In Lost Ark, female characters have a rather limited selection of clothing styles. (Long) pants are hard to come by, high-heeled shoes are the norm, and clothing often covers only a fraction of the body. Additionally, some very strange animations and a gender lock are present. All of this irritates and amuses some fans of the action MMO.
What is Lost Ark? Lost Ark is an action RPG MMO from South Korea. The game launched in our country after a long wait on February 11, 2022. However, as much joy as Lost Ark brings its players, some gamers complain about the design decisions made for the female heroes.
What is the problem with the female designs? Looking at the female characters in Lost Ark, it quickly becomes apparent that they wear very little. While male characters wear heavy armor and go into battle well-equipped, the women predominantly wear revealing clothing, high-heeled shoes, and exhibit strange animations.
“Aren’t there any real pants for my heroine?”
Here are some specific examples: Various examples can be found online where otherwise satisfied Lost Ark players express their surprise at what they perceive as the exaggerated sexiness of the female characters in the game.
Players notice that – the higher the armor stats are, the less of the body is covered for female heroes. For instance, according to a Twitter user, her heroine initially wore leggings as leg “armor” at the start. Now, it’s only high boots, a belt, and a thong.
It is “really hard to recommend a game when the first armor upgrade could fit into a sex film.”
Other players complain about the lack of (real) pants for women. This is particularly noticeable for the Gunslinger class, as this lady seems to only wear hotpants. An author from the site RockPaperShotgun writes about how much fun she has with her Gunslinger in the game but that even after a long grind she has still not found proper pants for her heroine.
She stated that she has nothing against sexy outfits, but if there are really no alternatives, that would be quite ridiculous. Especially the otherwise serious cutscenes would be completely ridiculous when a character appears who looks like she just stepped out of an “erotic salon with a steampunk cowboy theme.”
The lack of other pants besides hotpants has also been noticed by other users on Twitter.
I really enjoy the fights in Lost Ark. ARPGs are usually not my thing, but here it feels dynamic and flashy in a way that makes me addictive. I just wish the story were interesting. Or that I could find gear for my Gunslinger that doesn’t consist of just shorts and high heels.
Many users seem to have nothing against sexy outfits in the game per se. It would just be nice to have alternatives. Additionally, a further Twitter comment:
Okay, Lost Ark, you have your design philosophy and stick to it. I can respect that to some extent. But [please bring] just one female class that doesn’t wear high heels and runs with knees and elbows covered. Just one.
This is what the animations look like: The problem with the animations has been brought up by another streamer and Twitter user. She can no longer take her heroine seriously after seeing the strange fluttering movements with which her avatar dances through the foliage. To emphasize the absurdity of these animations, she mimics this style live on stream shortly thereafter.
Are there other voices? Indeed, many players do not share this view. For instance, it is debated on reddit that Lost Ark is notably a game from Asia, and such designs are common there. Also, many players apparently enjoy heroines who wear little.
Another annoyance for some Lost Ark players is the current strict gender lock, which only allows many classes to be represented by one gender. Heavily armored classes, such as the Paladin, are exclusively male, while female heroines usually embody agile and magical classes.
However, the developers want to at least provide relief here and gradually insert female counterparts of Paladin and others. It remains to be seen what their armor will look like.
