Elsword imports crossover character, Elesis, from Grand Chase
If you're a fan of KOG Games' Elsword or Grand Chase -- or better yet, both -- then this morning's character launch will be of interest. The studio is bringing Grand Chase character Elesis, who happens to be the sister of title character Elsword, over to the game named Elsword. There's some wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff in there, we're sure.
According to the release, Elesis marks Elsword's first female melee character and a rare crossover promotion for the genre: "Elesis fights with steel and fire. [...] Starting her attacks by swinging her wicked fire-imbued Claymore, she gestures with her off hand for a flame-lash from below, all the while continuing to chain a sinister salvo of fire and blade attack combinations. [T]he more she attacks, the more powerful she becomes!"
We spoke to KOG Games about today's new roster addition. Read on!
Massively: What made the studio decide to use a crossover character instead of a brand-new one for Elsword? Is there much overlap in the playerbases, or is that what the studio hopes to create?
KOG Games: Straight to the point, Elesis is Elsword's sister; always has been. And though we didn't have a hard-set schedule, bringing Elesis to Elsword was always planned. When we considered the next new character update, we knew that we wanted a female character, and the timing was perfect. There's been a lot of tension and debate between the players of Elsword and Grand Chase as to whether Elesis was Elsword's sister or not, and we wanted to give our players some closure. But to answer your question directly, though inevitable, the overlap in playerbase was not intentional.
How will the two games justify sharing a character lore-wise? Does it disrupt the space/time continuum?
Even though Elesis is Elsword's sister, the actual lore that defines the narrative between the two worlds is mutually exclusive. So much so in fact, the two worlds can almost be likened to different planes of existence. So, where did Elesis return from exactly? There's more to this story than some may think.
Can you explain how Elesis' combat style differs from the other characters, especially her brother?
Fundamentally, the two siblings have similar fire-imbued fighting styles. However, where Elsword may seem steadfast, unrelenting, and defensive, Elesis is aggressive, elegantly refined, and fierce. When it comes to specialized attacks, Elsword uses the "Way of the Sword" skills, and Elesis uses the comparable "Chivalry" system. Because they share the same family combat form, the two share some similarities, executed with their own, unique style.
Why did the team wait so long (eight characters) to add a female melee character to the game? Does the team feel the characters are unbalanced now with five women and three men?
When initially designing a character, the sex is never taken into consideration. The question we ask ourselves is this: Does the character's "personality and feel" match the weapon or combat style used? And because we develop character-centric patch content, there has always been some boy/girl discrepancy. However, we have a long-term goal to balance this ratio. In fact, we've already set a plan into motion. Keep your eyes peeled; Elesis won't be the only new hero coming to Elsword.
Thanks for answering our questions!
When readers want the scoop on a launch or a patch (or even a brewing fiasco), Massively goes right to the source to interview the developers themselves. Be they John Smedley or Chris Roberts or anyone in between, we ask the devs the hard questions. Of course, whether they tell us the truth or not is up to them!
