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

A great game world meets gigantic hordes of monsters and exhilarating skills. The game has been around for three years in Korea and has won several awards in the meantime. Even before its launch in Europe on February 11th, the free-to-play MMOPRG was already soaring on the Internet. Could and can Lost Ark live up to the hype - or not?

Server problems at release

The launch of Lost Ark in Europe was already plagued by enormous difficulties. The publisher Amazon had probably not expected the huge rush. The result: there were queues for hours and the login servers were completely overloaded. To minimize the waiting time, Lost Ark is now to receive eight new servers (EU West). Amazon has also come up with something to apologize for the inconvenience caused. From February 20 to March 2, players who create a character on one of the new servers will receive the last 10 rewards as credit. There are also 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 based on the motto "Knock out the critters and enemies and click on things." But in a huge world with lots of possibilities. Before you make your way to Arkesia, however, you first have to create your character.

There are five character classes to choose from. Currently still with a gender log, however.

• Warrior: the powerhouses with the subclasses Berserker, Paladin and Pistol Armor
• Assassin: the mysterious melee fighters with the Shadow Slayer and Death Blade subclasses
• Martial Artist: the swift-footed fighters with the Striker, War Dancer, Scrapper and Soul Fist subclasses
• Mage: the mystical summoners with the Bard and Sorceress subclasses
• Gunner: Fighting with high-tech weapons or bows. Subclasses: Artificer, Artilleryman, Marksman, 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. There are mini-tutorials for new mechanics during the quests. Incidentally, the various skills of the characters are so superbly staged that you won't want to stop flattening monsters and other enemies. As you make your way through the open world of Arkesia, other players may cross your path at any time. You can interact with them using the familiar features. Important story beats of the main story line are staged magnificently with tracking shots and cutscenes. The different environments are beautifully 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 main game, you can still decide whether you want to continue with the in-game grind or not.

What can you do in Lost Ark?

Lost Ark is, as already mentioned several times, simply huge. Of course, there's a lot to do in such a big world. Here is a brief overview.

Raids

These are boss fights with very complex mechanics that occur in random order. You must be 8 players for this. The raids in Lost Ark are considered very difficult. If one of your teammates doesn't complete their task correctly, the entire party is killed and you have to start all over again.

Dungeons

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

Player vs. player

Here you fight against each other in arenas

Craft

Collecting herbs, mining ores, fishing - all professions can be practiced and improved at once

Fortress

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

Auction house

You can sell your food alongside other goods in the auction house, for example. You will receive gold for this, which you can then spend in the real money store.

There are also Guardian Raids, Dice Dungeons, Tower Challenges, Sailing and World Events

Conclusion from Gameservercheck

For a free-to-play game, you get a lot of content. But nobody has anything to give away - not even the makers 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. Lost Ark is definitely not a pay-to-win game.

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