Revelation VS Bless Online: Which One is the Best F2P MMO of 2017

With Revelation Online entering Open Beta and the release of Bless Online being just around the corner, a question that keeps popping is which one is the best F2P title. This article will detail and rate (according to my personal opinion) the differences between the two, although I will say this outright, the real answer will depend mostly on what your idea of a good and fun MMO is.

>> Revelation Open Beta starts. Download for free here

So let's get into it:

Graphics & Character Creation

Nuanor, the world of Revelation Online is massive and beautiful with a lot to see and do. Rather early in the game, you get a temporary set of wings (permanent ones being obtainable at level 30) and can fly about just everywhere to appreciate the beauty of this universe. While I would personally praise the developers for creating such a gorgeous world with in-house developed engine, the game remains dated and it shows, especially when you get close enough to textures, or if you simply want to nitpick. The only complaint I have is that towns feels awfully clustered, and hiding other players only does so much to help with this. The fact that the maps are confusing makes it even harder to navigate. The character creation system in Revelation is pretty detailed allowing you to alter your avatar through various settings including height, hairstyles, body size, color schemes, scars, and so on. And with 6 different races to choose from, you should have no trouble creating the "anime" character of your dreams.

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While powered by a 6 years old Unreal 3 engine, Bless Online remains a visual masterpiece. The titles runs beautifully and could almost pass for a recently released game. The overall atmosphere is amazing and assists in the immersion from early on be it with the buildings, landscapes, character designs and even the armor and clothes. This all come with downsides, however, the rendering of textures and objects in a distance being somewhat limited or slow if you don't have a high end machine. As for the world design, it is simply perfect with a huge towns and ideally placed NPCs. Bless Online pushes the character creation and customization pretty far, taking full advantage of the game's avant garde's graphics. With 8 different races and 8 classes, the possibilities are numerous. With dozens, if not a hundred, of different options, realistic characters and even the ability to apply make-up as you would in real life, Bless Online can easily boast having one of the best character creation systems of MMOs available in 2017.

Result:

Another win for Bless Online, though it should be largely attributed to its Graphic advantage. The fact that Revelation is optimized towards anime-style characters doesn't help.

Combat and Skills System

Revelation's combat and skills system is pretty traditional. The game features rather unique combat animations, and between your basic attacks, basic skills and eight legendary skills (you are limited to six at a time), you will have a pretty interesting moveset to work with. Revelation also has three combat modes for players to choose from, including Tab Targeting Mode, Click to Move mode and Action Mode (with the camera following your mouse movements). Regardless of the mode you pick, you will most likely find yourself using particular combos most of the time to maximize your damage output and build up "energy" for your legendary skills. One of the best points of Revelation Online is the fact that the classes all have specific roles. Indeed, the game has been advertised as marking the return of the holy trinity, and with reason. Dungeons and high end content are optimized towards parties having DPS players, a tank, and a healer. While it could be argued that a lot of other games feature this, it remains a fact that unlike these, in Revelation Online it is extremely hard, if not impossible, to complete certain content properly with a correct party set-up.

In Bless Online, the combat system will depend mostly on the class you pick. The Berserker, for example, uses an action system, using its massive weapon to cleave enemies that dare get too close. The Archer, on the other hand, uses a tab targeting system, allowing it to maintain a constant DPS while being in constant movement. Players are limited to 12 skills at a time, one of these being an auto attack skill. This allows for varied builds, something that is quite interesting considering that the game allows players to create and switch between various skillsets (PvE build, PvP build, mage killer build, etc.).

Result:

While both Revelation and Bless have great battle animations and unusual skills concepts, between its holy trinity and the system around the legendary skills, Revelation Online definitely has the most interesting combat system of the two.

Progression

Leveling up in Revelation Online is pretty simple. While you can reach the max level from following the main quests alone, there are various other options available to make the precess much easier. Trials for one, can be completed daily to level up 5-10 times according to the difficulty and your current level. Need some extra EXP but no time to spend on the game? Simply drop by the hot springs to earn experience by being afk alone or with friends. Simply access your Road to Greatness tab to access these, as well as various other ways to earn a good amount of EXP everyday, including guild quests, dungeons, and other quests/missions.

Progression in Bless Online is limited to two basic methods, grinding or completing quests. If grinding doesn't scare you, you can try out Monster Hunting tasks. While they are called "quests", these are simply missions to kill monsters over and over. Whenever you defeat the specified monsters, an additional mission shows up in your Monster-Hunting Quest-log. Kill the same monster a few times to receive EXP, Gold and Item Rewards. As for the basic quests themselves, they are limited to killing X number of monsters, collecting X number of items and delivering to X NPC, or running from point A to point B. And in case you were wondering, grinding Monster Hunting quests is the fastest way to level.

Result:

Revelation Online definitely went all out regarding giving players different options to level up. Even those with limited time to play should be able to reach the level cap over a few days.

PVP

PvP in Revelation online has exactly what you'd expect from a traditional MMOs. Open World PVP starts at level 40, at which point you will be able to challenge players of the same level or higher. One interesting addition is the fact that if you are attacked and don't fight back, the attacker will end up suffering penalties upon your death (losing durability or currency). Other options are the 1v1 Arena, Battlegrounds (10v10, 20v20, or 30v30), Guild Wars (50v50), and Sieges. Sieges will end up being the most interesting option, thanks to the possibility to take part in Aerial Combats and claim territories in the sky.

Likewise, Bless Online also possesses the basic PvP modes, with Open World PvP starting at level 30. No penalties here, since you can only attack players from the other faction, although, interestingly, you receive EXP for killing players. One odd thing I found is the fact that there is an item that protects you from PvP attackers for 10 minutes. The game also features GvG battles, castle sieges, and, the most interesting mode, 100v100 Battlegrounds that only happen twice a day.

Result: 

Only small differences between the two when it comes to the PvP aspect, and while Bless Online does have an interesting Open World system, Revelation Online's aerial sieges give it the edge.

Conclusion

The is no denying Bless Online is far ahead of Revelation Online in terms of Graphics and Character customization. Revelation didn't age too well and, despite its flight system, feels somewhat restrictive when compared to navigating in Bless Online. Nonetheless, Revelation Online is far more entertaining when considering the combat aspect and character progression. The fact that certain legendary skills require a certain amount of effort to unlock is also an interesting addition and an incentive to travel through the world. However, while Revelation Online wins this bout, it all depends on you. Do you prioritize gameplay or graphics? Are you in favor of traditional grinding or interesting new ways to earn EXP?

Leave your thoughts in the comments!