Lineage II/Current Status of the Game

= Current Status of this Page: Still Updating = = Current Status of Lineage 2 =

Lineage 2 North America (NA) is current in Chronicle 3: Rise of Darkness. With Chronicle 4 currently being tested on the public test.

= GameGuard Inclusion =

NCSoft implemented GameGuard for Lineage 2 between Chronicle 2 and Chronicle 3. Officially, this is to combat third-party software that exploits the game, giving unfair advantages to those using such software.

There are many voiced concerns with regards to privacy and in general GameGuard was not recieved with open arms. There are questions whether GameGuard really does prevent third-party software; the continual existence of third-party software does suggest GameGuard does not prevent the usage of such software (but perhaps log the usage for future use, further complicating the privacy issues). NCSoft compounds the issue even further by not being forthcoming with information, perhaps with some unknown reasons at the moment.

In addition to the privacy issues, there has been known compatibility issues; some software cannot be ran with GameGuard active, and some of these have nothing to do with Lineage 2 at all.

Known software that has issues with GameGuard:
 * MBM5 (Software that is meant to track system status such as system and CPU temperature, fan rotation, etc.)
 * {To be Updated}

= Chronicle 2 Changes (Implemented around 12 December 2004) =
 * New areas are created for players to explore:
 * Innadril Castle and its accompany town, Heine
 * Tower of Insolence is opened for exploration
 * A Monster Derby area is opened for use
 * A PvP Coliseum is opened for use
 * Starter villages now have maps that shows the parts of the town; Guide NPC will also help PCs to locate specific NPC if asked.
 * Broadcast Towers are added to all towns to allow PCs to view events in other locations.


 * Items, Texture and Animation changes
 * New Textures are added for some weapons/ armour.
 * Some new weapons/ armour are added. In particular, Compressed Shots Packages are added.


 * Game Mechanism changes
 * Skills are adjusted and added, mainly for higher level characters.
 * New quests are added
 * Two new type of game-mobs -- Chests and Mimics -- are introduced.
 * Magic Spells is adjusted to have a chance to cause criticals.
 * A quest is made available for Dragon Hatchling pets to become Dragon Striders.
 * Private stores now have slight interface changes that is supposed to assist identifying scams.
 * Artisans can now set up crafting stores
 * A Lottery is introduced.
 * Dice can now be bought in stores.
 * A in-game calculator is made available (and is really nice. :)
 * C-Grade weapons can now be customized (somewhat).
 * Tattoos are now available to customize a character (somewhat).
 * The Manor system, in which a Castle-controlling PC can set up a special store to trade special commodities with other PCs, is made available.
 * Yet MORE changes were made to the PvP system to balance things out.
 * A Macro creation system is added.
 * Clan Leader can now delegate some tasks to other clan members.
 * An evaluation/ recommendation mechanism is introduced.
 * Artisans/ Warsmiths can obtain a Recipe book that would hold 50 recipes.

= Chronicle 1 Changes (Implemented around 27 June 2004) =
 * New areas are created for players to explore:
 * Antharas' Lair is added.
 * Aden castle and its surrounding areas are opened for exploration.
 * Tower of Insolence is created but not open for exploration (if memory serves).
 * Two PvP Arenas were opened for use, one in Gludin and one in Giran.
 * Bandit's Stronghold is opened in the Oren area.


 * Items, Texture and Animation changes
 * New Textures are added for some weapons/ armour.
 * Some skills recieved new animation.
 * More emotions animations are added.


 * Game Mechanisms changes
 * PvP flagging system is changed to adjust for griefers and PK-ers.
 * Mob Drops for deep blue mobs (mobs > 5 levels below the PC) is eliminated.
 * A 15-second active period after user logout is imposed to adjust for exploit.
 * Weights for many items are readjusted. The Weight/ Encumberance system is adjusted.
 * Hatchling pets are added. Various pets/ summons rules are changed.
 * New skills and quests are made available.