Lost Ark also gets an in-game shop in Europe where you can spend real money. Many players feared a Pay2Win model for the MMORPG that is coming to us soon. Now we finally have solid information that we have summarized for you from MeinMMO.
Why is this such a topic? Lost Ark has been available in South Korea and Russia for some time. The there In-game shop is viewed critically by many Western players.
In a new article about Lost Ark, it says: “Amazon Games has collaborated with Smilegate RPG to adapt the business model more to Western norms and player expectations” (via playlostark.com).
What does the shop look like in the West? According to the blog post, some core points in the shop have been revised:
- All items from the shop should also be purchasable with in-game currencies.
- Pets can no longer be rented but can now be purchased permanently.
- The items from Mari’s Secret Store will be available for a longer time at the merchant (72 hours).
- The premium service – the crystalline aura – has been revised and now provides fewer game-changing advantages, such as bonus XP or increased movement speed.
Furthermore, the premium service can now also be purchased with crystals. Thus, it is no longer necessary to invest real money to enjoy all the advantages. An advantage that the Korean and Russian versions of the game do not currently offer.
Here you can take a look at an overview of the in-game currency:
Trading System and all 4 Currencies of Lost Ark
This is how trading works in Lost Ark: In addition to the real money shop, there is a merchant in the game with Mari’s Secret Store, whose offerings rotate regularly. You can acquire items from her in exchange for Blue Crystals.
Additionally, there is a trading post where players can trade with each other.
How does the currency system work? In total, there are four different currencies:
- Royal Crystals
- These crystals can only be purchased with real money.
- With them, you can buy Blue Crystals.
- Blue Crystals
- You can obtain them in various ways. These include quests and achievements, or you can buy them with royal crystals.
- You can also exchange Gold for Blue Crystals.
- Gold
- The classic in-game currency of Lost Ark.
- You earn Gold by completing quests, raids, or in exchange for royal crystals.
- Silver
- Another standard currency in the game.
- You receive it through most in-game activities such as quests, combat, chests, and so on.
Through the exchange of currencies, you can theoretically earn every item from the shop through gameplay. Currently, however, it is not known how high the exchange rate is. It may be that you need to collect vast amounts of Gold to exchange them for enough Crystals.
This will only be seen when the MMO is released. However, there are also smaller exceptions that cannot be purchased without real money.
What is not in the game? If you pre-order the founder’s package before release, you will not only gain access to the Closed Beta but also some extra content. These are included only in the founder’s package and cannot be unlocked through gameplay.
You can find all editions summarized here.
When does Lost Ark come out? After the short postponement, Lost Ark is scheduled to be released “early 2022”. There is no exact date yet. A Closed Beta will take place in November beforehand.
When exactly can you play Lost Ark? It will begin soon. The first Closed Beta for Lost Ark is scheduled to take place from November 4th to 11th, 2021. There was already a technical alpha that took place from June 11th to 16th.
We have summarized all the important information about the Closed Beta for you in our special: Lost Ark: When does the Beta for the new MMORPG start?
What do you think of the changes to the in-game shop? Are the adjustments sufficient for you, or do they not go far enough?
