The Ever-Changing Game World of Throne and Liberty

Throne and Liberty is an upcoming MMO expected to release later this year. While there isn't a huge amount of specific information about the game just yet, developers NCSoft have released some information about how various game systems will work. 

We covered a couple of these previously, including the Class and Weapon systems and PvP. Today we'll provide an overview of how the game's world and environment will work, and how it will have an active impact on gameplay and cooperation between players. 

This is hardly the first time that a developer has promised to create an open world without any loading screens. Often there turns out to be a caveat to the promise, so it's hard to not be a tiny bit skeptical until we see the finished product in action. 

However if they manage to pull it off, it does sound like it will impact the gameplay and interaction between players in an interesting and meaningful way, given what was talked about in the Directors' Preview for Throne and Liberty. 

An example of how this may impact players is in dungeons - these are planned to be part of the main game world rather than being instanced into subzones with individual player limits. The dungeons will contain several "levels", basically different floors, presumably with more difficult challenges the further you descend into the dungeon. 

There are places on these levels where players can look down onto lower levels, and you can actually see what players are doing down there, and are even able to cast spells to give them a hand. 

The broader idea is something that crops up several times in the Directors' preview - the developers are trying to create an environment that really encourages a sense of community between the players, providing ample incentives and opportunities to help your fellow explorers out. 

Another thing that's touched on in Throne and Liberty is the game's weather. The game world contains many different biomes, but all of them will undergo interesting changes during certain events and weather conditions. These aren't just visual, but will actually have an impact on gameplay, combat and exploration. 

For example, heavy rain will cause bodies of water to appear in a previously dry landscape, and this can open up certain secrets that are otherwise inaccessible. The Directors' Preview shows us an example of this in action, where an ancient door mechanism powered by flowing water springs into life during wet weather, allowing players to open the door and see what is kept within. 

Weather can also have an impact on combat, for example lightning magic becomes more volatile during rainy weather, able to jump to additional targets. 

If these systems are indeed common throughout the game and not just marketing gimmicks, then the game world of Throne and Liberty could be one of the most engaging ever seen in an MMO, encouraging players to be aware of the ever-changing environment and use it to their advantage in order to explore hidden areas or gain an upper hand in combat. 

We hope you enjoyed this article about Throne and Liberty, an upcoming MMO planned for release in 2023.