I’m pleased to announce that the first guide in a series dedicated specifically to character builds has been released. It covers the Titan class and you can find more about it here:

http://www.lineage2universe.com/guides/lineage-ii-titan-class-character-build-guide

Lineage II Titan Class Character Build Guide

This guide is the first of a series of compact guidebooks that focus on character builds in Lineage II.

If you are playing or plan to play a Destroyer/Titan, and you want to take the best out of your character in terms of performance, this guide is for you.

Whether you’re playing PvE, Open PvP or Olympiad, or whether you play on a Goddess of Destruction, High Five, Freya, Gracia Epilogue or Gracia Final server, this guide covers all the modifications you can make to your character to exploit the full potential of the Titan class.

This guide will help you to:

• Choose weapons, armor sets and accessories that work best for each Grade
• Find dye combinations that work best in different situations
• Select skill enchant routes to optimize your type of gameplay, be it PvE, Open PvP or Olympiad PvP
• Learn which weapon and armor element attributes benefit you the most
• Further boost your character with the most efficient subclass certification skills
• Decide which weapon augment skills are most useful to your type of gameplay

The Lineage II Titan Class Character Build Guide focuses completely on game mechanics and does not dwell unnecessarily into gameplay tips. It is designed to just provide you with the information you need without having to read through walls of text.

The information is structured in a way that allows you to use the guide as a quick reference whenever you need help with anything related to selecting items or modifying your stats:

• Separate sections to cover differences between game versions – the guide is compatible with Goddess of Destruction, High Five, Freya, Gracia Epilogue and Gracia Final
• Separate sections for PvE, Open PvP and Olympiad PvP combat.

You can purchase this guide for just $9.99 and start to improve your Titan character immediately. The Lineage II Titan Class Character Build guide delivers the usual top-notch quality that are trademark for all of Mayu’s guides, without holding back any knowledge and expertise. By purchasing this guide you are automatically qualified to receive any future updates for free and get answers to any further questions you may have from the author himself.

Best F2P MMORPGs of 2012 – a Look at Current Top 3 MMOs

It’s been quite a while since I wrote, but life’s been really busy. One thing that kept me occupied though was trying out different MMORPGs out there and of course comparing it to what Lineage II Goddess of Destruction has to offer. Now that it has switched to a Free 2 Play model and with all the changes to the gameplay itself, it’s quite interesting to compare and analyze what makes or breaks a F2P MMO, though one can argue it is always a subjective viewpoint (and that’s quite true).

Free 2 Play vs. Paid Subscription Models

Before I take a brief look into what I think are the top 3 MMORPGs that we have at the moment (or ones that are going to be released very soon), I want to touch on the subject of F2P models vs. subscription payment models, and especially hybrid models. Although I much enjoy having the option to play a game for free, there are two main issues that all F2P MMOs suffer from: limitation of content and quality of players base.

The limitation of content is quite a nuisance and is quite detrimental to the longetivity of a player’s time spent in the game. Although some MMOs have some good ways to work around that issue, such as accumulation of credits through gameplay via achievement systems or events, it still detracts from the overall gameplay experience because you are forced to do things which are not necessarily something you want to do and enjoy, and are what VIP/Paid players might not even bother doing.

And then that leads to a lower quality of the players base as it becomes pretty much split between free and VIP players, and with the majority of players playing for free, it leads to much frustration, particularly for clans/guilds who want to focus on building a healthy community with long-term play in mind. The main reason for that frustration is the majority of players come and go all the time in most F2P MMORPGs, or at the very least they play casually, from time to time. This works against forming up proper relations between players, prevents communication and turns what is supposed to be a massive multiplayer game into some sort of a single player game where most just stroll solo in their spare time. Of course that has its fans, but in my opinion it kills the purpose of a MMO.

Easy Ways to Pay for Subscription

On a side note, subscription plans for MMOs don’t really cost that much, but for someone who cannot afford to pay for a VIP account there are some relatively easy and even enjoyable ways to earn enough to cover your monthly fee expenses. Depending on how much spare time you have and what your interests are, and partially what technical skills you have, you can do a variety of things to earn some extra money for your VIP account, regardless of the MMORPG you play (as long as it’s popular enough). One, you can make a free blog about your gameplay experience, post tips and engage in discussions with other fellow players, and earn some cash via Google Adsense.

A more efficient way is to have a proper blog (similar to mine) which you have total control of, and even open up a forum. If it becomes popular over time, you can even sell advertising space and I can assure you there are plenty of companies willing to pay for ad spots. Third, if you like playing online games and like to gamble (and feel lucky!), you can try out some of the online poker and casino sites. It costs very little to start, you are usually given free bonuses and making some cash is quite easy. For those of you who want to try out the latter but are feeling inexperienced, I suggest visiting Denmark’s Poker Guide which contains some great articles and guides on how to maximize your investments. Don’t forget you can use Google Translator if you need.

And now, let’s have a brief look into my personal top 3 MMORPGs of early 2012:

1. Lineage II Goddess of Destruction

Obviously I’m biased here, but there is still no MMORPG out there that combines so many diverse elements as Lineage II does. It of course depends on what a player looks for, but for people like me who look for more freedom and less limitation in what you can or can’t do in a game, L2 is right where it’s at.

Lack of factions, open PvP, crucial role of clan and allience relationship, players controlled resource management, class balance focused towards party play instead of 1 vs 1, are just some of the main gameplay ingredients which makes Lineage II the most appealing F2P MMORPG out there.

Add to that the still great looking character models and textures, immersive soundtrack and long-term gameplay, and you have something which can quite easily replace your social life, for good or bad!

2. Aion

Having recently gone F2P, Aion enjoys much success these days. Although I don’t have at all much experience with this MMORPG, I must say it looks, sounds and feels great, despite its age. One of the things that struck me was the amazing quality and diversity of characters you can make. They are quite simply visually stunning and their animation is also top notch.

In terms of gameplay, it combines elements of WoW, LOTRO and Lineage II, which I guess is intended to draw in all different kinds of players, offering something to everyone. I certainly enjoy that aspect and being a casual LOTRO player myself, I instantly fell comfortable with the interface which is quite similar.

The target auto-facing feature would please L2 players and is something I wish more MMORPGs implement, as it really preserves your energy over time, taking away the need to constantly re-position your character. As for things to do in the game, I was quite impressed with the number of customization you can do to items of all kind, particularly weapons, armors and jewelry. Overall I strongly suggest that you try it out if you haven’t and just give it a chance.

3. Lord of the Rings Online

My top choice for a casual, solo-oriented type of MMO, particularly after the latest updates and expansions. Amazing atmosphere, visually stunning environments, great soundtrack and huge land to explore – it really is Middle Earth modelled as how one would imagine it. The only downside is that characters are very poorly modelled and just don’t fit in with the rest of the game. If you don’t pay much attention to that though and just enjoy the gameplay, it’s quite addictive.

Although the Free type account is rather limited, you can initially go through most of the content without a problem, and can later obtain enough points to buy further Quest packs. What is better though is paying for at least a month, obtain the bonus points that come with that and then let the system downgrade you to a Preimum account which has less limitations. In terms of gameplay, WoW players would feel at home with most of the stuff, but there are also some great innovative features (which WoW, Aion and even L2) have actually copied by now.

Some of the unique concepts in LOTRO is the Players vs. Monsters (PvM) mode, which serves the purpose of PvP alternative in the game, as well as the skirmish instances that offer action-packed playstyle for those who are willing to obtain equipment in a different way than doing quests. Another great feature is RPG servers which have certain rules to them that would please players looking for a more authentic experience of Middle Earth by in a similar way that one would do in a Dungeons & Dragons session, role-playing their characters as much as possible.

Conclusion

It is obviously out of the scope of an article to cover each MMORPG in detail and I personally believe it is best to experience one yourself instead of watching/reading about it, approaching it without any prejudice or expectations. Even so, I hope you found my little reviews useful. Feel free to leave a comment down below and ask any further questions you may have. As always, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Lineage II Goddess of Destruction Dyes – Complete List

With the new character stats on Goddess of Destruction, the original Dyes used to increase a stat up to +5 are not so efficient anymore. That’s why new types of Dyes have been introduced to provide bigger bonus, with some of those dyes also increasing a particular Attribute Resistance.

The new types are Giant, Ancient and Legendary, and each comes in levels from 1 to 5, with level 5 being the highest quality Dye. Apart from event rewards, they can normally be obtained from two places – from the Mystery of the Dye Merchant in Magic Shops and as selected purchase in Fortresses in exchange for Knight Epaulettes, Fame points and Adena. The former are given randomly with each purchase, for 1 million Adena, and the chance to get a Dye goes down proportionally to its quality.

The ones that can be purchased from Fortresses are Level 4 Ancient Dyes (+5/-2 in exchange for 1600 KE, 130000 Fame and 9 million Adena) and Level 4 Legendary Dyes (+5/-1 in exchange for 8400 KE, 670000 Fame and 46 million Adena).

As with the original Dyes, you can have up to 3 Symbols applied to your character, but the difference is you are not limited to +5 increase per Stat; now you can increase them up to +15!

Attribute Resistance bonuses depend on the type of stat the Dye increases, with the following relations:

• STR gives Fire Resistance
• DEX gives Earth Resistance
• CON gives Darkness Resistance
• INT gives Water Resistance
• WIT gives Wind Resistance
• MEN gives Holy Resistance

What follows is a table with a full list of all the available Dyes you can obtain in Goddess of Destruction:

Dye Description	Dye Icon
Lv1 STR Symbol – Giant Dye STR+3 DEX-2
Lv1 DEX Symbol – Giant Dye DEX+3 CON-2
Lv1 CON Symbol – Giant Dye CON+3 STR-2
Lv1 INT Symbol – Giant Dye INT+3 WIT-2
Lv1 WIT Symbol – Giant Dye WIT+3 MEN-2
Lv1 MEN Symbol – Giant Dye MEN+3 INT-2
Lv1 STR Symbol – Ancient Dye STR+3 DEX-2 Resistance to Fire +5
Lv1 DEX Symbol – Ancient Dye DEX+3 CON-2 Resistance to Earth +5
Lv1 CON Symbol – Ancient Dye CON+3 STR-2 Resistance to Darkness +5
Lv1 INT Symbol – Ancient Dye INT+3 WIT-2 Resistance to Water +5
Lv1 WIT Symbol – Ancient Dye WIT+3 MEN-2 Resistance to Wind +5
Lv1 MEN Symbol – Ancient Dye MEN+3 INT-2 Resistance to Holy +5
Lv1 STR Symbol – Legendary Dye STR+3 DEX-1 Resistance to Fire +5
Lv1 DEX Symbol – Legendary Dye DEX+3 CON-1 Resistance to Earth +5
Lv1 CON Symbol – Legendary Dye CON+3 STR-1 Resistance to Darkness +5
Lv1 INT Symbol – Legendary Dye INT+3 WIT-1 Resistance to Water +5
Lv1 WIT Symbol – Legendary Dye WIT+3 MEN-1 Resistance to Wind +5
Lv1 MEN Symbol – Legendary Dye MEN+3 INT-1 Resistance to Holy +5
Lv2 STR Symbol – Giant Dye STR+4 DEX-3
Lv2 DEX Symbol – Giant Dye DEX+4 CON-3
Lv2 CON Symbol – Giant Dye CON+4 STR-3
Lv2 INT Symbol – Giant Dye INT+4 WIT-3
Lv2 WIT Symbol – Giant Dye WIT+4 MEN-3
Lv2 MEN Symbol – Giant Dye MEN+4 INT-3
Lv2 STR Symbol – Ancient Dye STR+4 DEX-3 Resistance to Fire +10
Lv2 DEX Symbol – Ancient Dye DEX+4 CON-3 Resistance to Earth +10
Lv2 CON Symbol – Ancient Dye CON+4 STR-3 Resistance to Darkness +10
Lv2 INT Symbol – Ancient Dye INT+4 WIT-3 Resistance to Water +10
Lv2 WIT Symbol – Ancient Dye WIT+4 MEN-3 Resistance to Wind +10
Lv2 MEN Symbol – Ancient Dye MEN+4 INT-3 Resistance to Holy +10
Lv2 STR Symbol – Legendary Dye STR+4 DEX-2 Resistance to Fire +10
Lv2 DEX Symbol – Legendary Dye DEX+4 CON-2 Resistance to Earth +10
Lv2 CON Symbol – Legendary Dye CON+4 STR-2 Resistance to Darkness +10
Lv2 INT Symbol – Legendary Dye INT+4 WIT-2 Resistance to Water +10
Lv2 WIT Symbol – Legendary Dye WIT+4 MEN-2 Resistance to Wind +10
Lv2 MEN Symbol – Legendary Dye MEN+4 INT-2 Resistance to Holy +10
Lv3 STR Symbol – Giant Dye STR+5 DEX-4
Lv3 DEX Symbol – Giant Dye DEX+5 CON-4
Lv3 CON Symbol – Giant Dye CON+5 STR-4
Lv3 INT Symbol – Giant Dye INT+5 WIT-4
Lv3 WIT Symbol – Giant Dye WIT+5 MEN-4
Lv3 MEN Symbol – Giant Dye MEN+5 INT-4
Lv3 STR Symbol – Ancient Dye STR+5 DEX-4 Resistance to Fire +15
Lv3 DEX Symbol – Ancient Dye DEX+5 CON-4 Resistance to Earth +15
Lv3 CON Symbol – Ancient Dye CON+5 STR-4 Resistance to Darkness +15
Lv3 INT Symbol – Ancient Dye INT+5 WIT-4 Resistance to Water +15
Lv3 WIT Symbol – Ancient Dye WIT+5 MEN-4 Resistance to Wind +15
Lv3 MEN Symbol – Ancient Dye MEN+5 INT-4 Resistance to Holy +15
Lv3 STR Symbol – Legendary Dye STR+5 DEX-3 Resistance to Fire +15
Lv3 DEX Symbol – Legendary Dye DEX+5 CON-3 Resistance to Earth +15
Lv3 CON Symbol – Legendary Dye CON+5 STR-3 Resistance to Darkness +15
Lv3 INT Symbol – Legendary Dye INT+5 WIT-3 Resistance to Water +15
Lv3 WIT Symbol – Legendary Dye WIT+5 MEN-3 Resistance to Wind +15
Lv3 MEN Symbol – Legendary Dye MEN+5 INT-3 Resistance to Holy +15
Lv4 STR Symbol – Giant Dye STR+5 DEX-2
Lv4 DEX Symbol – Giant Dye DEX+5 CON-2
Lv4 CON Symbol – Giant Dye CON+5 STR-2
Lv4 INT Symbol – Giant Dye INT+5 WIT-2
Lv4 WIT Symbol – Giant Dye WIT+5 MEN-2
Lv4 MEN Symbol – Giant Dye MEN+5 INT-2
Lv4 STR Symbol – Ancient Dye STR+5 DEX-2 Resistance to Fire +20
Lv4 DEX Symbol – Ancient Dye DEX+5 CON-2 Resistance to Earth +20
Lv4 CON Symbol – Ancient Dye CON+5 STR-2 Resistance to Darkness +20
Lv4 INT Symbol – Ancient Dye INT+5 WIT-2 Resistance to Water +20
Lv4 WIT Symbol – Ancient Dye WIT+5 MEN-2 Resistance to Wind +20
Lv4 MEN Symbol – Ancient Dye MEN+5 INT-2 Resistance to Holy +20
Lv4 STR Symbol – Legendary Dye STR+5 DEX-1 Resistance to Fire +20
Lv4 DEX Symbol – Legendary Dye DEX+5 CON-1 Resistance to Earth +20
Lv4 CON Symbol – Legendary Dye CON+5 STR-1 Resistance to Darkness +20
Lv4 INT Symbol – Legendary Dye INT+5 WIT-1 Resistance to Water +20
Lv4 WIT Symbol – Legendary Dye WIT+5 MEN-1 Resistance to Wind +20
Lv4 MEN Symbol – Legendary Dye MEN+5 INT-1 Resistance to Holy +20
Lv5 STR Symbol – Giant Dye STR+5 DEX-1
Lv5 DEX Symbol – Giant Dye DEX+5 CON-1
Lv5 CON Symbol – Giant Dye CON+5 STR-1
Lv5 INT Symbol – Giant Dye INT+5 WIT-1
Lv5 WIT Symbol – Giant Dye WIT+5 MEN-1
Lv5 MEN Symbol – Giant Dye MEN+5 INT-1
Lv5 STR Symbol – Ancient Dye STR+5 Resistance to Fire +25
Lv5 DEX Symbol – Ancient Dye DEX+5 Resistance to Earth +25
Lv5 CON Symbol – Ancient Dye CON+5 Resistance to Darkness +25
Lv5 INT Symbol – Ancient Dye INT+5 Resistance to Water +25
Lv5 WIT Symbol – Ancient Dye WIT+5 Resistance to Wind +25
Lv5 MEN Symbol – Ancient Dye MEN+5 Resistance to Holy +25
Lv5 STR Symbol – Legendary Dye STR+5 DEX+1 Resistance to Fire +25
Lv5 DEX Symbol – Legendary Dye DEX+5 CON+1 Resistance to Earth +25
Lv5 CON Symbol – Legendary Dye CON+5 STR+1 Resistance to Darkness +25
Lv5 INT Symbol – Legendary Dye INT+5 WIT+1 Resistance to Water +25
Lv5 WIT Symbol – Legendary Dye WIT+5 MEN+1 Resistance to Wind +25
Lv5 MEN Symbol – Legendary Dye MEN+5 INT+1 Resistance to Holy +25

To help Goddess of Destruction players figure out what Dyes they want to use after Awakening their character at level 85, I’ve made a new article explaining how new Dyes work and provided a full list of all the available options, for each level of each of the Giant, Ancient and Legendary Dyes.

Click here to read the full article.

I’m happy to announce that my Ultimate Warlord Guide has finally been updated to cover all the Lineage 2 changes in Freya and High Five. To celebrate the release, I’m running a one week promotional period during which you can get the guide for a 50% discount price.

If you’re wonder what’s new in the guide, here’s a quick run-down of the most important changes:

• Full update to bring the guide up to date with Freya and High Five
• Rewritten many paragraphs for better wording and making it easier to understand
• Added new skills and skill descriptions
• New class mechanics section that covers the changes in polearm number of targets and reuse times of WL skills
• Updated and extended Weapons, Armor and Jewelry sections to cover all items up to S84-Grade
• New tips for attack and defense attributes to cover the change in attribute system since Freya
• Rewritten skill enchant and added new enchant routes for some skills that work better
• Added the complete subclass certification skill section for Warlord from my Optimal Subclass Skills guide
• Removed unnecessary gameplay paragraphs, rewritten both PvE and PvP sections to cover new buff options
• More tips for PvP to include Rush and Rush Impact on HF, and extended some of class match up tips
• Adjusted the making money section to reflect the change in guide’s price and affiliate commission

If you want to find out more and take advantage of the promotion discount while it lasts, go to the Ultimate Lineage 2 Warlord Guide page.

Lineage 2 Macros are can be very useful when used properly, so I decided to write a short guide which covers up the basics of player commands and the macro system, then presents a couple of PvE and PvP macro examples.

That way you can get a clue of what’s possible with the L2 macro system and get ideas for making your own set of macros.

Get a copy of the L2 Macros and Player Commands Guide for free now!

I’m pleased with the update to my Attribute System article to cover all the changes done in Freya and High Five, as well as adding a section on PvE and Servitors attribute calculations.

You can also see a comparative graph for the differences between pre- and post-Freya attribute damage bonus breakpoints, and the specifics of the 3 attribute slots per armor piece.

Visit Lineage 2 Attribute System Guide – Updated to Freya and High Five now!

I’m pleased to announce that Mayu’s Ultimate Lineage 2 Duelist Guide is finally released and published online! It took more than 3 months of hard work, lots of testing and tweaking, and consultation with friends and top Duelist players.

I think the result is brilliant and not only is this the first guide compatible with High Five, but it’s also the first to include an accompanying cheat sheet PDF that can be useful if you want to skip the detailed discussions on each topic and just get the Duelsit build you need.

Click the following link to open up the guide’s own page and learn more about:

Mayu’s Ultimate Lineage 2 Duelist Guide

If you’re active on any Lineage 2 forums or social networks like Facebook, Twitter, My Space and so on, please spread the word by sharing this post and the link to the guide.

As for what’s coming next, I plan to update all my articles and guides to be compatible with High Five, but also maintain compatibility with private servers which run older chronicles.