NARAKA: BLADEPOINT News

Naraka: Bladepoint review - sharpen up

In my experience, combat in Naraka: Bladepoint typically goes one of two ways.

In the first instance I take my time getting a read on my opponent's weapons and fighting style, only committing wholeheartedly to the engagement when I feel I have their number. Whenever they land a strike they go for the basic LMB combo, which culminates in a telegraphed 'focus' attack that's easy to counter - they've tried it a couple of times already so I'm confident I can tempt them into it if I hang around in the pocket. Sure enough, they get two quick slashes in and then light up blue, signalling the combo finisher is coming. I parry, punish, and then stun-lock them with my own combo. It's beautiful. Minutes of tentative give and take, capped with a brutal, calculated flurry.

In the second instance I hear a grappling hook reeling in before I'm sent flying. Rather than landing a few feet away and dusting myself off, I remain on my side, suspended in the air while a half-naked beefcake buffets me around like a seal cub in the jaws of a killer whale.

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Naraka: Bladepoint breaks 100k concurrent players on Steam

Naraka: Bladepoint is enjoying a fine start to life since launching last week. At the time of writing, the ninja battle royale game has hit 104,607 concurrent players on Steam, as per SteamDB.

Excitement for the game has been lingering like a shinobi in the shadows long before Naraka: Bladepoint released. In fact, more than 160,000 people were playing a free demo of the game during the Steam Next festival. Mind you, this is a premium release, so it bodes well for the game to see so many players flocking back, with the game immediately reaching Steam's top ten soon after it was released. Battle royale and ninjas, folks, it's a winner.

The game hasn't been without its teething issues. Some players have reported bumping into high-ping players, whereas others are teaming up to gain an advantage. If you're new, there's also a darn good chance your first few games will be against bots. That said, most of the game's subreddit is dominated by players getting inventive with the character creator - Handsome Squidward, Kratos, Barack Obama, the gang's all here, folks.

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Dev Q&A | EP.1 - New Heroes, Network Hubs, and High Ping Players

Q: Are there new heroes being released? How can I unlock them?

A: We’re currently developing several new heroes, and we will be releasing the next hero in September. Players will be able to unlock new heroes in-game using Tae or Gold.
We’ve also extended the Yoto Hime special offer. New players will still automatically unlock Yoto Hime on purchase for the foreseeable future.

Q: You’ve mentioned network hubs for players in South America and Oceania. When will they be available for players?

A: We are currently testing the new network hubs in South America and Oceania. Some South American and Oceania players are likely to be playing across those new hubs, and seeing a great improvement on network connections.

We want to reiterate that, with enough South American or Oceania players in the queue, the game server will be hosted on local network hubs in São Paulo and Sydney.

Q: There are some high ping players in my games, who are annoying to play against. Can you fix this?

A: We have optimised net code to ensure players with high ping don’t disrupt the normal flow of NARAKA’s combat. We understand it’s frustrating to play against players with high ping — so we will continue to evaluate this — it’s among our highest priorities to solve this issue.

NARAKA: BLADEPOINT is a fast-paced game, and players with a bad connection or high ping can affect the gameplay dynamics for players with low ping or a good connection. We are working very hard to ensure any such imbalances are resolved; with NARAKA players enjoying the optimum combat experience, moving forward.

Thank you to all the Forerunners and new players of NARAKA — we hope you continue to enjoy your time on Morus Island!

THE TACTICAL USE OF BOTS TO WELCOME NEW PLAYERS TO MORUS ISLAND

Dear Forerunners,

Since NARAKA: BLADEPOINT launched, we’ve been thrilled (somewhat ecstatic, actually) to see so many new players arrive on the Island of Morus, full of anticipation; looking to experience everything the game has to offer. However, we’ve seen some confusion around the use of bots, so we thought it best to publicly address the topic.

To be clear, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT does deploy AI-controlled opponents. We believe they are a useful tool for welcoming new players to the core gameplay of NARAKA: BLADEPOINT, without other, more experienced, players eliminating them early on. This way, people learning the ropes can be eased into NARAKA’s ultra-competitive environment — ideally, avoiding a frustrating first impression.

Bots, however, will not be a constant presence in the game. As players continue to play the game — and their skills increase — bots will be replaced with other players at a similar skill level. By the time someone is familiar with the game and all its features, they’ll find themselves pitted against other players at a similar point of progression. The ultimate aim for NARAKA: BLADEPOINT is to provide a truly competitive matchmaking experience.

Players can also utilise ‘Free Training Mode’ — sparring against a variety of different level bots. All Weapons, souljades, etc. are also available for players in this training environment. Players can conveniently pick up every weapon and souljade combination to try out different builds hassle-free.

Here at 24 Entertainment, we’re constantly monitoring player experience — including the effect bots have on combat. We continue to work on improving bot behaviour, to provide better gameplay for players at all skill levels. NARAKA also has many complicated map interactions and movement systems, which poses a great challenge for the development of bots. With the help of cutting-edge technology like Deep Learning, we will continue to work on creating the best bot AI possible to ease newcomers into Morus Island. There is a lot of work ahead to reach this goal but it’s an important component for us to address to ensure everyone has an enjoyable experience.

Thank you,

24 Entertainment.

Naraka: Bladepoint tips: how to counter, get more kills, and live longer

Naraka: Bladepoint has been out for about a week, and already there are some expert sword swingers who are unpicking the combat animations frame-by-frame to find tiny advantages. That's useful stuff, but in this guide, we're focusing on the basic advice we've picked up over the course of a few solo and trio wins in the martial arts 'n magic battle royale game: how the tricky melee combat works, and how to win...
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