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| (Image Source: MonsterVine/NC America) |
Video game publishing and development company NC America, which is well known for legacy MMORPGs Aion, Blade & Soul, and Lineage II, heads into fresh new territory as its collectible action-MMORPG Blade & Soul Heroes is now available for free globally in 195 countries with cross-platform gameplay for PC (Steam, PURPLE) and mobile platforms (iOS, Android).
A prequel to the revered Blade & Soul MMORPG series, Blade & Soul Heroes introduces new characters and delves into the backstories of familiar Blade & Soul characters while expanding the franchise with a vibrant anime visual style and uniquely robust dual combat system. Players are driven to collect uniquely powerful characters and then mix and match them to constantly re-create the ultimate team, launching with 40+ characters. Blade & Soul Heroes uses an in-game currency – which can be earned for free or purchased -- for players to acquire new characters.
Introducing The Dual Combat System
Players -- AKA “heroes” -- immediately delve into the game’s story, learning about new character Yusol’s plight and re-connecting with recognizable, beloved characters (Poharan, Yura, Namsoyoo, Mushin to name a few) from the known Blade & Soul universe. They’ll quickly form a team of five and jump into real-time combat, acquiring attack, dodge and parry skills while inviting teammates in for special attacks. Progressing through the game’s 16 chapters, Heroes learn the full-fledged turn-based combat system, which begins as PvE and later opens into PvP combat. Heroes can then “switch” or engage in dual combat – adventuring through the world while fighting in real-time -- and setting up auto-play in turn-based combat (watching through an in-game screen), or vice versa.
Improvements For The Western Market
Blade & Soul Heroes originally launched in 2024 as Hoyeon in Korean, Japan and Taiwan. Since then, the development team has worked tirelessly to continue development, seek and integrate feedback through months of tests, and improve the game for a global audience. Improvements include:
• Streamlined Early Game: The early game was rebalanced with better content pacing, tutorials were trimmed, and a skip option was added for cutscenes so players can dive straight back into the action.
• Deeper Story Immersion: Yusol now has a dedicated background story in “Chronicles” (i.e. interactive back stories) to better connect players with her journey and the game world.
• Generous Rewards: Players receive a free Exalted character upon clan creation, making the early game more exciting and rewarding.
• Enhanced Combat Flow: An additional dash was added, giving players more control in battle. Successful parries now reduce the amount of damage a player receives by 99% to encourage players in a risk/reward scenario to attempt parries more often and engage more with the real time combat. Meanwhile, auto moving during Epic Quests (main questline) was removed to increase player engagement.
• Improved Systems: Gear Sharing in Hoyeon only allowed the player to share the gear of a Hero with four other Heroes, but in Blade & Soul Heroes, the player can share gear with 20 other Heroes, streamlining team changeups. And Boss Trials now include difficulty options, with smoother balancing over time to provide both casual and hardcore players with the right level of challenge. More extensive list of changes will be available in the coming weeks on the official Blade & Soul Heroes website.
Immediate Post-Launch Content
Showing its intent to support Blade & Soul Heroes long after today’s launch, NC America’s recently launched first update Scorching Sands will see players exploring an expanded new region “Scorching Sands”, enjoying an extension of their max character level from 30 to 40, and confronting the PvE Field Boss, “Stalker Jiangshi” (from Blade & Soul lore) and features more solo and party boss fights, new turn-based challenges, more story-based gameplay and Instanced Dungeons as well.
For more updates on upcoming Blade & Soul Heroes content, contests and events, follow @bnsheroes on Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube and visit the game's official website and Steam page.
