Lost Ark significantly changes how you can progress in the game with the July update. A lot of grind will be eliminated, which helps not only new players but also so-called “Alt-Chars.” We at MeinMMO summarize.
What has changed? The big July update arrived on July 20 in our version of Lost Ark and brings many changes and new content. One of the highlights of the update is clearly the change to the upgrade mechanics.
In Lost Ark, the various endgame stages are divided into so-called tiers. Currently, there are three tiers in the game, with the last one, Tier 3, being perceived as the true endgame. It starts from a gear score of 1,302.
To help you reach there faster, there have been fundamental changes to how you tackle Tier 1 and 2, with significantly less grind and no luck at all. The chance of successfully upgrading your equipment in Tier 1 and 2 is now a solid 100%. The costs for the upgrade itself have also been significantly reduced.
Changes also in Tier 3: But not only through Tier 1 and 2 do you now progress faster and cheaper, the further ascent to Tier 3 has been made easier. While there is no 100% upgrade chance here, there is at least a bonus of 20%. The required materials have also been reduced, allowing you to reach at least gear score 1,370 faster and face Argos. You can read more about the details of the changes on playlost.com.
Then it will not be far away from facing Demoness Vykas:
Easier access to the best content in Lost Ark
Why these changes? A few months ago, the former Lost Ark chief Gold River revealed that the Legion Raids are supposed to be the best content in Lost Ark. The problem, however, is that you only encounter them very late in the game. The developers now want to change that.
Because in addition to the easements in upgrading, you can now also simply buy the coveted power passes directly and thus catapult yourself into the endgame with real money. Unlike before, you do not have to have completed the desired story with another character to use the passes.
Additionally, Community Manager Roxx stated in the forum that they also want to promote “Alt-Chars,” since we use them the least in the West compared to other versions. Alt-Chars are alternative characters that you play alongside to support your main character.
These characters now reach an area where they are truly useful for you much faster when you are already in the endgame. Therefore, both active endgame players and newcomers and returners benefit from the changes.
Can you now directly access the best content? No, it isn’t that easy. The first Legion Raid, Valtan, requires a gear score of 1,415 from you. To go from 1,302 to 1,415, a bit of grind remains to be done.
Many see the grind as necessary so you can truly understand the class you are playing. Because in the Legion Raids, the strongest bosses in Lost Ark await you and demand a lot from you. However, the path you have to take until then is now much shorter and easier than before.
The community finds the update good – actually
How is the change received? Most fans have mixed feelings about the update. Basically, the changes are well received and people are happy that they no longer have to upgrade their new characters for so long. Most users are also pleased with the possibility of buying directly into the endgame.
Negative sentiment arises only among those who have already invested a lot of time and materials to get several characters that far. Many fans complain here and say that there should at least be some compensation, especially for materials that they only recently used.
Overall, the sentiment is positive, and once the shock over the materials already spent passes, the update should go over well with most users.
What do the players say? We would like to share some quotes with you at this point so that you can form your own opinion about the sentiment. They come from a reddit thread about the changes.
- careslol writes: “I’m really annoyed somehow. Just pushed 2 Alt-Chars from 1,340 to 1,370 this week. It would have been really nice to keep the materials and the money.”
- OK_Opinions writes: “That means you can have a full roster of characters at 1,370 for a fraction of the previous costs. Sure, some people already have that, but most don’t.”
- ShadyShing keeps it short: “Finally! Jesus Christ, finally!”
- knc is more sarcastic: “I wonder what people have to complain about now.”
- DroidApple says: “I stopped playing the game because upgrading just wasn’t fun. Great to see I have a reason to come back now.”
What do you personally think of the update? Are you more annoyed that you wasted materials? Or are you happy that it will be easier to really access the endgame in the future? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO.
Lost Ark rewards players, but only the diligent – those who slack off won’t get any cat ears
