(Ed. Note: Taken from the NCSoft L2 Boards with permission of author Akurgal)

Someone recently started a thread about how bad the level grind is. Lots of folks log on daily to complain about the poor drops, the power of the Adena farmers, and so on.

Personally, I don't have an issue with any of these "problems". Every day I log onto to one of the last three servers and play 4 - 5 hours, sometimes more. My highest level character is 23, my lowest level 10, I've just deleted half a dozen or so, and will probably create some new ones before the end of the month. I suppose you might call me a "carebear", because I generally avoid PvP and have only been red half a dozen times or so. The highest level I ever achieved was 32, way back in the Japan Closed Beta.

I started playing in November, I will still be playing on the day they shut down the last server and declare an "end" to Lineage II.

I love this game. I love the level grind. I love the cute dwarf girls, the beer belly dwarven grandfathers, the sexy dark elf females, the panty flashing light elf females, the grunting voices of the orcs, the corny animations for the magic spells, the devastating power of the bows, and even the frustrating Adena farmers camping in all the best spots. Perhaps I became more accepting by not bothering to play other MMORPGs, but in a very real sense, this is exactly the kind of game I have waited twenty years to play and I am thrilled with every last detail.

How could this be? Am I actually the only satisfied American customer? Well, I do live in Japan, but I am still a red, white, and blue Yankee doodle dandy down in the very depths of my bones.

Learning to enjoy Lineage II does however require a certain inescapably zen approach to gaming. So then, here are a few guidelines for releasing the prison of your mind and freeing it in the virtual landscapes of Aden.

1. Forget about leveling. You will get there eventually.
2. Every now and then, stop and enjoy the scenery.
3. Talk to every single NPC you encounter and carefully read what they have to say.
4. Use your current weapons and armor (or robes) until you either die and drop them or successfully complete a weapon-awarding quest.
5. Don't be afraid to die and lose your day's (or even month's) hard fought exp.
6. Learn the value of an unencumbered mind.
7. Keep a pet and spend time leveling it. If you get impatient, refer back to #1. If your pet dies, get another one.
8. Explore the map. In the last three days I have seen ONE other player while I was out hunting. It is easy to find an empty spot if you wander through the landscape and ignore the dungeons.
9. Hunt in an area appropriate to your level. If the majority of the mobs are green or white, you're in the right spot. If not, keep looking.
10. Don't work the game, play it. If you are worried about leveling, desperate for new equipment, or obsessed with bushwacking a player who stole your kill, then you are not playing, you are working and you'd be much happier running a cash register at the local 7-11, flipping hamburgers at Macdonalds, or even waiting tables at Denny's.

The game isn't about anything, so if you are looking for a meaningful way to spend your time, do something else.