Blade & Soul - Wraith Hunter (Gon Outfit) Mod

This week, we are back for some Gon love again with the Wraith Hunter outfit. The original request from about a month ago is for the Beast Hunter outfit but since the Wraith Hunter is coincidentally the token outfit for the current NA (Weaponsmith's Forge and Raid Crusade) event, I decided to mod both outfits which are in the same package.

While the Wraith Hunter is an event outfit that can be bought using tokens, the Beast Hunter is a random drop from the last boss in the Lair of Yutay solo dungeon on Songshu Isle, located in the Viridian Coast map. The solo dungeon used to pose a challenge for low level players back in the early days of the game, since only one player can enter and gears at that time is mediocre at best. But with game progression, even low level players can easily conquer this dungeon nowadays. However, with the level 50 character creation ticket and new players breezing through only the main story quests, not many players actually fancy facing off this boss anymore.

Songshu Isle is also the first map where players come face to face with hybrid foes like the Yutays and Potdogs. The Potdogs are two legged, dog-like hybrid creatures that wear well... clay pots on their heads. Cute as they may be, these enemies are cunning and deploy 'cute' distraction tactics to take players down. For example, half way through a fight, they may attempt to give the player a 'present' before running away. And the 'present' turns out to be a tickling bomb. 😑 Or randomly pointing to the sky, saying "what's that?" to distract players. Or even downright playing innocence when they realize that they are loosing the fight.  😂

Compared to the Potdogs, Yutays look more fearsome and well... ugly. If you can image a piranha fish walking on two legs coming after you with swords, axes and yelling "Cut them into fillets!".  😨 The Yutays are made up of various species like the piranha, stingray and humanoid fishman. They are allied mostly with the Blackram pirates since they are like neighbors. In the Lair of Yutay, the player can expect to see all three variance.

Well, that's enough fun facts about the game and now let's get back to the outfit. 😆

The basic design looks exactly what the name suggests, hunter-like; rugged and simple, with an ammunition belt, which holds heavy shells, hanging around the waist. The outfits are slightly different for each race. Both Gon and Yun sports a tight fitting suit as the base of the outfit while Jin wears looser clothing with baggy pants. The Gon version is more 'open' as usual with a full view of the cleavage. 😆 We can compare the outfit across the three races below.

Jin                                     Gon                                 Yun

Let us now take a closer look at the Gon Warith Hunter below.

Front View - Original Outfit

Front Close-up View - Original Outfit

In the two images above, we can see the tight fitting body suit below the loose top and accessories such as ammunition belt, red-black colored leg guards and what seem to be grenades.

Rear View - Original Outfit

Rear Close-up View - Original Outfit

The outfits also sports a pair of long boots and err... a letter box or perhaps a scroll container at the back, near the neck? 😑

Right Side View - Original Outfit

Left Side View - Original Outfit

As seen above, the outfit looks great and resembles a ninja outfit, except for the heavy assault ammunitions.

When I first saw the outfit following the request, my reaction was "Wow! what can I do for this?". Nothing can be done for the top torso because of the baggy sleeves and loose top. And the bottom is just a tight fitting suit that I can simply turn into skin layer. But having a hunter run around in true commando style or panties just feels weird. 😆

So, I took a cue from Tomb Raider and decides to turn the entire tight fitting suit into a simple hot pants. 😉  Let's take a look at the result below.

The screen shots are taken at the Tyrian Cult Stronghold where they cultivate a type of flower know as wraithbloom that can be formulated into a mind-bending drug. I initially wanted to capture the video at this location but the place is too foggy and dark so the mobs in Blackram East Fleet Supply Chain suffer my wrath instead. 😆😅  The screen shots below are enhanced to be brighter but is still foggy as you can see.

Front View - Modified Outfit

With the tight fitting areas repainted, the tummy region and both legs are now skin layer.

Front Close-up View - Modified Outfit

The only remaining portion of the tight fitting suit is the hot pants seen in the image above.

Rear View - Modified Outfit

Rear Close-up View - Modified Outfit

I added loose threads at the end of the hot pants to give it a 'modern days distressed jeans' look. 😆

The distressed look actually originated from the punk movement in 1970s, where punks wore clothing that they torn apart, to express their anger at society. In modern days, it has been adapted into a fashion trend. 😲

Side Close-up View - Modified Outfit

I kept all the accessories, including the scroll container, because I think they look unique.

The part of the mod with most issue is getting the tummy area right. Not in the coloring but the Normal. There is a sharp 'line' or rather angle running down the center of the tummy region, through the belly button, and it took a lot of tries to conceal it. Unfortunately, doing so causes the abs to look flat instead of how the abs look in those swimsuits.

What do you think of the hunter in hot pants? Check out the video to get a better look and see how the hunter levelled the Blackram East Fleet Supply Chain. 😆

Download Link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1R-7vD3n3v8JgN8PA-5mxtb0jpXdCLL5H

Blade & Soul - Kaari Suit (Jin Outfit) Mod

In the last few posts, I have been focusing on Yun mods, although with some inclusion of Jin and Gon mods in the Yun video. If you have watched the Strange Allure video (Yun/Gon) to the end, you will have catch a glimpse of the unfinish Jin version. Thus, I decided to finalize the half finish Jin Strange Allure and work on a new request for Kaari Suit this week.

If you find the name Kaari Suit unfamiliar, that is because it is named directly after the field boss that players can get the outfit from. Similar to the Deva Raiment, Wolfskin and Profane Shroud, players have to defeat the field boss, King Kaari to obtain tokens that they can then use to spin a Wheel of Fate.

King Kaari is a leviathan that lives in one of the lakes in Sapphire Basin within the Moonwater Plains map. The four-legged boss, who wields a hammer and casts lightning attacks, can be summoned by killing the turtles in the same lake.

The name "Kaari Suit" is actually quite suitable because it looks very much like a black diving suit (on female characters), with lime-green colored frames on the left arm and right leg. The outfit has different appearance for Jin, Gon and Yun as shown below.

Jin                                   Gon                                    Yun

For the Jin version, the full body diving suit is missing the right leg portion, and the zip ends just below the chest region, as compared to a regular diving suit that zips all the way up and covers the entire body. The suit also comes with a tail cloth that runs from the lower back to ankle level.

Let us take a closer look at the Jin Kaari Suit below.

Front View - Original Outfit

We can see the lime-green colored frames on the left arm and right lower leg. Several string accessories hang on the chest and abdomen level, connecting the front and rear torso.

Front Close-up View - Original Outfit

Rear View - Original Outfit

The tail cloth can be seen swaying to the right, in the image above.

Left View - Original Outfit

Left Close-up View - Original Outfit

The viewer requested to remove the tail cloth and recolor the left leg to skin. Unfortunately, the accessories hanging on the abdomen links to the lower butt cheek, and recoloring the left leg to skin will inevitably shows the 'kinky' piercing on the butt cheek if the strings and anchor points are left as they are. 😅

As such, I had to remove the string accessories at the abdomen level. The chest level accessories also had to be sacrificed because they shared some textures with the lower one. 

Kaari Suit also has two sisters called Pioneer and Conqueror, which are contained inside the same package. While the Conqueror is distinct from the other two and has its own set of textures, Pioneer shares the same Mask and Normal textures with Kaari Suit. As such, I had to also mod the Pioneer outfit so it will not look weird due to the shared textures that have been modified. 😰

Well, let us check out the modified Kaari Suit below. The screenshots are taken at the lake where King Kaari lives and those 'rocks' in the water are the turtles.

Front View - Modified Outfit

The left leg is now skin as seen in the top image. 😍

I left the straps intact because they looks nice.

Front Close-up View - Modified Outfit

All the string accessories have been removed.

Rear View - Modified Outfit

Rear Close-up View - Modified Outfit

The tail cloth and the anchor point that was at the lower butt cheek have been removed.

Side View - Modified Outfit

The modified Kaari Suit now covers only the torso portion, looking similar to a bathing suit.

Just for information, the bra can also be removed without exposing any holes. But I kept it because the outfit will look rather plain without it, now that all the accessories are gone. 😅 

You can take a better look at the outfit in the first portion of the video. The second portion includes the completed Strange Allure.

Download Link for Kaari Suit:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yaopZK2RRu6vAs-liWLc-1Ugl34DzxLQ

Blade & Soul - Strange Allure (Yun Outfit) Mod

One month ago, I mod-ded and blogged about the Gon Strange Allure as per a mod request. Since the viewer did not specify which race the mod is intended for, I chose to mod the Gon version to share the love among the Blade & Soul races. After the post, the viewer eventually reveals that he/she actually desires the Yun version. With several requests waiting in line, I had no choice but to delay the Yun Strange Allure so as to share the love to other viewers.

After completing the three requests in line, I finally manage to re-visit the Strange Allure this time round. While mod-ding the Yun version, I also decided to try the mod on the Jin version. To my surprise, this somehow solves the weird issue which had prevented me from coloring the torso portion properly. If you had read my Gon Strange Allure post, you will probably know that I had to add a netting layer on the tummy-side region, due to some unknown issue that kept me from applying the correct color to the area.

Noticing that the Yun and Jin versions can have the correct skin color, I went back to the Gon version to remove the netting layer, just for the sake of trying. And wow, it works too. After some trial and error, my guess is that the development team may have either linked a wrong Mask (M) file or did it on purpose. But if it is on purpose, then, the Yun and Gon version should not need their own M file, isn't it? 😕 Either way, it shows me that there is always something more to learn in mod-ding and this might have been the same issue with the Savannah outfit.

The Yun Strange Allure looks exactly the same as the Gon's and Jin's, but let's refresh our memories with a few screen shots below. By the way, I have made enough in-game gold (and exchange them for Hongmoon coins) to purchase the Strange Allure outfits from the Hongmoon store, so we can get to see some real action in the video instead of just posing. 😃

Front View - Original Outfit

Front Close-up View - Original Outfit

Rear Close-up View - Original Outfit

Left Close-up View - Original Outfit

As seen in the images above, the Yun and Gon version looks exactly alike. That is why the Mask file can be shared. Most of the material textures are in the same locations on the Diffuse file, with exception of the skin textures which varies, in size, depending on the race.

Initially when delving into the mod, I figure the issue with skin color might also exist in the Yun version but I still hope that I can get lucky and the problem will not exist. I also tried duplicating the mod on the Jin version after noticing how similar the Diffuse texture file for the Gon and Yun are. As expected, the Jin version looks almost identical too, except for the skin textures.

After finishing the Yun mod, I partially mod-ded the Jin version, re-packed and tested the mods. To my surprise, the skin color on the torso region, for both Jin and Yun, looks fine in game. The revelation came after I check the Gon mod (with the netting layer), and found that the color on the torso has now changed to what I initially desire. Excited by this discovery, I went back to remove the netting layer on the Gon mod and wow! It works!

In my excitement about the discovery, I forgot about the partially mod-ded Jin version, so I ended up with a video of only the Gon and Yun mod. But you can still catch a glimpse of the partial Jin mod, with the dark stockings, at the end of the video. 😅

Well, let's check out the modified Yun Strange Allure below.

Front View - Modified Outfit

Front Close-up View - Modified Outfit

As seen in the two images above, the Yun mod looks a lot like the Gon mod, except for the missing netting layer on the torso.

Rear Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Although most of the textures are at same location and features like linings can be duplicated, the recoloring of skin still need to be done separately for each race because of the different skin tone.

Right Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Is it better without the netting layer?

Left Close-up View - Modified Outfit

So, which version do you prefer?

Since the Gon version can be mod-ded to what I initially intended and I finally have the outfit, I decided to add it in the video. Enjoy!

Download Link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=14DQpTElyPaTwaqQdudsvjMYhXUKyOnFi
(Note: the file contains Strange Allure mod for all three races. Both Gon and Yun needs Jin version to work properly)

Blade & Soul - Ethereal Phantom (Yun Outfit) Mod

In the last video, I have basically completed a full rotation of Gon, Jin and Yun mods with the Enchanting Temptress outfits, even though I only blogged about Yun's version. Well, I had blogged about the Jin Enchanting Seductress and Gon Temptress/Seductress previously, so focusing on the Yun Enchanting Temptress, for the most recent post, seems like a good balance. 😅

I managed to complete the three outfits at one go not because I have grown more arms or heads but because they are duplicates from the earlier outfits (Seductress, Temptress and Enchanting Seductress). But that still took more time and effort than I expected. 😫 

For this post, I thought I will go back to a single outfit but surprise, surprise... In the Ethereal Phantom package, there are actually four outfits. Two of which, we know are the lime and black colored versions of Ethereal Phantom, but I am not quite sure what the other two are. That is not a big deal since I can usually choose to mod only the outfit that I need. Unfortunately, These four outfits share the Mask (M), Specular (S) and Normal (N) files. 

If I mod only one set of the files (D, M, N and S), it can affect how the other three outfits look in game. In a bid to not mess up the other outfits, I ended up mod-ding all eleven files in the package.  😰

Blade & Soul players will know that the Ethereal Phantom outfit is one of the earliest outfits in game. Given as a reward for helping the Grave Watcher Master and Disciple duo fight their nemesis Nekuro the Necromancer and his army of Jiangshi. A little fun facts about Jiangshi can be found in my previous post for the Jin Profane Shroud.

The original outfit looks more oriental in design for the top, with a demon face mask hanging around the tummy region, and sports a pair of tights for the bottom. The bane of the outfit is probably the pair of trumpet sleeves with humongous opening. Let us take a look below.

Front View - Original Outfit

It is difficult to see the huge sleeve openings as they 'cut' into the torso and thigh but Blade & Soul player will know they are there.  😆

You can also watch them in action in the video, covering almost everything they land in front of. 😆

Rear View - Original Outfit

Does the piece of cloth at the back looks like a shield?

Side View - Original Outfit

While the tights on the black-colored version is plain black and has a smooth surface, the lime-colored version is littered with small flowery décor.

The very first item on my list is actually to remove those huge trumpet sleeves but unfortunately, the upper arms' structure does not exist. Removing those sleeves would definitely leave the disconnected forearm floating in the air. Even when I tried to shortened them, the disconnect will still be visible. Thus, I will have to live with those trumpet sleeves. 😧

Next on my list is the legs, which did not give much trouble, followed by trimming the cloth at the front and back.

Finally, I also tried to modify the center portion of the tummy area to skin. The result is not 100 percent satisfactory though. The area does not look convincing enough on my character but it seems to look better on slimmer characters. 😥

Well, let us look at the modified version below.

Front View - Modified Outfit

As seen above, the tummy and legs 😍 are now skin layer. I retain the original texture at the crotch region to be the panties but I think I was a little too greedy. 😅

Front Close-up View - Modified Outfit

Cloth at front has been trimmed but I guess the demon face in front is enough to ward off any wandering eyes.  😈

Rear Views - Modified Outfit

I also trimmed the pointed cloth at the back into a shorter rounded cloth. Any shorter and the disconnect between the torso and leg will become visible.

But when gliding, that disconnect is still pretty noticeable. 😥

Side View - Modified Outfit

So, that wraps up the mod. Check out the video to see both outfits and those 'all-covering' sleeves. 😆

Download Link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KAlIzjWJoasucJWnaYWY3f67lkF9tdHu