Blade & Soul delivers an engaging story and vibrant world for players to explore. In the game, players must fight to avenge the death of their fallen master in a classic Wuxia storyline. Wuxia, which literally means "martial hero", is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. As players explore the world in Blade & Soul, they will see a fusion of Asian cultures that delivers stunning landscapes and vistas.

Blade & Soul defies typical MMO conventions, delivering action-based combat with ability combos and a flexible party role system that does not require dedicated healers. It gives players unprecedented movement abilities around the world as their characters leap over mountains and fly through the air.

Secret of the Stratus that will launch on April 12th and bring a host of new changes to the game including an overhauled skill system and three new PVE areas. Another new addition is Act 7 of the game’s story, which will challenge players to rescue their kidnapped apprentice.  

Blade & Soul is getting a huge new expansion, which also marks a shift in pace for the game. Moving forward, NCSOFT will offer larger and more ambitious expansions on a slightly slower release schedule. This means players will have more time to experience and master content without having to feel rushed by the next update.

The “Secret of the Stratus” expansion, launching on April 12, will bring a host of new changes to the game. One of the key things for players is the overhauled skill system. Remember agonizing over a complex tree of skills with a handful of fiddly skill points? NO LONGER. The skill trees have been completely replaced with a new system that still allows for the same degree of customization but with a simplified interface. Why? Because we want you to play Blade & Soul rather than spend hours lost to fretting over how to properly spec your character! It should be noted that the skills themselves have not changed, just the methods for selecting them. Players can quickly shift between builds as well!

The expansion also brings about the new Hongmoon Training room, a solo instance where you can practice skill combos and timing for boss attack patterns. Need to work on your skill rotation? The Hongmoon Training Room has you covered.

The “Secrets of the Stratus” expansion also brings Act 7 of the story and three new PVE areas to the game, suitable for most end-game players:

• Naryu Sanctum – The most difficult 6-member heroic dungeon to date, stuffed with incredible rewards including a new legendary bracelet
• Celestial Basin – A new open-world area for solo/casual players with new Mystic Badges
• Mushin’s Tower F16-20 – The deadly boss Yunsang awaits players looking to score the fastest kill on the new Mushin’s Tower leaderboards

One more important thing – Blade & Soul is getting a purchasable voucher that will let players instantly create a new level 50 character. So, if you’ve been itching to try out a new class or get back in to the game after a long absence, it’s the quickest way to try out a brand new high-level character!