Blade & Soul NEO

no server

TLDR: Recommended for the combat only. this is not a game for a long term investment. Play it, enjoy the combat and music, don't make any commitments. You'll be playing something else soon. I don't regret the money I spent on the battlepass bc I've had 2 months of fun so I've had my money's worth imho. Review: lvls 1-40 are great nostalgia. You CAN boost to 50, but take the time at least once to experience the game as written. Even though the newb areas are empty, you'll love the fully voiced story, epic music and action combat. lvl 40-54 are slower, the story isn't as good as the old school story but the visuals/environments are better. After lvl 54/55 you are dependent on others to advance bc the game is just running dungeons over and over. No guilds are recruiting low levels so you are at the mercy of the community. Having said that, there are people willing to carry you, you just have to join the party quickly before it fills up. 55 onward is just a daily checklist. You are running the same dungeon's daily, some you can solo now. Then, you're grinding mobs in the special instance called "Lunar Meadow" (also called MSP) but only allowed 30min daily unless you find/are given/purchase a time extender. There isn't any side progression or other activities in the game. The crafting is the typical kmmo passive crafting: give npc mats, wait 9hrs. No fishing/crafting/mounts/etc. You can collect the in-game outfits - there are plenty - but you can't dye them, only the premium outfits are dyeable. There's an "exploration journal" to fill but it is also dependent on running the same dungeons over and over. You could go to the pvp zone called Abandoned Beast Bog to grind. When you die you don't lose any gear just the points you earned in that zone. Example: you kill 30 monsters, you have 30 points, you go to turn in, you get killed, now you have 15 points. If you're lucky you're left alone to gain 100 points or more then you can turn in for money or upgrade mats, (if you don't get killed on the way to turn in). Thankfully its optional, you can ignore the whole zone, nothing in there you can't get elsewhere. As for pay to win. YES IT IS. The people who are lvl 77 and fully gold and purple on their character sheet absolutely paid. The battlepass alone gives you such a huge boost in terms of gear score (called supreme force). I bought one battle pass and went from 13000 to 14500. Technically you can sell the game gold on the auction house for divine gems (the premium currency) and then use that to buy the battlepass but good luck. Firstly, you have to be lvl 70 to get the "certificate" for gold to gems. Secondly, a 100 gold certificate (purchased at 110gold) is worth around 500 gems. The battle pass is 2000 gems. You would have to grind Lunar Meadow a lot to get 440 gold and remember its time gated. Having said all that I've made 1700 gems over these 2 months from in game auction house (lucky rare drops/ cosmetic drops) so its "possible" to get enough gems. I've only just turned lvl 62 after these 2 months of grinding so its impossible for me to sell gold for gems at my level. My biggest complaint is the time gated grinding. Let me turn off my brain and grind for hours if i want. edit to change the gold certificate requires lvl 70 now not lvl 60. and it requires 110 gold for 100 gold certificate that might sell for 400-500 gems. They made it harder as of May 27 2026.