Blade & Soul NEO: Full Leveling Guide with Important Tips
Getting Started: Prologue and Early Choices
When you first launch the game, you’ll be asked whether to start in Bamboo Coast or Heaven’s Reach.
Heaven’s Reach is the prologue, introducing you to the Hongmoon student storyline. If you’re new to Blade & Soul, it’s worth playing through for both the story and basic tutorials.
Bamboo Coast skips the prologue and begins the main leveling path directly.
Once you complete the prologue, you’ll arrive at Bamboo Coast regardless of your starting choice.
Before diving in, press Shift + F2 to enable Blade & Soul Mode (Action Combat). This makes combat smoother and more responsive compared to Classic Mode.
Core Leveling Path: Main Story Quests
Your main progression comes from the yellow quests in your tracker—the Main Story Quests (MSQ). These quests alone will carry you from level 1 all the way to 45.
Tips to speed this up:
NPCs often walk around, but you don’t need to wait for them—spam F to interact immediately.
Use the teleport button next to quest objectives. This instantly moves you to the next location or NPC, saving tons of travel time.
In dungeons, you don’t need to clear every mob. Sprint straight to the objective boss, kill it, and then hit Escape → Escape to exit instantly at the entrance.
Weapons and Early Gear
A unique feature in Blade & Soul is that weapons don’t have level requirements. This means:
If you’re wealthy or starting late, check the auction house for cheap high-level weapons.
For pre-registered players, a starter weapon is provided. Its strength will vary, but it’s meant to help early leveling.
The Battle Pass provides a level 45 Profane Jiangshi weapon in its first tier. If available, this makes early leveling trivial.
Exploring the World
If it’s your first time playing, consider walking instead of teleporting. The world has been beautifully upgraded with Unreal Engine 4, and exploring at your own pace unlocks entries in the Exploration Journal, which grant permanent stat boosts.
Side Content: Purple and Blue Quests
Purple Quests – These are tutorials that teach mechanics. They’re quick, often overlap with MSQ objectives, and reward Valor Stones. Complete them whenever possible to work toward 20 Valor Stones, which unlock your first green skill.
Blue Quests – These are optional side quests. Skip most unless they reward Valor Stones or silver. Some can be done later when you’re stronger to save time.
Class Quests – Always accept “Way of the [Class]” quests. They teach your class mechanics and reward skill points.
Training Quests: Hardon’s Combat Training
Early in the story, you’ll encounter Hardon’s training quests, which are class-specific combat tutorials. These quests:
Reward six skill pages (one per quest), granting six early skill points.
Can be skipped instantly by telling Hardon, “It’s too hard.”
Provide a 5% bonus combat EXP headpiece and a complete Hongmoon card set after completion.
You’ll need medals from the MSQ to unlock each training stage, so alternate between story progression and training.
Skill Points and Upgrades
Every level grants skill points, which you can allocate via K (Skill Menu). Early on, dump points into your main damage skills to make mob clearing faster.
Story quests also provide gray-tier skill books. These upgrade skills to stronger versions—sometimes boosting damage, other times reducing Focus costs. For example, upgrading a Blade Master’s right-click reduces Focus cost from three to two, nearly doubling sustained DPS.
Once you collect 20 Valor Stones, visit the merchant in Yara’s Mirage (Cinderlands) to purchase your first green-tier skill book. These upgrades are game-changing and should be prioritized. Don’t worry about using them on early accessories—you can remove and transfer them later.
Crafting and Professions
When you reach Jadestone Village, you can join a crafting guild. Crafting isn’t mandatory, but starting early lets you queue long crafting timers in the background. You’ll need silver from side quests to get started, so weigh whether it’s worth the investment for your playstyle.
Factions and Group Play
At Act 18, you’ll be asked to join either the Crimson Legion or the Cerulean Order. The choice doesn’t affect your story—just pick the same faction as your friends so you can do faction dailies together.
Leveling is always faster in a party:
Collectibles count for the entire group when one member interacts.
Mobs die quicker when you split and tag spawns.
If areas are overcrowded, switch to a less populated channel (top-right of your UI).
Consumables and Potions
As you level, you’ll collect various tiers of healing potions. Instead of hoarding weak ones, convert them at a general merchant into higher-tier versions. This keeps your inventory clean and ensures your heals scale properly as enemies get stronger.
Breaking Points and Dungeons
At certain MSQ chapters, you’ll be given a choice: clear a dungeon or kill mobs in the open world. For efficiency, pick the mob-killing option unless you’re already geared or running with friends. With unlimited sprint in NEO, skipping mobs in dungeons is much easier than in the original game, but avoid getting hit—being in combat slows you down.
Level Cap and Future Updates
Currently, NA players may start with content capped at level 36 (covering Chapters 1–2). Chapter 3, raising the cap to level 45, will be released later. The true endgame cap is 55, but that content is reserved for future updates.
Clans and Social Systems
Many players will ask: How do I create a clan?
Speak to a Faction Overseer in town.
Pay 10 gold to establish a clan.
Gold is scarce early, so completing side quests and farming silver is essential before attempting this.
Final Thoughts
The Main Story Quest is the backbone of your leveling journey, carrying you almost effortlessly to 45. Supplets for early skill points, and smart use of teleport shortcuts. Having enough Blade and Soul NEO Classic Divine Gems can help you level up smoothment this with purple tutorial quests for Valor Stones, Hardon’s training quesly.
Leveling is much smoother in Blade & Soul NEO than it was in the original, thanks to unlimited sprint, streamlined dungeons, and faster skill progression. Play at your pace, party with friends for efficiency, and enjoy the gorgeous updated visuals while you climb toward the cap.