Earlier this week, NCSoft brought a four hour-long smorgasbord of information out of Throne & Liberty’s Korean version, with devs hosting a TL meet-up showcase that outlined multiple updates and additions coming to the MMORPG in July and August.
According to translatiosn from fansite Throne & Liberty Online, the update landing on July 27th will mostly focus on improving existing systems, like further customization of weapon skills that change their behavior (changing a fireball spell to explode bigger and not root the caster was a given example), a new runes system that can be slotted into equipment to increase its stats, and 30 new levels of linear difficulty for cooperative dungeons.
Finally, the update will bring new PvE activities in the form of fishing, cooking, and the ability to send Amitois (aka pets) out on expeditions to obtain resources. Before this update lands, a new server is planned to open on July 24th that brings accelerated XP and character growth to help out new and returning players.
Some of the new stuff arrives on August 21st, which is headlined by the new region of Talandre. This new area is roughly the size of two of the base zones in the game, with six different locations, three open dungeons, five cooperative dungeons, four world bosses, and two arch-bosses.
The update will also introduce the artifact system: Artifacts are a new kind of equipment found in cooperative dungeons that feature items that appear to lock into artifacts in combination in order to provide character boosts. The update will also see the max level rise to 55 and open the ability to gain tier two gear from open dungeons and world bosses.
The presentation closed with a Q&A session that provided more details about T&L KR’s future, including the addition of more AoE skills, a new 12-player raid near the end of August, and plans to rework the weapon mastery system to make it less grindy. The Q&A also confirmed that the monetization model of the game will not change between the Korean and global version, which once more raises the specter of P2W – an assertion that NCSoft has tried to push back against.
Throne & Liberty is set to arrive on our side of the globe on September 17th, with an open beta for the Americas, Europe, Oceania, and Japan scheduled between July 18th through the 23rd. For more on the game, make sure to check out MOP Andrew’s hands-on impressions from SGF 2024.
