Lost Ark has just been released to the masses! This Korean MMORPG is unlike any other I’ve played. It’s a masterpiece of incredible gameplay, complex and interesting storylines, and just beautiful artwork. Best of all, it’s FREE to play! Let’s dive in.

Lost Ark was released in late 2019 in Korea by Smilegate, since then it has been slowly rolled out to other regions with the help of Amazon games, with resounding success. People have been so excited to play this game, they used to use a VPN to connect to the Japanese or Russian servers to play it. I’m guilty of this, and it’s where most of my knowledge has come from.

Overview Of Lost Ark

Lost Ark is a top-down MMO. It has been compared to Diablo and other games such as Path of Exile. Although similar to these games, Lost Ark is much like other MMO’s, it’s a cocktail of doing your dailies, getting loot, powering up your gear, rinsing, and repeating. Summing it up like that makes it sound very boring, but it really isn’t.

Lost Ark has been praised for its very difficult raids and end-game content. The slightest mistake by one player will wipe the whole raid team, regardless of gear score or player skill. I’m afraid that Lost Ark is very punishing until you learn it, but once you have it down it feels incredible.

Starting Out

When starting out in Lost Ark you’re dropped into the world of Arkesia, a stunning masterpiece of artwork and music. The whole basis of the game is to find the Ark pieces which have been lost, who would have guessed, right?

Following the main story quest, you meet a variety of NPC’s helping you along the way, always in return for a favour though. The combat is smooth and immersive but can be overwhelming when you first start. There’s a lot to look at and a lot of buttons to press, you can’t really just face-roll enemies because of cooldowns. Thankfully the abilities are drip-fed to you so you can learn what they do.

Classes

There are so many classes to pick from, you really are spoilt for choice. If you like smashing through your enemies with a big sword and hard-hitting abilities, there’s a class for you. Prefer to play at range? There’s also a class for you. Or maybe you like to throw people about with your magic powers. Yeah, there’s a class for every play style.

Although not every class from the Korean patch has been added to our patch, they have announced they will be rolling them out in the next few months. But with a pick from 15 classes, we’re not exactly struggling to find one we like!

Sail The High Seas!

Not only do we get awesome combat, great artwork, and amazing storylines, but we also get sailing and island expeditions. Sailing is something that has been done in MMOs before but has never really been utilised as it’s not been done well enough.

Lost Ark has smashed it out of the park with sailing and island expeditions. In the main storyline around level 40, you are given a ship, you can choose to carry on the story or go explore the sea! Islands give great rewards and very interesting and sometimes humorous content.

Here’s a picture of me as a panda on Panda Island!

Dungeons and Bosses

Dungeons and raids are a massive part of the end game, yielding unique and rare rewards. Parties of up to 8 players can embark on a raid and players of up to 4 can do a dungeon. Obviously, these have different difficulty levels, but unlike other MMO’s, the lowest difficulty is still hard. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. You decide.

Your Stronghold

A housing system is also available in Lost Ark. You have your own private island, with your mansion and your servants. This isn’t just for decoration, it has really important functions. From crafting battle potions to sending sailors out on missions and even customising your grounds. This system is amazing. We have a deeper in-depth guide coming on this, so keep an eye out!

Controversies

Unfortunately, it’s not all plain sailing. Lost Ark has had some controversies since its release. This is in the form of the cash shop and a supposed pay-to-win element. This is because you can buy enhancement materials for your gear, but if you follow an efficient route doing your weeklies and dailies, you don’t need a cash shop.

In fact, I’d bet you’d be a higher gear score than the people that use the cash shop! Thankfully we’ve got a guide coming very soon to keep you on top of everything.

Closing Thoughts

Coming from a world of hopping about from MMO to MMO, Old School Runescape being the only one that has actually stuck with me, I’ve found Lost Ark so refreshing. The fact that it’s free to play blows my mind, and actually, I don’t mind the fact that there’s a cash shop, I think it’s only fair that the creators have a way to keep the game funded. I won’t be spending real money on upgrade materials, but I can see myself buying a few skins, not just for me to look cool, but also to support the developers.

If you haven’t already, give Lost Ark a try. You will not be disappointed. And hey, if you don’t like it, it’s cost you nothing, what have you got to lose?

Are you playing Lost Ark and if so what do you like about it? Let us know in the comments below.