Any way to try out Lineage 1? I just got an Eee PC and are looking for easy-to-run MMO's to play on it.

 Wait a few days:

Episodes 6 and U Arrive Wednesday 10/22!

That sounds great but still no news of a trial :( I'd really like to try out the game but the only way seems to be through private servers which I even looked into but they appeared dodgy and untrustworthy - just simply to try out and see if I enjoy the game!!

With an MMO its something you really need to play to know whether its worth buying or not. Does anyone know of any buddy keys or trials or anything to test the game?

Edit : Whats this "U" thing it says is releasing on the 22nd also? Doesnt seem to have any explanation of it.

 I'm not a Lineage player (only an observer) but I know that if you activate a payment plan the first 7 days are free of charge ... so, I guess you have to subscribe via PlayNC and then cancel your plan ... but I hope things will change because I find this approach discouraging for new players.

Episode U ... should be a new episode that NCSoft Korea launched after Episode 6. NCSoft West is so late that the two expansions are coming together in the US servers ... but maybe some regular players may answer your questions better than me :)

I see, thanks for this.

Problem is that you have to actually pay for a key first to get the free 7 days. I'd rather not pay for something that im not sure if i'd like or not..

 You're right ... it seems that NCSoft West relies on Lineage core players so much that they haven't felt the need for a proper trial version of the game :(

But maybe this time there's some hope: the reorganizaton of the Austin studio, the new website&BBS, the launch of the new expansion (three episodes) ... they will release  a new client (for both PC and Mac) and it's also possible to ask for a CD if you're on a dial-up connection ...

Too bad this game is so hardcore (it takes years to reach the max level) ... I love its seminal mechanics and the hand-drawed graphics.

theres no achievable max level in lineage... the levels just get exponentially harder the higher you get.

there is no free trial in lineage anymore, it was disabled as a prevention method for bots, although it has acted more as a prevention method for new players than anything else.

as for private servers, lineagedc.com is proably the way to go... its not that great, but, it'll give you an idea of how the game is, and if you want to subscribe to a real server. The client for Lineage is a free download off their site, so its not like you have to buy a boxed set or anything in order to try it.

as for updates... even after the release of Episode 6 + U, they are still 4 major content updates behind their Korean counterparts. Episode U updated in Korea in 3 parts and only the first part is live on US servers then there is a major stat redistribution/reroll update, and finally Season 3 episode 1 (which introduces 2 new classes, something that is fairly significant in a game that only has 5 classes) that is the current version in Korea. The most recent news is they are aiming for February/March to release another pack of updates (Episode U Pt 2 and 3, and stat redistribution/reroll updates), and then later this year proably Q4 2009 for Season 3 episode 1 on US servers, although they have been unrelyable on meeting timelines for their updates (which is why they are so far behind Korean servers)

All in all, I gotta say, I love lineage, but in the US, it is so poorly managed/updated, I'd steer clear.