Lost Ark – Strong Raids in Isometric Perspective
Developer: Smilegate RPG | Platform: PC | Release Date: February 8, 2022 | Model: Free2Play | Combat System: Action Combat System
What kind of game is this? Lost Ark is an action MMORPG that somewhat resembles Diablo. You view the gameplay from above and control the character with mouse clicks instead of WASD. With various attacks and abilities, you carve your way through hordes of monsters, earning better loot.
You explore the world of Arkesia, which initially resembles a Western-influenced medieval setting. Later, however, you find yourself in the capital Stern, which resembles a steampunk version of a dystopian Night City. Between the various continents, you travel on your own ship, and a larger part of the game also takes place on the open sea. Over 100 islands await exploration by you.
For your character, you have the choice of 26 different classes, playable either as damage dealers or supporters. While you explore a lot, complete quests, and follow the story in the early and mid-game, essentially everything in the endgame revolves around grinding for better equipment. For this purpose, you are often in dungeons and raids.
What does it do well in PvE? A major strength of Lost Ark is its raids. These are extremely challenging at the highest levels and require a lot of practice to master. You need to master your character perfectly and also memorize the bosses’ abilities.
However, even on the way to these raids, you must contend with instances and boss enemies that prepare you for the tough battles. While these have been toned down, they are by no means a walk in the park.
Another positive point is the game world, which is very diverse. The various settings of the areas ensure that boredom rarely sets in. The story is also praised by many, though there are occasionally weaker chapters in between.
What does it do poorly in PvE? While the areas in Lost Ark visually offer a lot of variety, they are often gameplay-wise linear and offer more or less the same tasks.
The design of the quests represents one of the biggest criticisms of the game. The MMORPG is extremely grind-heavy. To obtain the best equipment, you must continuously complete the same daily or weekly missions and defeat the raids multiple times.
Moreover, the player numbers in Lost Ark are limited. Most of the time you are in instanced areas or instances for a maximum of 16 players. If you enjoy massive world boss battles with 50+ players like in Guild Wars 2 or Rift, you won’t find it here.
What about PvP? At launch, Lost Ark only offered PvP in special arenas where your equipment does not matter, making it extremely fair. However, in February, the continent Rowen was released. There, open PvP prevails, making it extremely unpopular as well.
Rowen is largely optional. There, you may engage in a story of about three hours, some side quests, and various rewards. Once you have achieved your goals there, you do not need to return to the continent.
Since the launch of the western version, Lost Ark has been facing two major problems. Due to the free-to-play model, bots flood the game world. Additionally, many players feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content expanding month by month. The fight against overwhelm and bots is therefore the focus – Players’ feedback guides the direction.
