Blade & Soul: Races and classes

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Blade & Soul offers players a choice of four races, and currently seven classes, to create their character. Like it or not, but, due to certain details of the lore, some of the classes and races will be gender-locked. The Yun race, for example, will be made up solely of women, somewhat like the Viera race of Final Fantasy, being known to have an intense respect for nature. The Gon, descendants of the spirits of the land, have the most massive frame of the game. Proud and brave, they enjoy a great physical and mental strength with BNS Gold. The Jin, human archetype, do not really possess special characteristics, other than the fact that they have mastered martial arts like no other. Finally, the Lyn race might just be the most popular one. Cute little beings with large ears and a tail, the Lyn descended from Qilins, animals known for their unrivaled malice. Design side, the extravagant style of Kim Hyung-Tae has led to numerous debates on the hyper-gendered female characters with unrealistic proportions. More details about the different classes can be found here.

The Kung Fu Master
Undoubtedly one of the most agile classes in the game, and probably the most difficult class to play because of the low reaction time required between its combos, one must be extremely fast to chain attacks and counter those of opponents when playing as a King Fu master. The class has excellent stun-lock and tanking skills, provided they are sufficiently reactive its cons. It can be played by the Gon, Jin and Yun races.

The Blade Master
With much better blocking abilities as compared to the Kung Fu Master, this class is often considered the main tank of the game. With two combat postures, these sword-wielders combine speed and devastating strength to wreck havoc on battlefields. When well played, the class has a heavy DPS and is probably one of the most fun classes gameplay-wise (making it currently the most played class on B & S). It can be played by the Yun and Jin races.

The Destroyer
Forget finesse and graceful pirouettes, the Destroyer does not need pretty moves to fight. Reserved for the Gon race and using a two-handed, the class is probably the easiest to play with thanks to its ability to deal damage to multiple enemies at once. With its unique capacity to grab enemies and make them unable to respond to attack with Blade & Soul Gold, the Destroyer is a crucial figure in dungeons. Advanced players also enjoy the ability to interrupt the techniques of enemies, making the Destroyer surprisingly oriented towards group support.

The Summoner
Fans of “kawai” feline characters, the Summoner should delight you. Exclusively for Lyn, this class represents the cuteness of Blade & Soul and in this sense should not be to the taste of everyone. It is even said in Korea that the class is so easy to play that it is the most suited one for beginners. That said, at higher levels the class grows more complex, with numerous tactics and abilities to be mastered.

The Force Master
The Force Master can be considered as the mage archetype of the game. It is currently the most powerful class of B & S despite its many PvE and PvP nerfs. Its gameplay is largely dependent on its positioning, being a master of ranged combat with fire and ice spells. With a lower life pool than other classes, the Force Master compensates for this weakness with a panel of defensive spells that vary from the invocation of different protective barriers to the ability of imprisoning themselves into ice to become invulnerable. Playable by the Yun, Lyn and Gon classes.

The Assassin
Master of poison and bleeding DOTs, the Assassin is the second biggest DPS class of the game (even if the classification still depends on combat situations). With its stealth capabilities, it can also lay numerous explosive and smoke traps on the battlefield with Blade & Soul Power leveling. By far one of the most potent classes when it comes to playing solo, the Assassin remains very useful in parties, its multiple DOTs preventing opponents from regenerating their health between attacks from teammates. Can only be played by the Jin race.

The Blade Dancer
Another class restricted to the Lyn race, the Blade Dancer is basically the jack-of-all-trades class of the game. Very fast, it relies on a high movement speeds to escape and attack opponents with fluidity. With many crowd control capabilities, the Blade Dancer should easily please thanks to its multiple AoEs. A support class, therefore, but not without power.