throne-and-liberty-gameplay-features

It’s time to get excited about Throne and Liberty's innovative and unique gameplay.

Despite being shrouded in considerable mystery, details are now starting to emerge as to "2023's best new MMORPG" Throne and Liberty. While much is still under wraps, we are now building a clear picture of what the long-awaited South Korean MMORPG has to offer.

Throne and Liberty -- The Basics

Throne and Liberty is concluding its development with a potential global test and a confirmed final test in South Korea -- home of its developers NCSoft. Far from being new to the MMO scene, NCSoft is behind such classics as Guild Wars 2, Blade and Soul, and the Lineage series. Announced way back in 2011 under the working title, Project TL, the game was originally intended to be a new entry in the Lineage series (Lineage Eternal) but it has since taken on its own identity.

The open-world, third person action-fantasy title has been confirmed for PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile streaming. And while less information is available, the developers have stated that it will also be playable on Xbox Series X | S.

Officially marketed as being built on Unreal Engine 4, Throne and Liberty looks to have had a graphical boost in recent months leading many to assume that they are upgrading to Unreal Engine 5 -- an eventuality that if realised may well push back the release date.

Throne and Liberty Gameplay Features

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Throne and Liberty. The enigmatic high-budget MMORPG offers some formidable changes to the MMORPG mould.

"Boundless Freedom"

Throne and Liberty promises a seamless open world with no loading screens. The entire game will be one single zone that players will be able to navigate based on their own whims and creativity. Players will be able to "forge new paths" through the rich and varied biomes and use their discovered routes to their advantage. This extends to the world's verticality, suggesting players will be able to climb steep mountain passes and ravines in order to circumvent the world's dangers.

Furthermore, players will be able to assist other players on different floors of the multi-layered underground dungeons. How this will play out in reality is yet to be seen but it's a unique and intriguing concept that could transform how MMO players dungeoneer.

The Free Class System

The developers have made it clear that "Liberty" is both the name and nature of the title. Players will not be bound to classes and will instead have their combat style determined by their choice of weaponry. Rather than levelling up class-based skills, players will level up the weapons themselves.

While more weaponry will no doubt be made available, the confirmed choices include the Sword and Shield, Greatsword, Wand, Magic Staff, Bow, Dagger, and Crossbow.  

It's a modern albeit controversial alternative to the tried-and-tested formula more commonly seen in western-developed RPGs. Though it's a system they appear to have thought hard about. Players will be able to have two active weapons, with combat mastery determined by the unique ways to switch and combine those weapon styles.

A New Way to Ride

The ability to ride animals is a key feature of most MMORPGs. And while some, like New World, decided to exclude them at launch, most RPGs feature some sort of mount option allowing for faster transport around their vast game worlds. Throne and Liberty takes a different tact altogether.

Players will have the ability to polymorph into marine, aerial, and land animals, as well as fantastical creatures like siege golems. And those siege golems should come in handy for the inter-player wars and fortress sieges.

PvP, PvE and GvG

Most of the zones or "fields" in Throne and Liberty are usually PvP safe zones focused on PvE combat. However, regional events and boss raids will transform these sizeable areas into battle zones. Should players choose to participate, they will have to hold their own against beast and player alike in events that should last about 20 minutes.

Large scale guild vs guild combat will revolve around capturing "Blessing Stones" and "Dimension Stones", which together are known as the "Possession Stones". Hard-fought battles over these stones will grant guild members unique benefits including raw material acquisition bonuses. If the devs are to be believed, cohesive strategies will be required to win these battles using the nuances of the terrain for tactical advantage -- a welcome deviation from the manic factional battles of New World.

Breathtaking Biomes & Worrisome Weather

The gameplay footage showcased desert biomes lit with hues of burnt orange and saffron, vibrant fields of heather punctuated with marble citadels, stormy skies navigable by giant griffin like creatures, and giant sea beasts rising from the surface of vast azure seas.

More than just eye-candy, the environment should play a much more central role in combat and exploration than most MMORPGs. Players must plan ahead for day and night cycles, and they must be ready for less predictable events like turbulent weather that will quite literally knock them off-guard. Furthermore, while details are few and far between, players will be able to actively alter the environment to their advantage.

Next-Level Character Creation

Whether we get to play Throne and Liberty on UE5 or UE4, if NCSoft can deliver on the graphical offering of the gameplay trailers, then we'll soon have a truly beautiful game on our hands. From the Director's preview, we can see what appears to be one of the most impressive character creation screens ever.

Moreover, Throne and Liberty's character creator boasts the ability to upload a photo which AI can turn into a lifelike character allowing for the modelling of characters off real life faces. While intended to make your avatar look like your RL self, players could also technically use this to allow their players to base their characters off of other real-life people too. While we couldn't comment on the legalities of this, players could also use this to make their characters look like celebrities and friends -- meaning World of Warcraft wouldn't be the only MMORPG with Chuck Norris and Mr T running around.

Other Throne and Liberty Gameplay Features

In his "State of the MMO" MMOGames interview, MMORPG Content Creator RedbeardFlynn predicts Throne and Liberty will be this year's New World or Lost Ark. And it will certainly share gameplay features with both titles. We can expect the stunning graphics of New World coupled with some of the whimsy of Lost Ark (look closely at the gameplay footage in the Director's Preview and you'll see a giant tangerine hopping around the battlefield).

If the gigantic bosses we see in the footage are anything to go by, then we may well see plenty of inspiration from Guild Wars 2 too. And that's not to mention the flying mechanics pioneered by GW2 and recently re-exposed to the spotlight via WoW Dragonflight.

While they promise a rich background story with plenty of quests and puzzles, the narrative ethos seems to be around creating your own legends -- an idea we can get behind. In the words of Ahn Jongok, Throne & Liberty Camp's Producer: "Meeting others, constructing communities, and discovering who we are is the essence of an MMO."

Overall, we now have a lot of hope for what Throne and Liberty can bring to the genre. And we're eager to unpack its mysteries further. Stay tuned for March, where we'll be answering all of your questions in a dedicated Throne and Liberty FAQ.