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When I think about all the live service games we have out there and the genres that encompass them, jumping between MMOs is much more complicated than between others, such as shooters. Shooters change constantly. Every new season brings a new map, weapons, skins, etc. However, a game of this genre remains “evergreen” most of the time. Regardless of the number of expansions, you can still visit the starting zone of your character and reminisce about your days as a level 1 character, which makes moving to another much more difficult—we all have our favorites. Yet, Throne and Liberty might encourage players to leave their safety MMO bubble due to how modern and familiar it feels.
While I don’t mind the current state of MMOs, I admit that some are starting to feel old. World of Warcraft has brought amazing gameplay changes, but you can see its years in the animations and specific visuals. FFXIV is finally doing a graphical overhaul, but certain things about its engine are still old. This is why the launch of Throne and Liberty is a big deal. Throne and Liberty features gorgeous visuals, engaging combat, and a plethora of events that will hook you for hours. However, there are a few downsides to this new voyage.
Like Visiting a Familiar Land
In my journey as an MMO player, there are a few moments I’ll never forget. The surprise I got when I took my first boat from the Eastern Kingdoms to Kalimdor in WoW. Or the time I finished my MSQ in Limsa Lominsa and boarded my first airship. A few games evoke this feeling in me, and I must say Throne and Liberty did it perfectly.
After the beautiful and flashy tutorial, you are welcomed by a giant flying whale that covers the vast land of Throne and Liberty. You then take it to the sky in your convenient flying form and arrive at a town packed with players. This is when it hit me: I was finally in an MMO that felt like an MMO. It’s been years since I felt the warmth of a town full of players trading, asking for help, or running daily errands. Not a lot of games can conjure up this feeling, which is why this is my favorite genre. But beyond the crowded markets that make the world feel alive, nothing beats the sense of adventure players have after stepping out of the first area, ready to discover a new land, which is precisely how I felt.
Speaking of discovery, one thing that Throne and Liberty nails perfectly is the exploration aspect. I noticed that many quests have the usual marker that holds your hand toward the objective, but others are a bit more cryptic and encourage you to explore. The great thing about this is that the world is so beautiful and boundless that the discovery aspect of questing is highly addictive. More than once, I got distracted from the MSQ to pursue another entry for my codex or find a new event or side quest—it was so immersive and addictive.
The Overwhelming Grind that Never Stops
One thing I should address now is the grind. Spoiler alert: there is a lot. During your first hours in Throne and Liberty, you’ll be showered with systems on top of systems and rewards to level up said systems. You have skill books to level up skills, gear tokens to upgrade your armor, weapon tokens to upgrade your armaments, and so on. However, the shower of goodies eventually stops, so grinding is in order.
Frankly, I’ve never cared much for the grind. I have over 20 characters in World of Warcraft, and most of my jobs in FFXIV are at level 100. Still, I feel Throne and Liberty is a bit more punishing when it comes to swapping builds or gear. Let me elaborate. Since you can only use two weapons at a time, those armaments are the ones that dictate your build of sorts. Throughout the MSQ, you’ll get enough currency to upgrade most of your gear and even weapon masteries. However, if you decide to swap weapons, you’ll have to spend a considerable amount of time to get everything up to speed. It isn’t the end of the day for casual players, but hardcore ones might struggle when changing builds at max level.
Furthermore, there is certainly time-gating in Throne and Liberty, which might be a double-edged sword. Overall, it tries to prevent players from being too overpowered and leaving casuals behind. Even if you buy gear from the Auction House, you still need to level it up, which takes a while. A casual player might catch up with you eventually. Since I’m quite casual in my MMOs and never really do ranked stuff or hardcore raids, that’s fine by me. Yet, some who do might hit a few walls as they progress through the game.
Ultimately, it’ll be your choice to pick how deep you go into the grind. You can do your daily things, find a guild to help you and play casually. But if you want to be part of that percentage of meta players who are the best at PvP or PvE, you’ll likely need to put in the money and the time.
Nearly Flawless
While I agree most of my experience in Throne and Liberty has been positive, there are a few issues that stain it. Take certain texts, for example. As I was trying to upgrade some of my weapons, I saw many menu options in Korean and had to close the window more than once to fix it. While loading times are almost non-existent and performance in large cities is great despite the number of players, certain textures take a while to load during cutscenes, which makes the MSQ a bit jarring at times.
Another thing I didn’t like that much was combat. Throne and Liberty takes a bit of an Elder Scrolls Online approach with the ability to mix and match skills from your weapons. However, the process of learning and using them was underwhelming. I would’ve loved for skills to unlock at a slower pace to let me learn what each did. And yes, I know I can read the wall of text of a skill to figure out what to do, but that shouldn’t be the case. For non-MMO players jumping here for the first time, the onboarding should be much better or else a few might pack their bags and leave.
Lastly, the MSQ. While it has some great moments, and I love watching my character, who looks straight out from a supermodel runway in every cutscene, the story didn’t grab me much. There is certainly interesting lore in the game, but when a character says something, the subtitles translate it differently, and the codex has a different name for everything you just heard. You’re playing a lore jigsaw—and it isn’t fun.
Brimming With Potential
Throne and Liberty is an engaging MMO, hands down. It has many modern and interesting ideas that will attract all types of players. Open-world dungeons are terrific. PvP content is top-notch. Customization and visuals are great. The map is one of the most beautiful we’ve seen in recent years. However, Throne and Liberty is at a critical stage now. The launch period of a game is always the hardest and key to keep players around. I still believe swapping builds shouldn’t be as punishing. Maybe a better way to get materials for your secondary build could fix that. Also, the game desperately needs a better onboarding experience regarding its combat. It’s nice I now know what to do with all the dozens of currencies. Still, a slow-paced learning curve for a weapon’s skills would be nice, too.
Ultimately, and despite my complaints, I’m thankful for one thing: there is finally a new MMO. With how stagnant the genre is, this is a huge deal for me and many other players. Plus, it is the most modern MMO on the market, without a doubt. It might still need a few tweaks here and there, but it is enjoyable. Whether it stands the test of time or not is up to the devs. But with such a solid foundation, I firmly believe we have a new game where many players will settle down and call it their new home.
