Lost Ark Preview

Lost Ark has been out for almost two months, and fans can’t get enough of it. Just how good is the game actually is?  

Almost two months after its official release to Western regions, Lost Ark still dominates the Steam Charts and remains one of the most played games on the platform. From breathtaking visuals to farming Lost Ark gold, the Korean MMO is currently one of the biggest games in the industry. It is safe to assume that the popular ARPG won’t be running out of players soon.

Lost Ark 

Smilegate’s massively popular game has been around since 2019. Creating Lost Ark accounts was initially only available to the KR, JP, and RUS regions, with several beta testing versions in selected countries. Despite its limited availability, Lost Ark found massive success in its initial areas, so the developers decided to officially launch the game to a much larger player base.

Upon its release to Western Gamers, Lost Ark found massive success days after it was made available to NA, South America, and the EU. The game broke many records and received accolades. The game has even overtaken popular mainstays such as DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and became the second most-played Steam game.

The Smilegate’s hit game has been marketed as an ARPG with MMO elements. Lost Ark features an isometric view, similar to other games such as Path of Exile and Diablo. It also implements content and gameplay like other big MMOs, such as Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft.

Lost Ark’s Popularity 

Smilegate’s MMO ARPG received a stellar launch in Western regions, and it is not without reason. The game features so much playable content that it will entice players. Aside from spectacular boss fights to simple life skills, Lost Ark offers gamers a fun and entertaining gaming experience.

Over the Top Visuals and Graphics 

The Korean ARPG’s most prominent feature is its breathtaking visuals. The game showcases unique character creation as well as vibrant cinematic. The developers invested so much effort in its visuals that some consider it over the top.

Lost Ark showcases vibrant and explosive animations that can awe-struck players. Unfortunately, with so many visual effects, gamers might have a hard time detecting or seeing what is happening during fights or boss raids. However, adventurers seem to not mind the over-the-top animations as people just need to adjust.

Perfect Blend of ARPG and MMO 

Most ARPGs such as PoE and Diablo simply focus on the action or gameplay and its loot, whereas MMOs like FFXIV and WoW tend to emphasize their group content. In essence, action RPGs are more of a solo content kind of thing, and massively multiplayer online RPGs focus more on playing with other people.

Lost Ark can be considered as one of the only games that try to combine the two genres. More than just having an isometric view, the Korean MMO ARPG features several solo contents and action-oriented content such as Tower. Even group content such as Chaos Dungeons and Guardian Raids can be played in solo mode.

In addition to this, Lost Ark also takes advantage of specific ARPG elements, such as emphasis on combat stats, movement, and other technical aspects. Unfortunately, it doesn’t invest too heavily in these features like PoE. However, it focuses enough on these gaming aspects to make them essential to its gameplay.

Aside from implementing ARPG elements, Lost Ark also does a fantastic job of adding MMO components to the game. Similar to other popular massively multiplayer online games, Smilegate’s hit game features many group content. Several features need to be played with other adventurers, such as Abyss Dungeons, Abyss Raids, and Chaos Gates.

The MMO feature in Lost Ark is more prominent than its ARPG components. The game focuses more on its theme-park elements to entice adventurers to explore other regions and delve deeper into its lore. Other than the usual MMO raids and dungeons, there are various group-exploration contents like Sailing Co-ops and Island Events that gamers can participate in.

It’s Completely Free 

The best thing about Lost Ark is that it’s completely free-to-play. Unlike other MMO games such as FFXIV and WoW, the Korean MMO ARPG does not require any subscription-based model for fans to enjoy its entire content. Everything in the game is accessible to every player. The only time gamers will spend real money in the game is if they want to buy cosmetics or quality of game life improvements.

Overall, Lost Ark is a fun and entertaining game that people should not miss out on. There are a variety of things that players can do. From farming Lost Ark gold solo or defeating celestial bosses, fans can ensure that they don’t run out of things to do. The Korean MMO ARPG is set to be one of the best games the gaming community has seen in a long while.