NARAKA: BLADEPOINT News

Naraka: Bladepoint launches, immediately reaches Steam's top ten

Naraka: Bladepoint proved to be a hit in its various betas and demos leading up to release, and it seems that people are still enjoying it even now that they have to pay money to get in. Naraka has just hit Steam, and it's already among the platform's most-played games, even beating out some perennial favourites.

Naraka reached a peak of 70,731 concurrent players on day one, as SteamDB shows, making it the tenth-biggest game on Steam for the day. (Or it was, until the Back 4 Blood beta pushed it to number 11.) That puts it right between a pair of free-to-play games, the venerable Warframe and the recently (re)released Bless Unleashed.

That doesn't match the nearly 200,000 concurrent players Naraka's demo reached a few months ago, but that was free and the game now costs $19.99 / £17.99 / €19.99. Early user reviews have raised some concerns that there's a bit too much emphasis on microtransactions for a paid game, but time will tell how much that dissuades prospective players.

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Heads up, your first Naraka: Bladepoint match will be a bot match

Some of the early Steam reviews for new battle royale game Naraka: Bladepoint complain that all of the other players are bots. It sounds like an exaggeration, but they're not wrong—assuming they've only played one match. Your first game of Naraka will definitely be against an army of AI muppets, and that's even if you queue up with a party of other humans. For whatever reason, Naraka doesn't communicate this to new players, some of whom reasonably assume that their first match is the typical experience in the game...
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The best Naraka Bladepoint characters and how to play them

Looking for a Naraka Bladepoint tier list? The sharp new battle royale game swung its way into the Steam charts during both of its open betas and is looking to do the same on its release day, thanks to a combination of precise, third-person melee combat and the ability to grapple and swing majestically across its intricate map.

If you're planning on jumping into the fray, you may be wondering which character to pick. There are currently seven confirmed Naraka Bladepoint characters available to choose from: Viper Ning, Temulch, Matari, Tarka Ji, Kurumi, Yoto Hime, and Tianhai. Onmyouji's Yoto Hime is a pre-order bonus character, and more new characters may be revealed after the game's release.

Across the two betas, it appears that players have determined which characters are currently the strongest, which are the best Naraka Bladepoint weapons they can use, and which could benefit from a balance change. In the meantime, here are the best Naraka Bladepoint characters, so you can decide who to start with in August.

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Naraka: Bladepoint map: All the named locations

Fancy your first look at the Naraka: Bladepoint map? Unlike the majority of battle royale games, Naraka: Bladepoint has you choose a starting grid slot to drop in on the map before your match begins. You’ll also be able to see where your opponents will be spawning, so you can decide to target specific enemy types first, or whomever’s closest...
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Meet the heroes of Naraka: Bladepoint

Besides mastering moves and deciding what weapons you prefer, choosing the right Naraka: Bladepoint hero is half the battle. Each character comes with a unique F Skill and Ultimate move which could turn a match around in your favour. There are six characters to choose from, but if you pre-order the game you'll also get access to a bonus hero: Yoto Hime...
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