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Throne and Liberty is a Pay to Win game. However, what is the balance, and how realistic is it to play it without spending real money?
Throne and Liberty is a new, highly anticipated free-to-play upcoming MMORPG from NCSoft, a developer who also made another famous MMO, Guild Wars 2. Their GW2 game is not P2W, but many players are concerned by the “Pay to Win” aspects of the Throne and Liberty.
This promising MMO Game has already been available for a week on Early Access and recently launched their full global release. It features an engaging story that is unique based on weapons and the freedom to play any playstyle without a traditional RPG class system. However, its aggressive approach to monetization systems raises concerns. In this article, we investigate the possible pay-to-win aspects of Throne and Liberty, and how competitive free players can be compared to those who decide to spend on in-game items.
This guide has been updated for the official global release on October 1, 2024.
Is Throne and Liberty Pay to Win?
Yes! Throne and Liberty is a pay-to-win game (P2W).
Without spending money, you will need an enormous amount of time, and you won’t be able to catch up to players who decide to invest in the game.
Recently, NCSoft responded to those concerns. NCSoft’s representative said, “They will make every effort to ensure that the game remains as fair as possible to the players.”
However, reality tells another story. Deltiasgaming testers recently participated in closed beta tests of Thrones and Liberty, and we noticed a few main factors that make the Throne and Liberty Pay to Win (P2W).
In Thrones and Liberty, two aspects make you powerful: your level and gear, and both you can boost and buy for Lucent.
Throne and Liberty Currencies Explained
In the game, you will find two main currencies:
- Traditional Gold called Sollant: Sollant is an in-game currency that allows players to buy items from vendors and keep them from questing.
- Lucent: It is a “premium” currency you can purchase with real money and spend in a cash shop.
As you can see, Lucent is the P2W currency in Throne of Liberty. Still, many MMORPGs have this feature yet offer it in their cash shops as skins, cosmetics, and so on to earn extra money. Often, those items do not influence the game’s balance because they don’t offer any combat or power advantage but are mostly just fashion and fun items to collect or show off to other players.
In contrast, P2W types of games offer items and boosts in cash shops that make players’ characters more powerful and help them “win” against other players. Sadly, this is true with Throne, Liberty, and Lucent currency.
What Can I Buy in Throne and Liberty with Real Money?
Below is a list of services and items you can buy with real money that influence the game’s balance and make your character more powerful:
- Growthstones, Precius Parchment, and Precious Marind
- Sollant (Traditional in-game gold)
- Battle Pass
- Premium Leveling
- Marketplace: In the Game auction house where you can buy better gear for Lucent currency from other players
As you can see, you can buy premium items that will upgrade your gear and character strength and earn the Lucent currency from other players by selling them better and upgraded gear in a particular in-game market.
Growthstones, Precious Parchment, and Precious Marind
Growthstones, Precious Parchment, and Precious Marind are used to upgrade gear. You will need many of those items to fully optimize and upgrade your armor weapons and even skills. You can also get them in the game from quests, rewards, and dungeon competition, but they are hard to get, and purple growthstones (the best quality) are rare. As you can see, those are significant advantages players can get, especially at the start of the game.
You can buy all those materials straight from the in-game cash shop.
Sollant (Traditional in-game gold)
Gold is not hard to earn in Thrones and Liberty. If you play and enjoy the game, Sollant won’t likely be an issue. Note that you can also buy it or receive it in Battle Pass premium rewards.
Battle Pass
Battle pass is probably the game’s least pay-to-win aspect. Many games, such as Destiny 2, offer this monthly feature. You have two or more reward types. One is free, and the other you can buy. Each day or each time you gain a specific amount of points (experience, levels, and so on), you will get the following free and premium rewards. If you don’t play for “premium,” you will only get free rewards. The premium includes better rewards and in bigger quantities. For example, free players will receive some gold (Sollant), while premium players will get the growthstones, upgrade materials, and other hard-to-get items.
Premium Leveling
Premium leveling boosts your speed to the end game and the maximum level.
Marketplace and Auction House in Throne and Liberty
This is the most prominent P2W aspect of Thrones and Liberty. In the Marketplace, other players can sell upgraded end-game gear to other players for Lucent, which is real money. It’s an auction house where you can buy and earn Lucent from other players by selling powerful gear. Those weapons and armor can cost up to 100 US Dollars or more, depending on the economy and the server you play on.
However, if you get an excellent item, you can also sell it in the auction house. In this way, it is possible for free-to-play players to get Lucent without having to spend any real money. You will have to get very lucky with drops, and be skilled enough (with a correspondingly strong build) to tackle the content that drops these highly desired weapons and gear.
Currently, Early Access servers, which have been live for a week, are seeing incredibly high prices for certain items. With time, these prices may come down. But it’s too early in the life of the game to know how the economy will develop.
How will Pay to Win in Throne and Liberty Affect You?
If you are not a pay-to-win player and won’t buy items and upgrades for real money, you will need a lot of free time and grind for several days up to months to receive and get items of similar power.
In comparison, at the current beta stage of Throne and Liberty, it will take several days (around 500-1000 high-level enemies) to drop and get similar rare-quality items. Only one recipe can take you up to 50-80 contract rewards(random drops) to get rare-quality gear.
It’s worth mentioning that rare gear crafting materials drops, for example, from contracts and quests, are limited to 15 per day. So, as a free-to-play player, you are also limited by the daily activities you can perform. Granted, there are a lot of different features and activities to do, but it’s something worth considering.
Magic Powder is the only essential item for crafting gear that you cannot buy. However, those items come from events. The player who deals the most damage will get the best rewards, meaning if you have or (bought) better gear, you will get even better items. This is the loophole you will constantly find when playing the game.
Final Thoughts
In short, it is possible to play this game without paying money. However, you will need an enormous amount of free time to grind, and you must realize you will probably never catch up and match the pay-to-win(P2W) players. For some who don’t enjoy the game’s competitive aspect and want to explore the rich world of Thrones and Liberty, learn the lore, and play the story, that might be a great free game option with beautiful graphics and good voice acting.
Those who don’t mind spending money on games will be very satisfied by Thrones and Liberty’s competitiveness and the amount of available content. The games have many activities and complex and enjoyable combat and character development systems.
FAQs About Pay to Win Microtransactions in Throne and Liberty
Q1: Can a Free-to-Play player still be effective in Throne and Liberty?
Answer: Yes, a Free-to-Play player can still become as powerful as someone who has spent money in the cash shop to advance their character in Throne and Liberty. However, it will require a lot more dedicated time playing the game, leveling your character, advancing your weapon mastery, and upgrading your gear.
Q2: Are weapons and armor available in the Throne and Liberty cash shop?
Answer: No, weapons and armor are not available directly in the official Throne and Liberty cash shop. However, you can buy armor and weapons in the player Marketplace for premium currency. Consequently, players will be able to buy end-game gear for real money in Throne and Liberty.
Q3: What are the currencies in Throne and Liberty?
Answer: Throne and Liberty has two currencies, including Sollant and Lucent. Sollant is the basic in-game gold currency that you can easily earn by completing quests and playing the game. Lucent is the premium currency you can only acquire by purchasing it with real money or if you are lucky enough to sell something for Lucent in the player Marketplace.
Looking For More About Throne and Liberty?
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