The beta for the new MMORPG Lost Ark is just around the corner. In line with this, a veteran of the Korean version speaks up on Reddit. He wants to provide an absolutely honest opinion and says we should be excited – but not too much. We at MeinMMO summarize.
What is happening with Lost Ark? On November 4th, the closed beta for the new MMORPG starts. For many, this is the first chance to try the game. Therefore, many fans are full of excitement and are already praising Lost Ark to the skies.
However, a Reddit user is now warning these people and trying to temper the excitement a bit. Lost Ark is great, but it also has many flaws, he emphasizes. The user creates the thread to give people a 100% honest insight into the MMO and to warn them of a nasty surprise.
According to luckystart1, the thread creator, one could ruin Lost Ark by expecting a perfect game. Because it is not. Nevertheless, Lost Ark is a title that one can have a lot of fun with.
What does the veteran say? Thread creator luckystart1 says that he has been playing Lost Ark since the closed beta in Korea and has thus been involved in the MMORPG for over 3 years.
Since excessive expectations often lead straight to disappointments, he summarizes a list of pros and cons and then explains these points in more detail. In doing so, he particularly focuses on the pay-to-win mechanics of the game.
He describes the negative points in great detail so that every player can be clear whether Lost Ark is something for them or not. He himself says that the only reason for his post is that he wants players to enjoy Lost Ark without false expectations.
We summarize his pro and con list for you (via Reddit):
“Lost Ark is actually pay-to-lose”
What does he say about pay-to-win? Often players get nothing from buying certain advantages for money. And even worse, they might even have disadvantages from it. He admits that the economy is out of the equation.
“There are skins and other items that are only available in the shop for a short time. If you buy them for real money, they will be worth 20 times more months later. That is certainly a pay-to-win aspect if you are after gold,” writes luckystart1 in his explanation.
Why is it pay-to-lose? Here, luckystart1 gets specific and explains why players actually have a disadvantage if they invest too much money in Lost Ark. Fans who spend a small amount stay ahead of those who invest nothing at all.
Players who invest a lot of money into the free-to-play game, in his view, have simply lost a lot of money. Because money or better equipment does not automatically make you a good player in Lost Ark.
“The endgame of Lost Ark is simply incredibly difficult in many places. There are mechanics where a single mistake can kill you or even your entire group. It simply does nothing for you to get up again from a real money item. Not only is it impossible in many contents, but it also doesn’t make you better.
If you don’t understand the boss, you stand up and die again. Here you are just throwing your money out the window. It does nothing for you.”
If you pump money into the game, you are weaker: Luckystart1 further explains that not only is it of little use to quickly buy up to the maximum gear score, but you even become weaker with it.
The maximum gear score in Lost Ark changes often, and items are rapidly improved and newer, better items are added so that it feels like you are burning your money if you invest it in better equipment. Because this equipment will be worth very little just a few weeks later, according to luckystart1.
“At the beginning of the game, a new player took about three months to reach a gear score of 1450. Nowadays, it only takes them a week, if that. If you spent a lot of money back then to get to 1450, you will regret it now.”
Furthermore, the user explains that you not only miss out on many fun quests if you push through them with money, but also end up being numerically worse off. Because you cannot buy runes or skill points with real money. You can only achieve these through invested time.
If you have two players with the same gear score, one of whom has spent a lot of money to get there and the other has not spent a cent, the latter likely has the better character. Even if he had to put in more time.
“There is simply too much content”
What is the problem with too much content? It feels odd to see “too much content” on the negative side of an MMORPG. Just recently, MMORPGs like SOLO and New World were struggling to provide enough content in the endgame.
But luckystart1 precisely explains what his problem with the content in Lost Ark is. He also emphasizes that Smilegate is working very actively to improve the game and regularly removes content that no longer meets the new standard.
He makes it clear that the sheer amount of content in Lost Ark becomes a problem: “If 30% of the content in an MMORPG is boring, that might be a gameplay time of 30 hours in other MMOs. But in Lost Ark, those 30% is at least 300 hours and more.”
Problem with one’s own expectations: He further elaborates that the quality of the content in Lost Ark is at an extremely high level. Many areas, dungeons, and raids are simply bursting with innovation and variety. A large part of the game offers absolutely brilliant content, he writes.
But exactly because of this immense quality, poorer and more boring content stands out even more. Lost Ark is therefore caught between varied and innovative bosses and boring fetch quests in the field.
“But that should not discourage anyone. More than 90% of the raids are fun, more than 70% of the dungeons are fun. But more than 50% of the normal side quests are just not fun. And that is a lot of gameplay time,” writes luckystart in his thread.
He adds, “No one should expect to have a super great time in Lost Ark from the start. The game takes a while to get going and definitely has a big hole in the middle of the leveling process. Nevertheless, it is worth staying engaged.”
“Lost Ark is still a really good game”
What does he say in the end? He concludes his remarks by reiterating that Lost Ark is a really good game, even though he only touches on the negative aspects of the game in his thread.
He does this, according to his own statements, only to clear up overly high expectations. Every player should get a realistic view of Lost Ark and be able to enjoy it for themselves.
Despite the mentioned problems, a large part of the MMORPG is simply fun and feels good. The team behind Smilegate regularly provides new content, listens to its community, and improves balancing issues.
“My incredible experiences with Lost Ark simply cannot be put into words. Experience it yourself and enjoy it. Lost Ark is a really good game.” With these words, he closes his thread.
What other problems does he mention? Less important points that luckystart1 still addresses include balancing and Smilegate’s behavior. He says that the developers listen too much to the community and thus make repeated wrong adjustments.
Nevertheless, Smilegate should be praised for making regular updates and doing their best to make Lost Ark a game that appeals to everyone.
He also addresses balancing problems, which occur less in PvP but rather in PvE. It should be significantly more difficult to get through the story with support classes. Also, not all classes are equally good or equally hard in the endgame.
He advises trying as many classes as possible in the beta and then focusing on one at the release.
How does the community react? His thread receives over 290 comments, and most fans express gratitude for these insights. He also receives a lot of support from others who have already been able to play Lost Ark.
Many compare the MMORPG in the comments with New World and make fun of Amazon’s game, hoping to have more fun with Lost Ark. Overall, however, the thread has a positive and grateful tone.
What do you think of luckystart1’s statements? Have you played Lost Ark yourself and do you confirm his experiences or do you have completely different things to say? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO.
Full of anticipation is also MeinMMO author Mark, who writes: From Thursday, you can play the best new MMORPG of 2022.
