A lot of stuff in life, it's so easy to think about and talk about; and yet making it into reality takes time and energy in a carefully executed manner.
I imagine it must be so much work to create a computer game and make it interesting enough to last. Every decision has to be made and its consequences are irreversible in real life.
Today I'd like to talk about Lineage2 vs World of Warcraft(better known as WOW.) The two games came out almost the same time and have been the leading force and nemesis in the MMORPG industry for more than 10 years now; which means they both must be good! Well, interestingly enough I've played them both, and there are Pros and Cons of each game. There are so many stuff that I can think about and write about but I don't wanna overwhelm and bore you with so many details, so I will mention the most obvious ones.
Over the years, I could see L2 and WOW learning from each other and implementing the game ideas from each other(this is L2 forum so I will present the story from L2 perspective.) Some are good but some are bad. I really like the fact, we now have Auction House in L2. Before AH, it was so hard to buy and sell stuff and took too long. But now it's so easy, which I like. What I don't like is Seperate gears for Pve and PvP in L2, known as Bloody and Dark.
In the case of WOW, leveling is so easy. I played back when LvL 90 was max and it took about 3 days to go from LvL 1 to LvL 90. The game is mostly about grinding for gears and this is what Wow players do... spend months to get the top gears. Well, WOW is subscription based, so the longer a player plays = more money from subscription; therefore it was necessary for the game of WOW to have seperate PvE and PvP gear sets, so players will have to spend double the time for each content update; but this is not the case for Lineage2. The leveling in Lineage2 is so hard already and takes months or years to level even one toon high enough...and most players don't even have the complete end game gears...I know it was about time to have an upgrade version for R99 Blessed weapons and armors after so many years, but making it into two seperate PvE and PvP was totally unnecessary I think. I didn't like it in WOW and should've been avoided in L2. (WOW is doing well but there are so many flaws in WOW...and this is one of the big ones.)
Game Balance...this is what both L2 and WOW are struggling for...One thing in common though is the circulation of Over-Powered Class. No class is OP forever and with the new update a new OP class is born...LOL!
So how to balanace? Well, this is what I think...You can't! LOL! No matter what you do, there will always be people crying to buff the class they play and nuff all others! So you shouldn't listen to all but still need to be mindful of character balance.
In general, good Character balance is Dynamic balance. Stactic balance is BORING! Take for example, 10 atk 10 def 100 HP vs 10 atk 10 def 100 Hp PvP fight...so boring... I hit you one and you hit me one and it's all the same. But! 35 atk 20 def 80 HP vs 20 atk 50 def 120 HP is more dynamic and fun! Anyways next is what I think on how the future L2 character balance better be.
Tank: hardest and slowest toon to level, therefore Should be #1 PVP. I leveled a paladin the other night and I really liked the Shackle (immobilise for 10 sec) + shield stun + shield Bash(Can't use physical skill for 1 minute!) LOL! Awakened tanks can pull their target too!!!
This is what L2 tanks should be I think. They grab their opponent, stun them , immobilise them, make them unable to use skills!
Well, this is just an example, but I am sure we can all talk about the details...in general, if a class is not so good in one area then it should be good in some other area for that dynamic balance.
i like how you compare both .. but you are forgetting the one main problem of lineage2.. guess.. its the bots . the bots are a diseases in this game .. same goes for the pvp bots. ban this people IPs .. i'm positive that any legit still out there woudlnt take a dime from ncsoft if they were ask to log in game and banned the bots.anyone would do it for free. if they had actual gms running arround banning this people it be very different.. i do miss GMspam.
the community i feel would welcome him back i'm sure. even do a weekly donation to give him a pay check.
this is whats wrong with lineage.
lineage2 will go down in history as a infested bot game ruined by third party pvp program and the inability of its staff members to help the community combat these issues .
Bots are in most games. But L2 has let this disease spread worse than many other games. I don't know if it's lack of ability on L2's end, or if they themselves have been profiting from them over the years, and are playing both sides of this thing (hard to deny this suspicion since we're not allowed to name them, and some never seem to disappear regardless of how blatant and out in the open they are). I don't know if bots are what's killing L2...but then again maybe...look what they've done to the economy over the years. Then the public outcry sways some people's opinions whether they personally encounter them or not. Random people will cry about bots, yet they don't really deal with them the way some of us do.
I think L2's struggle has always been just riding on WoW's wave. L2 never really got into the marketing end, where as WoW was highly advertised....L2 just somehow gathered customers by word of mouth, and probably a google search popping us up. That lack of contribution, and the "set it and forget it" philosophy from L2 (NCW to be more precise) is why things get "let go" in game. It's why so many things seem old and outdated, rather than new and fresh. It's why bots constantly r*pe the game. I honestly think someone upstairs to a degree, doesn't care. Maximize profits, while minimizing cost. So basic an idea...and they've been doing it for years. Now all of a sudden many players appear to "care" about the game since it's become a "hail mary" effort to keep things alive here by just selling a "win" to whoever can afford it, and giving freebies to newbies that come to play. Too little, too late...now for anyone who's been here for a while sees what a disaster it's become, while newer players are "spoiled" and can buy their way to the top (so to speak).....Putting more than a casual few bucks a week into this game is just blind stupidity playing into the plans of these lazy ba****ds who are sucking up as much money as they can living off of L2's past glory before it becomes too obsolete to bother maintaining at all.
The future of Lineage 2 you ask? Private servers catering to the nostalgic gamer.
I 100% disagree with ya justchillin. What harm are the bots doing? I see them in town getting buffs, then never see them again. They bring in the adena we are too lazy to bother picking up. You realize how much your soulshot would cost, where ya thing all the crystals are coming from? In my opinion, lifting the level cap is what will kill the game. If you don't have the time or money for runes, you will be left behind. Reaching goals was always a huge part of this game. At 101, it's so slow and seeing no end in sight I keep asking my self, "why am I doing this again?" NCsoft let the scripting go on for so long now that if they did ban them all, game over, those people won't play without it now.
There is no future in L2 unless they decide to hire a big team again and start a total revamp from 0, something like SE did when the first version of FFXIV failed. But it would require a matter of millions of investment and years of development. Something they don't seem to be willing to do to L2 anymore.
Said that, the only thing left to do is to bet on P2W in order to get as much money as they can out of a dying game.
the problems have always been about competition. many gamers are competitive and once they get fed up with losing, they move on to something else they might be better at. whether this is due to p2w or scripts or just dont have the time to level up to 105 are decisions ultimately forced by the leaders of this game.
I think most people under-estimate the great potential of games like Lineage2, sadly that includes NCsoft themselves it seems these days. Funny thing is, people have been saying "L2 is Dying" for over 10 years and the game is still in existence. What it is I think...why the game of L2 is the way it is..has something to do with the personality type of its original maker. A great creator and an artist who likes creating new ideas and new worlds but loses interest after......
There are people who like challenges and are good at starting new projects but quickly lose interest once the projects become successful; and there are people who don't like trying new things but are really good at managing things and making things better.
When you see the history of NCsoft, you will notice that the leader of the company is an artist type who likes creating new worlds, new games...
What L2 needs currently is somebody who really believes in L2 and likes to manage and improve things.
The turn-over rate for WOW is like 60-70% every 6 months I heard. Yeah. that's right! Even the world's most popular MMORPG game loses so many customers that they recruit new customers all the time just to maintain. And you know something? This is true for L2 also. I encounter teenagers playing L2 now. They just don't have the disposable income since they don't make money yet. Millions of babies are born each year and millions of teenagers start playing MMORPG games each year. Yes the game of L2 is old but to the eyes of young people it's a brand new game. The Legend can continue; sadly all Nstore does presently is to scare them away...before they can spend 2-3 years happily enjoying the game, become adults, have a job then become the next Nstore shoppers.
They just need a good Manager who believes in this game.
By the way...L2 for CellPhone? LOL? for real?
How am I gonna play Yul Archer with an I-phone? I already play the piano with my left hand as it is with a keyboard. So How are they gonna make it possible? and what about ridiculous amount of phone bill it's gonna cause?
$500-600 for the phone? LOL!
Is NC gonna provide a free bot program for cellphone users next year?
L2 for cellphone = Bad Idea, I think I will pass.
Something I don't understand about NCsoft... Why start a new business, spend millions on the unknowns, take the risk??? when you can easily do some improvements on the current game and easily make good profit?
I think most people under-estimate the great potential of games like Lineage2, sadly that includes NCsoft themselves it seems these days. Funny thing is, people have been saying "L2 is Dying" for over 10 years and the game is still in existence. What it is I think...why the game of L2 is the way it is..has something to do with the personality type of its original maker. A great creator and an artist who likes creating new ideas and new worlds but loses interest after......
There are people who like challenges and are good at starting new projects but quickly lose interest once the projects become successful; and there are people who don't like trying new things but are really good at managing things and making things better.
When you see the history of NCsoft, you will notice that the leader of the company is an artist type who likes creating new worlds, new games...
What L2 needs currently is somebody who really believes in L2 and likes to manage and improve things.
The turn-over rate for WOW is like 60-70% every 6 months I heard. Yeah. that's right! Even the world's most popular MMORPG game loses so many customers that they recruit new customers all the time just to maintain. And you know something? This is true for L2 also. I encounter teenagers playing L2 now. They just don't have the disposable income since they don't make money yet. Millions of babies are born each year and millions of teenagers start playing MMORPG games each year. Yes the game of L2 is old but to the eyes of young people it's a brand new game. The Legend can continue; sadly all Nstore does presently is to scare them away...before they can spend 2-3 years happily enjoying the game, become adults, have a job then become the next Nstore shoppers.
They just need a good Manager who believes in this game.
By the way...L2 for CellPhone? LOL? for real?
How am I gonna play Yul Archer with an I-phone? I already play the piano with my left hand as it is with a keyboard. So How are they gonna make it possible? and what about ridiculous amount of phone bill it's gonna cause?
$500-600 for the phone? LOL!
Is NC gonna provide a free bot program for cellphone users next year?
L2 for cellphone = Bad Idea, I think I will pass.
Something I don't understand about NCsoft... Why start a new business, spend millions on the unknowns, take the risk??? when you can easily do some improvements on the current game and easily make good profit?I guess the future of L2 is either die, or find ways to keep enticing suckers with open wallets and no sense of smart spending.