By all accounts the Chronicle 4 update to the massively multiplayer online title Lineage II is the biggest and most ambitious to date.

While Lineage II has been in release since April of 2004, and has seen two other ‘chronicles’ release to expand the game’s content, the Chronicle 4 update is remarkable in that it truly expands the game’s foundation, providing more for younger players to do, while also attending to the needs of the older levels.

Does this expansion make NCsoft’s world a better place? The answer is simple – yes.  

One of the cornerstones to this expansion is the noblesse system, which enables players at level 75 or beyond to enter the Path to a Noblesse, and thus gain special abilities. The Noblesse will incur special privileges, such as exclusive teleportation, having an increase in attack abilities in the player-versus-player element of the title (other skills include bolstering castle defenses during a siege by summoning and riding a wyvern; the ability to channel the energy of eight wizards for a non-elemental magic attack that carries up to four times the destructive capacity of an elemental assault; a similar skill that uses only four wizards; the ability to build an advanced headquarters with twice the hit points of an ordinary siege headquarters), plus decorative personal elements, records of performance and the ability to confer titles without being part of a clan.

The level cap has been taken from level 75-78 and with level 76 comes a third class transfer. The third class transfer also includes the ability to boost previously learned skills through skill enchanting. Of course, increased skill abilities also mean more of a drain on your MP (mana).

There are new quests, territory and monsters – predominate among the latter is Valakas, the Fire Dragon. To reach him, players must run a quest route to gain access (the Watcher of the Valakas Klein quest) and obtain floating stones that will then allow them to enter the Hall of Flames. This is all much easier said than done. Valakas and his habitat are located in one of two new areas added to the game – Goddard (where you go for the Valakas quest series) and Rune.

One of the nice touches, though, for younger players is that there are Adventurer’s Guildsmen located throughout villages. These guildsmen have a list of available quests, broken down through class and levels. This makes finding quests much easier. While there are still not what one would call a plethora of quests to undertake – compared to other titles – there are numerous quests added across the level range.  

New armor (related to Hero status) and new pets are also in the game, there have been tweaks to the interface to make it more accessible, as well. There are three new pets in the game (babies all, then include the buffalo, cougar and kookaburra), and changes have been made to the striders.

Players can fish, and record gameplay for playback later. Clan wars can also be declared with or without the consent of the opposing clan.

While a bunch of tweaks have affected the Festival of Darkness, and new clan halls have been added, the core gameplay of Lineage II remains mostly intact. The game does feel much easier to level, and NCsoft’s attempts to remove farmers and bots remains ongoing, but changes are apparent.

Lineage II’s player base has gotten older and thus newer players will find the entry lands sparsely populated. But this is an intelligent game. The world is full-on PvP, but that does not mean that players mercilessly attack each other, without consequence. The PvP system is solid and attacking “innocent” players have repercussions.

The experience at the upper end of the class spectrum was enjoyable, and the quests were very challenging. On the flip side of this, restarting the game as a newer player proved to be a rather easy-paced and enjoyable experience, without players griefing or ganking because so many were jammed into a common area.

Lineage II is still a viable MMO, going strong and making excellent strides to evolve the game to continue to make it intriguing and enjoyable. Chronicle 4 is a prime example of that progression.

Gameplay: 7.4
There were still moments of lag spikes, and crashes – which plagued this game in the beginning. The control mechanics are still founded on the point-and-click style, which can make targeting – especially a moving target – a bit of a chore.

Graphics: 9.0
The graphics are still as strong and while Chronicle 4 does not add much in the manner of innovation, it maintains the high level of consistency that this game first introduced.

Sound: 8.3
Still solid, but not much new.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The grind elements are still present, along with the downtime waiting for mana regeneration, but while some of this caters to more hardcore players, with patience the experience can be enjoyable. 

Concept: 8.0
Chronicle 4 is well-conceived and brings solid ideas and elements to the game. 

Multiplayer: 7.8
The community is much friendlier, though the player-driven economy can be a little harsh still. The way that NCsoft has worked to remove bots and farmers (which still exist) in commendable and improves the game experience.

Overall: 8.3
Still very much a niche game, Chronicle 4 does bring more elements, some nice features and a deeper experience to the world. The graphics of the game are still strong, despite that this game is almost two years old, and while the game still has server lags and client crashes, the overall experience is still entertaining and enjoyable.