Since its release in Europe, there has been a large discussion about the payment system in Lost Ark. Actually, the MMORPG is completely Free2Play, but the shop offers various bonuses. So is it Pay2Win? MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus played for nearly 30 hours without paying a cent – this is his conclusion.
I was very critical of Lost Ark. Although I like Diablo and the game does remind me a lot of a Diablo MMO, I was not initially interested at all. It seemed too overloaded, too full, and too Asian – typical Asian MMOs are just not my taste.
When the MMORPG was released on February 11, I ignored it. Only when we started getting more reports about it here on MeinMMO and the game had completely conquered Steam as well as Twitch, did my interest awaken.
Curiosity eventually overcame me, and I thought: let’s see how good the game is. I don’t have to pay for that. And I also didn’t get one of the pre-order packages. Now I have invested about 30 hours and I am glad to have checked out Lost Ark.
There are always discussions about the Pay2Win factor of Lost Ark and even about whether paying players should have advantages. Therefore, I wanted to investigate the question: How far can I actually get if I stay stingy?
30 hours without paying and I’m not even close to finished
First of all, I am amazed at how good Lost Ark actually feels. I am usually used to Free2Play games coming with half-baked quests and a somewhat cobbled-together gameplay. But Lost Ark has:
- well-developed characters that are even dubbed in German
- a story that doesn’t win any awards but at least doesn’t bore
- a personal housing island that can be expanded
- a world map that can be sailed for hours
- many dungeons, world bosses, and continents on the way to max level
- 15 different classes that all play differently
With my 30 hours, I am far from the endgame, especially since I started over several times. I simply wanted to see the different classes. Things like the Artillerist or the Gunlancer are something I don’t know from other RPGs – and bards are definitely needed in every game. So I have 3 characters that I absolutely MUST check out.
Even without paying, I have unrestricted access to all classes and their abilities. There are also bonuses for logging in, little “carrots on a stick” to keep me entertained. Nice, although not necessarily essential.
I like to take my time leveling and exploring the world, which has a lot to discover in Lost Ark. The Mokoko seeds hidden everywhere alone drive me crazy and make me search every possible hiding place.
But the most important thing is: for the best content, I don’t have to pay so far, and hopefully I will never have to in the future.
The most important feature remains free and keeps me in the game
So far, I have not been able to get a picture of the endgame, and I don’t have to at all. I want to show you how much fun you can have without paying – and that is also possible without the many activities at max level.
Because the best part of Lost Ark is the combat system. Gameplay-wise, it is an action RPG like Diablo or Path of Exile. And even if many of you don’t want to hear it: yes, Lost Ark is a Diablo MMO.
The chaining of abilities and defeating whole groups of enemies (“packs”) instead of individual enemies clearly speaks for Diablo and co. Even with the differences to Blizzard’s ARPG, the gameplay feels nearly identical: running around and smashing enemies in isometric perspective. Even MMO experts like Asmongold say, that Lost Ark takes the combat system from Diablo and improves it.
The controls are similar and therefore intuitive, and the most important thing: it is incredibly fun! Pulling a bunch of enemies together and literally blowing them up with the strongest ability is fantastic! And that works even during leveling and in the quite challenging story dungeons.
As with Diablo, I can imagine that I will drop by Lost Ark from time to time. Just to maltreat helpless enemies with my bard or my gunlancer with my deadly harp or smash them with my shield.
I will stay Free2Play – at least until the endgame
That’s why Free2Play is worth it: Everyone plays differently, but to see all the classes of Lost Ark, no one needs to pay anything. On the contrary, it can even be advantageous to start by playing for free.
I have a huge advantage over many others: a server switch doesn’t hurt me at all. Europe received the completely new region EU West shortly after release to cope with the huge influx.
The advantage here is that you won’t have to deal with long waiting times or none at all. The downside is that you will definitely have to start over. For me, that’s no problem, as I’ve invested nothing but time into my characters.
Leveling is already fun for me, discovering a new class is nice too, and as long as I don’t spend hours in the queue, I can progress faster. Unlike colleagues Alexander Leitsch and Mark Sellner, who are stuck in line on the “German server”, I can casually play on EU West and regret nothing. After all, I have (still) not paid.
By the way: Lost Ark has fascinated me so much that I regularly take over articles about it here at MeinMMO. While doing so, I can even try out exciting things or talk to interesting people like the famous lawyer Christian Solmecke. That makes working fun!
Why should I even pay? In the Lost Ark shop, there are cosmetics and various items that can advance your character. There are packs with cards that can become powerful sets, costumes, and materials.
However, the “crystalline aura” is particularly important. This is similar to the premium subscription of Lost Ark. The aura lasts for 30 days after purchase and offers:
- Increased health regeneration
- Reduced cooldowns on certain spells
- Advantages for the fortress, which is Lost Ark’s housing
All of this is still absolutely irrelevant for me as long as I am not in the endgame. Later, I might pay, but then I will know exactly whether it is worth it. After all, I have used this time for free.
If I conclude that I have to pay in the endgame, then I have no problem with that. I am happy to pay for good games, as they should also remain good and continue to develop. And for the future, several features are already on the plan, some of which we even already know:
In Lost Ark, 7 more classes are coming to us in the coming months – here’s what they can do
Lost Ark is definitely worthwhile as a Free2Play game. No one has to pay if they don’t want to. Will you see everything? Maybe not, but even if it’s only 50 hours for free, you’ve had 50 great hours. After that, I think it’s fair to pay.
