So I recently got back into Lineage 2 after being gone for about 2 years and I must say the game is still fairly popular and it has quite a big world to explore!That being said however this game is not something new players should look into.This is going to be a short post about the game but I will mention the good and the bad of this game.
So this game is old...when I say old I mean it's 12 years old!So it has been around for quite a long time!It started out as a p2p game and then switched to f2p.I played it back when the Kamael race was first released and I enjoyed playing every moment of it.Then GoD hit and things got stupid.Leveling was made ridiculously easy.Within two days of playing Lineage 2 I went from level 1 to level 85 and awakened.
Lineage 2 offers open world PvP but nobody does that except the high level players.Literally I went from level 1-85 and not ONCE was I attacked by a player at all!Back when I used to play people had fights for experience spots all the time!If they even saw you anywhere near one of their monster spots they would stop what they were doing to fight you because you were a threat!Now...people are just running around killing stuff and never really interacting.In terms of player interactions there is NONE until you hit level 85.So if you like group content,PvP,an active community,or just meeting new people you should uninstall and either go play a private server or just play another game.
Popular spots like Tower of Insolence are just abandoned.There is little to no point for any player to go to these spots.You are basically wasting your time and these spots were the most popular spots to go level up in before they got gimped!They were gimped to stop bots but honestly bots will still prevail and this only screwed over legit players!If you think that's bad they also gimped the adena drop rate from monsters to combat bots.That hasn't done shit but further screw players over!Honestly NCSoft are your brains not functioning or are you trying to kill Lineage 2?
NCSoft also announced that Lineage 2 will be releasing on Steam but at this point it is too late.I can almost guarantee that any player that plays this game will quit either at level 20 or at level 85.This isn't a bad game...but the developers are fucking idiots.
TL;DR-
Pros:Lots of players,open world PvP,raids/dungeons,guild sieges,crafting,learning curve,subclass system
Cons:No interaction with many of the players,nobody does open world pvp,level 85 is when raids and dungeons open up,guilds usually recruit level 99 players,outdated information makes the game even more difficult,most of the community will tell you not to play this game,either spend money to get "ok" on the cash shop or adena sellers or suffer just to be "mediocre" in about a year.
So go ahead and play the game but don't get your hopes up.This game is just horribly managed and the cash shop is just a real bitch.
I grew up playing games like Lineage 2,Mu Online,Eudemons,and other games that had open world PvP and actual group play outside of dungeons.At any level you could get murdered by a higher level player or a player of the same level and there wasn't shit you could do about it but stay clear of them or try to fight back!Those were the days when I actually gave a shit about leveling and gearing up!Because I used to not want to be the guy getting the shit beaten out of me by another player or clan!Nowadays though it's just about killing brain dead monsters that would walk into your AoEs and have no real skills to pose a challenge.Games went from being group oriented to being solo games.People used to bitch and moan about games being too grindy and requiring you to actually look for a spot to exp at with your party or guild and then fighting off any players that are already there!Now players bitch and moan about games being too linear!
We went from having a huge world to explore and group play(WoW,Vanguard,Lineage 2,RO,FFXI)to now having a solo shitty ass game(Aura Kingdom,RO2,Lineage 2 present,World of Warcraft present) where the only time we interact with anyone is when we are in a dungeon/raid and that is usually because someone in the party fucked up and got everyone wiped and someone is talking shit to them and starting an argument!People say that games are that way because players that were once kids when they first started playing now have responsibilities and you know what...I call complete fucking bullshit!Yeah we grew up and got jobs or are going to college now but you know what?A game shouldn't change based on a player that can't put time into it.It should instead change for the players that are an actual part of the game!The players that constantly form groups to exp,the players that create guilds and organize castle sieges or raids,the players that spend hours talking to other players at the town square!Those are the players that the game should revolve around!If you all don't have time to play a game for longer than an hour then you know what?Tough shit buddy!Because of games catering to players who complain about a game being too difficult you just fucked yourself over!Players are now leveling far quicker than the developers can put out content!Dungeons that were once a good place to get gear or exp are now abandoned wastes of space!The need to group up isn't something that helps you instead now,with the faster leveling through soloing,players that group up are slowed down compared to the others and when they realize solo play is faster they ditch group play and just play solo all the way to cap level!
A simple way to balance these things is to make questing a viable option when a player wants to level.Give the player basic gear so they can level up and complete these quests and as they progress give them more basic gear that will get them to the next quests and so on.Then create mobs that aren't brain dead and provide more challenge than regular mobs!Players that want to focus on party play could group up and hunt these monsters with a chance of getting better equipment than the players that quest.Party play players wouldn't get as much exp as the questing players but they would get better gear and also explore the world more than the players that are questing and running a linear path through the game.Throw in some open world PvP where a player that is 10 levels ahead of another player can't PK the lower leveled player and you have yourself a decent and balanced system where everyone gets what they want and is capable of fighting each other for spots.This could lead to griefing by some players but at the same time it would lead to some of the most epic battles and alliances!Lineage 2 is an example of this!I played when GoD was recently released and I remember guilds would hold down the areas players needed access to in order to awaken!This lead to players grouping up and guilds forming alliances to break through and get just one or two players through to finish the quest!It was epic and it made the player feel like they were in an actual power struggle.This is just a rough idea coming from a gamer that misses the challenge and struggle to get to cap level!
What do you all think?Are you content with the mmos of nowadays or would you like to see something that actually provides you with a challenge and high risk and reward?
