Throne and Liberty: The GOOD, The Bad, and The UGLY (Honest Review - First Impressions)

My first impressions and honest review of Throne and Liberty Beta Test.
**@insurrection8744 pointed out that I made an error. The first dungeon is unlocked at level 20, not 30**

[@Z-MACx]

Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed the video, SUBSCRIBE to help me reach my goal of 1k SUBSCRIBERS! 😎 ***@insurrection8744 pointed out that I made an error in the video. The first dungeon is unlocked at level 20, not 30. You just aren't presented with a dungeon in the MSQ until level 30. Thanks for catching that!

[@JuswaCadiz]

If you want , try the Global Release of NCsoft, theres so many western player there

[@NastyGenV]

One thing that helped combat feel a little better and responsive was turning on "skill buffer" in character settings, it adds a que system to skills. So when you press a skill then another skill both will activate when the other is done also there is a option for press and release on aimed skills which feels alot better then double tapping a button to use the skill. The animations are choppy which does make the combat just feel less smooth. My score is music: 9/10 graphics 8.5/10 combat: 7/10

[@Z-MACx]

@@NastyGenV that’s a helpful tip, thanks for saying that. Yeah, by far my favorite parts of the game are the world, the visuals, and soundtrack.

[@neverendlessgaming]

I'm sharing this video with all of my friends that did not play the beta and are asking me what I think. And again this video is the most balance and correct one I found! Thanks

[@HeartfieldAD2]

You have to rebind those keys from 6-= to qerfgcv change f to x qe to mouse buttons change the gardian to t and use action mode you will be able to use all skills and flow better

[@Z-MACx]

@@HeartfieldAD2 those are some great tips! Whenever I review a game, I try to put myself in the shoes of brand new players, assuming most people won’t optimize settings and keybinding right away. Thanks for leaving the comment though! 😎

[@liebkraft9950]

@@Z-MACx that sentiment is a bit problematic though. where do you draw the line? do you assume this new player has never played a game before, never played an mmo before or never played this game before? but on the note of keybinds, this is actually very positive in this game. it allows you to rebind all keys, even important ones, and it allows to use modifier keys. not all games do this. to me this is super important, because i've played other mmos before and i'd like to basically use the same key layout in most of them if it's possible. in tl it certainly is which is great.

[@NewbWorld]

Great points, and I'm glad to see the video performing so well. Just started myself, and I am getting a lot of the same feelings. Everything looks amazing, and some really cool and unique features, but a lot of flaws too, and I am not getting hooked like I have with other games in the past. I am not sure if it's because it's in beta and there will be a wipe or what, but I might wait on full release to give it a full go.

[@Z-MACx]

@@NewbWorld sup Newb! :) Yeah comparing it to when I was playing Once Human, I found myself wanting to play more. And I actually did play it a bit more even after making my first impressions video. But something about T&L didn’t grip me. It felt like I was forcing myself to play rather than really enjoying it. It’s NOT a terrible game by any means and I think a lot of people will like it, but… idk probably just not for me.

[@heartless_gamer]

I think this was pretty close to my feelings as well. Good summary.

[@Z-MACx]

@@heartless_gamer Yooo heartless!! What up man! How have you been? Assuming you’ve moved on from New World as well??

[@specterfire1439]

Good video. Character progression felt good to me. Once i hit higher levels and started skilling up everything to unlock new abilities. Agree about the little flying dude. Really annoying. My biggest worry is how much this game relies on group content. If your server is dead or not enough people are playing when you play then you cant kill world bosses, get into any qued dungos or open world ones. The last 2 days of the beta just felt like there was absolutely nothing going on. Also Sword Shield and Wand was just soo overpowered. In pvp they have like 15k health and as a dps my big combos would do like 1700 which they would just heal back. Balance is way out of wack. A tank that can solo every content makes it meh to me.

[@Capper_Bra]

Nobody is going to get into pvp except the ones that play 10 hours a day. Also the game is very much guild dependent so if you want the best gear you better get into the servers best guild if you can...

[@kaizeR__]

i dont understand a problem here

[@Capper_Bra]

@@kaizeR__ You dont understand that most gamers play 1-3 hours a day and they will not be able to get any of the best loot because it is being farmed by tryhards?

[@Z-MACx]

@@Capper_Bra 100%. The pvp is definitely for hardcore mmo players. Many of them will really enjoy planning their lives around it.

[@karolis455]

@@Capper_Bra how can you avoid such things though ? if you invest 10 hours a day, you should be rewarded with the best gear :D

[@Arthur-sp5ps]

​@@kaizeR__​You have to think of it in a business perspective. No company will profit and stay afloat with a small group of hardcore players. They need to cater both sides to make a game work. Might be fun for a few months and then you're going to have lack of players, you won't have anyone to compete against. If they added some sort of faction system or removed the p2w, it would bring on more players to compete against hardcore players. I understand play more be rewarded. However, casuals are the majority here.

[@oAazo]

You can participate in a dungeon at level 20. Not 30

[@Z-MACx]

@@oAazo check out the description. Or the pinned comment

[@ItsSolomon]

Only 171 Subscriber? Man, you just earned the 172nd. Seriously video quality is 10/10. Straight to the point, really giving your own opinion, and segmented really well.

[@Z-MACx]

@@ItsSolomon oh man thanks so much 🙏🏻. I really appreciate it!

[@Yatsunagaming]

Early group content he said lvl 30 that is not true you get ur first group dungeon at lvl 20 and also you get to group up in open world dungeon with other players. Also you get those skills at first but those skills need to be lvl up each skills have 3 tier start at green to get it to the next tier you have to lvl that skills 6 time and goes to blue tier and same prosses with blue to get to purple tier each tier gives you different abillitys and most skills change its skills animations. Its crazy how people wants this game to fail so bad they are doing final game review not even been lvl 25

[@Z-MACx]

@@Yatsunagaming yes thank you. I put that correction in the description as well as my pinned comment. And we understand that the skills need to be leveled up, but it doesn’t feel like a good form of progression. it’s a first impressions video. Every single person has to get through the first 10-20 hours before endgame and that’s what my review covers. I also included some very positive comments about the game (in case you skipped past those). Definitely not hoping that it fails! Honestly my 3 ugly points are relatively easy to fix and if that happened, I could see myself and many others investing a lot more time into the game!

[@mroushion]

Bad Combat is definitely a deal breaker

[@Gn8Lif3]

are swords and shield realy overpowered or are they finaly strong enough to balance out the fact that you have to be close for once ? XD

[@M3rc3mA11]

Ive heard a lot of the events are also going to be on schedules like certain times during a 24 hr period/weekly/bi weekly. Thats not really going to work for people who work.

[@Z-MACx]

@@M3rc3mA11 yeah exactly. The large scale PvP is definitely for hardcore players, people looking to plan their life and schedule around the game.

[@Arthur-sp5ps]

​​@@Z-MACxSadly that's going to ruin the game. As I mentioned in my other comment. Eventually these hardcore guilds are going to be fighting the same 1 or 2 guilds and will eventually quit due to lack of competition. Most of the player base has jobs, a family and a life.

[@NastyGenV]

@@Arthur-sp5ps yep the devs just dont understand how bad this system really is, it may be fine for a month or so but eventually its going to flat out kill your playerbase.

[@denjii9]

i do think its dumb but if you actually want to play the game then you can try picking a server with a different time zone than yours

[@NastyGenV]

@@denjii9 there's only 2 time zone servers west or east if east won't work for you then west will be worse lol

[@Halfbloodcy]

spot on 100% on everything you said

[@Z-MACx]

@@Halfbloodcy wow that’s some high praise 😎. I appreciate that.

[@NoctBeard]

Good video! But if you want criticize about overwhelming menu, maybe you should give them example about how it can be simplified😊 Give example about what is your thought bad or good that is how critique manners works

[@chiyeunglau4322]

The mount system is sick

[@Z-MACx]

@@chiyeunglau4322 I agree. Very innovative as well

[@RunningRiotX]

Early group content and character progression critics were on point.

[@Z-MACx]

@@RunningRiotX thank you sir. I greatly appreciate that! Obviously everyone’s got their thoughts, but it’s nice to know when my opinion hits home with others as well

[@mr.carminatti7373]

The character's progression is made through the evolution of abilities, from common to epic, where you notice a HUGE difference. It can be seen that this critic was made by someone who barely reached lvl30 and doesn't understand anything about the game!

[@Z-MACx]

@@mr.carminatti7373 I do understand that. But my critique is not in opposition to that idea. Devs can still implement the “evolution” of skills while also doing a MUCH better job of character and skill progression.

[@Yatsunagaming]

Early group content he said lvl 30 that is not true you get ur first group dungeon at lvl 20 and also you get to group up in open world dungeon with other players

[@RunningRiotX]

@@mr.carminatti7373 I've made it to max level with all purple skills and I still agree with the critic. you get all your skills by level 40, so your playstyle doesn't change much after that. Sure you can hit harder, but the content and enemies scale with that.

[@oM_New_Music]

Nice vid! Keep it up :)

[@Z-MACx]

Oh man, thanks so much for saying that. Means a lot 🙏🏻

[@twcyc6556]

Life skill is what players had requested in KR community since there's nothing to do once you've done all of your dungeon content and no dungeon points left. Usually after all dungeon points are used, people would go to grind or farm their Abyssal token, but it's so repetitive and boring, that's why they demanded something else to do and begged the dev team to add stuff like 3v3 Arena or Life skill and furthermore in the future.

[@Z-MACx]

@@twcyc6556 yeah that makes sense. Definitely a big draw for a lot of mmo players

[@Annyoning]

I agree there is to many systems that are alot to take in like warframe you need a video just to understand what your looking at. Even the store is confusing.

[@Z-MACx]

YES exactly. 💯

[@commanderjet]

is not available in my region

[@insurrection8744]

First dungeon unlocked at lvl 20

[@Z-MACx]

@@insurrection8744 oh shoot. I must have missed it 🤦🏼‍♂️. Where was it??

[@aqvamarek5316]

True, but story will lead to this dungeon at level 30

[@denjii9]

@@Z-MACx u have to check the party matchmaking tab it just silently gives it to you but at around lvl 30 the msq takes you to a dungeon finder thing and you see both dungeons there

[@Z-MACx]

@@aqvamarek5316 ohhh that makes sense. Yeah that’s kinda silly. I’d venture to say 90% of new players would miss that. Especially in the midst of their 35 menu options 😂

[@roflcakes7224]

How do you play with other players? Everytime I join I'm alone

[@Vujkan]

its not only p2win,huge problem is still combat system,whole mehanics is outdated and bad.I watch many forums/reddits people complain most of topics are combat and i also as experienced mmorpg player who play for 20+ years competitive!Combat is nothing more than solid!idk what do you think personal,but i think this game will have same destinity like Elyon!

[@bruend6614]

hey hey, elyon was giga p2w but combat in elyon was like miles better than this, u had falshy animation and they were more big than this one, + elyon had like tripod system in lost ark, while only now in korea they want introduce something like that with the skills

[@continuepopping]

How can you win if you can only buy the base version of tier 1 gear? Most people will have tier 2 that are non-tradeable and only obtainable by playing.

[@BioDestiny]

is p2w and end of the story pvp p2w

[@continuepopping]

@@BioDestiny yep like every mmo that has interesting pvp content

[@captainp367]

Thanks for the summary bro Imma send it to my friends who have adhd

[@Icycola88]

Honestly I feel like the critiques mostly come from people who don’t appreciate what this game is trying to present. No crafting? More abilities off the go? PvP that focuses on guild participation? These all sound like super positive things. If you want a game that requires you to have one spell for 30 levels and a story that has to be played go play FF14. The ONLY actual critiques could be the combat and shop mechanics but again this is a game without a monthly sub. How do you expect it to stay alive?

[@darkanraiden]

Combat gameplay is the FIRST thing that matters in a game like this and this is why it will fail.

[@tresicario984]

Ye it truly sucks lmao

[@AnthonyRossetti]

Maybe on pc , but the console is probably where it will succeed the most. Because console players have been clamoring for a beautiful MMO. I've already heard plenty of my PlayStation and Xbox friends praising the game and how the combat needs some work, but they are excited to keep playing it.

[@terps710]

​@@AnthonyRossetti holy fuck bro don't OD off that cope 😂😂😂

[@HawkeBlackwell]

It's not good. Up your standards mmorpg gamers...or you will never get better things.

[@JuswaCadiz]

Actually its not P2W for me, or because the server is new release in NA, and the patch its not that nearly in KR server thats why the item in auction its high price, , i played KR Hyperboost Server

[@socialdestruct5414]

The PS5 version has horrible performance issues in crowded areas. Everywhere else is fine. If they can fix that and it stays at 60fps I'll consider. When I mean performance issues. I mean badddd.

[@Z-MACx]

@@socialdestruct5414 oof. That’s some good feedback. I didn’t have too many issues on PC, but that sucks for console

[@socialdestruct5414]

​@@Z-MACxI think if they added a performance mode on consoles it would help. I tried the series x version also and the same thing. Devs need to be aware. I hope because the fps goes below 30 in those areas.

[@MrDiggaa]

ive seen so many people with default bindings, having abilities on 5-9. u can not tell me u r actually pressing 9 while in combat. how do u even do that with ur hand lol

[@Z-MACx]

@@MrDiggaa oh dude it was awful 😂. I kept reaching for the 9 with my mouse hand lol. Guess I’ll have to invest in a mouse with more buttons

[@LEE-ty8vq]

12345 / QE / F / XCV ​@@Z-MACx

[@teitch6483]

@@Z-MACx everything after 6 i use "shift 1, shift 2 etc"

[@Pani_Missy]

I picked this up over the weekend and around 2hrs in I got completely exhausted and realised, more than likely, I won't be able to commit to this game....😢 I hope the game succeeds because there's so much potential.

[@Z-MACx]

@@Pani_Missy I totally agree. There’s a lot of potential if the devs can clean it up a bit!

[@BioDestiny]

6:30 is the true than others streamers don't say to you

[@beardednord92]

Didnt no how to think till i looked at my play time of nealry 24 hrs in 2 days. So i dont mind it 😂

[@Z-MACx]

thats great man! i think a lot of people will grab on to those positive elements in the game and have a lot of fun with it. Thanks for watching the video and leaving a comment

[@TheBl4ckSh33p]

I think I'll try New World instead of this.

[@Z-MACx]

@@TheBl4ckSh33p I’d recommend waiting until October! But imo, I do prefer NW over T&L.

[@jimmmm]

I love those awesome made high qaulity RPG games.

[@Z-MACx]

@@jimmmm hey Jim! Thanks so much for leaving a comment. It means a lot 😊

[@jiedragonhub]

I appreciate the review, but you're wrong on the story. Did you finished chapter 10? There's definitely characters you see in many occasions frequently unlike what you said lol

[@Z-MACx]

@@jiedragonhub hey thanks for that feedback. This is kinda my first impressions video of the game so I haven’t finished the full story yet. Maybe I’ll circle back around once it’s all said and done

[@Mr_northern_fox]

More important issues. You automatically run when using the controller. No walking. FPS and optimisation are very bad on medium to high range pcs. (Low settings still looks good) Switching lock on targets and trying to use skills is awkward, every fight feels like a random button smashing with little impact. Character's in MSQ are cheesy af. Main menu, skills and other systems are just confusing (at first). No enjoyment looking unto skills or what they do. Not seen any interactive environmental objects like chairs or roleplay opportunities but could of missed them. Every area you just want to rush through for the open world environments.

[@heartless_gamer]

Also all that time in OPRs and the New World subreddit and I had no idea you had a YT channel until I randomly hit your video in the feed :P

[@Z-MACx]

ohhh haha no. I started the channel about a month ago! Stepping away from New World is... the best thing that has ever happened to me lol. I've been having a blast with the channel and exploring new game titles. Time to invest my positive mindset into other areas of life! :D

[@heartless_gamer]

@@Z-MACx Ha, cool to see. Not sure on your history with MMOs but not my first time getting to a break up point after thousands of hours played. But that is where I am with New World and I was more hopeful T&L was possibly next but I just can't get into it. Once Human is good but it just doesn't have the polish or content to keep me more than month or two here. I'll probably be back in New World post October :P

[@Z-MACx]

@@heartless_gamer yeah I think Once Human has some potential, but with the seasonal resets it’ll be tough for casual players to invest in the game. The hardcore PvP players will love it though. Imagine NW with fresh start every 2 months for war loggers 😂

[@itisthefear]

Great review! i a gree with your points. one extra negative point id like to add is that although open world, the map is not interactive. In other games like New world or BDO, you can climb up mountains, explore your surrounding, you cant do that here with ease. You cannot climb any kind of terrain unless there is a grappling hook there to help you. it feels so weird and it really ruins immersion.

[@Z-MACx]

DUDE you know what. I was thinking that at points like… “man, I wish I could vault up to this ledge instead of running all the way around.” Nice observational skills sir!!

[@--AI--]

You can climb the highest mountain without the help of equipment. You can only enjoy the scenery.

[@christianpiche3238]

the game look blurry ??? do we need crazy graphic card to play with good graphic ?

[@evanharjanto2450]

for F2P, cant you just sell gear for lucent (cash currency) and use that lucent to purchase BP / any p2w item? well obviously you wont beating any whale but at least thats also a good alternative for f2p ye?

[@Z-MACx]

@@evanharjanto2450 yeah It is possible to stay somewhat competitive as f2p, but you’ll be putting in 2-3x more play time and you can’t take any breaks. If you end up going on vacation or just stepping away for a week or two, you’ll fall behind. And that’s where you’ll be tempted to grab your wallet. But now translate those small advantages to guild v guild. Over time pay to win guilds end up turning those small individual advantages into large, game-winning ones.

[@karolis455]

@@Z-MACx if it's f2p there will always be p2w elements, how else will they get money ? :D this is just the reality of gaming nowadays :( especially mmorpgs

[@Z-MACx]

@@karolis455 I agree to an extent. But if the game is good enough, a lot of people are willing to invest in the game through buying skins and less P2W season passes.

[@XxViperMortalxX]

​@@Z-MACx exactly, PoE has no p2w for example and is free

[@karolis455]

@@Z-MACx agreed, but it's not gonna happen with ncsoft, they are looking to get paid ASAP :D

[@laoch5658]

I enjoyed it. fuck what everyone else thinks

[@Z-MACx]

@@laoch5658 hey I respect that mindset. 😎🙏🏻

[@neverendlessgaming]

Thanks! Finally a balanced review about a game I'm enjoing a lot. Agreed 100% of your points.

[@Z-MACx]

hey thanks for saying that. I do my best to keep it real when reviewing content. In almost every game, there's going to be both a mix of good and bad. the problem is that so many people go into a game with pre-conceived notions OR theyre purposefully looking for reasons to NOT play the game instead of analyzing it for what it is. im planning on making a video about that soon. its so important for gamers to learn to think for themselves

[@neverendlessgaming]

@@Z-MACx yes completelly agree on that too. Too many PRE. Many streamers are saying...this is an ok game (but the title is Negative...) but why waste your time while you can play incredible MMO instead? I asked them...which are this incredible MMO? Still waiting for their reply,😂...honestly there are tons of bas and worse MMO...and imo only wow and Eso are better because of decades content. This game is free...and as you said awesome...currently P2W is only for speed up while bis purple can only be obtained in game...90% of players are casual... what's wrong with that? By the way what is your top 3 MMO to play in 2024? Thanks again

[@RuneDall]

Having all the extra skills early on is a beta only thing. Your concerns about progression are somewhat cared for by playing the game regularly. The paid to win on a sliding scale of pay to win Is less than that of World of Warcraft And the combat system gets really smooth feeling at the higher levels.

[@shayed_6668]

Flow is actually really good for combat and swordz and board is not op lol

[@painop7247]

For someone with less than 200 subs, absolutely amazing video. Thought I was watching some mainstream KZbin. KEEP IT UP!

[@Z-MACx]

@@painop7247 oh dude thanks so much for saying that 🙏🏻. Just started the channel about a month ago and I’ve been having a blast with it. Many more years to come! 😎

[@dannyrodz]

- The combat is meh (no good, no bad) - Is P2W. - clunky target system With all this, the game is fun, beautiful (breathtaking), smooth, but definitely it won’t be better in the future with the history of NCsoft it will be come more and more P2W.

[@projectundrfire]

This is a extremely good game for NA. Oooooh everything is complicated and time consuming.....really.

[@The-Dark-Tower]

Soulless open world with mobile phone gameplay feeling. I did not find any excitement I found when we start to every fresh start server of Archeage from low level to high level with tons of real open world content you would enjoy via sandbox content. Even Archeage, Final Fantasy XIV, Tera Online, Blade and Soul, Lineage 2, Aion stories and LORE are far better than T&L As you can see from your own video display, where are the BOW+WAND combo support healers in the castle siege? The answer is non... Healing is so bad and in mass pve or pvp it is really hard and not enough healing to keep players alive against full dps builds especially for greatsword, staff, crossbow and even sword + shield weapons. The game is very grindy like a mobile phone game, along with p2w features and every new patch you will see it more because Korean version's every new patch a p2w item etc are put on the store really. Players are using MARCO in Action combat and it is almost like botting, you only choose the target manually lol... Healing is so bad because skills are very long cooldowns, after that you make very small heals based on your attack amount and after you give a dot then use skills and you give very less heal...

[@Z-MACx]

thanks for taking the time to leave a thoughtful comment. i appreciate that. DUDE ive never played most of those games. guess i gotta add some of those to my list! :D

[@janpotti2660]

the best items you can't buy that what i was told the RNG is bad that's what I was told also

[@potatopc9205]

this game already fail when they implement region lock

[@juannito6318]

Not pay2win if you're not interested in pvp

[@justinasbar]

When u take stuff from a failure game like New World + extra p2w u have a perfect recipe for a disaster. No classes, pointless pvp, grinding same dungeons etc to upgrade your gear, just in order to upgrade it. Instead of taking best stuff like pvp system, progressing, crafting from Lineage 2, they made worse version of a New World. At least New World had better looking world, animations and sounds. Game for furries.

[@_Spooner]

Lost ark v2

[@iindgothetrader]

Did they pay you for this review? Because this game is complete garbage and you basically sugar coated everything

[@Z-MACx]

@@iindgothetrader did you watch the bad and ugly?? 😂😂

[@xythiera7255]

Its compleatly souless on top of throwing rng systems on your . You wont get into pvp lets be real it will be over run by guilds with giga whales that just mow you down . The story is compleatly shallow and you just dont care about it anymore after 10mins thats why they have to tell you whats happening in a out of place voice over all the time . Combat i am sorry is just dogshit not only that they made leveling skills rng wtf so you are basicly forced into never switch weapons and run with your combinations even if they shoud ever nerf it to death . Crafting looks like hit garbo as well . Its so souless and clearly build around the pay to win shop its not fun anymore . At least other Korean pay to win grinders have an actul designe bejond generic standart medicore mmo designe . I cant imagine player numbers wont massive dip

[@FRESHY_GG]

7:43 i haven't heard the worst take on progression in a while. what you described you want isn't an MMORPG, its a sandbox single player game, you are in the wrong genre. and u are calling leveling 'a progression of character', its leveling, not progression, you progress when u hit max level. in beta it took 4-5 hours to reach max level if u just did story quests, but none of these 'reviewers' did the due diligence to get there and experienced it. it would change your opinions about the game.

[@jdielaras]

Levelling is not character progression? Level 50 in 5 hours? Mate what the fuck are you smoking? Talking about “worst takes” and then typing all that shite. If you enjoy the game good for you, no reason to write nonsense like a spastic.

[@mahvel2381]

black desert makes game standard so high, bdo combat is still king no other devs can compete, bdo is sooo advance, i think bdo released almost 10 years ago, and until now they cant dethrone it

[@user-jh3ct3ol1j]

Bad game bad mmorpg not optimized bad story bad combat system nice visuals ptw , its already dead... 2/10

[@Z-MACx]

@@user-jh3ct3ol1j daaaannnggg booiii 😂. That’s a harsh critique.

[@user-jh3ct3ol1j]

@@Z-MACx Tbh i would give 5/10 but you inspired me in deeper thoughts

[@Baltag5544]

trash game, feels like a mobile one

[@eviljuice1774]

#1. P2W is bad on any level no matter what... #2. Amazon has a say..... This game will not be big, it will be full of whales in no time... and will go the way so many other Amazon games has gone before it... #3. Character creation should be called "Face generation sim", character creation was LAME, face options only and it was limited, 1st day i had many Twins, standing there looking at a few toons, that looked almost exactly like my toon.. character creation was Lame ....

[@Z-MACx]

@@eviljuice1774 hey thanks for leaving a thoughtful comment, I really appreciate that 😎🙏🏻

[@NoRest4TheWicked1]

Combat is a 3/10 I can’t play it. It’s terrible