Lost Ark (video game)

Last updated

Lost Ark
Lost Ark cover.jpg
Developer(s)
Publisher(s) Amazon Games
Director(s) Keum Kang Sun
Jeon Jae Hak (since December 17, 2023)
Composer(s) Yong Kim
Brian Tyler
Engine Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s) Windows
Release
  • Full game release
    Flag of South Korea.svg KR:     December 4, 2019
  • Open beta release
    Flag of Russia.svg RU:     October 27, 2019
  • Closed beta registration
    Flag of Japan.svg JP:     June 25, 2020
  • Recent release
    Flag of Europe.svg EU:     February 11, 2022
  • Flag of the United States.svg NA/SA: February 11, 2022
  • Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg CHN: July 20, 2023
Genre(s) MMORPG, action role-playing
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Lost Ark [lower-alpha 1] 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.

Contents

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

Lost Ark gameplay Lost Ark gameplay screenshot March 07 2022.jpg
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

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

Combat System

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

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

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

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

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

  1. ↑ Korean : 《로스트아크》

Related Research Articles

An action role-playing game is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons Online</i> 2006 video game

Dungeons & Dragons Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Turbine for Microsoft Windows and OS X. The game was originally marketed as Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach. Upon switching to a hybrid free-to-play model it was renamed Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited. The game was rebranded Dungeons & Dragons Online, with the introduction of Forgotten Realms-related content. Turbine developed Dungeons & Dragons Online as an online adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), originally based loosely on the D&D 3.5 rule set. The game is set on the unexplored continent of Xen'drik within the Eberron campaign setting, and in the Kingdom of Cormyr within the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

The history of massively multiplayer online games spans over thirty years and hundreds of massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) titles. The origin and influence on MMO games stems from MUDs, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and earlier social games.

<i>Throne and Liberty</i> 2023 video game

Throne and Liberty is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by NCSoft. It was published in North America, South America, Europe, and Japan by Amazon Games.

<i>Kingdom Under Fire II</i> 2019 video game

Kingdom Under Fire II was a video game set in a high fantasy setting developed by Blueside which merged real-time strategy (RTS), role-playing game (RPG) and massively multiplayer online game (MMO) genres. The game had a single-player and an online multiplayer mode. The game followed on chronologically from Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom, and was the first RTS game set in the Kingdom Under Fire universe to be released since the 2005 Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes. Due to its mass cancellation, most of the 4 platforms were scrapped, and it was Windows-exclusive.

<i>Grand Chase</i> 2003 video game

Grand Chase was a free-to-play, two-dimensional side-scrolling MMORPG, developed by the South Korean company KOG Studios. Alternative names for Grand Chase included Three Young Heroes, Eternal Adventures, both used in Taiwan prior to its closure, as well as Rainbow Warriors on the Mainland Chinese server.

OGPlanet was a publisher of free-to-play, massively multiplayer online (MMO), downloadable PC games, based in Torrance, California, with offices in Vancouver, Berlin, London and Seoul. Although their games were free-to-play, OGPlanet offered "Astros", an in-game currency that players could purchase online through Xsolla using a variety of payment methods including credit and debit cards and PayPal; Astros were used for in-game enhancements. On 29 September 2017, the final game being published by OGPlanet, Uncharted Waters Online, was shut down for transfer to Papaya Play and the OGPlanet website taken offline.

<i>Vindictus</i> 2010 video game

Vindictus is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created by devCAT, an internal studio of Nexon. The story follows the player character joining a group of mercenaries and going on a series of missions to battle monsters. The gameplay has players exploring dungeons, fighting monsters, and upgrading their characters.

<i>TERA</i> (video game) 2011 video game

TERA, also known as TERA Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Bluehole Studio, a subsidiary of Krafton. The game was released in South Korea on 25 January 2011, in North America on 1 May 2012, and in Europe on 3 May 2012, with closed and open beta tests taking place before the launch dates. Nexon, Krafton, and Gameforge published the game in these regions, respectively. En Masse Entertainment was the North American publisher, until September 2020, while Atari handled physical distribution. In February 2013 the game was renamed to TERA: Rising concurrently with the game's launch to the free-to-play model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artix Entertainment</span> Video game developer and publisher

Artix Entertainment, LLC is an independent video game developer and publisher founded by Adam Bohn in October 2002. It is best known for creating browser-based role-playing video games—including AdventureQuest, DragonFable, MechQuest, and AdventureQuest Worlds—using Adobe Flash. Following the end of life of Adobe Flash Player in 2021, Artix developed a standalone launcher for personal computers that includes many of the company's popular Flash-based games, most of which continue to receive content updates.

<i>ASTA: The War of Tears and Winds</i> 2016 video game

ASTA: The War of Tears and Winds was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by South Korean developer Polygon Games. The game was in development from 2010 through mid-October 2013.

<i>NEStalgia</i> 2011 video game

NEStalgia was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft Windows created by American indie developer Silk Games. NEStalgia was launched on February 23, 2011, then released for Steam on April 15, 2014. The core gameplay follows the classic Japanese role-playing game format with turn-based battles, random encounters, and explorable towns and dungeons.

<i>Black Desert Online</i> 2014 MMORPG video game

Black Desert Online (Korean: 검은사막) is a sandbox-oriented fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Korean video game developer Pearl Abyss and originally published for Microsoft Windows in 2015. A mobile version titled Black Desert Mobile was initially released in Asia by early 2019, and worldwide in December 2019. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions, known simply as Black Desert, were released in 2019. The game is free-to-play in some parts of the world, but follows a buy-to-play business model in other editions, including the English-language editions.

<i>Skyforge</i> 2015 video game

Skyforge is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Allods Team in collaboration with Obsidian Entertainment, and published by My.com. Set on the planet Aelion, Skyforge fuses elements of Science fiction and fantasy in its visuals and storytelling, and sees players exploring the world as an immortal who must strive to become a god and defend the planet from alien invasion from other worlds. The project started development in 2010 and received an open release for Microsoft Windows in July 2015, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases following in 2017. The latest major content update, "Ignition", was released on all platforms in September 2019. A Nintendo Switch version was released in February 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smilegate</span> South Korean video game company

Smilegate is a South Korean video game company headquartered in Pangyo. It develops, publishes, and services online games on mobile and PC platforms. Established in South Korea in 2002, it is the creator of Crossfire, an FPS game with over six million concurrent players across the globe, and many more titles. Smilegate is a corporate group owned by Smilegate Holdings. As of 2022, it was the third largest game company in Korea, according to The Korea Economic Daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon Games</span> American video game developer

Amazon Games is an American video game company and division of the online retailing company Amazon that primarily focuses on publishing video games developed within the company's development divisions.

<i>New World</i> (video game) 2021 video game

New World is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Amazon Games Orange County and published by Amazon Games released on September 28, 2021. The game was previously scheduled to release in May 2020 and subsequently August 2021, but was delayed until its worldwide release on September 28, 2021. Set in the mid-seventeenth century, players colonize a fictional land modeled after the Americas.

<i>CrossCode</i> 2018 video game

CrossCode is a 2018 action role-playing game developed by Radical Fish Games and published by Deck13. Players control Lea, a player in a fictional MMORPG called CrossWorlds who wakes up with no memory and is unable to speak. Gameplay involves the player employing both ranged and melee shots to solve puzzles and defeat enemies, with differing elemental modes granting different powers used in combat and exploring.

<i>Elyon</i> (video game) 2020 video game

Elyon was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Bluehole and published by Kakao Games. The game has focused on dynamic combat between two Realms, Vulpin, and Ontari, with players using diverse skill combinations based on the non-targeting system.

<i>Legends of Aria</i> Indie MMORPG

Legends of Aria or LoA is a fantasy-based indie MMORPG. The game was released in beta in 2014, early-access in 2019, and a full release in 2020. It was developed by Citadel Studios Inc., a gaming company founded by Derek Brinkmann, who previously lead development of Ultima Online. In 2022, the game announced plans to shift to a blockchain game, with the introduction of a cryptocurrency and NFTs.

References

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.