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Can you be a casual player?

jstadjstad Member Posts: 1
in Lineage 2
From what I have read this game is a grind fest. I understand this but I am wondering if there is any satisfaction from the game being a "casaul player" I log on an MMO for usually about an hour every 2 days (maybe 10 hours a week?). Will I see any progress in my character if I don't play long sessions? Also how are the graphics since this game is becoming "older"?

Comments

  • BrenelaelBrenelael Member UncommonPosts: 3,821
    Yes the graphics are almost as good as the games coming out now and the animations are smooth and fluid. As for being a casual player I would say that depends on how far you want to go. The lower levels are fairly quick and you don't really start to see the monster grind until you hit 50+. So if you just want to play and have fun without worrying about being an "uber" player then yes you can play L2 casually. If you expect to get to the highest levels and be a power player on your server then you may be years getting there at 10 hours roughly a week play time.



    Bren

    while(horse==dead)
    {
    beat();
    }

  • EllyrionEllyrion Member Posts: 193

    The answer to your question lies in exploring the concept of "casual".

    IF you have a high level clan with stable membership who are happy to take you into their groups without any fuss, THEN you will not experience "teh grind". You will simply log on and "casually" make your way into a dungeon or other XP area (some places may require the party to come and get you, etc..) and then go hard for an hour or so. You will have a choice of siege or raid events depending on the size of your clan. IF your firends will allow you to live off them then yes you will be able to be a casual player within the context that I imagine you are asking the question.

    IF you do not have any such relationships in place then no you will not succeed as a casual player in L2.

    L2 unlike any other system relies on a number of potent and effective money sinks in order to progress. This duality of the game is the first big suprise for ppl. The reason for this is that you have a choice, XP to level up OR make money. You cannot do both. You need to spend money in order to level up. This is the biggest paradigm shift for players from other games.

    If you grasp this then you will now understand why you need a large group of friends which are prepared to "finance" your casual playstyle.

    L2 is designed to force you to group. The economic system is such that you almost literally have to hack your existence out of it which is time consuming in itself. You will need to make money to buy armour and equipment and then you will need money to make consumables BEFORE you can sit back to enjoy the "grind" of levelling :). In addition, the XP curve is exponenitial and the higher level you are the more apparent this becomes. The need for "efficient" XP groups becomes overwhelming.

    This is all just from the "game engine" perspective.

    You are then presented with the "human" perspective where the world of open PvP awaits you. The world of L2 is a dangerous place for a "casual" player who choses not to socialise. Unlike other PvE games where you can plonk away at your k/b ad nauseum in some place and dutifuly send GM messages to petition ppl hassing you, in L2 you will not only get ignored by the GM's but lose XP and time as you get to respawn in the nearest town (mercifully with all your equipment, as untill recently there was a chance of dropping gear on death by both PvE and PvP) and will be faced with the option to run back to the dungeon whence you just came from, quite often a time consuming event, since as you no doubt have guessed by now, the other BIG time sink in L2 is ofcourse travelling.

    I personally love the game, and whilst I may come accross quite sarcastically, I merely want to portray the real world of L2, where the economic reality strips away the veneer of other touchy feely games. In this game you need to rely on your clannies for, not only economic assistance to help you acquire weapons, armour and consumables by craft or conquest, but also to watch your back when push comes to shove unlike a lot of other MMO's. This demand is quite a significant emotional burden which a lot of players are unprepared for. It is often that you will be required to drop what you're doing and spend money in order to get somewhere fast to help your clannies out. Quite often it seems like 2 steps fwd one step back... and we're not even grinding XP yet ;)

    This is why I don't recommend the game for casual gamers because from my experience you will need to sink in at least 3hrs a night on avg to see "reasonable" progress. As the previous poster mentioned you may get away with soloing or multiboxing (running additional accounts on another PC) for a while ... maybe into the 50's but after that you will simply run out of money trying to both equip your characters AND paying for their consumables... This is why ppl cheat in L2, this is why they bot and e-bay, because they want to have their cake and eat it too ;) P

    I hope this presents you with a realistic assessment of the game.

    Cheers,

    Ellyrion Fiallathandriel

    7X Eva's Templar

    Kain 

     

     

  • GameloadingGameloading Member UncommonPosts: 14,182
    Originally posted by jstad

    From what I have read this game is a grind fest. I understand this but I am wondering if there is any satisfaction from the game being a "casaul player" I log on an MMO for usually about an hour every 2 days (maybe 10 hours a week?). Will I see any progress in my character if I don't play long sessions? Also how are the graphics since this game is becoming "older"?
    I think its better to look for a diffrent MMORPG. Lineage 2 really is a hardcore game that simply requires a lot of time. Not only to level up and advance your character, but you won't really get involved in the clan politics either, which is really what the game is all about.
  • GreatnessGreatness Member UncommonPosts: 2,188
    Well I am a casual player which made my character progression really slow, unless your okay with that, I suggest not trying it or wait until you have a bit more time.

    ~Greatness~

    Currently Playing:
    Nothing

  • damijindamijin Member Posts: 37
    I suggest you buy a level 76 character of whatever class you want to play, then subclass it to some sort of support class (BD or warcrier, IMO), then make some friends and give them your account info as long as they promise to level your subclass.



    You'll have a main class that you can play every now and then for PvP, sieges, raids, etc, and a subclass that people will mostly level for you.



    I play L2 very casually... I didn't buy an account but I use one of my friend's accounts to just play for sieges, big raids (baium, frintezza, antahras), and sometimes for random PvP.



    But I don't think you can find much satisfaction in L2 playing casually from scratch and trying to level up on your own.
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