Every class matters
L2 Balance exists for one reason: in Lineage II Interlude every class should be worth playing, in PvP groups and everywhere else.
Why
Interlude has more than thirty classes, but a server ends up with the same few on every screen: mostly mages, then archers and daggers. The tanks cannot hurt anyone, so nobody fears them. Buffers and dancers buff before the fight and then stand still. Summoners lose their pets in seconds against players. Dwarves are characters you log in to spoil or craft, then log out.
We want parties where a Paladin, a Warcryer, a Spectral Dancer and a Warlock fight next to a Sorcerer, and each of them changes the result. More classes in play means more variety, more ways to win and more fun for everybody, mages included.
We go class group by class group, starting with the tanks, and publish every change in the patch notes.
Our principles
New and reworked skills, not raw stat boosts
A class gets what it is missing: a ranged attack for the Paladin, a drain and magic reflect for the Dark Avenger, an escape window for daggers. Multiplying damage or HP would only make the same fights longer.
Scales with level and gear
Custom skills have many levels learned on the way up (40 to 75) and their damage depends on P.Atk against the target's P.Def, with caps. Better gear and higher level still matter; a fresh character does not one-shot anyone.
Fights you can read
Every new skill has its own icon, cast bar and animation, and short buffs show a countdown next to the HP bar. When a Dark Avenger reflects magic, the mage sees the dark shield and can stop casting.
PvP first
Decisions are made for party fights, sieges and the Olympiad. A change that is great in PvE but does nothing against players is not enough, and PvE stays the place to level, not the reason to choose a class.
Counters, not winners
Mages stay strong: the goal is that every class brings something, so a party with a tank, a support and a summoner can beat one made only of mages. More choices, more variety, more fun.
Every change written down
Each change is documented per class with the retail value next to ours and the numbers for every level, generated from the same data the server uses. No hidden changes.
Class by class
Done first: the tanks that had the least to do in PvP and the daggers. Next: the remaining tanks, the support classes, the summoners and the dwarves.
