Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

by Cody “Micajah” Bye, Managing Editor

Being an MMORPG journalist, it pays to know the games that you’re covering. From Runescape to EVE Online, I’ve tried almost every game that’s popped out on the market these last few years, jumping into world after world in search of that invaluable MMOG that will combine evocative PvE and PvP gameplay with the ability to turn on my toaster in the mornings. It’s been a valiant struggle to continue to be adequately proficient with these games – I’m definitely busy most of my days – but occasionally a game will fall off my radar for a few months while I try to perpetuate my virtual self in another game.

New players can expect a much improved new player experience in this iteration of Linage II.

When it comes to Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle, I’ve been admittedly lax in my attempts to play the game. With just a few days of out-of-beta experience under my belt, it’s definitely one of my least played MMOG titles of all time. Yet the game continues to draw my attention. As fancy new screenshots or descriptions of the political system arise every few months, I find my interest piqued over and over again. It’s a game that continues to draw a tremendous crowd, even after nearly four years of playable service. I decided it was time to finally dive in and see what the Lineage II developers had achieved in my years away from the game.

Just as I was making this resolution, Opal Lertutai, an associate communications manager for NCsoft, sent me an email informing me that the Lineage II developers were holding a press junket for the upcoming expansion of the game at their NCsoft studios in Austin, Texas. Doing a bit of research, I found out that The Kamael (the name of the new expansion) was set to bring a whole new race to the game, which was very intriguing considering that all of the game’s previous expansions have been free. With that curiosity in mind, I told Opal that I was set to head out to the great state of Texas. Next thing I knew, I was on a tiny jet jumping from Kansas City to Austin to spend a whole day learning all I could about the upcoming expansion.

Our day was basically split into two parts, the first part being an reintroduction to Lineage II (for those of us who hadn’t played the game recently) and the second half featuring a several hour long play session where we toured the new areas, created new Kamael characters, and generally experimented with the game. Since I’ve already covered most of the details of the expansion in my general Kamael preview (which can be found here), I’ll be diving right into my hands-on experience with the content update.

The Kamael are a new race in Lineage II. They are also extremely striking in appearance.

Initially, the developers simply told us to go ahead and check out the character creation portion and play with the new Kamael characters. Rolling up my sleeves, I crafted a fine looking female Kamael named "Busty." She was a fetching young lass, with her one wing and white hair. I received a nod of approval at my choices from one of the QA testers sitting next to me, and I set off into the world.

From my previous adventures in Lineage II, I distinctly remember that the new player experience in the game left a lot to be desired for. If my memory serves me correctly, I was moving through the levels with great ease until I hit a wall in my progression; a very large wall that had me dying over and over again and thus losing all of the experience I had gained previously. If I had been given a bit more guidance by the developers, perhaps I would have been better able to advance my character.

Luckily, new gamers won’t find the same sort of harsh treatment in this early version of the game. New tutorials and quests have been introduced into the gameplay mechanic to insure that players won’t be mindlessly racing off into the woods to fight a monster that’s too difficult for them. As “Busty” journeyed throughout the Isle of Souls (the new Kamael island), I noticed that the L2 developers had spent a good deal of time narrowing the initial journey so that players have a distinct path to follow from one area to the next. I conversed with a large number of NPCs who were more than willing to give me instructions, point me in the right direction, and simply be helpful to my cause.