Lineage 2 goes F2P

NewsPosted 02/11/2011 - 2:55pm GMT

Lineage 2 will be going free-to-play, NCsoft has announced.

Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle screenshot

Lineage 2 will be going free-to-play, NCsoft has announced. All content in the game will be available to all users, while the game will be powered by the new in-game item store being included in the MMO's upcoming expansion Goddess of Destruction.

The L2 Store will allow players to purchase potions, buffs, XP and SP boosts, and consumable supplies, as well as cosmetic items.

Lineage 2 was originally released to North America in 2004, however its userbase is based largely in Asia.

VideoGamer.com Analysis

While it's nice to see a free-to-play MMO avoid the freemium route of games like Lord of the Rings Online and allow users to access all in-game content for free, it's honestly baffling that they would let users pay real world money to buy legitimately game-changing items like XP boosts, particularly after the backlash EVE got just for considering it.

Comments

To add your comment, please login or register

User Comments

Endless

I was always interested in playing Lineage 2, if only for the siege and politcal aspects of the gameplay. Just seemed like a really well designed system....with an IMMENSE grind attached to it >.>

Posted 00:04 on 03 November 2011

FantasyMeister

XP boosts aren't really a problem, they tend to level the playing field a little because they allow the 9-5 working gamers to catch up with the 24/7 gaming gamers, which helps populate endgame.

It's also a way to cut out the powerlevelling service middlemen.

In effect Diablo III is also F2P in the same way; the 24/7 gaming gamers can farm the Broadswords of Experience +10XP per kill, the 9-5 working gamers can buy the Broadswords of Experience using the Auction House, the difference being that the 24/7s get a cut of the profits.

Posted 16:58 on 02 November 2011