul's Golden Harvest Festival. The festival, which begins on November 8th, will require the…
Blade & Soul’s European maintenance is migrating servers to improve future maintenance - Good news, European Blade & Soul fans! Your server maintenance today is going to take twice as long as the North American server maintenance! You might say that this sounds like bad news, but it actually…
Halloween events across the MMORPG verse, 2017 edition - Hey, you. Yeah, you, dude leeching candy from the bucket you bought "for the neighborhood kids." And you, lady still trying to decide between "Princess Leia" and "lazy zombie" for your costume (go Leia, duh). Put…
Blade and Soul is stung by Hive Queen update and welcomes Halloween - [AL:BaS]Would you ever stick your hand into a hive of angry hornets? Blade and Soul is hoping that you'll go further than that; the Hive Queen is taking her throne, and some high-powered exterminators are needed.…
Battle Bards Episode 107: Blade and Soul expansions - After 50 episodes, the Battle Bards have made the brave decision to revisit the hallowed lands of Blade and Soul to look at two of the soundtrack expansions. The team combs through The World and Silverfrost…
Blade & Soul’s October 18 Rage of the Hive Queen update heralds new boss, quests, and Halloween - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul likes to fly under the radar, but here's some buzz: The game's being pollinated with a brand-new patch on October 18th called Rage of the Hive Queen. NCsoft is promising a new raid…
Gunslingers arrive in Blade & Soul today after a lengthy maintenance - [AL:BaS]Patch 3.4 hits the live servers for Blade and Soul today, and that means it's time to get your gun and start shooting everything within range. (Guns are a kind of blade, if you stretch the…
Blade & Soul is revamping crafting in the Rise of the Gunslinger patch - [AL:BaS]What are you expecting for Blade & Soul's Rise of the Gunslinger patch? Probably mostly gunslinging, possibly a strained Stephen King reference or two? But the patch has more than just guns and the slinging thereof,…
Blade & Soul’s PAX West e-sports tourney has a $170,000 prize purse - [AL:BaS]NCsoft's taking another stab at MMORPG e-sports, this time with Blade & Soul, which will serve as the focal point of the company's tourney at this weekend's PAX West. "The best North American Blade & Soul…
Blade and Soul is so excited to come to Vietnam, it spawned a short, delirious movie - [AL:BaS]Blade and Soul is heading into the jungle this fall, as Southeast Asian operator Garena agreed to publish the game in Vietnam. There's an official website up for the regional version, complete with beta sign-ups and…
Blade and Soul’s Dark Origins patch is live with new raids and evolved stone economy fixes - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul's Dark Origins patch is live this week, bringing with it two more chapters of Act 7, the heroic 6-man Ebondrake Lair dungeon, the Scion's Keep raid, the Temple of Eluvium endgame progression raid, the…
NCsoft Q2 2017: Guild Wars 2 drops to new all-time low, Blade and Soul heads to console - Ready to take high Asian fantasy to your home console? You'd better because NCsoft recently announced that it is working on adapting Blade and Soul to such platforms. The video game developer and publisher didn't specify which…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 129: Treasure Trove - Justin and Bree discuss Guild Wars 2, LOTRO, Secret World Legends, Trove, ArcheAge, Blade & Soul, Star Citizen, Chronicles of Elyria, Crowfall, and DCUO, with mailbag questions on non-fantasy MMOs and soloing in MMOs: %SURL%
Blade and Soul announces server merges, hypes upcoming patches - [AL:BaS]Major events are in motion over at Blade and Soul, illuminated by the game's newest producer's letter from Jonathan Lien. While Lien spent a few paragraphs touting the team's progress over the past year, he had…
Blade & Soul uses community sales of item packs to fund its tournament prize - [AL:BaS]The tournament for Blade & Soul is getting ready to kick off, but it needs a prize. That's where the community comes in, because the prize isn't just being tossed into the ring arbitrarily by NCSoft,…
Blade and Soul cracks the hatch to a high-tech dungeon - Just because a game is loosely labeled as "fantasy" doesn't mean that it is forbidden from delving into the realm of technology and sci-fi on occasion, right? Today, Blade and Soul is opening up a dungeon…
Choose My Adventure: Cryptic’s Neverwinter in review - [AL:NW]My time with Neverwinter is done, and it's a game I find myself in an odd relationship with. It'd be fair to say that despite what some members of the audience expected, I never went into…
Battle Bards Episode 100: Centennial spectacular! - After four years and over 700 MMORPG music tracks, the Battle Bards have arrived at their 100th show! For this centennial spectacular, Syl, Steff, and Syp reminisce about the most notable shows, their best soundtrack discoveries,…
Check out footage of Blade & Soul’s Maestro in action - If you were hoping for some reason that the Maestro in Blade & Soul would be all about conducting a stirring symphony, that's definitely not the case. In fact, judging from the new bits of footage…
Blade and Soul doubles its firepower with the Maestro - [AL:BaS]Asian MMOs can't exist for long without succumbing to the temptation to introduce some sort of gun-toting fanatic, and Blade and Soul is proving to be no exception in this department. Next month, the fantasy title…
NCsoft Q1 2017: Tumbles for Lineage, Guild Wars 2, plus new leadership for Lineage Eternal - NCsoft's first quarter financials for 2017 have released, and... well, let's get the bad news out of the way. While sales dropped only slightly since the preceding quarter and in line with last year, the company's…
Blade and Soul’s newest patch revamps class progression and adds new regions to explore - The latest big patch for Blade & Soul has arrived, and it brings with it some major changes. Class trees and skill points, for example, are gone altogether. In the place of this progression system is…
Blade and Soul’s next update includes a training room and skill revamp - Blade and Soul's next update may be a literal game-changer, as the team is overhauling the skill system to make it more accessible and less confusing. The team admits that the previous system was "overly complex"…
Blade & Soul switches to larger, slower updates with brand-new Secrets of the Stratus - [AL:BaS]Blade & Soul is rolling out a massive expansion next month, one NCsoft says "marks a shift in pace for the game." Dubbed Secrets of the Stratus, it goes live on April 12th with the seventh…
Blade & Soul opens a pair of raids in its Wings of the Raven update - [AL:BaS]Coming at players like a massive one-two punch, Blade & Soul's newest update contains a pair of 24-player raids designed to take you to the limit (cue Eagles). Wings of the Raven is definitely aimed at…
NCsoft 4Q 2016: Record sales, WildStar’s fate, Lineage Eternal launch - On the surface, fourth quarter 2016 financials for MMORPG giant NCsoft look solid. Yesterday, the company released its investor report, highlighting hefty year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter growth in sales and operating profit, both setting records for the…
Blade and Soul turns on character transfers, streamlines evolution process - [AL:BaS]Frustrated with being tied to a server in Blade and Soul while watching your friends gallivant around on another shard? There's a reunion in the works, thanks to the MMO's new character transfer service. With the…
Battle Bards Episode 91: Forest Tales - Take a stroll through the trees and become totally lost in the foliage, drinking in the sounds of the forest with today’s show, as the Battle Bards go hiking through the woods to hear the music…
Blade & Soul’s Wings of the Raven February 8 update includes two huge raids - [AL:BaS]Two weeks from today, Blade & Soul is getting what surely has to be its thousandth patch by now since launching here in the west a year ago. February 8th's content dump is called Wings of…
The Stream Team: Happy birthday Blade & Soul! - Massively OP's MJ hasn't been in Blade & Soul in quite a while, so what better time to bounce back in than on its birthday? The game turns one year old today, and everyone is invited…
Blade & Soul teases big anniversary event update for January 18 - [AL:BaS]Guess who's having a birthday this month? A lot of MMORPGs, actually, which is odd for a bleak month like January, but there it is. The one I'm talking about here is Blade & Soul, which…
Massively OP’s guide to the 2016 MMORPG winter holidays - It's time to get all snuggly in front of a crackling fire, roast up some chestnuts, down a gallon of hot chocolate, and log into your favorite online RPGs for seasonal festivities! Or you could "bah…
Perfect Ten: All the MMORPGs coming in 2017 - Right now we are in a strange place in MMORPG history. Following the backlash of WoW clones and several high-profile titles that underperformed, major studios are becoming extremely risk-averse to creating big-budget titles the way that…
Blade & Soul’s Ruins of Khanda Vihar patch brings new storyline, dungeon, and winter holiday content - [AL:BaS]"The winds of Fate beckon!" NCsoft posted today following Blade & Soul's return to service after maintenance. Yes, the 2.9 update is live now and introduces the Ruins of Khanda Vihar storyline, Naryu Foundry dungeon, and…
Perfect Ten: The biggest MMORPG stories of 2016 - As we start to come to grips with the fact that we will be turning over the calendar into 2017 in one short month, it might just be for the best. In the real world, 2016…
Blade and Soul announces the Gunslinger and Korean F2P - It seems so very long ago, but the beginning of 2016 was dominated with excitement and expectations for Blade and Soul. For a good while there, it seemed like all anyone could talk about. Now that…
Guild Wars 2 addresses outage bugs, NCsoft deals with DDOS attacks - When you're running an online game, there are certain words that are pretty much always a harbinger of problems. Words like "outage," and "missing," and "unexpected." Combining them into a group means that things are going…
NCsoft Q3 2016: Declines for WildStar, Guild Wars 2, and Blade & Soul - NCsoft released its Q3 2016 financial results this morning. Here's a quick look at how the major MMORPGs are doing: WildStar's sales have plummeted, half what they were last quarter and at their lowest mark for…
Blade & Soul’s Midnight Skypetal Plains arrives November 16 - There have been no shortage of big updates for Blade & Soul, and the newest update is delivering a big update for big groups. The Midnight Skypetal Plains are arriving on November 16th and serve as…
Blade and Soul turns into Blade and Ghoul for the season - Blade and Soul has rebranded itself as Blade and Ghoul for the Halloween season, celebrating the debut of All Hallow's Eve yesterday. The game's event mainly revolves around completing daily and dynamic quests in eight of…
Massively OP’s guide to MMO Halloween 2016 - "Two things I did on Hallows Night: / Made my house April-clear / Left open wide my door / to the ghosts of the year." ~ "All Hollows Night" by Lizette Woodworth Reese Is your door open…
Blade & Soul’s Beluga Lagoon update is an homage to a whale - It might not be the best idea to theme your MMORPG updates around "whales" in the current microtransaction climate, but that's exactly what NCsoft is doing with next week's Blade & Soul update. "Can you win…
Blade & Soul introduces Ebondrake Citadel and the Tower of Memory - It's the most wonderful day of the week for fans of Blade & Soul because it's patch day. Not only does this patch include the new Ebondrake Citadel, it also includes the special event dungeon, the…
Blade & Soul’s Ebondrake Citadel dungeon launches October 5 - Hack-n-slashers, ready your swords: Blade & Soul's Ebondrake Citadel launches October 5th, which is great timing for Halloween since the update is spooky indeed. NCsoft describes Ebondrake Citadel as a "formidable prison of evil," an endgame…
New report says South Korean MMORPG companies are ‘facing a crisis’ - The Financial Times blog has a doom-and-gloom report out this week on the gaming market of South Korea, specifically the MMO genre. "The country’s online game makers have long dominated the global market for massively multiplayer…
Blade & Soul’s Desolate Tomb update arrives next week - NCsoft is springing another content update on Blade & Soul players already gleefully splashing in a long stream of updates this year. It's called Desolate Tomb, and it lands just one week from now on August…
Blade and Soul is making it easier to upgrade weapons - For those who are frustrated with Blade and Soul's sometimes-contentious weapon upgrade system, fret not: NCsoft has heard your wailing and gnashing of teeth. The studio announced yesterday that it has grand plans to make upgrading…
NCsoft Q2 2016: WildStar up, Guild Wars 2 down - NCsoft's second quarter financials are in, and it's pretty good news for MMORPGs on the whole. Operating profit and net income are up quarter-over-quarter and year-over year, while sales were flat since Q1. As usual, the Lineage…
Superdata’s June report shows Overwatch, WoW still on top - Superdata's latest report on the worldwide digital games market is out, and Overwatch owned the month of June on PC, to no one's surprise, with GTA Online "dominating" (their word) by showing up on both the…
Master X Master highlights Poharan and Kromede - There's more to Master X Master than just bringing in characters from several NCsoft games under the same roof, but that is still part of the game's purpose. The two latest heroes to be revealed are…
Blade and Soul wades into a summertime patch - Shadows of the Innocents, Blade and Soul's 2.4 patch, hit the live servers yesterday, giving max level players more content to consume. There are two new dungeons that arrived as well as the Twisted Grimhon Wilds,…
There’s a Blade and Soul prequel in the works - Blade and Soul was one of the big western imports this year, but it's about to get some competition of its own making. NCsoft just announced that it is developing a prequel called Blade and Soul:…
NCsoft is linking Blade & Soul’s servers next week - Is it a merge or something not as dire? Either way, Blade & Soul is preparing to make some significant adjustments to its server structure on July 14th. Call it a technical merge, then: "In order to…
Blade & Soul plots Shadows of the Innocents update for July 20 - It's a day that ends in -day, which means Blade & Soul has another content update in the works. The update's called Shadows of the Innocents, and it lands on July 20th, which at the rate this…
Blade & Soul’s Soul Fighter update is live today - The Soul Fighter does not actually fight souls in Blade & Soul. No more than any other class, anyhow. It mostly fights with soul, and that's "soul" in the "glowing spiritual energy" sense rather than "deeply…
E3 2016: A look at Blade & Soul’s new class, the Soul Fighter - Blade & Soul hasn't yet been out for a year and it's already gotten several updates, all good news for the players. While I had assumed the delay was because of a pro-wrestler like death grip from…
Blade & Soul shows off the new Soul Fighter class - At long last, players of Blade & Soul will be able to properly fight souls with the new Soul Fighter class. It's a class that does nothing but fight souls. Or it's a class that uses…
PSA: The E3 Humble Bundle is full of online gaming goodness - [AL:WarF]Is your favorite MMO going to be at E3 this year? There are some games there and many that aren't, so it's a bit of a toss-up. But picking up this year's Humble Bundle for the…
Superdata: WoW, Lineage, SWTOR, TERA, and Blade & Soul top April P2P online games revenues - Superdata has a new seasonal report out on the state of the digital games market. The research firm's April figures show that World of Warcraft once again dominates the pay-to-play online games market, followed by classic…
Guild Chat: Giving a newbie Blade & Soul clan purpose - Welcome along to another edition of Guild Chat, my cosy wee corner of Massively Overpowered in which I break down a reader's guild related issue in order to make his or her MMO time that little…
Blade and Soul reveals 2016 content plans, including the Soul Fighter class - NCsoft Producer Nico Coutant has a big community letter out today for Blade & Soul fans discussing the state of the game and where it's headed. To satisfy players confused about what's coming out when, Coutant…
Blade & Soul’s Vengeance Breaks update has arrived - The main story of Blade & Soul starts off with a very clear tale of revenge. Some lady shows up, wrecks your stuff, and you set off to find her and wreck her face. It's a…
Blade & Soul introduces pets with its next major update - Do you want a cute pet to follow you around in Blade & Soul? Good news, then, because you can have exactly that with the game's next major update arriving on June 1st. But these pets…
Blade & Soul announces Vengeance Breaks update for June 1 - It's a day that ends in Y, so that means it's time for another massive Blade & Soul announcement. NCsoft has revealed today the June 1st update, what it's calling Vengeance Breaks. The patch "brings new content including…
NCsoft Q1 2016: Blade & Soul is booming, WildStar is tumbling - There are good pieces of news from NCsoft's first quarter financial report. For one thing, the company's year-on-year sales, profits, and net income are all up year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. Q1 2016 was good for the company…
Blade and Soul makes improvements to its weapon upgrade system - When it comes to Blade & Soul, the version that western players isn't exactly the same as the one in Korea. The developers have decided to bring the western version more in line with its eastern…
Blade & Soul’s Shattered Empire is live today - Blade & Soul's 2.1 update, Shattered Empire, has gone live today as planned. The patch introduces two new floors for Mushin's Tower plus two dungeons (Sogun’s Lament and Cold Storage) and a 6v6 PvP mode called Whirlwind…
Dungeons and spring bonuses arrive in Blade & Soul tomorrow - Do you have plans for tomorrow? Blade & Soul certainly hopes that you'll rearrange them to include a tour of its Shattered Empire 2.1 update. If there's a theme to the patch, it might be "dungeons, dungeons,…
Blade & Soul launches Shattered Empire hub - Blade & Soul's just gone live with the website for its next big update -- that'd be 2.1, more colorfully known as The Shattered Empire. The patch totes along new floors for Mushin's Tower (nine through…
Blade & Soul’s next event is all about random prizes for purchase - Spring is here, and Blade & Soul is celebrating with a new set of expensive treasures for players. From April 13th, players will be able to open up a free Treasure Trove once per day, providing…
Blade & Soul’s Shattered Empire update arrives on April 27 - Hope you weren't too attached to that empire because Blade & Soul done gone shattered it. The wuxia action MMO is preparing to bring Update 2.1: The Shattered Empire to the west on April 27th. The…
TERA interim CEO: ‘TERA and En Masse aren’t going anywhere’ - [AL:TERA]En Masse Interim CEO Sam Kim participated in a Reddit AMA for TERA players today, ostensibly to calm nerves after the company announced a round of layoffs and downsizing earlier this week. One of the topics…
Blade & Soul offers its own endgame content overview - So what do you do in Blade & Soul once you've levelcapped? Well, you could go do all the patched-in content coming along at break-neck speed. Silverfrost Mountains? Unchained? Rising Waters? That's more content in two months than…
Global Chat: Why bloggers aren’t worried about the future of MMOs - The future of MMOs weighs heavily on some minds in the community, but contrary to some Chicken Littles out there, the sky is not falling and all is not lost. In a two-part piece, bloggers Weakness…
Blade & Soul’s Silverfrost Mountains patch brings new areas, new dungeons, and a new level cap today - Here's hoping you didn't get too comfortable at the level cap for Blade & Soul because it's going up. Today, even! The massive Silverfrost Mountains patch is bringing a boost in the character level cap to…
Blade & Soul profiles Silverfrost Mountains dungeons for March 23 launch - Last week, NCsoft announced Silverfrost Mountains, a big update for Blade & Soul that'll launch, among other things, a new capital city and a total of eight dungeons. Three of those dungeons have since been profiled…
Blade & Soul’s Silverfrost Mountains expansion includes eight dungeons - NCsoft has just announced more content coming to Blade & Soul this spring in the form of what it's calling the Silverfrost Mountains expansion. "The Silverfrost Mountains expansion for Blade & Soul is coming soon, and…
Blade & Soul releases mobile card battler - Can't get enough of a Blade & Soul fix lately? Why not add a mobile app to your gaming diet, then? Yes indeed: There is now a Blade & Soul mobile game. It's not an MMO,…
ESPN muses on e-sports in Guild Wars 2, Blade & Soul, WoW - ESPN has a big piece out this week on e-sports in MMOs, chronicling the many (failed) attempts of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft to break into e-sports and arguing, as so many MMO players have done,…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 53: The MMOs of winter 2016 - Justin, Bree, and Matt discuss Blade & Soul, The Division, Black Desert, WildStar, Final Fantasy XIV, and a mailbag question on Destiny 2.
Choose My Adventure: Crafting catastrophes and dungeon doldrums in Blade & Soul - Hello, friends, and welcome to the fourth and final installment of Choose My Adventure with Blade & Soul. Last week, as you may recall unless your memory is somehow worse than mine, I asked you to…
Preview Blade & Soul’s Warlock class in a new overview trailer - NCsoft is hyping Blade & Soul's upcoming Warlock class with a fresh video today. "The Warlock is Blade & Soul’s second dedicated ranged class with great power but considerable fragility. Many of their powerful abilities have…
Blade & Soul adjusts anti-cheater measures, says server transfers are in the works - NCsoft is making a few changes to its anti-cheater software in Blade & Soul and says that its efforts to combat sneaky behavior are improving. "Gameguard is not the only anti-hack tool we have in our…
Choose My Adventure: Blade & Soul’s questing, PvP, combat, and impractically revealing outfits - Hello friends, and welcome back to Choose My Adventure, where I'm in my third week of exploring NCSoft's martial-arts MMORPG, Blade & Soul. Last week, I asked you to choose which of the game's two main…
Blade & Soul’s Warlock is coming soon to an MMO near you - Fancy a dip into the demonic realm? Blade & Soul can oblige you, as this fantasy title is getting ready to tag in the Warlock as part of next month's update. The Unchained content patch, which…
Massively OP’s MMORPG Valentine’s Day 2016 roundup - If you're one of those gamers who needs goofy real-world holidays in your MMOs, then this weekend is for you, as sappy pink hearts, chocolate candy crappies, and excessively revealing cosmetic lingerie is about to invade…
Blade & Soul kicks off its rose-collecting Valentine’s Day event - It's the most affectionate time of the year, and Blade & Soul is ready to celebrate by letting you dress up your character as if she forgot her pants and couldn't finish buttoning her blouse. But…
Choose My Adventure: Blade & Soul’s school of hard knocks (and mysterious, potentially deadly curses) - Hello friends, and welcome to week two of the February series of Choose My Adventure. For those of you who are just tuning in, this month I'm diving headlong into the mystical martial-arts adventure of NCSoft's…
Blade & Soul releases Rising Waters, reaches 2M players in the west - Are you finished with all of the content that Blade & Soul has to offer, now that you've had a few weeks to play since the launch? No? Well, that's just too bad because NCsoft is…
The Stream Team: Blade & Soul’s buddy system - MassivelyOP's MJ is a firm believer in the buddy system; everything is just plain better with a friend. (And no, it's not just to have someone else to blame things on!) That's why she's even more…
Preview Blade & Soul’s Mushin’s Tower and Bloodshade Harbor dungeons - Here's the benefit of getting Blade & Soul years after its Korean launch: years' worth of content stored up just waiting for localization. When NCsoft's wuxia MMO's first major update, Rising Waters, arrives next week, players…
Choose My Adventure: Entering the fray in Blade & Soul - Hello, friends, and welcome to a spankin' new series of Choose My Adventure. This month, I'm going to be diving into NCSoft's wuxia-inspired Blade & Soul. I know many MMO fans have been anxiously awaiting the Western…
Blade & Soul plagued by chat bugs after maintenance - NCsoft's Blade & Soul is having a rough maintenance day. Players are reporting numerous issues since the game's latest update, most relating to chat. Earlier today, the company acknowledged that it was aware of a bug preventing characters under level…
The Stream Team: Summoning more adventure in Blade & Soul - Consensus seems to be that Blade & Soul gets better further in when you get more skills, so MassivelyOP's MJ is back in to be sure she gives the game a fair shake. Or in the…
Blade & Soul deploys a patch to reduce spam and fix bugs - Blade & Soul went down for maintenance at 6 a.m. EST today and will probably remain down until 10:00 a.m. EST. That's the bad news, if you tend to get up early and either didn't need…
Blade & Soul’s first major patch arrives on February 10th - The great part about games that were localized after being out in their native country for some time is that there's no dearth of material for patches. Blade & Soul just launched here in North America…
Blade & Soul hits one million players in the west - A week after its launch in North America and Europe, Blade & Soul claims to have surpassed one million players in the game worldwide in the west. The game launched in South Korea in 2012 and…
Leaderboard: What’s your opinion of Blade & Soul, one week in? - On Friday, we updated our beta impressions of Blade & Soul with fresh impressions after a week of play, and the underlying theme of both pieces was that the import is respectable but not revolutionary, which won't…
Blade & Soul impressions from around the MMO blogosphere - It's probably no surprise to anyone that Blade & Soul managed to rope in a lot of excited fans and curious casuals this past week. I mean, in the east it's been a popular and successful…
Blade & Soul taps the last of its server reserves, orders more hardware - Once again we hear the familiar refrain of players trying to cram into a game on its launch week: "Woe are queues! Why isn't there enough space for little ol' me?" Blade & Soul is packed…
Launch impressions of Blade & Soul: Combat, story, questing, and flow - Every time I play Blade & Soul, I'm really playing a different game, which I dub Why Don't I Like You More? The object of that game is to figure out why you like all of…
Blade & Soul teases upcoming content - As if Blade & Soul players didn't have enough to keep them occupied this week, what with the launch and all, NCsoft has released a new sneak preview of what's coming to the game over the next…
Blade & Soul plans new servers to combat queues - The good news is that Blade & Soul is turning out to be pretty popular here in the west. The bad news is that Blade & Soul is turning out to be pretty popular here in…
The Stream Team: Back for more killer kitties in Blade & Soul - Instead of going through that introduction again on a new class, MassivelyOP's MJ is continuing her Blade & Soul adventures on TestSubject the Summoner and her trusty sidekick, Sleepyhead. Will gameplay actually become more prevalent than…
Blade & Soul is live; here’s the launch roundup, gallery, and trailer - NCsoft's Blade & Soul formally launches in the west today, having spent the last few days in headstart. To celebrate how far it's come in the last year since announcing its intent to launch on our shores,…
Get some useful tips on Blade & Soul before it launches tomorrow - Tomorrow's the big launch day for Blade & Soul for anyone not already enjoying the head start opportunity. Users on Reddit have helpfully compiled several useful tips for the game that may not be immediately evident…
Leaderboard: Are you playing Blade & Soul? - Blade & Soul formally launches in the west next week, with its headstart period for preorder buyers opening up today. MMORPG players talk a lot about holding out past the inevitable launch week messes, but many…
The Stream Team: Blade & Soul’s headstart - Although Blade & Soul doesn't officially launch until the 19th, the headstart begins today. And that means MassivelyOP's MJ gets to jump in and play. Well, she can play after she creates a character, that is!…
NCsoft addresses Blade & Soul gamemaster name reservation controversy - The Blade & Soul subreddit has been in an uproar the last few days over accusations that NCsoft EU GMs pre-claimed popular character names, rendering them off-limits for players who preordered in the hopes of securing…
Blade & Soul’s Chinese version is getting the Qi Master - There's a little more time before Blade & Soul releases here in North America, but that doesn't mean you can't look forward to the future of the game. Chinese players who are enjoying the game are…
The official guide to Blade & Soul’s January 19 launch - Are you ready for Blade & Soul's launch on January 19th? Are you really ready? I mean, you might have played a lot of the game's beta, but there's more stuff coming to the game in…
How to abuse Blade and Soul’s character creator for evil and amusement - There are two types of MMO gamers when it comes to character creation. The first group attempts to craft a character that looks terrific or otherwise interesting. The second group, however, gets an impish grin and…
Perfect Ten: The MMORPGs to watch in 2016 - A long time ago on another website far, far away, I held a tradition of kicking off the new year by listing the top 10 MMOs that deserved attention and were likely to launch that year.…
Hands-on: Blade & Soul’s early beta has solid mechanics, but not much else - I've had some time to think about Blade & Soul, and I'm still not sure exactly what I want to say about it. I enjoyed my time in the beta, yes. There are some kind of…
Perfect Ten: The biggest MMORPG news stories of 2015 - For as long as Massively Overpowered exists, this will be one of the most memorable years in our site's history. It was the year that, after seven year of operation, old Massively got abruptly shuttered by…
Massively OP’s Best of 2015 Awards: Most Likely to Flop - Massively OP's end-of-the-year awards continue today with our most likely to flop in 2016 and beyond award. Last year, Star Citizen took home this dishonor, leading to much discord in the comments. Star Citizen has yet to actually…
Win a Blade & Soul ‘Master’ founder pack from NCsoft and Massively OP - Blade & Soul begins its next-to-last beta test tomorrow, and if you're not in it, that could be because you haven't pre-ordered with a founder pack yet. So how would you like to win one? NCsoft has…
Blade and Soul starts testing the Soul Fighter in Korea - Blade and Soul's roster is ever-growing even as the title's western launch grows near. Steparu is reporting that the title is currently testing a new class called the Soul Fighter (although he suspects that this name…
Blade & Soul’s Assassin gets a class overview and a video - Blade & Soul has released a class overview for the Assassin. NCsoft describes it as "a complex class that excels when they have the freedom and time to set up their attack, and can be defined…
Massively OP Podcast Episode 39: Giving thanks - Justin and Bree discuss Black Desert, Blade & Soul, SWTOR nerfs, Funcom, and gratitude, plus mailbag questions on other podcasts, the quest for sandboxes, F2P restrictions, and custom races.
Blade & Soul will include North American players in its next world championship - Do you want to be the best around, with nothing that will ever keep you down? Blade & Soul makes a point of being able to support one-on-one combat in a balanced format, leading to an…
Blade & Soul makes Western debut on January 19th - If you've been waiting for the localized launch of Blade & Soul for what feels like an eternity, your wait is nearly over. The game is officially launching on January 19th in North America and Europe…
Blade & Soul dedicates a week to highlighting the Force Master - The combat in Blade & Soul centers around mixing it up with martial arts, but the Force Master is the class that recognizes how much more easily you can win a fight by never getting close…
Korean edition of Blade & Soul gearing up for a new class and more story - Are you worried about the health of Blade & Soul? With any import title, it's easy to wonder if the game is going to fold unexpectedly in its native land and leave fans without any further…
It’s Kung Fu Master week in Blade & Soul - Do you know kung fu? The Blade & Soul Kung Fu Master does, clearly, and today NCsoft decided to kick off Kung Fu Master class week with a wall of text, a video, and a listing…
Blade & Soul’s Destroyer wields a giant axe, generates low threat - It's Destroyer week on the Blade & Soul website, which means that there is plenty of new class-specific stuff to read. The Destroyer is designed for people who want to wade into the thick of every…
Buy a founder’s pack, get into this weekend’s Blade and Soul alpha - If you're looking for a sure way to get into Blade and Soul's alpha test, then it won't hurt to hand NCsoft a little bribe. OK, it's not a bribe, per se. But the studio announced…
Blade and Soul starts technical alpha, talks closed beta features - The very first technical alpha for Blade and Soul is live, according to the game's official Twitter feed. The studio is sending out alpha keys in waves to a few of the players who have purchased…
Blade & Soul dedicates a week to the Summoner - Would you consider a cat to be a faithful battle companion? If not, you probably haven't played a Summoner in Blade & Soul, the class in the spotlight this week. Summoners are the sole pet class…
Blade & Soul shines a spotlight on the Blade Master - You would think that a class by the name of Blade Master would be really important in Blade & Soul. It's half of the title right there, after all! But no, the Blade Master is just…
Blade & Soul’s website talks skills and skill trees - NCsoft has updated Blade & Soul's western website with a bit about the game's skill trees. You'll earn a skill point with each character level, and most skills may be customized through a skill tree in…
Blade and Soul beta begins October 30th, still launching Q1 2016 - You can stop holding your breath now: The beautifully rendered action MMORPG Blade and Soul arrives on western shores very soon. NCSoft officially announced today that the closed beta for its premier wuxia MMO will begin on October 30th,…
Blade & Soul founder packs are now available for planned Q1 2016 launch - I was very excited to sit down during Gamescom with Nicolas Coutant, producer at NCSOFT West, about the upcoming US and Europe release of Blade & Soul, a quirky Asian fantasy MMO developed by Team Bloodlust.…
Blade & Soul’s website updates with new race/class combos - Did you catch the classes page update on Blade & Soul's website today? NCsoft has fleshed out what exactly will be playable in the western version of its martial arts MMO, and there are a couple of…
Blade & Soul’s chi and pet systems teased - Want to know even more about Blade & Soul's Chi? There's a new update on the fantasy title's website that offers a few cryptic hints at how the mechanic will work. Chi isn't just for warriors,…
What is Blade & Soul’s chi about, anyway? - Chi is vitally important to Blade & Soul's lore and gameplay, but it's perfectly OK to not completely understand what it's about. That's why the devs have penned a new lore blog to explain what chi…
E3 2015: Blade & Soul’s ‘full-access F2P’ model and hands-on - Long before NCsoft officially announced that Blade & Soul was heading west, fans were eager for the chance to get their hands on the game -- including a number of us here at MassivelyOP. So I might…
Blade & Soul offers an overview of the world at large - There's a great big world out there in Blade & Soul, but if you were hoping it would be a calm and welcoming place in which people of diverse talents could come together... well, let's just…
Massively OP Podcast: Episode 15 - Justin and Bree talk about Blade & Soul's western approach, WoW's war on flying, The Repopulation's launch date, EverQuest's progression server, Age of Conan's anniversary, and Guild Wars 2's Lion's Arch rebuild, plus mailbag questions on…
Help Oceanic Blade & Soul fans by signing this petition - Some folks from fan site Blade & Soul Dojo have started a petition that asks NCsoft to consider an Oceanic server for its upcoming Blade & Soul MMORPG. Given that B&S is action-oriented and given "the way…
Hands-on: Blade & Soul’s western port is a cheerful cliche storm (and I want to play more) - I spent a ridiculous amount of time playing Blade & Soul just moving around. Most of the time in a given game, I'm moving around because I'm trying to explore the game world I'm inhabiting. But during…
Blade & Soul hits western shores this winter - Remember when comic books had little call-outs on the front cover proudly proclaiming that something happened because the readers requested it? I always thought those were kind of hilarious. "Because you demanded it, here's the latest issue…
Perfect Ten: Future MMOs that I can’t wait to play - I imagine that most of us have a future bucket list of MMOs that we wish would get here already. It wasn't but a couple of years ago that I was salivating over several major up-and-coming…
Rumor: Blade & Soul might be in internal testing for US release - Hey, you all remember the guy causing a whole kerfluffle about the fact that WildStar is supposedly going free-to-play? Good times! But the Redditor who started that thread wasn't done revealing internal secrets, although the account…
Migrate your NCsoft master account or face deletion - Are you still using an old NCsoft master account? If you are, then you're going to want to migrate to the new system before May 1st lest your account be deleted forever. To encourage long-time players…
NCsoft’s games are going free-to-play in Japan - [AL:Aion]NCsoft games are shedding their subscription requirements -- at least in Japan. MMO Culture is reporting that between March and April, NCsoft will be transitioning its Japanese titles to a free-to-play model, leaving Korea as the…
Omeed Dariani takes new post directing the community for NCsoft - Omeed Dariani, who resigned from SOE back in September before the studio's buyout and big transition to Daybreak Games, is back working with the community in the gaming sector in a new position. Dariani announced via…
NCsoft Q4 2014: NCsoft financials paint a grim picture for WildStar - The good news for fans of NCsoft's game catalogue is that the company as a whole is doing well. The most recent earnings report was released today, and it shows an increase in income compared to…
