KR's 10th June update, Classes Overhaul

[Arnox]

KR got a massive update today, a complete overhaul for most classes.

S(c)ummoners get nerfed down.

Blade Master finally getting the attention it deserves 

What you guys think about it?

http://www.freedomplays.com/blade-soul-kr-update-major-skill-update-classes/

 

And most important, when you guys think we are going to get this update? That is if the game will manage to survive that long over here.

[AmatsuDF]

We won't get it, NCSoft will shut down NA/EU Blade and Soul well before we'd even get that patch. We'll be lucky to get Act VI at this rate.

[OMEGAWEAPON]

was about to quit then this happened...

[kytt]

Agree, we won't last long enough. 

 

I'm looking at playing in other regions and my best buddy will just drop BnS entirely ;;

 

 

[Kyokushinkai]

ofc game will last that long ;D maybe game die in NA but in eu its pretty much alive :P

 

[StrykersGaming]

Those of you claiming NCSoft will close the game down for NA/EU; quantify these statements with factual evidence that this will happen please.

[Shadzar]

26 minutes ago, DamnedYankee said:

Those of you claiming NCSoft will close the game down for NA/EU; quantify these statements with factual evidence that this will happen please.

I think they are basing it off how low staffed NCWest seem to be, how past games have done, and how the newest game is already coming out that Play MXM stuff so that anyone left when B&S catches up will be but a puppet skeleton crew that just dust off the servers every week.

 

I would like, since this is the 2nd thread on this topic; for someone to actually post here in the forums rather than making people go chase after the info. Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V cant be that much harder than 3RFing, so someone do the combo and actually post the changes so it can actually be discussed here.

[StrykersGaming]

1 minute ago, Shadzar said:

I think they are basing it off how low staffed NCWest seem to be, how past games have done, and how the newest game is already coming out that Play MXM stuff so that anyone left when B&S catches up will be but a puppet skeleton crew that just dust off the servers every week.

 

I would like, since this is the 2nd thread on this topic; for someone to actually post here in the forums rather than making people go chase after the info. Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V cant be that much harder than 3RFing, so someone do the combo and actually post the changes so it can actually be discussed here.

After SWTOR updated the game with 1.2 (the great Jedi Sage/Inquisitor Sorc nerf) they lost 1.5 million subscribers or there about. BioWare subsequently lost a large number of staff after they went free to play. Since that time people in the forums spoke of the doom and death of SWTOR coming swiftly. However, that NEVER came. EA/BW did not let the game die because they had some plans in place to move it forward and do what was necessary to bring people in to play it. Though many may not agree with their methods, they did not fail the game still thrives.

 

The same can be said about this game in NA/EU. Just because the number of personnel are less does not automatically mean they are closing the doors on this game. NA/EU are large markets that NCSoft wants to stay connected too. Shutting down this game in these markets would cut them off from a great source of income. I wonder if these people believing that this will happen because of the number of personnel associated at this point know about the support they are receiving from NCSoft directly in support to NCWest and their developers?

 

Those stating this will close down are doing so from their personal jaded opinion without any substantiated quantifiable proof that this will happen. NCSoft closed down one game without any warning that I know of, City of Heroes/City of Villains. They did it to support Guild Wars 2 by their own admission. Blade and Soul in NA/EU went live a few months ago and the dissenters are already ready claiming its demise without proof. I call into question those that do things like this their reasoning for doing so or if it born out of dislike and hate for the way the game is at this point and time.

[Shadzar]

You want some proof? Lets look at streaming content.

 

Blade and Soul had steady 6k views on Twitch during peak hours for NA/EY up until March 23rd. Then numbers went up slightly and took a fast spiral down to about 2k during peak hours after some bigger names left like iGodrikTV and a few others. AALaguna shortly quit streaming B&S in favor of BDO because there was nothing left to do except grind for 8 hours a day with fewer and fewer people, only to have to constantly spend money on reset tokens for Cold Storage or endlessly do Asura runs. He left PVP all together.

 

Laguna has returned for a time after the June 1st update to continue that new content, but B&S can barely secure 1k viewers anymore in peak hours even AFTER Russian servers have been released.

 

What the number were prior to NA/EU launch, i cannot tell you. When the streamers can no longer support the game and your viewership drops 70%+ fast like that, it means something.

 

IGodrik was also on youtube making lots of early release guides, but quit as well. New payer growth is the largest death knell though. If new people cannot chance to progress under existing pay-to-progress situations, then the game will end up dying. Already server mergers are being looked at which means there isn't enough people or moeny to support the 12 (i think) NA servers.

 

it is the players LIKE the game, not dislike it that causes the problem, because they are gamers, have been gamers, and understand how gamers think, but this western mindset of gamer is so foreign to NCSoft that they wont change. Of course people thing a majorly flawed game design is something to dislike. Gamers in the west aren't all sheep like it seems gamers in Korea are.

 

So you may think this is empty words, but I have seem major gaming companies fail for lesser things than is going on with B&S and lost LOTS of money due to their failures. The players keep trying to tell them how to adapt B&S for western players, but they refuse. the business philosophy that is lost on NCSoft is: Evolve or Die. They are refusing to evolve their game, so what option do they have left for it?

[StrykersGaming]

Sorry live stream is nothing but an infomercial for the game and direction it is going. It does not qualify as quantifiable proof of the demise of this game for NA/EU. What it is is people reading into it and taking from it what they want it to say. You can disagree with me all you want. However, until such time that you can know the mind and plan of NCSoft Korea and put it forward here that is verifiable, your are basing your personal opinions on supposition, nothing more. Forum members who dislike the direction of a game is heading do what is being done here incessantly in every game forum.

[kytt]

9 minutes ago, DamnedYankee said:

A EA/BW did not let the game die because they had some plans in place to move it forward and do what was necessary to bring people in to play it. The same can be said about this game in NA/EU. Just because the number of personnel are less does not automatically mean they are closing the doors on this game. NA/EU are large markets that NCSoft wants to stay connected too. Shutting down this game in these markets would cut them off from a great source of income. I wonder if these people believing that this will happen because of the number of personnel associated at this point know about the support they are receiving from NCSoft directly in support to NCWest and their developers?

Have you watched the most recent livestream? If you did, you would easily see that this team is NOT comparable to EA/BW. They do not have a plan in place to move BnS forward. Nico Courant is a coward who displays no leadership or vision for this game.

The producer's letter and roadmap clearly indicate that the new class rebalancing for KR will not hit here in 2016, unless they decide to renege on their roadmap. The letter itself clearly indicates that the publishing team here is aware that the mood of the current player base is sour and turning worse. They know that BnS is not optimized for esports, as advertised, and the livestream shows they do not have a plan in place to make it so. About 90% of the answers in the "Q and A" livestream were "we'll look at that; consider that; talk to the dev team about that but we don't want to do anything about it." There were at least two questions that the trio didn't even understand but the players asking it consider major issues. They don't play the game they are running and they do not understand the problems players are having.

 

They may or may not be incompetent people but they are displaying incompetence at managing a game community, let alone the player experience.

 

I expect they will gradually merge and close servers over the course of this year. They will maintain a couple of servers which will limp along as players willing to overpay for unnecessary subs and restricted costumes trickle away to more rewarding, fun games. Maybe around Q1/Q2 next year they will update with the new class rebalance. I don't expect many here today to still be here then and based on decisions made putting speed bumps in front of new players, they don't value the entry of new people.

 

I play on a moderately populated server. At launch, most non-bot players were prem. Now, I see a prem here and there, just one or two players.... provided I've seen dozens un-prem first. In zeiwei ruins, maybe one or two sub players at the final boss. Not good. Not healthy.  In any given day, I may see one or two players wearing shop costumes. But that's it. And I know it's possible to buy them from the gold seller websites for cheaper than the shop so seeing them isn't evidence the player payed money to NCWest. Where's YOUR evidence that the game is going strong? It's not here in the forums. It's not on my server. It's not in the livestream, producer's letter, or communication from this team on their official communities.

 

I play another KR MMO which is hanging on by it's toenails. I know what a game dying from mishandling looks like. That publisher is doing many things to try to make it easier for new players to play but the player gap is severe, yet somehow not as severe as in BnS. This other game has been out over 2 years and the gap is less bad than a game that's been out less than 6 months.

 

I had hoped the livestream would give an indication that the BnS team would be one interested in retaining and adding to the player base and had some vision and open mindness about how to do that. 

 

But no, I watched it. Now I know better. 

[Shadzar]

35 minutes ago, DamnedYankee said:

until such time that you can know the mind and plan of NCSoft Korea

I understand how a DamnedYankee doesnt get subtle things, but you dont need to know the mind of a Korean, and I would guess they are of the same mind as the puppet from the Saw movies, in order to tell what the players and customers of the game think. Streaming sites where people play, not just big paid people that have NCSoft sponsorships like Godrik or Laguna, but other people have left for greener pastures. The writing on the wall and people are leaving like rats on a sinking ship.

 

Maybe a few years more on this planet and some more experience with real world things will allow you to see this, that people people saying the end of this game is near are not just blowing smoke. The smoke and mirrors come from https://www.twitch.tv/bladeandsoul/ where they are only blowing smoke up peoples...

 

Look for yourself where a silly game like Quiplash, a drunk party game has consistently more viewers, because it is FUN in comparison.

[zapzap77]

Wow. That's a serious summoner nerf.

 

no more super sunflower spam on overflow?  What's the point of overflow in the first place then!?!?!  they really seem to want you to give up on sunflower, despite it's already existing problem of only aiming straight out instead of up or down.

 

Bloom and Doom party heal removed?!?! Only heals you half? after it was already nerfed to only work on it's target???  Now need to use Huzzah to heal party and stop your dps+use your own health? after nerfing your self healing already so you can't use it as much?

 

Cat scratches no longer draw blood?!?!

 

At least Crouching Tiger tank still works.

 

Seems they decided to try and make the class more combo oriented and try to make you use built in ani cancelling with skills that reset other skills and make them instacast now. with those changes they will have to bump the classes difficulty rating up to at least three if they get here.

 

 

 

[Brand X]

Hmmm...I feel like my WL is going to lose all those DragonCalls I've been spamming and worked hard to get when that patch shows up :o

[Brand X]

Just now, Kuronee said:

Ice build got Nerf and shadow build got buffed

I know it's the way of the MMO and I had already been working on my BM to transition back to melee as a main anyways, but still, was hard to get that DC spam going and to see it nerfed :p

[Kuronee]

18 minutes ago, Brand X said:

Hmmm...I feel like my WL is going to lose all those DragonCalls I've been spamming and worked hard to get when that patch shows up :o

Ice build got Nerf and shadow build got buffed

[StrykersGaming]

2 hours ago, Shadzar said:

I understand how a DamnedYankee doesnt get subtle things, but you dont need to know the mind of a Korean, and I would guess they are of the same mind as the puppet from the Saw movies, in order to tell what the players and customers of the game think. Streaming sites where people play, not just big paid people that have NCSoft sponsorships like Godrik or Laguna, but other people have left for greener pastures. The writing on the wall and people are leaving like rats on a sinking ship.

 

Maybe a few years more on this planet and some more experience with real world things will allow you to see this, that people people saying the end of this game is near are not just blowing smoke. The smoke and mirrors come from https://www.twitch.tv/bladeandsoul/ where they are only blowing smoke up peoples...

 

Look for yourself where a silly game like Quiplash, a drunk party game has consistently more viewers, because it is FUN in comparison.

Now, how more insulting can a person get with this ad hominem attack than this? You've made some might assumptions about me. So much so if I were to reveal who I am and what I did for 15 years you'd be very ashamed and embarrassed. After 55 years on this planet, I've learned when to question supposition statements of people quoting things taken out of context and/or from reading into subject matter that borders on simple lunacy. Until YOU and the others who want to make statements of fact without quantifiable information to back up what you are saying based on your interpretation of a live stream, you may want to temper what you say. You can rant, insult, and demean me all you want. However, it does not change the fact that you are basing your OPINION on a supposition without verifiable facts, period. There is no argument to this last statement. I've said all I am going to say about this. If you cannot accept the reality of what I am saying, well, that's on you and yours.  

[Kuronee]

6 minutes ago, Brand X said:

I know it's the way of the MMO and I had already been working on my BM to transition back to melee as a main anyways, but still, was hard to get that DC spam going and to see it nerfed :p

could always go helix build :P

[Shadovvv]

We should get the patch in three months give or take. We got KR January patch in March, and their March patch very recently.

 

Summoners pretty much have to work harder for their utility. On the other hand, they buffed the OP Wind build even more... while nerfing the Earth build for no reason. The 550% attack power as additional damage on Seed Shroud effectively amounts to a few thousand numbers.

I don't see why they buffed their party healing, there's absolutely no need for it, and would pretty much render Soul Fighters obsolete. This is also a game that defies the Holy Trinity.

 

I'm quite curious to see how the new Phantom Grip skills work. Lightning Assassins got a lot of remedies to their chi, poison, and stealth maintenance issues so I'm curious to see how their potential will show to rival Dark build.

[Shadzar]

10 minutes ago, DamnedYankee said:

basing your OPINION on a supposition without verifiable facts

learn something about the world of today and how much streaming content impacts products and consumer views. Again you are missing the point because maybe you are outmoded and think only dead tree stock has valid facts? The proof is in the pudding on how the consumer base views BnS. I gave you a link for reference, you need more direct ones?

 

https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Blade%20and%20Soul

 

https://www.twitch.tv/directory

 

Check for yourself the numebr of streams and number of viewers BnS has.

 

At the time of writing this the number of people willing to watch BnS stream played live is

338 viewers

and is ranked 91st game

 

NES version of Legend of Zelda has 402 viewers and is ranked 80th

 

I would say there is your proof, but watch the numbers yourself.

 

For your age you are acting worse than the younger players because you should know better that your personal bias to love the game, in no way is conductive to evaluating the current state of the game and its future prospects. your comment is still stupid as it can be thinking "only those that know the mind of Korea" knows what to expect of the game.

 

I will leave you some words made popular recently by an anime, but were written by Salinger for you to think about

 

Quote

I thought what I would do is become one of those deaf-mutes, so I wouldn't have to have any stupid [censored] useless conversations with anybody.

 

As it seems you wish to play one of those deaf-mutes.

 

Well you can continue rubbernecking, or fence sitting or whatever people understand the term to be these days, while others have seen the writing on the wall.

[Kuronee]

10 minutes ago, Shadzar said:

learn something about the world of today and how much streaming content impacts products and consumer views. Again you are missing the point because maybe you are outmoded and think only dead tree stock has valid facts? The proof is in the pudding on how the consumer base views BnS. I gave you a link for reference, you need more direct ones?

 

https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Blade%20and%20Soul

 

https://www.twitch.tv/directory

 

Check for yourself the numebr of streams and number of viewers BnS has.

 

At the time of writing this the number of people willing to watch BnS stream played live is

338 viewers

and is ranked 91st game

 

NES version of Legend of Zelda has 402 viewers and is ranked 80th

 

I would say there is your proof, but watch the numbers yourself.

 

For your age you are acting worse than the younger players because you should know better that your personal bias to love the game, in no way is conductive to evaluating the current state of the game and its future prospects. your comment is still stupid as it can be thinking "only those that know the mind of Korea" knows what to expect of the game.

 

I will leave you some words made popular recently by an anime, but were written by Salinger for you to think about

 

 

As it seems you wish to play one of those deaf-mutes.

 

Well you can continue rubbernecking, or fence sitting or whatever people understand the term to be these days, while others have seen the writing on the wall.

not everyone streams on twitch though. o-o

[Shadzar]

2 minutes ago, Kuronee said:

not everyone streams on twitch though. o-o

Doesn't matter, everyone from politicians to fast food uses online media outlets to gauge interest in their products. Recently the WarCraft movie has been promoted as well Taco Bell there. I see twitter all the time exploding with anger towards @babbletr0n over the bugs and problems with the game, other people can check other places, but when the majority of your online presence is filled with anger at your management of the product, you might want to think you are trying to pass of the next New Coke, and should take a closer look at your product, advertising, business model, or something to fix the problem it has, or move on to a new one; which is what most people expect will happen with BnS it will be abandoned and they will move on to only work on that play MXM game that has higher potential for "world championships" as a MOBA.

 

Also was going to be VERY hard to organize PVP tournaments for somewhere else since NCSoft chose twitch to place its video content as there is more there than on Youtube, and that is where its tournament organizers WERE trying to hold tournaments until that IMP group bailed out while the getting was good.

 

They chose the platform for their interaction with players, so I am only using numbers from the site they chose to use as the medium to get information out to interested people.

[RyuueLaview]

Yes rupture is finally useful for shadow build (with adjustment to CD for wingstorm)

[Akashi]

Alright, first of all, these are changes to the TEST server. Before you get all hyped or reroll from your summoner, wait till the official patch notes are out. Things could still change.

 

As for the changes itself, these summoner nerfs are brutal. It feels like they're trying to turn SMN into a healer class.

SF and SMN both got a new "Encouragement" buff. Sounds pretty nice, wonder if it applies to the whole party.

 

Very few SF changes. While I'm happy that they didn't nerf anything substantial, I am still hoping that they'll change their party utility. Healing is barely needed in this game. Just give us an offensive buff or something ;-;

That flash punch change still kinda sucks tho. I hope they rethink that.

[Ohlong Johnson]

About Summoner changes: As I posted in the other skill topic, a reddit user stated they want to push Summoners toward Rumbleblee, which is apparently the way to go with super high-end Korean legendary equipment + Soul Shields. For the  West without those "haxx" items? Who knows.

Quote

Though I don't think the Sunflower nerf is that bad. Basically, Rosethorn still gives a free Sunflower upon critical, for it will gives three Focus per critical (base+2 additional on critical) to build up Overflow, and it helps to get the focus for other skills.

While you won't be able to spam without worrying like before, it's still manageable, as long as you keep an eye on Focus bar and weave in some Rosethorn. Or you will want to save Doom'n'Gloom to cast it right before the Overflow buff, so that you don't worry about Focus.

In short, it requires a little more brain power to use Sunflower to maximize your focus management, instead of just easy LMB+RMB and F when they're off cooldown.

The loss of X2 Stun is somewhat hard to understand. Wish they make Beckon first branch does stun instead. More timing work to score x2 stun instead of just a simple Tab.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bladeandsoul/comments/4niebw/test_serversmn_patch_notes/

 

Fortunately, I won't ever play in the high(er) endgame.