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Lineage II

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Lineage II
Developer(s)NCSoft
E&G Studios
Publisher(s)NCSoft
SeriesLineage
EngineUnreal Engine 2.5
Platform(s)Windows
Release
  • KOR: October 1, 2003
  • NA: April 27, 2004
  • EU: November 19, 2004[1]
Genre(s)Massively multiplayer online role-playing
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Lineage II is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Windows and the second game in the Lineage series. It is a prequel to Lineage and is set 150 years before the first game.[2] It has become popular since its October 1, 2003 launch in South Korea, reporting 40,027,918 unique users during the month of March 2007. To date, the game has been played by more than 94 million users from all over the world.[3]

Lineage II adopted a free-to-play model in Lineage II: Goddess of Destruction, with all game content being free except for "purchasable in-game store items and packs" in November 2011.[4] A prequel, Lineage 2: Revolution, was released as a mobile game in 2016.

Lineage 2M was launched for the first time in South Korea in November 2019.[5]

Gameplay

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In Lineage II, players create a character, choose the race and personalise the face and hair in style, colour, expression and gender.

Every player begins the game in a temple in their character's race's zone (for example: Humans start in "Talking Island" and the Dark Elves in "The Shilen Temple"). Most commonly, the player can choose between a mage and a fighter in each race except Dwarves and Kamael, which can be only fighters.

Battles

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A major part of Lineage II gameplay is the combat. Monsters can be found outside of Towns on the hunting fields or deep inside underground dungeons. When the player defeats a monster, their character gets XP and SP to help them level up and learn new skills.

Players can also fight other players through a PvP system.

Death

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If a player's character dies in battle, they are given the option to resurrect in the nearest town or village. They can also wait for another player to resurrect them with a Resurrection scroll or spell. Resurrecting in the nearest town costs a fraction of the XP gained, which grows exponentially with level. Resurrection spells and elite scrolls generally restore some of the lost experience.

Plot

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The game follows a fictional history through sets of plots called "Sagas". There are currently four sagas: "The Chaotic Chronicle", "The Chaotic Throne", "Goddess of Destruction", and "Epic Tale of Aden". Large-scale updates/expansions are known as "Chronicles" (also known as "The Throne" in The Chaotic Throne, "Chapter" in Goddess of Destruction, and "Episode" in Epic Tale of Aden), which introduce new story elements as well as new features and add-ons. They are released every six months. Each expansion features new skills, quests, areas, and items. Some expansions also increased the level cap.[6]

Characters

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Players elect up to seven characters per account. There are currently seven races in the world of Lineage II: the Humans, who are similar to modern-day humans and who have all-around balanced characteristics; the Elves, who have superior dexterity, movement, and casting speed, but weaker offense; Dark Elves, who have higher magic and melee attack capabilities; Orcs, who have higher HP and MP but slower movement; Dwarves, who are powerful melee attackers and master craftsmen; Kamael, who are humanoids with single wings and gender-specific job classes; and Ertheia, female warriors with two completely unique classes, and different quest lines.[7]

Development

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Hyeong-Jin Kim, the production team head for Lineage II, came up with the basic concept for the game in early 2000. Development happened in October–November of the same year.[2][8] Kim and producer James Bae have stated that their reasons for developing a prequel for Lineage rather than a sequel is that "Lineage will continue to be updated as a game", and that they did not want to risk a conflict with the direction of updates that Lineage will take in the future.[2]

According to Kim and Bae, the game's initial subtitle, "The Chaotic Chronicle", was developed with the intention to express the large-scale war, strategies, conflicts, and collaborations that they hoped to encourage among players.[2]

Lead game designer Raoul Kim said that the reason for rendering Lineage II in 3D was "simply because most games today are [also] using 3D graphics", and because they deemed it "more appropriate than 2D for the things that [they] were going to create". Developers chose to use the Unreal Engine 2 game engine because of its ability to render outdoor scenes and its powerful editing features.[2][9]

According to Game Design team head, Cheol-Woong Hwang, there were different concepts for each of the race's home villages. He described the concept for the human village in Talking Island as "ordinary", while the Elven Village was designed "so as not to lose the natural and royal high-class feeling". They designed the Dark Elven village based on a "grotesque and serious feeling in order to express the rough history of these who had been expelled from the Elves".[10] There are three versions of Lineage II currently available - Classic/Legacy, Aden/Essence and Live/Main.

Reception

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The overall reception for Lineage II is mixed; the game received average review scores from various video game rating websites. Andrew Park of GameSpot said that the game "offers either a repetitive grind or a stiff challenge", and is not suitable for casual gamers who can only play an hour or less per day.[14] Allen "Delsyn" Rausch called the Kamael "an interesting race in that, unlike other Lineage II races, they focus specifically on the warrior path with high-level class paths segregated by gender".[17]

The Chronicle 5: Oath of Blood expansion won the Expansion of the Year award at Stratics Central Editor's Choice Awards 2006,[18] and Lineage II earned an Honorable Mention for the Game of the Year award.[19] During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Lineage II received a nomination for "Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year".[20]

Sequels

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Lineage II is one of the MMOs that were subject to ethnographic study in Constance Steinkuehler and Dmitri Williams's article, "Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as 'Third Places'".[21]

Lineage 2 M

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Lineage 2 M is a mobile game that aims to replicate the gameplay of Lineage II but for mobile devices.[22] It was released on November 27, 2019.[23]

Prequel

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Main article: Lineage 2: Revolution

A prequel, Lineage 2: Revolution, was released as a mobile game in 2016.[24][25]

Sequel

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Main article: Throne and Liberty

NCsoft officially announced Lineage Eternal as the sequel to the first Lineage in November 2011.[26] The first gameplay videos debuted at the G-Star 2011 gaming convention in South Korea on November 10.[27] NCSoft renamed the game Project TL in 2017 and Throne and Liberty in 2022. It was released in 2023.

Content patches

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The Chaotic Chronicles

NA launch date Korean launch date Codename Title
28 April 2004 1 October 2003 C0 Prelude
28 June 2004 28 January 2004 C1 Chronicle 1: Harbingers of War
8 December 2004 11 August 2004 C2 Chronicle 2: Age of Splendor
10 May 2005 2 March 2005 C3 Chronicle 3: Rise of Darkness
8 February 2006 26 October 2005 C4 Chronicle 4: Scions of Destiny
6 September 2006 1 June 2006 C5 Chronicle 5: Oath of Blood

The Chaotic Throne

NA launch Date Korean launch date Codename Title (EN/KR)
11 April 2007 13 December 2006 CT0 Interlude
11 December 2007 16 August 2007 CT1 The Kamael
23 April 2008 12 December 2007 CT1.5 Hellbound / Kamael Plus
12 August 2008 30 April 2008 CT2.1 Gracia Part 1
28 October 2008 13 August 2008 CT2.2 Gracia Part 2
28 April 2009 26 November 2008 CT2.3 Gracia Final
17 November 2009 3 June 2009 CT2.4 Gracia Epilogue / Gracia Plus
24 August 2010 3 February 2010 CT2.5 Freya
7 July 2010 High Five
25 August 2010 High Five Part 2
27 October 2010 High Five Part 3
15 February 2011 15 December 2010 CT2.6 High Five / High Five Part 4
14 March 2011 High Five Part 5

Goddess of Destruction (Free2Play)

NA launch Date Korean launch date Codename Title (EN/KR)
30 November 2011 15 June 2011 GD1 Awakening
7 March 2012 19 October 2011 GD1.5 Harmony
13 June 2012 11 January 2012 GD2 Tauti
24 October 2012 25 March 2012 GD2.5 Glory Days
8 June 2012 Echo
31 October 2012 Power of the West Wind
29 May 2013 28 November 2012 GD3 Lindvior / Ruler of the West Wind
23 February 2013 Episodeon
11 December 2013 21 August 2013 GD3.5 Valiance / Raiders

Epic Tale Of Aden

Korean launch date NA launch date EU launch date Codename Title (EN/KR)
31 December 2013 30 July 2014 14 October 2014 EP1 Ertheia / Dimensional Strangers
25 June 2014 Infinite Odyssey: Prelude to the Journey
27 August 2014 Infinite Odyssey
10 December 2014 22 April 2015 17 June 2015 EP2 Infinite Odyssey / Infinite Odyssey: Shadows of Light Part 1
14 January 2015 Infinite Odyssey: Shadows of Light Part 2
1 May 2015 14 October 2015 EP2.5 Underground / Infinite Odyssey: Hymn of the Soul
17 June 2015 Infinite Odyssey: Will of the Ancients
9 September 2015 29 June 2016 2 August 2016 EP3 Helios
18 May 2016 Grand Crusade
31 August 2016 29 March 2017 25 April 2017 EP4 Grand Crusade / Grand Crusade: Force Bringer
8 February 2017 7 December 2017 6 December 2017 EP5 Salvation: First Chapter (NA) / The Page: Salvation
12 April 2017 Salvation: The Gathering
29 November 2017 22 August 2018 8 August 2018 Salvation - Etina's Fate (NA) / Orfen (KR)
30 July 2018 15 May 2019 22 February 2019 EP5.5 Fafurion
12 December 2018 31 Jule 2019 2 August 2019 Prologue (KR) Fafurion Pt.1 (NA) / Prelude of War (EU)
30 October 2019 27 September 2019 Fafurion Pt.2 (NA) / Prelude of War Pt.2 (EU)
15 January 2020 25 December 2019 Winter of War (NA) / Prelude of War Pt.3 (EU)
1 April 2020 22 April 2020 Dawn of Heroes (NA) / Homunculus (EU)
19 August 2020 15 August 2020 Tales Untold (NA) / Homunculus Ch.2 (EU)
3 February 2021 3 March 2021 Wild Horizons (NA) / Return of the Queen Ant (EU)
16 June 2021 30 June 2021 Herald of Light (NA) / The Return of the Queen Ant Ch. 2 (EU)

Deathknight

Korean launch date NA launch date EU launch date Codename Title
26 May 2021 19 October 2021 3 November 2021 D1.0 Master Class
3 March 2022 10 March 2022 Storm of Terror (NA) / Master Class Ch. 2 (EU)
14 October 2022 26 October 2022 Hero's Tome (NA) / Master Class Ch. 3 (EU)
15 March 2023 29 March 2023 Dethrone Fire (NA) / The Source of Flame (EU)
23 May 2023 13 November 2023 Shinemaker (NA) / Shine Maker (KR)

References

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  1. ^ Bramwell, Tom (November 19, 2004). "What's New? [date mislabeled "June 10, 2005"]". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Aihoshi, Richard. "Lineage II Interview". Archived from the original on 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2007-09-21.
  3. ^ "Lineage II: awesome views, rave reviews!". MCV. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
  4. ^ "Goddess of Destruction Has Launched!". 30 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Lineage 2 M surpasses $152m in three months". gamesindustry. 2020-02-12.
  6. ^ "Lineage 2". MMOHuts. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  7. ^ "Races, Classes, and Skills". www.lineage2.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
  8. ^ "Making Lineage II: 1. Unfolding the Fantasy Land". www.lineage2.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  9. ^ "Lineage II Q&A". www.gamespot.com. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  10. ^ "Making Lineage II: 2. Turning the Dream into Reality". www.lineage2.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-19. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  11. ^ "Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  12. ^ "Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne - The Kamael for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  13. ^ "Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Park, Andrew (June 2, 2004). "Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  15. ^ Allen (May 29, 2004). "Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
  16. ^ Butts, Steve (June 18, 2004). "Lineage 2: The Chaotic Chronicle". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  17. ^ Rausch, Allen 'Delsyn' (December 7, 2007). "Lineage II: The Kamael First Look". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
  18. ^ "Editor's Choice Awards 2006: Expansion of the Year". www.stratics.com. 2006. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  19. ^ "Editor's Choice Awards 2006: Game of the Year". www.stratics.com. 2006. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  20. ^ "2006 Awards Category Details Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  21. ^ Steinkuehler, Constance, and Dmitri Williams. "Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as "Third Places". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Oct. 2006: 885-909. Print.
  22. ^ Joo-won, Chung (8 January 2020). "NCSOFT flying high on earnings hope". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  23. ^ "NCSOFT's Lineage 2M highest grossing app on Google Play Store in Q1". The Korea Herald. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  24. ^ Cowley, Ric (20 November 2017). "Lineage 2: Revolution review - A revolution in MMORPGs or the same old story?". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  25. ^ "Lineage 2: Revolution is all hype with few redeeming qualities". Android Central. 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
  26. ^ "Lineage Eternal Announcement". Archived from the original on 2012-04-11. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  27. ^ GStar Gameplay Videos Debut - First Look at Lineage Eternal
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