ZAM's Scott Hawkes sits down to chat with NEOWIZ Games' lead producer Jacob Han

Other major aspects of endgame are Realm vs. Realm battles. I asked where those fights would take place and what form they would take.

“There will be two separate kinds of RvR, one will be more casual, it’s not as devastating if you lose; it’s more fun based. There’s also a more hardcore, more detrimental if you lose RvR and this will take place on a separate part of the map. ”

Although the initial description of RvR would be familiar to fans of games like Guild Wars 2, there were some interesting additions to the formula. Firstly, the major form of RvR would have an effect on the world story, another example of NEOWIZ’s commitment to making story an integral part of Bless.

Secondly, the large scale RvR would have an effect on the casual side. The winners of the larger battle would gain more “Fame” or “Honor” points – the name for the PvP reward system is still a matter of debate – when engaged in the smaller conflicts.

Finally, I asked Jacob one of those oddball questions I ask in interviews just to get a confirmation that it would not happen. I asked if the stunning wyvern mounts seen in the trailers — which have their own attack abilities — would be present in RvR. I was amazed when Han said there would be flying mounts in large scale PvP.

While there won’t be dogfighting across Bless’ skies, you will be able to use flying mounts to attack ground troops. In one Bless trailer, a wyvern is seen plunging toward the ground leaving cool streaks of air turbulence in its wake, John Nam said that particular animation was actually an ability, specifically an AOE stun.

The potential that having flying mounts delivering actual air support across a large scale PvP battle is mind-boggling, and testament to the ambition of Bless’ dev team.

Han went onto state that mounts would vary in their abilities by species, with ground mounts such as a “horse would move very fast across the land, turtles would be fast in the water, camels would move slowly across the desert but can go far.” Elephants were also mentioned as a species that could be available as a mount.

My questions on aspects such as the type of progression in the game for characters, like skill trees, were explained to be too early in development for confirmation and I left the interview with at least a dozen more questions that will have to wait for another time — perhaps GDC 2013?

Still, even with so much still to be confirmed, there is plenty to whet the appetite for Bless. At first glance, the game is a pageant of amazing graphical design and execution, but the more we scratch beneath the surface, more intriguing ideas appear to bolster this feast for the eyes.

Scott "Jarimor" Hawkes, Editor in Chief