It has been some time since Amazon announced the EU release of Lost Ark. What has happened with the MMORPG in the past weeks?
A month ago, we finally received the official confirmation: Lost Ark is coming to Europe and will be published here by Amazon. But while we sit here waiting for the release, the development of the game is progressing rapidly.
Here’s what has happened in recent weeks and a glimpse of the rest of 2020.
Development in Korea: The Koreans are far ahead of everyone else in Lost Ark and are giving a taste of the new content. In August, they received the big update for Season 2 with numerous gameplay improvements and a new class, the Scouter.
In just a few days, on September 29, the next class will be released, the Reaper Assassin. Later in October, there will be a continuation of the Lost Ark story in the form of new quests as well as the PvP activity “Island Conquest.”
Development in Japan: The Japanese celebrated the official release of their version of Lost Ark on September 23. They are starting directly with the mechanics and improvements of Season 2, which are based on feedback from Korean players.
Although the Japanese do not have access to the new classes and continents that were released in Lost Ark throughout 2019 and 2020, they plan to catch up quickly. Already in November, the Lance Master class will be released, and in December the continent Rohendel.
Development in Russia: Russian players and Europeans who have snuck in can look forward to several updates by the end of the year. Primarily, the big 2.0 update with all its novelties that are available in Korea and Japan will arrive in October.
November will be used for hotfixes and optimizations. In December, new content will come, and Russians will receive their next class, the Holy Knight.
Development in Europe: A few weeks ago, there was finally good news for Europeans. Amazon announced that they would take over the publishing of Lost Ark in Europe. SmileGate was also looking for new employees to take care of the localization of the MMORPG in the West.
Since Amazon’s announcement, however, there has been silence again about the MMORPG. It is therefore rather unlikely that the first beta tests will happen before the end of 2020. However, it looks better for 2021.
Currently, SmileGate is trying to bring all regions as quickly as possible up to the level of Season 2 in Lost Ark. Even Russia, which started with the old version, will be patched within just one month. Therefore, Europe will most likely also start directly with Season 2 of Lost Ark.
Excitement like no other MMORPG
Actually, Lost Ark belongs to the type of MMORPGs that I usually approach with great skepticism: a free-to-play action MMORPG from Korea. Most of these games have not managed to captivate me in the past.
It’s almost absurd that I’m looking forward to Lost Ark like a child and never get tired of waiting for the EU release. SmileGate managed to press almost all the right buttons for me with the MMORPG.
- The combat system is fluid and feels really impactful
- The story is told quickly, but still exciting
- The sense of discovery is positively reinforced by collection mechanics in the game
- The sailing has captivated me for hours during testing
It remains to be seen how Season 2.0 has changed the armor upgrades and the loot spiral. Together with the cash shop, these were my only concerns regarding Lost Ark.
Diversity from Final Fantasy XIV
My main game Final Fantasy XIV will thus probably face considerable competition in 2021. I have been looking for a change from SE’s heavily scripted MMORPG for some time. Players who have been playing FFXIV for many years know the update rhythm by heart.
Every major patch brings
- 1-2 new dungeons,
- an 8- or 24-player raid,
- a series of story quests,
- additional side content that will be distributed over the coming months
Major changes and new classes only appear with new expansions about every 2 years. This “predictability” can be exhausting, and until now, it has only been single-player games that could pull me away from FFXIV.
If Lost Ark eventually releases in 2021 (hopefully), I will first get lost in it for several months: playing the story, trying out classes, and raiding until my fingers bleed.
Moreover: As soon as Lost Ark is released here, you can bet that Schuhmann will overwhelm me with work. Therefore, I won’t be able to escape the game, whether in private life or at work.
But I’m already looking forward to it.
