Soul of the Ultimate Nation

New content is on the way for fans of Soul of the Ultimate Nation, and Webzen has just announced the impending release of a global trial server for the game's Episode 2 patch. The new shard will go live on April 28th, and it aims to give players a preview as well as collect feedback prior to the patch's official release.

Episode 2 brings major changes to the game including a new leveling system, itemization changes, and new quests. Webzen's press release states that the revamp should "please various gamers with its simple yet strategic gameplay."

In addition to the leveling adjustments, Episode 2 introduces the custom passives system whereby players may tweak their avatars' abilities via customizable buffs. The mechanic is intended to encourage grouping between new and old players, and the resultant buffs will stay active as long as the party remains intact. Head to the official Soul of the Ultimate Nation website for more info.

Noted free-to-play publisher Webzen is celebrating not one, but two MMORPG anniversaries this week. FIrst up is Archlord, the PvP-focused title that offers players the chance to become the titular ruler and indulge in perks such as controlling the server's weather and riding a dragon mount. Webzen has created a special anniversary zone inside the game which will spawn special mobs as well as a gold drop buff for players under level 60.

Soul of the Ultimate Nation (S.U.N.) is also celebrating an anniversary this week, and to mark the occasion, players will receive a 200% XP buff. S.U.N. features hack-and-slash combat, a unique Battle Zone System where players create their own instances, and music by Academy Award-winning film composer Howard Shore.

It might seem like everything is all fine and dandy in Soul of the Ultimate Nation, but there's a shadow on the horizon. More specifically, there's Shadow, the newest character added to the game. A combination of dark sorcery and assassin skills form Shadow's potent, solo-friendly skillset, something the game's development team had been hinting at since the beginning of the year. But that's hardly all that's new in the game, which has expanded the high-level content as well.

Player characters over level 100 have access to nearly two hundred added quests, as well as new high-level areas in Helron's Castle. Neville's Swamp and Bronze Moon City, as well as the area conquest for the aforementioned castle, are all open. To cap off the experience, players have access to the fourth village in Soul of the Ultimate Nation, giving high-end players a spot where they can congregate with one another. Rather than forcing you to just read the text, however, we have both a set of preview images in our gallery, and two trailers for the update embedded past the cut.

Continue Reading

Have you hit the skill cap in Soul of the Ultimate Nation? Looking for a few more challenges in the game? The May content update to S.U.N. should make you very happy.

All classes will find four new skills available as well as a new quest line introducing the Ether Change System. Complete the four consecutive quests in the line to create the Systems, which can be equipped to your weapon and used. High level players will find even more new content to enjoy. Level 115 players will now find the option for a "change up," a new system that will allow them to gain even more skills and begin the journey to the brand new level cap of 130.

The change up system comes in the form of a quest that must be completed before you can start working toward level 130 -- you won't gain XP until you've completed it. So check out the new quest and skills, and enjoy the new content.

The crew over at ijji.com have just released a new content update for Soul of the Ultimate Nation, and this one has some nice additions for long-time players. The update introduces a new area called the Aiort graveyards, perfect for those level 100 and higher characters. Did I say higher? Yes! That's because this new update also raises the level cap in Soul of the Ultimate Nation to a mind-bending level 115.

Along with the new area and level cap increase, players are being treated to over 150 new quests for players from level 70 on up in places like Etherain, Valley of Dragonkin, the Cursed Tower, and of course within the Aiort graveyards.

Continue Reading

The new year is a busy one for Soul of the Ultimate Nation players, as we'll be looking forward to not only a string of updates, but a brand new class to play with as well.

This year is the year of the Shadow, SUN's sorcerer/assassination combination character. Carrying a really cool sword that's reminiscent of Ivy Valentine's weapon from SoulCalibur, the Shadow is made for playing the game solo. So for all those of you out there who have been looking to get away from the groups and set out on your own, the Shadow is the character you've been looking for. Beyond the addition of the Shadow, Webzen is also rolling out mounts and the ability for your characters to transform for the international version.

For all of the information on the new additions as they roll out, keep an eye on the Soul of the Ultimate Nation website.

Continue Reading

Soul of the Ultimate Nation is launching its first major content update, and spreading a little Christmas cheer while they're at it. The content update will bring a new map -- Valley of the Dragon -- for players above level 60 who are looking for a new challenge, as well as a new battle zone, AC system and quests. Finally, an elite item set option is now available, said to be the most unique item in game.

While they were at it, WEBZEN decided to add another little bonus to their game, the "Holiday Spirit in Soul of the Ultimate Nation" event. From now until December 30th, you can purchase Happy Winter Packages, and part of the purchase price will go to support UNICEF.

The holiday promotion is limited, but the new content is here to stay, so pick up your winter gifts and settle in to enjoy this first major content update!

Have you ever felt like a game or expansion is languishing forever in beta? Soul of the Ultimate Nation, the upcoming free-to-play MMORPG from developer WEBZEN, has an interesting approach to this particular problem -- they're running a short beta. A very short beta. A beta so short that it's easy to miss it until it's almost over. A three-day beta, specifically.

That might sound like a recipe for disaster, but it might not be. According to the official press release, the game has already been running for quite some time in Asia, and the beta is primarily for the global version of the game which is going live at the end of the month. In order to appeal to more players, the developers are giving away free items to players who take part in the beta test, including those which are normally part of the game's microtransaction system. If you're interested in checking out Soul of the Ultimate Nation and want to get your hands on these items, of course, you'd better hurry -- the beta is ending October 16th, with the global version officially launching at the end of October.

Continue Reading

It's only two years late, but hey, we're not complaining! Ijji.com has reported to us that they've obtained the rights to publish Webzen's Soul of the Ultimate Nation in North America and that the game will release somewhere in late 2009.

Soul of the Ultimate Nation, called SUN for short, is a hack and slash MMO developed by Huxley creators Webzen. The game was originally slated to be published in North America in late 2007, but the game's status went silent and slowly slipped off of everyone's radar.

SUN features a quicker style of gameplay, more akin to a game like Dynasty Warriors than your standard MMO. To perform this feat, the game breaks the world map up into zones created by players in towns, very much like creating your own match in a first-person shooter. Players create these fields in order to hunt down monsters, solve missions, or complete quests.

Players can also take objectives to assult areas in a siege-esque manner, where many players create rooms to assault one objective. In these cases, successful and unsuccessful sieges affect how the other in-progress games play out, altering the difficulty of the battle to show the turning tide of one side winning or losing. The game does feature persistent cities where players can mingle, much like it's first-person shooter brother, Huxley.