The challenge for MMOs is that they need to do everything all at once. They’ll have an open-world, crafting, PvE, PvP, and content for every step along the way from the start of your journey to its end. Some, however, lean towards one of these pillars a little more than the others. In the case of Throne and Liberty, which is out now in the West in early access before its full launch, the focus is definitely on PvP, with its large-scale battles having huge ramifications for the entire game. The question is, however, how do you keep it fair?
Ahead of the Throne and Liberty launch, we were able to talk to Globalization Design Manager Daniel Lafuente about how the MMORPG will handle PvP, especially when it comes to handling huge-scale battles with potentially thousands of players taking part.
“Our focus has been on refining the underlying systems to prevent exploitation, while still enabling the dynamic, player-driven experiences that make these battles so exhilarating,” Lafuente tells us. “We are focused on preventing any abuse of game systems that could over-allocate power to specific groups. We will continue monitoring and iterating to ensure a fair, compelling massive-scale PvP environment that caters to our players’ needs.”
Another aspect that could be a cause for concern regards multi-guild battles, with the potential for big guilds to team up in order to steamroll over smaller ones, becoming utterly unassailable. “At launch, we’ll have caps on the maximum allied guilds that can formally join forces for events like Castle Sieges. This prevents the formation of unbeatable mega-alliances,” he says. “While we can’t discuss all the changes currently, we are actively exploring further improvements. Our goal is to encourage healthy rivalries by promoting intended gameplay, rather than allowing systems to be abused for outsized power gains by certain groups.”
In addition to individual battles being dominated by alliances, there’s the possibility that entire realms could become the domain of just a few guilds, capturing territory and pushing out anyone who isn’t a member – something that has allegedly occurred on realms in the Korean version of the game.
“Preventing any single group from dominating is a complex challenge we’re addressing from multiple angles. We’ve designed a variety of events that allow guilds of all sizes to find success. For example, during Castle Sieges, while the largest guilds battle for castle ownership, there are adjacent Pillage Zones that smaller guilds can capture to earn Lucent and Sollant,” Lafuente informs us. “ Additionally, free server transfers will be available from launch, allowing players to find the right home as they settle into Solisium. Lastly, something we’ll share more details on later (as we’re still iterating), is that we’re also working on cross-server guild vs guild systems to provide ongoing fresh challenges.”
So while there have been some technical issues affecting the game’s large-scale PvP in the runup to launch, it looks like NCSoft and Amazon Games are promising to take balance seriously both at the Throne and Liberty release date, and after.
Throne and Liberty is out now for those who have purchased the early access pack, and will launch on Tuesday October 1 for everyone else. You can head over to Steam to learn more.
Should you need to power up before you head in, our guide to all current Throne and Liberty codes will help you get a little something for free and our best Throne and Liberty weapons guide will give you a head start when it comes to tackling the MMO’s meta.
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