At gamescom 2019, our Jürgen was able to try out the new Archer class in Blade & Soul. Read here why he was initially not very keen on the new class, but now thinks it’s great.
What’s the deal with the new class in Blade & Soul? I haven’t played Blade & Soul in a long time and should finally test the new Archer class at gamescom 2019.
It’s important to know that I never found archers particularly cool. Neither Legolas, Hawkeye, nor various bow weapons from games have ever convinced me. I simply find bows boring.
Much cooler, I think, are pistols, rifles, and guns. And all that is already available in Blade & Soul, namely in the Gunslinger class.
“Why should I play a new ranged class with a bow, when I can have a guy with guns?” I asked the developers during the class presentation at gamescom 2019.
What the new Archer class is about
What is the role of the Archer? First, a developer demonstrated the class to me. I saw an Asian-looking archer shooting training dummies with arrows. The Archer is primarily a damage dealer class. Their job is to shoot enemies from a distance with arrows and deal damage.
But the Archer can also enhance allies with buffs and is overall a very versatile class that has great strength not only in ranged combat. By this statement, the developers had piqued my curiosity. But how true are their statements?
This is how it plays: Fortunately, I could soon try the Archer myself. And indeed, the archer played very smoothly and intuitively.
This is intended, because unlike the Gunslinger, which is not easy to learn but plays quite simply later, the Archer is the exact opposite. You can easily get into the new class and start playing right away.
Thus, I could take down numerous enemies in an old temple city with a moderately equipped archer. The Archer’s bow is more like a kind of machine gun that fires arrows at extreme speed. However, you have to stand still to do this.
This is the uniqueness of the class: There is a combat stance that allows for more mobility but deactivates various buffs. You must therefore decide whether to run wild and shoot around or stay stationary and unleash a hail of arrows. Furthermore, although the archer doesn’t have much stamina, they have more invulnerability skills than any other class in the game.
Later in the game, positioning becomes important and you play the archer tactically and with precision. The class is really easy to learn but harder to master.
Jürgen’s conclusion: a really cool class for (returning) beginners
The Archer really surprised me. I expected a boring ranged class, not a highly mobile and yet tactically challenging hero that is fun right from the start.
In my opinion, this makes much more sense than the Gunslinger approach, which is quite complicated at the beginning and therefore frustrates new players and returnees unnecessarily. As cool as I thought the Gunslinger was back then, I found him much less fun in the game at the gamescom 2017, where I could also try him out.
Therefore, I can only recommend the new class, both for (returning) beginners in Blade & Soul looking for a fun class, and for experienced players who have high expectations of their class, especially in the endgame.
When does the Archer come out? The new class will be released along with the update “Storm of Arrows” on September 18. The update will be free as usual.
