LA2 is one of the best MMORPGs with beautiful 3D graphics. The game was created on the second version of the popular Unreal Engine version 2.0.
The player can create a character that he can imagine. Selecting any of the presented settings will not affect which side of the in-game global conflict the player will belong to. Up to seven different characters can be created on one account (user account), according to the rules of the game and the character settings options. Leveling up (improving a character's skills: strength, agility, endurance) is possible only after creating your hero and his further development. All newly created characters have the same strength at the beginning of the game (regardless of class).
The game has several battle modes:
PvE is a monotonous process of destroying mobs (opponents with artificial intelligence are monsters). PvE, as a rule, is the type of battle that is of the least interest to players.
PvP – battles between characters of different factions. This mode is only possible in those locations where both factions can get to; on such maps, the enemy can attack the player at any time. There is also a duel mode - carried out only with the consent of both players, and is only of a training nature.
In addition to all this, the game has a PK (Player Kill) mode - an attack by a character of one faction on another character of the same faction. This system provides a system of punishments for the attacking character; his attack, defense, or other power may be reduced for some time. Thus, we can conclude that LA2 contains all the main types of fights between players (PvP).
The game has a system of wars between clans of different factions. In such fights, the negative effect of a character from one faction killing a character from another faction is noticeably reduced.
The superiority of a certain character of any faction depends only on the player himself, on how he knows the character development system, how he is pumped up and how his equipment is sharpened. There was even a definition for LA2 - “equipment-driven” (depending on equipment). In recent updates, the role of disposable items (such as potions, scrolls and other items) has increased. But there is a certain imbalance in the game - some classes are better suited for PvP fights, some are well suited for PvE. The appearance of your character also depends on your equipment. If you have a female Dark Elf character, then you couldn't help but notice the bust shapes modeled by the developers. This controversial decision has outraged some players, who cite very revealing bodies.
2.2 Pantheon
Pantheon of Gods LA2 is an artificially constructed pantheon of gods in the universe of the game LA2. Most of the deities do not take any direct part in the game; they are only described in legends and the history of the game, and they may also be mentioned in some quests.
The main gods of the LA2 pantheon:
• Shillen - at first she was the mistress of the water element, then she became the mistress of the underworld, she also created the race of elves;
• Pa'agrio - created the orc race, is the lord of fire;
• Mafr – creator of gnomes (dwarves), commands the forces of the earth;
• Gran Kain is the highest god; creator of the race of people;
• Einhasad is the highest goddess, the foremother of the whole world, the creator of the Spheres - the vessels of the elements from which all intelligent races were created;
• Seiya is the creator of the Arteas race, mistress of the element of air;
• Eve - initially did not master any of the elements, but after the overthrow of Shillen, Gran Kain and Einhasad made her the mistress of the water element.
Besides them, the pantheon includes
• Anakim
• Nephilim
• Alaukiriya
• Lilith
2.3 Currency
The name of the in-game monetary currency is adena. There is a debate as to whether this name is inclined; most are of the opinion that it is inclined. As in many other games, LA2 players use abbreviations to avoid writing large numbers.
For example:
1000=1k
1000000=1kk
1000000000=1kkk
2.4 Equipment items
In LA2, all equipment is divided into main types, there are three in total: armor, weapons and jewelry (bija).
The weapon is used to attack the enemy. Without a weapon in your hands, your character will not attack the enemy. The main criteria for a weapon is the strength of its physical and magical attack. Armor acts as a damper for enemy strikes; its main criteria are physical protection and magical protection.
Armor is divided into three classes:
-heavy – intended only for warriors with heavy weapons;
-light armor - used to protect scouts and archers (for example, leather armor);
- robe is the most ineffective type of armor, serves as clothing for magicians and healers (healers), its advantage is to improve the magical properties of its wearer.
Identical pieces of armor are usually called a set (from the English set - set). When wearing a full set of armor, the character's skills are improved. A complete set can be assembled in different ways: from farming to crafting.
Jewelry serves only for the magical protection of the player. But there are special rare types of costume jewelry (bij). This bizha significantly increases many of your character's characteristics. But it won’t be easy to get it, so it’s worth its weight in gold among players.
All character equipment is divided into grades. No-Grade can be worn at the first level, D-Grade - from the 20th level, C-Grade - from the fortieth, B-Grade - from the 52nd, A-Grade - from the 61st level, S-Grade - from the 76th level and S80-Grade - from the 80th, respectively. Various grades can be purchased in stores corresponding to the character’s level, or you can create it yourself (knowing the crafting skill).
2.5. "Seven Seals"
In addition to Chronicle 3: Rise of Darkness, they introduced a global event called “Seven Signs”, during which two hostile factions clash; each player chooses a faction at the beginning of the event. But the players are not fools - the winning faction in the event is given bonuses, buffs and other goodies, and for defeat, accordingly, they are given some fines and debuffs. And players have long come up with such a trick: most of the active participants in the event switch to one side, win easily and receive their “deserved” reward.
Despite this, this event is one of the main ones in the game, since the second most important currency is obtained during the “Seven Seals” event, and it is called “ancient adena” (player abbreviation - AA). With the help of ancient adena, players can significantly increase their equipment from a special NPC introduced after the update, as well as purchase special items that help during the game.
When participating as the Dawn faction, characters who have reached level twenty and completed the quest for the first profession of their class can take part in the event completely free of charge. But from level 40, the fee for each participation is 50,000 adena (but provided that the clan in which the player is a member does not have a castle). All players can always participate for the Sunset faction for free, but clan members who have castles cannot participate for this faction.
2.6 Geography
All game actions take place on a continent called Elmoreden, which is expanded in small parts as updates occur. Consists of the Southern Kingdom of Aden (Aden Kingdom) and the Northern Kingdom of Elmore (Elmore Kingdom). There are so-called outposts on the border of both states. Aden Castle is the capital of the Kingdom of Aden, the capital of the northern kingdom - Rune Castle. At the start of the game, the northern continent was separated from the kingdom of Aden. But with the development of the game and the release of numerous updates, the southern and northern continents became one.
Castles are a valuable possession in the game. Owning a castle makes it possible to produce rare, valuable artifacts and items, as well as collect taxes from all cities belonging to this castle in the form of a percentage of all purchases made in these cities.
That is why a castle is the dream of any large clan in the game; there is always a lot of intrigue, controversy, and discussion around such clans; clans that have a castle are “authoritative” in the world of LA2. The right to own a castle appears for any clan once every two weeks. This is how long a clan can own a castle. The battle for a castle involves the side that owns the castle and the side that is besieging the castle. Also, the castle may not belong to anyone, in which case the besiegers will fight with a neutral enemy.
3 Saga of LA2
The LA2 World Sagas are a collection of exciting big updates, combined into one big story. For the first time, the word saga itself was used as the title of the second saga - Saga 2: The Chaotic Throne.
Saga 1: The Chaotic Chronicle Saga The Chronicles of Chaos
Chronicles are major updates to LA2, released in the form of patches that were released (they are still being released at this time, but with a different name) once every six months. All updates had to be installed by every subscriber to the game. Along with the updates, the story of LA2 continued. Each chronicle made its own important contribution to the game: one update changed the balance of the game, another improved the number of skills, abilities, and raised the maximum level of character development.
3.2 Prelude
LA2 was officially released on April 27, 2004 in North America. After the start, all players who took part in the OBT had to purchase keys to continue the game, but everything, of course, is optional.
3.1.2 Chronicle 1: Harbingers of War
This update significantly changed the game, because it added castle siege, which was not there before. Also, due to the update, the game world has expanded, new strong mobs have appeared. Among other features, a new special quest was invented in the “Dragon Cave”, the reward upon completion of which is the opportunity to fight the Dragon of the Earth - Antharas. In general, this update introduced many new quests, skills, skills, weapons and armor. Added quests for high level players. Another feature worth noting is the introduction of clan abodes, which can only be purchased by a wealthy clan at auction. Arenas were introduced for players to battle; defeat in these arenas did not incur any penalty.
3.1.3 Chronicle 2: Age of Splendor (era luxury)
After success in the siege of a castle in the first Chronicles, any clan practically won nothing except the respect of other clans and just single players. New updates to the game have introduced special estates. This innovation made it possible to get a significant piece of the reward by placing special items on certain mobs, and castle owners also received a significant bonus to adena. In addition to all this, several new locations have been added. New monsters settled in each location, previously not encountered in the vast LA2 universe. Certain mobs in new locations dropped new items needed for certain purposes (crafting new equipment, useful items, and so on).
3.1.4 Chronicle 3: Rise of Darkness (Renaissance darkness)
The update of the third Chronicles brought to the game a new continuation of the plot, new lines of quests for all races. The main character of this update is the Seven Signs event. During this event, everyone is divided into two opposing factions. During the battle, each faction must take possession of the so-called seals. One disadvantage of the event is the uneven division of participants, since each player himself chooses which side he wants to fight for. Participation in this event is completely voluntary. But there is no reason not to participate in this event, because by refusing to participate, the player will not receive such a valuable resource as “seal stones” - special loot that drops from all mobs in this event. In the future, these stones can be exchanged for the second LA2 currency - ancient adena.
With the advent of the “Seven Seals”, many new catacombs and necropolises were located throughout the world of the game, which players usually call simply katas; it is in these locations that this event takes place, in these places you can knock out the treasured stone. But only those players who have registered in advance to participate in the event can enter these katas. The duration of one event cycle lasts two weeks. In the first week, which is called quest week, players compete at the Festival of Darkness and collect seal stones, then donate them to their faction's common treasury. In the second week (the week the seals are valid), all players can receive ancient adena in exchange for stones; in exchange, both those that the character has in his hands and those that he has accumulated throughout the week will be used. Only the side that, as a result of the confrontation, owns the corresponding necessary seals has the right to enter the katas. The same characters who do not have the right to be in the catacombs are automatically moved outside of this location.
Another innovation - the Lord of Aden Castle can now fly on a fire-breathing wyvern - a dragon creature (at the same time, he spends significant resources on maintaining and summoning this creature). Several types of new A-class armor have been introduced.
3.1.5 Chronicle 4: Scions of Destiny
This update was published and presented to the public on February 8, 2006. In the new update, the developers introduced new locations, items, armor and weapons, mobs and pets. The most notable innovation was the system of nobility and the appearance of heroes. You can become a hero by gaining the maximum number of points among all players of the same class in battles at the Great Olympiad, from which it follows that there can be only one hero in one class.
The biggest innovation, especially affecting high-level characters, is the increase in the maximum development level to 78 and the appearance of another, third profession. Deadly skills have also appeared for characters who have received a third profession. In addition, the developers have “forged” new S-class armor, which is suitable for characters from level 76. But there is also a fly in the ointment - for characters of levels 1-75, the game changes practically did not affect.
3.1.6 Chronicle 5: Oath of Blood (Oath blood)
And again the update - Chronicles 5 - was presented to players on September 6, 2006. In this update, changes have been made to the clan system. The highest character level is already level 80. Several new castles have been added near major cities. A new type of weapon has appeared - a cursed weapon. The first representative of this concept was the Demonic Sword of Zariche.
The most important change in the clan system was the increase in the maximum level, namely to the eighth. With all this, when the clan reaches the eighth level, its maximum number can be 140 people. To maintain order in the clan, the developers introduced new structures - four orders of knights, two squads of royal guards, as well as an academy - a special unit for those characters who did not receive a second profession. A new system of “clan reputation points” has been added, which are intended to raise the level of the clan, as well as to activate or purchase new skills that affect all clan members, and to create new structures (except for the only one - the academy, it is given free of charge to any clan from level 5 and above). Clan points can be obtained for various achievements of academy graduates, for example, for capturing a castle, for killing a certain mob, or the like.
More than fifty completely new skills have appeared for all classes, and many skills of various character levels have been reworked. After this update, the balance of the game shifted slightly towards melee classes, such as fighters or tanks. And some magical skills were significantly weakened. And the heroes received very powerful skills that can turn the tide of battle against the enemy in a few seconds, but such abilities are only available in the character’s main profession.
Another pleasant innovation is the appearance of items such as life crystals. This item can be knocked out of very strong raid bosses; usually these artifacts are obtained by a large group, most often by clans. These crystals can be exchanged for items from a special NPC.
Saga 2: The Chaotic Throne
3.2.1 Interlude
A new update was released simultaneously on all servers in America and Europe on April 11, 2007. This update was the last part of the great “chronicles of chaos” and the beginning of a new saga. This saga is called intermission or interlude. The official name of the new update is Interlude: The Chaotic Throne.
In this update, the developers have come up with another 60 new skills for all classes, 51 of them for characters from level 76 and above, and the remaining 9 for characters from level 56 and above. Also, another edit of old skills has been made again. New types of armor, weapons and masks have appeared. We also added ghost weapons that disappear after a certain amount of time of use.
A system has appeared for sharpening weapons with special crystals that can be knocked out of mobs in certain locations. When sharpened, a weapon is given new properties and strength increases, but such a weapon cannot be sold, given to another character, or put up for auction. The developers have added a new map - a prehistoric island inhabited (as you might have guessed) by powerful ancient dinosaurs. Artificial intelligence algorithms have also been redesigned. A system of duels between characters has appeared, similar to the one in World of Warcraft. This is the same as PvP, but when defeated, the character does not lose experience or things, and he cannot die, since the duel ends when one and the opponents’ health reaches one unit.
3.2.2The 1st Throne: The Kamael (First throne: Kamael)
The launch of the next update (on the official servers of America and Europe) took place on December 10, 2007.
The main event is the emergence of a new one-winged (and dark in nature) race - the Kamael. The new race is characterized by unusual features that differ from those already existing in the LA2 universe. For example, they have very strict restrictions on the choice of professions and subclasses as the character develops.
Accordingly, new locations related to the new race appeared, for example, their home village. Another innovation was the appearance of fortresses, which are intended for mid-range clans who are not ready to compete for castles. Now you can add a new parameter to a weapon - one of the elements, this is done to enhance the properties of the weapon. New armor has been added for level eighty characters, which also has “tasty” parameters. For the first time, the graphical part of the game was redesigned and optimized.
3.2.3 The 1st Throne: Hellbound
Again, a new update from NCSoft. Launched on April 23, 2008 on all official servers in the world.
3.2.4 The 2nd Throne: Gracia (Grace)
On August 12, 2008, a new addition for LA2 - The 2nd Throne – Gracia was released. From the name it is clear that there will be something Spanish in the innovation, and so it is, a new continent of the one-winged race has been added. Although it was previously reported that the update would consist of two parts, the developers decided that there would be three. The first part introduced a lot of ideas and wishes of the players themselves into the game, such as the Vitality system, designed for the accelerated development of a new character (or an existing one). And the last third part will add to the game a new continent called Gracia and ships, like the Flying Dutchman, that is, flying ships.
4 Division of characters into races and clans.
Races
Like many other MMORPGs, LA2 features the same familiar fantasy-style races: humans, light elves, dark elves and orcs, and of course dwarves (gnomes). In one of the updates, another race was introduced - a race of one-winged creatures called Kamael.
But, compared to other MMORPGs, in this one all the equipment is not divided by race; any item can be worn by a character of any race. But the same things are displayed differently on each race. So, for example, a shield on a gnome will be visible as a small copy of a regular shield.
Together with the Kamael race, a new weapon has appeared in the game, available only to this race (it can only be obtained using the “Change Weapon” skill, which appears immediately after receiving the first profession of any type of race). Also, Kamael can only wear light armor (this feature exists due to the default passive skill)
Classes
Most of the experience gained comes from regular mob grinding (that is, regular hunting for mobs, killing hundreds and thousands of them). Oddly enough, quests in LA2 give very little experience.
After reaching the twentieth level, the character can choose his first profession, the new profession will be more advanced and improved compared to the old one. To change a profession, you need to complete a specific quest for that profession. The choice of any profession is irreversible - it cannot be undone.
After reaching level forty, the player is given the choice of changing his profession to an even more advanced one, or he can improve the old one, but not every profession acquired at level 20 can be improved at level 40. In any case, to obtain a second profession you must complete certain tasks. But this feature does not matter for the Kamael race; to obtain a second profession, they need to complete only one quest, which is a little more difficult than what they had at level 20.
For all other races, getting a second profession will not be easy. These multi-level quests can be completed for a very long time (from four to sixteen hours, this depends on the profession received, the experience of the player himself, and the level of equipment). Just moving between locations and within the locations themselves will take a lot of time.
In the new update Grace, at the request of a huge number of players, the developers have introduced an alternative quest for obtaining a second profession. The quest is very short, but requires a lot of money - three million adena. This method is more suitable for leveling up twins for those players who already have decent capital in the game.
The third opportunity for players to change their profession appears at level 76. Each quest is unique, depending on which second profession you chose. But the uniqueness is only in the position of several NPCs on the map; otherwise, almost everything is similar. There is no choice, since the third profession is an update of the second profession, so be careful when choosing a second profession.
Updating the profession must be carried out for all characters, since without this some features for fighting enemies will not be available.
Each race has its own job names.
On some unofficial servers (private servers) it is possible to change your profession from a special NPC for a certain amount of adena.
5 Hero System
5.1 Sub-classes
At level 75, the player has the opportunity to achieve a special subclass, but to do this he needs to complete a certain chain of difficult quests.
A character's subclass is like a second personality for that character, a change in profession without changing appearance. After obtaining a subclass, the player can switch between normal mode and subclass mode at certain locations at special NPCs. For example, one character could be an archer and then switch to a mage or swordsman. With all this, this character can be of any race.
Both classes develop separately from each other. Development occurs only in the profession that is currently activated.
The maximum number of subclasses is three. Getting the second depends on the first, and getting the third depends on the second.
5.2 Noblesse
A character who has reached level 75 in his main class and the same level in his subclass, as well as completing a series of four special quests, can receive the title of nobleman.
All nobles get the opportunity to fight in the Olympics. Battles take place player against player for the right to receive a special title for the next month.
When a character wins, he receives an item - a nobleman's tiara, this item adds a number of features, increases the character's skills and strength.
5.3 Heroes
Such characters are also called fireflies (due to their characteristic bright aura). Heroes are players who have completed a series of tasks during competitions called the Olympiad. They must also be the best in their class at that competition, if there is a similar class in it.
In the battles at the Olympics, the imbalance of different classes is clearly visible; often, the solution to this problem is duels, which players agree on in advance
In one of the add-ons, heroes were given a special skill that can decide the fate of a PvP battle in their favor in a few hits, so getting the title of hero is an important matter. The winner has the right to choose one of several weapons. Such weapons can only be worn if you have the title of hero. Such weapons can cause multiple additional damage in PvP battles. And also, the title of hero is the fame and respect of many LA2 players.
In addition to all this, points received during competitions can be exchanged for money or useful items from a special NPC in the city.
Another feature of the hero is his voice. The hero can communicate with the entire game world via text messages, which is not available to the average player (he can only communicate with that part of the people who are currently in the same location as himself).
6 Gameguard
Gameguard is a system that protects honest players from cheaters, developed by INCA Internet. This utility is intended to protect LA2 memory from changes in software. The program automatically monitors violations and blocks the game and the account of the person who wanted to hack the client. But stealing passwords is not hacking the game, so passwords are stolen quite often. In addition to harmful actions, the program can block a completely harmless program. For example, a program such as Gamecam, a program for capturing images and video games, can also block your browser. But there is an interesting feature - some antiviruses block the defender program itself, passing it off as a dangerous object (are they afraid of competition? =)).
7 Other aspects of the game world
Due to several different circumstances - from bad elements of mechanics or game balance, to oversights of the server administration and the gaming community, violations of the duties of community managers - all sorts of problems have become one of the main parts of the game. All problems are discussed only on the official forum of the game. But the administration is trying its best to convince the players that they are fighting with all their might against any violations of the rules of the game. There is an opinion that the administration has long turned a blind eye to all the problems, as well as secret theories about the localizer receiving income from the shadow turnover of funds. But it’s not for us to judge what is true and what is not, in any case, as long as the servers are working, that means they are popular.
7.1 Clash with the real economy
Character development takes a lot of time and takes a lot of effort and time. But getting in-game currency takes a very long time, and some players can’t stand it and leave the game (maybe for the better). As everyone knows, there are also rich people who also play such games, it is for them that some characters are created, the principle is: someone pumps a character to the maximum level, provides him with everything he needs, then looks for a buyer and sells his account to him. Or another option is to pay for upgrading an existing character to the required level. But any such activities involving real money are prohibited in all MMORPGs.
There is a donation system on pirate servers. The donor makes a transfer of funds to the server, then with these funds he can buy various things that help in the development of the character. And the choice of such items is very large: from experience stones, which allow you to level up your character up to ten times faster, to paid mounts, on which you can move around the map at high speed. It is this type of entertainment that makes private servers so popular these days.
7.2 Farmers
The small chance and very large time costs when grinding (obtaining) important and not very important items for the development of your character (“knocking out” monsters in PvE, or completing various quests) determine the existence of such players who, apparently, have more time than pensioners. Farmers consider the main goal of the game to be mining and crafting various rare items (armor, weapons, etc.). Farmers can sell or exchange the obtained trophies, all at their discretion. In pursuit of farming, such players are gradually crowding out regular players, forcing them to buy things from them. Farmers, like other players, are not without a desire to make money. They can sell the mined loot to other players for real money. But often such players are caught red-handed (administrators can act as buyers) and their accounts are blocked.
7.3 Botting
Like many other MMORPGs, in LA2 some players use programs that simulate a real person sitting at the computer. Although this practice is prohibited, a considerable part of the people use it. Of course, in your absence you can develop your character in this way. According to one of several conspiracy theories, appealing to improved code, greater functionality (in some ways slightly superior to the game client itself) and variability of some utilities, the creators of the bots conspired with NCsoft itself.
Bots are most often used by farmers to obtain various things by automating frequently repeated actions, but this is prohibited by the rules of the game (and even on many pirate servers).
