Lost Ark (video game)

For other uses, see Lost Ark (disambiguation).

Lost Ark
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Amazon Games
Director(s)Keum Kang Sun
Jeon Jae Hak (since December 17, 2023)
Composer(s)Yong Kim
Brian Tyler
EngineUnreal Engine 3
Platform(s)Windows
Release
  • Full game release
    KR:     December 4, 2019
  • Open beta release
    RU:     October 27, 2019
  • Closed beta registration
    JP:     June 25, 2020
  • Recent release
    EU:     February 11, 2022
  • NA/SA: February 11, 2022
  • CHN: July 20, 2023
Genre(s)MMORPG, action role-playing
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Lost Ark[a] is an online MMORPG action role-playing game[1][2] developed by Smilegate RPG, a South Korean video game company.[3] It was revealed in South Korea on November 12, 2014 by Smilegate.[4] On the first day of launch, the number of concurrent users was 250,000, and within the next week, the number of concurrent users exceeded 350,000.[5] The game can be played in environments that support DirectX 9 or higher.[3] It was first revealed on November 12, 2014. The Focus Group Test (FGT) was conducted behind closed doors in August 2015, the first CBT (Closed Beta Test) was held on August 24, 2016, the second CBT was held on September 15, 2017, and the final CBT was held on May 23, 2018, and the open beta test was conducted on November 7, 2018, and the official release was conducted on December 4, 2019.

It was released in Europe, North America and South America on February 11, 2022 by Amazon Games.[1][6][7] It achieved the second-highest concurrent player count of all games ever played on Steam with over 1.3 million players.[8] This led to long queues and a new server region for Europe was introduced.[9] Lost Ark cost around US$85 million to develop.[10] The game received generally favorable reviews. The game has a large player base as one of the most played games on Steam.[9]

Gameplay

[edit]
Lost Ark gameplay

Lost Ark is primarily focused on player versus environment (PvE) and exploration (questing, achievement/collectible hunting, crafting, etc.). It features player versus player (PvP) elements as well.[11] Players start by creating customizing their character, by choosing their appearance and from one of the 6 archetype classes - Warrior, Martial artist, Gunner, Mage, Assassin, Specialist - followed by one of their advanced classes. Reaching level 50 unlocks access to tiered endgame dungeons and raids, at which point most further progress is tied to the character's gear score.[12]

Classes

[edit]

Originally, 18 characters were introduced, but only 12 of them were released. Since then, the number has increased to 26.

Combat System

[edit]

The responsive and action-oriented combat system in Lost Ark is widely acclaimed as one of its defining features. It emphasizes the creation of fluid combos by chaining together various skills and attacks to effectively damage adversaries. With each class offering a diverse array of skills, players can experience distinct gameplay dynamics, as they adapt their abilities to combat sequences. Through the game's skill tree system, players can progressively unlock and enhance their character's abilities, enabling personalized customization to align with individual playstyles. This not only enhances the complexity of combat but also empowers players to refine their skills in accordance with their preferences.

Development

[edit]

Lost Ark's development began in 2011[13] under the codename Project T.[14][15] The game uses Unreal Engine 3.[16] It originally only supported DirectX 9[17][18] but was updated to also support DirectX 11 prior to the western release in 2022.[19]

Release

[edit]

Lost Ark was fully released in South Korea on December 4, 2019, and in North American, South American, and European regions on February 11, 2022, with Amazon Games serving as the global publisher.[20] Users that pre-purchased one of four founder's packs could play 3 days early on February 8, 2022.[21][22][23][24] The game was initially unavailable in Belgium and the Netherlands due to the countries' stringent loot box regulations,[25] with the latter later reversing its decision.[26]

Within twenty-four hours of its release, Lost Ark became the second most played game on Steam.[27][28]

Release schedules

[edit]

In 2021, there were plans between Smilegate and game publisher HappyTuk [zh] to launch Lost Ark in Taiwan.[29] And then in January 2023, the Taiwanese servers launch was putting on hold.[30] They later publicly apologized for some unforeseen circumstances during the closing Beta test, confirming that the server are now ready to launched on May 30, 2024.[31]

Reception

[edit]

Lost Ark received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[32]

PC Magazine praised Lost Ark's combat, writing, "Abilities look good, sound sufficiently powerful, and feel great to use. You can’t help but feel like a combat god when you divekick a crowd, and blast fodder monsters into bloody chunks."[42] Despite enjoying some of the minigames, Rock Paper Shotgun disliked the game's structure and felt, compared to other MMOs, Lost Ark had little to offer: "Some may relish the chores, the gradual progress of the EXP bar, and the allure of shiny loot rewards... Yet, there's nothing I've seen so far in the game's questing and progression that makes it stand out from the competition."[44] PC Gamer liked the combat abilities, but criticized the story: "Lost Ark can be a captivating adventure, which makes it a shame that the main story is simply not that compelling. The central cast of characters are a largely one-dimensional carousel of exhaustingly noble heroes and villains."[39] The Western release was also criticized for its high volume of bots.[45]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Korean: 《로스트아크》

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Palumbo, Alessio (August 20, 2020). "Lost Ark MMOARPG May Be Finally Due West Next Year Thanks to Amazon Games". Wccftech.com.
  2. ^ Neal, Chris (June 11, 2020). "Lost Ark announces a registration date for Japanese closed beta, shows off a guild territory feature for Season 2". Massively Overpowered.
  3. ^ a b Song, Ye-won (August 18, 2016). "로스트아크, 24일 1차 CBT 시작". THIS IS GAME. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  4. ^ Park, Tae-hak (June 29, 2017). "'상남자에 누님까지?!' 로스트아크, 신규 클래스 3종 및 개선안 발표". 인벤. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Im, Yeong-taek (November 15, 2018). "로스트아크, 인기 지속…동접 35만 돌파…신규 서버 '안타레스' 추가". 매경게임진. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  6. ^ Vitale, Adam (August 20, 2020). "Amazon Games enters publishing agreement with 'Lost Ark' developer Smilegate RPG to release a game in 2021". RPG Site.
  7. ^ Messner, Steven (June 10, 2021). "Amazon Games is localizing one of South Korea's most exciting MMOs, Lost Ark". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Warren, Tom (February 12, 2022). "Lost Ark becomes the second most played game in Steam history after just 24 hours". The Verge. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Lost Ark Steam Charts - Lost Ark Player Count Stats". Zockify.com. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  10. ^ "Smilegate RPG's Lost Ark wins best prize at 2019 Korean Game Award". Pulsenews.co.kr. November 14, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "About". Lost Ark - Free to Play MMO Action RPG. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Parrish, Ash (February 18, 2022). "Lost Ark is a grindy MMO that's perfect to while away the hours". The Verge. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  13. ^ "Lost Ark will be launched on November 7th, new information and Q&A from Media Day". Lostarkdatabase.com. September 17, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  14. ^ "SmileGate to Develop Two Major Games with Unreal Engine 3". Unrealengine.com. April 24, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  15. ^ Gell, Adam (November 14, 2014). "MMO's Don't Look Much Better Than Lost Ark". Hitc.com. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  16. ^ Olivetti, J. (November 13, 2014). "Lost Ark is an isometric action MMO built in Unreal Engine 3". Endgadget. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  17. ^ Sellner, Mark (December 28, 2021). "Lost Ark bekommt DirectX 11 – Sieht besser aus und läuft auch noch flüssiger". mein-mmo.de. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  18. ^ "Lost Ark: Bekommt nach dem Release Unterstützung für DirectX 11". pcgameshardware.de. December 31, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  19. ^ "Lost Ark gets a straight performance boost with DirectX 11, surprising no one". Rock Paper Shotgun. February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  20. ^ 종화, 류 (November 27, 2019). "지금까진 테스트, 로스트아크 '정식 서비스' 12월 시작한다". 게임메카 (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  21. ^ "Diablo-like Lost Ark officially launches February 11 in the West". December 10, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  22. ^ "Lost Ark release date and gameplay trailer debut for Amazon's new MMO ARPG". December 10, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  23. ^ "Lost Ark gets official release date". December 10, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  24. ^ "Lost Ark release date, time, early access". GINX. February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  25. ^ Lost Ark [@playlostark] (January 4, 2022). "Unfortunately, we will not be able to support Belgium and the Netherlands due to local laws and regulations regarding random in-game items" (Tweet). Retrieved January 28, 2022 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "Lost Ark is launching in the Netherlands next week after all". July 8, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  27. ^ Warren, Tom (February 12, 2022). "Lost Ark becomes the second most played game in Steam history after just 24 hours". The Verge. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  28. ^ Macgregor, Jody (February 13, 2022). "Lost Ark breaks a million players, becomes today's top Steam game by concurrents". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  29. ^ "Lost Ark – Taiwan server announced for highly-anticipated MMORPG". MMO Culture. August 9, 2021.
  30. ^ "延後上市官方道歉聲明". MangoT5 (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  31. ^ "《失落的方舟》台服5月30日上市，新職業開放時間、專屬造型、工作室外掛應對公布". Yahoo! Taiwan (in Chinese (Taiwan)). May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Lost Ark for PC Reviews". Metacritic. February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  33. ^ Carson, John (February 28, 2022). "Lost Ark Review". Game Informer. GameStop Corp. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  34. ^ Wakeling, Richard (February 24, 2022). "Lost Ark Review - Why'd It Have To Be Snakes". GameSpot. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  35. ^ Zirkler, Dennis (February 26, 2022). "Lost Ark: Unser Test mit de finalen Wertung" [Lost Ark: Our review with the final rating]. GameStar (in German). Webedia. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  36. ^ Moss, Gabriel (February 18, 2022). "Lost Ark Review". IGN. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  37. ^ "Test Lost Ark : la révolution free to play que tout le monde attendait ?" [Lost Ark Review : the free to play revolution that everyone was waiting for ?]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  38. ^ Serrano, Francisco Alberto (February 23, 2022). "Lost Ark, análisis. La fusión irresistible entre ARPG y MMO" [Lost Ark, analysis. The irresistible fusion between ARPG and MMO]. MeriStation (in Spanish). Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  39. ^ a b Lane, Rick (February 8, 2022). "Lost Ark review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  40. ^ Link, Daniel (February 8, 2022). "Lost Ark im Test: So gut kann ein Free2Play-MMORPG sein - Jetzt mit Video" [Lost Ark Review: A free2play MMORPG can be this good - now with video]. PC Games (in German). Computec Media GmbH. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  41. ^ Romero, Wren (February 28, 2022). "Lost Ark review – MMORPG excellence". PCGamesN. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  42. ^ a b Zamora, Gabriel (February 8, 2022). "Lost Ark (for PC) Review". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  43. ^ Erskine, Donovan (March 5, 2022). "Lost Ark review: A tale for the ages". Shacknews. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  44. ^ Thorn, Ed (February 8, 2022). "Lost Ark review-in-progress: Diablo-like combat clashes with a very grindy MMO". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  45. ^ MacGregor, Jody (May 18, 2022). "Amazon Games says it's 'fighting a war' against the bots infesting Lost Ark". PC Gamer.
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