Kung Fu Master

The Kung Fu Master (aka KFM) is a close-quarter combat class that relies upon quick reflexes (and good latency) to fight with near-invincibility while delivering respectful, oftentimes surprising damage. Armed with nothing more than gauntlets and their own bodies, KFMs are renown as the most difficult class to play in Blade and Soul, due to the unforgiving nature of their timing-based attack conditions. On the defensive, KFMs can effortlessly dodge and counter nearly anything thrown their way, which effectively makes them an ideal tank class (if players chose to generate and hold threat). However, the higher level KFM players goes, gameplay revolves around using their attacks and dodges together in one fluid style, giving off the appearance of constantly fighting within the eye of a storm. The decision to main a KFM isn't one meant to be taken lightly; that being said, all other classes will feel easier by comparison, should you successfully master the art of kung fu.

In terms of PvP potential, KFMs are well considered to have a high skill cap and a correspondingly high combo attack capability. But with regard to PvE damage output, KFMs are generally considered to be above-average at best, even when played correctly. As such, new players are typically advised to play KFM for their gameplay style, for PvP, or to fulfill the role of a tank-DPSer, and not for raw power.

Races
This class has race limitations and can only be played with three races: the Gon, Jin, and the Yun.

Resource Mechanic
Kung-Fu Masters use Focus to call forth their abilities. A point is added to the Kung-Fu Master's Focus bar every time a basic combo or move is used. The larger, more complicated moves will require a certain amount of Focus points to perform and will consume the Focus points upon use.

Specializations
There are three class specializations available to the Kung Fu Master: Way of the Dragon Fist (a.k.a. Fire), Way of the Flying Kick (a.k.a. Wind) and Way of the Iron Claw (a.k.a. Wolf). Each spec allows access to certain skills, including a unique passive. These specs can be further customized using the Talent tree. Different builds excel in different areas; Wind has slightly stronger damage in extended PvE fights, Wolf has strong PvE burst damage and Fire excels at PvP.

Skills
Skills vary based on the specialization you select.

Skill points (previously Hongmoon Tomes) can be used to enhance the damage of certain skills. At level 60, is enhanced with the  passive. Note: All of the following is based on the untalented versions. For talented variants, see the Talents section below.

Talents
At level 55 HM 7, a quest becomes available which enables the Talent trees for each Awakened spec. This allows players to customize their skills, including unique bonuses and abilities. Talents are split into 5 sets of 3, and only 1 can be selected from each group. Setups are thus frequently referred to as a set of 5 numbers from 1-3 - 31111 is a popular Wind build, or 21111 for Fire.

Screenshots
The following screenshots were taken from the character creation screen at NA launch in 2016.