By Ken Allsop
Copyright pcgamesn
The Throne and Liberty Solisium’s Awakening update is here, and it feels almost like a fresh starting point for the vast world built by Amazon Games and NCSoft. This starts with a comprehensive and immersive new player housing system that looks set to rival the likes of Final Fantasy 14 and World of Warcraft, but it runs much deeper. On the battle side, there’s another support weapon, improved progression and the option for a ‘hyperboost’ feature to catch up to where you want to be, more endgame build options, better beginner assistance, and the addition of the most highly requested PvP mode. Whatever you’re after, Throne and Liberty 3.0 is looking to deliver.
The gorgeous world design and grand-scale PvP battles of Throne and Liberty make a striking first impression, but so far it’s been missing some of the core aspects offered by the best MMORPGs. Solisium’s Awakening is the answer to that. “Together, we’re not just playing a game, we’re building a world,” globalization design manager Tico says, “and the best is yet to come.” Of all the changes, player housing is the most standout addition to me – I spoke with Tico recently about how it’s opening up the MMO to a whole new audience.
To kick things off, there are 24 housing locations you can choose from across Kastleton and Vienta Village, with four house sizes ranging from ‘basement’ up to a large abode. You aren’t limited to a single one, either; your characters can own up to four homes at once, and they’re instanced when you go inside so that you’ll still see the hustle and bustle of the city happening around you. You’re free to set whether friends or guild members can come in, or if you’d rather keep matters to a case-by-case invite list.
Naturally, turning a house into a home is all about freedom of expression and decoration, and a big part of that is the introduction of new furniture-crafting skills. Throne and Liberty’s gathering system has been dramatically expanded with the addition of logging, mining, fur gathering, and foraging. Alongside this comes four processing skills: woodworking, forging, weaving, and handcrafting. If you’re a homebuilder first, Tico tells me that “for the most part, players can fully enjoy housing without constantly engaging in combat.”
If you do fancy a scrap, however, Solisium’s Awakening packs in plenty of punch. The new support weapon, the Orb, lets you place down up to three spheres on the battlefield or attached to characters, which can then be used to impact the movement, damage output, and other abilities of you and your teammates. “Mastering the Orb is all about strategic sphere management,” Tico says, adding, “We think it’s going to create some fascinating new metas in PvP.”
On the PvP side of things, you can expect upgrades across the board, but the big addition is Battlegrounds. This has been a longstanding community request since launch, and it’s starting out in a 24-on-24 variant. If you’re more into PvE, the dungeon-style Dimensional Trials have been revamped with two newcomers, better payouts, and weekly rankings that grant you additional rewards based on your performance. Out across Laslan and Stonegard, you’ll encounter a new tier of ‘ascended’ field bosses with greater challenge and loot.
If you’re new to the game, or just want to level a fresh character, the introduction of the free ‘hyperboost’ feature will allow you to do so at an increased rate while still getting all the fundamentals of the experience. Alongside this comes ‘Path of the Stars,’ a beginner’s guide system that helps recommend character builds and weapon combinations, and the ‘Path of Ascension,’ which offers progression-based missions that will prove a valuable source of rewards to boost your combat power.
Naturally, the endgame has expanded further as well. Tier-three gear is here and you’ll be able to earn it from dungeons, Dimensional Trials, boss battles, PvP, contract coin merchants, and more. It follows the familiar upgrade path up to +12 using Growthstones. Traits have been overhauled to accommodate this, and the Rune level cap is raised from 90 to 120, with a whole range of new enhancement potential and more ways to earn them.
That’s the majority of the major content changes, but there’s plenty more that long-time players will spot in Throne and Liberty 3.0. Character movement has been polished to improve responsiveness. Fall damage has been capped so that it can no longer take you below 10% health unless you’re in PvP, instances, or “falling from extremely high places.” There are combat balance changes and new equipment effects based on material type. Menus including the Adventure Codex and Extra Codex have been revamped, and technical tweaks should help increase overall performance.
Throne and Liberty update 3.0, Solisium’s Awakening, is live now. You can play the game for free on Steam. Read through the full patch details courtesy of Amazon Games and NCSoft to see just how much has changed. There’s also a 50-day ‘new user’ buff for anyone playing for the first time, which will grant you a wide range of benefits including a 100% boost to Sollant earned and experience from NPC kills.
We’re always keeping watch for the best new MMOs, so be sure to check in and see what’s hot in 2025. If you want to bring the world of Solisium to life in its full glory, we’d recommend the best gaming monitor for your budget right now.
If you’ve been playing Throne and Liberty, or are just starting for the first time, drop by the PCGamesN community Discord server and let us know what you think about the new update and the current state of the game.
