When Lineage 2 came out
Lineage 2 launched in South Korea on 1 October 2003 with the chronicle called Prelude. North America followed in late April 2004, and Europe in November 2004. From there NCSoft released the game in numbered chronicles, which is the vocabulary every private server uses today.
If you are here to pick a server, the dates explain a lot. Interlude, High Five and the Classic builds are different slices of this timeline, and the Lineage 2 private servers on our list are sorted by which slice they recreate. Dates below come from Wikipedia's chronicle tables unless stated otherwise, and where our notes and the table differ by a day, we use the table.
- Korean launch
- 1 Oct 2003
- Interlude in North America
- 11 Apr 2007
- Free-to-play (North America)
- 30 Nov 2011
C0 Prelude
Korea: 13 Dec 2006
With Goddess of Destruction
The Chaotic Chronicle, 2003 to 2006
The first saga is called The Chaotic Chronicle and runs from C0 to C5. Korea always received each chronicle first, and North America trailed by several months.
| Chronicle | Name | Korea | North America |
|---|---|---|---|
| C0 | Prelude | 1 Oct 2003 | 28 Apr 2004 |
| C1 | Harbingers of War | 28 Jan 2004 | 28 Jun 2004 |
| C2 | Age of Splendor | 11 Aug 2004 | 8 Dec 2004 |
| C3 | Rise of Darkness | 2 Mar 2005 | 10 May 2005 |
| C4 | Scions of Destiny | 26 Oct 2005 | 8 Feb 2006 |
| C5 | Oath of Blood | 1 Jun 2006 | 6 Sep 2006 |
The Chaotic Throne, 2006 to 2010
The second saga, The Chaotic Throne, is where most private server communities live. It starts with Interlude, labelled CT0, and continues through the Kamael, Hellbound, Gracia and Freya updates.
| Chronicle | Name | Korea | North America |
|---|---|---|---|
| CT0 | Interlude | 13 Dec 2006 | 11 Apr 2007 |
| CT1 | The Kamael | 16 Aug 2007 | 11 Dec 2007 |
| CT1.5 | Hellbound / Kamael Plus | 12 Dec 2007 | 23 Apr 2008 |
| CT2.1 | Gracia Part 1 | 30 Apr 2008 | 12 Aug 2008 |
| CT2.2 | Gracia Part 2 | 13 Aug 2008 | 28 Oct 2008 |
| CT2.3 | Gracia Final | 26 Nov 2008 | 28 Apr 2009 |
| CT2.4 | Gracia Epilogue / Gracia Plus | 3 Jun 2009 | 17 Nov 2009 |
| CT2.5 | Freya | 3 Feb 2010 | 24 Aug 2010 |
High Five follows Freya in the Chaotic Throne line. The Wikipedia table we used is garbled for that row, so we do not quote an exact date here. One server on our list, Dark Dragon New Era, describes its High Five build as Chronicle 2.6.
Goddess of Destruction and later
The third saga began the free-to-play era. Wikipedia states that Lineage II moved to a free-to-play model with Goddess of Destruction in November 2011, and that game content is free except for purchasable in-game store items and packs.
| Chronicle | Name | Korea | North America |
|---|---|---|---|
| GD1 | Awakening | 15 Jun 2011 | 30 Nov 2011 |
| GD1.5 | Harmony | 19 Oct 2011 | 7 Mar 2012 |
| GD2 | Tauti | 11 Jan 2012 | 13 Jun 2012 |
| GD2.5 | Glory Days | 25 Mar 2012 | 24 Oct 2012 |
| GD3 | Lindvior / Ruler of the West Wind | 28 Nov 2012 | 29 May 2013 |
| GD3.5 | Valiance / Raiders | 21 Aug 2013 | 11 Dec 2013 |
| EP1 | Ertheia / Dimensional Strangers | 31 Dec 2013 | 30 Jul 2014 (Europe: 14 Oct 2014) |
| D1.0 | Deathknight, Master Class | 26 May 2021 | 19 Oct 2021 (Europe: 3 Nov 2021) |
“There are three versions of Lineage II currently available - Classic/Legacy, Aden/Essence and Live/Main.”
Reading the chronicle labels and the regional gap
The short codes in the tables follow a pattern. C stands for The Chaotic Chronicle, CT for The Chaotic Throne, GD for Goddess of Destruction and EP for Epic Tale of Aden. The number after the letters counts the update inside that saga, and a .5 marks a mid-saga patch. When a server says Interlude it means CT0, and when it says Gracia it means one of the CT2 updates.
Another pattern is the regional lag. Korea received every chronicle first, and North America waited. We counted the gap from the dates in the tables above.
| Chronicle | Korea | North America | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prelude (C0) | 1 Oct 2003 | 28 Apr 2004 | about 7 months |
| Interlude (CT0) | 13 Dec 2006 | 11 Apr 2007 | about 4 months |
| The Kamael (CT1) | 16 Aug 2007 | 11 Dec 2007 | about 4 months |
| Freya (CT2.5) | 3 Feb 2010 | 24 Aug 2010 | about 7 months |
| Awakening (GD1) | 15 Jun 2011 | 30 Nov 2011 | about 6 months |
| Deathknight (D1.0) | 26 May 2021 | 19 Oct 2021 | about 5 months |
What the dates mean for private servers
A private server picks one point on this timeline and freezes it. That is why server lists talk about chronicles rather than years, and why two servers can both say Lineage 2 and play very differently.
| Chronicle on the server | Where it sits | Example from our list |
|---|---|---|
| Interlude | CT0, 2006 to 2007 | ForcePlay (x25 and x1200), L2LW Lost World (x5), L2Etina (x30) |
| High Five | Late Chaotic Throne | L2Amerika (x200), L2SET (x55), Dark Dragon New Era (x2) |
| Classic 2.9 and 3.0 | Official Classic line | L2Classic.lt, x3 on the Libra world |
| Classic Kamael 4.0 | Official Classic line | Melior, x3, staged unlocks |
Which end of the timeline suits you
Early and middle chronicles
- Interlude and High Five dominate the list
- Craft, sieges and Olympiad take priority
- Wide range of rates, from x1 to extreme PvP
Classic builds
- Follow the official line with staged unlocks
- Typically gentle rates such as x3
- Slower, group-oriented progression
Quick reference
- Lineage 2 first launched on 1 October 2003 in South Korea and in late April 2004 in North America.
- Interlude is CT0: 13 December 2006 in Korea, 11 April 2007 in North America.
- The Kamael race arrived with CT1, in August 2007 in Korea and December 2007 in North America.
- Free-to-play began with Goddess of Destruction, 30 November 2011 in North America.
- Ertheia arrived with EP1, 30 July 2014 in North America.
- Age does not make a chronicle obsolete: ForcePlay says its x25 Interlude server has run since 2019 without wipes, and L2Amerika describes an 18-year history on High Five.
Where to go next
- Want Interlude specifically? See the Interlude servers and compare rates.
- Prefer late-game PvP? Look at High Five servers.
- Want fast combat? PvP servers skip most of the leveling.
- Not sure what a term means? The glossary explains chronicles, rates and wipes.
