Filed under: Lineage 2

Lineage II offering free time for former subscribers with the release of Gracia Epilogue

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 16th 2009 at 1:09PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Game mechanics, Patches, News items

If you're a former Lineage II player who's been wondering what's been changed with the release of Gracia Epilogue, then wonder no further. NCsoft will be offering account reactivations for those people who left the game in good standing.

Old players can get a few days to run around the newly upgraded world of Aden and check out the new features such as the new hunting grounds, improved mail system, changes to the vitality and territory war systems, and much much more.

We added a few more screenshots from Lineage II into our gallery below, and you can get the full patch notes on Gracia Epilogue from the game's patch website.

Gallery: Lineage 2: Gracia Epilogue Screenshots

Massively wishes you a happy Halloween

by Alex Ziebart Oct 31st 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Age of Conan, Aion, City of Heroes, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Fallen Earth, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Lineage, Lineage 2, Warhammer Online, Star Wars Galaxies, Exteel, Free Realms, Champions Online, Runes of Magic, Legends of Norrath

Halloween is probably second only to Christmas in terms of holiday popularity. Ask just about anybody what their favorite holiday is, and they'll probably list one of those two (if it fits the culture). Naturally, as MMO players, we have fun celebrating it in our virtual worlds just like we do in the real world. And boy, this year, do we ever celebrate. Just about every active MMO out there had (or has) something going on. The 2009 lineup included:

Most of these events last a few days into November, so if there's any one in particular you're dying to experience, you might still have a chance if you have a subscription laying around. If you're not able to visit any of these in person, we have screenshots from many of these events in the gallery below. Enjoy!

Gallery: Halloween 2009

Gracia Epilogue launches on Lineage II's test server today

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 29th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Lineage 2, Expansions, MMO industry, Patches, News items

Just when we thought Gracia, the 2nd throne, was done and over with in Gracia Final, we get a tasty surprise in the form of Gracia Epilogue, the next patch coming out for Lineage II.

Gracia Epilogue is hiding many a tasty treat for Lineage II fans, with teasers pointing towards a new mail system, enhanced skill updates, and new hunting areas for high level players. However, these teasers are exactly that -- teasers. The official patch notes have not been released yet, leaving many to speculate what exactly will be in this patch.

However, if you're looking to get some hands on the Epilogue, you can cruise on over to NCsoft's test server for L2 today and try it out! See if you can track down some of these elusive changes in the test environment!

Thrice the Halloween update hath patch'd

by Rubi Bayer Oct 20th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Age of Conan, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Guild Wars, Lineage, Lineage 2, Culture, Events, in-game, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, Runes of Magic, Legends of Norrath

We are well into that time of year - Halloween is almost here and a quick look into nearly any MMO out there will show it. We've been talking about quite a few games out there and how they're celebrating, but they're certainly not the only ones putting jack-o-lanterns in their windows. Follow after the jump for a look at how some of our other favorite MMOs are celebrating.

"Eva's Inferno" event kicks off in Lineage II

by William Dobson Aug 26th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Events, in-game

While the latest event in Lineage II started off as a mystery, the players soon literally put the pieces of the puzzle together to reveal information about "Eva's Inferno". The event is now underway, and players might have noticed that things are a bit hotter than usual -- and it's not just because of skimpy elf clothing either. The god of destruction Gran Kain has sent Spirits of Fire to cause trouble in the world. The goddess Eva apparently doesn't like the warm weather and has asked her high priest to recruit adventurers to help sort things out.

Players must collect Fire Seeds by killing monsters, then use those seeds to summon the Spirits of Fire and defeat them without a weapon equipped. When enough spirits are killed, Eva will grant a server-wide experience blessing. As the event continues, more powerful blessings will be given. On top of this, visiting her priest Jack Sage on Days 6, 10 and 14 will provide opportunities for more tangible rewards. Visit the event's page at the official Lineage II site to check out the bonus items on offer, and while you're there, you can see all of the people responsible for finding the puzzle pieces that unveiled the mystery. The event will continue until the 8th of September.

NCsoft dev discusses the genesis of Aion at GDC Europe

by Lesley Smith Aug 21st 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Aion, Lineage 2, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry

Aion dev Yongchan Jee spilled the beans on the game's origins as part of a GDC Europe Q and A session. Gamasutra were on hand to find out what exactly makes the game stand out in Korea. This included addressing a gap in the market for 'AAA' titles after the release of Lineage II and World of Warcraft, as well as focusing on a faction warfare angle which sees the two player-controlled races of the Elyos and the Asmodians fighting against each other and the terrifying Balaur. Jee also discussed how the game was rebooted in 2006 and while this did affect the moral of the developers, it ultimately allowed them to start from scratch and create a truly memorable game.

Lee also focused on the character customisation, discussing the concepts of beautiful and ugly characters in MMOs like World of Warcraft, where Korean players often favour the Alliance over the Horde. He also explained why the devs chose to create Aion as a zone-based MMO over a seamless world. Aion fans should definitely check out Gamasutra's write up for even more hints at Aion's gestation and conception.

Lineage II mystery event has players hunting down puzzle pieces

by James Egan Aug 9th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Events, in-game, Forums

Lineage II has a mystery event on the way, but NCsoft is remaining silent about the details. Instead, they've turned the announcement itself into a game for the players. Lineage II Community Manager Lyzira has hidden clues in the form of puzzle pieces for players to find, presumably tucked away in the Lineage II website.

Once all of the pieces are found, the next in-game event will be revealed, literally spelled out with the completed jigsaw puzzle. A player named Ghast kicked this off earlier in the week by finding the first piece and since then five more players have found and added pieces to the puzzle. Plenty remain to be found however, and the event info is still fragmented at best. Have a look at the Lineage II mystery event site and see if you can make sense of the message.

Score some cheap NCsoft game time

by Krystalle Voecks Jul 31st 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Aion, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lineage, Lineage 2, News items

If you, like us, are always looking for a way to save a few dollars in your monthly MMO budget, then you may be glad to hear this news. After all, replacing all those robot minions when they get trashed can be really expensive - or maybe that's just us. In either case, if you're an avid City of Heroes or City of Villains, Lineage, or Lineage II player, then you'll be glad to hear that our friends over at GoGamer have a great sale on NCsoft time cards going on now. (We'd assume they'll work on Aion as well, considering their site lists these cards as being valid for Auto Assault....)

Right now, you can score two months of prepaid game time for the seriously cheap price of $18.90. While there is a shipping cost, the charge becomes very minor compared to the overall savings when you stock up on multiple cards. Of course, if you don't really want several months of cheap game time, you could always go in on an order with friends - or just send them to us. We'd gladly take any spare pre-paid time off your hands. Expensive robot minion replacements and all that, you know.

Should MMOs have sequels?

by Brendan Drain Jun 11th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, EVE Online, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Lineage, Lineage 2, Business models, Culture, Expansions, MMO industry, Opinion, Runescape, Academic, Education, Virtual worlds

From movies and books to computer games, the concept of the sequel is firmly embedded in the entertainment industry. It's usually a much safer bet to make a new part to an existing successful intellectual property than it is to back an untested product. In the games industry, sequels are a great way to make more money from the same game concept but as usual MMOs have proven to be something of a different animal. Subscription MMOs don't conform to the same rules as non-subscription games, favouring recurring orders and longer-term customer commitment over single purchases. While development studios often take sequels for granted, I'm forced to ask whether MMOs should have sequels at all or if a different paradigm is more appropriate.

In this article, I explore the games industry's obsession with repetition as I ask the question "Should MMOs have sequels?"

Cloaks finally come to Lineage II in Gracia Final

by Seraphina Brennan May 27th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Lineage 2, Expansions, Patches, Endgame

Lineage II never had cloaks. It's funny that we never really realized this before, but those characters just never wore cloaks. Luckily, the developers have realized their oversight and have finally fixed it -- cloaks will now be available to characters in the Gracia Final expansion. However, don't expect that you'll get a cloak just for logging in.

Cloaks are reserved for players who fight in Territory War, have high ranks in their clan, and those who fight against some of the major raid bosses of the game. The cloak rewards for these accomplishments are the Ancient Cloak, Knight's Cloak, and Holy Spirit cloak respectively.

Gallery: Gracia Final Cloaks and Items

Lineage II anniversary event runs into snag, now extended to May 12

by James Egan May 9th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Events, in-game, News items

5 years of operation for a massively multiplayer online game is cause for celebration. The sad fact is that many games never live that long, and not all titles that run for 5 years have a lot of steam left by that point. This doesn't seem to be the case with Lineage II which still appears to be going strong in both Korea and in the West. Massively recently interviewed the Lineage II developers about the 5-year milestone they've just hit with the game, and we also mentioned the anniversary celebration was about to get underway.

Unfortunately, there were some technical issues that affected the commencement of the event. NCsoft has decided to make it up to the players. Originally slated to end on May 5, the 5th anniversary event has now been extended to May 12. The Lineage II team clarified: "The letters that dropped from monsters in Aden and Gracia will begin dropping again by 2:00 PM Central Time Friday, May 8th and will continue until maintenance begins on Tuesday, May 12th. The Event NPC's will still be removed from the game during maintenance on Tuesday, May 12th, so be sure you exchange all of the words you've collected before the servers are brought down."

Massively's anniversary interview with Lineage II

by Shawn Schuster May 1st 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Expansions, Interviews, MMO industry, Massively meta, Massively Interviews

NCsoft's Lineage II has just celebrated its fifth anniversary earlier this week, and as we've previously reported, they've marked this occasion with a brand new expansion entitled Gracia Final. Plus, there have been in-game events, special contests and free reactivation for lapsed accounts! What else could you ever want?

How about an anniversary interview? We had the chance to sit down with the Lineage II team and ask some questions about the last five years with the game. What were their biggest challenges? Will there be a Lineage III? Follow along after the cut below to find out more!

Lineage II reactivating lapsed accounts for free in 5th anniversary celebration

by James Egan Apr 29th 2009 at 9:30AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Lineage 2, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items

We've got good news for any former Lineage II players out there who may have been toying with the idea of heading back in to see how the game's changed since they last subscribed. Lineage II is letting former subscribers return to the game for free, for a limited time, in celebration of the title's 5th anniversary.

The NCsoft announcement states: "To help Lineage II celebrate its 5th anniversary we've reactivated all former players' accounts that are in good standing. This reactivation begins today [April 28th] and will end on May 11, 2009 at 11:59PM Pacific Time." It's a no-frills announcement really, but you can check out the details on the official Lineage II site for more info about how to get your free play time until May 11th.

Lineage 2 talks aerial combat arena and changes to the olympiad coming with Gracia Final

by Seraphina Brennan Apr 22nd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Lineage 2, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, News items

Aerial combat is cool and all, but wouldn't you like a PvP gametype to go with it? Of course you would, and now you don't have to wait too long!

Lineage 2's last expansion on the Gracia continent, Gracia Final, will be adding a brand new aerial combat PvP arena to the world, as well as making some changes to the olympiad event. The Aerial Cleft, the new PvP arena, will pit players against one another as they race to shatter crystal cores and score points for their side. To the victors go special Emery shards that can be combined with Star Stone pieces to create attribute cores to change your class up.

As for the olympiad, now you can participate in teams of three instead of one on one! Also, the olympiad event will now reward olympiad tokens upon winning, so victors can spend their tokens for the equipment of their choice at the olympiad vendor.

The full developer log is included after the break, so continue reading for the full explanation of the events from the words of the developers themselves! Also, check out our screenshots of the expansion in the gallery below.

Gallery: Gracia Final -- Aerial PvP & Olympiad Shots

NCSoft adds its titles to Steam

by Lesley Smith Apr 22nd 2009 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Super-hero, Aion, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Guild Wars, Lineage, Lineage 2, News items, Free-to-play

If you're one of those gamers who prefers the digital minimalist approach as opposed to having game boxes everywhere then you're in luck. MMO-giant NCSoft have announced they will be offering their titles -- including City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and Lineage -- via Steam. They're also planning to offer their latest, most anticipated and shiny MMO, Aion as well when the game launches later this autumn.

The company seem really excited and the press release sent to Massively Towers includes not one but two quotes. NCSoft are especially keen to note that there will be plenty of special offers on their products via the site and it's a great opportunity for anyone who prefers digital downloading.