News - News 1

**Websites and Forums Maintenance - 11 - 23**

November 22, 2011

The Lineage2.com website, the *Lineage II* Official forums, and the account management functions on NCsoft.com will be down for maintenance on November 23, 2011.

1. **NCsoft.com maintenance - November 23, 2011, at 4am PST. Expected downtime is approximately 12 hours**. With this maintenance:
* All *Lineage II* game accounts (trial, paid, inactive) are converted to *Truly Free* accounts.
* Remaining game time on paid accounts will be converted to NCoin.

2. **Lineage2.com maintenance - November 23, 2011, at 11:30am PST. Expected downtime is approximately 4 hours.** With this maintenance:
* A new *Lineage II* website is being published!
* The *Lineage II* webstore will be open for business!

3. ***Lineage II* Forums maintenance - November 23, 2011, at 5am PST. Expected downtime is approximately 12 hours.** With this maintenance:
* The forums are being re-skinned to update them to a *Goddess of Destruction* background image.
* The forums login authorization is changed to allow players with *Truly Free* accounts to log in.
* A fix for the unexpected-forums-logout issue will be implemented.

**Naia Moves to USA on Nov 23, 2011**

November 22, 2011

As you know, the European server, Naia is being physically relocated to the United States. The move will happen on November 23, 2011, during the regular weekly maintenance. Once the maintenance is finished players may log into Naia in its new location next to Chronos in Dallas, Texas, USA.

The server time of Naia will remain European: the next Castle Siege and Territory Wars on Naia will occur this weekend (November 26 and 27) as originally planned.

**Changes to PTS and Launch Plans**

November 16, 2011

The launch of *Goddess of Destruction* is almost upon us! As we finalize specific launch details, we had to adjust some of our original plans. One of the changes included the cancellation of plans to host a *Goddess of Destruction* PTS before the game update launches. We understand that this inconveniences players by eliminating the possibility to test the Awakening classes before having to choose which one they will become. To alleviate this problem, the full patch notes for the eight Awakening classes and for the Awakening race skills have been posted to the forums early. In addition, positive plans have changed regarding the Stone of Destiny: the item will be available to characters of lower level, and for longer than originally planned. More details about this event will be published in the future.

On November 30, 2011, *Goddess of Destruction* launches *Truly Free*, with many positive changes to *Lineage II* bringing more fun and excitement! We value your loyalty and we thank you for your patience and understanding during this time of fast changes.

**NCsoft Launcher Transition**

November 16, 2011

As of today, the NCsoft Launcher now fully supports *Lineage II* and all updates applied to the game. The download speeds are significantly faster than through the *Lineage II* Updater. With this change, the *Lineage II* updater will be retired on November 23, 2011. Please begin using the NCsoft Launcher moving forward. The NCsoft Launcher can be downloaded here.

**Nevit's Hourglass Removal**

November 16, 2011

Due to changes to the Vitality system coming in *Goddess of Destruction*, it is necessary that the use of Nevit's Hourglass be reset upon launch. During the launch maintenance on November 30, 2011, all Nevit's Hourglasses will be removed from the game. Players are encouraged to use up any Nevit's Hourglasses they have before the launch maintenance begins on November 30.

**Olympiad Changes for November 2011**

October 31, 2011

As you know in *Goddess of Destruction* the Olympiad is only available to Awakened characters (characters level 85+ who have gone through their 4th class transfer to become an Awakened class). Normally, before launching an update that modifies the Olympiad system, the system is turned off so that there is no conflict between the before-and-after changes. For this launch preparation we are doing something different: **during November 2011, Olympiad remains turned on so that players can partake from its basic benefits, however Hero status will not be calculated.**

The last Heroes before Goddess of Destruction launches will be the players that earned Hero status from the month of October. More details about when the Olympiad Heroes will be turned back on will be provided closer to launch.

For questions and discussion about the Olympiad change in November, please see this thread on the official *Lineage II* forums.

**Treats for Halloween!**

October 24, 2011

Celebrate Halloween this year with some fun and useful pumpkin-themed gifts from the Lineage II team to you on October 26! Read all about it on the Happy Halloween event page.

**October Bonanza Events**

October 12, 2011

Celebrate Fall with the October Bonanza events! For a month, players are rewarded with a variety of items, gifts and opportunities. These include a subscription promotion, weekly gifts and thank you letters, and the Player Commendation event that lets you collect rewards just for being logged in! Plus, more news is to come, so stay tuned.

**October 5 Announcement Delayed**

October 5, 2011

Hello everyone,

We regret to inform you that the October 5th announcement must be delayed. It was our intent to bring this announcement to you today, but due to unexpected circumstances, we believe it will be more appropriate for a later date, when we will have all details finalized. We apologize for the inconvenience and will make a clear announcement once the information is ready to share. We assure you that the announcement is that of many good things coming to Lineage II, and we thank you for your continued devotion to the game we love.

**Sace Says: a Goddess of Destruction Blog**

September 20, 2011

Welcome a new update to the Goddess of Destruction preview site! Today we have two new zones to share with you, as well as some insight on the Awakening process, and a sneak peek at the all-new Auction House. The addition of an Auction House to Lineage II has been long-awaited by players, and I suspect that it is one of the things that players like most in the whole Goddess of Destruction update. Sure enough, players can now buy and sell items without being in Private Shop mode. Private Shop mode still exists, of course, and will likely still be used, but perhaps now we won't be tripping over dwarves in Giran as much.

Like any good Auction House, ours has categories, sorting options, and a word search function to help players find items easily. You can put a huge number of items up for sale for up to 7 days at whatever price you want. Also, the Auction House NPCs can be found in all major towns and villages. All in all, this is a great addition to Lineage II.

As the Awakening process update in the preview site explains, when you reach level 85 you will be prompted to begin the quest. To complete it, you must fight the eight new classes, and also have more concentrated fights with the class that you will become when you Awaken. It's a relatively simple quest, but once we get closer to launch time-frame I will post a walkthrough of it on the forums, so that everyone can breeze through it with tips and foresight.

Once Awakened, you will be able to continue leveling up to the new level cap of 99. Along the way, you can explore and hunt in the new and revamped zones tailored to the new level range. One of these places is Shilen's Altar. I'm sure we've all been to Forbidden Gateway, east of the Aden Cemetery. Over the years, many players have asked "what is it a gateway to," and "what's on the other side?" Now we know: the evil Embryo cult built a giant altar where the blood from the sacrifices in the Catacombs and Necropolises is collected and fueled through a vortex to Shilen herself. You can only enter Shilen's Altar when you're on a particular campaign quest. (Campaigns are a new type of quest that are tied to the developing story of Lineage II. We'll cover that when the patch notes are released later on.) In this one, we get to work with Elcadia again. You may remember her from the new Seven Signs quests that came in High Five. The Shilen's Altar zone itself is relatively small, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. I hope players are as excited as I am to be able to continue the story!

Ye Sagira is probably the most iconic place in the Goddess of Destruction update. It used to be the palace of the Giants long ago, adorned with proof of the Giants' advanced technology in the forum of floating stones and glowing glyphs. Ye Sagira was a unified structure back then, it included a main plaza, the Labyrinth of Belis, Harnak Underground Ruins, the Disconnected Labyrinth, and the Reliquary of the Giants. After Shilen smashed Ye Sagira onto Talking Island, each of the areas is separated, but you can tell from the architectural style that they belong together. The main plaza is shattered into five large chunks, now called Exploration Zones 1 through 5. Each of the other parts of Ye Sagira is somewhere underground and out of sight--with the exception of the Reliquary--but they can all be accessed by speaking to NPCs in the Exploration Zones. One of the best parts of Ye Sagira is the Observation area. This is another fragment of Ye Sagira that got broken off from the main structure, but this one is held high in the air by mysterious forces. From it, you can see the layout of all of Ye Sagira, and it's a great place for screenshots, too. And don't forget about the Reliquary of the Giants: it's a beautiful little place where you go to Awaken after you complete the fourth class transfer quest.

*Relaxing to the view from the Ye Sagira Observation area,*
with Talking Island Village in the distance.

The Goddess of Destruction update actually has way more content that we could possibly fit on the preview site--in fact it's the biggest content update Lineage II has ever had! We hope you've been enjoying these updates and this blog over the months, as we will have more for you in the future. As a hint, I can tell you that there's some big news coming next month. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you can get the news sent directly to your inbox! To sign up, login to your NCsoft account, go to your Account Profile, click on Update Contact Information, and check the Newsletter box at the bottom of the page. Save your changes, and stay tuned for big news!

**Treasure Hunt Event - Sept. 21 - Oct. 5**

September 20, 2011

Get ready for the next game event, the Treasure Hunt, starting tomorrow on September 21st! Go to Fantasy Isle, transform into a Treasure Hunter, hunt treasure chests hidden around the isle, and reap great rewards! We saw this same event last February, but we've changed some of the reward items since them. Learn more on the event page.

**Double XP & Drops Week - Sept. 14-21**

September 9, 2011

It's time for our next Double XP & Drops Week event, beginning on September 14! For this event, Angel Cat will be in for the first four days and will offer four buff potions, and Nevit's Herald will be in all week to give you a Vitality buff as often as you need. Enjoy!

**Notice: 7th Anniversary Promo Billing**

September 8, 2011

This notice is to players that purchased a 7th Anniversary Subscription Promo.

If you switched your subscription to the 7th Anniversary Three-Month +1 Subscription, it was originally believed that your billing would revert back to your original subscription plan after the four months (three months plus one month) were over. Unfortunately, it was discovered that this is incorrect: your subscription plan will remain on the three month subscription plan; it will not revert. We apologize for the miscommunication and encourage you to check your account to make sure you are on the plan that you want. If you need to switch your billing plan, please read through these instructions: Switching Billing Plans/Options.

**PAX Prime Recap**

September 6, 2011

Thank you to everyone that could attend one or both of our events at PAX this year! Both players and staff had a great time, and we are always looking forward to future events like this. In case you missed it, here is a summary of each event's outcome.

**PAX Speaking Panel Summary**

We had a great crowding at our speaking panel. We watched the Goddess of Destruction trailer that includes some of the history of *Lineage II*. You can watch this video by clicking on the "History Video" button on the front page of the Goddess of Destruciton preview site. Next, we covered the basic facts and features of *Lineage II*, often accompanied by screenshots. After that, we logged into our Goddess of Destruction QA client to show off some of the new features such as the Museum, the Awakening process, the new way to learn skills, and Sayune, the jump system. After the presentation was done, we had time to answer a few questions from the audience. On the way out, attendees collected their Elpy plushy and free game time!

*Starting the panel, with the Lineage II Community Manager, Sace at the podium.*

We hope to have a video to share with you in the near future that will cover the panel discussion in full detail. Stay tuned!

**More Speaking Panel Pictures:**

* Attendees waiting to enter the presentation room.
* Guests watching the Wynn Summoner class in action while the Lineage II Producer, Moxie, controls the character from a computer at the side of the room.

***Lineage II & Aion* Meet & Greet Party**

Our event space was in a section of the Elephant & Castle Pub only a few blocks away from the convention center where PAX was being held. About 100 players attended. As players entered the party, they first came to our check-in table between two large game banners. There, they showed their flier, collected their raffle and drink tickets, and got their hand-stamped. Next they came to the swag table where we asked what game they played. *Lineage II* players got a game-logo bag containing game-themed magnetic poetry, an Elpy plushy, a Freya t-shirt and a Race Logo t-shirt. *Aion* players received an *Aion* poster and a vintage *Lineage II* game back from our 4th anniversary, which included a game code and game time. Admittably, we had cooler swag, but after 9pm, any *Lineage II* swag that remained went up for grabs.

After collecting swag, guests could claim a table "upstairs" where they came in, or downstairs in the Karaoke room. Upstairs featured a large-screen TV playing trailers and videos from both *Lineage II* and *Aion* throughout the evening. Downstairs, guests could claim a table, get some food from our hot buffet of snacks, play pool, and of course, sing Karaoke. Waitstaff accepted drink tickets and brought your drink to you from the main bar, which was outside of our section.

*A jovial group of karaoke singers.*

At 9pm, the raffle winners were announced. There were 10 winners that each got an identical prize: a *Lineage II* bag containing an Elpy plushy, and an *Aion* game, soundtrack, plushy, and signed concept art poster. The runner-up prize was an *Aion* Collector's Edition Game Box from when the game launched almost two years ago. The first prize of the raffle was a 9 inch tall PVC figurine of a *Lineage* II light elf!

Throughout, guests enjoyed themselves talking with community staff members and players from both games, eating and drinking, singing karaoke, and playing pool. Even some of the staff members sang! All in all, everyone had a lot of fun.

**More Meet & Greet Pictures:**

* The upstairs area, swag table, and video showing.
* The downstairs area with food, pool and Karaoke.
* Some of the food served at the party included sliders and meatballs.
* A crowd of fans mingling downstairs.

**Sace Says: a Goddess of Destruction Blog**

September 1, 2011

This is probably my favorite update to the Goddess of Destruction preview site so far. Why? Because I am a sucker for awesome armor. With the August 31st, 2011 update to the site, we posted pictures of each of the four R-grade armor sets in every race and gender combination in the game. They are gorgeous. The first one that players will get when they Awaken at level 85 is the Immortal set, which looks a bit like Vesper or Vorpal armor, but with more black and dark red. Next is the level 90 Twilight set, which is entirely dark-teal-green and covered in jewels and fine details. The level 95 set is called Seraph, and it is the most diverse. The heavy sets are blue and white, with a theme of metal feathers on the spaulders. The light set is a decadent combination of white metal or leather on royal purple, all with gold details and lining, and some jewels. The Seraph robe set seems to be the most popular among visually-pleased players; it is a gentle gradient of white and light green, with black and white details and golden stitching all over. Last but not least is the level 99 Eternal set which is all deep reds over iridescent blue-green. Drool...

*Right-click and select 'View Image' to enlarge the picture.*

Of course, every race and gender combination in *Lineage II* as a unique style and appearance of wearing armor. This pattern continues with the R-grade armor sets: Orc Mages in robes have feather details that give a nod to their tribal shaman background. Elf females often have scalloped lace on their outfits. Dwarves have playful shapes like stars and hearts on their armor. And Dark Elf females' armor of any type always emphasizes their... well, you know. I find that this tradition of keeping an individual style for each race and gender adds to the charm of *Lineage II*. Players love character customization: they crave visual display of them being a unique person. While on one hand you could say that this is difficult with "only" six races and pre-set face and hair options, customization goes beyond the character's head and body by having a total of sixteen different race and gender combinations on top of that, each with their own appearance. Add on armor, hair accessories, agathions and a plethora of weapons to choose from, virtually no *Lineage II* character looks like the next.

Speaking of accessories, how about those new hairstyles and cloaks? The hairstyles are actually hair accessory wigs that you can obtain by completing campaign quests. No hairstyle or dye potions are necessary to change your appearance to one of the two new hairstyles for each race and gender. There are class-specific cloaks for each of the Awakened classes. Also, the cloaks partly match the appearance of the class-specific mounts, so you're definitely going to look pimp when you Awaken.

Best of all, when you win a Museum ranking category and a bronze statue of yourself is put up on display, it displays exactly what you're wearing at the time of winning. If you haven't read about the Museum yet, it is an achievement feature new to the game in Goddess of Destruction. Statistics of all the players on the server are gathered continuously and, at the end of the month, the players with the most points in each category become famous for the next month by ranking number one and by having a statue of them on display. This might sound a bit like Heroes in the Olympiad, meaning it only applies to high-level characters. Well, don't worry, as that is not the case! Most categories that disregard character level, so you can become famous early on in your character life by excelling at fun things like the number of times you've resurrected someone, how many hours you've spent in private shop mode, and an all-time MMORPG favorite; how many times you've died! Yes, the Museum is going to add a lot of fun to everyday activities, as well as spur some playful competition between players, and give you a sense of where you stand among the player population on your server. After all, we're the player community: let's learn more about each other.

Overall, Goddess of Destruction is looking to be one of the best things to ever happen to *Lineage II*. I know that many veteran players are a bit nervous about this game update but I firmly believe that when they log in after launch and play a bit, they will agree that the game is more fun and more welcoming than ever before. In the games industry, where novelty is paramount, it's important to make sure we're not just settling with what has worked in the past, but rather to always be offering innovation and content. The advantage is that we also have this amazing legacy to build upon. Seven years is a long time in the gaming industry and now we are getting a fresh makeover that will draw the spotlights to us. There is something new and fun for everyone in Goddess of Destruction. We couldn't be more excited!

**1** - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5