In the summer of 2025, the Asian market MMORPG will be launched by a new large project called Lord Nine from the publisher of Smilegate and the NX3GAMES developer studio. On the eve of this event, on June 14, a closed event was held in Tokyo for the press and influons, where the key features of the game were disclosed, which has been available in Korea and Taiwan for a year. Players are promised not just localization, but their own servers and a unique development path. Recall that the project will be available in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia and Cambodia.
Developers build a game on two fundamental principles. The first states that each player’s choice becomes part of the story of Lord Nine. The second promises not to harm the essence of the pleasure from Mmorpg. These theses are reinforced by a deep and flexible system of character development, which is designed to become a business card of the project.
Lord Nine actions unfold in the world of dark fantasy, where the aesthetics of the East and West is intertwined. The plot tells about nine heroes-lords, followers of the Absolute Monarch, who once united the chaotic world. Now, when the world plunged into trouble again, the players are given the role of the tenth Lord, who will try to restore unity.
The game process is based on the development of one character – your Lord. However, his combat style is not tied to a single archetype. Players can freely switch between nine types of weapons, each of which has its own system of “skill”. Proking the skill of one weapon, you get bonuses to the development of others, which encourages experiments. Increasing the level of skill opens access to new skills that can be configured through the skill tree, specializing them, for example, for attacks for one goal or in the region.
The main feature of the game is the “System of Ability”. This is a unique class designer: combining 54 different abilities, the player can activate one of 56 classes available at the start. Such flexibility allows the same character to act in different roles depending on the situation: to be a hunter during the study of the world, and in the next minute to become a knight to participate in PVP. Moreover, some combinations of abilities can open “hidden classes”, and the name of the player who discovered such a class first will forever be inscribed in his description.
In addition to the development of the character, the game presents a variety of PVE and PVP content, from battles with world bosses to guild siege, where trophies are not attached to the character, which contributes to the development of the economy inside guilds. The plans for the future include inter-server trade with other regions through the global auction, as well as various PVP-mode formats, including battles 30 by 30.
In order to plunge deeper into philosophy and details of the development of this project, journalists of the Japanese gaming portal 4gamer.net They interviewed the key figures standing behind the creation of the game. We present to your attention the translation of this conversation with the producer of the development of Hyu Zhu Kim from the NX3GAMES and the head of the Jae Yong Khan from Smilegate.
I think the main feature of this game is the system of abilities. How was her idea born?
Hyo Zhu Kim (hereinafter – Kim): It seems to me that recently many MMORPG have very similar mechanics. Therefore, in order to stand out somehow, we decided to try something new. In MMORPG, it often happens that, for example, you play a knight for a long time, and then, due to changes in the game balance, the magician becomes strong. In such a situation, pumping a magician from the first level is a big load. When planning and developing the game, we wanted to create an environment in which players could freely change and develop their classes.
It is reported that at the time of launch in Japan, 56 classes will be available. Which ones are popular in Korea and Taiwan, where the game has already released?
Kim: Popularity depends on the content, whether it is PVP or PVE, but immediately after the launch, a hunter and a dark ranger were popular, since they are quite simple for development. However, as users continued to play, the rest of the classes also became popular, and at the moment there is no one that would stand out the most.
Are there any hidden classes in these 56 grades?
Kim: Yes, there are four of them. If I tell in detail, then all the pleasure of their search will disappear, so I will reveal the concept of only two of them: one is a class that flukes with a sword, and the other succeeds in the magic of the icy elements.
I believe that after launch, new classes will be added. Will the number of abilities increase with them?
Kim: There are two options: either existing abilities will expand, or completely new ones will be added.
Is there something else that you can tell about the system of abilities?
Jae Yong Khan (hereinafter – Khan): I think for Japanese players a system of abilities will become a completely new experience. This mechanics allows you to activate a variety of classes by combining abilities, so we would like the players not to get hung up on the same classes, but try a variety of different ones.
Kim: I believe that Japanese players, in particular, can enjoy the search for the features of classes that others rarely choose, or the discovery of hidden classes by trial and errors in combining abilities.
Please tell us about the game as a whole. What estimates did she receive in countries and regions where the release has already taken place?
Khan: In Korea, she showed the best results in the MMORPG genre in 2024. Thanks to this, we also received various game awards, so, I think, we appreciated the game highly. In Taiwan, for example, the search for hidden classes is especially popular. Players enjoy not only PVE and PVP, but also the unique features of our game, so it seems to me that there she received a high appreciation.
In addition, MMORPG is generally characterized by a trend when the number of players on launch is extremely large, a sharp surge in popularity occurs, and then there is the same sharp outflow. However, in the case of our game, the data show a high factor of playing players.
And in conclusion, please leave a message for Japanese players in Mmorpg.
Khan: Launching the service in Japan, we want to pay great attention to communication with the players. For example, the meeting we held is part of the initiative. We strive to provide a service of such quality that will satisfy you 100%, carefully listening to the opinion of Japanese players, therefore, please wait impatiently.
Kim: I have been fond of JRPG since childhood, and this influence was reflected in our game. I think that as you pass, you can feel the same pleasure as from the good old JRPG. It seems to me that competing titles do not have such aspects, so I really hope you like it.
