Where Is Our Lost Ark Review?

Lost Ark launched for Western audiences today. Its three-day early entry event starts today. Amazon Games, which is publishing Tripod Studios and Smilegate’s RPG, was kind enough to give some press access early so they could play the game on their private server. So I have the MMO action-RPG now for about a week. Much of the game was in place when I played, although I was missing a very big aspect of it: the broader social component. The small number of people in Arkesia meant that I spent all my time alone. For now, Lost Ark is my last assessment. Instead, here are some of my thoughts on this impressive free-to-play title after playing pre-release.

Lost Ark launched with five more class archetypes: Martial Artists, Warriors, Gunners, Mage and Assassins. There are 15 sub-classes available, but some of them only accessible depending upon whether you choose the female or male version. The Berserker was my favorite class, while the Sorceress was my second choice. Both give a great first impression, decked out with a handful of skills that showcase the flavor of that class. Berserker, a Warrior who is massive and can carry a huge greatsword to battle in order to destroy everything around him, is the Berserker. This class features a lot of up-close-and-personal attacks like a shoulder charge, leaping sword slashes, whirlwind spins, and a ground-exploding AOE.

My Sorceress subclass is a Mage Subclass. She uses the elements water, fire,and ice to wipe out hordes of enemies in bloody heaps. A Mage doesn’t have a dodge roll, like the Warrior. The mage simply blinks just a little in the right direction to add a touch of class fantasy. You can still have fun even after you’ve played a class for hours. Watching a bunch of thieves and monsters explode into gory gibs with what was supposed to be an attack early in the game is both surprising and entertaining. It’s always thrilling to unlock more skills for my characters, and I cannot wait to see more classes as I launch the new game.

You can customize the skill sets available to classes. The most important aspect is how you configure your hotkey capabilities. You can choose from the many attacks and skills that you will learn with each character level. Skills points are earned as you level up, which can be used for each skill to unlock additional perks. You can add additional fire damage to an attack or change the mana cost. Cooldown times may be reduced. These perks allow you to make your character unique and tailor the moves to your playstyle. This system is extremely flexible. I have enjoyed playing with different build options to see how stylishly and efficiently I could wreck havoc upon my opponents. As you collect countless objects, you will also have to change out your armor and weapons, which is another way you can build your character.

Movement and combat feel weighty and satisfying, even when I’m on the receiving end of a strong enemy attack and sent tumbling to the ground. You need to think ahead about where and how to position yourself. To stay on your feet you will need to be able to avoid being attacked by stronger mobs. Knowing your tools is crucial. Pay attention to the signals of enemy mobs and make sure you use dodge rolls to avoid an AOE or other crippling blow. My character is fun, even though it’s extremely deadly. If I don’t pay attention, my surroundings can make me look venerable.

Let’s take the cat outta bag. Lost Ark is an open-source game that you can play for free. It uses a microtransaction system. You can buy additional characters, mounts and cosmetics with real money. Some items come with bonuses, such the 30-days Crystalline Aura that doesn’t increase character stats but decreases cooldowns when performing certain tasks or non-combat skills. You have a limited chance of getting more rewards for certain kinds of quests if you buy pets from the shop. It pays to win. Not exactly. Although I may not spend any money to speed up my progression, it does not affect me whether other people do. It is important to note that not all items are created equal.s can be found in the MTX shop.

My interest in Lost Ark’s story has not kept me captivated. In fact, I have to travel across Arkesia to fight demonic forces to get an Ark. In my relatively brief time spent searching for this Ark, I have visited quaint tutorial cities, barren salt plains, and plague-ridden encampments. While most characters will be relegated as quest-givers, some people can take on relationship side quests. It is possible to build a relationship with your characters by performing tasks for them, gifting them, and playing music. While I have yet to see a tangible payoff, it is something I feel I can do to help the locals that I have met.

Every map offers something different and is fun to explore and quest through. To find more powerful loot and treasure maps, my favorite part of the hunt for hidden dungeons has been finding elite monsters in order to uncover them. The most challenging part of the game is diving into larger instance dungeons. This allows for adventurer matchmaking and offers multiple difficulty levels. These challenges were too difficult for me to take on with a group of friends. I’m happy to report that even on a dungeon’s harder difficulty (that garner sweeter rewards) I could complete them on my own, though it does take more tact and skill. The most interesting moments of Lost Ark are found in Dungeons. You may see the most beautiful environments in Lost Ark by allowing the camera to move around more due to events.

The Submerged Ruins is the most amazing multi-bossed underground dungeon I have ever seen. It felt almost like an actual adventure. To continue my journey, I needed to remove the water from the floors below as I sank into its deepest depths. Each encounter posed a significant challenge (I was on hard mode, so your mileage may vary), and the ratcheting tension had me on the edge of my seat until I defeated the final boss. This is how I expect more instanced encounters to work.

There are tons of collectibles in Lost Ark and boxes everywhere you can check. Each area is filled with monsters, dungeons, bosses, and other challenges. You will find precious Mokoko Seeds and Giant’s Hearts in every corner. The rewards for completing the various lists or collections are cosmetics and health potions as well as cards. They can be obtained by finishing quests or being dropped by wild monsters. A deck up to six cards may contain stat boosters and other elements that will enhance your character’s abilities. As far as I know, these cards, which number in excess of 1000, can be shared across accounts, so collecting them is a group effort.

Your Roster Level, which is similar to collectibles can be shared between characters. This increases stats such as Intelligence and Strength for all your characters. These little touches make it easy to have multiple alts on Lost Ark. Although I must follow the same story each time I create a new class, I still get immediate benefit from the other work that I did. This is a small gesture to demonstrate that developers and the game have respect for my time. I also appreciate not needing to search the lands every single time I wish to reroll.

When the server goes live I am excited to explore Lost Ark with my friends. This MMO has a lot to offer, however I felt that playing in private was missing an important part. If you like action-heavy, dungeon crawlers such as Diablo, then I would recommend Lost Ark. I’m sure it’s satisfying that itch. Lost Ark will launch on PC in its entirety on February 11, but you can play it starting right now for people who have purchased the $15 Founders Pack.