Bless Online - Catch All

So it's finally making it's way to the West for good or ill.

It's supposedly been redesigned since it's Russian release so guess we'll see if it's better than just a pretty shell.

The game looks beautiful and I love the detail and customization options for the characters. It's open world which I prefer in a MMORPG. Putting it on my list now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HxL...

Sydhart wrote:

The game looks beautiful and I love the detail and customization options for the characters. It's open world which I prefer in a MMORPG. Putting it on my list now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HxL...

I agree, and it has some structure, but once you hit 30 it completely opens up.

FYI i have yet to see a video that guy puts out where he suggests a pass...

Mystic and Assassin will not be in at launch...

Couple of things to keep in mind...

Faction is account bound.

Each race has their unique starting zone and you don't merge with other population until level 5 or so.

Game is on rails until level 30

There are bestiary style quests with 3-4 tiers which give nice xp boosts when you're questing.

Combat System Restructuring
Let’s change everything we can!

We spent the most effort in revamping the combat system! We’ve re-examined almost every class’ skills and restructured their composition and effects.

Rhythmic Combat

-Players need to pick two stance skills out of six, as well as four general skills that will go well with their class. Using these skills in combos during combat will lead to extra effects (1. Select a stance, 2. Use your starting skill 3. Use a skill combo).
-In combat, there is more action and it has gotten more difficult due to the new dynamic combo system. Depending on how good a player is at making combos, they can bring out the full potential of their class.
Restructuring Growth Mechanics

-We have rebuilt the mechanics behind both skill acquisition and skill leveling. In the Steam version, in addition to advancing your equipment, learning and leveling up skills are main parts of growing your character.
-There is a variety of ways to obtain the gems that are used to level skills. As we aim to avoid P2W, the amount of money you spend on the game will not affect the amount of gems you can get.
Party Buffs
Join a party for the full Bless experience!

-We believe that the best way to enjoy any MMORPG is by playing with others. As an incentive for players to play the game with a variety of people, we have decided to introduce party benefits!
-Depending on the number of members, classes, and races of the party members, the party leader can choose one combat effect and one lifestyle (non-combat) effect from a selection to be applied to party members!
With this feature we hope that not only those who enjoy combat, but also those who prefer the lifestyle (non-combat) aspects of MMORPGs can enjoy playing with other players!
User Friendly Monetization
Everyone will love our in-game shops!

-Along with having no P2W in the Steam version, Bless Online’s monetization system will be user friendly.
-Content token shop: We have designed it so that players can use content tokens (special in-game currency earned by just playing the game) to purchase functional items.
-Lumena shop: Players can use Lumena (in-game currency purchased using real money) to buy a variety of convenience and cosmetic items.
-Also, with the addition of the Lumena Exchange Center (name is WIP), players will be able to convert their content tokens into Lumena. This feature will allow even players who only buy the game (and nothing more!) the ability to use the Lumena shop to purchase convenience and cosmetic items.
Find out more, for example how we upgraded the initial Bless experience when starting, later today on our Dev Blog #3

Thank you!
The Bless Team

I'll probably grab it when it comes out. I saw that it's pay to play, so that helps. I hope it's not pay to win.

So it looks like the combat has changed using a resource meter and depending on how full it is you have options of skills to use. It's definitely a step up and doesn't seem as boring as their previous iteration.

Those are promising videos. The stance changing and combos look to be a nice improvement. And it's good to see that mages and paladins can cast and move.

The open world PVP is still a concern. I know there's an item I can buy to turn it off, but the fact that the developers are trying so hard to force players to try it makes me worried that they won't focus enough on PVE.

I'll definitely give this a chance, though, and hopefully the combat and optimization is improved and there's enough to do outside of PVP.

The devs posted a new video showing a paladin healing a party after the community complained about the previous videos showing a paladin in single combat:

Have they said anywhere when early access will start on Steam?

Propagandalf wrote:

Have they said anywhere when early access will start on Steam?

May...

My guess is around the 22nd or 29th.

I am going to get this and play with some co-workers.
The gameplay looks good but I am disappointed with the bare bones class selection. (1: heal, tank, melee dps, magic dps, archer)
But from the videos, the mage, paladin and guardian are the first classes I am going to try out.

side note: the ranger/archer archetype needs life breathed into it. It seems like a whole host of games have been implementing the same bow slinger since Tera. I am sure there will eventually be a "gunner" archetype that makes more interesting choices. I'd like to see more games look at what Camelot Unchained is doing with their Archer archetype classes.

Also, more classes that use hybrid weapons like whips, chains, nets and thrown weapons or javelins.

They have the Mystic and Assassin in the wings. They're on their other servers. They didn't have their combat upgrade finished in time for this.

Site to help with your builds

http://bless-book.com/skills/guardian

Would help if they let you pre-order founders packs rather than the cluster that is going to be everyone trying to buy/register/download/login on day one. Just sayin

And head start is a mess though I guess successful in that a ton of people are buying and playing,
They game is made for a controller. The keyboard/mouse controls are awkward. Tempted to refund.
Performance is bad. $40 is a lot of money to spend on something you are luke warm about.

edit: And I feel awful but I ordered a refund. I am going to wait for a steam sale and buy the Skyforge class pack instead.

fangblackbone wrote:

They game is made for a controller. The keyboard/mouse controls are awkward

Completely disagree on this. No difference between this and other games. MMO or not.

The launch is definitely a mess. They totally mismanaged their server loads. It's why you let people try and preload before a launch....

Instead of original 3 servers they now have brought up 6 so we'll see what happens. It definitely has made it difficult to get multiple people on the right server and right faction from the start.

The game is absolutely made for a controller.
You have 2 stances you can switch between each with attacks that you can set up attack chains for.
You don't use the mouse buttons at all except for camera rotation or click-move.
You press one button to start the associated attack chain and then another button to continue the chain.
The first things I fought as an elf paladin and mascu mage I 2 shotted with the latter and 5 shotted with the former with no real hit reaction or death animation.

The only pro I can think of is the character creation is an awesome blend of GW2 style presets with much more granular detail customization.

The game wants to be Final Fantasy so badly. Which might be considered a pro but... When your cut scenes choke: skipping frames and whole portions of the clip, you've lost my trust. And this is especially poor considering the game has been out in other markets for months.

I think someone on the massively forums said it best: that the MMO fanbase tried to will it into being good but Neowiz seriously dropped the ball.

I gave it try, but also refunded. The systems are confusing and the translations are terrible. I thought combat
and skill chains were fun, though. I think I'll wait for the next new MMO to scratch that itch.

I wish I could say they were fun but to be honest, the zones were so crowded and there were so many hiccups that I just tab targeted, hit 1 and R and then spun around to find the corpse of my kill.

It was almost as bad as UO at launch...

Has this been improved since launch? Really dying for a new MMO.