The release of Naraka: Bladepoint represents a bit of an evolution in the battle royale genre. The genre has been milked to a great extent, especially if the line of shooters under the same guise is to be considered. Naraka: Bladepoint is a subversion of the genre – taking elements from battle royale games and adding its own spin to it, thereby leading to different characters, environments, and gameplay.
Gone is the utilization of state-of-the-art weapons that can destroy entire cities, and is replaced by melee weapons and combat that rival some of the best action RPGs that can be played on modern consoles. The game also introduces a whole host of characters that are unique in their own right; they bring different weapons and abilities, and no two characters ever play the same way. For the uninitiated, here are the characters of Naraka: Bladepoint, from some of the hardest to access to the easiest to utilize.
7 Tarka Ji
Tarka Ji is a rather defensive character to start with. His abilities include Inner Fire and Blackout. With Inner Fire, an aura is created around the character that absorbs a single melee attack and allows Tarka Ji to produce a counterattack that inflicts damage through fire. The issue with this counterattacking possibility is that it is quite difficult to time it correctly.
His ultimate ability, Blackout, engulfs the character in flame and increases his agility, and jumping height. This is useful if the player is overwhelmed by enemies and wants to escape. Considering the Inner Fire ability’s technical approach, Tarka Ji isn’t the best welcome to newcomers.
6 Tianhai
Tianhai is another defense-based character that has The Divine Bell and Titan’s Call as his abilities. The Divine Bell allows the player to resist attacks and makes Tianhai invulnerable for a certain period. With Titan’s Call, Tianhai transforms into a large entity called Vajra that is extremely powerful, although relatively slow.
Despite this, Vajra can inflict serious damage to the opponents. However, Vajra can only be used in open play. If Tianhai is around buildings, then using Vajra can be quite a waste as he won’t be able to go inside the buildings to hurt the enemies. This makes Tianhai quite disadvantageous to the player in most environments.
5 Temulch
Temulch seems a rather balanced character at first, with his abilities being Zephyr Wisp and Zephyr Prison. The Zephyr Wisp can be quite difficult to use, as Temulch rises into the air and summons wisps to be fired as projectiles. The player has to aim these projectiles correctly, and cannot move from the air. This makes it easy for opponents to target him.
The Zephyr Prison is quite useful as it can summon a tornado that stuns the enemies and also protects the player from ranged attacks. While Temulch does have his uses in team play, solo players will find it difficult to fully utilize his abilities.
4 Kurumi
Kurumi’s abilities are very useful if the player is involved in the trios lobby. Her abilities are Binding Prayer and Sacred Circle and focus more on healing. Binding Prayer enables Kurumi to be linked to a teammate and heal them, while the other teammate defends both of them.
With Sacred Circle, Kurumi can completely regenerate the health of all her allies within the radius of a summoned circle. The one huge disadvantage with Kurumi is that while her base stats aren’t all that bad, players can get the most out of her only during team matches (in which she can prove to be essential).
3 Matari
Matari is a character that focuses more on stealth and can be quite useful when the environments have a lot of buildings. Her two abilities include Silent Flutter and Unseen Wings. With Silent Flutter, players can teleport up to a certain distance and escape to regenerate health. However, if the opponent has a grappling hook, they can catch up to her.
With Unseen Wings, Matari can turn invisible for twenty seconds and sneak up behind enemies to finish them off. Matari doesn’t have too many combat advantages when used in environments with less cover, as this could negate her abilities. Use this character if a stealthy approach is favored.
2 Yoto Hime
Yoto Hime is one of the more powerful characters in Naraka: Bladepoint. Her abilities are Spirit Slash and Ominous Blade. With Spirit Slash, she summons a demonic weapon and throws it at an enemy. The player can then teleport to the weapon and throw it at another enemy, chain linking the attacks.
The Ominous Blade is an ultimate ability and summons a large blade that Yoto Hime swings three times, and combines with a spirit blade that the players can teleport to. This makes her ultimate ability doubly dangerous and damaging. Yoto Hime is a great character for newcomers to try, as her attacks are powerful, and her base attacks are quite accessible.
1 Viper Ning
Surprisingly enough, the default character that is chosen when the player boots up the game is also the most accessible - Viper Nang. She has Yushan Enigma and Twilight Crimson as her abilities. With Yushan Enigma, Viper Ning uses telekinetic force to push back enemies and stagger them. This allows her to create space and take a breather when the fighting is too intense.
With Twilight Crimson, players can summon a large orb that tethers enemies to it and stuns them. This leaves them open to powerful melee attacks and finishers. This ability is useful in both solo and team play. With all these abilities, Viper Ning is not just the most accessible, but also one of the best characters in the entire game.
