Lost Ark is obviously much more grind-heavy in Europe than in its original version. The new raid makes the problem even more obvious.
The first major content update for Lost Ark recently brought the Abyss raid Argos into the game. While some players are happy about the new end-game content, there is also a lot of criticism. Players have to grind a lot to be allowed to play the raid at all.
By the way, you can find out what else is in the March update here:
The YouTuber and streamer Asmongold, who is mainly known for WoW, has now turned to the developers in a video, addressed what he considers to be the biggest problems and also suggested a solution. He fears that the current course will permanently damage the game and its reputation.
Grind and Pay2Win?
Also in Lost Ark you have to obey MMO laws and regularly upgrade your equipment to unlock new content that can only be played by players with a certain item level. In the process, collected resources are used for an upgrade attempt, but this is not successful in every case. The invested materials can therefore be lost without being of any use to you and your invested time was in vain.
If you don’t want to invest that farming and grinding time, you can also reach into your wallet and spend real money in the shop to improve your equipment or buy upgrade materials. That alone might not be a problem. However, another classic MMO quirk applies to raiding: the higher your equipment level, the higher the probability that you will be taken on raids.
Asmongold therefore calls the current upgrade system in Lost Ark Pay2Win, because by investing real money you save time and possibly buy yourself a safer raid spot. With the new Abyss raid, the whole problem is now even more drastic.
By the way, you can watch the whole video of the streamer here:
If you don’t want to watch the whole video, you can also read our summary below.
Argos has made the situation worse
Asmongold sums up in three points what bothers him the most since the new update:
- Argos came too early, many characters are not yet strong enough: therefore, players often felt pressured to accelerate their progress with real money in order to access the new content at all.
- Lower chances of success when upgrading items: Apparently, it is significantly easier to increase the item level in the original version of Lost Ark. So you need on average more resources to reach a certain item level in the EU version.
- The western version lacks (other) content: Certain ones make it easier to get resources in Korea and Russia, for example. In Europe and North America, these possibilities are missing and therefore more has to be grinded. Players here therefore have to invest more time in collecting resources and also need more resources overall in order to progress at all.
This is why, Asmongold concludes, the game experience in the West is markedly different from that in Korea. This threatens the game’s reputation, he says, as it has become known for being fair with its players’ time. But if Lost Ark fails to deliver on this promise, it could quickly fall out of favour with the player base and end up like New World.
You can see what the Argos raid looks like in the trailer:
Raid level is particularly hard to reach
The Abyss raid Argos requires an item level of 1370 to be played at all. However, the chances of a successful upgrade decrease the higher the character’s item level is.
So without using real money, this item level is very difficult to achieve, because a lot of resources usually have to be used. And they don’t just lie around on the street, but have to be laboriously farmed in the right areas.
You can find out more about the requirements and rewards for the new raid here:
Is a class society emerging?
Once your character has reached item level 1370, further progress becomes easier again. You will have to invest new materials in upgrading, but you will have a higher chance of success. In addition, with the Argos raid, you also have new equipment at your disposal that will make you even stronger.
Asmongold fears that this will divide the player base: On the one hand, there are players who invest real money in Lost Ark or spend a lot of time to reach the corresponding item levels. On the other side are those who get stuck on the lower levels and don’t progress for a long time.
For low-level players, this also has concrete consequences: They would find teammates less easily, since (as already described above) higher-level characters would always be preferred in the end.
This is the solution according to Asmongold:
The streamer fears that the current state of the game will permanently damage its reputation and is of the opinion that the problems must be solved immediately. In his opinion, publishers and developers should do the following:
Increase upgrade success: To make the game experience less frustrating for players who don’t spend money or invest extra time in Lost Ark, progress should be accelerated.
Add Korean Version Content to the Game: On the other hand, Heroic Guardian Raids and Abyss Raids would also need to be added to the game as soon as possible. These will allow players in Korea and Russia to get the resources they need faster without having to use more characters.
An apology: Lastly, Asmongold is also of the opinion that an apology and an acknowledgement of the current state as an aberration would be appropriate. Otherwise, the impression of the first content patch could quickly solidify as an opinion of the entire game. Lost Ark could then be remembered as a Free2Play title that is only worthwhile if real money is spent.
Lost Ark has to deal with other problems besides Pay2Win accusations. At least there are now supposed to be improvements to the queues and the bot plague.
Do you think Lost Ark is a Pay2Win game in its current state? Or are you satisfied with the progress speed? Feel free to post your opinion in the comments
