Looking towards Gracia 2 and 3

After the success of Lineage 2 Gracia part 1, it's time to look forward to Garcia Part 2 and Final Gracia. I've been scouring the interwebz and so far, I was able to get information from reliable sources about the upcoming updates. Just a simple warning though, since this all still in CBT stages there will be changes once this hits the NA PTS or SEA servers(Cadmus by then?) so consider this post a hypothetical one.

Anyway, here we go!

Note: this post will be screenshot-heavy.

Gracia Part 2 Sneak Peeks

First up, the Gracia Part 2 teaser site is up!
If you have a slow connection, I suggest you view this in a shop with a high DSL rate as it really slowed my computer down LOLZ!!

Anyway, to save you time, I was able to get some screenshots off of the site.

Headgear galore

I'm really not sure why folks in NCSoft are crazy over weird headgears but, heck at least it gives us some respite and levity after castle sieges, eh?

Cat hats

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Skull Caps

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Hold your horses and servitors!

Finally! We get to see these horses in game! Almost all fantasy MMORPGs have horses and Lineage 2 have finally decided to make one.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Okay, I know there are a lot of girl gamers out there that want to spruce up their L2 lives. Well, here it is a cutie pet for you gals.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

For those who want their pets to be more than just ornaments, here's a treat for you. New pets in Lineage 2 will have skills! From what I've read they will have their own type as well, like a Tanker/Nuker/Buffer/Healer/Damage dealer type of class as well. Figure out which is which...

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

New Dungeon

There's supposed to be a new dungeon, I'm not sure what the name is or if this will be one of those instance dungeons. Anyway, if you guys have any info on this, please comment, the community awaits!

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Mini-game

As if the Monster Race Track and the almost non-existent lottery is not enough, NCSoft has decided to add another mini-game. It looks like bingo to me. What I'm wondering is whether this will give adena or "level up" a player.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Vitality Buffs!

For those who want to grind but are afraid of losing Vitality Points (VP) then wait for Gracia Part 2 as VP buffs and pots will be included as a monster drop. I think NCSoft has heard the cries of hardcore gamers wishing for more VPs.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

New Raid boss

Jeesh, we haven't even gotten Antharas nor gone through Hellbound yet and now there's going to be a new uber powerful boss for the whole server to take down.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

For more details you can go to this site and view the Lineage 2 Gracia Part 2 Update Notes.

Gracia Part 3 Sneak Peeks

First off, this is still in development and things may or may not change. For all we know this could be a red herring from NCSoft. LOLZ!!

...Looking out the window and watching the clouds go by

Remember the log-in screen with the airship docked in the sky? Well, looks like we'll be able to rise and pilot it. Yes! You no longer need to be a Clan Leader, owning a castle, and a Wyvern to fly the skies of ether.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Other mentionables

For those who were wondering whether capes would be included in the new update. Well, the answer is a YES! Based on the painting below, looks like it's going to be the in thing in ether. Sources also state that Kamaels will have a different set due to their wing.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Gracia Part 3 will be coming this winter to Korea, so most likely we'll get it by early next year.

Source for Gracia Part 2
L2 Vault
Pirate Ninja Hideout

Source for Gracia Part 3
L2guru.com forums
Playforum

Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Technorati Tags: Gracia, Lineage 2, Lineage 2 SEA

Fifty

Welcome to my 50th post.

Coincidentally Alcarcalimo also hit Level 50 a few hours ago! Whoa! Never thought I 'd make it this far. Here's to the next levels and posts, may it be more fruitful than the ones before it.

Special thanks go to: Infinity XT, Blackprince of Indigo, and ArmeaSilverleaf of Istar.

Technorati Tags: Alcarcalimo, Lineage 2 SEA

Postcards from Ether:Cruma Tower

For our next set of Postcards from Ether, I present you: Cruma Tower.

It's supposed to be known as one of the ideal dungeons to level in when you're around level 30 to 40. However with the Gracia update notes, thing shave changed a bit:

• Rewards in Cruma Tower have been increased.
• New event monsters that can change or help the hunting flow have been added.
• Characters that are level 56 and above can no longer enter Cruma Tower.

Here's what it looks like when you enter the tower's ground floor:



Notice the Matrix-style symbols running all over the pillar.

Here's a screenie of the second level:



Is it me or are dungeons inherently eerie? Isn't there a dungeon full of rabbits and rainbows? LOLZ!

Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Technorati Tags: Lineage 2 SEA, Lineage 2, Cruma

The Perils of Pay-to-Play

aw!

Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Party or die

I was there when the RPG movement shifted from the board to game consoles. Back then, the game only had one hero: you--everybody else was just a support. It was easier to know who had to do all the work as well. LOL.

RPG Console mindsets have to go

With the rise of MMORPGs players were introduced to parties. That meant sometimes taking a backseat or supportive role to those in the frontline. That didn't sit well with me during the early years, therefore I didn't join the bandwagon then.

Eventually, the games got to me, and decided to be a damage dealer (DD). Unfortunately that meant lots of grinding and time was not on my side then (I was in College). In short, I was a new fish in a tank full of veteran whales. Learning the ropes as soon as possible would save you from a lot of scamming and grinding.

With Lineage 2, I can safely say that I've learned enough to leave the mindset of being an RPG console player to an MMORPG one. Although I now play a buffer, that hasn't stopped me from getting into party with other players, whether they be clanmates or not.

Have party, will quest

There a lot of quests that require you to go to locations where aggressive (aggro) monsters are. In this case, I would check if my clanmates (clannies) were online and request them for help. In the same sense that any of them require help from their quest, I'd go there too. It's a mutual relationship if you go into a clan.

However, turning down some party requests is an option. Cases like this is a very good point.

Partying with other players is a way to make your MMORPG experience grander.  For more details please see this article on the Party Search System in Lineage 2.

See you in Ether!

Technorati Tags: Lineage 2, Lineage 2 SEA

Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Alcarcalimo: The Bladedancer

Alcarcalimo: the Bladedancer

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Yes, I finally made it! I am now a full-fledged Bladedancer. This is all possible because of Cole, a clanmate of mine in Infinity, lent me 3 Million adena, served as my guide in completing the 2nd Job guide in a matter of minutes, and provided me with some armor to start with!

It may seem like cheating but here's the guide on how to accomplish the 2nd job quest in Lineage 2 within 15 minutes. If you've got clanmates or rich friends in-game this is the way to go. If not, you may have to do it the hard way in accomplishing your Bladedancer job change quest.

I remember like it was just yesterday when I was starting out as a Dark Elven fighter, then eventually becoming a Palus Knight, and now a Bladedancer.

My next problem is that since I graduated the academy I'm suddenly clanless. Yikes! Anyway, while I wait to join them again, I'll do some quests in Ether.

See you around!

UPDATE: Zitti of Infinity XT invited me and I'm back with Infinity.

Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Technorati Tags: Lineage 2, Lineage 2 SEA, Alcarcalimo

Postcards from Ether:Execution Grounds

I'll be starting a weekly posting regarding the landscapes of Lineage 2 called : Postcards from Ether. I'll start with a scary one (well scary for those who are Level 30 and below):the Execution Grounds.

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

From Alcarcalimo's Travels in Lineage 2 SEA

Most mobs here are aggressive so better bring a lot of HP potions or some buddies if you're going to do a quest here.

Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Gracia Update Review

After a week or so of absence, I'm back in Ether. Below is my review for Gracia.

Returning to Gracia as a Newbie

In order to fully experience Gracia for what it is--a more newbie friendly update--I decided to make an alternative character in Blackbird. Take note, I named him Alcarcalimo as well--that means you can have the same name from Aria as long as no one else is using it in Blackbird as well.

I expected that like in the NA servers, all new characters would be getting the 4 Vitality points right away, but unfortunately it's not the same here. It's okay anyway as you will read in a couple of paragraphs after this one.

Lineage 2's Vitality points Rock!

As you can see from the screenshot above, I was able to level up from 1 to 6 just by killing one Gremlin. Yes folks, it's THAT easy! I was also able to add more vitality points up to 4 as I went along and completed the non-violent tasks. Her's a tip for newbies: don't grind! Just kill the required number of mobs and you'll do fine. You'll be wasting precious Vitality points if you do.

After approximately 8 hours of playing, I am now on Level 18--and that's with large intemittent spaces of not playing. Which means that if you do take rest periods, your Vitality points will shoot up eventually. The problem is, that some players burn all their Vitality points away by just grinding. I would suggest that you do quests and take some rest periodically.

Vitality point system vs. PTP scheme

Unfortunately, resting would be a problem if you have a timer ticking. Yep, the Pay to Play scheme is going against the idea of resting for vitality points. This is fine if you only bought a loadtime for one day, but there are a lot of players who buy the 30-day gametime load (like me).

Now, we're torn if we'll let our characters rest while their Vitality points rise. Possible solutions? Get an alt character or do some Raid Boss hunting. However, that will require getting some high levelled weapons and armor--and it's easier now!

A whole new world...for cheapskates

One of the gripes of many Lineage 2 players is the fact that weapons and armors are extremely expensive. Usually they resort to buying from RMT sellers or create bots to farm out mats and sell them for high prices to obtain one piece of armor. Now, with the reduced prices, more players will be able to get up until B-grade level weapons and armors.

How this will affect the in-game economy is still to be seen, but at least the standard rates are low. The only way for a player to sell the same weapon or armor is by selling it a lower price. Good for players, maybe bad for sellers.

Kudos to NCSoft and AMDG for the Gracia update as it seems to be a resounding success! The only thing we have to wait for now is Part 2 and the final part of Gracia to be updated as well.

Click here to subscribe to this blog.

Technorati Tags: Gracia, Lineage 2 SEA, Lineage 2, AMDG, Alcarcalimo, NCSoft

Return of the Comeback Dark Elf

Coming back to Lineage 2 SEA

Click here to subscribe to this blog.