Lineage II: The Kamael Preview

Lineage II continues to expand and challenge its players and The Kamael is the latest free download content to the world of Aden.

In its third year of release, Lineage II is a different game from the one first launched. Tweaks are continually being made and The Kamael is more than just a straight content episode, it also offers changes to account management.

With this expansion, players will be able to affect server transfers, change names and even change character genders.

At the heart of this expansion, and indeed, the title focuses on the race, is the Kamael themselves. These are warriors with an affinity toward dark magic. The other five races, in the lore of the game, were believed to have been created by the gods, but the Kamael are believed to have been created by the giants for the purpose of combat. As such, only one class is available, and that is the fighter class, with different skills trees for each gender.

The male Kamael can go Berserker, Soul Breaker, Doombringer and Soul Hound, while the female travels the path to Arbalester, Trickster, as well as the Soul Breaker and Soul Hound classes.

Of course, the race will feature a new look, having one wing extending from their left shoulder blade, but other aesthetics are in place, including a few new cosmetic features.

There are three new land areas: Hellbound, Isle of Souls and the Isle of Prayer. Hellbound area is not as simple as a zone you get to walk into and start beating on things. It is the highest level area in the game right now, and players have to contribute certain items server wide to open the gates. No one person can get in. There is a finite amount of time on the gate, but you can extend the amount of time you are there through doing quests.

The Isle of Souls is the birthplace of the Kamael and the Isle of Prayer is a level 70-plus zone with a raid boss.

Of course, there will be new weapons and armor designs, all very nicely rendered.

Fortress battles are also getting a bit of a change. Clans can conquer fortresses on a daily basis and siege structures are available 24/7.

NCsoft conducted a tour through some of the new areas for the media on Friday, giving players a look at some of the new areas, quest bosses and such. The game plays out with the default point-and-click interface. But the zones visited were truly geared for teams and raids. Plus players will be challenged to work with disparate races for skill traits that are particular to those races. For example, in one zone, an underwater raid instanced, the Kamael female skill of detecting a trap in order to advance. Of course, boss mobs wait on the other side of the door, but that is why a group is needed.

The Kamael has some nice surprises along the way, like the skill of final form for the Kamael. The race has a dark side and can collect souls, and once 20 are collected, they undergo a transformation to another form, with different attack skills.

Lineage II is continuing to advance and grow, and the dev team is listening to players’ input to implement some of the necessary changes. The new developments brought to the fore with this expansion look to create a better player experience on several fronts.