It’s niche, is quite limited in RP potential and is somewhat grindy, but it sure is fun and beautiful. Despite the camera angle, it is very much an isometric MMORPG and not a MMORPG (significant difference). So for those who are expecting a Korean PoE or Diablo, it is anything but that. The game is published by Amazon and will be releasing Fall 2021 (in less than 3 months) on Steam.
Here’s the latest class that released in Korea, for a taste of things to come.
You can check the Youtube channel to view the trailers they uploaded. I recommend you watch the Open Beta and Season 2 trailer to get a feel for the features available in the game. I’m not here to start a war over what the superior MMO is or that WoW is dying, I just want to share my enthusiasm. Actually, I’ll just link them here.
Oh, and since I know it’s going to happen, I have a few links to share about the features of the game about if it’s p2w, and if it is, the ramifications of the system it uses.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lostarkgame/comments/oa8siy/p2w_in_lost_ark_fully_explained/
There are people who play and insist that the game is not p2w, but my personal take is that yes, it is technically p2w because you can spend to increase your power. But I also like that the monetization structure also allows f2p to have full access to the cash shop if he trades his gold for it, which is not something many games do. So why am I still excited for the game? Well, because I’m not very competitive in nature anymore and I am content to move at my own pace.
There are still potential for ‘regional races’ (since Korea already did that stuff, can’t be world first) through equalized hell difficulty in PvE content, and the PvP arena is equalized too. Races for normal and even hard mode is not equalized, but the latest raids are often quite hard and have instant wipe mechanics and are very unforgiving, so if a whale was still a bad player, it would do next to nothing in benefit. Not to mention that the higher level your gear is, the less effective whaling is. Certain island PvP events and Guild vs Guild is not equalized, because people still need a place to flex their muscles, and grinding hard for PvE gear only for more PvE is a little sad. Of course this means that whales can and will dominate newbies and casuals – so only sweaty players stand a chance. But in some cases there are super buffs that spawn and allows them to fight back, so that lower levels can still have fun too.
Edit:
www_gamemeca_com/popup/ranking.php?scode=O
This is a site that measures popularity of games played in Korea. The game is currently the most popular MMORPG and second most popular game overall. This is unprecedented, as PUBG, Overwatch and a few other games were basically seen as unstoppable. The point I want to make here is that it must speak to some degree about the quality of the game, and also the kind of support that can be epxected. Lost Ark’s director has a reputation among the Korean playerbase somewhat analogous to ‘Yoshi-P’ for FFXIV players. He’s personable and receptive to player feedback.
But just to be fair, Lost Ark wasn’t a smashing success out of the gate. The first year and a half saw a declining playerbase, and while it wasn’t close to death (yet), it was still really bad for a game that was as ambitious as it was. Then Season 2 happened, fixed many things and changed it’s fortunes immensely. Koreans like to joke that they’re the beta testers for the MMOs we get from them, and in a sense that is true here.