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An unlimited credit card won’t make a Lalafell Broly, but that’s not true in every MMO. Ever since Lost Ark landed and planted its flag, NCSOFT has been a contender in the MMO space. Throne and Liberty is the developer’s newest foray into PvPvE territory, and it’s noteworthy not only for its animal transformation abilities but also its monetization. Complaints about NCSOFT’s monetization practices aren’t new, but how fair is its new game? Here’s what you need to know about whether or not Throne and Liberty is pay to win.
Throne and Liberty Monetization Explained
Will Throne and Liberty give you the PvP edge with pay-to-win practices? Sort of. To understand, you need to know how the in-game currency Lucent works. First, you cannot create it in-game. You can only earn it by selling items at the auction house or by completing castle sieges (which have a prize pool composed of Lucent that was taxed at the auction house). In short, if no one buys Lucent with real-world money, there’s no in-game Lucent to trade with. The in-game economy cannot function if no one spends real money. This ties into the game’s three monetization systems:
- The Leveling Pass
- The Battle Pass
- The Blessing of Solisium
The Leveling Pass is a one-time purchase per character that provides you with materials and items to help you level faster. That said, you can unlock everything within it (except the cosmetics) through normal gameplay, and if you ignore it altogether, you won’t be at a meaningful disadvantage. The Battle Pass is exactly what you’d expect: a monthly purchase that grants you cosmetics, materials, and in-game currency for completing challenges. You can unlock both passes with Lucent. NCSOFT reduced the pay-to-win ick by removing premium-only Battle Pass quests and rewards, so the LP and BP are mostly fine.
The Blessing of Solisium and Pay-To-Win Fears
The devs also removed the Blessing of Solisium, and that’s a big deal. This optional purchase granted those on Korean servers a variety of benefits, but Solisium will not appear in regions supported by Amazon Games. It’s worth noting, however, that NCSOFT left the door open to adding it in Amazon-supported regions in the future. Overall, Throne and Liberty is less pay-to-win than it was, but it’s very much pay-for-convenience. You may want to take a spirit level to its playing field, because money still has a megaphone in Throne and Liberty.
