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Blade & Soul on track to launch in Korea this July

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Blade & Soul

If all goes well, NCsoft's Blade & Soul will be making its public debut in July. That's the good news; the bad news is that the launch will be confined to Korea for the time being.

The company recently announced in an earnings call that the title is on track to go into open beta testing by June and then launch this July. There's some hope at NCsoft that the release of Diablo III will grow the potential gamer audience in the country, an audience that could be attracted to Blade & Soul come this summer.

Currently the game is in closed beta, with the next round of testing commencing on May 22nd. ThisIsGame reports that Blade & Soul has stirred up controversy with testers due to a vitality system that limits how fast a player can advance his or her character.

Blade & Soul on track to launch in Korea this July originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 May 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Blade & Soul videos show Summoner gameplay, qinggong abilities

Jef Reahard — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Blade & Soul

Looking for some more Summoner gameplay after that pet reveal last weekend? Korean MMO website ThisIsGame has you covered with a new Blade & Soul preview video. We get to see three minutes of combat footage, including plenty of killer kitty-cats and spell-casting action. The video quality isn't the greatest, but it's definitely interesting to see the Summoner in action for an extended period.

NCsoft has also released a new one-minute qinggong trailer. The clip shows several Blade & Soul avatars in all their wall-running, high-flying, gravity-defying glory (and this time it's a high-quality embed). Check out both videos after the break.

[Thanks to Tym for the tip!]

Continue reading New Blade & Soul videos show Summoner gameplay, qinggong abilities

New Blade & Soul videos show Summoner gameplay, qinggong abilities originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch 17 minutes of unadulterated Blade & Soul PvP footage

Justin Olivetti — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Events, real-world, PvP, Free-to-play, Blade & Soul

There's nothing that South Korean gamers love more than hot-blooded PvP, which is why they went bananas to see NCsoft's Blade & Soul's player-vs.-player combat live at the recent Soul Party 2.

In two filmed videos by ThisIsGame.com, testers give the game's intense, kinetic action a workout during a 20v20 PvP match. The characters' full range of motion is on display in these clips, as are their various methods of impaling, soul-sucking, and fireballing opponents.

Blade & Soul recently announced its adorable Summoner class, which will be playable when the game heads into its third closed beta test on May 9th. And yes, you have our full permission to stay up past your bedtime to watch the following PvP bout.

Continue reading Watch 17 minutes of unadulterated Blade & Soul PvP footage

Watch 17 minutes of unadulterated Blade & Soul PvP footage originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Apr 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Blade & Soul trailer shows off Summoner pets

Jef Reahard — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Blade & Soul

NCsoft has released a new trailer for Blade & Soul's Summoner class. As you might expect, the Summoner is a pet-handling heroine who relies on her animal companions for much of her utility. What you may not have expected is the form those animals will take.

Prior to this particular trailer, Blade & Soul has gone with a fairly serious high-fantasy approach to its world and character design. Thanks to the Summoner pets, the cuteness factor has gone through the roof. Don't take our word for it, though. Head past the cut and see for yourself.

[Thanks to Blade&Soul Fan for the tip!]

Continue reading New Blade & Soul trailer shows off Summoner pets

New Blade & Soul trailer shows off Summoner pets originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blade & Soul nearing commercial release, adding Summoner class

Jef Reahard — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Blade & Soul

NCsoft is loath to talk about its Blade & Soul martial arts MMORPG here in the West, so we have to rely on third-party fansites and Chinese/Korean translations for most of our info. The latest such comes courtesy of MMO Culture, and it features an interview from a recent Tencent Games media event with a couple of newsworthy notables.

First up is the fact that upcoming Korean and Chinese Blade & Soul beta phases will feature the new Summoner class. Not much is known in terms of class specifics yet, but the site says that it boasts an "easier" and "more relaxed" playstyle than other classes.

The interview also touches on Blade & Soul's business model and its impending release. Despite the fact that NCsoft titles like Aion and Lineage II have recently committed to free-to-play in North America, the firm isn't talking about any particular Blade & Soul payment model just yet. Finally, MMO Culture reports that Blade & Soul "is currently near the end of the development phase for commercial release," and given the lack of info on a Western client, we expect said release to be exclusive to the Chinese and Korean markets for now.

Blade & Soul nearing commercial release, adding Summoner class originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aion's 2.1 patch to increase drop rates

Jef Reahard — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Patches, News items

NCsoft isn't resting on its winged laurels after last month's release of its Assault on Balaurea expansion. Aion's 2.1 patch is just around the corner, judging by its debut this week on the Korean test servers and the associated patch notes that have been posted to the North American PowerWiki.

The update is brimming with the usual NPC, quest, and instance bug fixes, as well as a reduction on the prerequisites for the greater stigma quests. That said, the most interesting additions to the patch are the loot table tweaks. In a nutshell, it seems NCsoft is finally heeding the cries of players to do something about Aion's abyssmal loot drop rates. The patch notes indicate "greatly increased" drop rates on gear from instance and field bosses as well as regular mobs. There also appears to be an across-the-board hike in the drop rate of fluxes, skill manuals, and stigma stones.

While this news might drive broker prices to new levels of ridiculousness over the next little while, Aion's economy will probably look a little different after 2.1 goes live and supply overtakes demand.

Aion's 2.1 patch to increase drop rates originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exclusive Aion lead producer interview

Jef Reahard — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Interviews, Patches, News items

Aion fans have been on a roller coaster ride of late, what with the recent announcement of the launch date for the highly anticipated 1.9 patch, as well as teasers regarding 2.0 potentially coming to America in the Fall. Tempering the good news was the announcement of pending server mergers, which are rarely regarded as a good thing in the player community.

In light of all the goings on, we were able to sit down with NCsoft's Chris Hager, Lead Producer for the western version of Aion, for some frank questions about the game, the company behind it, and the future.

Fly past the cut for the full interview.

Continue reading Exclusive Aion lead producer interview

Exclusive Aion lead producer interview originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 May 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft releases teaser trailer for Blade and Soul

Rubi Bayer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, New titles, Blade & Soul

When we say "NCsoft" it usually brings to mind their big, highly-promoted titles like City of Heroes, Aion, and Guild Wars. However, NCsoft enjoys quite a bit of popularity in their home country of Korea, and a lot of people are looking forward to another upcoming title. Blade and Soul hasn't enjoyed the worldwide hype that some other NCsoft titles have, but it's still got an excited fan base looking forward to it.

News for eager fans has been on the skimpy side, with the biggest announcement lately being a recent mention from the NCsoft CEO Jaeho Lee: "I believe there will be certain public events in the year 2010... at least a closed beta test for those titles. Commercialisation will be expected, at this point, probably some time in the year 2011."

Yesterday NCsoft delivered a little surprise via Twitter for those anticipating Blade and Soul: a teaser trailer is coming soon, and a 30-second teaser is available now. Take a look at the teaser after the jump, and we'll keep an eye out for the full length version for you!

Continue reading NCsoft releases teaser trailer for Blade and Soul

NCsoft releases teaser trailer for Blade and Soul originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Curse.com founder's open Aion letter to NCsoft Korea

Brooke Pilley — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, New titles, Opinion

Open letters to MMO developers from forum members are
a dime a dozen these days but it isn't very often you see one from a forum admin. It's even more rare to see one from the founder of a major fansite network. Today must be our lucky day because Netcurse, founder of Curse.com wrote just such a letter to NCsoft Korea, head studio behind Aion.

The public plea puts some extra weight behind the biggest complaints many Aion players have been voicing since release, namely: "the grind," spammers/botters, and large-scale PvP performance in fortresses. Statements like "...there are three issues I want to bring to the front page today that need to be addressed or this game will end up being a 300k subscriber game within 6 months, not the one-million+ subscriber game it should be," show just how impassioned Netcurse is about these issues.

What's refreshing is that the author is pointing out potential solutions for each problem he draws attention to. For instance, to combat the grind, he feels XP should be increased and more benefits should be rewarded to social players (groupers). Not everyone is agreeing with his comments in the replies, so we're curious, what are your thoughts?

Curse.com founder's open Aion letter to NCsoft Korea originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft release Korean trailer for Aion patch 1.5

Lesley Smith — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Aion, Patches, News items

For us here in the west, the launch of Aion might still be on the horizon. However, having had the game for the better part of a year, gamers in Korea have already turned their attention to patch 1.5. Indeed this is something we should also be excited about as the localized version of Aion aimed at Europe and the US will include this newest content patch.

With this in mind, NCsoft over in Korea has revealed a trailer touting the new patch, catchily nicknamed The Shadow of the Balaur. According to translated patch notes from the official Korean site, 1.5 will include new instances that will see players visiting a twisted Balaur-infested version of the Elyos starter zone known as Dark Poeta. There's also a flying ship crewed by the adorable ferret-like Shugo and a new battleground. On top of that are plenty of minor changes including the ability to zoom in on the minimap, four new face presets, new armour sets and, my personal favourite, in-game clothing in the form of kimono and the imperial uniforms of China and Taiwan.

Check out the video after the jump for a taste of what's to come.

Continue reading NCsoft release Korean trailer for Aion patch 1.5

NCsoft release Korean trailer for Aion patch 1.5 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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