Bless Online is the latest high-fantasy MMO and it is sure to take the genre by storm. Using all the latest technology, developers Neowiz have created a highly detailed world both in lore and graphics.
There are many races and classes to choose from, all of which can be uniquely tailored to fit whatever character the player might have in mind. With these characters, players will be able to explore vast and diverse lands. In the trailers, we have already seen beautiful winter kingdoms, densely forested worlds, and everything in between.
Most interesting of all is that Bless Online has a soundtrack composed entirely by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe. If you don’t already know, Hans Zimmer is an Oscar bearing composer for almost all the memorable soundtracks in film history, like Gladiator, Inception, Interstellar, and many more. He is not new to video games either as he composed a few pieces for Beyond: Two Souls.
Lorne Balfe’s work is nothing to balk at either. Balfe has worked on such movies as the Sherlock Holmes series starring Robert Downey Jr., The Florida Project, Inception, and Ghost in the Shell. In fact, Balfe also worked on Beyond: Two Souls and Assassin’s Creed III.
Needless to say, their involvement in Bless Online is sure to make a little bit a history and elevate the game above all other MMOs. Music isn’t the only thing the game has going for it and if you want to find out more, check out the Bless Online: Release Date, Classes, Gameplay, & More below.
Bless Online Release Date
Developers Neowiz have stated that Bless Online will enter Early Access on Steam May 30, 2018 and May 28 for Founders. They plan on the game being in Early Access for only a year, but stress that it won’t end until “we and our players are satisfied with all of the game’s content.” As such, a release date for the full game should not be expected for another year or two.
Bless Online Trailer
Bless Online Early Access
What will be in the Early Access version?
Neowiz is a bit vague on what they will include in the Early Access version of Bless Online, but it sounds like they will offering the majority of the game, save for some end-game content and more language support. Neowiz expects there will be quite a few changes to the game once it is released into Early Access, so they don’t want to say what exactly will be staying and what won’t.
Early Access Prices
Neowiz has priced the Early Access version of Bless Online at $29.99 USD. Any additional costs will be the player’s choice in the Founder’s Packs or the Premium Membership. Founder’s Packs range from $39.99 to $149.99. Details on what they include are under Bless Online News, Founder’s Packs.
Bless Online Early Access Update
The first update to Bless Online, the Peninsular War, is the initial preview of the RvR content promised. The Peninsular War is located in the Southern region of Bless, a beautiful tropical getaway if it hadn’t been turned into a battlefield.
Players that want to join won’t be able to just wander over and hope to jump into the fray; to join the Peninsular War, go to Menu(Esc)>War(b)>Battlefield List then Peninsula War. You will be matched with the appropriate faction and once enough players have joined, the battle will start. Matching can take up to 3 minutes, so players are asked to be patient.
Each battle can take up to 30 players (15 for each side of the war). Larger battles are certainly on their way, the Peninsula War is only a preview of what is to come. This update is a great way for Early Access players to experience battlefield combat and experiment with strategies that could be applied to later battles.
Speaking of strategies, the Peninsula War isn’t all about trying to take on 15 other players with your team. There are 4 bases and 1 special base – each time your faction captures a base, points are earned. The first faction to reach 20,000 points within the 15-25 minute time limit, wins. If the time runs out before either faction hits 20,000, then the side with the most points will claim victory.
In addition to earning points, it is important that players keep in mind which base they capture when as your character will respawn at the nearest safe base. Players must keep the terrain of the battlefield in mind when picking which base to take over first. As you can see in the screenshot above, there are hills, buildings, bridges, and various levels that could either foil your plans or improve them.
The developers are pleased to announce that the Peninsula War won’t always be the same. Each week, a new season will herald a slight change in the circumstances of the battlefield.
- Season 1: Useful items will be scattered around the battlefield.
- Season 2: There will be neutral mobs that you can “turn into allies” around the battlefield.
- Season 3: A sky bridge that allows players to quickly get to important bases.
- Season 4: The mana consumption and cool time of all skills used will be reduced.
Furthermore, combat points will be awarded regardless if you won the battle or not; 700 combat points for winning and 100 combat points if defeated. Daily quests will help you earn even more:
- Completes Peninsular War’s Daily Quest: 300 Combat Points
- Successfully carries out the Quest: 75 Participation Points
- Fails the Quest: 35 Participation Points
Combat points can be used to purchase items in the Special Currency Shop.
Bless Online Early Access Events
Light Up Your Life Event
The Light Up Your Life event if the first event for Bless Online while it remains in Early Access. Complete various tasks during this event and you can earn all kinds of buffs to your skillset. Below are the dates and buffs you can earn:
- June 2nd – June 3rd : Light up your Life (Gathering / Mining)
- Increases Gathering / Mining Mastery Level Gain by 50%
- Increases Main Crafting Skill by 20%
- Increases Sub Crafting Skill by 20%
- June 9th – June 10th : Light up your Life (Mount / Pet)
- Reduces pet’s Energy Point consumption by 20%
- Increases pet’s obtained EXP by 20%
- Reduces mount’s Energy Point consumption by 20%
- Increases mount’s EXP by 20%
- June 16th – June 17th : PVE Day
- Increases gold / EXP obtained from hunting by 20%
- Obtain Dungeon Points 20% by killing a dungeon boss
- June 23rd – June 24th : PVP Day
- Increases Combat Points obtained by killing a hostile target by 20%
- Reduces equipment’s repair cost by 20%
Bless Online Emissary Program
The Bless Online Emissary program is for any content creators (from video production to canary), active community members, and the press. If you would like to join the program, you still can, though it is too late to be selected for the press conference on May 11, 2018 in San Francisco.
If you have been selected, however, you will be provided the “opportunity to test out and stream Bless Online’s Steam EA version” for the first time. Those selected will be announced May 9, 2018 via email and discord.
All emissaries will be given exclusive access to test servers, be the first to know about any major updates, join special events (online and offline), in-game goodies, and free promotion for all of the content you give them.
As such, it is up to each emissary to be a part of the community in any of the following ways: create regular content about Bless, provide any and all feedback to improve the game and community, host community events, or manage the Bless wiki with the latest information. Please keep in mind that joining the emissary program requires that you agree to an NDA.
If you would like to join, please follow this link and chose the option that applies to you.
Bless Online Steam Page
Need to put Bless Online on your wishlist? Check out Bless Online’s Steam page right here and be sure to click that follow button too. All trailers and gameplay images are available there, as well as most updates to Bless Online, Early Access information, and some information on the gameplay you can look forward to. The Early Access version will be released May 30th, 2018 and the 28th for Founders.
Bless Online News
The latest news from the developers of Bless Online will be right here as it comes. The most recent update included details about the Founder’s Packs, premium membership, and Early Access details.
Bless Online Founder’s Packs
Neowiz have announced that the Founder’s packs will include in-game rewards like exclusive skins, the premium membership (for a limited time), Lumena, and more. All packs will include the base game.
Founder’s packs will be available for purchase May 28, 2018.
For any additional purchases, Founders will receive a “31-33% discount from what the price would be if all the components were purchased individually.” The developers have also decided to reduce the price of the top tier Founder Pack from $199 to $149.
A few images of the weapon and armor skins available in the Founder’s Packs have been revealed, you can see them posted above. Once again, all of these skins are merely cosmetic and will not benefit the player’s gameplay in any way (this includes the Twinkling Wing Effect). Furthermore, they cannot be traded or dismantled for profit.
Bless Online Premium Membership
Neowiz would like to assure Bless fans that the Premium Membership is in no way a subscription-based service. The membership is not a pay-to-win feature, but it will give some quality of life advantages for those that purchase it. None of these advantages directly enhance levels, skills, characters, or items, though they certainly help (by about 20%). In order to be perfectly candid, Neowiz has provided a list of what the Premium Membership will provide:
- Premium mount skin (Black Wind Caligo)
- Premium pet skin (Enchanting Loroshi)
- Reduces NPC equipment repair fee by 30%
- Reduces Wyvern usage fee by 50 %: Players can travel to any area within Bless by paying the Wyvern manager (located in each village/city) gold for Wyvern transportation.
- Pickaxe: This premium pickaxe used for Gathering provides unlimited usage within the designated time period, whereas the regular pickaxe has a limited number of uses.
- Gathering Bag: This premium bag used for Gathering provides unlimited usage within the designated time period, whereas the regular gathering bag has a limited number of uses.
- Acquires 20% more hunting experience points: Increased amount of experience points earned through hunting monsters.
- Acquires 20% more Dungeon points: Increased amount of dungeon points earned through playing dungeons.
- Adds 20% hunting gold bonus: Increased amount of gold earned through hunting monsters.
- Allows 5 more items to be registered in the market: Increased amount of items registerable on the market.
- Reduces market tax by 10%: Reduced market tax rate.
- Increases daily activity point exchange amount by 20%: The amount of exchanges allowed per day within the in-game system, Exchange Office, is increased.
The Exchange Office is where players can exchange dungeon and combat points for the in-game currency called Lumena. This can be done whether the player has the membership or not, but the membership will provide more opportunities per day to do so.
Bless Online Early Access Details
All seven races and five classes will be included in the Early Access version of Bless Online. The max level players can reach is 45. There are nine dungeons to be featured, called Guiscardo’s Hideout, Underground Prison of Balmont, Mausoleum of the Wise Ones, Sleeping Scale Remains, Urutus Mine normal/elite, Kobold Hideout in the Patala Ruins, Migra Turris normal/elite.
In addition to the factions the player can join, there are also guilds. Joining one of these will fetch the player better items at better prices, including a flying mount. A faction, on the other hand, will give you combat points each time you battle with the opposing faction in PvP. These points can be turned into the aforementioned Exchange Office to buy special items.
That said, if you are not interested in battling with other factions, you can purchase the Peace Declaration with gold (this only lasts 10 minutes) and once you hit the max level, you can get the Peace Pledge item with Lumena.
There will be no additional costs for DLC or any updates to the game, even after Early Access. That said, Neowiz is planning for updates every 3 months or so. The first update coming to Bless Online Early Access will include the assassin class and after that, more classes, max level increases, new battlefield content, and more.
Bless Online Combat Classes
Guardian
The Guardian class is your sword and shield warrior, with classic moves like slash, shield bash, and intimidate. There is more to the class, however, as Neowiz has their own take on how a Guardian should function; every time you achieve a combo, you will gain bravery.
Bravery works a bit like mana does for a mage and once the meter is full, the guardian can use the “Enhance” effect. “Enhance” is a working title for the effect, but it is essentially a buff to all of your stats. There’s a trick to it, however, as the player must successfully use the Enhance effect or “debuffs” will be applied.
Berserker
As the name suggests, the Berserker class is for those players that prefer a brutal fight. Neowiz has revealed two of the main abilities associated with this class, Blood Leech and Bleed.
When Blood Leech is activated, the player will gain health for any damage they inflict (the more damage, the more health you’ll get) and reduce any damage the player might receive. Bleed is the opposite and uses a portion of your health to inflict more damage on enemies.
The Berserker is not just a one-track class either, players will be able to choose between three specializations: Deadly, Defensive, and Balanced. The intention behind these specializations is to give players more options depending on their play style. Defensive, for example, will allow Berserkers to become sub-tankers.
Ranger
As with most Ranger classes, the Bless Online version sports focus (the longer you draw your bow, the more powerful the strike) and arrow rain. However, like Guardians have a Bravery meter, Rangers have a Prudence meter.
Gaining Prudence is about stance switches and minimizing movement, the less you move, the more damage you will deal. Rangers can be completely invisible until they attack, making it easier to approach the enemies’ back and find a good vantage point. Neowiz is still working on balancing this class, the Prudence abilities, and how Prudence will affect combat.
Paladin
Get those combos down and your Paladin could be the most the powerful warrior on the field. The Paladin class includes special skills like a performance buff, the more combos you get in, the more of a buff you’ll have.
You can hone these skills into being either a healer or “damage dealer.” That said, combos are a little harder to achieve with the Paladin and it is important that the player chooses the right buff to win the battle.
Paladins are all about strategy and powerful attacks. Needless to say, Paladins are especially useful in a party, as they have both a ranged healing spell and one that can be directed at themselves and one other player.
Mage
Last but not least, we have the Mage. All Mages can have power over fire, ice, and air. With each of these elements comes a particular set of skills, which can give buffs with combos, stances, and consuming materials.
In battle, Mages will have to choose their element carefully as each enemy is weak to certain type. As seen in the video above, the air element can be used to blast enemies away if they get too close, fire is an AOE spell, ice has both AOE and a blast to freeze distant enemies.
Bless Online Factions
Heiron
To avoid confusion, let’s clear up what Heiron actually refers to. Bless is the continent both Heiron and the Union factions live on. The Herion faction controls the northern half of Bless, including the Holy Empire.
The Holy Empire is a section of Heiron controlled land that is led by the Habicht (the word for humans who are a part of the Heiron faction). The Habicht are at the forefront of the Heiron faction, working hard to expand the empire and bring stability to the lands around them.
This faction is not necessarily the “good” side by any means, but they do have a tenacious focus on order through proper governance. Headed by humans, Heiron includes two other official races, the Sylvan Elf, and Lupus. It is not clear if choosing your race will have an impact on which faction you choose, or if these races are simply the world-official ones.
Union
As the Heiron control the northern half of Bless, so the Union has a hold on the southern half. The Union faction is headed by the Amistad (humans who are a part of the Union) and their kingdom is called the Lumen Empire.
The Lumen Empire was once prosperous, much like the current Holy Empire, but it fell to ruin after a “magical catastrophe.” The resulting broken city-states were rescued by the Heiron Holy Empire, benefiting from the Heiron’s governance and stability. Now, however, the Union wishes to take back what was once theirs.
The Amistad Federation formed in order to begin this take back, this “war of independence” if you will. As their successes increased, more and more city-states united under the same banner – eventually forming the Union Alliance.
The official Union races include the Amistad, Aqua Elves, and Pantera (the panthers to Lupus’ wolves). Though the Mascu (the wandering merchants of Bless) are considered to be the more neutral race, they can be found on either side of the war.
Bless Online Monsters
Neowiz has revealed a few of their monster designs for Bless Online. There are 660 unique monsters that will be available come Early Access May 30th and you can tame all of them. In the full version, there will be some monsters that you cannot tame. These will likely be monsters important to the main plot of the game or final bosses.
Each set of monsters dwell in specific regions of Bless. For example, if you want to find a cougar, you will have to go to Northern wooded area. Not all of the monsters live up to their name, ranging from cute and cuddly to “wild and fierce.” Some are even on the ridiculous side, though none are nearly as ridiculous as the ones in No Man’s Sky.
Regardless of what they look like, it is in the player’s best interest to tame all they come across. Don’t worry about losing any of the monsters you tame, you can have more than one pets and mounts at the same time. In fact, each tamed monster can be leveled up and provide exciting effects like stamina recovery increase, speed, and experience.
The more monsters you tame, the easier it will be to tame elite monsters. Elite monsters will give you a “special companion,” though Neowiz does not mention exactly which special abilities an elite monster would provide.
Bless Online Gameplay
The gameplay of Bless Online boasts a world-class character creation system, with everything from punk fashion to traditional fantasy RPG looks – you can make the character you’ve always envisioned.
It’s not all about looking cool either, Bless Online has a vast world for players to explore and get lost in. The creatures you can encounter are many and varied, as you might have noticed in the above combat videos.
The design of each monster is lovingly crafted, making each fight feel extremely satisfactory and fun. In addition, almost every monster you encounter can be tamed to be your mount or pet.
If the world isn’t enough, there are also plenty of dungeons for players to crawl through. Neowiz promises that each of these will be challenging and very rewarding to any who dare to enter. That is to say nothing of the “massive multiplayer” part – players can start with a simple duel between opposing faction members, but it can build to an all-out 100v100 war.
Bless Online Microtransactions
First of all, Bless Online is a game that must be bought with real money, it is not free-to-play. Second, after you’ve bought the game there will be no monthly fees or charges for DLC and updates. The developers have not decided on the final price yet for the full game, or if it will differ from the Early Access price (currently priced at $29.99 USD). Once they do, it will be posted on this page.
Thirdly, there will be microtransactions but they will be entirely cosmetic, such as skins, mounts, pets, and consumables. There are no experience point bundles or leveling up fees here, Bless Online is not going to be a pay-to-win model.
There are, of course, in-game rewards and packs you can purchase if you’d like to contribute to Bless Online’s development. Purchasing the Founder’s Pack will grant you advanced access to the Early Access version of the game by two days.
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