NCSOFT have detailed the improvements coming to the ending switch-over with the Blade & Soul Revival update, including the combat UI.
The game launched in 2012 in Korea, coming to the west in 2016. As such, the game runs on a single-core engine. The Revival webpage explains this has inhibited making a light and sophisticated UI, along with improving visuals, optimization, and development.
“We understood the problems but changing the game engine would mean resetting the development environment,” NCSOFT explain. “We believed it would be best for our fans and our future, but this would mean starting from scratch to realign our development pipelines. It would mean a lot of hard work. So that is what we did.”
Moving to the Unreal 4 Engine means the developers can introduce Asynchronous Loading (pre-loading what players will see before they arrive, rather than loading the entire area) optimization to show closer objects in more detail, and improving visuals for characters and environments.
The Revival update also promises Act XI Part 2, ways for players to change classes (and exchange class exclusive items), re-balancing combat and dungeons so individual plays can feel significant (starting with a new dungeon), PVP rankings will be reflected in real time, and adjusting dungeon difficulty so that “the same dungeon to provide ever-changing experiences and excitement.”
The new dungeon promises to change how previously dungeons were designed around specific roles to master and repetition. This is via several stages of difficulty, rather than focusing on one mechanic and strategy. Each difficulty level will have its own mechanics, attack patterns, and player strategies. Even then, the mechanics will not be fixed. Dungeons will also offer seasonal rewards.
The most attention has been given to explaining how updating the game’s UI, gaining it its own public video and news post. Elaborating on how individual actions can have a greater effect on dungeon combat, the game will give more positive responses via game animations to skill combos. This includes joint attacks and party protection skills being factored in as well, not just DPS numbers.
This feedback via “scoring” also applies to when enemy attacks are successfully blocked or resisted, and successful combos reacting accordingly to the attack. MVP mentions can also be collected in each dungeon, recording when players have done well. The new dungeon difficulty system will also show a progress bar.
You can find the battle UI trailer below.
The Revival update launches Q3 2021. Blade & Soul is available and free-to-play on Windows PC (via the official website), Android, and iOS.
Image: Blade & Soul official website
