Beckett Massive Online Gamer

By Joe Chan

Since Beckett Massive Online Gamer last covered Lineage II’s 4th anniversary Hellbound release, NCsoft has been hard at work putting together the next great epic, Gracia, in the game’s ever-expanding world. Gracia is the second chronicle of the Chaotic Throne saga, and the expansion is purportedly so immense that they’ve split it up into three parts. On August 13, 2008, Gracia: The Second Throne – Part 1, went live. A mere two-and-a-half months later, Part 2 was released into the wild, making 2008 the most bountiful year for major new content in the game’s history. The release date for Gracia – Final should be right around the corner for the first half of 2009.

As with all of Lineage II’s major releases, Gracia is packed with loads of exciting new content – new lands and dungeons, new skills, game mechanics, and items to name a few.

To start with, the game’s developers are doing what they can to take the grit out of the grind. They’re implementing steps to make it easier to level quickly, especially with the newly implemented Vitality system and by adding several new repeatable quests. The game is also gradually becoming more solo-friendly as well, with the addition of new solo hunting grounds and new and longer-lasting instant herbs. NPC support magic is also available to all characters up until they reach level 62, and teleporting between towns is more enticing as characters below level 40 can teleport for free.

Sidebar: What is Gracia?
According to game lore, Gracia is a continent far off the western shores of Aden – the lands that Lineage II players should be most familiar with – which was once the idyllic home of the Giants, whose civilization was crushed by the gods when they dared rebel against them. In more recent times, the citizens of Gracia, many of whom are descendants of exiled worshippers of Shilen (the Goddess of Death), struggled through a devastating civil war over rights to the throne. Survival in Gracia’s barren lands was already a difficult prospect before the war, and with abuses being committed against the people by both sides of the conflict, the already long-suffering populace grew ever more furious at their rulers.

Those still loyal to Shilen exploited this development and spread the gospel of destruction among the country’s embittered people. These powerful sentiments of hatred were enough to create a breach in Shilen’s prison, and her dark aura leaked out into the world, causing chaos and corruption that could be felt all the way back in Aden…

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Vitality

Perhaps the most visible change introduced in Gracia: The 2nd Throne is the Vitality system. Like other games’ “resting bonuses,” a high Vitality grants players experience point bonuses in battle. There are four levels of Vitality, the highest of which grants a 300% experience gain. Take a peek at your status bar, and the fourth colored bar (purple) is your Vitality meter.
Vitality is spent as you hunt and earn experience for killing normal monsters. Vitality can be replenished while your character is offline, hanging out in peaceful zones, or hunting Raid Bosses and, as of Part 2, there are also Vitality replenishing herbs available that allow characters to gain Vitality while hunting.

Hunting Grounds

Speaking of hunting, Gracia – Part 1 also includes a new instanced dungeon, Kamaloka, and a few changes to Cruma Tower and Hellbound. There are several different instance zones in Kamaloka that are designed for different party levels, so starting at level 18, everyone will get a chance to beat on the extra-dimensional critters that haunt dreams.
The changes to Cruma Tower make it a more enticing hunting ground for leveling, and a level cap has been added so that higher-level characters cannot exploit the area.
In Gracia – Part 2, three new hunting grounds were added: Kamaloka – Labyrinth of the Abyss, Pailaka, and Kratei’s Cube.
Kamaloka – Labyrinth of the Abyss is a raid zone that players can romp through to gain as much rewards and riches that they can within 45 minutes.
Pailaka is a collection of three middle-to-high level solo instance zones. Starting at level 36, characters can test their mettle inside one of these level-dependant areas.
Kratei’s Cube is a competitive PvP hunting ground for high-level characters. Level 70 and up characters battle it out to get as many PvP and PvE Kill Points as possible for 20 minutes, and earn rewards for 10 or more Kill Points.

Sidebar: The Story of Kamaloka

Kamaloka is the name given by sages to the dream realm created by – or perhaps in conjunction with – Gracia’s corruption. People all across Aden were drawn into this realm as they slept, and in many cases, the trauma that they encountered in their dreams was reflected back in the physical world. Many never returned and died in their sleep.
Expert arcanists were finally able to create a physical dimension adjacent to Kamaloka, the Kamaloka Rim, which allowed adventurers from across the land to enter Kamaloka in material form and battle its denizens while fully loaded. Now that heroes are able to face Kamaloka’s nightmares with the full extent of their abilities and gear, they have so far been successful in staving off the realm’s advance into Aden.

It is also said that the advent of Kamaloka is also what prompted the goddess Eden to revive the Kamael.

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Game Mechanics

The game’s combat engine has been tweaked a bit to make battle a bit more exciting. Close-range physical damage has been increased for both players and monsters, while bonus damage can be applied based on proximity. At the same time, damage from long-ranged physical attacks is now influenced by the distance between attacker and target.
Also, a character’s resistance stat now has a chance to decrease debuff duration.

Skills

A multitude of new skills have also been added into the game, most notably “Vanguard” and “Inquisitor” for Knights and Healers respectively.
Vanguard is a mid-level stance that grants the Knight classes (Paladin, Dark Avenger, Temple Knight, or Shillien Knight) access to stance-specific attack skills at level 44: Power Divide (a single-target, shield-ignoring attack for two-handed swords and blunt weapons), Full Swing (attack all nearby enemies while ignoring shields with any two-handed weapon), Blade Hurricane (a single-target, shield-ignoring attack for dual-swords), and Double Strike (attack all nearby enemies while ignoring shields with dual-swords).

Inquisitor can also be first obtained at level 44, and like Vanguard, gives the Healer (Bishop, Elven Elder, or Shillien Elder) access to four stance-specific skills: Divine Punishment (a holy attack on a single target), Divine Flash (a holy attack on nearby enemies), Surrender to the Holy (decreases resistance to divine attacks, but increases resistance to darkness attacks), and Divine Curse (a debuff that reduces the effect of recovery magic by 50% and also continuously drains HP).

Abyss Walkers, Plainswalkers, and Treasure Hunters have gained access to new spell books for Evasion Counter (a stun chance during evasion), Evasion Chance (a chance to increase mortal attack rates during evasion), and Evasion Haste (a chance to increase attack speed during evasion) respectively at level 74, and all three gain access to the Shadow Step (cancels the enemy’s target while allowing the player to instantly close the distance to the enemy) skill at level 72.

Warsmiths have received a ton of new skills. At level 40 they gain Repair Golem (repairs a summoned golem at level 40) and Armor Plate (P.Def and HP buff for a summoned golem at level 40). At level 43, they have access to Strengthen Golem (buffs attack power and attack speed). When they reach level 46, they gain the ability to learn Temper (enhances P.Def of heavy armor), Tan (increase P.Def and evasion of light armor), and Embroider (increases P.Def and MP recovery speed for cloth). At level 49, they can gain Sharpen (increases P.Atk and critical rate for bladed weapons), Spike (increases P.Atk and shock attack rate for blunt weapons), and Restring (increase P.Atk and range for bows and crossbows). Finally, at level 52, they gain the ability to Summon Merchant Golem (a golem that can do basic transactions).

Inspectors now have the skill Expert Casting, which increases casting speed and decreases magic reuse time at level 40.
Shillien Elders can now use the skill Bless the Blood at level 40, which gives party members the chance to recover HP when attacked.
All Kamael characters gain access to the skill Fast Recovery at level 43, which increases the rate at which HP, MP, and CP regenerates. Berserkers can now get Body Reconstruction at level 42 (recovers all HP) and Blood Pact at level 55 (increases party members’ max HP and HP regen rate). Soul Breakers get Painkiller at level 58 (suppresses pain and prevents damage, but target is weakened when its duration ends) and Soul Web at level 62 (decreases enemies’ speed) as part of their repertoire, while Arbalesters can look forward to Oblivion Trap at level 64 (enemy has a chance to lose target with every attack) and Imbue Seed of Destruction at level 68 (drains target’s mana and blocks skill use when full-grown).
Finally, Prophets can get the skill Steal Mana at level 44, which grants a chance to recover mana when attacking. All together, that’s 34 new skills added to the game, with several more existing skills updated.

Pets

In-game pets also get a bit of a boost with a few updates that affect them. Baby pets can now use armor, and a pet accessory that boosts magic resistance has been added.
You also now have 24 hours to resurrect a pet before it disappears. However, this does not apply to pets that you allowed to starve to death!
Servitors’ battle stats have been adjusted across the board. In addition, Feline Queens, Nightshades, and Unicorn Seraphim get a few new buff skills added to their list. Feline Queens gain access to Blessed Body, Blessed Soul, and Haste. Nightshades can now cast Death Whisper, Focus, and Guidance. Unicorn Seraphim get to use Acumen, Clarity, Empower, and Wild Magic. Finally, Merrow the Unicorn and Magnus the Unicorn have been nerfed slightly as their AoE magic attacks fewer targets.

Items and Crafting

Adena-hoarders rejoice; shop prices for all weapons, armor, and accessories have been lowered across the board. You can also buy Luxury Gold and Silver Circlets at Giran’s luxury shop.
Common items quality can now get up to grade-A. They have the same stats as Superior items, but they cannot be enchanted, enhanced, or augmented. However, they can be purchased in shops or obtained as monster drops.
Now, when you craft an item, there is a chance that you can create two items from a single set of materials. There is also the chance that the item you create is a Foundation item. Foundation items can be further refined to become a Masterwork item by the Blacksmith of Mammon, and Masterwork weapons can be converted into Kamael-exclusive weapons and dual-swords. Superior and Masterwork jewelry can also now be augmented.

You’ll find that there are new instant herbs added to the game, and their effects last longer – five minutes instead of two minutes.

PvP and Clans

A few changes have been made to PvP gameplay and Clans, especially in regards to fame. Characters above level 40, who have undergone the second class change, can obtain personal Fame through various activities, such as defeating an enemy on a registered battlefield or by participating in the Olympiad. These points can be redeemed for rewards such as PvP weapon and armor augments, Clan Fame, or to reduce your PK count. The rate at which Clan Fame can be earned for various activities has been tweaked, mostly making it easier to earn Clan Fame.

Sidebar: Bored?
Are you stuck waiting for a raid boss respawn with nothing better to do? Are you trying to whittle away some time while your Vitality regenerates in town? Are you hanging around waiting for friends to sign on? Worry not! You don’t have to be stuck standing around watching other characters dance anymore.
As of Gracia – Part 2, a Bejeweled-like mini-game has been added to the interface. Just pop open the window and get yourself sucked into the addictive little app. Time will pass before you even know it!

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Sidebar: Taking Flight in Gracia – Final Part

As of the writing of this story, the third and final part to the Gracia story arc has yet to be released, but bits of information that have circulated introduces a number of exciting features to possibly look forward to. Aside from the usual assortment of new additions to the game, airships are expected to be included into the game – players have to get access to Gracia somehow! There will be a regular NPC airship route between the continents, but more importantly, rumor has it that clans will also have a chance to get their own airships.

Clan airships can only mean one thing – air battles! Ship-to-ship combat is one thing, but what if characters themselves could transform and fly? Expect to see a whole new dimension in Lineage II’s already-robust PvP content.
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