Lost Ark - Serious competition for Diablo or all just hot air?

A great game world meets gigantic monster hordes and intoxicating abilities. In Korea, the game has already been around for three years and has won several awards. Even before its launch in Europe on February 11, the free-to-play MMOPRG was going through the roof on the Internet. Could and can Lost Ark live up to the hype - or not?

Server problems at release

There were already enormous difficulties when Lost Ark was launched in Europe. The publisher Amazon probably didn't expect the huge rush. As a result, there were hours-long queues and the login servers were completely overloaded. In order to minimize the waiting time, Lost Ark is now to receive eight new servers (EU West). To apologize for the inconvenience caused, Amazon has also come up with something. From February 20 to March 2, players who create a character on one of the new servers will receive the last 10 rewards as a credit. There will also be separate rewards. However, players who have already created a character on another server will not be able to transfer it. They can only take the crystalline aura and the king crystals with them.

How does Lost Ark play?

Lost Ark is a classic MMO freely according to the motto "Knock the critters and enemies away and click things." However, this is in a huge world with lots of possibilities. Before you set off for Arkesia, however, it's first a matter of character creation.

Here you have five character classes to choose from. Currently, however, still with a genderlog.

• Warrior: the powerhouses with the subclasses Berserker, Paladin and Pistol Lancer
• Assassin: the mysterious melee fighters with the subclasses Shadowhunter and Deathblade
• Martial Artist: the swift-footed fighters with the subclasses Striker, War Dancer, Scrapper and Soul Fist
• Mage: the mystic summoners with the subclasses Bard and Sorceress
• Cannoneer: fighting with high-tech weapons or bows. Subclasses: Artificer, Artilleryman, Death Shooter, Sniper.

You can try out the subclasses with their skills for the respective character classes in a test mode beforehand - to find out what you like best. For absolute beginners, we recommend playing the prologue to get an insight. There are even rewards at the end. For new mechanics, there are mini-tutorials during the quests. By the way, the different skills of the characters are so great that you won't want to stop smashing monsters and other enemies. On your way through the open world of Arkesia, other players can cross your path at any time. You'll be able to interact with them using the familiar features. Important story beats in the main story line are set off splendidly with camera movements and cutscenes. The different environments are nicely designed and varied. The world of Lost Ark is big - damn big and really offers something for everyone.

Lost Ark is also something for gamers who prefer the single player mode. Once you have cleared the maingame, you can still choose to continue with the ingame grind or not.

What can you do in Lost Ark?

Lost Ark is, as already mentioned several times, simply huge. In such a big world there is of course a lot to do. Here is a small overview.

Raids

These are boss fights with very complex - randomly occurring - mechanics. You need to be 8 players for this. The raids in Lost Ark are considered very difficult. If one of your teammates doesn't complete the task correctly, the entire squad will die and you'll have to start all over again.

Dungeons

These are quasi "mini-raids" for 4 players in different variations.

Player vs. player

Here you fight against each other in arenas.

Crafting

Gather herbs, mine ores, fish - all professions can be practiced and improved at once

Fortress

This is not only your home, which you can decorate, but you also brew drinks and cook food there.

Auction house

You can sell your food and other goods in the auction house. For this you will receive gold, which you can spend in the real money store.

Then there are guardian raids, dice dungeons, tower challenges, sailing and world events.

Conclusion from Gameservercheck

For a Free to Play you get a lot of content. But nobody has anything to give away - not even the creators of Lost Ark. That's why there's a real-money store - where you can spend your hard-earned gold, for example - or take the easy way out by buying everything you need. However, Lost Ark is definitely not a pay-to-win game.

Lost Ark really offers something for everyone and is a must-play for die-hard MMO fans who want the full package. However, there is a small downer. The game can currently only be played on the PC. A console release is not planned for the near future.