Smilegate patched in the first major continent update to the game a few days ago (January 30th Korea local time). Mokokoark has a small amount of the patch notes translated.
For the most part, I’ve had a fairly favorable opinion of the game and the way that Smilegate has handled things. I do have concerns about the end game aspects though (with a lot of item level and time gating of content where materials that are used to upgrade items are carefully parceled out via limited dailies/weeklies and entry limits).
With that said, this first episode similarly locks content (Rohendel) behind an item level wall since the requisite quest to gain access to a ferry to the continent, can only be performed for characters that have reached an item level of 380. It’s not like this is a huge wall to overcome; you just need to be diligent about doing your 3 daily Epona’s, Chaos dungeons, Guardian Raids, and other entry limited content to get the items (actual gear drop or materials) to reach that magic number. The problem for me is that this design comes across as uninspiring because the message being telegraphed is it all about your characters item level (BORING).
This unfortunately seems to be the overarching end game design philosophy of Tripod Studio (Smilegate’s subsidiary development studio which handles Lost Ark) where the signal that is being sent is to expect this type of power creep gating for future continent expansions. So as other continents and their associated stories are released, players (like newer ones) won’t be able to simply quest through that mainline after completing Shushire (there will be the existing end game grind first to attain the magic item level before questing for the next continent, its story, and its ark can begin). And the expectation being set is this will continue for future episodes.
This isn’t new either since many other games use similar gating (gear score and/or character level) to restrict access. As noted in my OBT redux post, the issue I have with this design in Lost Ark is how calculated it is (Acrasium for example) where the end game progression feels mechanical and unsatisfying (totally undermining the attention to detail with the story line leveling progression). Basically, my game play turned into this really methodical daily routine where I quickly logged off after completing them (as opposed to spending more time in game adventuring/exploring/doing other activities).
As much as I’ve documented some of my issues with TERA (specifically the gear enhancement system), some of the ancillary activities like the revamped crafting/gathering system along with fishing, has supported those other activities I do enjoy (such as open world exploration) which also allow progression in some form (and future updates will again provide very distinct progression for item XP and Enhancement Points when taking part in those activities).
I was hoping that Lost Ark would have this sort of end game design where you could adventure and explore and take part in supporting activities that would make character progression feel more organic (as opposed to those activities being part of a daily ritual of limited/gated ones). While this is the Korean design and there are changes which could be made for that future (unannounced) NA/EU version, I’m pretty jaded when it comes to my expectations that a Korean design studio, truly understands the subtle regional differences with players. The reality is that a lot more time and production was spent on story line to level 50 (which is why portions of that content comes across well). Unfortunately, end game content (and progression) is where these sort of games begin for many players.
The last time I logged into Lost Ark to play was around 3 weeks ago and while I was originally looking forward to this episode update, I lost any desire to resume playing once I learned Rohendel was item level gated in this manner. To put it more bluntly, my prior favorable feelings about this game is being eroded at a fairly rapid clip.
