I had the pleasure of playing Throne and Liberty during beta and have been playing since its release on October 1, 2024. However, at the same time, I was also preparing for my move to China and didn’t have time to complete my review of Throne and Liberty. Now, I have time and here’s my review.

What is Throne and Liberty About?

Throne and Liberty, a next-generation MMORPG developed by NCSoft, is the successor to Lineage (1998), a classic MMORPG. The events of TL take place in the vast, magical lands of Solisium. Though it’s a standalone title, TL’s Lineage roots are evident, with shared themes of faction warfare, and epic PvP battles.

Taking place several centuries after the events of the first Lineage game, Throne and Liberty is a story of power struggle and survival against an ancient evil known as Kazar, the Wraith of Conquest, who threatens the land. We, as adventurers, are tasked to seek out the fragments of the legendary Star of Sylaveth, whose power is the key to turning the tide of war. The plot sticks the the tried and true MMO blueprint of entrusting you, an adventurer to save the world from an evil force that could destroy everything just for power. Though it sticks to the blueprint, the story itself is interesting and engaging.

Character Creation

Though you will encounter Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs throughout your journey, you can only create a Human character. Character creation and customization are pretty thorough and, anyone who knows me knows I love a game that allows me to make gorgeous Black characters. From the smoothness of darker skin tones to the fullness of thicker hair textures, NCSoft really did their thing with the character creation here.

Gameplay

Weapons and Spells

The weapons and combat are a refreshing take on MMORPG combat. You can have two weapons equipped (main hand / off-hand) and use the spells and abilities of both weapons without switching. Most other MMORPGs you have two switch weapons to use that weapon’s spells and abilities.

You can customize your playstyle by upgrading your weapons, spells and abilities you use most or favor to create the role you want to play. Whether you want to heal, tank, DPS, and/or focus on crowd control, there’s a lot of freedom in creating your own unique playstyle. And with the new free expansion, Wilds of Talandre, TL introduced a new weapon mastery system.

Mechanics

One of my favorite things about playing my character is the Morph abilities. Morphing allows you to transform or shapeshift into a specific animal or mythical beast to dash, swim, or glide through the air. You can unlock mythical beasts through questing, Battle Pass rewards, or in the Shop.

Guilds

TL handsomely rewards players with active guilds that do more challenging content together. Whether it’s PvP or PvE, the best rewards come from end-game group content. While most MMOs are like this, they will usually have ways for solo players to engage in end-game content. Sure, there’s the matchmaking system, but it’s assumed players will have the best gear and that’s just not the case.

PVP vs PVE

One of the main power struggles players must contend with in the game is the war over territory with other guilds. PvP is a major part of Throne and Liberty.

TL has a variety of PvP content including large scale PvP battles like Castle Siege,  world events  that include PvPvE, Guild Wars, Arena Battles, and more. I’m not big fan of PvP and prefer to focus more on PvE content such as dungeons, exploration, and following the storyline.

And in June 2025, Throne and Liberty will implement player housing, which I’m very much looking forward to. I’m curious as to what player housing in TL will look like. Will it be like The Elder Scrolls Online or New World? As long as it’s not like the disaster that is the Final Fantasy XIV housing system, I think it will be okay.

Throne and Liberty has plenty of PvE content including solo dungeons, open-world dungeons, and 12-man raids. And the new expansion introduced 3-Star Dungeons.

What I Love About Throne and Liberty

There are a few things about Throne and Liberty that make it stand out for me and keeps me logging in to keep playing.

1. Spectacular Visuals and World Design

From the moment I logged in, Throne and Liberty impressed me with its breathtaking visuals. TL is a beautifully crafted open world, filled with diverse landscapes, from lush forests to arid deserts. Solisium feels alive with its dynamic weather and day-night cycles.

2. Amitoi and the Amitoi House

The Amitoi are adorable player pets that aid you throughout your travels. Each one has a unique look and personality. The Amitoi House is like a secret house where you can send a team of Amitoi on treasure hunting missions. There’s a locked door in the Amitoi House and I suspect that may lead to the upcoming player housing, but I am not sure.

3. Earning Money is Easy in Throne and Liberty

It’s very easy to earn money in TL. You earn Sollent (the game’s main currency) from practically everything you do. And you earn a lot of it. There’s also a player marketplace to sell your wares. There are some games where earning money is a struggle. TL is not one of them.

4. Photo Mode

Nowadays, most games come with a Photo Mode, but not all Photo Modes are equal. You can access Photo Mode in the Main Menu. If you want to take a regular screenshot through Steam, Press F12. If you want to hide your UI and take a screenshot, Press alt+B.

What I Don’t Love About Throne and Liberty

No game is perfect, and Throne and Liberty has a few things that could use some improvement.

1. Not Casual-friendly

While the basics of combat are easy to understand, TL has a lot of gear and weapon upgrading systems that seem a bit overly complicated and, at times, unnecessary. For new or returning players, it can be overwhelming and even unmotivating when confronted with the four Tabs of Equipment Enchanting, Material Transmutation, and what looks like straightforward but is a bit complex.

Not to mention, the Auction House, which is the player-driven marketplace, trades in Lucent, which is the game’s currency bought with real money instead of the currency earned in-game. The best loot is bought and sold in the marketplace by people who are either hardcore players who play end-game content or people who spend real-life money. Or both. To earn Lucent, I guess sell fish and other consumables.

3. The Battle Pass and the Lack of Cosmetics Available for Purchase

Like many MMORPGs, Throne and Liberty includes microtransactions. It’s a free-to-play game so I understand the need to finance the game. However, the Premium Battle Pass rewards are such a letdown. They’re literally the same rewards as the Free Pass except for the last reward. Granted, the game has only been out for five months. Still, at least one or two cosmetics for the Premium Battle Pass would entice me, a casual PvE player, to buy.

The Verdict

After playing for five months, I’m not disappointed. Throne and Liberty is a worthy addition to the MMORPG genre. It’s a visually pleasing, fun game with decent storytelling. There’s a little something for almost everyone to enjoy, but jumping into it after a break can take some getting used to. Though it’s not solo or casual friendly after reaching max level just yet, they are adding more solo content. but so far. It’s fun to level, but you must have an active guild if you want to enjoy all the game has to offer.