With the first Chronicle update approaching release, Daniel “Dhevrin” Chin from NCAustin sat down to give me some further insight into what players can expect to see in the future of Lineage 2.
Character Transfers: Getting you and your friends playing together 1 transfer at a time.
NCSoft recognizes that the ability to play on the same server with your friends is quite important to the player community. Due to technical issues NCSoft was unable to grant this ability as soon as they had hoped but would like fans to know that it is on the way. Currently they are working hard to provide this service as soon as possible and are working out issues regarding character owned items and adena with specifics to be released once they are finalized.
Character Customization: Do you sometimes feel like a clone?
Many players in the community value the ability to customize their characters, thus allowing them a more unique online avatar. Dhevrin has stated that NCSoft realizes that this is a major concern for many players. Work is currently being done to allow players more control regarding their in-game appearance. In addition to new weapons and armor players can look forward to additional hair and face options that will be offered at creation. Currently there are no plans to implement features like armor dyes but it is something that has been looked into by the developers and might make its way into the game at a later date. Overall, NCSoft is looking more towards an equipment-driven method for character customization.
Dhevrin also informed me that there are definitely plans to add additional unique weapon and armor models. Since there is no “Con” system in PvP this is being done so that players will be able to better size up their competition based on what gear they are carrying.
Also, since we are currently only up to D-grade equipment players will be able to look forward to more unique S-grade weapons and armor in the future. These items are going to be similar to epic weapons and armor offered in other MMORPGs and will be obtained through a variety of methods such as mob drops and quests. In addition, many of these items will be non-transferable and quite a bit more powerful than standard equipment.
Patch Development Cycles: But I want it now!
Currently the North American servers are roughly 6 months behind the Korean servers in regards to content patches. NCSoft is working hard to reduce this development cycle as the game continues and more patches are added. Localization of each update provides a great deal of work and NCSoft is aiming to cut the delay down in the future. Dhevrin commented that they are working hard to achieve simultaneous patch releases sometime in the future (hopefully by Chronicle 5).
Regarding GM Events and Quests: Are simple and repetitive quests getting you down?
Dhevrin has stated that Lineage 2 never really focused too heavily on quests as a game-play aspect. While there will be new quests added with each update, Dhevrin was happy to inform me that they are looking more towards GM run events versus in-game quests. Dhevrin was unable to give me an exact timeline regarding these new GM events but stated that there is “no question” that GM events will occur once they finish their work with the open beta events. GM run events are a high priority and now that they are into release NCSoft is starting work on new events for the live servers.
New 3rd Classes: Because there is no such thing as too high of level.
NCSoft stated a while back that there would be new methods of advancing your character above and beyond the currently implemented 2nd classes. Exacts have yet to be announced since the new classes are currently in development but hopefully we will be able to see these new abilities in the upcoming Chronicle updates.
A Word to the Community: The most important skill in communication is being a good listener.
As the interview winded down I decided to ask Dhevrin, “What would you like to say to the fans?” In his response he stated that NCSoft is dedicated to their player community and realizes that they are the ones that make Lineage 2 successful. He wanted to now that while he sometimes is unable to post at the rate that fans want, NCSoft is always gathering feedback from the players and utilizing the information to mold the upcoming patches and updates.
