Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword, abbreviated as the Executioner's Sword, is a two-handed sword item that appears in the online game Lineage 2 and the mobile game Lineage M, serviced by the South Korean game company NCSoft. Added to Lineage 2 in March 2007, the Executioner's Sword is set in the game lore as belonging to 'True Emperor Dantes', the leader of the Dark Elf race. Due to the buffs for the two-handed sword weapon class and the item's high baseline stats, Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword became the strongest weapon in Lineage and the symbol of the game; however, it was extremely rare due to a demanding crafting method that required a production period of 6 months to 1 year alone.
Due to the difficulty of crafting and the risk that, unlike other items, it could be destroyed even upon the very first 'enchant',An act of increasing an item's stats through a specific procedure in the Lineage series, also known as 'enhancement.' The number of enchants was indicated before the item's name in the format of '+number' (e.g., '+5 Executioner's Sword') or 'number+enhancement' (e.g., '5-enhanced Executioner's Sword'). the value of the Executioner's Sword exceeded 35 million KRW in cash for an unenchanted one, and fetched up to 125 million KRW when enhanced four times. In 2011, an item trading website even offered Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword along with 100 don (approx. 375 grams) of gold as the first-place event prize. As the item's value continued to skyrocket, it was also referred to as Jippangeom (a Korean joke meaning that the price was so high one would have to sell their house to obtain it). Even after that, each time the highest enchant record for the Executioner's Sword was broken, it drew media attention; however, since 2015, due to a decline in the game's player base and the resulting increase in market supply, the value of the Executioner's Sword gradually declined.
Disputes occasionally arose both inside and outside the game surrounding the expensive Executioner's Sword. An online streamer exploited an in-game system to destroy an Executioner's Sword owned by an opposing clan member. Meanwhile, in 2011, a user sued the game company after NCSoft rejected their request to punish scammers who had stolen their Executioner's Sword and to restore the item. In 2013, a woman in her 60s filed a lawsuit requesting the restoration of an Executioner's Sword that vanished due to a failed enchant, citing concepts such as 'mistake' under civil law, but lost the case.
In celebration of the NC Dinos' victory in the 2020 Korean Series, the players performed a ceremony lifting a trophy shaped like the Executioner's Sword, which had been prepared in advance by the club. The Executioner's Sword trophy was crafted to be 155 cm in size and light enough in weight to be lifted with one hand. The ceremony proceeded with Kim Taek-jin , the CEO of NCSoft, personally stepping onto the mound to unveil the Executioner's Sword, and Yang Eui-ji, the team captain and a Lineage player, lifting it up. The Executioner's Sword ceremony received positive reviews from various media outlets.
In Game Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword was added to the Shydlashu server alongside the Rastaubad Dungeon in March 2007, timed with the update of 'Inevitable Destiny', the final episode of Lineage's 'Season 2: Crossed Hatred'. 'True Emperor Dantes', who appeared here, was the leader of the Dark Elf race in the game lore and the ruler of the Rastaubad Dungeon, commanding eight elder 'High Judges' and four Dark Kings. Together with the Anti-King Ken Rauhel, he had also destroyed the prosperous Gludio Village. However, Dantes fell into a plot by one of the Dark Kings and died along with the majority of his clan while summoning 'Girtas', a god of another world. At the point where players play the game, he is reduced to a mere NPC capable only of dialogue, with only his physical body barely remaining deep inside the dungeon. The sword placed beside him, intended for the execution of the treacherous Dark Kings, and harboring the grudges of Dantes and the Dark Elf race who died along with the summoning of Girtas, is precisely 'Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword'.
At the time of its first appearance in 2007, Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword and other weapons of the two-handed sword class, which precluded the use of shields, were not welcomed by players. However, their performance improved through patches in 2008, such as an increase in two-handed sword attack speed, the addition of the two-handed sword-exclusive skill 'Shock Stun', and the addition of 'Counter Barrier', a two-handed sword skill for the Knight class that reflects enemy attacks. With base stats offering more than three times the attack power of conventional melee weapons, it surpassed the existing 'Katana' and 'Rapier' to earn the title of the strongest item, and furthermore, became the symbol of the Lineage series. In a December 2010 interview with , NCSoft referred to Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword as "corresponding to the absolute top of the item pyramid."
However, Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword was extremely rare due to a demanding crafting method. To craft the Executioner's Sword, materials such as 1,000,000 Adena (the currency of Lineage), 10 Oriharukon Plates, 10 Mithril Plates, 10 Silver Plates, 10 Gold Plates, 10 Platinum Plates, 100 Black Mithril, 1 Rastaubad Weapon Crafting Secret Book, 1 Knight's Two-Handed Sword, 500 Ore of Darkness, and 10 Tears of Gran Kain were required. While all of these were items that could be obtained through hunting monsters, the drop rates were random, so collecting them took a long time. It was nearly impossible for an individual player to collect them all, and even for a massive clan, it required a period of about 6 months to 1 year to gather everything. In particular, the eight types of 'Rastaubad History Books', which were the core materials, could only be obtained one type at a time in a 'sealed' state by defeating the eight elder 'High Judges' of True Emperor Dantes. They could not be sold while sealed, and attempting to unseal them for crafting the Executioner's Sword carried a certain probability that the history book would vanish, further increasing the crafting difficulty. In fact, the Executioner's Sword made its very first appearance only eight months after it was added to the game. As of 2010, the owners of Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword numbered only around 40 across the entire Lineage player base.
In March 2017, at the end of a promotional video for the sequel mobile game Lineage M, Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword appeared in a trade window between players. On May 16 of the same year, during the Lineage M media showcase held at The Raum in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, NCSoft's Managing Director LeeSung-gu mentioned that Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword would be awarded to the top clan through siege warfare. The crafting materials for the Executioner's Sword in Lineage M differed from the main Lineage series, requiring a 'Mythic Crafting Secret Book' and four types of 'Dragon's Breath'. In Lineage M, the Executioner's Sword maintained its legendary status by possessing stats superior to even a +24 'Greatsword of Crimson Force'.In the Lineage series, the number of item enhancements has never exceeded a maximum of 12. In this case, reporter Hwang Dae-young of the Korea Economic Daily (한국경제) intentionally applied a theoretical enhancement level of '+24' to the comparison item to highlight the sheer power of the Executioner's Sword in Lineage M. On March 12, 2019, a player named 'K-Tank' from the Depardieu 02 server of Lineage M crafted the Executioner's Sword for the first time across all servers. To commemorate this, NCSoft distributed 300 items called 'Einhasad's Blessing' to all players.
In addition, in 'Aden', a mobile game released by Its Games in 2016 that sparked a controversy over infringing upon Lineage's IP, an item named 'Myeonghwang's Executioner Sword' appeared, which is just one character short of the original item's name.
Value In Lineage 2, an MMORPG, powerful new items were released with every major update, causing market prices to fluctuate rapidly. Items that were rare or enhanced through 'enchanting' commanded even higher prices. For instance, an item enhanced nine times traded for over 1 million KRW in cash during the early 2000s, and an item named the '+9 Saulsaby Greatsword' was valued at over 4 million KRW. However, 'Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword' was an exception due to its demanding crafting method and its vulnerability to destruction even on the very first enhancement attempt, unlike other itemsMost weapons in Lineage could be safely enhanced up to +6 (+4 for armor) without any risk of destruction, a feature known as 'safe enchant.' However, Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword had a safe enchant limit of 0, meaning it carried a risk of being destroyed upon the very first enhancement attempt. Even an Executioner's Sword with an enchant count of zero traded in the 18 million KRW range in 2008, and reached the 35 million KRW range in 2015. A '+4 Executioner's Sword', enhanced four times, was valued at 120 million KRW in 2013. In 2011, an item-trading website even offered Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword as a first-place event prize, alongside 100 don of gold and a Kia K5 mid-size sedan. As the price skyrocketed day by day, the Executioner's Sword earned the nickname 'Jippangeom' (House-selling Sword), meaning a 'sword you can only buy by selling your house.'
Every time a new enchant record for the Executioner's Sword was set, it was reported in the media. On August 9, 2015, when a player named 'ID Arcadia' from the Jud server posted a verified screenshot of a '+5 Jinmyeonghwang's Executioner Sword', it quickly became a news article. Although rumors suggested that the price of the '+5 Executioner's Sword' would exceed 500 million KRW, it was reported that the actual transaction fell through due to a price tag that was excessively high compared to its actual in-game performance. In 2017, an Executioner's Sword that successfully reached an +8 enchant emerged. Three years later, on May 14, 2020, a player named 'Drungmola' from the Depardieu server completed a '+9 Executioner's Sword'. To commemorate this, NCSoft erected special buff statues across all servers and presented Drungmola with a physical replica of the Executioner's Sword crafted from pure gold and diamonds.