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Classic NA vs EU (Side by side comparison)


Maya

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Hello!

Ever since Classic has been released in North America I've felt that something was wrong, after spending the last two days testing things out I decided to do this little project today to illustrate how much the western versions of Classic differ from each other. So I made a Classic on Aden and one on Skelth and set out to see what the differences would be in their early leveling process.

Whenever I'm talking about the character on Aden I'll be referring to it as NA from this point forward. Whenever I'm talking about Skelth(the european server) I'll be referring to it as EU from this point forward. The acronyms will also be used for their servers (Giran/Talking Island/Aden as NA) (Skelth as EU). Whenever I'm talking about the Japanese Classic servers I'll be referring to it as JP from this point forward.

A few points to consider before reading any further:

  • NA had a VIP level of 0 during the test.
  • EU's level 5 XP/SP Rune was not used.
  • NA and EU consumed their daily hunting fruit.
  • NA and EU leveled after drinking Adventurer's starting potions.

 

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Test Goals

With this test I wanted to check the differences between both western versions of Classic, special attention was put into:

  • XP/SP
  • Adena
  • Drop Rate

 

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Test Format

One Human Fighter was created in both clients and killed the same amount of enemies. They completed the Cedric's Training Hall Newbie Quest and talked to the Newbie Guide in TI, then completed the level 2 Newbie Quest and picked a WAND as reward. 5 Over-hits were performed during the entire test for both NA and EU

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Results

The testing wielded the exact same results early on, which confused me.

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But as soon as the characters started fighting higher level mobs the XP disparity became apparent.

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By the time the quest was completed, this is the difference between the acquired XP/SP and Adena.

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And here's the differences in drops:

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Additional Test: Japanese Classic

Hello again! Now we've added JP to the list of tests! Please pay attention to the conclusions! (This test wasn't conducted by me, credits goes to Fragola. Stream link: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/320497699)

A few points to consider before reading any further:

  • JP had a VIP level of 0 during the test.
  • JP completed the quests after drinking Adventurer's starting potions.

The Test Goals and Test Format are the same as NA and EU and so I won't repeat those portions here, only the findings from the JP test.

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Same XP as NA/EU on Gremlins.

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Same XP as NA on VIP 0 but the adena drop is almost double and even higher than EU's!

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Conclusion

While the difference in XP will definitely become more noticeable and bothersome at higher levels, the difference in adena and drops is what truly makes both Classic versions feel alien to one another. EU had 4 full item drops including a weapon while NA had a single full item drop. The materials acquired by EU were also in higher amounts and diversity than in NA

The difference in adena only becomes more noticeable as the levels grow higher and the difference increases exponentially

VIP Level 4 gives exactly +25% XP/SP which is what is needed to make NA's experience the same as EU in terms of leveling. The VIP Drop Rate bonuses however do not fix the disparity between the adena/drop ratio

JP matches NA when it comes to XP/SP at Vip 0 but has over the double adena drops. 

JP is also a F2P server much like NA, with different VIP tier bonuses that are compared under these conclusions.

To acquire VIP Level 4 one must spend 50$ and sustain it monthly by spending at least 15$. Per account. 

To even be allowed to play in EU one must pay a 10€ subscription or a 25€ three-month subscription fee. Per account.

Below you can see a table comparing the VIP benefits of JP(on top) and NA(under). You can see how the drop rate is much more dramatically affected in JP than in NA.

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*Please don't take the results of this small test as hard facts, instead try your own testing and see the results you can achieve. This post was made to try to better inform the staff members and players of our current situation. I hope NA Classic will get patched to be more similar to EU in terms of drops and adena. I also believe the Vip system should be a bonus and not a return to "normal" rates.

 

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Extra Testing: Spoil

For this test the monster Goblin Brigand was killed roughly around 30 times by both NA and EU. This time NA had a VIP 3 bonus. XP in EU was doubled for some kills because of the level 5 100% XP/SP rune

The characters were level 12 dwarves.

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Here are the results

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Extra: Results from live testing

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NA was actually able to buy 10 BSS not 9.

Full test: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/319666259

 

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Awesome post dude.
Irrefutable proof of the shady, monetization schemes that NCSoft and NCWest have implemented.

As long as the money keeps flowing from the stores, as long as the CEO's take home their massive bonuses, big business simply doesn't care about providing a fair product to the consumers.. Look at Electronic Arts, willing to take on a nations legal system to protect their golden goose (Fifa).

I've quit until this greedy business undoes this, and even then i'm not sure i want to support a company like this.

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See this is a quality post. 

I'm actually waiting for the white knights replies, this is actually proof that this version has the wrong rates in purpose so people would spend $ in ss to progress and even then they will face another wall when they find theirselves with a ng weapon at lv 40 since you gain much more exp than adena.

I clearly remember that when I played skelth I had a compo bow at lv 18 that I bought in the market for about 150k, 100 of those 150 were literally from drops.

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Awesome! An demonstration of facts through test!
Honestly there was no need for them to mess up the rates like that, even on VIP4 you will struggle with the 0,25x adena and low drops/spoils.
They need Profit obviously but destrying the server rates overall wasn't a smart move, they could've simple let everything 1x retail and VIP would still be really good and profitable.

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Just now, Nssidia said:

I'd rather pay 15 on EU.   I can't progress like this. no drops, x0.25 spoil just not going to worth the time for 14 yo game

I'll edit the post and include spoil land rates in a few hours.

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2 minutes ago, Nssidia said:

I'd rather pay 15 on EU.   I can't progress like this. no drops, x0.25 spoil just not going to worth the time for 14 yo game

100%...... But there is more money in microtransactions; especially when you combine that with shady practices like nerfing adena drops...
This is a smart company, this was a calculated move and i just hope that people open their eyes and realise NCSoft simply about one thing... Money.

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Very nice post, and NA wouldn't be such a problem, if they announced it to be 1.0 from the start, but the basic info delivered to us has been, that the build is going to be 1.5 with some areas cut off and some things locked off for the time being. 

So now we have 1.0 where people cant even afford D grade and shots, with raids difficulty from 1.5 build ... for example.

And i'm not even sure NCWest knew what exactly are Koreans sending them prior to release, and aren't even now 100% sure about all the aspects of the game build mix we got here days after release.

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1 minute ago, Lucie said:

And i'm not even sure NCWest knew what exactly are Koreans sending them prior to release, and aren't even now 100% sure about all the aspects of the game build mix we got here days after release.

If they didn't figure out this adena nerf (through testing or notes) was incoming, they should be out of a job immediately...
100% they knew. 

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I hope NCSoft fix this ASAP.

You could always survive leveling and not have great adena or you could go for adena and have a **** time  There were always ways to balance them together.

With these rates you will hit a very visible pay wall.

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Great Post, also the VIP system is such as scam!!!! you need to start with $50 to get to VIP 4????????? they want to sell classic for $50 thats insane!!! sadly people will pay it, i refuse to ill play for a few more days and just uninstall once call of duty comes out and play another crappy ass company that doesnt give a shit about the consumer.......

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11 minutes ago, Ranid said:

Great Post, also the VIP system is such as scam!!!! you need to start with $50 to get to VIP 4????????? they want to sell classic for $50 thats insane!!! sadly people will pay it, i refuse to ill play for a few more days and just uninstall once call of duty comes out and play another crappy ass company that doesnt give a shit about the consumer.......

For monkeys like you who can't read and watch only screens 
 

To acquire VIP Level 4 one must spend 50$ and sustain it monthly by spending at least 15$. Per account. 

To even be allowed to play in EU one must pay a 10€ subscription or a 25€ three-month subscription fee.

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20 minutes ago, Maya said:

Read the full post.

Very good post, but is this a fair comparison?

You sure you're not forgetting about the fact that you can drop items on death in L2 EU and in L2 NA u dont drop items on death?

How about a side by side comparison for a FREE to play player? Can i play for Free in L2 EU?

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23 minutes ago, SunnyD said:

But is Lineage 2 EU FREE to play? can you login 3 accounts for FREE? and how much does it cost you to pay for 3 accounts in Lineage 2 EU?

OMG!! You have just proven EVEN with the evidence infront you, there is no point talking to a Fanboy.

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14 minutes ago, RickRoss said:

For monkeys like you who can't read and watch only screens 
 

To acquire VIP Level 4 one must spend 50$ and sustain it monthly by spending at least 15$. Per account. 

To even be allowed to play in EU one must pay a 10€ subscription or a 25€ three-month subscription fee.

@RickRoss The fact that you even responded with something so autistic is astounding, But with the name rick ross I guess it makes sense. The problem is that they are raping all players who dont spend 50usd and then maintain it with 15 a month is retarded. Also if u do that you dont even keep up with EU classic adena rate. Its a complete scam and the most retarded development decision ive seen in a while. If skelth lasted a few months with better rates can't wait to see how long this one lasts.

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1 minute ago, SunnyD said:

So then, why is this an accurate comparison? If i can't play for free in L2 EU why is it fair to compare it to NA Free to play model?

If you want to make the game enjoyable for all players, they shouldn't have bleeped over people who dont spend money. Just give them flat rates and give people who spent money more rates. They are literally killing their games population off and ruining the economy this way.

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Thank you very much for your effort! NA business scheme is frustrating. I personally lost motivation to play on this server because NCSoft has these hidden schemas to make money from players. They are not honest. 

 

Subscription is better imho, I wish Skelth allowed NA players. 

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You guys have some pretty good ideas on player progression, making a game enjoyable. Are you guys sure you're not game designers? If you are, then why not open your own server if you guys know what you're talking  about or sending your resumes to NCsoft? Maybe ncsoft can hire you 

And if you're not, what qualifications do you guys have for making an educated opinion on game design choices? I would really love to hear your thoughts on them.

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