Lineage 2 Revolution will be released on November 15, 2017, in Europe and North America. We have already had the opportunity to test the complex mobile MMORPG in advance. Read here whether Lineage 2 Revolution is truly worthy of being called an MMORPG on iOS and Android, or if it is just a soulless grinder with an auto-play feature.
What is so great about Lineage 2 Revolution (L2R)? Netmarble’s complex free-to-play mobile MMORPG in the Lineage universe is extremely successful in South Korea, Japan, and other Asian countries. The EU release is finally planned for November 15.
We at Mein MMO had the chance to be the only magazine in Germany to test Lineage 2 Revolution before the EU server launch. For this, we were invited to the servers in Singapore.
I, Jürgen, was able to play Lineage 2 Revolution beforehand and initially had my problems with the auto-play. Can we still call Lineage 2 Revolution a “game” when it essentially plays itself?
Automatic Gameplay – Blessing or Curse?
As soon as my freshly created human warrior lands on the “Talking Islands,” the starting region of L2R, it all begins! I am bombarded with quests and information. First, I am supposed to go to an NPC, next I am already embroiled in battle with wolves and bears.
I notice that I don’t really have to do anything except accept the quests and click through the dialogues. Because the game does everything else by itself! My warrior runs off on his own and slaughters the relevant quest creatures without any input from me.
It almost seems like he can’t wait for me to read through all the quests and information. He just wants to grind!
My Hero Does What He Wants!
He does this excellently! Because even if I wanted to, I can’t stop my warrior! Even if I manually take control and press the touch-screen directional pad or skill buttons, the warrior soon breaks free again and continues to grind. And he does so until he has defeated all the required opponents.
Then he dutifully runs back to the quest giver, and I get to click through the texts again. My warrior is already eagerly begging me for a new grind. Meanwhile, I sit inactively in front of the display, feeling a bit like the poor sorcerer’s apprentice from Goethe’s poem.
The apprentice also could not control the “spirits he summoned” in the end. Nevertheless, I do my “hero” the favor and activate the next quest, and off the character goes to massacre again.
How I Learned to Love Auto-Play
After completing a few more quests, I finally found out how to turn off the auto-grinder. You just have to click briefly on the active quest, and the grinding machine stops. Cool, finally able to play myself!
But after completing a few quests, I notice that the standard creatures are really no challenge. Despite the successful touch-screen control, it eventually gets annoying to beat them manually. Therefore, I eventually turn the auto-grind back on and watch contentedly as my little warrior continues to hack away.
Meanwhile, I make myself a coffee, and when I return to the smartphone, my eager little warrior has proudly completed the quest! Well done! In gratitude, I treat him to a new set of equipment.
The Perfect Mix of Comfort and Challenge
“Hey Jürgen, how can you call yourself a gamer if you don’t even want to play yourself?” I already hear some of you saying. And yes, it is indeed somewhat strange that in Lineage 2 Revolution, especially at the beginning, you can almost set all fights to autopilot.
But on the other hand: “Who really enjoys grinding mindless enemies for hours?” It is no coincidence that farm bots are very popular in many grind-heavy MMOs.
Lineage 2 Revolution is just consistent in that it makes the game easier for you by automating and simplifying necessary but not particularly exciting gameplay segments. And don’t worry, starting from level 20, the fights do become more challenging, and it doesn’t hurt to take matters into your own hands.
The Best Loot for the Best Skill!
You can still comfortably beat the standard trash in auto-farm mode, but when it comes to special bosses, elite dungeons, or speed runs for extra loot, an active and skilled player always has an advantage when he takes the wheel himself.
Especially against bosses, you have to actively dodge the special attacks. Otherwise, you will take too much damage, might get knocked down, or use up more healing potions. Fortunately, the enemies’ special attacks are displayed with a telegraph, so you can dodge in time.
And then it is crucial to time your 5 active skills wisely. Especially the two best special abilities with their long cooldowns should not be wasted on small adds or recently shielded enemies.
However, those who mindlessly grind the end bosses in auto-grind miss out on potential, and since many fights are time-critical, lazy players pass up valuable loot.
Bountiful Content and Gameplay Features
Lineage 2 Revolution constantly offers something to do. Boredom is practically nonexistent.
Especially the starting area, where beginners spend quite a few hours casually, offers something new all the time. Almost with every level-up and every completed story quest, you are introduced to new gameplay features.
This keeps the flood of new content somewhat manageable, and you are gradually introduced to all the game’s functions. And there are incredibly many! Anyone expecting mindless grinding without depth from mobile MMOs will be taught a lesson. Lineage 2 Revolution offers, among other things:
- a highly complex item system that allows you to upgrade your equipment, fuse it into new quality levels, equip it with buff gemstones, and give it special properties.
- daily repeatable dungeons for solo players, groups, and guilds
- plenty of quests and story
- daily and weekly quests for extra loot and experience
- a complex skill system with active and passive abilities that you can upgrade and develop.
- world bosses on every map for groups
- a tower instance where you face increasingly stronger waves of monsters
- PvP in the arena and mass PvP with the guild for control of castles
Grind Can Be Shortened – Invest Your Time in More Exciting Things
You get an extreme amount of content to grind every day. If the grind is too tedious for you, you can have already completed content done automatically. A press of a button is enough, and you immediately receive the reward that corresponds to your best run so far.
This is particularly worthwhile for the tower and daily dungeons, because who wants to slog through the same dungeon again when they have already achieved their personal best time? This way, you can focus better on the currently exciting aspects of L2R and don’t have to grind through annoying busywork every day.
Reward Overkill!
Through the many activities in the game, you receive rewards all the time. You log into the game? Reward! You are online for an hour! More rewards! You greet your guildmates! Extra reward! You use the daily “auto-clear” feature in the tower and collect all the loot from the levels you have completed? Mass rewards!
In addition, there are rewards for achievements, titles, researched monsters, and completed quests! Even the real-money shop gives you a few packages of goodies every day! Each of these goodies triggers a feeling of happiness in the player, and you eventually chase from reward to reward as if in a frenzy.
This is incredibly motivating, and you spend more and more time optimizing your character with better gear and upgrades to get even more loot and rewards.
Pay-to-Win Concerns?
The only thing that worries me a bit is the cash shop. You can buy cool equipment packages with the premium currency (diamonds) or get more runs and “auto-clears” for the dungeons. Those who pay get more. While diamonds are sometimes available in the game as well, paying definitely gives an advantage.
This situation smells a bit like pay-to-win, and in Korea, according to some Reddit users, it is quite common that you have to pay regularly to compete at the top in PvP.
It remains to be seen how this will develop here or whether one can also have long-term fun in the game without spending real money.
Now I Know Why Lineage 2 Revolution Is So Popular!
I must admit that I was far from enthusiastic when I was assigned the test of Lineage 2 Revolution. I have never had anything to do with Lineage and have never really played much on mobile except for Hearthstone. Therefore, I reluctantly installed L2R.
After the initial shock of the auto-grind and once I understood how the gameplay works, I was eventually unstoppable. Like in a frenzy, I clicked through features. There was always something new to do. Sometimes it was a new dungeon, and then again a new feature for my gear that I could further enhance.
Every improvement to my hero made him stronger, and I could tackle new challenges. Eventually, 3 power banks were exhausted (L2R consumes a lot of power!), and I still hadn’t completed everything there was to do.
If you are looking for a motivating and surprisingly profound MMO on your mobile, then you can confidently download and try out Lineage 2 Revolution starting November 15.
