Is It Worth Playing Throne And Liberty?

Throne and Liberty is a free-to-play MMORPG developed by NCSoft and published by Amazon Games. In this game, you are one of the Star-born, a hero who has been granted great powers to fight evil creatures throughout all of Solisium.

While this game has gorgeous graphics, sweeping landscapes, and adorable characters, there are many other games that fit the bill. Is Throne and Liberty just another run-of-the-mill MMO, or is it worth the time investment needed to grind your character to end-game and beyond? Let’s explore what others have said about the game.

Review

Before the full launch, one of our Senior Staff Writers, Harry Alston, wrote an in-depth review of Throne and Liberty, calling it “Amazon’s Redemption.”, stating that although due to the nature of MMOs, it was difficult for him to give it a solid rating, as he wasn’t able to yet play it with the full scale of players that you normally have with MMOs.

Even so, Alston fully enjoyed the flexibility of the class and weapons system, the focus on social gaming (while still allowing solo gamers to shine), and the rich and gorgeous landscapes of the various locations on the map.

Throne and Liberty is a modern MMO with a focus on social gameplay. Set in the world of Solisium, you are tasked with finding the Star of Sylaveth in order to defeat the world’s great existential threat, Kazar the Wraith of Conquest. It’s a fairly generic story and Throne and Liberty does nothing here to reinvent the wheel. What it does well though is capture that classic MMO feeling.

The biggest concern that Alston had about Throne and Liberty was its microtransaction structure and the in-game Auction house.

Alston mentioned that many MMOs have a pay-to-win system, where you can only get high-quality gear by spending real money in the in-game store. He worried that, while the store is mostly cosmetics, the Auction house, which lets players sell and purchase high-level weapons and armor using Lucent (Throne and Liberty’s other in-game currency), would lead to a pay-to-win format.

However, since you can easily sell items in the Auction house to obtain Lucent, you may never have to spend a penny of real money buying Lucent packs in the store. Unless you want to, of course.

Time Expenditure

Throne and Liberty is an on-going, live-service MMO, so the amount of time you can expect to spend is endless. There is, however, a main story questline that, according to How Long To Beat, can take an average of 25 hours to complete.

With the game’s side quests, large-scale PvP and PvE events, and dungeons, you will probably spend roughly 200 hours in-game, if not more. But you can spend as much or as little time as you want in this game, which is the beauty of any MMO.

Cost

As of the full launch on October 1, 2024, the base game for Throne and Liberty is free-to-play. There is an in-game store full of microtransactions where you can purchase in-game currency called Lucent, and you can use that in the store to purchase the battle pass, unlock cosmetics, and more.

Lucent Bundles you can purchase include:

There are also three Celebration Packages, which were used previously to get early access to the game before the full launch. Now they grant you a certain amount of Lucent along with other fun items.

Unlike the Lucent Bundles, these packages can only be purchased one time.

What Players Are Saying

Worth The Payoff – Harry Alston

Throne and Liberty is a huge timesink, but the payoff is worth it if you’re willing to commit. The Siege event was one of the most enjoyable MMO experiences I’ve had in years, but it did mean I had to be a part of a successful alliance, have plenty of gear, and some friends to play with. So far, there have been consistent content updates that will hopefully keep the game fresh into the future.

A Solid Current-Gen MMO Experience – Seth Parmer

Throne and Liberty doesn’t push the boundaries too much with what you may expect from an MMO, but it does offer welcomed current-gen bells and whistles that make it far less tedious to play than most other titles in the genre. Being able to instantly fast-travel to areas without being forced to sit through a load screen is unbelievable, making turning in quests feel less of a chore.

The combat and core gameplay loop is also excellent. Even if you’re almost forced into joining a guild and running the more challenging aspects of the game with them, the community is largely fine, so it won’t be too hard to find a group you gel with. Overall, it offers a steady stream of content that will keep you locked in for hours on end. If you like MMOs or want to dip your toes into the genre for the first time, Throne and Liberty is an excellent title to give a fair shake!

Not For Solo Players – Jacob Whaling

Throne and Liberty is free, so you may as well try it yourself, but be warned that this game is extremely punishing for solo players. If you don’t want to join a guild, don’t expect to make it very far. Just about every activity centers around guild participation, which is great for social players who like that kind of thing. However, if you like to take things at your own pace, Throne and Liberty just won’t let you.

If you’re desperate for a new MMO, the early game leveling, questing, and dungeon progression are still very enjoyable, but the endgame grinds combined with guilds demanding you play the game like a full-time job left a bad taste in my mouth. All MMOs are a timesink, but there are definitely better options to spend your time on.