Kael Will Devour His Enemies as NARAKA: BLADEPOINT Prepares a Huge New Season

A beast capable of swallowing heroes whole is only one part of what is coming next. Devourer , the new season of NARAKA: BLADEPOINT , begins on October 8 PT , bringing a sweeping combat update, deeper underwater mechanics, a new ranged weapon, major expansions for several side modes and an extens

A beast capable of swallowing heroes whole is only one part of what is coming next. Devourer, the new season of NARAKA: BLADEPOINT, begins on October 8 PT, bringing a sweeping combat update, deeper underwater mechanics, a new ranged weapon, major expansions for several side modes and an extensive collaboration with Chinese animated series The Legend of Qin. Its headline newcomer, Kael, will then enter the roster during the middle of the season with an ability set literally built around consuming enemies and growing stronger.

Before any of that begins, 24 Entertainment and NetEase are celebrating NARAKA’s competitive success at the 2026 Asian Games with Golden Triumph Week. Every player who logs in during the promotion can receive 2,000 limited-time Gold, while continued play unlocks nine free cosmetics, including an Extreme Outfit for Viper Ning. Three Seasonal Choice Chests are also scheduled for October 1.

It creates an unusually generous bridge into Devourer, but the new season itself appears considerably more ambitious than another character-and-Battle-Pass reset. Holoroth’s underwater combat is being reworked, the Harpoon will eventually introduce a weapon designed specifically around aquatic encounters, Longsword users are gaining a new defensive option, Homologous Weapon switching is becoming more sophisticated and several of the game’s secondary modes are receiving significant content expansions.

And then there is Kael.

His Ultimate does exactly what the season’s title suggests.

He devours people.

Kael Is Not Launching With the Season—He Arrives Midway Through It

The Devourer preview places Kael at the center of the season’s marketing, but there is an important distinction for players planning around October 8: Kael is currently scheduled as a mid-season Hero rather than a launch-day addition.

That gives 24 Entertainment time to establish the new combat environment before introducing one of its more unusual Hero designs.

Kael shares a lineage with Wuchen and Tessa, connecting him to an existing part of NARAKA’s character lore rather than presenting him as an isolated newcomer. His gameplay is themed around two concepts: devouring and growth.

His normal Skill summons the head of a beast and sends it charging forward. The creature can absorb resources, allowing the ability to become stronger as Kael feeds it.

That alone already gives his kit an interesting resource-management element. The player is not simply pressing a crowd-control ability whenever its cooldown becomes available; there appears to be value in preparing or empowering the creature before deciding when to commit it.

His Ultimate takes the concept considerably further.

His Ultimate Can Swallow Other Heroes

Kael’s Ultimate—whose Chinese title translates approximately as Devouring Heaven and Earth—has him ride the summoned beast and launch a succession of charges across the battlefield.

Targets caught in its path can be swallowed.

That apparently includes Heroes who are currently using transformation-based Ultimates.

The implication is significant because transformation Heroes often rely on their Ultimate state to create enormous pressure during team fights. Kael potentially introduces a new type of answer: rather than merely damaging the transformed opponent or attempting to disengage until the Ultimate expires, he can interfere with the character directly through his own devouring mechanic.

How that interaction is balanced will matter enormously. NARAKA’s team fights are already built around overlapping crowd control, transformation states, invulnerability windows, Focus mechanics and Ultimates capable of dramatically reshaping an engagement.

A Hero who can consume another character risks becoming oppressive if the mechanic is too easy to confirm.

The early description suggests positioning and timing will therefore be fundamental to Kael’s effectiveness.

A Black Hole Variant Makes Kael Even More Dangerous in Team Fights

Kael’s alternate ability paths appear to move even deeper into battlefield control.

One revealed variant can create a black hole that pulls enemies toward it, while also absorbing incoming projectiles. Once enough energy has been consumed, the stored power can be released through a strong follow-up attack.

That gives Kael several potential functions at once.

He can disrupt enemy positioning.

He can create an area opponents may need to respect.

He can interfere with ranged pressure.

And he can convert what he absorbs into offensive momentum.

It also reinforces the larger “devouring” concept instead of attaching an unrelated secondary mechanic to his kit. Kael does not only consume characters. The design philosophy appears to revolve around taking resources, attacks or bodies from the battlefield and transforming them into his own power.

That could make him especially dangerous in Trios, where pulling several enemies together can create immediate opportunities for coordinated Ultimates and area attacks.

Until 24 Entertainment publishes Kael’s final numerical values, cooldowns and complete ability descriptions, it is too early to judge his competitive impact. Conceptually, however, he already looks like one of the season’s strongest team-fight disruptors.

Devourer Is Doubling Down on Underwater Combat

The new Hero may dominate the promotional material, but some of the most important mechanical changes are happening underwater.

NARAKA: BLADEPOINT has been steadily developing submerged combat throughout 2026, particularly around Holoroth, and Devourer represents another major iteration rather than abandoning the system after its initial implementation.

Swimming speed while using certain Ultimates is being increased, reducing the feeling that activating a powerful state automatically makes navigating water cumbersome.

Characters with large transformed forms or unusual movement—including Shen Miao, Tianhai and Shayla—are also having their underwater descent behavior adjusted.

That matters because fighting vertically in water operates differently from ordinary NARAKA combat. On land, players instinctively understand height through platforms, walls and grappling routes. Underwater, opponents can exist almost anywhere above or below the player, making vertical approach speed much more important.

The new changes are intended to make descending onto an opponent more practical and improve transitions into attacks that grab or pressure enemies from above.

The Harpoon Will Be NARAKA’s Dedicated Underwater Ranged Weapon

The most substantial addition to aquatic combat will arrive during the middle of the season: the Harpoon.

24 Entertainment describes it as a new ranged weapon designed specifically with underwater combat in mind.

That fills an obvious gap in the current system.

NARAKA’s traditional weapon roster was created primarily around combat on solid ground. Moving those weapons underwater required adapting existing attacks to a radically different environment. A weapon developed after aquatic combat already exists can instead be designed around the unique movement and engagement distances of submerged fights from the beginning.

Full mechanical details have not yet been published, so its firing characteristics, ammunition behavior and effectiveness outside water remain unclear.

Its existence nevertheless signals that submerged combat is no temporary novelty.

Developing a dedicated weapon requires 24 Entertainment to consider underwater encounters as a lasting part of NARAKA’s sandbox—something worth supporting with its own equipment rather than merely tweaking old systems until they function acceptably below the surface.

Longsword Users Are Getting a New Way to Fight Back While Charging

Devourer is not leaving conventional melee combat untouched.

The Longsword receives a new response when its user is attacked during a charged move. If the player reacts with the correct timing, they will be able to launch a counterattack rather than simply losing momentum.

That sounds like a small addition, but NARAKA’s combat revolves around precisely these kinds of interactions.

Charging creates pressure because opponents have to interpret whether an attack will be released, cancelled or turned into another sequence. Being interrupted during that process is one of the natural risks.

Providing a timing-based defensive response inserts another decision into that exchange.

The attacker can no longer assume that successfully challenging the charge automatically ends the sequence.

The Longsword user, meanwhile, needs sufficient awareness and timing to capitalize on the new mechanic rather than receiving unconditional protection.

It continues NARAKA’s broader approach to weapon balance: strengthening options through additional interactions rather than relying exclusively on damage changes.

Homologous Weapon Switching Is Becoming Part of the Combo Game

The Homologous Weapon system is also being expanded.

This mechanic allows players to transition between weapons belonging to related categories, but Devourer introduces a new Souljade that makes those transitions considerably more aggressive.

The new Weapon Swap: Thousand Radiance Souljade allows switching during attacks or while charging, creating opportunities to weave a second weapon directly into a sequence rather than treating weapon changes as downtime between engagements.

It can also apply a Silence-style effect that restricts an opponent’s access to normal and Focus attacks for a period.

That immediately makes weapon switching more than a stylistic flourish.

Instead of changing equipment because another weapon happens to fit the next situation better, players may deliberately build offensive sequences around the swap itself.

NARAKA’s strongest combat systems tend to reward this kind of layered decision-making. Mechanical execution matters, but the most dangerous opponents are often those who understand exactly which defensive answer the other player expects and deliberately create a sequence that punishes it.

A Souljade that introduces another transition point expands those mind games.

The Legend of Qin Collaboration Starts With the New Season

Devourer also launches alongside a major collaboration with The Legend of Qin, the long-running Chinese animated martial-arts series also known as Qin’s Moon.

The crossover begins alongside the new season in Asian regions on October 9, corresponding with the October 8 PT seasonal launch.

Rather than limiting the collaboration to character outfits, NARAKA is incorporating material from the series directly into playable content.

One scenario is inspired by Blood Battle at Qin Camp, challenging players to escape enemy territory while using a special limited-time Souljade based on the technique Hundred-Step Flying Sword.

The crossover will also incorporate content connected to five martial artists and three famous swords from the original series.

That is a significantly more elaborate approach than simply placing recognizable costumes in the Store.

NARAKA’s martial-arts combat gives it a natural compatibility with The Legend of Qin, allowing techniques and legendary weapons from the animated series to be translated into mechanics without feeling completely detached from the base game.

Hongmen Banquet Turns History Into a Game of Strategy and Betrayal

The collaboration expands again in late October with a new mode inspired by the Hongmen Banquet.

The historical banquet occupies an important place in Chinese history and literature, becoming synonymous with an apparently diplomatic gathering hiding lethal political intentions.

NARAKA’s interpretation leans into exactly that tension.

Players will enter a banquet where schemes, betrayals and individual decisions can influence the direction of events, creating something structurally different from the standard Battle Royale loop.

24 Entertainment has not yet revealed every mechanical rule behind the mode, so it remains unclear how much of the experience involves direct combat, social decision-making or branching objectives.

The premise nevertheless represents another example of the studio using limited-time content to stretch the game beyond straightforward elimination matches.

NARAKA has gradually accumulated duels, PvE systems, extraction-style Rift Traversal gameplay and experimental event formats around its original Battle Royale foundation.

Hongmen Banquet continues that diversification.

Martial Cutie Is About to Become Much Bigger

One of the game’s stranger diversions is also getting an enormous upgrade.

Martial Cutie originally turned NARAKA’s Heroes and pets into a lighter strategic side activity built around equipment, upgrades and pet battles. Players collect Paw Tally, improve their creatures and progress through dedicated stages rather than engaging with the standard melee Battle Royale structure.

On October 22, the mode receives its largest expansion yet.

The update adds 60 new pieces of equipment.

It introduces 80 additional stages.

A new Heng Sword joins its weapon pool.

A new pet called Mo Lin becomes available.

And matchmaking itself is being reworked.

The scale is substantial enough that the October 22 version resembles another major iteration of the mode rather than a handful of post-launch stages.

For players uninterested in Martial Cutie, none of that will replace NARAKA’s primary combat.

But its continued development demonstrates how comfortable 24 Entertainment has become supporting side experiences that would have seemed completely unrelated to NARAKA’s original identity several years ago.

Showdown Brings Back Suffer No Demon

PvE players have their own reasons to watch Devourer.

Suffer No Demon is returning to Showdown, adding another challenge to the game’s cooperative PvE ecosystem.

The current Showdown structure has already become considerably deeper through the Sandforge season, with new Souljades, Potentials, bosses and high-level challenge systems. The upcoming season continues that support rather than placing PvE development on hold while the competitive side receives Kael.

Later in Devourer, Takeda Nobutada will become playable within Showdown.

Bringing an existing PvP Hero into PvE is not simply a matter of copying the same Skill and Ultimate values. Showdown Heroes have increasingly been given mechanics and progression intended specifically for fighting monsters and bosses, allowing character fantasies to behave differently from their Survival counterparts.

Takeda therefore gives PvE players another full build to develop rather than merely another cosmetic character choice.

Rift Traversal Expands Its Weapon Pool Again

Rift Traversal is also continuing to grow.

During Devourer, the mode will add the Umbrella, Staff and Zhanmadao to its available weapon ecosystem.

Rift Traversal has become one of NARAKA’s most elaborate secondary experiences, combining extraction mechanics, loot, PvE threats, PvP tension and persistent progression through systems that operate very differently from Survival.

Throughout 2026, 24 Entertainment has expanded it with new maps, collectible systems, Relic mechanics, separate Solo structures and continuing adjustments to its risk-versus-reward economy.

Increasing the available weapon pool is therefore more meaningful than simply offering three additional animations.

Every weapon needs to fit within the mode’s loot hierarchy, item economy and build systems.

The result is a version of NARAKA where the same fundamental melee mechanics now support several very different genres.

Weekly Quests Are Becoming Less Restrictive

Devourer also introduces a quality-of-life change that may prove more valuable over a full season than another cosmetic reward.

24 Entertainment has already previewed a redesign of weekly quest progression.

Instead of requiring players to complete every specific weekly objective, individual quests will award Activity Points. Reaching the required amount of Activity Points unlocks the week’s rewards.

That means players can potentially ignore objectives they dislike without sacrificing the entire weekly reward package.

Completing weekly content will additionally contribute toward a Legend Jade, with four weeks of progress granting one.

The change addresses one of the most common problems with live-service challenge systems: activities intended to encourage variety can instead become compulsory chores when players have no alternative route toward the associated rewards.

An Activity Point model preserves the incentive to engage regularly while allowing more freedom over exactly how that engagement happens.

The Devourer Battle Pass Brings New Looks for Three Heroes

Naturally, a new season also means a new seasonal reward track.

The Devourer Battle Pass will contain themed Outfits for Shen Miao, Ziping Yin and Takeda Nobutada, alongside the usual broader collection of seasonal cosmetics and progression rewards.

Additional custom cosmetics created around the 2025 J Cup world champion are planned for October as well, continuing NARAKA’s increasingly close connection between its professional competitive scene and cosmetic ecosystem.

Those esports cosmetics arrive at an appropriate moment.

Devourer follows directly after NARAKA’s appearance at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where the title once again demonstrated how unusual its competitive identity has become. Few Battle Royale games ask players to master such a dense combination of melee spacing, parries, character abilities, mobility, weapon matchups and team-fight coordination.

The tournament also provides the reason players are receiving so much free currency before the new season begins.

Golden Triumph Week Gives Everyone 2,000 Limited-Time Gold

The celebration immediately preceding Devourer is unusually generous by NARAKA standards.

Following the conclusion of its Asian Games competition and China’s gold-medal victory, 24 Entertainment and NetEase launched Golden Triumph Week.

Simply logging in during the promotion grants 2,000 limited-time Gold.

That distinction matters. This is not necessarily equivalent to permanent purchased Gold that can be stockpiled indefinitely; players should check the in-game expiry conditions and eligible uses attached to the promotional currency.

Playing during the celebration can also unlock nine free limited cosmetics, with the headline reward being an Extreme Outfit for Viper Ning.

Extreme cosmetics sit at the upper end of NARAKA’s visual hierarchy and frequently include significantly more elaborate effects and presentation than ordinary skins, making a freely earnable Viper Ning Extreme particularly notable.

Then, on October 1, players are scheduled to receive three Seasonal Choice Chests, allowing them to select from past seasonal rewards.

The objective is fairly transparent: fill accounts with rewards immediately before another large seasonal reset and give returning players an incentive to reinstall before October 8.

Golden Triumph Week Is Also the End of the Current Season

Several ongoing events are already counting down toward Devourer.

The current September activities—including Dueling! 0924, Dueling Masters, Race to Gold, Treasure Chase, Cheer Supply Station and Eternal Glory—largely conclude around the October 8 transition.

Race to Gold allows players to earn Chosen One Gold Medals and exchange them for rewards such as Viper Ning’s Legendary Hairstyle, while Treasure Chase has its own progression system and optional Advanced Pass.

The recently added Mooncake Mania extends further into October, allowing players to collect Moonfruit Dust across Survival, Rift Traversal, Showdown and Casual Mode before combining ingredients in its unusual merge-style minigame.

This overlap means Devourer will not launch into an empty event calendar.

Instead, 24 Entertainment is deliberately allowing seasonal, celebratory and Mid-Autumn activities to intersect around the transition.

The Season Launches October 8 PT, but Many Regions Will See October 9

There is one date distinction worth clarifying.

24 Entertainment’s global promotional channels list Devourer as arriving October 8 PT.

Official Asian announcements instead describe the new season as beginning on October 9, reflecting the timezone difference rather than a separate regional delay.

For players in Europe, the exact maintenance and availability window should be confirmed through the final patch notes once 24 Entertainment publishes the full launch schedule.

The same principle applies to several later additions. Kael and the Harpoon are confirmed for the middle of the season, but their exact release dates have not yet been announced.

The preview is a roadmap for Devourer rather than the final patch-note document.

Devourer Looks Much Bigger Than Its New Hero

Kael is easy to market.

Watching a gigantic spectral creature swallow another Hero creates the kind of trailer moment people remember immediately.

But Devourer becomes more interesting once the individual systems around him are considered together.

Underwater combat is moving from an experimental addition toward a properly supported combat environment with dedicated balance changes and eventually its own ranged weapon.

Longsword and Homologous Weapon mechanics add new options to the core melee mind game.

The Legend of Qin crossover introduces both combat content and an unusual historical strategy mode.

Martial Cutie gains 80 stages and 60 equipment pieces.

Showdown receives returning challenges and another Hero.

Rift Traversal expands again.

Weekly progression becomes more flexible.

And a mid-season Hero arrives whose entire kit appears built around turning enemy resources into his own momentum.

That is a much broader seasonal update than simply resetting ranked progression and adding another Battle Pass.

Something Big Really Is Waiting on the Horizon

NARAKA: BLADEPOINT has spent years expanding beyond the simple description of “melee Battle Royale.”

The core remains unmistakable: grappling hooks, counters, Focus attacks, spectacular mobility and fights where a fraction of a second separates a perfect parry from an elimination.

But around that foundation now exists a remarkably wide collection of experiments—competitive duels, underwater combat, cooperative PvE, extraction gameplay, pet battles, historical events and increasingly elaborate crossover modes.

Devourer arrives October 8 PT, and its roadmap pushes virtually all of those directions forward simultaneously.

Before then, every player has 2,000 limited-time Gold waiting through Golden Triumph Week, nine free cosmetics to pursue and three Seasonal Choice Chests arriving on October 1.

Afterward, the battlefield starts changing.

And sometime in the middle of the season, Kael enters it.

If the new Hero catches you in the path of his beast, losing the fight may no longer be the worst part.

You may simply disappear inside it.