This “High Five” update for Lineage II is promising a whole slew of new stuff for Lineage II. For gamers who might have stepped away from the game for a while, or those who just haven’t heard, can you give us an overview of what we can expect from High Five?

We made the High Five update based on the feedback we received from our players on what they really wanted to see added or improved in Lineage 2. You can see the full list of enhancements coming with High Five on our website.

Can you go a little more in depth on the new hunting system and the buffs it brings? How it works and what it means for the game as a whole?

We’ve added new skills and revamped the existing hunting zones. We’ve also added some new hunting areas for our players. Now, they’ll be able to experience and enjoy these new zones on a completely new and exciting level.

Tell me about the new Grand Olympiad enhancements. What kind of improvements have the team made?

There were some aspects to the service that our players found to be a bit inconvenient or unfair. We listened and addressed these challenges by creating new rules. Essentially, players will now have to craft new and creative strategies to excel in the newly added arenas.

There are more daily quests tied to the new Olympiad changes too, right? What kinds of tasks can players look forward to there?

We wanted more players to be able to participate and enjoy the Olympiad. So we’ve lowered the level of difficulty required for them to receive rewards from the Olympiad service so that a larger population of the community will become involved. The Dev Team here really hopes that more and more players will take advantage of this great system and that it will become an even more integral part of Lineage 2.

The update’s going to include more accessible Epic Bosses too, I understand. Can you go into a little more detail on this change? Why did the team feel it was needed?

We felt that only a portion of the entire player population was able to access these bosses. We really wanted to make sure that more players had the opportunity to enjoy this part of the game content. So, it’s now easier to pass entry requirements, and some Epic Boss difficulty levels have been adjusted downward. Ultimately, this makes for a more fun game environment and experience.

There are a slew of new skills being added too. Care to shed some light on some of your favorites from the list and why? Be warned, players might call for nerfs after admitting they’re your favorite.

All the skills that we’ve added are perfectly suited for each class, and they are all fantastic. To say that I have a favorite would be really difficult… and potentially dangerous. :) You can find details on a few of the new skills in our podcast video.

One more question, Steve, and then we’ll let you go back to finishing things up on the actual patch. Lineage II has been around for a long time now, but it’s always maintained a loyal group of players. But what would you say to those who may have passed in L2 or maybe those who haven’t played in a while to get them back?

Firstly, I’d really like to thank our players for their continued love and support for Lineage 2. We promise to return the favor by continuing to develop the game you all love. For those that haven’t played in a while, they will be surprised at all the recent improvements and there has never been a better time to jump back in.

Thanks Steve for your time. We’re all really looking forward to the big “High Five” and can’t wait to see how players dig into it.

We’re also really looking forward to this update and to how much fun our North American and European players will be able to have with it. Thank you!