With Throne and Liberty, NCSoft is releasing a new and very interesting MMORPG that is set to launch worldwide in 2022. However, there have been few details about the general gameplay and classes so far. In an interview, initial information was shared.
What do we know about Throne and Liberty? The new MMORPG from NCSoft was originally planned as Lineage Eternal but was completely taken offline and revised in 2017. It is said to have already cost over 75 million euros in development.
The game features an open world where movement is expected to play an important role. Players can use grappling hooks, but can also transform into aquatic and flying creatures. The game world will be entirely open, and you will encounter massive world bosses and PvP sieges. Those have been the details so far.
However, new details about the game have now been revealed in an interview (via Thisgame).
No classes, many dungeons, and PvP in the endgame
What do we know about classes and the combat system?
- There are only humans as playable races. However, you will be able to transform into animals during combat, which provides new abilities but also other weaknesses.
- The combat system is expected to be action-packed and similar to Blade & Soul.
- There will be no typical classes; instead, you will be able to equip two weapons that determine your playstyle and switch between them. You will level these weapons and enhance them over time.
- There will be no classic Holy Trinity of tank, healer, and DPS.
- There will be classic levels for your character.
- Initially, it was planned to only allow one character, as one can learn everything. However, this has since been discarded.
A first glimpse of the MMORPG’s gameplay is provided by this trailer:
What do we know about PvE and PvP?
- The day/night cycle will be important, as some monsters only appear at night.
- There will be an overarching story that aims to explain to the player what they are actually fighting for, as well as individual stories per area. Here, the developers emphasize that a story is particularly important to Western players, which is often lacking in Korean MMORPGs.
- The PvE will play an important role with quests, bosses, and dungeons.
- There will be exclusive PvE content for the strongest players.
- Generally, the developers emphasize that guilds will be important and players will have to collaborate for many contents.
- In the endgame, massive PvP battles with hundreds of players simultaneously will be the focus. Weather events are expected to play a role, such as winds that reduce the damage from bow attacks or sewage channels that can only be used when it is not raining.
- Whether there will be PvP in the open world is still unknown. However, there should be no situation where one guild can alone control an area or world boss and thereby exclude other guilds from the game.
There should be a detailed presentation of Throne and Liberty in June 2022.
Versions for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but no crossplay
What else was revealed in the interview? The MMORPG will be released for PS5 as well as Xbox Series X|S. The older console generations have not been mentioned so far, but consoles do not play as large a role in Korea as they do in the West.
There will be no crossplay between PC and consoles. This is partly due to the difficulty of simultaneous patches on the platforms, but also because players find it unfair, as one platform could have advantages over the other.
What did NCSoft reveal about the payment model? Throne and Liberty is expected to adopt either a free-to-play or buy-to-play model. There will definitely be a shop, and NCSoft promises that this will come without pay-to-win.
It is said that players want “performance through effort and skill,” and the developers also value this. However, players who only play a few hours a week should be able to catch up with the help of the shop. Here, balance is essential, the developers say.
Additionally, Throne and Liberty is expected to be translated into “a dozen languages.” Which ones have not yet been revealed. However, previous games from NCSoft, such as Guild Wars 2 (text and audio), Blade & Soul (text), and Aion (text), have already been fully released in German.
When will the game be released? In the interview, the developers emphasized that they still aim for a global release at the end of 2022. However, there may be delays for the console versions, as the versions there must be approved by the manufacturers.
What do you think about the current information regarding Throne and Liberty? Will the MMORPG truly become a reality by the end of the year? Or are you not interested in the PvP endgame?
If you want to play a new MMORPG before then and don’t mind the anime style, you should read our preview of Tower of Fantasy:
Tower of Fantasy is the MMORPG that Genshin Impact should have been
