Throne and Liberty
Developer: NCSoft | Platform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series | Release Date: October 1, 2024 | Model: Free2Play | Combat System: Tab-Targeting or Action
What kind of game is this? NCSoft’s new MMORPG (Aion, Guild Wars, Lineage) was originally planned as Lineage Eternal and was to have an isometric perspective. However, due to the enormous critical feedback from testers, a years-long overhaul followed starting in 2017, leading to its rebranding to Throne and Liberty.
In its current form, T&L places an unusual emphasis on the “massively” in “Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game” for modern online role-playing games.
- You can encounter more characters in the game world than in many other MMORPGs.
- Many contents are aimed at guilds – those who want to get the most out of the MMORPG should join a community of like-minded individuals.
- Many of the group and raid challenges have a (partly optional) PvP element.
- Servers and technology are designed to bring many characters together in one region without noticeable performance drops.
Another notable feature is the focus that T&L places on its own game world. Thanks to shape-shifting and grappling hooks, you can move very quickly through the regions, everywhere you find quest givers and secrets. Furthermore, the game world reacts dynamically to weather and environmental influences as well as the time of day.
By the way, you don’t need a Game Pass Core or PlayStation Plus membership for Throne and Liberty. Furthermore, the MMORPG descends with a Free2Play payment model in the West. So it’s easily possible to check it out.
The launch trailer for Throne and Liberty:
Thanks to official numbers, it is known that Amazon Games and NCSoft welcomed more than three million registered players during the western launch of Throne and Liberty in Solisium.
It is also clear, thanks to websites like steamdb.info: The all-time high (from the first launch weekend) is 336,300 concurrently active Steam users. Also, in the following days, the new MMORPG was regularly able to record more than 250,000 players. Additionally, T&L fans who play on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series are included.
However, there are now around 9,000 players live on the game’s servers at peak times with their Steam accounts.
How well does Throne and Liberty play on console? The MMORPG by NCSoft and Amazon Games offers either an action or tab-target control, enabling good gameplay with a controller.
When there is a lot happening on the screen, the frame rate can drop. However, considering the massively-focused nature of the game, it’s remarkable how well Throne and Liberty runs on consoles.
There is crossplay between all platforms.
What has happened recently? Since its launch, Throne and Liberty has already received several major updates and a comprehensive expansion. The latest update went live on December 11, featuring the Solstice event and many detailed improvements—more on this at playthroneandliberty.com.
The developers are working hard to eliminate the MMORPG’s shortcomings and weaknesses and to give players new reasons to log in. However, fundamental problems such as the mixing of the Free2Play model, real-money currency, and auction house cannot be eliminated, which is why bots, for example, are a constant annoyance.
Who is Throne and Liberty interesting for? Those who are interested in an MMORPG that places a strong focus on guild and raid content with hundreds and sometimes even more than 1,000 players should definitely try Throne and Liberty.
Just moving through the game world, questing, leveling, and participating in events while surrounded by other player characters is a fantastic feeling. It’s just a shame that the developers made some typical mistakes common in Asian MMORPGs, which means they are not as successful in the West as they could be.
