The new hack & slash MMO Lost Ark won’t be long in coming. But what might remind you of Diablo at first glance is actually very different upon closer inspection. That’s why we’ve got 7 things you should know before diving in.
What is Lost Ark? Even though its ISO perspective and hack ‘n’ slash battles may remind you of Diablo, at its core, Lost Ark is an MMORPG. This means there are many more mechanics and role-playing elements awaiting you than you might be used to from Diablo and its counterparts.
Lost Ark was released in 2018 in South Korea and has since become one of the most popular online games there. The game impresses with a visually appealing graphics engine, especially for Unreal Engine 3 standards, and breathtakingly action-packed battles.
In the endgame, you can expect raids, boss fights, PvP, and housing – all things that Diablo fans may not typically anticipate. Therefore, we want to explain and summarize these mechanics for you.
1. Lost Ark is an MMORPG and you can definitely tell
What does that mean? In broad terms, this means that a role-playing experience in Lost Ark is focused on significantly more mechanics than, for example, Diablo. However, both games share a strong and well-presented story, which is also one of Lost Ark’s strengths.
However, the gameplay looks different, as you will spend much more time optimizing your character in many areas, using methods that might confuse players familiar with Diablo at first. You might chop down trees, fish, or even go treasure hunting with your friends.
The typical maps from hack ‘n’ slash games are absent in Lost Ark. The MMORPG opts for an open world that is always accessible to you and all other players. This means that monsters respawn after a short time, so you can’t completely clear the maps like you’re used to.
A lot of bang for your buck: Diablo has beautiful, fluid, and well-animated skill effects, and yes, relatively many of them. However, Lost Ark relies on an explosion of effects that is unparalleled. If you’re adventuring with 4 or even 8 players and things get intense in battle, it can be challenging to keep an eye on your character.
Lost Ark is even more colorful and vibrant in its darker territories than Diablo is in its friendlier areas. Ultimately, it’s a matter of taste, and Lost Ark can create a dark atmosphere when needed. However, the general color palette is much brighter.
2. Class and Group Diversity
Many more classes, many more skills: In Lost Ark, you can choose from 15 classes in the European version. The Korean version already has 21. This means there are significantly more options to customize your class than is the case in Diablo.
Additionally, the variety of skills is likely to be an exciting innovation for Diablo fans. You can equip up to 8 skills and change and swap them at any time outside of battles. Each class has up to 30 skills available.
You can then distribute your skill points to these skills and improve them in three stages. Each stage offers you 2 or 3 options to further develop your ability in another direction.
This concept should sound familiar to Diablo fans, but it works a little differently than you might be used to. You only need a minimum level to unlock the skill.
So if you unlock your new favorite skill at level 45, you can immediately and for free reset all skill points spent and assign them to the newly acquired skill. This means you can have it immediately at maximum strength without needing to level up further to unlock it.
Little new in groups: Even though there are many more classes, the group structures in Lost Ark are relatively similar. You can expect comparatively little new here.
In Lost Ark, the maximum group size is also limited to four players. These groups usually consist of 3 DPS classes and one supporter. However, in Lost Ark, it’s important that you don’t have 3 of the same DPS in your party.
Each class brings unique buffs that cannot stack. So it may be beneficial not to bring the top DPS character multiple times because the group benefits from increased damage when you bring a different DPS and make use of their unique buff.
3. PvP has a different significance
How does PvP work in Lost Ark? Even though Lost Ark is a free-to-play game and some in-game advantages can be purchased, the PvP in the MMORPG is normalized. This means that your equipment or money doesn’t count here; instead, all players’ stats are set to the same level.
This makes PvP rely on tactics, your build, and skill rather than pure stats. Although there is PvP in Diablo, it’s more of an event held among guilds and friends.
Various PvP modes: While Diablo has an arena where you can fight against one another, Lost Ark offers different PvP modes.
You can challenge people to duels in the open world, which are not normalized, or you can enter the arena.
In the arena, you can choose between:
- 1v1
- 3v3 where all three team members fight simultaneously
- 3v3, which is played in sequential 1v1 matches
Lost Ark also offers a leaderboard and different rankings in PvP. Furthermore, the abilities in the MMORPG vary depending on whether used in PvE or PvP. All of this might sound new to Diablo fans but can offer an exciting long-term motivation.
4. Challenging Raids
Insights into the endgame: While in Diablo’s endgame, you spend most of your time battling through rifts and trying to reach a higher paragon level, it’s different in Lost Ark.
The grinding for the perfect set and the best gear is the only similarity, albeit not in detail. One aspect of the endgame in Lost Ark are the Guardian Raids, which can be incredibly challenging.
Here, you focus on killing a large boss with a group of 4 to 8 people. The boss will wipe the floor with you if you don’t pay close attention and learn the mechanics. Players from Diablo 3 know these fights only with a maximum of 4 players and not at the mechanical level that Lost Ark offers.
You can watch one of the raiding experiences in Lost Ark in this video:
What else is there? In addition to the Guardian Raids, the PvE endgame in Lost Ark also includes Chaos Dungeons. These are more comparable to rifts from Diablo, as you can run them more frequently and without much difficulty, always on the lookout for better loot.
Therefore, players from Diablo should feel most at home in the Chaos Dungeons, while the Guardian Raids are much more significantly different from what you know from Diablo.
5. Maintaining Your Own Island
What can housing do? Once you’ve completed the first turning point in the story, you’ll be around level 25. From then on, a completely new map opens up for you, along with the opportunity to design your own home.
This home is not just limited to a house, but you get a completely own island in Lost Ark. On it, there are some fixed buildings and a lot of items that you can freely place.
You can also invite up to 50 friends to your island and spend time together with the NPCs living on your island.
What’s the benefit? What is often just a side activity in many MMORPGs should not be ignored in Lost Ark. Gradually, you gather a whole crew of NPCs on your island, which you can then send out on missions.
They are gone for varying amounts of time and will bring you rewards when they return. Additionally, you can craft on your island and strengthen your relationships with the NPCs, for example, by taking them on a boosting tour.
Housing in general should be an aspect that Diablo players may not really think about, but it’s something you can’t completely ignore in Lost Ark. So definitely something you should know.
6. Polyamory Without Limits
Relationships with NPCs: If you already wondered how to improve relationships with NPCs in the above section and what that even offers, this is your section.
Also completely new for Diablo players, one of the more important elements in Lost Ark are relationships. Throughout the story, you’ll meet more and more key characters.
With many of them, you can establish a relationship by completing side quests for them or bringing them gifts that they like. Your character is not limited to one partner but can pursue as many relationships as you wish.
Moreover, there’s no preference for gender in Lost Ark, as it doesn’t matter whom you have your eye on. Eventually, all NPCs will be charmed by you, regardless of their gender.
What’s the benefit? As you level up in friendship with an NPC, this not only unlocks new quests focused on that NPC but also grants you rewards every time your friendship rank with the character improves.
This process is particularly fast in the early game, and you can earn up to 30,000 silver per rank and NPC, with minimal effort often required for just clicking through some dialogues.
In the beginning of the game, you should definitely not ignore this mechanic, which Diablo fans are likely unfamiliar with. Flirt as much as you can!
7. More Content for Completionists
A lot of collectibles: Lost Ark offers you an open world that, while still divided into zones, allows you to return frequently. The game introduces you to an exploration tome in the first city, which you should fill gradually.
This thick book tracks everything you do on the map and is a dream for any completionist. Alongside viewpoints that you need to look for, there are well-hidden Mokoko seeds that you can collect throughout the world.
Additionally, it includes NPCs you’ve interacted with, quests you’ve completed, and a collectible card system that offers gameplay advantages when you collect a full set.
In general, there’s a lot to collect in Lost Ark beyond the story and side quests. The world itself has plenty to explore, and thanks to the tome, your efforts are rewarded.
These collectible items in Lost Ark not only provide cosmetic advantages, like companions and transmogs available in Diablo. They also offer genuine gameplay benefits.
What’s the benefit? It’s a nice way to track your progress. However, there are also concrete advantages for those who want to explore the whole world. In addition to the stat bonuses you earn through the collectible cards, you also receive a significant amount of experience points.
Especially the Mokoko seeds provide you with a noteworthy amount of adventurer EXP, which could be somewhat compared to the paragon level in Diablo.
Your adventure level is basically your account level and provides bonuses across all your characters. Collecting the Mokoko seeds goes directly into this EXP bar, making life easier for you with other characters in the future.
These were the 7 biggest differences between Diablo and Lost Ark that you should know about. If you want to check out the MMORPG, you’re now prepared. Of course, there are also some similarities that might stand out to you.
If you think of anything else you’d like to know as a Diablo fan before diving into Lost Ark, feel free to leave a comment here on MeinMMO.
