Blade & Soul: Neo Classic brings an exhilarating blend of martial arts and fantasy into a free-to-play MMORPG. The game is centered on fluid, action-packed combat that rewards precision and timing, while each of the seven playable classes brings a unique playstyle and party utility to the table. Today, we'll be ranking the classes based on their overall impact in both solo and group play, giving you a detailed breakdown of what each class does to help you decide which one to play when the game launches.
1. Assassin: The Ultimate DPS Class
At the top of the tier list is the Assassin, easily the best damage dealer in the game. Assassins thrive in stealth mechanics and stealth-based DPS playstyles, making them a nightmare for enemies and a godsend for party play.
Key Strengths:
• Stealth Gameplay: Assassins excel at stealth, allowing them to deal massive damage without drawing aggro. This makes them a valuable asset in dungeons, particularly when bosses are a challenge. As long as you remain in stealth, the boss won't aggro on you, letting you deal uninterrupted damage.
• Blue Buff: The Assassin's Blue Buff provides a significant party-wide buff to critical damage. Every dungeon team will desire an Assassin for this utility, especially during long boss fights where critical hits can turn the tide. The Assassin's ability to rotate Blue Buff with another Assassin means it's always available for your team, keeping your damage output at peak performance.
• Party Utility: Assassins can teleport their entire party past mobs, avoiding unnecessary trash pulls, saving time, and speeding up runs. This mechanic is often referred to as the "taxi service" because the Assassin can stealth past enemies and then bring your whole party to the boss without having to clear all the trash mobs.
While the Assassin is an excellent choice for any group, they shine the most in high-end content where their pure damage output and utility are essential. Their ability to cheese difficult bosses by exploiting their stealth mechanics, like the Mushion Tower Jadoo, makes them one of the most powerful classes in the game.
2. Summoner: Party Support and Versatility
The Summoner class brings a different dynamic to the table, combining high utility with solid DPS. While not as pure in its offensive output as the Assassin, the Summoner is incredibly useful in any party scenario.
Key Strengths:
• Familiar Cat: The Summoner comes with a unique mechanic—a familiar cat that fights alongside them. This cat can act independently, providing additional support by taunting enemies or even resurrecting fallen teammates. This ability makes the Summoner a fantastic asset in raids or dungeons, where survivability is crucial.
• Party Stealth: Much like the Assassin, the Summoner has access to a party-wide stealth ability that can be used to avoid incoming damage or tricky boss mechanics.
• Teamwide Healing: The Summoner is the only class in the game with teamwide healing, making them incredibly valuable for smoothing out party runs. Their ability to heal and keep the team alive allows them to be a key component in any group content.
While the Summoner's DPS potential may fall off in higher-level content, their utility remains incredibly strong, and they are an excellent choice for players who enjoy a supportive role in combat.
3. Blade Dancer: A Balanced DPS with High Survivability
The Blade Dancer class brings a lot of survivability and a relatively easy-to-learn DPS playstyle, making them a strong choice for both new and experienced players.
Key Strengths:
• High Survivability: Blade Dancers are known for their survivability, thanks to their impressive iFrames (invincibility frames), which allow them to avoid damage during combat. This makes them very resilient in fights where dodging is key to survival.
• Grab Utility: Blade Dancers possess a grab mechanic that lets them extend the DPS uptime of their team, allowing the group to dish out more damage while the boss is incapacitated.
• Hong Moon Block: One of the most important utilities in the game, Hong Moon Block provides a shield that can resist up to three hits in quick succession, effectively nullifying major boss attacks. This is crucial for many boss fights, and the skill's presence in a party cannot be overstated.
While the Blade Dancer is a great DPS choice, it shares its Hong Moon Block utility with the Blade Master, so you don't necessarily need two of them in the same party. This makes the Blade Dancer's role a bit more selfish in comparison to classes that bring more diverse utility to the table.
4. Blade Master: The Ultimate Tank
The Blade Master stands out as the premier tank class, excelling in controlling aggro and mitigating damage, making them one of the most critical roles in any party.
Key Strengths:
• Tank Role: Blade Masters are the go-to choice for tanking in dungeons. They are designed to hold aggro, keep enemies in place, and absorb incoming damage, freeing up the rest of the team to focus on DPS.
• Stance Management: One of the complexities of playing Blade Masters comes from their need to manage two stances—Normal Stance and Draw Stance. Switching between these stances requires careful timing and coordination to maintain optimal DPS while ensuring that the boss stays focused on you.
• Hong Moon Block: Much like the Blade Dancer, the Blade Master has access to Hong Moon Block, which is essential for bypassing many of the boss's deadliest mechanics. Since Blade Masters are typically the tanks, they get priority when it comes to casting Hong Moon Block, ensuring it's used at the optimal times during fights.
Blade Masters are more complex to play than other tanks, and their success heavily depends on understanding the boss mechanics and managing the two stances. However, when played correctly, they are the best tank in the game, offering both strong damage mitigation and a solid DPS output.
5. Kung Fu Master: The Offensive Tank
The Kung Fu Master is the most complex class to play, offering a unique blend of tanking and offensive output. As a more aggressive tank, they combine damage and survivability with tricky mechanics.
Key Strengths:
• Offensive Tank: Unlike Blade Masters, Kung Fu Masters excel at dealing damage while also taking the brunt of the boss's attacks. Their playstyle revolves around building and maintaining the Searing Pal buff, which boosts their damage and allows them to dish out more consistent damage during fights.
• Blue Buff: Like the Assassin, the Kung Fu Master provides Blue Buff to the party, which makes them highly desirable in dungeon and raid groups. This buff increases critical damage and is key to keeping the party's DPS high.
• Complex Rotation: Kung Fu Masters are difficult to master due to their reliance on animation canceling and managing buffs while maintaining tanking duties. They offer a high skill ceiling but are extremely rewarding when played correctly.
If you enjoy high-skill gameplay and want to tank while also providing solid DPS, the Kung Fu Master is a great choice. However, they are one of the more challenging classes to learn, so be prepared for a steep learning curve.
6. Force Master: Range with Support Utility
The Force Master brings a more straightforward, ranged DPS playstyle, combined with a useful support utility for the party.
Key Strengths:
• Range DPS: Force Masters are ranged, meaning they can avoid many boss mechanics by staying at a distance while maintaining their DPS. Their gameplay revolves around simple, spammy abilities, making them easy to pick up for new players.
• Ice Block: Similar to Hong Moon Block, Ice Block provides a party-wide damage mitigation shield that can prevent incoming attacks for a few seconds. While not as strong as the Blade Dancer's or Blade Master's block, it serves as a great supplementary tool in larger groups.
• Simplicity: Force Masters are one of the easier classes to play due to their straightforward rotation and ranged mechanics. While they don't have the same level of DPS as melee classes, their survivability and utility make them a solid choice for beginners.
Force Masters are often overshadowed by classes with more impactful utility, but they offer a solid DPS role with enough party utility to make them a useful class in group content.
7. Destroyer: The Simple Melee DPS
Lastly, we have the Destroyer, a class that offers simple gameplay with a focus on melee DPS. While their damage output is respectable, they lack the versatility and utility of the other classes.
Key Strengths:
• Simplicity: The Destroyer is the easiest class to pick up, offering a basic combo system and straightforward melee damage. However, they lack a significant amount of party utility, making them less desirable in high-end group content.
• Spin to Win: The Destroyer has an ability called Spin to Win, which lets them group up enemies and deal AoE damage. This is useful for clearing trash mobs but doesn't add much in terms of boss encounters.
Destroyers are often regarded as a "bot class" because their gameplay is so simple, and they don't offer much utility beyond basic damage. As a result, they are less popular in high-tier group play, though they can still serve as a solid option for solo content or casual players.
Conclusion
Choosing the right class in Blade & Soul: Neo Classic depends on your preferred playstyle. If you enjoy pure DPS and utility, the Assassin and Summoner are top-tier choices. For players who prefer tanking or controlling aggro, the Blade Master and Kung Fu Master offer strong options, while the Force Master and Blade Dancer cater to those who want a balance of DPS and support. Lastly, the Destroyer provides a simple but effective DPS option for those who prefer a more laid-back experience.
Each class offers a unique experience, buy Blade and Soul NEO Classic Divine Gems from MMOexp.com now, build your class, and understanding their strengths and weaknesses will ensure you get the most out of your time in Blade & Soul: Neo Classic.
MMOexp BnS NEO Classic Team