On March 24, Lost Ark will introduce a major update that is finally supposed to provide a glimmer of hope against the bots. We at MeinMMO will explain how this works here.
What kind of update is this? The patch on March 24 is the usual weekly update, but it is particularly large. In addition to the anti-bot system, there are also new skins, a new event, and the first PvP season.
Moreover, the update gives you a ton of materials to improve your equipment. With this, Amazon responds to the discussion regarding the dead zone in upgrading and attempts to ease it. Whether that will succeed remains to be seen.
However, the most exciting aspect of the new update is undoubtedly the new technical mechanism that Lost Ark uses to gain control over the desperate bot situation. They are relying on an old trick from Steam, which may not sit well with all players.
How does the anti-bot mechanism work? Currently, it is only possible for Western players to play Lost Ark if they have a Steam account. This is nothing new, but it is important to understand how Amazon intends to fight the bots.
This is necessary, as such scenes are currently a daily occurrence in the MMORPG:
Because they are relying on the “Trusted” status of the Steam platform itself. Valve has been utilizing this mechanism on Steam for years and seems to be doing well with it. However, it mainly poses problems for players who want to play completely free-to-play.
To gain the “Trusted” status on Steam and thus be able to add friends independently, you must have spent at least €5 on Steam. This also only works if you manage the money through Steam; activating a game key is not possible.
Only after that do many features of Steam become available to you. Lost Ark is now adapting this system and thus brings drastic restrictions within Lost Ark itself if your Steam account does not have “Trusted” status.
In other words, this means that not only bots but also players who create a Steam account specifically for Lost Ark will have to play with these restrictions. Even secondary accounts are affected accordingly.
No trading without money
What restrictions are there? If you have not spent more than €5 in total on your Steam account, you will have to forgo some things in Lost Ark. While Amazon names specific measures, other barriers remain less precisely defined.
For example, untrusted players will have a lower number of possible daily purchases than their “Trusted” counterparts. However, Amazon has not yet made clear which system this will affect.
The more specific measures are as follows:
- It is not possible to initiate a trade between players. However, accepting requests from other players is still possible.
- You cannot send gifts in-game.
- The currency exchange between crystals and gold is not possible.
- Restricted players cannot send letters with attachments.
- Only limited access to the auction house is possible.
What other measures have been taken? Furthermore, Amazon states in the blog post about the latest update that Easy-Anti-Cheat will also receive a new version. This has been developed in collaboration with Smilegate RPG and is specifically designed to catch bots and cheaters more reliably.
Amazon also emphasizes that selling and buying gold for real money is prohibited and may lead to a potential ban. It seems that they want to achieve that the players themselves give bots fewer chances to act meaningfully in the game.
The publishers conclude the blog post by stating that they know this does not solve all problems and that they are still working on new solutions. They intend to continue fighting against bots and also against players involved in fraudulent purchases.
Regular players are affected as well
How does it also affect non-bots? While many players have been using Steam for years in various multiplayer games, there are still fans of Lost Ark who are completely new to Valve’s gaming platform.
These players are now prevented from playing Lost Ark as a pure free-to-play game, as they must spend a minimum amount of money to unlock all features of the game. While this is annoying, it should only affect a smaller part of Lost Ark’s target audience.
Active players are also disturbed: Many active fans are even more frustrated that the restrictions for their so-called twink accounts naturally also apply. These are additional accounts of a single player that are usually used to help the main account progress further in the game.
Especially in the endgame, having multiple accounts in Lost Ark has always been a way to earn more gold and obtain additional upgrade materials. However, these twink accounts now also have to spend €5 to feed their main account further. This annoys some players in the forums.
The community is optimistic
How do players react? The update is certainly being discussed vigorously on Reddit and in the forum. Many players are surprised that Amazon is taking this route, but the comments are hardly negative in nature.
While there are some sarcastic and annoyed comments primarily from players who feel robbed of their twink accounts, a large majority of the comments are positive and well-received. Generally, there seems to be satisfaction that Amazon is quickly addressing the current problems of Lost Ark and providing innovative solutions.
Furthermore, communication from Amazon with players is being very positively received. Fans appreciate that the publisher is trying new means and ways while still acknowledging that this may not be all that can be done. The general sentiment around the update is a good one.
What do the fans say? On Reddit, the discussion about the update is the strongest. We would like to give you a brief picture of it:
- wolfmourne writes: “I never thought that this system could be used to fight bots. That’s really big.”
- Less positively, pathy_cleric remarks: “Stealing a mechanic from Steam to fight bots is pretty cool. Side effects like innocent accounts dying in the crossfire are hardly worth noting.”
- zendabbq adds: “It’s 5 dollars to buy any game on Steam. I don’t know, but anyone who is upset about this has bigger problems than an MMO. I think the changes are really good.”
- For hovesp, the changes do not go far enough: “They should also ban untrusted accounts from the area chat. It’s a shame they haven’t done that.”
What do you think? What do you think of the update against the bots, and do you think Amazon hasn’t gone far enough? Or do you feel affected by the restrictions and therefore think that the publisher is overstepping? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO.
A poor player in Lost Ark loses a ton of loot because he makes a serious mistake..
