Bless Online is one of the last truly large AAA MMORPGs that is still in development. But does Bless manage to meet high expectations after being pulled back? Final Fantasy XIV already demonstrated this with A Realm Reborn. That gives hope, says guest author Marco Scheler.
When Bless Online was first introduced, it looked fantastic in the trailers. Beautiful graphics based on Unreal Engine 3 fueled hopes that a new big AAA MMORPG was on the horizon. Aeria Games appeared as the publisher responsible for distribution in the West, but then announced in June 2017 that the localization efforts had been halted. They felt unable to get the game on the right track.
Just 7 days later, Neowiz announced that they would bring Bless Online to the West themselves, along with a major overhaul of the game. They also recently released a video showcasing the changes that have already been made. These include the combat system, character customization, pets and mounts, as well as the stats. As can be seen, the overhaul is progressing well:
The Steam Version of Bless Decides the Future
After the servers in Korea and Russia were shut down, they have been back online for several months now and are already running a revamped version, which is supposed to differ from our Steam version. The developers are betting heavily on Steam, stating that it is the most advanced version and the roadmap for the future. Bless Online is set to release on Steam on May 30, 2018.
Will the reboot on Steam be successful? Square Enix demonstrated with Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn that it was the right decision to take the game offline for a long time and completely overhaul it. Today, it is, alongside World of Warcraft, the only MMORPG that continues to run very successfully with a subscription system.
The calls from MMO veterans are increasing: They long for a traditional AAA MMORPG. A new world where they can immerse themselves again 4 years after the release of WildStar. Bless presents itself as a candidate to step into these footsteps and perhaps do it better.
And even if the engine in Bless is a bit dated: graphically, Bless doesn’t need to hide behind other current MMORPGs and still looks relatively good. The developers also promise to continue enhancing the graphics.
The Story in the Game
In Bless, everything revolves around the rivalry between the two factions. The Hieron and the Union. The northern half of the continent is dominated by the Hieron, while the southern half is the domain of the Union. The goal of the Hieron is to unite the entire nation under their flag. The Union, on the other hand, seeks to gain power and usher in a new era. This naturally leads to fierce battles between the two warring nations. The story bears some parallels to Aion and the conflict between the Elyos and the Asmodians.
The quests are standard fare for MMOs: sometimes we help farmers rid their fields of pests or shady bandits. Other times, we find ourselves part of dark conspiracies aimed at the seemingly untouchable nobility. The fully voiced and thrilling main story serves as a red thread.
More on this: The Story of Bless: This is why the races are fighting in the faction war.
A Huge Open World Awaits to be Discovered
In Bless Online, we find ourselves in a massive open world that takes us through expansive and highly varied landscapes and is divided into two climate zones. We encounter deserts and icy landscapes, but also coniferous forests and Mediterranean zones. It is possible to roam through multiple zones or even swim without loading screens.
But how does one travel in such a vast world? Exploration and travel in Bless can be done either on foot, via mounts, or through one of the numerous taxi stations – these are floating zeppelins that can cover large distances relatively easily.
And if that’s not enough, you can also search for unique companions and mounts. Almost every creature in Bless can be trapped and tamed. You can tame a bunch of slimes and choose them as companions, or you could also tame a parrot. Or you could even tame a giant troll and ride through the world of Bless on it. There’s something for everyone.
A Credible World
A reader from Mein-MMO.de praised the believable world even back then in the Korea beta of Bless: “Real adventurers prefer to take matters into their own hands, climbing and sprinting over high ridges or through wide valleys. This often provides impressive panoramic views of the believably designed world, which, with its deserts, tropical regions, coniferous forests, Mediterranean zones, and icy landscapes, really offers everything the explorer’s heart desires.
Cheerful concerts by the local frog population invite you to linger at picturesque mountain lakes, while waterfalls announce themselves from afar with a massive roar that grows louder as you approach. It’s these little details that make it very easy to get lost in the world of Bless.”
The Classes and Races of Bless
The Classes and Races in Bless: A total of 5 different class alignments are available, but not every race can play them, which includes the small, cute Masku or the animal people of the Pantera. The Hieron and Union also each have their own races. You can read the exact composition here: These 7 races you play in the new MMORPG Bless.
In general, the class selection sticks to the usual fare and relies on the holy trinity of tank, healer, and damage dealer. Bless will launch in the West with 5 classes – Mystic and Assassin are currently still under revision and will come later. What happens with the 8th class, the Warlock, is still unknown.
Neowiz wants to allow many different playstyles per class with a sandbox-like skill system.
The PvP in Bless
With such a background story, it’s not surprising that PvP plays a major role in Bless. We can compete against each other in arenas and prove our skills. Or we can fight for our guild in massive 100v100 battles where we can conquer zones or even entire castles. The PvP battles are one of the main aspects of the game and play out in a balanced and tactical manner thanks to the classic distribution of healer, tank, and damage dealer.
- Bless is based on a faction system
- There are 100v100 guild battles accompanied by castle sieges
- In the endgame, open-world PvP opens up to the player
- Instanced battlegrounds with various group sizes like 10vs10 or 15vs15
- Bless wants to differentiate itself from the competition in the future with a “massive RvR war.” The battles can allegedly take place on land, at sea, and in the sky. They are currently also working a lot on performance.
Players should be aware that the upcoming MMORPG is focused on PvP: Bless wants PvP for all, no PvE servers – This scares some players.
The PvE in Bless
For PvE enthusiasts, there’s also plenty to do in Bless: alongside the usual quests and following the story, there are a lot of dungeons, raids, and bosses in Bless Online. The extraordinary companion system completes the picture.
- The PvE is said to have been adapted to suit the Western player base. Leveling through story, dungeons, and quests is more rewarded than mob grinding.
- Bless has an extensive taming and companion system, allowing almost every monster to be tamed to use as a companion or mount. Companions also have a progress system that was revised during the rebuild project. Companions can be leveled, grow, have skills, and costumes:
- There is also a deep crafting system that has been improved as part of the overhaul
- There will be raids for 10 players, with world bosses for 20 players and 40-player raids coming after launch
- Dungeons are available in both leveling phases and specifically for endgame
- For those who prefer to play alone, there are solo dungeons available
Facts about Bless Online at a Glance
When is Bless coming? Bless is set to release on May 30, 2018, on Steam via Early Access. Neowiz plans to leave this after 6 months. Note that this will already be a soft launch. There will be no wipe. With a founder’s pack, you can already start on May 28.
Will Bless also be released in German? Yes, the MMORPG Bless will be released in German at the Steam launch. The European servers are even located in Frankfurt. However, the voice output will be in English.
How is the game financed? Bless is set to be a Buy2Play game: meaning buy once and then play without a subscription like Black Desert or Guild Wars 2. The developers constantly emphasize that they will avoid Pay2Win. There will be an item shop containing cosmetic items, pets, mounts, and also boosts. The shop currency can also be earned in-game. In addition to the item shop, there will also be a premium membership.
To play Bless Online, you can purchase the base game or one of three founder’s packs. The founder’s packs cost $39.99, $69.99, and $149 and give you various extras depending on the pack.
How far along is development? The feedback from the USA and Europe has helped identify the weak points of Bless. Here you can see what has been changed specifically for the Steam version of Bless.
The article was updated on 11.05.2018 with new information. It was first published in February 2018.
Did you know that…
- Our version of Bless will get another fight system
- the graphics of Bless were good years ago, but are they still hot in 2018?
- Bless promises rhythmic combats and friendly microtransactions
- … Bless will offer a very detailed character editor
- … the MMO consists of vertical and horizontal progression. The vertical aspect includes levels and items that make the character stronger. In the horizontal aspect, it’s all about skills that can always be unlocked and improved. The game is expected to offer many different builds
- … player and guild housing is planned to be added later
- … the customized combat system is reportedly more oriented towards Guild Wars 2 than TERA. Don’t expect a pure action combat system, but rather a hybrid of action and tab targeting.
- … in the original version, Bless had many performance issues and endgame bottlenecks in PvP. A similar effort as once was done for Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is being put into improving these areas
- … Neowiz is currently investigating whether Bless could also be brought to consoles
Some still don’t fully trust this, but these 3 prejudices about the new MMORPG Bless could be wrong.
This guest post was written by Marco Scheler.
