Blade and Soul, which is basically virtual Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon turned up to eleven in free-to-play MMO form, turned a lot of American heads when it launched in January of this year. It’s pretty, it sounds great, and the combat is awesome. It’s hard not to insist that people at least give the game a try if they’re able. Now, Silverfrost Mountains, the game’s first expansion, is available to play, and the pot just gets that much sweeter for those looking for compelling, endgame content.
The three act formula of the game has served to separate the story over three different landmasses. The addition of this new environment adds what is essentially a fourth act, as well as a new, gold-gilded capital city, Zaiwei, and all the shops and dailies that come with a new hub. Silverfrost adds about 25% more to the game, which is quite an impressive amount.
The level cap has also been expanded to 50, and the hongmoon level (essentially Diablo’s paragon system) has risen to 10. New dungeons have been added, including new Heroic offerings in the form of The Awakened Necropolis, The Avalanche Den, and the Lair of the Frozen Fang. Eight new dungeons will be added (for free) in total.
NCSoft’s commitment to supporting this game with rapid, quality content is becoming Blade and Soul’s real defining trait. Rising Waters, a content update that added high level challenges for end game players in new locales, went live just a few weeks after the game launched. Unchained launched only weeks after that, adding more challenge locations and maps, as well as a whole new character class, the Warlock. Only weeks removed from that, Silverfrost Mountains launched last week on March 23. No MMO churns content out like that..
Granted, that game has been alive and well in Korea since 2012, so much of this content could just been lying in wait through the localization process. Still, even Guild Wars 2, which was well regarded for its quick content turnover, didn’t bust out brand new maps every three weeks.
Have you played the new expansion yet? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook. Also, take a look at our Blade and Soul Wiki, and keep your kung fu strong.