17 million accounts worldwide, content that is now four times the size of the game's initial release, and PvP created for the elite gamer; PvP with politics. NCsoft's continuation of the Lineage franchise has been out for over three years now, releasing regularly scheduled content updates, and that's what this preview will talk about; their latest and greatest -- The 1st Throne: The Kamael.

I want to preface this by stating that all games age graphically over time, as is expected in an industry of ever-evolving PC hardware required to support video games. That said, MMOGs are in a unique position: their constant updates offer the ability to introduce new elements to a game's graphics engine. With this in mind, NCsoft has taken the opportunity to install several key new features in Lineage II's graphics engine to take advantage of advances made in today's newer GPUs.

Graphical enhancements aren't the only thing coming in The Kamael. Yes, everyone loves seeing the amazing artwork Lineage II offers each time new items are introduced -- and boy do some of them look stunning, even compared to today's graphical standards -- but there's a whole lot more than just "pretty" coming with this expansion. First, and most importantly -- how the update got its namesake to begin with -- is the new race being introduced: The Kamael.

It's not easy being evil

The Kamael are pure evil, as the game's Producer, Tim Tan, put it. They are in stark contrast to many of the races within the game -- their affinity with Dark Magic is unmatched -- though it comes with a cost. There are two interesting mechanics involving the race; first is the fact that to use many of the magics available to their unique class choices, a Kamael must steal the souls of their enemies -- then channeling them into the dark magic of their choosing. Some spells will require multiple souls per-cast, so while early on it will be a one-for-one resource, later on you may be required to store more souls for a spell.

Second is the fact that, due to their profound dark background, the Kamael are an anti-"holy", if you will -- so much so that there is a penalty on all healing spells that come in contact with a member of the race -- their effectiveness being reduced by 50%. This is a passive effect on the player that remains through the entirety of the character's lifetime.

The Kamael also have the ability to transform weapons into new versions which can only be used by Kamael players -- primarily due to the unique weapon-type requirements for the Kamael classes.

Screenshots of the Kamael no doubt spark questions about their wing, and the fact that well... they're lacking one. This isn't something easily remedied; players will have to fight through trials and tribulations -- also known as leveling -- to have a chance at restoring themselves to their proper state. Once Kamael characters reach level 79, they gain access to a skill -- called "Final Form" -- which when used, restores their second wing.

A Fortress isn't just there to tell people you're cool and powerful

Another new feature being introduced in The Kamael is Fortress Battles -- smaller scale siege content similar to Castles, just without the long waits. You'll be able to jump into and take part in a Fortress Battle any time of the day. Your clan will only be able to control a single fortress, but it comes chock full of exclusive benefits -- skills, leveling benefits and even special instanced dungeons beneath the fortress are just some of what you'll gain access to once you've conquered the fortress lord.

The great thing about Fortress Battles is that even if the fortress isn't controlled by players, there will still be a challenge ahead of you -- NCsoft has designed the content such that there will be NPC monsters holed up in a fortress that remains unclaimed by a clan. There will be 21 fortresses introduced with The Kamael in total -- nearly three times the number of castles currently available in the game -- which means less exclusivity comparatively.

New lands to explore

Any update of this magnitude will of course include new lands. Not only is the Kamael race getting their own special starting area -- The Isle of Souls -- but max-level players will be getting some very special content as well. Hellbound is a new area that is literally for the hardest of hardcore in the game; its content begins at level 80 -- the highest level area ever introduced in Lineage II -- and will require server wide participation to gain access. From the description Tim Tan gave, the entire server will have to work together to get Hellbound's gates cracked. This sounds eerily familiar for World of Warcraft players, of course -- let's just hope there's no 500,000 Linen Bandages this time around.

A new raid boss -- Baylor -- is also being introduced in the new area called Isle of Prayer. To cap it off, NCsoft is adding instanced dungeons in areas other than fortresses as well -- something that will no doubt be very controversial for a game that has never had the technology used, and is very PvP oriented. That said, NCsoft feels the benefits of these instances outweigh the separation risks instances create.

Hi, I'm Bob. My character's name is Bobette.

Ever had a lapse in judgement, or felt that initially the male version of the race just didn't quite fit your preferences for looks, but now you regret it? Good news then -- NCsoft is introducing gender changes with The Kamael. Players will be able to pay a small fee and finally switch from female to male -- or male to female -- without having to delete their level 80 characters. Unfortunately, the Kamael race itself is not open to the gender change feature -- mostly because classes are gender-specific for the race -- so be sure to choose wisely when you create a Kamael character.

There will also be server transfers and name change services introduced with the update, so if you're looking for a new home -- or you want to change Bobette's name -- you can finally do it.

Gotta collect 'em all

New armor and items -- staple pieces for any MMO update -- are also being introduced. In addition to all of the extravagant weaponry and armor typical to Lineage II updates, there are new item slots going in as well. The T-shirt slot can be found in varying grades of quality; non-grade and D-grade shirts will be purchasable from NPC merchants, while C-grade and above can only be found in Castles and Fortresses.

The second item slot being introduced is the bracelet slot -- a special slot that allows equipping of items tied to summons -- closely tied to Agathions. These bracelets summon a minion with special skills that will follow you around. Most of these bracelets will, like the higher grade T-shirts, only be accessible to players when their clan controls a Fortress.

There's a whole lot of goodness coming for Lineage II players in the update. You can head over to the Kamael Preview site to read up on it, visit our Kamael Image Gallery to see shots of the new content, or if you want to check it out firsthand -- hit up Fileplanet for the Public Test Server client. The 1st Throne: The Kamael should be going live sometime in December as a free expansion for all Lineage II players.