Outlet: Jeux Online
Spokesperson: Daniel Lafuente, Globalization Design Manager, Amazon Games
Questions:
What PvP game modes will players be able to experience in Throne and Liberty?
Throne and Liberty delivers an incredibly diverse array of PvP content to suit many different playstyles and group sizes. If you’re a PvP fanatic, you’ll find a broad selection across our instanced and open-world skirmishes. For those craving quick, intense 3v3 battles, our instanced Arena modes are the perfect proving grounds. Dynamic Events take things up a notch with larger-scale open-world event-based fights pitting factions against each other. If you prefer more structured guild warfare, our Conquest Battles allow forces to vie for strategic boonstone and riftstone control through Guild vs Guild offensives. But the pinnacle of Throne and Liberty’s PvP is the unprecedented scale of our Castle Sieges where thousands of players converge for jaw-dropping, server-wide wars over the castle’s throne and pillage zones.
What types of strategic objectives or resources will players be able to compete for in the open world?
Players can compete for control over several key strategic objectives and resources in Throne and Liberty’s open world – boonstones, riftstones, and of course, the epic Castle Sieges over Stonegard Castle. Boonstones and riftstones are highly coveted strategic capture points that guilds battle to control and claim sovereignty over. Holding a boonstone provides your guild with valuable resource rewards to fuel your progression. While riftstones grant the ability to initiate bonus fights against powerful world bosses tied to that location. The true centerpiece though is our unmatched Castle Siege experiences. These massive conflicts showcase Throne and Liberty’s unprecedented ability to render thousands of players coming together in epic server-wide warfare over the vital Stonegard fortress. But even within these behemoth battles, there are intense smaller-scale engagements unfolding simultaneously. Our Castle Siege system caters to guilds of all sizes by incorporating strategic sub-objectives called Pillage Zones. While the server’s largest and most elite forces vie for control of the central castle itself, smaller guilds can concentrate their efforts on capturing and holding these Pillage Zones during the siege. Successfully controlling these zones provides crucial income streams of both Lucent, our premium currency, and Sollant for standard progression. So, whether you’re a massive zerg-force or a tight-knit guerilla operation, there are always high-stakes objectives to battle over in Throne and Liberty’s open world.
What are the conditions for attacking an enemy boonstone/riftstone?
Guilds can declare their intent to challenge the incumbent holders of a boonstone or riftstone 36 hours before the scheduled battle. If multiple guilds declare for the same objective, their relative ranking based on an activity score metric determines which challenger gets priority. Once that declaration window closes, the defenders and their rivals prepare for all-out war over that strategic resource. The stakes are high, as these boonstone and riftstone claims provide valuable rewards in the game for guilds.
Will it be possible to take part in these events without being part of a guild?
For some activities like Arena skirmishes, Dynamic Events, and Castle Sieges, you do not need to be part of a formal guild to participate. These event types are open to all players. However, our more structured Conquest Battles over boonstones and riftstones do currently require being a member of a declared guild to join the fight. That said, we’ve been listening to feedback about opening up more guild-centric content to solo players. We’re actively working on new features to help facilitate that type of open participation, but aren’t ready to share details just yet.
Is there PvP content designed for solo players or small groups?
You bet! While Throne and Liberty has impressive massive-scale battles, we’ve made sure to include plenty of PvP experiences tailored for smaller parties and solo players too. Our 3v3 Arenas are the perfect quick-hit battlegrounds for solo players or pre-made parties to put their skills to the test. We also have our Dominion Mode Dynamic Events, which randomly sort players into three open-world factions for intense, objective-based faction warfare. So whether you prefer to fly solo and make a name for yourself as a cunning mercenary or run with a tight-knit crew, you’ll find plenty of exciting PvP content to dive into at any group size.
At launch, what are the conditions for unlocking the Siege on the server?
The first of our epic Castle Siege events is currently slated to take place in mid-November which will unlock based on the time gate established by our Milestone progression system.
During the Korean release, the game was criticized for allowing guilds to form alliances of more than 4 guilds (the maximum number normally intended by the game). What measures have been taken to address this issue?
Throne and Liberty’s unprecedented, massive-scale battles presents unique challenges that we’ve been focused on addressing ahead of release. For our global launch, we’ve implemented a number of new system restrictions and policies aimed at promoting a healthier, more competitive environment. This includes hard alliance caps at 4 guilds, Guild v Guild modes, and other safeguards against any single force growing too large and disruptive. Specifically for our Castle Siege events, we have additional upgrades planned to better facilitate balanced, epic-scale warfare between alliances of all sizes. We aren’t ready to go into full details just yet, but you can expect even more changes to combat alliances to mitigate larger than intended sizes. Our goal is to preserve the incredible spectacle of Throne and Liberty’s massive-scale PvP while still ensuring a competitive, healthy gameplay ecosystem across all servers. We’ll keep monitoring and iterating as needed.
How will players be able to progress their character through PvP?
Players will be able to progress their characters through PvP activities in Throne and Liberty by earning a variety of valuable rewards, both for themselves and for their guild. The types of rewards you can obtain span a wide range – from powerful epic weapons and armor, to crafting materials and resources, to buffs from special food items, and much more. Guilds will also receive their own progression rewards like resources to help move the entire group forward together. A key benefit for guild members is that many of the rewards earned from PvP activities are shared among the entire guild. So your personal success directly contributes to the collective power and advancement of your whole guild community. Whether you’re looking to accelerate your own character’s gear or just provide a boost to your guild’s overall strength, PvP stands as a lucrative path for character progression in Throne and Liberty when combined with those collaborative benefits.
How will the game’s monetization impact player progression?
We wanted to deliver a game where players have the freedom to fully immerse themselves in the rich game world and all of its content, whether they choose to spend money or not. If you decide not to spend a single dime, you can still earn our premium in-game currency through various activities. This includes selling rare drops to other players on the auction house, or acquiring it as a reward from PvP activities. With that earned premium currency, you’ll have the ability to unlock the same types of items and conveniences that are typically locked behind paywalls in other games. This includes things like cosmetics, level boosting passes, battle passes, and more. Our monetization approach has no loot boxes or randomized elements. Every purchase made in Throne and Liberty’s shop, whether for cosmetics, battle passes, or other items, shows you the exact items you are receiving upfront before purchase. We’ve released two comprehensive articles that go into deeper detail on our overarching business model philosophy and the player-friendly principles driving our monetization decisions. They provide more insight into our focus on building a fair and sustainable free-to-play experience. The core premise is we want to facilitate an incredibly immersive game world that anyone can fully experience and make progress within, regardless of whether they opt to spend money or not.
Do you plan to implement specific systems to limit the impact of monetization in more competitive modes (e.g., 3v3)?
While 3v3 Arenas do have an official « Ranked » competitive mode, we view many aspects of PvP in Throne and Liberty as inherently competitive experiences, especially the guild vs guild warfare happening across servers. We’re constantly evaluating and monitoring all of our game modes to ensure they remain healthy, balanced, and as fair as possible. As mentioned previously, we believe we’ve created one of the most equitable free-to-play monetization models for an MMO. Our approach allows players of all types, whether they spend money or not, to meaningfully progress and compete across the entirety of Throne and Liberty’s content.
Do you have an idea of when the next vertical equipment upgrade threshold will arrive?
While I can’t share any specific dates or timeframes just yet, I can provide some insight into our overall philosophy for introducing new vertical gear progression milestones. Our goal is to strike a balance between keeping the progression path engaging and rewarding for all players, while also avoiding overwhelming the community with new level caps or gear resets too quickly before they’ve had time to experience and enjoy the existing content. We’ll be closely monitoring key metrics like clear rates for the hardest PvE activities, average power levels across different player segments, and overall sentiment around the current progression curve. When enough of the playerbase has reached an appropriate threshold, that’s when we’ll look at introducing the next gear bracket or level increase. We want it to feel like a substantial, meaningful new journey for players to embark on. We’ll make sure to provide ample communication well in advance so players have time to prepare. Maintaining a fair, comprehensible progression path for all is extremely important to us.
NCSoft has already communicated about an expansion for Throne & Liberty: Talandre. This expansion will bring a second castle to the game. Will the siege event be identical (process, frequency, day & time…)?
You’re correct that the Talandre expansion from the Korean version is on the long-term content roadmap for our global Throne and Liberty service. Though the update was extensive it did not actually introduce an additional castle location for siege warfare. What Talandre will bring is an expansive new region filled with new level cap increases, world bosses, co-op dungeons, PvP territories, and more.
There’s talk of introducing an RvR-type zone in longer-term updates. Can you tell us more about this?
While I’d love to be able to share more details, we aren’t quite ready to discuss any unannounced future updates or content drops just yet. Our immediate focus is on delivering an amazing launch experience for Throne and Liberty’s global release first.
Do you have a rough idea of how long it will be before you allow Early Access players to transfer to the launch servers?
At this time, we don’t have any further details to share beyond the server information already outlined in our official launch notes article here.
How does Throne & Liberty plan to make PvP accessible to new players arriving after launch, without them feeling penalized compared to veterans or players investing in monetization?
We have future plans for live operations activities and additional methods for providing newer players an avenue to reach a competitive level on par with veteran players. However, we’ll be thoughtful in implementing these options at the appropriate times. We want to ensure veteran players’ effort and progression remain respected. The goal is to strike a balance between providing accessible on-ramps for new players, while still respecting the investment of time and effort by our loyal community. We’ll monitor the situation closely and make the necessary adjustments when the time is right.