Throne and Liberty: Are Rune Updates Killing Player Retention?

This article analyses whether the current Rune implementation is a retention killer or a necessary endgame layer. It is specifically designed for returning players or those on the fence about the 2026 roadmap updates.

The “Hammer” Bottleneck: Why Progression Feels Stuck

The core controversy surrounding the Rune updates isn’t just about the existence of new stats-it is the acquisition method. In practice, the system requires Rune Hammers to unlock sockets on your gear. These hammers are crafted using 100 Rune Fragments, a resource that drops sparingly from endgame activities like the Challenge Dimensional Dungeon.

For a casual player, this creates a mathematical impossibility to catch up. While dedicated guilds on servers like Castleton might farm these efficiently through coordinated runs, a solo or casual player faces months of daily grinding just to unlock the slots, let alone upgrade the Runes themselves to level 60.

To put this into perspective, a typical Tier 2 Challenge Dungeon run might yield only a handful of dissolvable runes. If you are averaging 3-5 fragments per run after dissolving unwanted drops, you are looking at approximately 20 to 30 runs just to craft a single Rune Hammer. Considering a fully optimised endgame build requires multiple hammers per weapon and armour piece, the time investment spirals into hundreds of hours purely for socket management.

The Chaos Rune Power Creep

The introduction of Chaos Runes further exacerbated this issue. These powerful items provide significant stat boosts that are effectively mandatory for competitive PvP. If you check the Steam charts by searching for ‘Throne and Liberty player count’, the correlation between these grind-heavy updates and the population decline (stabilizing around 6,000-9,000 active users) is hard to ignore.

Chaos Runes introduce stats such as Heavy Attack Evasion and Debuff Duration Reduction that simply cannot be countered by standard gear scores. In a Guild vs. Guild (GvG) scenario, a frontline tank equipped with Level 60 Chaos Runes becomes virtually immortal against players who have not engaged with the system. This has effectively created a two-tier society within the game: those who have the Runes, and those who are “content” for the former.

Economic Reality: The Lucent Drain

The Rune system has also dramatically shifted the in-game economy. Since Rune Hammers and certain high-tier Runes can be traded or accelerated using the Auction House, the demand for Lucent (the premium currency) has skyrocketed. Players who cannot commit 4+ hours a day to farming Challenge Dimensional Dungeons are forced to swipe their credit cards to stay relevant.

This “pay-to-progress” mechanic is not new to the genre, but the sheer cost of Rune Hammers in 2026 makes it one of the most expensive progression verticals in the game’s history. F2P players are finding their Lucent earnings from selling traits are no longer sufficient to keep up with the inflation caused by Rune demand.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in 2026

If you are planning to engage with the Rune system, avoid these specific pitfalls that lead to burnout. The system is punishing, but efficiency can mitigate some of the pain.

• Mistake 1: Ignoring the Watermark System. Many players hoard low-level runes or dissolve them immediately. Recent updates introduced a “watermark” mechanic where levelling your lower-tier runes increases the drop rate of higher-tier ones. You should aim to level your Grey Runes to Level 20 and Green Runes to Level 40 before moving to higher tiers. Check the NCSoft website and search for ‘Rune System Guide’ to understand the exact probability curves.
• Mistake 2: Spreading Resources Too Thin. Do not try to unlock Rune slots on all gear simultaneously. Focus on your main weapon first. The cost of Rune Hammers is too high to waste on secondary armour pieces early on. A fully socketed main-hand weapon offers a greater DPS increase than partially socketed armour.
• Mistake 3: Farming Without a Premade Group. The Challenge Dimensional Dungeons (Tier 15 and above) are punishing for random matchmaking groups. Mechanics like the “Death Wave” in the Island of Terror require precise coordination that matchmaking rarely provides. You will fail runs and waste time.
• Mistake 4: Overlooking Synergy Bonuses. Simply slotting the highest level rune is often a mistake. Matching three runes of the same colour (e.g., three Attack Runes) grants a Synergy Bonus that can often outweigh the raw stats of a higher-level, mismatched rune.

When This Is NOT For You

Throne and Liberty has solidified its identity in 2026, and it is clearly not for everyone. You should reconsider playing if:

• You are a Casual PvP Player: The power gap created by Level 60 Chaos Runes is insurmountable with skill alone. You will be one-shot by players who have maximised this system. The “time-to-kill” (TTK) has dropped significantly for non-optimised players.
• You Can Only Play 1 Hour Daily: The daily checklist-including Contracts, Dungeons, and now Rune farming-requires 2-3 hours minimum to stay relevant. The addition of the Tower of Temptation only adds to this daily burden.
• You Dislike “Pay-to-Progress”: While you can farm everything, the ability to buy traits and accelerate Rune progression via the Auction House (using Lucent) means paying players will always have a multi-month advantage.

Your 2026 Return Checklist

Before you reinstall for the Tower of Temptation update or the new Server vs Server War, run through this decision matrix to ensure your setup and schedule can handle the current state of the game:

☐ Guild Status: Do you have an active guild that runs Tier 2+ Dungeons daily? (Mandatory for Rune Fragments).

☐ Budget/Time Ratio: Are you willing to spend Lucent to bypass the Hammer grind, or can you commit to 4+ hours a day?

☐ Goal Setting: Are you okay with being PvE-focused? (PvE requires less Rune optimisation than competitive PvP).

☐ Server Choice: Is your server population healthy? (Check Amazon Games and search for ‘Server Status’ before committing time).

☐ Hardware: Can your setup handle the new large-scale sieges without crashing? Ensure your drivers are updated by visiting NVIDIA and searching for ‘Game Ready Driver Throne and Liberty’.

The Trade-offs: Depth vs. Accessibility

The decision to play Throne and Liberty in 2026 comes down to a clear trade-off. By engaging with the Rune system, you gain access to a deep, long-term progression curve that makes your character feel uniquely powerful. The “Tower of Temptation” content is designed specifically for players who have engaged with these systems, offering 30 floors of solo challenges that test every aspect of your Rune synergies.

However, the sacrifice is accessibility. You give up the ability to take breaks. Missing a week of Dimensional Trials puts you noticeably behind the curve. Unlike other MMORPGs where catch-up mechanics are generous, the Rune system’s RNG nature means that falling behind can feel permanent. If you value your free time over virtual power, the current state of the game may not respect your investment. Ultimately, for the UK audience, where gaming time often competes with tight schedules, Throne and Liberty has shifted from a casual-friendly experience to a second job that demands strict attendance.