Throne and Liberty showcases many of the game’s combat and customization features ahead of its launch this December 2023.
Throne and Liberty is Set to Launch in Korea this December 2023
The upcoming MMORPG Throne and Liberty is dead set on closing the year out with a bang, as they are releasing this December – at least in Korea. However, the developers over at NCSoft hosted a “Launching Showcase” yesterday that showed off a ton of features that their game has. The footage previewed is also intended to address various feedback that the team has received since its various closed beta periods.
Overall, the showcase was just a bit over thirty minutes in total, so there’s a lot to unpack here. From a gameplay overview to a deep dive into some more intricate systems, all fans of Korean-styled MMOs should have a lot to look forward to.
The World of Throne and Liberty
Spearheading the discussion of Throne and Liberty was project director Ahn Jongok. If he had to describe the land that he and his team created, it would be a “Massive world, intricately connected, and infinite”. This is quite a bold statement, but he feels that this is the case with their project.
Throne and Liberty won’t have a rigid and set story, and instead will be akin to an “open canvas” where players can create their own endless stories and adventures. He also mentions that they are trying to make exploring Throne and Liberty less like an “assignment” (as some disgruntled Lost Ark fans have taken to calling their daily quests).
Instead, this will have a wide and open world that sprawls through different areas and biomes, ripe for exploration. Outside of regular questing, there will be certain dynamic events that either are on a set timer or can occur during changes in the environment, like weather. It also looks like the game will dynamically change, as we can see some sections of the land would fill up with water during the rain.
Throne and Liberty will initially launch with 19 areas, 8 cities, and 6 different dungeons. Sprinkled throughout these will be 2 major bosses and 18 other formidable foes.
Weapon Mastery
Players in Throne and Liberty won’t have a set “class” like most MMOs. Instead, it will be more fluid and dynamic, allowing players to freely express their gameplay preferences. The example shown by Jongok was his masculine character who looks like a knight (but actually isn’t!).
You see, players will have access to 7 different weapons, each with their own identity. All the common fantasy archetypes are here: sword & shield for tanking, greatswords for melee AoE, daggers for sneaking around, dual crossbows for debuffing, bows for long-range sniping, staves for nuking enemies with magic, and wands for healing and support.
Much like NCSoft’s other published game, Guild Wars 2, characters can equip two weapons at any given time, giving them access to the usual fantasy archetypes that they can swap to with a click of a button. Players will be able to seamlessly move from dealing damage to healing themselves should they find themselves in a bind.
Three’s Company
Of course Throne and Liberty wouldn’t be an MMO without some group play, and this is where the weapon combination system will truly shine. Grouped-up players can take up roles in the usual “Holy Trinity” of MMOs. But the unique spin here is that you can switch to a specific role depending on the type of fight or its relevant phase.
For example, some fights will be DPS races to bring down a boss to a certain HP threshold before it can unleash an attack. Players can swap out of their healing or tanking sets and assist in DPS. On the other hand, if an encounter might have additional spawns, some damage dealers could pick up the slack grab a shield, and begin taunting. The sky’s the limit here.
Speaking of grouped content, dungeons in Throne and Liberty will have two distinct types: field and instanced. Field dungeons are more open, and any number of players can swarm in and zerg any boss down. These are also tied to the dynamic event system, so it’s something to look forward to. Instanced dungeons are for your preset groups and would require more finesse and coordinated strikes to emerge victorious.
The Throne and Liberty
One last big topic of discussion for the Throne and Liberty showcase was the changes that they made throughout the development cycle. A big feature removed was that of “auto hunting” and lootboxes, both of which were scrapped due to player feedback. The game’s interface was also updated to look less like a mobile game, primarily due to the mobile version also being discontinued.
Throne and Liberty is releasing in Korea this December, but Amazon Games has secured the rights to publish an international version. They are currently also the publishers of New World and Lost Ark and the upcoming Blue Protocol.
In other news, check out Former WoW and LoL Designer is Creating a New Fantasy MMO Ghost Here’s Why You Should Be Excited, and Blue Protocol Closed Beta Announced; Sign Ups Now Available.
