The developer NCSoft of the upcoming MMORPG Throne and Liberty has shared information about the business model. The current Closed Beta is being used to test the business model. Although it is tailored for the Asian market, rough outlines of the monetization in the MMORPG for the West can already be derived.
What does the business model look like? The MMORPG Throne of Liberty currently offers several services in its beta version. These include Season Pass
and Growth Magazine Pass
. Additionally, there are also pay-for-convenience items (faster progress) and cosmetic items.
Appropriately, there are the Lucent
and Cosmetic Coins
, or coins. These can be earned through the in-game market or so-called express requests.
Check out a trailer for Throne and Liberty here:
Beta shows Season Pass, Pay2Progress, and Trade
How does the Season Pass
work? Through the Season Pass
, players can claim rewards by completing quests and reaching designated success levels. It should be noted that the achievements and level caps have been adjusted to the Closed Beta and may differ from the final product, let alone the Western version.
The Premium Pass also offers additional benefits. It includes the following extra features:
Lucky Collector
: If items drop during hunting, they are unbound and can then be traded.Play Without Connection
: If the connection drops or ends, the character continues to farm, up to 8 hours a day.
In this regard, NCSoft justifies the Premium benefit Lucky Collector
with protection against monopolization and oversupply. The Premium benefit Play Without Connection
is intended for situations with limited connectivity or connection drops on the PC.
What pay-for-convenience items are available? For the most part, these are consumables and materials to upgrade your equipment (Pay2Progress), which can also be crafted in-game. This includes food and elixirs.
These items are directly available in the Lucent Shop
. In this way, you save in exchange for Lucent Coins
accordingly game time.
How does trading work in the game? There is a market, or trade exchanges in the game. The general exchange is characterized by the following features:
- The minimum level for trading is 15.
- The trade currency is
Lucent
. - The trading fee, however, is the currency
Solent
. - The base fee is 30% plus the guild tax of the guild that wins the siege wars.
- However, items obtained from bosses can be traded without fees.
- Guilds can also trade items internally without fees.
What are express requests? In addition to a request system that allows for further rewards during the day and is limited to 20 tasks daily, there are also express requests.
These can be accepted by the request manager in the city and bring higher-tier random rewards, such as crafting materials. However, an express request costs 35 Lucent Coins
. Updating the request list costs Solant Coins
.
What are Cosmetic Coins
for? These are used to purchase wild transformations. This item not only changes the character’s appearance but also provides faster movement properties.
In addition, these coins can also be used to purchase Amitois
. These are similar to pets from Black Desert Online, which offer a special attribute and collect loot for the player.
Pay2Win in the West still unclear
Whether we can ultimately speak of Pay2Win in the Western version cannot be said in advance. The fact is, there are no equipment items to buy directly, but there are consumables to improve one’s equipment, and indeed for real money (even if it must first be exchanged for Lucent Coins
).
To what extent pay-for-convenience items will make their way into the Western version remains uncertain. After all, NCSoft is still testing for its own domestic market and intends to implement feedback on the business model if current information is available.
What do you think of the business model? Does it seem fair to you or does it contain intolerable advantages over others? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Which MMORPGs you might like otherwise can be found here: the 7 best MMORPGs with action combat systems in 2023.
