Throne and Liberty's new Orb weapon is pushing its rivals out of the MMORPG

Following its recent reinvigoration with Solisium's Awakening, Throne and Liberty has plenty of plans on the table for what's next. NCSoft and Amazon Games have now unleashed their long-awaited player housing and Battlegrounds PvP features, and they're gradually pushing Throne and Liberty into a space where it can compete with the best MMORPGs in town. There's some bad news for lovers of its new Orb support weapon, however, as it's about to face the nerf council. Plus, a planned overhaul to the artifact system has been delayed.

The Orb was introduced to Throne and Liberty with the recent Solisium's Awakening update, and it's the most unique class design yet. "We continue to see that Orb remains really engaging in many different situations, and it's been fantastic to see the variety of weapon combinations that players are pairing with it," globalization design manager Tico says. However, despite some initial balance tweaks, he explains that "it's become clear that several weapon combinations paired with Orb and crossbows are still overperforming, specifically in PvE situations."

The sheer strength of this setup is "trivializing some of the challenging content in the game that should feel rewarding to overcome," Tico remarks. Not only is this a problem in its own right, but it's become widespread enough that it's causing players to reject any other classes from joining their teams. You can therefore expect some serious adjustments to the power of the Orb this month "to bring these combinations more in line with our performance expectations and restore healthy class diversity in group content."

The Orb is also causing some concerns in PvP, and it's "likely" that we'll also be seeing some adjustments to counter particularly nasty interactions. However, Tico says that the team wants to allow a bit more time for metas and counter-strategies to be developed before it makes any significant changes there.

The new Battlegrounds PvP mode "is even exceeding our own expectations," Tico announces, expressing satisfaction in its mix of approachability and competitiveness. The team is currently focused on reducing spawn camping by making it harder for players to sit outside enemy bases. Ranked will arrive in an "introductory" form in early November, and it's watching that closely before making further changes to the likes of point capture mechanics. The ranked queue will initially be at limited times, but casual play will stay open 24/7.

Tico then addresses the planned artifact revamp, which Amazon Games had promised for late October. "We've made the decision to delay this feature while we work to transform it to meet a higher standard," he explains. "We want to get it right. The artifact system is a core power element and we'd rather take the additional time needed to deliver something that truly enhances your experience rather than rushing out something that doesn't meet our quality bar." There's currently no new date given, so we'll have to wait to hear more.

Elsewhere, the developer is "committed to significantly improving the accessibility of heroic items," as it's currently restricting class and build diversity. A two-week heroic pass that launches on Thursday October 16 will offer "a significant boost to both heroic progression and weapon mastery," which is ideal for new and returning players.

For the longer term, Amazon Games is working to enable transfers between different heroic armor and accessory pieces. It also wants to allow more flexible swapping of heroic skill perks for weapons, giving you more ways to adapt on the fly depending upon the mission types you're currently targeting. On top of all that, it's evaluating how to lower the overall progression cost for heroic gear, which Tico admits "is now acting more as a barrier to the build diversity we want to encourage."

Tico concludes by saying that the two newest dungeons, Colossal Coliseum and Fate's Abyss, will be joining the Dimensional Trial rotation in late October, adding that the team is extremely satisfied with the mode's overhaul and the increased participation from players. He also teases that some new details on the recently introduced player housing will be unveiled in next week's Eye on Solisium video.

If you're looking for more than just Throne and Liberty, we've put together a list of the best free Steam games in case you're unsure what to play next. Want to see Solisium at its most beautiful? Be sure you're running with the best graphics card in 2025.

Are you happy with these planned changes, or are you now clinging onto your precious Orbs with a tear in your eye? Let us know in the PCGamesN Discord, where you can chat with staff and readers.