At gamescom 2023, a journalist from the mein-mmo.de portal got acquainted with the current version of the MMORPG Throne and Liberty and talked with Amazon Games representative Merv Lee Kwai about the changes that the publisher of the global version is preparing for us.
As it turns out, Amazon Games and NCSOFT have decided to disable auto-battle at least for the duration of the game’s testing. The publisher plans to completely disable auto-fight and the ability to farm while the game is off to see how players react. This is a test solution, which is based on the opinions and wishes of Western players after what they saw in the closed test of the Korean version.
In addition, it became known that PvP in the open world will not be as strong as previously thought. Most of the zones in the game will be peaceful and not intended for PvP.
Each zone has an outpost that guilds can fight for once every 2-3 days at a certain time. Free PvP is in effect at this point and all players will be notified in advance so they can decide whether to join the battle or leave the area.
PvP also happens in zones with some world bosses and during some events. In this case, the PvP zone will be marked with a special area so that players can see the border of the PvP action.
“Of course, there will be situations where you accidentally find yourself in PvP. But I’ve been able to completely avoid PvP in the open world so far. […] If you stay out of range, no one can attack you.” — Merv Lee Kwai in an interview at gamescom 2023.
Previously, the developers from NCSOFT reported that there would be no penalty for killing players at night, but Amazon Games decided to abandon this idea. However, some dungeons will open at night and PvP will be enabled. Additionally, the publisher is experimenting with PvE dungeons. But the question of their implementation is still open.
Despite these changes, Merv Lee Kwai considers the game to be a PvP-oriented game, as outpost battles will be able to take part in many players, and not just representatives of several guilds.
“What I like about Throne and Liberty is that everything takes place in an open world. It allows you to do so many different things. Other guilds can intervene in the battle and choose one side. But they can also betray each other.” – Merv Lee Kwai in an interview at gamescom 2023.
The same applies to the biggest event in the game – the battle for the castle. Yes, there is only one castle in the game, for which players will fight once every 2 weeks.
Castle owners receive various bonuses and must take care of their income. For example, an outpost collects taxes that players have to transport to a castle. But other guilds can attack the caravan and recapture some or all of the profits from the territory.
Players can form alliances to eliminate the possibility of allies accidentally attacking. In addition, you can always terminate agreements and betray your allies.
The theme of the character’s equipment was touched upon. The game contains items of various grades. Depending on the grade, the maximum level of improvement is determined. For example, greens can be upgraded by a maximum of +6, and something rarer by +12. The improvement process may fail, but then nothing terrible will happen. Things on failure do not break and do not reset their current level.
Amazon Games plans to launch the console version of the game in the next test. The release on consoles is planned simultaneously with the PC in 2024, there will be cross-play between the platforms.
On the test benches, it was already possible to get acquainted with the changed combat system, but the author of the article decided to talk about it later.
