Lineage II: A Look at the Economic State
MMORPG.com Lineage II Correspondent Chris Sides writes this article discussing the state of the Lineage II economy and a couple of ideas on how to solve some problems with them.
We have all seen the extremely high prices for armor, weapons, materials, etc. What has caused this inflation in prices? To get ideas on how to solve this problem I went to the forums and asked people what they think. Some people are happy with the economy and some people are outraged at it. Along with their opinions and my own, I will give many ideas that may help the economic state of Lineage 2. I will also state some features NCsoft has implemented to try and help low-level players in getting gear and not being so impacted by the economy.
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First, let’s discuss some things that NCsoft has done to help players with armor and weapons who have very little adena. NCsoft has added a few features to help lower-level players save adena for their leveling enjoyment including: Shadow weapons/armor, free teleporting for characters below level 40, and quests that give no-grade soulshots.
I feel the most helpful feature added to Lineage 2 is the introduction of shadow weapons and armor. Shadow weapons and armor are items that cannot be enhanced in any way and you need a shadow coupon to obtain it. Also, shadow weapons have a usage fee called mana. The more you use the weapon the faster this mana is draining, thus; you need to get more than one shadow weapon during your leveling. When you reach level 6 you can receive shadow weapon coupons. Once you do you first class change at level 20, you can obtain shadow armor coupons. These coupons allow you to obtain no-grade shadow weapons and armor from the Newbie Guide. You are allowed to use the No-grade shadow weapon coupons from level 6 to level 19 and the shadow armor coupons from level 20 to level 39.
Once you reach level 20, and do your first class change, you receive 15 D-grade shadow weapon coupons. These coupons are used to obtain D-grade weapons. Once again, these weapons cannot be enhanced in any way and have the mana usage fee. Also, once you reach level 20 you can use shadow armor coupons to obtain a full set of shadow armor that does not have a usage fee.
The last time you can use these shadow coupons is when you do your second class transfer. Once you reach level 40 you will receive 15 C-grade shadow weapon coupons. Free teleporting for characters level 40 and below is great. As a newbie, players have no idea where to go to level and interact with other players their level. Having teleportation be free allows lower-level players the ability to travel all over and find an area that’s right for them. Before, characters below level 40 had to pay the same prices as level 80 characters to teleport. This was always an inconvenience since the price for teleporting seems so expensive for low-level characters.
Soulshots are a must for faster leveling and they are just downright enjoyable. Seeing the visuals and hearing the sounds of soulshots seem to make leveling more entertaining. The more entertained you are while leveling, the longer you will level and the more adena/items you will obtain. This isn’t a huge adena saver but even the smallest amount helps.
Now I would like to discuss my opinions and the opinions I got from the forums on how to fix the current state of Lineage 2’s economy. Some of the ideas include: adding an auction house, having designated trade areas, eliminating ebayers and bots, and some people feel that the economy is fine how it is. I will discuss each of these points in the following parts of this article.
Adding an auction is an idea that has been around since the beginning of Lineage 2. People say that adding an auction house would make the prices of items go down due to high supply. If people were allowed to put items up for auction over night they would not have to set up a shop and leave their computers on like you have to now. Also, having an auction house would allow people to search for specific items instead of running around Giran for half a day trying to find Dual swords. I think that auction houses would be a great feature, but NCsoft is firm on their decision to not implement them.
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I feel that having designated trade areas for certain items would help the supply of items, therefore; lowering the prices. Having a specific trade district for weapons, armor, materials, and miscellaneous would be great. I don’t know if this is a likely suggestion, but I do feel that it will help in many ways. If these trade districts were added then the trade/shout chat would be less frantic. This will also help with supply and demand since you could go to specific areas for weapons and find the weapon you want much faster than running around Giran.
The next issue is an issue that I feel is the worst. The issue is the buying and selling of adena. Players that buy adena are known as ebayers and I expect there are more players doing this than we think. Every time I log in I get at least one tell from an adena selling company. I just ignore them, but it’s the principle of the issue. I assume that NCsoft knows about these sites but what can they do about it? They try and catch the players that use bots and buy adena, but it is impossible to get them all. This is an issue that nearly every mmorpg has, which is very unfortunate. I think the elimination of these companies would greatly reduce the prices of items in Lineage 2.
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Some people feel that the economy is fine as it is. People are saying that Lineage 2 is supposed to be hardcore in every shape and form. It should be hardcore to level and it should be hardcore to obtain adena. I agree that Lineage 2 is meant to be hardcore and it still is more hardcore than most MMOs out there. But, I also feel that the prices are extremely high and can be lowered.
The economy will probably stay the way it is for the rest of Lineage 2’s existence unless something is changed. We cannot predict if adding an auction house or adding trade districts will affect the economy in a positive way, we can only theorize. I hope this article gives some insight to fellow Lineage 2 players and insight to NCsoft. NCsoft has created one of the greatest mmo’s in history. Please don’t let this be the downfall.
