Lineage III (Project TL) Finally Has a Name: Throne and Liberty

I’m gonna be real with you all, when NCSoft confirmed that Project TL – AKA, Project The Lineage – AKA, Lineage Eternal – AKA, Lineage III, yes, we’ve really gone through that many incarnations of the game – would be launching Globally in 2022 on PC and Console.. I wasn’t overly optimistic.
Given we hadn’t seen any new footage in years made me even less certain, but as of earlier today, NCSoft revealed that the game has undergone an entire overhaul, from a top-down isometric MMO like Lost Ark, to a full third person action MMO like Black Desert with new gameplay mechanics that could potentially revolutionize the MMO genre.
And holy crap it looks ridiculously good.

I’ve been hyping up and covering this game for years – since I first heard about it alongside Lost Ark back in 2016? 2017? And today, we get to look at an almost complete product for a game I’ve been waiting for since the inception of MMOByte.

In the official blog post made by NCSoft, they went on to confirm that Throne and Liberty is going to be releasing in the second half of this year. Globally, it seems, as they note that they are going to be actively pursuing various different genres based on different models, and will be actively entering the global market.
They announced 5 games earlier this year, “not only MMORPGs, but also interactive movies, action battle royales, and collectible RPGs. All these games will be serviced in the global market.”
These 5 games, which I covered last month in a dedicated video are not the only games that are in the process of development. NC confirmed that they will “be releasing a variety of videos showcasing new IPs shown in February one by one. We also plan to create IPs that have not yet been made public.”
Again, this includes MMOs, RPGs and more. And they specifically state that these games will be built specifically for different platforms. But Throne and Liberty will be exclusive to PC and console.

Concerning Throne and Liberty, the devs went on to elaborate a little on why the game has taken as long as it has to release.
“The original objective of the project was “let’s make the next-generation Lineage,” a sentiment they express was held approximately 3 years ago. However, after “remaking the story of Throne and Liberty, it was materialized as a new IP.”

“In the process of development, a lot of the original system and content had to be adapted or removed to follow the current game trends. As a result, the gameplay also gradually became different from the original.
Decisively, we wrote a completely new story, and after this work, questions arose within the development team as well, like ‘Should this be called Lineage?’ So we changed the name to fit the new story. This also reflects the will of the development team to break the shell of Lineage.”

In essence, they felt like the game wouldn’t perform as they’d anticipated with the dated graphics, gameplay and mechanics.

“Throne and Liberty is a project created by reconsidering the core values that the next-generation MMO on PC and console should show.
Numerous efforts went into designing how immersive the world is where players play. The environment has been carefully constructed so that many people can continue to have new experiences and enjoy in the world of Throne and Liberty.”

Admittedly, that’s quite the grandiose claim to make. “Next-generation MMO?” This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that. But given how innovative Lineage, Aion and Blade & Soul were, I’m open to giving them the benefit of the doubt.

“For example, there have been various attempts to make field play less monotonous. Even in the same area, the terrain may change as the weather changes, the flow of battle may change depending on the direction of the wind, or you may encounter new mobs over time.
Hunting methods and purposes are constantly changing accordingly. The geographical features, the environment, and the player, these three factors influence each other, and we put a lot of effort into making the play come out in different ways even in the same area. We expect that diverse variables will create a vast array of gameplay.”

I take that back. THIS is a grandiose claim to make. An ever evolving game world where terrain changes as the weather changes, and the flow of battle being dependent on the direction of the wind? Migrating monsters?
I would love for this to be a thing, and if they somehow implement it, and it functions as we expect, then yes, this could be the biggest MMO in decades. But I just feel like they’re ideas are a little too grand.

They had a few things to say concerning it’s release in various different regions.
“It might sound rather ideal, but I think that if we appeal to players purely for enjoyment, it can be loved without boundaries between generations or regions. Thus, we created Throne and Liberty by thinking about what NC has missed so far and focusing on making up for it. We did not specifically divide the East and West or focus on a specific target.”
While a little vague, it seems as though they don’t plan on having regional restrictions, but they didn’t confirm whether a Western release would come simultaneously with, or after the Korean release.

This is going to be a very narrative-driven game. The devs feel that for players to fully enjoy an MMO – or a game more specifically, you need to find yourself engrossed in a larger world filled with lore and personality.
But that isn’t it. Story is important, but so is content. Which was also addressed. World bosses, dungeon bosses, raid bosses. Large, elite monsters. There will be a lot of difficulty – a lot of challenge present in-game that will require an adequate amount of teamwork.
These encounters, especially the world boss fights are going to require active participation by large quantities of players all cooperating with one another.
But given this is an MMO, you know that that’ll never happen.

The world itself was elaborated on a little, with the devs confirming that their goal was to seamlessly connect the entire world together.
So the player could move three-dimensionally. In light of this, they’ve made it so there is no fast-travel found within the game, rather, there needed to be a method with which to traverse the land at an increased rate, and thus they opted to allow players to transform into animals.
Yup, animals. So you can run faster across land. Swim faster through the water. Kinda like a Druid in World of Warcraft. Interesting direction to take, I know.

In an effort to further revolutionize how combat mechanics function in-game, they promise that weather conditions are going to affect combat physically. As an example, when you fire your bow, the strength of the wind is going to affect the range and trajectory of your arrow.
When it’s sunny, lightning-elemental magic is only going to hit a single target, as opposed to the magic becoming an AoE during stormy weather.
Seriously, I kid you not. If they somehow manage to find a way to physically implement these features into the game – which they claim they’ve already done, then this is going to be absolutely massive.

In another interesting direction, it turns out one of their other games, Project E, is going to share the same game-world with Throne and Liberty. They’ll be set on different continents, but be completely connected lore-wise.
Sharing a world-view is.. something you don’t typically see. It’s like if they split Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms into entirely different games.
Each game has their own unique narrative, setting, and will operate separately from one another. Project E will be Korean-inspired, while Throne and Liberty will be based around Medieval fantasy.

And.. that’s it. This game could be a monolithic, ground-breaking MMO that absolutely dominates the genre for years to come.
Or it could go down as one of the largest failures in history, given it’s been in development as Lineage III for 11 years, and Throne and Liberty for 4 by the time it releases later this year.
Which once more, they’ve confirmed they’re still on track for, Globally, as well. 2022, boys. This is it.