Blade & Soul - Blood Raid (Jin Outfit) Mod

At about the same time when a viewer requested for a mod on the Ravenfall outfit, another requested for the Jin Blood Raid outfit. So for this week's mod, we will be looking at this outfit. The Blood Raid, unlike the Ravenfall, is from an in-game event during the patch that introduced the new Gunslinger class. It was also recently placed on sale on the online Hongmoon store, complete with its accessories which include a blindfold and backpack.

The Gunslinger class really gets a lot of love seeing how there are several outfits designed specifically for them. Such as the cowboy look-alike outfit - Dead Reckoning, the Blood Raid/Midnight Raid, Loose Cannon (Soha's outfit) and True Shot (Leerok's outfit). 😵  So, which outfit did you choose for your Gunslinger?  😆

Well, I made a mod for Soha's Loose Cannon outfit that can be seen in this video. But in this post, we'll be looking at the Blood Raid outfit, so let's first check out the original version below.

Front View - Original Outfit

As the name has hinted, the outfit is blood red in color. Well, the torso and arm portion at least.

The main design is a long sleeve jacket with a matching skirt, over a pair of black tight pants.

Front Close-up View - Original Outfit

One prominent feature of this outfit is the large number of straps that can be found on the two sleeves and on the torso portion of the jacket.

Rear View - Original Outfit

We can also see a lot of straps on the back of the jacket. 😲

Right Side View - Original Outfit

Left Side Close-up View - Original Outfit

On closer inspection, you will see that the torso portion is actually split into top and bottom half, with the top half ending at just below the chest area and visibly a layer over the tummy area.

If you move the camera around the character, you can see that the blood red color actually transitions to a black color and back. As I found out, this is due to the outfit itself being black in actual texture color but given a red glossy overlay (Specular reflection if you understand what that means 😅 ). What we are seeing is a black surface that reflects off red light, thus the transitioning (i.e. when the surface is not directly under light, it looks black; but when light shines on it, it reflects as red). 😲

Well, enough admiration of computer graphics advancement, let's get back to the mod.

As much as how I like the black pant, I prefer them as skin. So, the first thing I did was to recolor the black pants to skin layer.  😆 

Next, I tried to open up the cleavage area a little more. Unfortunately, I ran into some trouble there because the jacket layer, that runs over the cleavage region to the tummy, is a duplicate texture. That meaning the two duplicate layers extended out horizontally from the main jacket to form the two zipper layers. So, if I remove one of them, the other disappears too. That would reveal way more of the breasts that I had intended. And to make matter worse, there're holes just around the tummy region that those layers cover.  😧

In the end, I abandoned the idea and turn my attention to the tummy region. As it turns out, I managed to recolor the tummy, side and back of the bottom torso to skin color. The end result looks like straps being worn over naked skin.

Let's take a look at the mod version below.

Front View - Modified Outfit

Ah! My leggy legs.. 😍

Front Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Here, we can see that the cloth area around the tummy region has been recolored to skin. The two vertical straps that you see at the front torso are the duplicated layers that I have mentioned earlier. The vertical portion of the jacket above those two straps are also duplicated layers. 

The skirt is also given a little trim to compliment the legs.

Rear View - Modified Outfit

Rear Close-up View - Modified Outfit

We can also see the lower back in skin color with straps wrapped around.

Side View - Modified Outfit

Side Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Some eagled-eye viewers may have noticed that the zips on the front torso are gone! Well... I obviously forgot to put them back after I abandoned the initial idea to open up the cleavage area.  😓

That's the end of this post and hope you like the mod. Watch the video below for a better look.

Download Link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n3kNNXDWtLVAGlhSIMn-YZHc3SmO9HLM

Blade & Soul - Ravenfall (Gon Outfit) Mod

So, a viewer asked whether I can do a mod for the Ravenfall outfit last week and I am not very sure I can do it since I myself do not have the outfit, meaning I cannot look at the mod in details. Why I don't get the outfit? Well, if you have read the Yun Darkpath post and think it is difficult to get the outfit, think of the Ravenfall as ten fold harder... Unless you are really very rich with in-game gold AND has lady luck smiling upon your raid when you defeat the Raven King. 😧

The outfit can only be obtained from the final boss, Raven King, in Skybreak Spire. The chance of the outfit dropping is like ten percent or even lesser. And even if it does drop, be prepared to engage in a bid war with all the other eleven players in the same raid, as almost everyone would want to get their hands on this super rare outfit. Oh, I forgot to mention that each player can only enter the Skybreak Spire raid once per week. 😱  So, I guess you can imagine it may take months or even up to a year to get one.

Well, after dowsing out the flame of people getting eager to hunt for this outfit, 😅 let's take a look at the original version below. The images are captured from the in-game Showroom as I do not have the outfit. The showroom is a really cool in-game system which has links to all in-game outfits that your character can try out in an UI window. 😍

The images below are just the part of the Showroom that contains the character model. To the left of this part is a whole list of weapon, pet and outfits that you can view and try out.

Front View - Original Outfit

The Ravenfall similar to the Darkpath, are outfits from Skybreak Spire and thus related to the Raven King. As such, it features lots of black feathers as expected.

On top of the feathers, the Ravenfall also has a raven head  😱  sitting on the right shoulder and claw-like structure on the back.

Front Close-up View - Original Outfit

As we can view from above, the torso portion is mainly a shroud that runs from the neck down to the feet, leaving the sides exposed. This design can be seen in Profane Shroud and Balrok Raiment, though this is the longest in length so far.

It also sports a pair of black leather leg guards and two armor plates, that I think look like a pail cut in half  😅 , hanging on the hips.

Right Close-up View - Original Outfit

Wow! That side view! 😍  And not so wow... the pail-like armor plate. 😆

Left Close-up View - Original Outfit

Rear View - Original Outfit

On the back, we can see the claw-like structure on the top, extending into plenty of feathers.

Although the Ravenfall outfit looks as if it covers little of the body, it actually has plenty of details, especially strings that connects to different parts. And as I found out, removing one string can lead to removal of some others in another area. So I need to balance what to keep or remove.  😰

With such a sexy outfit, how can I make it even more so? This is made more difficult by the fact that underneath that shroud, the entire cleavage region down to the belly button is missing.  😱

This means that I cannot just simply cut the shroud short like in the case of the Balrok Raiment or make holes in the one in Profane Shroud.

Therefore, I decided to cut the shroud to its bare minimum, to cover the hole, and at the same time turn the piece of cloth into a chunk of feathers. 😅

I also removed some feathers from the back to reveal more of the back... well, I needed feathers to cover the chest, so they have to come from somewhere. 😂 

The two pail-like armor plates are also removed and along with them, some strings and accessories.

Let's look at the mod version below.

Front View - Modified Outfit

From the above image, we can see that the shroud is significantly shorter.

Front Close-up View 1 - Modified Outfit

On closer inspection, the shroud has been replaced by a chunk of feathers.

The two armor plates are also gone.

Front Close-up View 2 - Modified Outfit

Oh! The raven head got chopped off too cause it looks a little scary.

The panty bottom that you see now is something that I drew onto the skin layer because the front part of the original panty is just too tiny and the rear part is 'floating' too far above the skin layer to look normal.  😥

Rear Close-up View - Modified Outfit

As you can see the feathers on the left side have been plucked off. 😅

This reveals more of the back and exposes that weird 'floating' bottom which I have no choice but to remove and repaint. I think the panty bottom will be better with a G-string because the butt has a deep groove but I guess that's a little too skimpy.  😓  I might consider that if I kept the feathers.

Left Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Right Close-up View - Modified Outfit

The sides look almost the same other than the missing armor plates and some strings.

Well, that's for the mod. Unfortunately, there is no video for this mod because I don't have the outfit... 😞

Download Link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1x1YHKpiN8eECcyeuZfjvYuScjAuLvbSt

Blade & Soul - Twist of Fate (Yun Outfit) Mod

In the last three weeks, I have mod-ded the Balrok Raiment for Yun, Gon and Jin race. It is the first time I that I have gotten requests from viewers, one after another, for the same series of outfit. So I guess it is one of the more popular outfits. Well, I hope everyone is happy with the Balrok Raiment mods.  😅

Two weeks before, a viewer had also asked to look at the Yun version for "Twist of Fate" outfit. The outfit is given free after completion of the first part of main campaign quest, when players arrived at Jadestone Village. Players get to choose one from the two versions (white or grey color) of the outfit. The annoying part of the outfit as he puts it, is the extended half-robe that runs down the left leg. If we compare the outfits for the three races, we can understand the frustration.  😆

Gon                                  Jin                                    Yun

As seen above, the Jin gets cheeky and decides to run around without putting on a pair of pants or skirt, while the Gon gets a short blouse. But Yun gets a Cheongsam-like (see side note for Cheongsam) design except that the bottom part of the robe covers only the left leg. Although the design does adds elegancy which matches the characteristics of the Yun race, that part of the robe covers the entire left leg and has to follow the movement of the left leg very tightly. As such, it looks a little unnatural during movement.  😥

Let us take a look at the original outfit below.

Front View - Original Outfit

We can clearly see the source of frustration on the left leg. 😆

Front Close-up View - Original Outfit

Instead of a slit that reveals the outside of the left leg, as in a Cheongsam, the side is littered with black pin-like decorations.

Rear View - Original Outfit

Right Side View - Original Outfit

The bottom part of the robe does not cover the right leg at all, as compared to a Cheongsam.

Left Side View - Original Outfit

The first thing that I did for the mod, is to remove the source of frustration. Other than that, I also trimmed the cloth at the back and take off the pair of stockings.

Let's see the mod version below.

Front View - Modified Outfit

Ah! Annoying cloth gone! So are the stockings! 😄

Front Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Maybe no one will notice that the lower part of the leg, below the leg band, is glossier than the thighs?  😅

Rear View - Modified Outfit

Trimmed the cloth at the back to just sufficiently cover the panties. Errr... that is when we are looking at the butt from a level angle.  😅  

Rear Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Yup. Slightly bend forward and we have the panty view.  😓

Left Side View - Modified Outfit

Right Side View - Modified Outfit

Now we can have a nice view of both leggy legs.  😍

I kept the two pieces of long cloth at the back because I find them quite unique, something like a tailcoat.

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the difference in glossiness between the thighs and the lower part of the legs. That's because I put in too much gloss when I re-painted the stockings to skin color. The original stockings become a silky and transparent stockings.  😥

Well, I hope this mod has removed the annoyance on the original outfit.  😅

Don't forget to catch the short video below.

Download Link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nb6Uat1im98my0neh16XOjJf_ZckFd4-

Side Note:

Cheongsam (Qi Pao in Mandarin) is a traditional Chinese dress that was designed to be a full body, tight fitting robe with two long slits at the sides, that run down from the hip to the end of the robe. It was designed to highlight the legs and make them appear longer. These dresses are mostly made with silk cloth.

Silk cloth is shiny, smooth and very flexible in texture and was invented thousands of years ago in ancient China. It was believed that the wife of the first Emperor was the first one to cultivate silk from silk worms.   

The tailcoat design is like a typical coat but with the bottom front part cut away, leaving only the 'tails' at the back, around the knee level. The 'tail' may be split into two, like a swallow tail or a whole piece of cloth. The tailcoat design has a historic origin (1700s), in the western world, believed to be designed primarily for horse riding.

Probably because horse riding is a popular source of transport and coat is a popular type of clothing during that period. However, it is tedious to remove the coat and hang it somewhere while riding, thus the tailcoat design for easy mounting and dismounting from horse. The trend eventually leads to the tailcoat fashion that we see today at some formal and/or glamorous events.

Blade & Soul - Balrok Raiment (Jin Outfit) Mod

Wow! Another Balrok Raiment? Well, it seems like Balrok Raiment is a very well-liked outfits by players. After all they look quite nice and is free as long as player can put time and effort into farming it. On top of that, not many players have the time or energy to farm it, considering the blood bath involved. So, you probably won't run into another player who is wearing the same outfit... that often. 😅

Anyway, after I posted the Yun Balrok Raiment mod two weeks back, a viewer had asked for the Gon version on YouTube, followed by another viewer asking for the Jin version on Blogger. And as I explained in the Gon mod, I had just done the Jin Savannah prior to the Yun Balrok Raiment, so I went ahead with the Gon Balrok Raiment first. And to keep my promise for the Jin version, here we are, the Jin Balrok Raiment mod.

Have anyone actually notice the 'raw' version of Jin Balrok Raiment in one of the NCWest loading screen? The loading screens are all art pieces and might have been concept art for the game. Interestingly, you can see various in-game outfits worn by the characters in the loading screen. I can bet not many players notice them until I mention it now. I don't mean those loading screens with focus on characters but scenic ones where characters are just small part of the screen. That's because every time a loading screen appears, "It's break time!", just like how we treat TV advertisements. 😆

Some of the outfits that appear in the loading screen includes the Wolfskin, Lycan head adornment, Hongmoon uniform, Hongmoon Duster, Chime and of course not forgetting the main outfit today, the Jin Balrok Raiment. Don't believe me? Check the loading screen below.

Blade & Soul NA Server Loading Screen

See the walking character at the bottom? You can argue that it looks nothing like the outfit in game. But I did mention it is the 'raw' form. So check this image below where I have removed the bulky belt and purple half-skirt, and enlarged the character, from the image above, for comparison.

Comparison of character in loading screen and raw in-game outfit 

Do you agree they look the same now? That pair of white gloves, shoes, elbow guards and even the two pieces of metal at the back.  😆

With that out of the way, let's look at the original outfit below.

Front View - Original Outfit

Front Close-up View - Original Outfit

Rear View - Original Outfit

Side View - Original Outfit

Side Close-up View - Original Outfit

I know some people may prefer the 'raw' version from above but I find the outfit looks imbalance because of the bulky armor pieces and glove on the upper body, and almost naked on the bottom. So I kept the bulky belt just as I did for the Yun version.

As requested, I applied lace to the outfit where there was none and also removed some armor pieces to reveal more of the laced layer. Check the modified outfit below.

Front View - Modified Outfit

The original white cloth areas of the outfit are modified to laced layers. These include the bra area and both arms.

Front Close-up View - Modified Outfit

I also took off the armor pieces on the bra and the elbow guards. Why block the lace layers after I mod them, right?  😆😅

The two metal pieces at the abdomen area are also removed and the gloves slightly recolored to make them look metallic, so they can better match the other armor pieces. Unfortunately, I guess I didn't color them dark enough.

Rear View - Modified Outfit

The purple half-skirt is removed so I can see the leggy legs.  😅

Rear Close-up View - Modified Outfit

However, I can't remove the two metal pieces on the back due to the layer gap that exist between the laced and skin layer. They are there to hide that gap.  😥

Side View - Modified Outfit

Oh. I also found a shorter white half-skirt hiding beneath the purple half-skirt, which I shortened just enough to hide the bottom area.

Side Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Finally, I gave the sides a bit of translucent feel to better match the laced layers.

Watch the video below to have a better look at the mod. I tried to zoom in on the laced layer but the character becomes invisible if the camera zooms too close.  😧

Download link for mod:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1a83ZxG5JRbmWZ0hVZuzTx_x0YvQoVXkj