Gamers take MMOs very seriously. When it’s a game like Throne And Liberty and the balance of the game rests on the power of your guild, it’s a recipe for very serious behaviour indeed. My guild is in the top 10 on our server, but that comes at a price: you need to turn up for Riftstones, Boonstones, be active for guild reputation, and participate in open world PvP events. All of this amounts to what is basically a second job.
My guild isn’t even one of the most demanding. Some require you to have already reached above 3,700 gear score, a threshold that is – at this stage of the game – extremely difficult to reach without playing several hours a day every day since launch, or opening your wallet for Lucent (the premium currency.) A player recently joined our guild because their previous one kicked them for inactivity – they weren’t playing the required 16 hours a day. While that might sound like an exaggeration, I think you’re severely underestimating just how seriously some people take this game.
The Siege Dilemma
Actually managing a guild is even more work. With the upcoming siege event this weekend, my guild leader has been constantly balancing players’ expectations of how much we can actually achieve in the fight. We’re a solid guild, but there are massive alliances on the server, some with close to 200 active players. People obviously want to be a part of these guilds to have a better chance of securing some of the Lucent from the castle’s tax reserves. If you win the castle, everyone involved gets a share. So players leave to join these alliances, and recruitment for the guild needs to push on – even though every day that passes there are fewer available active and geared players.
Group PvP
Throne And Liberty inspires this sort of compulsive playtime because it’s very difficult to have fun in the game if you’re not a part of one of these massive guilds. Throne And Liberty is not very solo-friendly. It’s a game designed around huge PvP events, like the upcoming siege. As a solo player, the siege is basically inaccessible to you. You can come and enjoy the spectacle, but you’ll achieve very little unless you’re in a zerg of at least 100 players.
Conflict world bosses are similar. While there is always a peaceful option for solo players to go to and find a group, conflict world bosses are also inaccessible unless you turn up with many allies. Our guild managed to snag an excellent (and expensive) world boss drop yesterday, but this wouldn’t have been possible without our three-guild alliance controlling the area and getting the maximum damage contribution on the boss. Those who are a part of a large alliance get stronger in the game, and will snowball past any solo player or even smaller guilds.
Burn Out
While the game is healthy at the moment with plenty of dedicated and casual players, my main concern about all of this is that NCSoft has created a horrible beast that will cause everyone to burn out and leave the game. When the requirements for top guilds are so strict, it’s not really that surprising. NCSoft needs to constantly deliver content to keep people engaged, as the repetitive pattern of dungeon runs, daily grinding, and chaotic PvP events won’t be enough to sustain a player base.
That being said, the drama of Throne And Liberty’s guild relationships are fascinating to watch. The siege event feels like something monumental, and while those who don’t play the game won’t really understand, it’s something akin to Game Of Thrones – we have no idea which guilds might change alliances or which top players might move to another guild, and no clue whatsoever what will happen on the day. If it means I need to play several hours a day to be involved in it, I will. For now.
