Online game "Blood and Soul"

Blood and Soul is a free-to-play massively fantasy role-playing game. It can be rightfully considered a veteran of the genre, because it was published back in 2011. But despite the considerable age, servers are still crowded: the heroes are running around the locations, completing tasks, the general chat dazzles with messages, the areas are boiling brisk trade. They say the graphics in the games - not the main thing. And the unrelenting interest of the public to Blood and Soul is more proof of this. What, then, attracts people to the fabulous world, invented by the developers from the Chinese company KongZhong?

The plot of Blood and Soul is devoted to the struggle of good against evil, and the prequel of the game tells about it. Once upon a time the world of Theos knew no wars and its inhabitants saw no reason to take up arms. But the leaders of nations had heard of battles raging beyond the visible universe, where celestials fought demons and wrought mighty destruction. So they decided to fortify their defenses - what if one of the warring parties wanted to pummel mere mortals? And so it happened: one day, ugly monsters crawled out of a rift in the ground, spreading disease and curses all around them. People were unwillingly drawn into a war with the infernal hordes, and would surely have lost if not for the help of beings who descended from heaven. They empowered the chosen heroes to fight any enemy, even the horned and fire-breathing ones.

In the role of such a fighter against evil and you have to get used to. But first we have to determine the class and adjust the appearance of the character. There are four professions to choose from, traditional for the genre, and both genders. It is not difficult to understand the role of each of them in the battle: warrior pushes forward, archer from a distance damages a single target, mage hits the square, and the bard in the group is a supporting hero. The system, in general, is simple, and it doesn't need another one - who wants to understand the nuances, studying tons of text?

It wouldn't hurt to be more sophisticated, so it is the appearance editor - there are not a lot of settings in it, and the public got used to hundreds of different sliders when creating their appearance. Character Editor, of course, gives away the age of the project. On the other hand, the classic approach is not always a bad thing. Because a rare game offers the same variety of entertainment, including missions and dungeons of all kinds, an extensive system of making and improving equipment, battles between users in the arena and just in the middle of locations, guild wars and servers. In general, presented the same set of "I want from the genre all and at once," which for some reason squeamish more fashionable developers.

The emphasis on friendships adds to the lamplight. Although you can fight anyone and anywhere here, except for a few peaceful locations and when your opponent is known to be weaker than you, special attention is paid to families. These can include up to 12 characters under the control of living gamers. Registration of these unions is engaged in an elder named Cyril: it is enough to approach him with one or more friends and select the desired item in the dialogue menu. That's it - a cell of society is ready. The family has its own tasks, rewards and resources that are available only to its members, as well as a common elf-protector, reinforcing parent, while they perform the quests. In the world of Theos there was a place for marriage between the heroes, for which those who wish to form a couple must complete the mission "Cupid's Arrow", and for a variety of systems of emotional expression. Agree, dancing with gestures makes communication more lively.

In addition Blood and Soul is one of the few games where you get gifts just for being on the server. As you travel around the map and run character errands, a timer is ticking in the corner of the screen. Once it resets, you can click on it and get a valuable item for free, like an experience scroll or a purse with gold.

You won't be surprised by pets - you can find them almost everywhere. But only here there is an advanced system for them. There are sledding animals (to quickly move around the map), collectors of loot from defeated enemies, as well as combat partners - and all these are different types of creatures that can be developed separately. Special attention deserve the third kind of helpers - elves, winged ladies with pointed ears and (depending on your luck) the third size breasts, they are available for virtual currency, as a reward for the quests or after taming in the Mystery location. You have to grow them from small flying dolls, change them, collect them, cross them with each other, feed them, pump them up - in general, use them as an extended version of Tamagotchi.

There are three types of elves - physical, magic, and class. Which one you get depends on your character. Warrior and archer have access to physical, mage and bard - to magic, and in addition everyone can get a winged helper according to his class. In other words, it is impossible to collect absolutely all the elves without changing the hero, which adds variety to the gameplay. In addition, two similar fairies in the expanses of Blood and Soul can't be found.

They don't help in the battle directly - they don't grind axes and slap monsters with their hands. Flying cutie is useful for something else: it can enhance some traits of its owner. For example, Gandikara increases attack power, health, and accuracy of the warrior or archer - depending on who wields it. And Adrisha, which belongs to the magic type, increases intelligence, marksmanship, and all types of damage. Only to get the most out of the lady with wings you still have to try hard: to raise her from level 1 to 100, feed her regularly with special food, put pet souls and enchanted stones into her development, you can even cross with an elf from another player - in short, bringing up a high-class companion requires some effort. But in the end you get a variant that perfectly suits your fighting style.

Now - about why you can't go far in the world of Theos without fairy helpers. Blood and Soul map is divided into locations, and each location has not only different tasks, but also different powerful monsters, not counting the heroes managed by the players, who sometimes do not mind to cross swords too. To cope with a weak demon can be without any help - just click on it with the mouse, and then alternate normal blows with special attacks that have a recharge in a few seconds. But the monsters in the dungeons and some creatures on the surface require to strengthen your character to the fullest and support your friends.

To meet the enemy fully armed, it is necessary, of course, to pump up the hero. It's simple: you complete a task or kill someone, get experience points, invest them in acquiring a new level and opening skills. Variety in the progression brings the Pantheon - a special tree of development, where in exchange for sanctity points the character receives divine enhancements.

As previously mentioned, in the story the deities helped ordinary mortals fight back against the forces of evil - in fact, this is the point of such enhancements. Upon reaching level 20, the hero becomes an adept of faith, and then earns points for completing missions and gets the ability to turn into an avatar of one of the deities. You can choose from a god of war, the god of the sun, the god of wisdom - a total of over 20, and each gives certain advantages in battle. You can speed up pumping for real money, although the patient person is unlikely to find pleasure in it. Unsurprisingly only those users who are not fed on bread - give to break into PvP, where the battle between the heroes under the control of real people.

It's no good with RPGs that don't have enough variety. Here and Blood and Soul is not limited to fighting and pumping. Those who wish are free to trade, fish, sunbathe on the beaches of Dream Island or master various peaceful professions of their choice. Some go into blacksmithing, others become masters of disassembling objects, others sew clothes. If you like farming and gardening, welcome to the Elven Village, where you can grow food for your winged helper. And, unlike store-bought food, you'll find the quality of your own produce to be superior. But you'll have to invest a lot of effort: first you have to plant a tree, then to collect its fruits and make food from them.

For a couple of heroes intending to get married, the Romain location opens - not only marriage ceremonies are held there, but also special tasks are performed. Male characters can work in the rose garden, and women go to the chocolate factory. Both eventually receive a special reward that is unavailable to single heroes. In addition, all of the inhabitants of Romain have an item exchange zone - something of value here can not only be earned, but also exchanged.

Blood and Soul is a living classic of the genre, incorporating all its attributes, from clan wars and dungeon raids to the creation of equipment items and unique helpers. Decorating the game is a system of elf satellites, available along with the usual pets. Taking care of them and selecting for the sake of getting the perfect companion turns into a separate adventure in itself. The novice monster fighter may be discouraged except for the not too modern graphics with angular object models and a simple character editor. Otherwise, there is no reason to be bored, especially if you have fun with your friends.

Zarium, October 2020