What is your item level currently in Lost Ark? Are you already affected by the Dead Zone? And does it bother you that contents with higher gear scores are being introduced, or do you not care?
How exactly Amazon has responded to the criticism of the new raid, you can read here: Lost Ark is bringing new content too quickly, says: “We didn’t think players would be angry”.
He also fears that new content will come so quickly that developers will have to apologize again. This has already happened in Korea:
I fear for the West what our community in Korea complained about only in mid-last year: too much content that contributed to the increase of vertical progression in too small a time frame. This left players who wanted to keep up with little room to breathe as one raid after another was released. Smilegate had to apologize for that.
I am a little concerned that the expected player growth rate in the West was misjudged in relation to the speed of content release. While achieving 1,370 as a F2P player could be done with some luck and a lot of hardcore time investment in just one month, can the same be said for 1,415 for those wanting to step into Valtan on release day?
What is your item level currently in Lost Ark? Are you already affected by the Dead Zone? And does it bother you that contents with higher gear scores are being introduced, or do you not care?
How exactly Amazon has responded to the criticism of the new raid, you can read here: Lost Ark is bringing new content too quickly, says: “We didn’t think players would be angry”.
Saintone also highlights positively that the Western version seems to be skipping the Argos Raid quickly and going directly to the next contents – South Vern and the Legion Raid Valtan. Both are said to be the contents where players would prefer to spend their time rather than in Argos.
What concerns does the pro have? Nevertheless, Saintone sees the problem that currently, many catch-up mechanics are missing that already exist in Korea. These include not only the buff but also challenge raids that provide bonus rewards once a week.
Players in Korea also have the advantage that, due to longer waiting times, more characters per account can reach T3 and funnel materials into the main character. The situation in the West is therefore not ideal.
He also fears that new content will come so quickly that developers will have to apologize again. This has already happened in Korea:
I fear for the West what our community in Korea complained about only in mid-last year: too much content that contributed to the increase of vertical progression in too small a time frame. This left players who wanted to keep up with little room to breathe as one raid after another was released. Smilegate had to apologize for that.
I am a little concerned that the expected player growth rate in the West was misjudged in relation to the speed of content release. While achieving 1,370 as a F2P player could be done with some luck and a lot of hardcore time investment in just one month, can the same be said for 1,415 for those wanting to step into Valtan on release day?
What is your item level currently in Lost Ark? Are you already affected by the Dead Zone? And does it bother you that contents with higher gear scores are being introduced, or do you not care?
How exactly Amazon has responded to the criticism of the new raid, you can read here: Lost Ark is bringing new content too quickly, says: “We didn’t think players would be angry”.
Last week, the new Argos Raid was released in Lost Ark. However, it was not well received because regular players have not yet reached the required item level. We at MeinMMO explain what exactly the problem with the raid is, how it was resolved in Korea, and why we are at least somewhat better off in the West than many players think.
What are players complaining about? The new Argos Raid was released in Lost Ark on March 10. It is intended for 8 players with a gear score of 1,370 to 1,400. However, that is exactly a problem for many players.
Currently, there is a so-called “Dead Zone” with gear scores from 1,340 to 1,370. This can only be skipped with many materials, as players need to upgrade their equipment and cannot farm for new gear. This requires a lot of grinding or the use of real money. So, anyone who wants to play Argos currently must invest money, which makes Lost Ark “Pay2Win” in the eyes of some players.
However, the raid is not just a problem in the West, but it was and still is an issue in Korea as well. However, the developer Smilegate has since implemented innovations that help players get through the Dead Zone.
The well-known player Saintone explains that we already have some catch-up mechanics, but many overlook them.
The Argos Raid flopped in Korea, and Smilegate made important changes
What exactly is meant by the Dead Zone? Currently, players in T3 Abyss Dungeons can only obtain equipment up to a maximum gear score of 1,340. After that, this value can only be increased by upgrading the equipment.
Through the so-called “Honing,” equipment can now be improved by several levels. However, this costs gold and materials. At certain levels, it can also happen that these upgrades fail. Then the materials are lost, but the item is not completely destroyed.
What was it like in Korea? User EasternPen9uin explains on reddit that Argos was already a flop in Korea. Because there was also the Dead Zone with gear scores from 1,325 to 1,370 there.
The developers at Smilegate became aware of the problem and made changes. A “Bonus” was introduced that significantly reduced the costs and chances of failure when upgrading specifically for equipment from 1,302 to 1,340.
However, it took a long time for this buff to arrive. Argos was released in September 2020, and the changes were presented at a LOA event in June 2021. Players in Korea had to struggle with the Dead Zone for several months.
EasternPen9uin also revealed that there is a honing material package in Korea, which includes suitable upgrade materials for real money. He is convinced that if Amazon and Smilegate really wanted to make money, this package would have long been in the Western shop.
The West is already better off, but Saintone has some concerns
What is the situation like for us currently? The well-known player Saintone explained on reddit that the situation in the West is already better than at the release of the Argos Raid in Korea.
Although the upgrade costs in materials are still just as expensive as they were in Korea before the buff was released, in the West, significantly less gold is needed per upgrade attempt. Additionally, it is said that players in the West are generally able to acquire gold faster than was the case in Korea at that time.
Saintone also highlights positively that the Western version seems to be skipping the Argos Raid quickly and going directly to the next contents – South Vern and the Legion Raid Valtan. Both are said to be the contents where players would prefer to spend their time rather than in Argos.
What concerns does the pro have? Nevertheless, Saintone sees the problem that currently, many catch-up mechanics are missing that already exist in Korea. These include not only the buff but also challenge raids that provide bonus rewards once a week.
Players in Korea also have the advantage that, due to longer waiting times, more characters per account can reach T3 and funnel materials into the main character. The situation in the West is therefore not ideal.
He also fears that new content will come so quickly that developers will have to apologize again. This has already happened in Korea:
I fear for the West what our community in Korea complained about only in mid-last year: too much content that contributed to the increase of vertical progression in too small a time frame. This left players who wanted to keep up with little room to breathe as one raid after another was released. Smilegate had to apologize for that.
I am a little concerned that the expected player growth rate in the West was misjudged in relation to the speed of content release. While achieving 1,370 as a F2P player could be done with some luck and a lot of hardcore time investment in just one month, can the same be said for 1,415 for those wanting to step into Valtan on release day?
What is your item level currently in Lost Ark? Are you already affected by the Dead Zone? And does it bother you that contents with higher gear scores are being introduced, or do you not care?
How exactly Amazon has responded to the criticism of the new raid, you can read here: Lost Ark is bringing new content too quickly, says: “We didn’t think players would be angry”.
