THRONE AND LIBERTY Review

THRONE AND LIBERTY has yet to become a pay-to-win game, so you can still enjoy it while it’s free-to-play.

MMORPGs have had a massive rise in popularity over the past many years, and new titles show up yearly with promises. In this same vein, the long-awaited release of THRONE AND LIBERTY, an MMO role-playing game from the South Korean developer NCsoft in partnership with Amazon Games, has finally been released after four years of development. You’ve probably heard of this whether you’re an old hand at MMO games or just getting into the genre.

Beginning with its release, THRONE AND LIBERTY made good on its promise to combine traditional aspects of massively multiplayer online games with innovative new features that might revolutionize the type. This game has undoubtedly generated great interest, particularly among fans of MMORPGs.

THRONE AND LIBERTY is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game with cross-platform functionality that launches on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox Series X and S. It takes place in the vast world of Solisium, a kingdom where exploration and combat are essential elements.

There are many different types of sceneries, magical artifacts, and old magic in the continent of Solisium. However, the tranquility of Solisium has been disrupted by a relentless being called Kazar, also known as the Wraith of Conquest.

Like every MMORPG, THRONE AND LIBERTY lets players personalize their characters. With the plethora of outfits you receive, even with purchasing the battle pass, the possibilities for customizing your character’s appearance are practically unlimited.

THRONE AND LIBERTY lets you create a character from the ground up, and there is a lot more variety in clothing options than other MMORPGs. Although it’s disappointing that so many of these costumes are part of the battle pass, which is becoming increasingly common in free-to-play games.

The game’s main antagonist, Kazar, is threatening to cast the world into an endless night with his vast army, and every kingdom is scrambling to find a defense. Faction leaders on Solisium are relying on the long-lost power of the Star of Sylaveth, a relic of ancient magic, in an effort to stem the tide of the rising threat. The pieces have been found all over the kingdoms, and some think they hold the secret to fending off Khazar’s invasion.

On your adventure, you’ll experience a wide range of landscapes, from the chaotic metropolis of Kastleton—a center of resistance activity—to the creepy Carmine Forest and the brutal Monolith Wastelands.

Every area of Solisium has its unique character and its own set of secrets and difficulties, and there are dungeons like the Sanctum of Desire, Stonegard Castle, Lizard Tribe, and Titanreach Ruins. However, there is more to come.

THRONE AND LIBERTY’s dynamic weather system uses day and night cycles, which affect gameplay and alter the game’s visual style. There are certain regions in the game and as well as materials, however, are time and weather limited, making exploring feel much more dynamic and immersive.

While THRONE AND LIBERTY features class-based combat like any typical MMORPG, the game has some unique elements. Normally, you pick a class before the game starts and use a weapons-based system. To alter your playstyle at any time, you literally have to release them since their skills are determined by the weapons you choose. Currently, seven distinct weapon types are available in the game.

Weapons like a Sword and Shield, Great Sword, Daggers, Crossbow, Longbow, Staff, and Wyvern and Tome combined. You can combine the abilities of two weapons at once to create a new weapon with a completely new set of skills. Each of these seven weapon kinds has its special powers. Playing Sword and Shield allows you to be the group’s first line of defense.

Being able to block, taunt, and shield friends makes it an ideal choice for taking damage and keeping enemies focused. These skills center on defensive strategies, managing crowds, and counterattacks. Their high survivability makes them good for maintaining locations in PvP clashes and group PvE activities.

The Greatsword is a good choice if you prefer close-quarters fighting. This enormous weapon is perfect for players who want to take risks in melee combat but still want to be nimble enough to deal serious damage.

It’s great for massive damage, whether to lone adversaries or groups. It won’t be easy to simply slash your way out of problems when utilizing the Greatsword; you’ll need to manage your positioning and timing to maximize damage while avoiding counterattacks.

And then there are the daggers, perfect for your assassin playstyle. With the dagger powers, you may quickly deal damage and debuffs while remaining stealthy and fading in and out of shadows. Because of the importance of stealth and evasive maneuvers in this role, they are built to hit quickly before slipping away to redeploy.

For those who prefer bows, we have two options: the crossbow, a versatile ranged weapon, and the bow and arrow. With the crossbow, you can strike from far away with pinpoint accuracy and a rapid-fire rate. It’s perfect for gamers who prefer to deal a lot of damage while keeping adversaries at arm’s length. This is a great pick for you if you prefer to keep the opponents at a distance. It’s useful for both solo and group content.

As for additional ranged weapons, there’s the longbow, which allows you to fire from even greater distances. The longbow is your weapon if you want to strike powerful blows from a distance. It specializes in long-range, heavy-damage shots. The longbow’s range makes it ideal for shooting priority targets while dodging close-quarters combat.

Then there’s a staff suitable for all you aspiring magicians. Players use the staff to assume the role of a powerful spellcaster specializing in elemental and arcane magic. High area-of-effect damage and intentional status effects are also within the staff’s capabilities. If you like that magic archetype, using spells to deplete entire enemy groups or exert remote influence over the battlefield, this is the weapon for you.

Last but not least, the wand and tome are the ultimate weapon. Playing this way is more typical of a support role. The wand and tome set is designed for support roles; therefore, ensuring allies’ survival in challenging situations is crucial. This weapon set is essential in PvE and PvP circumstances because it allows players to heal, buff, and protect their party members. Obviously, every team will be vying for one of these.

Using the wand and tome abilities, you can enhance your attack strength, heal yourself, and protect your allies from harm. Players who use this weapon heavily emphasize location and timing to maintain the health and strength of their squad, particularly during those intense battles. You can only choose from seven distinct weapons, but you can combine two. Nevertheless, more are on the way.

One of THRONE AND LIBERTY’s most notable aspects is its morphing mechanism, which lets you assume the guise of different animals to explore the game’s vast universe. Morphing isn’t only for getting around; it’s also a tool for strategy, whether you like transforming into a wolf to run fast on the ground or a bird to fly high above and spy on your enemies.

When flying as an eagle, for instance, you can view objectives or paths concealed from view on the ground. Exploration in Solisium takes on a new level of depth and complexity because of these changes, which aren’t usually seen in games. In PvP battles, the morphing concept unlocks new tactical possibilities, allowing you to outmaneuver opponents or escape sticky situations using your morphing powers.

Fans of MMORPGs will likely spend months immersed in this game, or at the very least, trying to earn every battle pass. Would you rather play this game for free than shell out $70 for the battle pass? The choice is entirely yours. It gave the impression of being a pay-to-win MMO similar to Diablo IV, but judging from the battle pass, the extra money seemed mainly for cosmetic items. Those already investing in these games for the experience points will likely not be too bothered by this.

Although I’ve yet to experience THRONE AND LIBERTY’s pay-to-win component, I hope it is nothing more than cosmetic goods, just like Destiny 2, which has received much criticism over the years. Nevertheless, as long as it’s purely cosmetic, I am more than happy to recommend the game—particularly considering its free-to-play nature.

Microtransactions will be heavily promoted in free-to-play games, and gamers must be aware of this. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if you want to purchase them or not; it’s the same as buying a weapon skin, something I never encourage people to shell over cash.

THRONE AND LIBERTY, however, have an issue that many other free-to-play MMORPGs have: an excess of different currencies. Finding the right currency can be challenging in this game, as there are nine or so to gather. You can purchase goods with regular gold, make materials with crafting mats, and other materials that can be combined to buy items for their cash shop.

The shop store is constantly bombarding you with new rewards to “claim” every five minutes, but they don’t actually provide any real value; their primary purpose is to make you buy more stuff. And this attitude from the devs seems slightly sinister.

As for the game, THRONE AND LIBERTY is reasonably well-structured. Undoubtedly, NCSOFT has considered every aspect of the game’s design. You can tell there was an effort to create a story—albeit a generic one—by the number and quality of the well-designed cutscenes.

The visuals are gorgeous and very next-gen due to the use of both Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5, and unlike most MMORPGs, stepping inside the gaming world isn’t a bug-fest. The user interface is clean and clearly made with games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV in mind. Every world design is very good, and the character builder is second to none. The voice acting is consistently good and plentiful.

Although it takes a lot of inspiration from World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV, THRONE AND LIBERTY does some good things with its themes. Some poor quality in terms of gameplay is undeniable since the fighting isn’t particularly impressive.

Inevitably, there are plenty of terrible free-to-play MMORPGs out there, but if you’re bored with the same old stuff, THRONE AND LIBERTY isn’t awful. Given the state of any free-to-play MMO games, you might not be overly pleased.

At its core, THRONE AND LIBERTY surely didn’t take any lessons from their failed predecessors and kept trying to pull off a PvP-focused experience that PvE threw in as an afterthought. Without realizing it, most players don’t spend most of their time in PvP in MMORPGs and games in general, with a few notable exceptions.