If you have not read, Swordsman Online debuted at E3 this year. The game is developed by Perfect World China and will be published by its North America subsidiary, Perfect World Entertainment for the English version.
This title looks set to be one of the best martial arts MMORPG ever developed if everything goes well. It is slated for a 2011 release in China, while the North American version may have to wait till Q4 2011. Without further a due, let’s have a brief look at one of the 10 clans available at launch – the honorable Shaolin clan.
Amongst all the clans in the martial arts fraternity, Shaolin commands the most respect (monks, you get the drift). Even against the supposed unorthodox clans, Shaolin treats them neutrally and tries to give way as much as possible to avoid any major conflicts. hence, Shaolin monks are treated cordially by both sides of the martial arts fraternity whenever they are away from the monastery.
The monks are all well-trained in internal energy and possess a variety of skills for any encounters. Shaolin is known for their 72 sets of skills, ranging from staff, fists, internal energy skills and more, and all these skills will be available to every player who chooses the clan. However, it will take sometime for players to master all, as even the head abbot of the Shaolin monastery only knows 12 sets!
Let’s talk abit about internal skills now, also known as Nei Gong. The most famous Shaolin internal skill is no doubt the Yijin Jing, immortalized in several martial arts movies and dramas over the years. Created by one of the most prominent monk in history, Bodhidharma, the skill is essentially a powerful buff players can use in the game.
It will greatly increase damage output for every attack and due to its might, only the most revered players from the Shaolin clan can learn this skill. It most probably means you have to attain a certain level of reputation before you can access the skill.
Let’s talk about the usage of staff now. Unless you have been living under the rock, you will know that staffs are the Shaolin monks’ main choice of weapon (if they really have to fight). Within the 72 sets of skills, there are more than 10 sets of skills attributed to the use of staffs. All these skills are definitely not similar, as some will focus more on defense and other on attacks or even disarm enemy players’ weapons.
You read right, disarm (the PvE folks like me will be worried lol). One of the more interesting set of staff skills will be the Drunken Eight Immortals (directly translated). This move will cause caster to be in a “drunken” state, but at the same time well aware of his surroundings. There will be feints to confuse the enemy player and strike when he doesn’t notice. Awesome eh?
And to end this small introduction, I hope you have heard of the Shaolin 18 Bronzemen Formation before. Yes, players will have to get pass this formation before they are allowed to explore the world of Swordman Online! Be prepared!
