The new MMORPG Lost Ark has finally been released, at least for pre-order customers. Since the release on February 8th at 6:00 PM, MeinMMO author Mark Sellner has already played for 27 hours, and almost all of his expectations have been exceeded. Only one thing bothers him: He can’t spend more money than he already has.
Smilegate has finally released its MMORPG Lost Ark in the West. Responsible for this were Amazon, and after New World, I expected a disastrous launch. Especially since more than twice as many fans were online than Smilegate had anticipated.
Nevertheless, the problems and waiting times were manageable, and even on the same night, Amazon was able to add new servers to accommodate the influx of players. I personally was not bothered by this, as I experienced neither waiting times nor full servers.
Since around 6:30 PM on February 8th, I was able to get into the game and I was neither kicked out nor did I experience a single lag. For me personally, the launch went smoother than I expected.
But that was not the only aspect in which Lost Ark exceeded my own expectations. And this despite the fact that I had already spent over 50 hours in Lost Ark during the beta and at a press event.
Does the MMORPG do everything well and right? Is a 100-point rating, like some colleagues actually give, justified? No, certainly not. Lost Ark also has its problems, but curiously, what bothers me the most is that I can’t spend more money.
What excites me the most?
Especially these six points make me enjoy spending time in Lost Ark:
- The strong combat system
- Class selection with meaning
- The open world that isn’t truly open
- Breathtaking presentations
- Stories worth telling
- Character development in seemingly endless tiers
But I must also mention a few negative aspects, as Lost Ark is not perfect, no matter how long I have been looking forward to it.
The Combat System
What makes it so good? The combat system of Lost Ark is highly praised in many circles, and I believe rightfully so. However, it is probably the biggest topic of contention in recent days between my colleague Alexander Leitsch and me.
However, I cannot budge from my position that the combat system of Lost Ark is among the best that the genre has produced so far. The animations are clean and fluid, and even when focusing on the details, the fights simply look really good.
What contributes to this is primarily the feeling of speed and power. While I sweep across the battlefields with a death blade and use quick, light strikes to obliterate my opponents, I can as a sorceress call down entire meteor showers from the sky that destroy everything they hit.
Equally outstanding is the boss design in the game. Even simple world bosses are often tough and require knowledge of tactics and movesets from me. Then I must time my skills correctly and die quickly if I get it wrong.
More depth than one might think: But not only animations and feeling are successful, especially in PvP, the system goes significantly deeper than what is known from other MMORPGs.
Lost Ark utilizes a whole bunch of different status effects. Between burning, cooling, curses, and more, there are also different levels of super armor and stagger effects that ensure I can knock my opponents back even harder or resist them.
I have to engage deeply with all classes in the game if I want to truly achieve something in PvP. Otherwise, I might plan to interrupt a skill of my opponent because my chosen skill has a level 2 stagger effect – only to be surprised by the level 3 super armor of the enemy.
In my eyes, the shop is not pay-to-win – definitely pay-to-progress. Although I personally don’t mind, this point could sour the experience for some people. There are certainly other points that various players might be bothered by. However, in my view, those are the biggest.
I can confidently say that Lost Ark will be my main game for a while. Despite its flaws, I have a lot of fun with the game.
What do you think? Have you been able to play Lost Ark yourself? Or are you still waiting to form an opinion about it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments here on MeinMMO.
The endgame of Lost Ark offers many activities – these 3 are particularly worth it
Such moments happen repeatedly in this game, which leads me to another strength of Lost Ark that is indirectly related to the combat system.
Class Selection with Meaning
15 classes with a lot of variety: Well, at least 13 classes have a lot of variety. I personally find the relaxation of gender locks quite unnecessary. At least in the way Lost Ark has currently resolved it.
Currently, there is a female and a male version of the Wardancers and Deadeyes, which only differ slightly. However, the remaining 13 classes have very distinct differences.
This is ensured not only by an identity skill that distinguishes the class further from others, but also gameplay-wise, the classes offer a lot of variety. Although one must seek it out.
Because while the differences between mage, assassin, and warrior become clear quickly, the specials of two rather slow warrior classes are not immediately recognizable.
However, the longer one engages with them, the clearer they become, and at least by level 50, each class develops its own distinct playstyle that can stand out significantly from others.
What bothers me is that I can’t spend more money: Currently, I have invested around 250 euros in Lost Ark and do not regret a cent of it. As an absolute completionist, what frustrates me is that I cannot just give Amazon and Smilegate more money.
Well, that is a bit exaggerated. Nevertheless, it drives me absolutely wild that I cannot have more than 12 character slots. I have 6 by default and can purchase another 6.
Especially because the classes differ so much in endgame, I would like to eventually have all of them on my account. However, since there are already 22 classes in Korea and these are supposed to be added to us every 2-3 months, that looks rather bleak.
And even with the 15 classes available, I had to make compromises about which 3 I cannot play – and I actually want to experience each one. As silly as this may sound, this is one of the points that currently bothers me the most about Lost Ark.
Also, I like to look really cool in MMORPGs. I have no problem paying a little money for a good outfit set, but at launch, Lost Ark didn’t even have skins for all available classes. Please, Amazon, I just want to buy more!
The Open World that Isn’t Really Open
What makes it so good? Admittedly, I was really worried before the launch of Lost Ark that I would lack immersion and would not be able to get into the world. The reason for this was the isometric perspective and the world, which is divided into smaller areas.
But I can happily report that this concern was entirely unfounded. Because while I was initially bothered by the isometric perspective, that is no longer the case.
Rather, I even noticed that the camera in Lost Ark, despite the isometric setup, is often closer to my character than I would choose in 3rd-person MMOs like Guild Wars 2.
But not only the perspective is good, the attention to detail by the developers is a highlight of Lost Ark. Indeed, the maps are small and somewhat linear. However, it is precisely the moments when Lost Ark breaks from this mold that make the world great.
Because a fixed perspective also brings the advantage that one can better stage things and especially hide better. Lost Ark often exploits this, for example, by hiding collectible items behind stones. They wouldn’t be hidden if I could move my camera myself. This may be bothersome at first, but it actually becomes a lot of fun.
And the separated map sections are also really well done. They integrate into the story and significantly define my journey. Because unlike in Guild Wars 2, where I just walk through a portal to the next map, I travel in Lost Ark to another country as soon as I switch maps.
And these countries differ enormously. Even before level 30, I have seen deep forests, snowy mountains, dry salt deserts, and windy high plateaus, and I have even fought on a gigantic wall around a huge castle.
The world is for me the biggest draw of Lost Ark, and despite all the concerns I had at launch, I can’t find a single aspect to criticize.
Breathtaking Presentations
Sometimes you have to pick your jaw up off the floor: Apart from the vividly colorful and really exaggerated skill effects that you may love or hate, the entire world and story of Lost Ark are really well staged.
Because speaking of the gigantic wall, one cannot help but mention how great Lost Ark looks and how gigantic these scenarios are presented on our screens.
But beware: small story spoilers for the conclusion of West Luterra.
While the game remains somewhat reserved and only has smaller highlights along the way to Luterra Castle, an experience follows that I have rarely encountered in a game with an isometric perspective. I can’t spontaneously think of an MMORPG that presents such epic moments.
With an seemingly endless army, I assault a castle that is technically ours. This fortress is damn huge and is defended by hundreds, if not thousands of enemies. I am to take this stronghold for my king – and it looks so good that it is enjoyable even the 10th time.
It’s just the beginning: With a siege tower, accompanied by thousands of foot soldiers and a giant battering ram, I approach the wall, while other towers before me go up in flames and shatter under catapult fire.
I storm the wall and take out said catapults first, to clear the way for the main force that wants to attack the mighty gate. To ensure this succeeds, I have to eliminate the mages who magically support the gate.
In doing so, I surf on a long chain into a whole horde of enemies that I then have to take out alone. Once the gate is open, my army surges into the fortress, and a gigantic battle unfolds.
And I get such a fantastic quest already at level 27, and it is just the beginning of a series of grand and spectacularly staged battles and situations. You will be excited, it’s worth it.
The video shows the described scene:
Stories Worth Telling
The characters will also grow on you. Interestingly, the first to achieve this for me was the antagonist Kharmine. He is just the tip of the iceberg, which follows a whole army of sympathetic and well-written characters and stories.
Be it King Thirain or Priest Armel, the figures in Lost Ark have depth, their own motivations, and backgrounds, and are never just good or just evil. The known gray area runs through all narrative levels, and truly, I am rarely sure about what a character wants.
But even outside the main characters, there are many wonderfully written residents of Arkesia. Right at the beginning, I encounter tavern owner Neria, who causes unrest in half the village with her terrible food.
Or a lady in Luterra who would love to become queen but unfortunately cannot curtsy. To help her, we learn in a funny dialogue how it actually works, just to teach it to her.
These dialogues and the comments from the characters often bring a smile to my face. So do the remarks from uninvolved villagers who repeatedly discuss recent events. Listening in is worthwhile for you here, too.
The story takes a while to gain momentum: If you want to experience a decent story in Lost Ark, you should primarily focus on it at first. Due to a heap of side quests and other distractions, the main story of the MMORPG takes quite a while to really kick off.
We do not want to spoil too much or reveal too much, but if you currently cannot enjoy the story, try again once you reach level 28. Trust me, it gets really good!
Character Development in Seemingly Endless Tiers
Why is this good? If there is one thing that has really annoyed me about MMORPGs in my past, it is that I often did not have the options to play the way I wanted. And even if I did, it was usually just not good.
In Guild Wars 2, I wanted to play my warrior with a great sword the most, but just having that thing in hand sometimes got me kicked from groups. It did not conform to the meta. Likewise, the recently released New World gave me hardly any options to really develop.
On the other extreme are titles like Path of Exile, which bombard me with a skill tree and then leave me completely alone with it. If I just skill mindlessly here, my character also won’t end up being particularly good.
Lost Ark, on the other hand, introduces its character optimization options one by one and explains them comparably well. Not only can I improve my gear score and learn new skills, but I can also modify these spells afterward and tailor them to my needs.
Moreover, the MMORPG allows me to fully reset and redistribute all my skill points free of charge at any time, inviting experimentation. And the best part? I can hardly do anything wrong. Most builds are viable and perform well in their own way without being behind others.
A lot of content, but one after another: After spending a few hours unlocking most skills and understanding gear and spells, the game teaches me the next ways to optimize my character according to my desires – the engravings.
These are gems that can have both positive and negative effects. With small books, they can be further optimized. Additionally, I can improve my gear myself and have fun with various card sets that also provide bonuses for my character.
Optimization in Lost Ark happens in various areas and with different systems. You learn them all individually and sequentially. This makes it easily accessible and truly complex without being complicated.
But It’s Not Perfect After All
What bothers me? Although I am currently really excited about Lost Ark and it is certainly one of my highlights of the last few years, this MMORPG is not perfect either. A rather suboptimal German voiceover means I have to play the title in English if I want to enjoy it.
Furthermore, there are far too many different menus that the game barely explains. This often makes navigating through all the options available to me difficult.
And who even thought that I could not change the keys for moving and interacting? And why do you interact with the button “G”? I repeatedly open menus I did not want to or that I did not even know of.
This is largely due to a muscle memory that has formed over the years. Many games use the same buttons for many things. Only Lost Ark completely breaks from this, and it doesn’t stop with “G” for interact but continues over Alt+V for mounts, Alt+I for engravings, and more.
What could bother others? My colleague Alexander Leitsch has already commented in detail on this: I want to love Lost Ark, but 5 things just bother me too much. And in some places, I can agree with him.
The game certainly shows its South Korean origins in several places. The menu system and the overall presentation of the game scream Asia MMO. Personally, I like it when my warrior swings a sword that is larger than he is. But many are bothered by such aspects.
In my eyes, the shop is not pay-to-win – definitely pay-to-progress. Although I personally don’t mind, this point could sour the experience for some people. There are certainly other points that various players might be bothered by. However, in my view, those are the biggest.
I can confidently say that Lost Ark will be my main game for a while. Despite its flaws, I have a lot of fun with the game.
What do you think? Have you been able to play Lost Ark yourself? Or are you still waiting to form an opinion about it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments here on MeinMMO.
The endgame of Lost Ark offers many activities – these 3 are particularly worth it
