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New Blade & Soul videos show Summoner gameplay, qinggong abilities
Looking for some more Summoner gameplay after that pet reveal last weekend? Korean MMO website ThisIsGame has you covered with a new Blade & Soul preview video. We get to see three minutes of combat footage, including plenty of killer kitty-cats and spell-casting action. The video quality isn't the greatest, but it's definitely interesting to see the Summoner in action for an extended period. NCsoft has also released a new one-minute qinggong trailer. The clip shows several Blade & Soul avatars in all their wall-running, high-flying, gravity-defying glory (and this time it's a high-quality embed). Check out both videos after the break. [Thanks to Tym for the tip!]
Blade and Soul interview talks Qinggong, Chinese influences; new videos on display
How about a little Blade and Soul info to cap off the workday? We thought you might like that, and MMO Culture has helpfully clued us in to a brief interview with the game's development team that was conducted at a recent Tencent Games event. The piece delves into the martial arts title's multinational backstory, and despite the fact that Blade and Soul is decidedly Korean, there will be a large Chinese influence on display in the finished game. Blade and Soul's Qinggong system is also addressed, and while every race will have access to the wall-scaling super-speed abilities, it will be limited with respect to character level. Qinggong will also see future iterations beyond its current implemenation as a form of fast travel, with the interview hinting at airborne skill-casting to "make players feel like they are real martial arts pugilists." Finally, there's a blurb or two on the game's classes (six confirmed) as well as a western-influenced focus on individual character progression. MMO Culture has also embedded two new Blade and Soul videos, and you can find those after the break.
Blade & Soul closed beta UI profiled
More news made its way out of the Blade & Soul Korean beta this weekend. Blade & Soul Dojo has a breakdown of the game's user interface complete with a large annotated screenshot and plenty of commentary. While nothing about the UI looks markedly different from long-running MMORPG conventions, there is an interesting hint at a mechanic that is unique to NCsoft's upcoming fantasy martial arts epic. The Qinggong meter (the green bar below the health and fuel meters) ties in to the game's travel system and looks to put a novel spin on both exploration and fast travel. If you're wondering, Qinggong is a Chinese martial art that has been heavily stylized in Wuxia fiction (see the wire-fu action sequences in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers, and The Matrix). Blade & Soul Dojo also confirms that the game will have an auction house as well as social features including mail, a news page, and a calendar (though these features were disabled in the beta). Check out the original article for more details.
