Hi! I just started playing a few days ago and would like to share my impressions of the game so far.
Quick background: I'm a long time MMO player (mostly WoW and GW2) looking for another MMO to play. I tried ESO (good game, poor combat system, feels floaty, imprecise, with odd/slow pacing). I also tried FFXIV (2.5s GCD on skills, extremely generic WoW-clone feel to the early game). I became interested in Blade & Soul because the most important factor for me is combat and I hear that is what this game does best.
Pros:
Combat. I love the mobility and speed and the combos give this game a very unique feel! A+!
Music and environments are beautiful.
1v1 PvP with equalized gear is a huge plus for me!
Cons:
Generic storyline. It's not as bad as FFXIV's intro, but that isn't saying much.
No way that I've found to feasibly level without running through the storyline (Although I admit I am new and likely haven't exhausted all options!).
Gear? Crafting? So far it feels pretty light on this aspect of the MMO experience. I assume that changes later on.
Awful anime-style character models and outfits. I know some people love that, but I can't get into it.
Terrible optimization. I couldn't even produce playable framerates without switching to 32-bit mode as the game kept inexplicably maxxing out my RAM! Now it gets random crashes from time to time.
So far my experience is limited to the early game, so I have a lot left to learn and get a feel for. These are just my initial impressions. If I had to make a quick recommendation to other new players, I'd say that this looks like a pretty generic Asian MMO with what looks to be a potentially amazing combat system. If not for the combat system, I don't think I'd give this game any more of my time. But because it feels so great even just a couple of days in, I think I'm going to stick around for a bit and see if this might be my new MMO home for awhile.
I look forward to thoughts from experienced players. I'm sure some of my impressions aren't accurate, given I've only been playing for a couple of days.