The thing to understand about L2SQ is that it is not simply a "different way to stack a sub". We have a mindset, a philosophy behind that mindset, and the passion required throughout our team to drive both forward. Basically, we are taking what had always been lame about this game and, mindfully, altering or otherwise removing it. Things such as 8-hour long class change quests, poorly conceived drop tables and the beyond terrible fame farming mechanic are just a few samples of my meaning... To summarize the joke that is the L2 fame farm:
"man... jus go 2 siege afk 2 hour make sandwich come back loads of fame put pvp on dragonik gunn pwn QQ is weri guud serber mens))"
Not here; no chance. If NCSoft won't learn from its past successes/failures, then we (the players) must do it for them.
It can be safely asserted that the best, most (and perhaps only?) conducive zone for PvP ever made by NCSoft was Hellbound. The consolidation of a servers population created a tense and limited environment; there is only one Green Spot, after all... Two factors that, when too many individuals are present, will inevitably lead to conflict. This is just as true in world of Lineage as it is in the real one... Indeed, the scarcity of farm spots in Hellbound was so limited that, if left unchecked, could quickly lead to intra-clan conflict over who should get to farm what, where, and for how long? You can't beat that... In most instances you can't even plan for that!
Now, the simple notion that scarcity leads to inter-group conflict and extreme scarcity can lead to intra-group conflict should not come as a surprise to anyone... Instead, what should be surprising is that after the success of Hellbound, NCSoft decides next to do the exact opposite.
"If putting everyone in the same spot works well, then spreading everyone out should work even better!"
In comes SV, in comes Lizardmen, in comes Nuker-friendly/Archer-resistant zones. In comes SoA where your rather forced into one zone based on class and not the other.
Fail, fail, fail. The fact that Hellbound was a one time PvP-friendly end-game occurrence suggests that it was more by chance than by design; an accident, a fluke. Even if it wasn't an accident on NCSofts part, but rather intentional, all this does is square the circle regarding their complete reversal in terms of their clear commitment to the segregation of a servers population in the subsequent chronicles, chronicle after chronicle.
You don't get to mass PvP when you design a zone so that only archers go there; it just won't happen. Not ever.
At L2SQ, we've changed nothing that most agree NCSoft had done correctly, nor did we change any zones normally frequented by players in the High Five chronicle... They made one hell of a game, after all. We have however, updated almost the entire (once obsolete) region of Hellbound while keeping its feel very true to the old one; we've revamped SoA so as to consolidate rather than segregate, and re-implemented the fame-farming mechanic... Something that NCSoft should have, but never did. We have also improved upon it, by making fame exchangeable during clan wars, and finally combined this new SoA and this new fame to make the ultimate in end-game zones...
One where you stop farming gear and start farming PvP... One where you must always keep one eye over your shoulder, because someone WILL be coming to take your spot, the only question is when.
Consolidate the population; give real incentive to PvP; reduce the ^_^ inherent to NCSofts lack of vision and follow-through.
These are our goals at Lineage Squared, now help us realize them.
