Hello to all L2 players.

ATM i am considering playing L2. I have asked for some opinions on the LFG forum about this game and i recieved a couple of responses that were all negative. The main issue the responders had with the game was botting and how it really wrecked the game. I am just curious what most players of this game think regarding this isssue? I am not going to take 2 responses as gospel. I am still quite keen to try the game.

Cheers.

Botting killed Lineage2 in the old days.  I havn't played in awhile, but from my time back for the free week we got, they are still there, and still piss people off.  its a good game, but botters/ebayers have taken their toll.

this is a very hardcore game. you need to spend a lot of hours in this game.  To reach lv 80, it takes months without botting....if you think you can become God or the almighty one in less than a year, sorry, that not possible....

just look at my signature and you will know what i mean.

and botters doesn't take away the fun, it depands on how you tackle it. 

62 hours a week!!!  THats an average of 9 hours a day!!!! RESPECT!!!! I dont mind if its hardcore. I just hope the community is friendly and supportive. I am thinking of rolling a toon on Phoenix server. The general consensus is that its the most popular server. I am also from Australia i dont know whether that time difference will make an impact.

thats alot of hours but. How many hours of that is you running a shop of some sort.

Botting is a problem in L2 since the release... The problem is that GMs in the past didn't do anything about it. But lately, GMs take up their banhammer and start to do their work...

To help GMs there are 2 ways to report bots... One is the old fasion petition by typing /GM in the text ime and report it manual. The other one is a special bot-button. Just select the character and press the button...

I transferred from Devianne to Teon lately and saw 3 players in Giran with botted stores and yells. I reported them manually, and they actually disappeared (banned I guess).
Using the bot-button is an other thing... In some places, there's a 24/7 botting community... If you see one of these botted parties, use the bot-button extensively... I think that GMs take action after <x> of these bot-notifications are used...

[EDIT[

83 hours this week on L2... Then again, I'm a Warsmith and I've had some AFK time sith my craftshop ;)

Back in the early days when I was playing the botters affected the market in a positive or negative way, depending on your take. Due to overfarming, there was usually a surplus of cheap raw materials and end items. The prices were better than what you would expect from a normal player. That basically meant that the crafting market was cost ineffective for players (especially gatherers), but the rest could get whatever they needed cheaper. The prices were kept low, because there were too many botters (or botting companies) selling, which meant competition even between them.

Edit: Back in the early days = about 5 years ago. I have no idea about the status of the game today.

I am a current player who has been playing the game for almost 4 years now. My advice is to just try the game for your self and see if its something you like. Yes, there are bots in Lineage 2 but they have never once made me even think about quiting the game. For me the good of this game just out weighs the bad. I am in a great Clan / Alliance and my days have always been spent having fun with them. 

Just remember that Lineage 2 is not a quest based game. You will spend 99% of your time killing mobs for xp. There are quest in Lineage 2 but they are not designed to be something to do instead of grinding. Most quest are there to help you get more out of the area that you are grinding. For example if you are hunting in a spot there is probaly a person somewhere who has a quest for that very spot which he will probaly pay you gold for drops from mobs that you would be killing anyway. Alot of people dont know that this is the way the quest are supposed to be done in Lineage 2.

If you play a couple of hours a day you can become A Grade in about 1 month if you get in a good clan that helps you. Then you can start to particpate in the PVP side of Lineage 2 which is doing things like Fortress Sieges, Castle Seiges and my favorite the new Territory Wars. At A Grade you wont be doing much on the battle field but at least you will be able to participate and see whats going on.

Lineage 2 can be a great game if you play it the right way. Dont come to Lineage 2 in a hurry to get max level or you will burn your self out and quit. I have seen this done so may times and I think this is the main reason why people dont make it in this game.  I even did it my self back in my early days a few times before it hit me that I should just take it easy and have fun. Since I started playing that way I have been apart of the game ever since and dont see my self leaving anytime soon. Join Phoenix and I can get you in my clan and help you out. Hope to see you in game!!!

Hello,

As far as botting is concerned, Teon, Franz and Luna are botters' paradises. Some places are flooded with bots 24/7. What about banhammers? They stopped. After Spam's departure, massive banhammers stopped. We can say, that Lineage II doesn't have GM's at the moment. Not at least in European servers, where all the drama goes on.



Hacks are another huge problem in Lineage II. End-game PvP is ALL about cheating. 99% of players cheat in olympiad, castle sieges. The PvP battles are not about skill, but about which side has better 3rd party software. Read about exploits like radars, auto-clickers, invisibility exploit, enchanting exploit etc. I remember there was even a joke that it's impossible to play Lineage II without 3rd party software, your account is instantly banned while you're at the login screen.


As you see, the state of Lineage II is quite bad. However, it's a report from a European servers. Maybe the situation is different in NA servers but I seriously doubt it.


The most important thing is your definition of word "fun". If you want to become the best player in Lineage 2, that's impossible (unless you cheat) as the competition is so big that some people buy maxed characters with top gear in order to compete in PvP. If you just want to have fun with clan-mates and other close friends, engage in a small-scale PvP then this game is for you.


After such a negative review, you may ask me: why do I play this game? I'll answer that. It provides a huge sense of accomplishment. You have to work for your gear, game wil not give it to you. Another reason is the amount of fun that I have with my clan-mates. It's just unmatched.


Anyway, if you are ready to put up with botting and cheating in PvP, I suggest giving it a try. Lots of people like the game, maybe you will be among them.


Ilgauskas