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Blade and Soul Review - Combat, Skills, and Builds
Aeander
Member LegendaryPosts: 8,060
I thought I'd take a different approach to discussing this game. Instead of lumping every topic into one big bombshell, why not spread it out a little?
It's impossible to talk about Blade and Soul without talking about combat. Combat is the one feature that Blade and Soul does best. In my personal opinion, it is one of the best combat systems in the genre, combining the action combat of something like Guild Wars 2 or TERA with a fraction of the depth of something like Guild Wars 1. That said, that is not a high benchmark, as MMORPG combat has historically been lacking.
But what makes combat in Blade and Soul so good? What is sorely lacking about it, in my opinion? How would I rate it overall. Read on and find out.
Bold - The Positive
Italic - The Negative
It's Exhilarating
Blade and Soul's combat is fast. Its animations flow pretty smoothly and it takes a unique approach to combos/skill rotations that simply makes it stand out from the crowd. In PvP, where the system really shines, it's nice to see stun combos, well-timed stunbreaks, effective dodges, and well-used status-resists. Blade and Soul combines the combos of TERA with Guild Wars 2's lack of self-rooting, and the result is great.
Situational Skills Are a Great Innovation
The real defining feature of Blade and Soul's combat is its situational skills. When a foe is stunned, certain new skills become available. When they are knocked into the air, other skills become available. When you block, you unlock more options. When you are stunned/grappled/etc., you unlock new options. Certain skill upgrades make new skill combos possible. It's all brilliant and it's a great compromise between the compact skill bars associated with action MMOs and the expansive skill libraries of tab target MMOs.
Combos Flow Pretty Smoothly
I have to applaud the relatively low skill lag in this game. It makes chaining combos feel natural and closer to a fighting game as opposed to a traditional MMORPG.
Targeting Definitely Works as Intended
The reticle-based targeting of this game feels really good, at least in a 1v1 combat scenario. Aiming after the proper target feels properly controlled and skill-based, while at the same time, in PvP, there is more than enough room for the opponent to juke your aim with critical skills. This system was clearly made for PvP, and it shows. It does, however, tend to suffer against clumped targets, but I can't fault it too much for that, given that this game rarely demands much finesse from the player in these scenarios in the first place.
Skill Upgrades Feel Great
I am very fond of build crafting in this game for the simple reason that there is substantial variety to be had here. There are plenty of alternative skill upgrades to choose from. They can range from additional damage or effects to outright changing the skill completely. The system rewards creativity, and that is an important aspect of any RPG. Effectively, Blade and Soul's skill system is the Diablo 3 skill system done right. Well..... mostly right, anyway.
Certain Skill Upgrades, However, Feel Too Similar
When there are only 2-3 paths for a skill to take in its upgrades, I expect them to be wildly different. So, you can imagine my disappointment when two of my Five Point Strike's three upgrade paths are differentiated only by the fact that path 3 increases threat generation while path 2 does not. Highly disappointing.
Class Passives Would Be Great to Have
While upgrading skills is satisfying, being able to tie these upgrades together with a variety of unique passives would have been far more so. Imagine having passives that grant Blade Masters additional movement speed while in Draw Stance, Kung Fu Masters lifesteal while grappling foes, or Summoners the ability to entirely change their familiar to a different animal with different bonuses. These kinds of things would have gone a long way towards turning good build variety into stellar build variety.
Group Cohesion is Sorely Lacking
As much as I love Guild Wars 2, this game suffers from Guild Wars 2 syndrome in the bad way. While it is technically possible to spec for slight heals on some classes and significant heals on the Summoner (plus the future Warlock and Soul Fighter), support mechanics in this game are sorely lacking. There simply aren't enough group buffs and joint attacks are too shallow and simplistic to really make group play feel fun. And that isn't even considering the banal experience that is this game's pitifully easy dungeon scene.
Ranged Combat Kind of Sucks
While Melee combat is an exciting prospect full of aerial combos and grapples, ranged combat doesn't seem to fit into the equation. Ranged combos seem much more basic, with an emphasis on simple damage rotations. Force masters are more about conserving defensive skills and racking up Ember/Chill stacks efficiently than the elaborate knockup combos of the Blademaster or Kung Fu Master. They just aren't as involved as other classes, and that really kills the incentive to level one of these classes.
Stun Breaks Are Clunky As Hell
Nothing is more frustrating than watching stun breaks be interrupted or outright fail to activate. They simply don't work anywhere near as well as they should, given their cooldowns, and this seriously hinders the PvP learning curve. I'd argue that it hurts PvP even in the high brackets, as there will always be an overwhelming slant towards stun-locking foes. Given the game's excess of stuns, dazes, knockups, knockdowns, grapples, and roots, the counters to these mechanics should be similarly effective, but they are neither responsive nor frequently available.
Aerial Combos Are Sorely Missing
Though the current aerial combat offerings are a step in the right direction, they are no substitute to having a full roster of attacks that can only be performed while jumping.
Stamina Should Be Part of Combat
By far, the biggest missed opportunity of Blade and Soul's combat was separating Wuxia movement mechanics from Wuxia fighting mechanics. Sprinting, gliding, waterwalking, and jumping would turn a great combat system into an amazing one. Plus, it would really help classes that struggle to maintain melee range - like the Blademaster.
Perhaps the biggest point in Stamina's favor, however, is the potential for support skills and skill upgrades. Imagine being able to refill people's stamina bars in combat, allowing them to outmaneuver your foes in 3v3 PvP.
So, I guess that brings me to some kind of verdict:
Skill Cap - 5/5
Flow - 4/5
Build Progression - 4/5
Melee Combat Experience - 5/5
Ranged Combat Experience - 3/5
Movement - 2/5
Group Cohesion/Roles - 1/5
Overall - 3.5 / 5
Blade and Soul is mechanically brilliant and has sufficient, but far from impressive, playstyle variety. However, it is sorely lacking when it comes to group play and creating the sense of mobility that should be so emphasized in a martial arts game.
Now, how can I say that this game has some of the best combat in the genre while giving it a strictly mediocre overall score? Simply put, "for this genre" isn't exactly a high praise. Mechanically speaking, this game absolutely holds up, but I still think it has a long way to go before it can marry the kind of mechanical depth that it excels at with the kind of intelligent depth that RPGs demand.
It's impossible to talk about Blade and Soul without talking about combat. Combat is the one feature that Blade and Soul does best. In my personal opinion, it is one of the best combat systems in the genre, combining the action combat of something like Guild Wars 2 or TERA with a fraction of the depth of something like Guild Wars 1. That said, that is not a high benchmark, as MMORPG combat has historically been lacking.
But what makes combat in Blade and Soul so good? What is sorely lacking about it, in my opinion? How would I rate it overall. Read on and find out.
Bold - The Positive
Italic - The Negative
It's Exhilarating
Blade and Soul's combat is fast. Its animations flow pretty smoothly and it takes a unique approach to combos/skill rotations that simply makes it stand out from the crowd. In PvP, where the system really shines, it's nice to see stun combos, well-timed stunbreaks, effective dodges, and well-used status-resists. Blade and Soul combines the combos of TERA with Guild Wars 2's lack of self-rooting, and the result is great.
Situational Skills Are a Great Innovation
The real defining feature of Blade and Soul's combat is its situational skills. When a foe is stunned, certain new skills become available. When they are knocked into the air, other skills become available. When you block, you unlock more options. When you are stunned/grappled/etc., you unlock new options. Certain skill upgrades make new skill combos possible. It's all brilliant and it's a great compromise between the compact skill bars associated with action MMOs and the expansive skill libraries of tab target MMOs.
Combos Flow Pretty Smoothly
I have to applaud the relatively low skill lag in this game. It makes chaining combos feel natural and closer to a fighting game as opposed to a traditional MMORPG.
Targeting Definitely Works as Intended
The reticle-based targeting of this game feels really good, at least in a 1v1 combat scenario. Aiming after the proper target feels properly controlled and skill-based, while at the same time, in PvP, there is more than enough room for the opponent to juke your aim with critical skills. This system was clearly made for PvP, and it shows. It does, however, tend to suffer against clumped targets, but I can't fault it too much for that, given that this game rarely demands much finesse from the player in these scenarios in the first place.
Skill Upgrades Feel Great
I am very fond of build crafting in this game for the simple reason that there is substantial variety to be had here. There are plenty of alternative skill upgrades to choose from. They can range from additional damage or effects to outright changing the skill completely. The system rewards creativity, and that is an important aspect of any RPG. Effectively, Blade and Soul's skill system is the Diablo 3 skill system done right. Well..... mostly right, anyway.
Certain Skill Upgrades, However, Feel Too Similar
When there are only 2-3 paths for a skill to take in its upgrades, I expect them to be wildly different. So, you can imagine my disappointment when two of my Five Point Strike's three upgrade paths are differentiated only by the fact that path 3 increases threat generation while path 2 does not. Highly disappointing.
Class Passives Would Be Great to Have
While upgrading skills is satisfying, being able to tie these upgrades together with a variety of unique passives would have been far more so. Imagine having passives that grant Blade Masters additional movement speed while in Draw Stance, Kung Fu Masters lifesteal while grappling foes, or Summoners the ability to entirely change their familiar to a different animal with different bonuses. These kinds of things would have gone a long way towards turning good build variety into stellar build variety.
Group Cohesion is Sorely Lacking
As much as I love Guild Wars 2, this game suffers from Guild Wars 2 syndrome in the bad way. While it is technically possible to spec for slight heals on some classes and significant heals on the Summoner (plus the future Warlock and Soul Fighter), support mechanics in this game are sorely lacking. There simply aren't enough group buffs and joint attacks are too shallow and simplistic to really make group play feel fun. And that isn't even considering the banal experience that is this game's pitifully easy dungeon scene.
Ranged Combat Kind of Sucks
While Melee combat is an exciting prospect full of aerial combos and grapples, ranged combat doesn't seem to fit into the equation. Ranged combos seem much more basic, with an emphasis on simple damage rotations. Force masters are more about conserving defensive skills and racking up Ember/Chill stacks efficiently than the elaborate knockup combos of the Blademaster or Kung Fu Master. They just aren't as involved as other classes, and that really kills the incentive to level one of these classes.
Stun Breaks Are Clunky As Hell
Nothing is more frustrating than watching stun breaks be interrupted or outright fail to activate. They simply don't work anywhere near as well as they should, given their cooldowns, and this seriously hinders the PvP learning curve. I'd argue that it hurts PvP even in the high brackets, as there will always be an overwhelming slant towards stun-locking foes. Given the game's excess of stuns, dazes, knockups, knockdowns, grapples, and roots, the counters to these mechanics should be similarly effective, but they are neither responsive nor frequently available.
Aerial Combos Are Sorely Missing
Though the current aerial combat offerings are a step in the right direction, they are no substitute to having a full roster of attacks that can only be performed while jumping.
Stamina Should Be Part of Combat
By far, the biggest missed opportunity of Blade and Soul's combat was separating Wuxia movement mechanics from Wuxia fighting mechanics. Sprinting, gliding, waterwalking, and jumping would turn a great combat system into an amazing one. Plus, it would really help classes that struggle to maintain melee range - like the Blademaster.
Perhaps the biggest point in Stamina's favor, however, is the potential for support skills and skill upgrades. Imagine being able to refill people's stamina bars in combat, allowing them to outmaneuver your foes in 3v3 PvP.
So, I guess that brings me to some kind of verdict:
Skill Cap - 5/5
Flow - 4/5
Build Progression - 4/5
Melee Combat Experience - 5/5
Ranged Combat Experience - 3/5
Movement - 2/5
Group Cohesion/Roles - 1/5
Overall - 3.5 / 5
Blade and Soul is mechanically brilliant and has sufficient, but far from impressive, playstyle variety. However, it is sorely lacking when it comes to group play and creating the sense of mobility that should be so emphasized in a martial arts game.
Now, how can I say that this game has some of the best combat in the genre while giving it a strictly mediocre overall score? Simply put, "for this genre" isn't exactly a high praise. Mechanically speaking, this game absolutely holds up, but I still think it has a long way to go before it can marry the kind of mechanical depth that it excels at with the kind of intelligent depth that RPGs demand.
Post edited by Aeander on
Comments
I do think later on it will get more challenging and hitting the group CC joint-abilities will become important. There are commands to signal your about to do a stun, so people should follow up with stuns, for example, but people haven't bothered to figure out how to use it because currently there is no need.
As for force masters, I think if force master was given more utility besides damage it would be OP. A force master just won our ESL tournament last weekend, and they're supposed to only get more powerful as they unlock more skills with future content.
As for what I'm playing, I'm playing an Assassin. I've been playing for weeks and I'm still learning the ins-and-outs of maintaining stealth and lock-down combos. It's the most fun I've had with a combat system and is really versitle.
I don't know, overall I'm not seeing the same kind of flaws you are. I've never played an online game with this good of a combat system, so it's hard for me to rate it anything less than a 5/5.
The leveling up process is a different story, of course. My least favorite thing about it is that it doesn't teach you anything about how to actually play your class. The best way to level is just use like 2 skills all the way until endgame.
But no game is perfect and I could see the reason it's there- for really super casual solo players. The rest of us can just plow through it in a few days and be done with it.
Allow me to focus on my few disagreements and explain my reasoning using your own headers;
Certain Skill Upgrades, However, Feel Too Similar
When there are only 2-3 paths for a skill to take in its upgrades, I expect them to be wildly different. So, you can imagine my disappointment when two of my Five Point Strike's three upgrade paths are differentiated only by the fact that path 3 increases threat generation while path 2 does not. Highly disappointing.
While this has a measure of truth to it, sometimes its the small details that make the difference. That small difference of increased threat generation, or the lack thereof, will often times win or lose the fight for you. That's a good thing.
Class Passives Would Be Great to Have
While upgrading skills is satisfying, being able to tie these upgrades together with a variety of unique passives would have been far more so. Imagine having passives that grant Blade Masters additional movement speed while in Draw Stance, Kung Fu Masters lifesteal while grappling foes, or Summoners the ability to entirely change their familiar to a different animal with different bonuses. These kinds of things would have gone a long way towards turning good build variety into stellar build variety.
This I wholeheartedly agree with and thought about while playing the game as well.
Group Cohesion is Sorely Lacking
As much as I love Guild Wars 2, this game suffers from Guild Wars 2 syndrome in the bad way. While it is technically possible to spec for slight heals on some classes and significant heals on the Summoner (plus the future Warlock and Soul Fighter), support mechanics in this game are sorely lacking. There simply aren't enough group buffs and joint attacks are too shallow and simplistic to really make group play feel fun. And that isn't even considering the banal experience that is this game's pitifully easy dungeon scene.
While there is a lot of truth to this, the reality is that it is extremely difficult to balance classes for both PvP and PvE. History has proven that the better route to go with in an MMORPG is that it is better to be a master of one and at least get that one thing right, than be a jack of all trades and satisfy no one.
Ranged Combat Kind of Sucks
While Melee combat is an exciting prospect full of aerial combos and grapples, ranged combat doesn't seem to fit into the equation. Ranged combos seem much more basic, with an emphasis on simple damage rotations. Force masters are more about conserving defensive skills and racking up Ember/Chill stacks efficiently than the elaborate knockup combos of the Blademaster or Kung Fu Master. They just aren't as involved as other classes, and that really kills the incentive to level one of these classes.
I believe this definitely a matter of preference. Their differences are inherent to the classes. A melee combat approach is vastly different than a ranged combat approach. They both have strategically different perspectives of combat and I believe these differences are accurately reflected in how they each approach combat.
Stun Breaks Are Clunky As Hell
Nothing is more frustrating than watching stun breaks be interrupted or outright fail to activate. They simply don't work anywhere near as well as they should, given their cooldowns, and this seriously hinders the PvP learning curve. I'd argue that it hurts PvP even in the high brackets, as there will always be an overwhelming slant towards stun-locking foes. Given the game's excess of stuns, dazes, knockups, knockdowns, grapples, and roots, the counters to these mechanics should be similarly effective, but they are neither responsive nor frequently available.
Another way to look at it is that the unpredictability of activation adds to the exciting ultimate outcomes of combat. I think it would be unrealistic for a boxer, for instance, to always have their left hook, or uppercut, always connect and strike with the same intensity, efficiency, and power each time it is utilized. Sometime when thrown, they do miss and when/if they do connect it is never with the same results. Same can be said with any other skill, in any profession. The effectiveness of any particular skill should never be a guaranteed. The objective should always be to think on your feet, anticipate failure, and have a plan B at the ready in the even of failure.
Aerial Combos Are Sorely Missing
Though the current aerial combat offerings are a step in the right direction, they are no substitute to having a full roster of attacks that can only be performed while jumping.
Fights can be quite complicated as it is. While variety can certainly spice things up, it can also get way to spicy for the majority. Let's not turn this into a game of Tribes or Unreal Tournament
Stamina Should Be Part of Combat
By far, the biggest missed opportunity of Blade and Soul's combat was separating Wuxia movement mechanics from Wuxia fighting mechanics. Sprinting, gliding, waterwalking, and jumping would turn a great combat system into an amazing one. Plus, it would really help classes that struggle to maintain melee range - like the Blademaster.
Perhaps the biggest point in Stamina's favor, however, is the potential for support skills and skill upgrades. Imagine being able to refill people's stamina bars in combat, allowing them to outmaneuver your foes in 3v3 PvP.
See above
So, I guess that brings me to some kind of verdict:
Skill Cap - 5/5
Flow - 4/5
Build Progression - 4/5
Melee Combat Experience - 5/5
Ranged Combat Experience - 3/5
Movement - 2/5
Group Cohesion/Roles - 1/5
Overall - 3.5 / 5
Blade and Soul is mechanically brilliant and has sufficient, but far from impressive, playstyle variety. However, it is sorely lacking when it comes to group play and creating the sense of mobility that should be so emphasized in a martial arts game.
Now, how can I say that this game has some of the best combat in the genre while giving it a strictly mediocre overall score? Simply put, "for this genre" isn't exactly a high praise. Mechanically speaking, this game absolutely holds up, but I still think it has a long way to go before it can marry the kind of mechanical depth that it excels at with the kind of intelligent depth that RPGs demand.
Good overall review but your penalizing the game based on a personal expectation of perfection. Your expectations are way too high.
Here's a guide to the CC in the game:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J8JzCMoNj4eXBpFPKM_2gdweIap7rrHVcnJpZmUP9tw/preview?pref=2&pli=1
Also I noticed that in tomorrow's patch, there will be some instances where if you're knocked-down AND dazed, getting out of the knockdown won't work.
This may be a problem you are having- you might be under the effects of 2 forms of CC but only able to get out of one of them.
Or maybe you're trying to use a breakout skill for something that it's not used for- for example, "F" gets you out of most things but not everything.
Otherwise it just might be a matter of ping or hitting the button in time.
But I sincerely think if you're using a break for the correct CC, it should always work. No reason why it wouldn't.