Blade & Soul

 PC
  • Publisher: NCSOFT
  • Release Date: Jan 19, 2016
User Score
4.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 281 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 281
  2. Mixed: 42 out of 281
  3. Negative: 141 out of 281

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  1. Mank
    Feb 1, 2016
    4
    Terrible, simple, low effort, and dated PVE. PVP is decent, but not a lot of variety yet.

    Should have been a MP fighting game so they can focus on their strengths.
  2. Menom
    Mar 14, 2016
    4
    Assets

    Great combat system and excellent concept for a PVP game Good party creation tool and good cross-server party creation for dungeons Nice tutorial Some good story and animated segments with acceptable voice-acting Deficits Grind based MMORPG Extremely linear PVE that is redundant and mundane Most dungeons are poorly done and boring Very poor PVP matchmaking Terrible    Assets

    Great combat system and excellent concept for a PVP game
    Good party creation tool and good cross-server party creation for dungeons
    Nice tutorial
    Some good story and animated segments with acceptable voice-acting

    Deficits

    Grind based MMORPG
    Extremely linear PVE that is redundant and mundane
    Most dungeons are poorly done and boring
    Very poor PVP matchmaking
    Terrible gold spamming and no effort to filter or fix
    Cross-server party creation is sometimes not available in dungeons or situations where it is badly needed
    Dead and limited clan system
    Weak, unambitious crafting system
    Small world where feel like you're traveling through a tunnel most of the time

    Given the lack of effort to fix the PVE game, they should have eliminated it altogether and made this purely a PVP fighting game with a deeper matchmaking system. Although this game is not without merit, you might be happier playing a good fighter game. Sadly I don't feel a sense of enthusiasm to improve this game. Most effort seems to be going into expanding micro-transactions.    … Expand
  3. AJCk19
    Apr 19, 2023
    4
    Get rid of management or people who make the lead decisions on this game. Because they are strangling such great potential. The combat, Asian aesthetics, rpg elements, and graphics are top tier. But they decided to not optimize the games coding, so you need a 2k or higher machine from year 2023. In order to run it between medium and max settings. Even in this situation, when things get toGet rid of management or people who make the lead decisions on this game. Because they are strangling such great potential. The combat, Asian aesthetics, rpg elements, and graphics are top tier. But they decided to not optimize the games coding, so you need a 2k or higher machine from year 2023. In order to run it between medium and max settings. Even in this situation, when things get to crazy in the battle, your fps might still drop.

    Then the final nail in the coffin for me, was them getting rid of controller support. If the game doesn't care about retaining its' user based, it is bound to fail at that point. One thing about a mmo, it needs a dedicated base more than other games. It is no fun playing on a souless server.

    If I could give half point ratings, I would even be willing to give it a 4.5, but it just doesn't deserve a full 5 out of 10.    … Expand
  4. uazzz007
    Feb 27, 2020
    4
    This game has interesting mechanics. nice art style and level design and worst developers ever. it's 8 years old and there **** tons of bugs, especially collision bugs and they just dont care. it has ****ty performance(especially during raid bosses) ****ty net cod, it constantly crushes, and for some reasons has bad input registrations (sometimes it takes 2-3 times to press same skill toThis game has interesting mechanics. nice art style and level design and worst developers ever. it's 8 years old and there **** tons of bugs, especially collision bugs and they just dont care. it has ****ty performance(especially during raid bosses) ****ty net cod, it constantly crushes, and for some reasons has bad input registrations (sometimes it takes 2-3 times to press same skill to make it work (never had same problem in other games), main quests are interesting but for the first time. if you want make second char you will die of boredom, coz most of them are go here and there and talk to someone. to sum up, it could be a better game if it was made by humans, but not by bunch of apes.… Expand
  5. Seezer
    Feb 18, 2016
    4
    PvP is alright and the character creator is very powerful but everything else is lackluster (especially the PvE). The story is above average but still nothing extraordinary.

    The combat is actually quite deep and makes an effort to be different, but again, not many reasons to fully master it other than PvP. Dated graphics; Uninspired gear design (Little to no alternative from being    PvP is alright and the character creator is very powerful but everything else is lackluster (especially the PvE). The story is above average but still nothing extraordinary.

    The combat is actually quite deep and makes an effort to be different, but again, not many reasons to fully master it other than PvP.

    Dated graphics; Uninspired gear design (Little to no alternative from being almost naked and covered in oil); Unoptimized (games is abnormally dropping frames in places it shouldn't. On powerful rigs); Close to no effort in making the leveling phase of the experience compete with the rest of the market (Almost exclusively done through the usual quests you played everywhere else).

    You might love it if you are an hardcore PvPer, but an MMO should be a lot more than just PvP content, as other games have proven in the past through either their fall or success.    … Expand
  6. Sajonara84
    Feb 12, 2016
    4
    Played over 80 hours this game, and here is what i think...

    Pros: - PvP - pretty fun and fast, skill based not your eq. - Arena - the best feature this game has to offfer, no doubt.. - decent main plot, and very good cutscenes (for mmo standards) - nice combat mechanics, but it gets boring after a while Cons: - boring repetitive dungeons and i mean REALLY boring, i played lot    Played over 80 hours this game, and here is what i think...

    Pros:
    - PvP - pretty fun and fast, skill based not your eq.
    - Arena - the best feature this game has to offfer, no doubt..
    - decent main plot, and very good cutscenes (for mmo standards)
    - nice combat mechanics, but it gets boring after a while

    Cons:
    - boring repetitive dungeons and i mean REALLY boring, i played lot of grindy mmos, but here dungeons fells very small and similar, there are some nice cutscenes on the bright side...
    - no pve end game, all you have after reaching cap(which is 1-2 week at max) atm is 6 end game dungeons [only 1 gives you decent challenge] + boring faction quests[kill xxx of xxx] u have to do in order to grind your mats for crafting.
    - very shallow crafting system
    - typical fetch game side quests - kill xxx, bring xxx etc, not even one quests that makes you use your brain.

    4/10 and im very generous, pve/crafting deserves 1/10    … Expand
  7. Crackfarmer
    Mar 3, 2016
    4
    Purchased a Founders pack (120€), lvled to 45 before even released - was one of the first reaching 45 on German less populated Server. After that - i kinda lost the interest in this Game. Since release you can't speak out of the Guild chat, spammers everywhere. The Gold cost for upgrading your Gear after reaching lvl 36+ is insane, no1 can afford that without farming or buying Gold. ItPurchased a Founders pack (120€), lvled to 45 before even released - was one of the first reaching 45 on German less populated Server. After that - i kinda lost the interest in this Game. Since release you can't speak out of the Guild chat, spammers everywhere. The Gold cost for upgrading your Gear after reaching lvl 36+ is insane, no1 can afford that without farming or buying Gold. It went downhill pretty damn fast, all of my friends quitted after i left. Unless you join a super powerful Guild (which will probably require TS3 duty all day) its impossible to enjoy this Game after reaching 45.

    I don't recommend to buy this Game unless you can spent alot of Time getting into the crafting system, learning your Char ( & rotation), joining an **** Ass Guild and finally hang yourself after achieving all that.    … Expand
  8. Eikox
    Mar 12, 2016
    4
    In the first two week of the release, i reach the max lvl in that moment (45). I enjoy it in every step but after give it a break and played again, definitely don't like.

    The first impression of the game is very nice, the tutorials are fluid and the intro of your character is good. But when you are increasing you lvl, you begun to note that the quest are very repetitive (Go to A, kill    In the first two week of the release, i reach the max lvl in that moment (45). I enjoy it in every step but after give it a break and played again, definitely don't like.

    The first impression of the game is very nice, the tutorials are fluid and the intro of your character is good. But when you are increasing you lvl, you begun to note that the quest are very repetitive (Go to A, kill or interact with B and return or go to speak with C).
    -The fight system is marvelous, but the classes are highly unbalanced. Even with the recommendation system of skill points, after the second patch everything go to the dump.
    -I recommend you if you going to play it, try to enter in one of the best guild of the server, generally they going to help you with something. But if you are going to try alone everything, well you're going to have a bad time.
    -With the daily quest you can make more of 10 gold at the day, but you must spend all day doing the quest (for 10 gold) and after a few days is not worthy.
    -The market is nice, except for the price of everything (extremely high) and even if are somebody selling something more cheap, they buy it and post it with a greater increase of the price.

    I have it a blade dancer (very good class and very decent in pvps) with the siren sword and almost the last upgraded of everything in my equipment thanks to the guild, but after a time, is like all the same. (even with the guilds). The daily quest are a horrible loop, if you are going to farm something.. well good luck. If you wish to upgraded you'r weapon, you need to break you'r eyes maybe a week to have the item that you need it. And the pvps, go for summoner o assassin. After the upgraded the rest of the classes are their little b*tches.    … Expand
  9. Anthem
    Jan 27, 2016
    4
    Played 1 hour of this game and it feels and looks like any other NC soft game that has ever come out. All they do is copy and paste their games over and over again. The female character characters are always over the top scantily clad with. The combat is freaking boring as always in this game just like in the other NC games out there. Graphics are way out dated, feels like I'm playing anPlayed 1 hour of this game and it feels and looks like any other NC soft game that has ever come out. All they do is copy and paste their games over and over again. The female character characters are always over the top scantily clad with. The combat is freaking boring as always in this game just like in the other NC games out there. Graphics are way out dated, feels like I'm playing an old 2007 mmo. How does NC soft keep making trash like this and still survive?… Expand
  10. PhoenixShi
    Apr 20, 2017
    4
    It's not completely terrible, but I find it's not all that good either. Worst part is it's easy to see it could have been great, but after so many bad changes to the game, poor management, and a the horrid community, it's just not at all what I was hoping for. Take note that a lot of the reviews here are from around the time of the NA/EU launch, in one year they've put out content thatIt's not completely terrible, but I find it's not all that good either. Worst part is it's easy to see it could have been great, but after so many bad changes to the game, poor management, and a the horrid community, it's just not at all what I was hoping for. Take note that a lot of the reviews here are from around the time of the NA/EU launch, in one year they've put out content that took about four years to be released in Korea, as they're trying to get caught up in a big hurry, which isn't doing the game too many favours. The game now, simply is not like it was at the time when most of those reviews were written, so they can be largely ignored.

    After that mass of updates, the grind has increased by many times over what it was. Things that made the game stand out a bit more like the upgrading equipment system, and to an extent, the skill system, have since been dumbed down, or partially removed, because having choices to make is too hard for people apparently. They keep reducing the cost of the upgrades that still exist, but the real problem is how dependent you are on doing content with others for character bound items, and how toxic much of the player base is, who will refuse to team with people that aren't at end-game like they are, or just really hostile towards them, so many just end up quitting.

    Then if people complain in the forums, or such, there's always a group of white knights ready to yell at you, mods apparently won't penalize the hostile white knights, but may ban/suspend others over nothing. A community this bad, in a game where playing is so dependant on the community, just isn't a fun combination at all. Unless you start the game already knowing a group of people you can play with, don't even bother downloading the game.

    ____________________________________________

    Other things:
    The servers have always been kinda poor, and performance of the game client is weak.

    It uses a soft lock-on system, where when you aim at something, it's suppose to it lock-on automatically. If there's only one target, that works fine, but it can easily mess up in a group fight. Often enough I've been in cases where I'm aiming at a target in front of me, but my attacks will be flying off to my old target since I'm still locked on to it, even if it's now off screen.

    Making suggestions is largely a waste of time, as they're just pumping out the Korean content as quickly as possible. There isn't even a suggestions, or patch discussion forum section like most any other online game, even other NCSoft games have, which gives you an idea how little interest they have in suggestions, or what you think.

    Instead of improving the existing guild/clan system, they added Social Clans. A player must spend in-game money to start a Social Clan, but then has basically no control over it at all, as it's permanently open for anyone to join without being invited, you can only kick one person per day, but they can always hop right back in after you do so, which means you can't keep out disruptive players.

    If you don't like it when a game sells the materials you're suppose to be playing to get, then stay away, as they'll even do their best to remind you that those items are in the cash shop.

    Inventory/storage space gets to be a big problem due to all the *many* types of tokens/currency, materials, consumables, cosmetic items, and so forth taking up space.

    You can't customize your control scheme much at all, and it will use the same key, to do too many things, with no way to change what things are done on a key, or their priority, causing you to for instance pick an item up, rather than use an attack, since they use the same key. Also different classes will let you do the same sort of action, but each class may use a different key to do so, which makes playing multiple classes more difficult than it otherwise would be.

    Due to the amount of grind, number of character bound items, lack of control customization, and constant updates, if you like playing more than one character in a game, this isn't for you.

    Don't get too attached to your current skills, after the next update, you may find that some have been removed, heavily altered, or your option to select them blocked due to the further dumbing down of the game, forcing you to try to come up with a new skill rotation, again.

    Most events, even those supposedly aimed at helping players get to end-game, are aimed at end-game players due to being related to higher level dungeons, and the nature of the community.

    Getting the *character bound* upgrade equipment you need is very RNG based. Unless you're willing to keep buying special keys from the cash shop that guarantee you get the one you need, you could end up opening dozens of chests before you get the one you need. Then if it drops in a dungeon, some players will bid against you, even if they can't use it, since again, the community is often toxic.    … Expand
  11. Angel_Zerp
    Jul 21, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Отличный сюжет и боевая система, но все это очень быстро наскучивает и тебя завставляют качать по 100 твинков, чтобы прокачать основу... коридорная ммо до ужаса. Про открытый мир забудьте, вы будете бегать от данжа к данжу по 200 раз. Заняться в этой игре кроме как ходить на арену и проходить одни и те же данжи просто нечем.… Expand
  12. bmastaz
    Jan 27, 2016
    3
    So far Its very different than any MMO i've played. It has a Tera feel except its more strategic and 1 on 1 action. Basic story i guess haven't made it to end game. As far as the ques first couple days were crazy..but they have added 4 more servers for NA and ever since I haven't had que time at all... its free...download it and play it.. I bet you will like it
  13. Galaleo91
    Jan 20, 2016
    3
    From the hour I got to play this game it was fun, with fluid controls. I had to get off to go to work, after returning home I find myself in a Que of 3000 people! The line was moving slow and I'm not prone to waiting an hour to play a game I kind of like. Unless they fix this I see a major dip in client base coming their way. Good luck to those of your still in line. I'm just going to waitFrom the hour I got to play this game it was fun, with fluid controls. I had to get off to go to work, after returning home I find myself in a Que of 3000 people! The line was moving slow and I'm not prone to waiting an hour to play a game I kind of like. Unless they fix this I see a major dip in client base coming their way. Good luck to those of your still in line. I'm just going to wait for Black Desert and Lost Arc, way to let me down NC Soft.… Expand
  14. QiPhoenix
    Feb 11, 2016
    3
    Interesting game THAT is supposed to be an MMO .. interesting story THOUGH there is only one storyline as is want in all theme park MMOs .. BUT much of the game is PvP with there being NO deviance in their PvP arenas for levels even though as of yesterday at 45th level they get their POWER skills and the game has 30th to 43rd level players being wrecked in ALL PvP as they just don't standInteresting game THAT is supposed to be an MMO .. interesting story THOUGH there is only one storyline as is want in all theme park MMOs .. BUT much of the game is PvP with there being NO deviance in their PvP arenas for levels even though as of yesterday at 45th level they get their POWER skills and the game has 30th to 43rd level players being wrecked in ALL PvP as they just don't stand a chance (though the PvP quests open up to players at 30th level) .. The lag on these servers are also insane with huge spikes for many players.. Don't bother playing it is just futility and the high cost of in game items seems to be saying that NSSoft knows the game won't last and they want their money out of it yesterday… Expand
  15. Doctor_GLaDOS
    Oct 23, 2017
    3
    Blade and Soul is one of those games from which you expect very little, and yet they still manage to disappoint you. Let's start with the promise of dynamic combat. Like all modern MMO's this game does have a relatively fluid combat system coded in with plenty to choose from in terms of both classes and attacks which are diverse. Unfortunately none of it matters since BnS's servers areBlade and Soul is one of those games from which you expect very little, and yet they still manage to disappoint you. Let's start with the promise of dynamic combat. Like all modern MMO's this game does have a relatively fluid combat system coded in with plenty to choose from in terms of both classes and attacks which are diverse. Unfortunately none of it matters since BnS's servers are really ( I mean really) bad with ping fluctuating between 150-200. And before you dismiss this review in it's entirety, please not that I have done my research. My connection is stable and I've checked that my normal ping with frankfurt (Location of the servers) is never higher than 60. I have also confirmed it with other players. My friend from England has a ping of around 120 on a fiber connection. And after some research i've found out that minutes after maintenance when players have not came back yet delay was exactly 60 with perfect fluid gameplay, which lasted only 5 minutes. So it pretty much confirms that their servers are at foult.
    PVP suffers from that but it's not even it's greatest fault...
    Unless you have spend an insane amount of time[or money] in the game you will be overpowered by other players not only in World PvP but also battleground which do not have any type of matchmaking in place. Myself playing nearly 2 months I can deal around 30k DPS and have to compete with other players who deal 800k per second. And you don't need to be a rocket surgeon to see that encounter always ends with me being blown up to smithereens. And that's a Battleground! With queues and stuff!
    Another nail in this game's coffin business is it's economy.
    The entire thing is based on opening loot crates you get from completing different tasks.
    The game greets you with a "spin the wheel!" screen and always tells you when there are new items in store. The grind is tedious and it would be fine if not for the fact that it was clearly designed to directly drive you to the Store with some sweet deals! Oh man those orbs which will take me a week to grind only cost 10 bucks on the Hongmoon store, I better get them so I can have a slightest chance in beating those whales who already have all of it!
    So Servers are trash, PvP favors old and wealthy players and there is constant gambling present. Well what about the story?
    Well it's Cliché cardboard cut-out of a good versus evil plot, which only a couple of memorable missions plot twists and cinematics. Most of it is traditional and boring busy work filler before you get to the good stuff that is far apart and mostly near the end. I have no doubts that it has been cobbled together just to justify it's existence as a mobile gam...I mean fully featured MMORPG.
    If you are NA/EU I do not recommend this game because it's a complete waste of time for anyone who doesn't have a lot of cash to spend to have capital letters ANY type of chance at competing with aforementioned whales.    … Expand
  16. T3Dragoon
    Oct 31, 2016
    2
    The graphics of this game look really cool. Game play seemed fun. I do not recommend this game to anyone. The people helping you there are not helpful. I tried to purchase a year long subscription. It got declined. While trying to find out the reason the customer support bounced back and forth on whether the problem was on my end or on their end. In the end it was never resolved all theyThe graphics of this game look really cool. Game play seemed fun. I do not recommend this game to anyone. The people helping you there are not helpful. I tried to purchase a year long subscription. It got declined. While trying to find out the reason the customer support bounced back and forth on whether the problem was on my end or on their end. In the end it was never resolved all they did was say for me to try and purchase it again. I tried multiple times. Did have one person apologize. So good on you for that.… Expand
  17. Jheldridge
    Feb 1, 2016
    2
    One of the worst MMOs I've had the misfortune to play for a variety of reasons. If I had to choose a single word that describes my BNS experience as I proceeded to spend over $300 USD and reached level cap it would be this: cringe.

    I don't know if it's the archetypical story, the tasteless outfits, the underwhelming kung fu motif, or the hairy 45 year old otakus piloting "sexy" big    One of the worst MMOs I've had the misfortune to play for a variety of reasons. If I had to choose a single word that describes my BNS experience as I proceeded to spend over $300 USD and reached level cap it would be this: cringe.

    I don't know if it's the archetypical story, the tasteless outfits, the underwhelming kung fu motif, or the hairy 45 year old otakus piloting "sexy" big breasted hentai characters that made me cringe like I've never cringed before. Or maybe it was generic classes that lack any semblance of unique flavor e.g. Blade Dancer, Blade Master, or the total lack of inspiration behind the races (spoiler: they all look like deformed homo sapiens minus the bizarre half pedo-bunny half lolita race called Lynn.

    Unless you are a proud **** weeaboo, stay far far away from this "game?".. NCSOFT you've hit a terrible new industry low..

    This game is filled with hundreds of paywalls and is basically impossible to play unless you have a premium subscription. The login times are consistently upwards of 30 minutes + and come prepared with your AMEX card as they will try to charge you at every possible opportunity (buy more bag space, buy XP bonus buff that lasts only 30min, buy additional character slots etc.)

    I'm hard pressed to call the PvE PvE. There is one class in BNS = DPS, Every instance up to 45 is faceroll and the "end game" consists of fighting little hentai girls that use the same bland abilities you have. There is no gear and no weapons. No gear or weapons you say? There must be some kind of incentive to raid / pve though right? YES you are absolutely right. Pizza Slices. Yes you read that right.

    Mushroom, Sicilian, White Pizza, you name it! The point of progression in BNS is to work towards completing an 8 slice Pizza Pie that grant generic set bonuses the more slices of said Pizza you acquire.

    Also it's worth mentioning that you use the same weapon and gear the whole game. Instead of replacing your weapon or jewelry (yes the limited armor you do have is jewelry such as bracelets, rings, necklaces etc *cringe) You upgrade your items instead feeding them other weapons and jewelry.

    The PvP is the one semi redeeming aspect of this game because apparently the combat system is robust and balanced to be an eSport in the East (Korea). However the game is balanced around 1v1 and as we've learned from other better MMOs such as WoW, when a game is balanced around 8 different classes engaging in 1v1 duels, you are forced to homogenize classes losing diversity and flavor. There are no BGs in the game and the open world pvp is a joke as the only way to participate is to put on your kpop looking tabard and complete three dailies.

    I could go on about the million other reasons why this game is profoundly disturbing but I'll save you all the lip service. Please do yourself a favor and play a respectable game.

    All the best,

    Kargoz    … Expand
  18. XJT
    Aug 31, 2017
    2
    The new player experience was actually quite good. I was a Kung-Fu master which requires a massive amount of button pushing and micro management, but the game provided many nice features for the new player. Unfortunately, the wheels come off when you hit level 50 and start HM leveling. You are thrown into the deep end of the pool with players who have months and months worth more ofThe new player experience was actually quite good. I was a Kung-Fu master which requires a massive amount of button pushing and micro management, but the game provided many nice features for the new player. Unfortunately, the wheels come off when you hit level 50 and start HM leveling. You are thrown into the deep end of the pool with players who have months and months worth more of levels and huge stats compared to you. Be prepared to be berated by an elitist player base that will literally beg you to leave group content, so they can complete a daily 5 minutes faster. The player to player harassment is the worst I've seen in any game - SWG, LOTRO, GW2, Aion, D&D - none of those player communities come close the venom spewed by people who play Blade and Soul… Expand
  19. Echo_solar
    Jan 19, 2016
    2
    Played the Blade and Soul beta as well as Japan version for a while waiting for the NA release. During my time in the beta, I have never seen a more toxic community; (and I have long experience in CSGO).

    Classes are unbalanced, some requiring an immense amount of skill to play while others require the bare minimum. If you pick the more difficult to master, not much more reward class it    Played the Blade and Soul beta as well as Japan version for a while waiting for the NA release. During my time in the beta, I have never seen a more toxic community; (and I have long experience in CSGO).

    Classes are unbalanced, some requiring an immense amount of skill to play while others require the bare minimum. If you pick the more difficult to master, not much more reward class it is flustering when other players can just smash the keyboard and win.

    The game is generic. "You are the only hero that can save the land from evil" tab-combat boring MMO action. The PvP is intense and riveting, but that's primarily the only perk this game has to offer.

    PvE is boring. Mobs are easy. Grind isn't really existent.

    THE GAME CAME OUT IN 2012! For all you players moving from TERA, the game is no different other than tab-combat (which in my opinion is less skillful and bland for an MMO)

    IT TOOK THEM 4-5 YEARS TO FINALLY RELEASE TO NA. Sorry, this drove the hype train into the ground for me. The game is outdated, so many other MMOs are releasing this year that will easily destroy this game that was once perceived to be a staple in MMO history.    … Expand
  20. dark_strategiez
    Jan 26, 2016
    2
    Blade & Soul recently was just released in the west. I have not logged a lot of time in this game and have no desire to. Blade & Soul really doesn't bring a whole lot to the table that hasn't already been brought before. I'd say the most unique feature the game has is it's pvp. Now with the best part out of the way lets get into the rest of the game. The pve is very boring and dull. WhileBlade & Soul recently was just released in the west. I have not logged a lot of time in this game and have no desire to. Blade & Soul really doesn't bring a whole lot to the table that hasn't already been brought before. I'd say the most unique feature the game has is it's pvp. Now with the best part out of the way lets get into the rest of the game. The pve is very boring and dull. While playing the game I'm surprised a box doesn't come up to make sure you're still human. Because this game's pve system is so basic anyone or anything could probably play it with ease. Now the story is basic and cheesy with nothing new. Except the voice acting in this game is like they recorded chat roulette conversations and pieced them together. The voice acting in this game is probably the most atrocious part by far. The graphics aren't the worst I've ever seen but no one is playing this for the fact of how it looks unless you like games whose graphics are 2010 and its 2016. Overall nothing is new and exciting here. Even the combat system is that of TERA. I think the U.S release was pointless and would not recommend this game.… Expand
  21. Meteora
    Feb 10, 2016
    2
    Note: I bought the founders edition to play some days before the normal release date.

    Pro: - Smooth and good Combat System Contra: - Invisible Walls (It's 2016 ... ) - Questing is really boring. There are like 3 different types of quests. - You look like LVL45+ on LVL1 with shopgear or even normal gear. - Char sizes are way to f***ed up. You can be a 1mm midget or a    Note: I bought the founders edition to play some days before the normal release date.

    Pro:

    - Smooth and good Combat System

    Contra:

    - Invisible Walls (It's 2016 ... )

    - Questing is really boring. There are like 3 different types of quests.

    - You look like LVL45+ on LVL1 with shopgear or even normal gear.

    - Char sizes are way to f***ed up. You can be a 1mm midget or a 20m tall mountain. Well that's exaggerated but it still ruins the whole atmosphere of the world...

    - What the f**ck happened to the lootsystem? You actually have to bid on items. Guess what that means.

    - The drops are very static. When i find a new sword or what ever weapon it always is worse than my upgraded LVL 1 weapon.

    - Itemshop and Subscription ??????? Typical NCSoft Game.

    - There is absolutely nothing new too see in this game.

    - The best group setup is pure damage.... Unfortunately.

    - It feels very very unbalanced. A destroyer shows up, Smashes ur face 10 times and ur done. Just an example.

    - This stupid loading times when u go into a house or leave a region... Even World of Warcraft which is out for a way longer time handles that better than BnS...

    - Way to much asia. Everywhere some little girls approx. 9 years old with huge cat and / or bunny ears wearing mini-skirts + outstanding boobs. i feel like a pedo playing this.    … Expand
  22. Holdthedoor
    Jun 6, 2016
    2
    At first it look promising, I went through korean gameplay videos before it release for West and it was amazing, I signed up for beta and I loved it, however, after it release though thing went wrong, real wrong, it completely transcend into pay to win category game, those who have money to buy gold spend like crazy to level up weapons, at first I start catching up with those rich playersAt first it look promising, I went through korean gameplay videos before it release for West and it was amazing, I signed up for beta and I loved it, however, after it release though thing went wrong, real wrong, it completely transcend into pay to win category game, those who have money to buy gold spend like crazy to level up weapons, at first I start catching up with those rich players by using trade, earning a little gold everyday but it never enough, greed in the game trading system keep rising like clinton and G.W Bush campaign promises and even with all my account character crafting Moonwater transformation stones 4.5 gold piece each average ingame price atm for 10 stone give me 45 gold and it cost me around 30 gold to craft it sometime even higher, just left me 15 or less gold. It take 24hr to craft those stone, everyday I was going through same routine again and again, and price in market sometime goes down to 2 gold per piece, at that time I just stop crafting because it cost me more to craft then selling and get profit, but that not a problem for those rich players. They just get what they want and those player who can't do so, well we stuck with repetitive quest to farm gold everyday. For those who can only play for few hours a day, it just impossible. Game story is amazing, gameplay is amazing, graphic is also amazing for old game but for me this game is ruined by all those rich A **** players who can't stop showing how rich they are, they change fashion every week with real money from market and they buy it and showed it to rest of the server, brag about it, twitch it, twit it, facebook it, they even sms about it. Just imagine you are in group of 6, 5 are rich with fashion and stuffs, bragging about their gold or their weapon upgrade, they showed it in your face, and you stand alone there with no gold and stone to upgrade weapon with begger outfit waiting for them to end their talking, how cute their pets look, how amazing the outfit goes with the hair pin, they don't even care about dungeon quest, they hardly participate after few run, because they have everything they got why to repet endlessly. Some players are poorer then the summoner's summoned cats for god sake. THose cat have premium outfit and fashion 1000x better then a normal player.

    This game is amazing but it will be ruined by all those who want to show off how rich they are or those who want to use it to make themselve popular in social sites. Wish there MMORPG which doesn't need trade system because like all other MMORPG this game is ruined by same system every show off players created "pay to win"

    This game is only for rich people same as all other MMORPG.

    F****** rich bas**** players, not only people like you ruined the real world for us, you even ruined virtual world.

    I don't blame NCSOFT, they do need economy to run such games, its the players who ruined it.

    Good bye one of my favorite game (╯︵╰,)
    This is hodor, signing out (╯︵╰,)

    To all those who ruined this game and real world, both
    ............./´¯/)........... (¯`
    ............/....//........... .......
    .........../....//............ ........
    ...../´¯/..../´¯.........../¯ `....¯`
    .././.../..../..../.|_......_| ...............
    (.(....(....(..../.)..)..(..(. ....)....)....).)
    ................./.../..... ../................/
    ................... /........................../
    ..................(.......... ..)................/
    ............................ ../............./    … Expand
  23. quix0te
    Aug 6, 2022
    1
    This is, in fact, a bad MMO. It has good elements (the twitch style play had a lot of potential). I sank five or six hours into the game and finally gave up. Its possible it got better later, but I wasn't hanging around.
    The core gameplay appeared to be:
    1)Talk to questgiver, often with a mandatory cutscence. 1min 2)Walk to quest location, 3 to 5 minutes. 3a)Talk to another person.    This is, in fact, a bad MMO. It has good elements (the twitch style play had a lot of potential). I sank five or six hours into the game and finally gave up. Its possible it got better later, but I wasn't hanging around.
    The core gameplay appeared to be:
    1)Talk to questgiver, often with a mandatory cutscence. 1min
    2)Walk to quest location, 3 to 5 minutes.
    3a)Talk to another person. 1 min.
    3b)Fight a thing. Just one. 10 secs to 30 secs.
    4)Go back to quest giver/on to next quest giver. 20 secs to 5 mins.
    Repeat.
    I stopped at lvl 18.
    At no time did I feel threatened nor did my life bar dip below 80%.
    The overwhelming majority of the game was trudging. There is a sprint mechanic, but it uses stamina, which gets exhausted after 20 secs or so.
    This is a bad game. If you haven't played Guild Wars 2, play that instead. It is superior in every. single. way. I believe it is free as well.
    For 10$, you can play Elder Scrolls Online, which is also superior in ever.single.way. Except the auction house, which is kind of crap in ESO.    … Expand
  24. archanjo
    Feb 16, 2016
    1
    everything is instanced.
    invisible walls everywhere ( no exploration ).
    quests are dumb.
    the grind is real.
    no end game.
    dailies dailies dailies dailies
  25. Ainalcar
    Jan 18, 2017
    1
    A well made pvp mmo buried under horrible servers (literally unplayable without a vpn despite living 100km away from the server's location), repetitive grind and to date the worst customer support I have ever witnessed.

    Keep your hands away from NCWest at all times.
  26. KingVallard
    Jan 20, 2016
    1
    Great game ruined by extremly bad company who planned to milk the hype down to a game design level. Queue times for free players as of writing this are infinite because the game's devs are trying to force people to buy subscriptions. More people buy subscriptions, more people skip free players in queue, more people buy subs... The game was designed for this. Game updates are releasedGreat game ruined by extremly bad company who planned to milk the hype down to a game design level. Queue times for free players as of writing this are infinite because the game's devs are trying to force people to buy subscriptions. More people buy subscriptions, more people skip free players in queue, more people buy subs... The game was designed for this. Game updates are released without downtime and people have been online for 4 days straight. The most recent "fix" was an afk timer that kicks you after 15 minutes of inactivity. The problem is people who have been online since before the patch are immune to it and therefore stay logged in 24/7 to not lose their spot. All the afk timer does is punish free players by forcing them to endure 8-20 hour queues and kick them because they were afk (the estimated wait is completely unreliable as well) Not to mention the game's crashes that again, force you to endure a multi digit hour level of wait time. This could be somewhat fixed via a simple server restart but NCsoft openly admitted they won't restart until they release the next 2 servers in 2 days. This is a horribly obvious scam tactic meant to milk the game's hype.

    The other major issue is the bots. The game had small army of gold farmer bots on release that take up a hefty amount of server space. You can see these bots easily by going to a low level dungeon and watching as they form a "train" of players farming the instance and then going to a vendor.

    This game was ruined by the company before it even had a chance.    … Expand
  27. leemos
    Jan 21, 2016
    1
    Was able to play briefly since I had to go to work and it looked and ran beautifully. However I have never been able to get back in since. The wait time for any spot in the queue easily rates several hours on what is shown. I even saw the timer go all the way up to two days. Unless they can at least fix the queue issue I see this game losing too many players for the wait to get in alone.Was able to play briefly since I had to go to work and it looked and ran beautifully. However I have never been able to get back in since. The wait time for any spot in the queue easily rates several hours on what is shown. I even saw the timer go all the way up to two days. Unless they can at least fix the queue issue I see this game losing too many players for the wait to get in alone. No game is worth waiting hours at character select.… Expand
  28. HardwareHank
    Jan 22, 2016
    1
    This is probably one of the worst MMOs I've ever played...

    First off, the game paces so boringly that its even hard to pay attention to the already awful voice acting and story, the graphics look like I just sprayed pledge on some bald guy's head and it has that ridiculous unreal engine 3 slow rendering problem. Trying to even log on if you play it for free is next to impossible not    This is probably one of the worst MMOs I've ever played...

    First off, the game paces so boringly that its even hard to pay attention to the already awful voice acting and story, the graphics look like I just sprayed pledge on some bald guy's head and it has that ridiculous unreal engine 3 slow rendering problem.

    Trying to even log on if you play it for free is next to impossible not that is a bad thing cause why anyone would want to play this hot garbage is beyond me.

    The combat is cool and I can see it being fun in the end game but to even get that far is like trying to eat 10lbs of mcdonalds and then going to run in the boston marathon.

    Bottom line, this game sucks and you can find other MMOs worthy of your time.    … Expand
  29. Zen023
    Feb 11, 2016
    1
    Ok how the PVP system works is amazing it's really good, if it wasn't laging ever since the game released and NCsoft is doing nothing about it. To sum it all up everything is pretty much meh except the pvp and it lags like crazy talking about teleporting opponents 300ms input delay basicly unplayable. Might aswell started playing it when it was released in korea as i have the same ms hereOk how the PVP system works is amazing it's really good, if it wasn't laging ever since the game released and NCsoft is doing nothing about it. To sum it all up everything is pretty much meh except the pvp and it lags like crazy talking about teleporting opponents 300ms input delay basicly unplayable. Might aswell started playing it when it was released in korea as i have the same ms here in europe............… Expand
  30. drobot
    Feb 19, 2016
    1
    The combat was really cool I must say. But the lack of communication and the overall **** of NCSOFT was just too much for me. This game's a cash grab. I'm **** sick of being treated like **** despite spending over $100 on this game. I'm an idiot for sure for doing that, but i've never seen a company so **** terrible.
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Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
81
#81 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. Games.cz
    May 18, 2016
    70
    Addictive MMORPG with a classic core, whose main attraction is a great and entertaining fight together with a number of well-functioning systems. Only some particular technical problems and boring quests prevent the gem to achieve the greater score.
    Read full review
  2. Everyeye.it
    Apr 20, 2016
    68
    We waited a lot to play Balde & Soul, but NCSOFT's MMO arrives on the west market a little too late. The action oriented combat system is interesting and well designed, but PvP is still unbalanced and the endgame is tasteless and boring. The game, in conclusion, has very good intuitions but a very bad structure.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Mar 30, 2016
    65
    A belated game following the band of other Korean MMOs vanishing on the horizon. [03/2016, p.58]
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