Amazon Game Studios and Smilegate released popular Korean MMO Lost Ark in the West last month, and since then players have been creating unique fan art, formulating perfect strategies for the many fights in the game, and discovering hidden details in the vast world of Arkesia. Some players have found systematic issues in Lost Ark, however, as prominent fan Asmongold went on the record to criticize the Argos Abyssal Raid and some related issues affecting players.
Popular Twitch streamer Asmongold recently made a YouTube video detailing some problems he's found with the North American release of Lost Ark and his thoughts on how to mitigate the issues. One of the key messages the YouTube video focuses on is Lost Ark gear and some pay-to-win mechanics associated with it preventing a large portion of players from accessing end game content including the Abyssal Raid Argos. The new Argos Lost Ark raid requires players to have an item level of 1,370 which is bottlenecking how many players are actually able to explore the new raid added with the Lost Ark March update.
During this YouTube video, Asmongold discusses the relative ease Lost Ark players have in upgrading Tier 3 1,300 gear in the early stages, but how quickly that system slows down around item level 1,340. Asmongold states that this is around when Lost Ark players will see a reduction in successful upgrades to their gear which results in a significant loss of materials. Considering how many materials are required between 1,340 and 1,370 despite appearing close in item level, Asmongold suggests "access to a credit card" provides unlocks more dungeons, matchmaking, and more for players.
Lost Ark players who notice fewer successful upgrades around item level 1,350 will find relief once they're able to attain item level 1,370 as it becomes easier to upgrade gear with different resources unlocked around that item level. Asmongold has pointed out that this causes a "rich get richer" situation where the players with higher item levels are able to upgrade gear quicker and make more resources through items that "make their Lost Ark characters more powerful." While Asmongold acknowledged the few players who are able to reach 1,370 and Lost Ark raids without paying any real money to get there, he also believes it requires an unreasonable length of time to hit such a high item level.
Asmongold is one of several Twitch streamers that have called Lost Ark a pay-to-win game since its Western release as he believes paying to upgrade item level is intrinsically pay to win, and he has stated that some Lost Ark players feel it's necessary to pay money to upgrade their gear. According to the popular Twitch streamer, this pay-to-win essence is more evident with the requirements of the Argos Abyssal Raid which is why it has become an issue with the game for some. Because Smilegate released the Argos raid with Lost Ark's March patch, the developer may be looking at fan feedback such as Asmongold's to balance the content better in a future update.
Lost Ark is available now for PC.
Source: Dexerto