I want to point out this really insightful comment a poster made on one of my threads:
Every game on this list is absolutely dead in the West, maybe Maplestory but even then it’s not relevant at all anymore.
Eastern games are naturally more grind orientated, they enable more P2W than Western titles and in general require a greater time investment. These are all qualities that now some Western titles share like WoW.
This means that yes, Western gamers can appreciate Eastern ones but this model of only releasing half versions or quarter versions of a full release that’s already put out elsewhere is outdated and archaic. It creates a hassle on the AGS team to balance content while being literally 6+ months behind the actual live versions, it creates drama within the community due to having to wait forever on content that should be there at launch, and honestly I think this is easily the biggest mistake by AGS.
Lost Ark would’ve been a 100% better launch if they had just launched it with full KR live version with all classes/content there.
I’ve seen arguments such as this as well:
But reality is that by giving people option to start at T3 which is what Gold River intended after seeing the poor performance of T1/T2, people will still go back to T1/T2 if they wanted to.
Giving people the freedom to all content and having them genuinely enjoy the experience will naturally make them go back and see what the other content is about as well, but imprisoning them in that content and putting a RNG wall to escape it is just not fun and will kill motivation quick.
TL;DR
It’s 2022, AGS please stop releasing half made games and just release the full version and you can avoid all kinds of headaches that you’re facing right now.
So are you saying you’d be perfectly happy with the FULL Korean Lost Ark experience? Or just select bits of it?
Because I bet more than a few people would extremely unhappy with the increased KR p2w mechanics. Sure they have a ton more content, no doubt. But its not all roses either.
Also the idea that its Amazon exclusively responsible for the troubled launch is farcical. AGS no doubt take the blame for server capacity issues, but the ridiculous situation of no server roster movement is all down to Smilegate’s ancient server tech that is completely out of place in todays mmo landscape.
It looks like the other version has P2W yes, but it’s also a lot more casual friendly and respects the player time more than our version. I think having that full version would be better than our current version even when it comes to P2W, they already learned their lessons so why are we repeating it?
First off, why create two threads with the same topic, on the same day? Desperate to get a “viral” thread?
Secondly, localization. Localization takes time. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon had a deadline when to release the game in the West that could’ve contributed to it. Another reason would be that there would be a huge gap until next content update, because once KR version gets new Content Update, the same update needs to be localized for the western region (and that’s not just English, mind you).
Or are you saying that Smilegate should from now on delay KR updates until the western localization is done just so that they can do simultaneous release?
Contrary to popular belief, T1 and T2 are still part of the Lost Ark experience, and is pivotal in immersing yourself in the world. Even when KR people use a jumping pass to go directly to T3, both Smilegate and long time veterans of the game recommend new players to raise an alt from scratch.
In fact, the reason Smilegate implemented the T1/T2 honing buff last summer was precisely because there were a good number of people still playing T1 and T2.
Not to mention, releasing the KR version as it is right now would be impossible. There would be no way for players to access Legion Raids, and it would only make the talk of P2W bigger. The biggest whales would already be doing Legion Raids and the problem would be much bigger than it is now.
A T3 pass will also exacerbate the botting problem. If all bots started at T3, the situation would have been an absolute disastor.
Tbh full Localization should’ve been finished prior to launch, if what you’re saying is true that localization is their hang-up then they were not prepared to even launch this game just like how they rushed their last couple game projects. Who launches a title that’s already released with only a quarter of the localization done? Either they purposefully wanted to make the Deadzone a thing here which was already resolved in KR, or they were unprepared and didn’t meet a deadline like you said and just rush it out which is imo just as negligent if you’re given a project as big as Lost Ark.
Please refer to this:
Just because T3 exists doesn’t remove T1/T2, people will go back if they choose to. Why gate and control players movements in your game when you can just let them enjoy it and explore at their own pace? The current version again has RNG walls at every corner which shouldn’t exist. I just leads to premature burnout before they even reach the end where it only gets worse lol.
So this is uniquely a NA/EU issue I think, I know KR probably has bots but less due to SSID rules but at the same time isn’t this inevitable anyways?
Once they end up adding honing changes whenever Valtan or whoever comes out, most bots will already be in T3 as we already see them there now and honing changes will naturally push them from T1/T2 the same way a pass would for free.
I think the bot issue is also a huge thing that AGS can’t control, maybe this could also be another roadblock I didn’t consider because it’s F2P as well and it’s impossible to keep them from storming through to T3.
It is already pointed out in the original thread that they can either wait till everything is voiced and localized and release it or release what they can then let us play while they finish the rest. Which takes time. Maybe few month, maybe longer.
Just come back to Lost Ark next year. That is essentially what you want. By then all the stuff available now should be released.
This is a silly argument. You’re essentially arguing let people go directly to T3. Why not just let them start directly at 1500 iLv? People who want to do lesser iLv content have the option to go back
This is an MMOPRG. You’re supposed to progress, not get free handouts. If people can’t get through T1 and T2, they’re never going to get through T3 anyway.
This game isn’t for everyone. The state of the game is fine. There are RNG elements at every part of the game, not just at T1 and T2. These exist, should exist, and will continue to exist.
Because money. Because investors. They can’t hold out and delay a game infinitely without it affecting negatively someone. And why does it matter if we didn’t get the full release yet?
How many are at T3 currently? That alone speaks whether we have enough content to keep us occupied until more is getting ready to be released in the west.
What you think really doesn’t matter. You think that full localization needed to be done, but clearly the game has been popular, and still is, even with only the content currently.
It’s not negligent, even if you might think so. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon has already reached break even and is going with profit now. And by doing that, the investors are happy. In the end, they are a company, and as with any company, their biggest primary goal is to generate revenue.
The KR version of the game which is the actual OG version is more player friendly, respects time and isn’t some insane grinder like you make it out to be.
The problem with releasing a game with T3 initially is that they released it without any content to do. T3, by it’s very nature has nothing to do in the previous “released” versions. They only thing you can do is play alts (which Lost Ark limits replay of content, as it, doesn’t let you do it at all) or grind chaos dungeons. It’s a huge shock going from T1-T2 where you don’t feel like you have enough time in a play session to do everything to T3 where there is absolutely nothing to do and you are stuck with nothing to do for as long as you don’t have mats or have bad luck.
Also, for whatever reason the intital T3 content is just absolute trash. It’s not a staging area to more difficult content it’s just weak speedbumps. The T3 guardians are like Urnil and Leumas, but instead of being training wheels they are just lumps of time for mats. You don’t have to do anything besides just beat them down as fast as you can. The abyss dungeon is once a week and unlike the previous tiers they put a huge f*** you mechanic by allowing people to go in at 1325 to the second half but cutting their damage so significantly that unless you have people in your group 1340, you are in for a world of hurt.
Then asking a player who has gotten to that point, with all that history on that character, all that pain overcome from honing up to 1100 then just giving them nothing to do is just backwards. Lost Ark’s gameplay is one of it’s huge strengths. It’s fun to play your character, to use your crafted skills/tripods and runes to full advantage but when you start T3 (as it is now with us), you are left using all the things you learned and skills you developed to do endless chaos dungeons which is just mindless grinding. Even mentally defecient players will have mastered doing chaos dungeons relatively efficently by T3 but just repeatedly doing the same, no interactive gameplay over and over until you grind enough or pull out your wallet is absolutely no fun.
The honing problem is the honing problem, but it’s a lot more palatable if you have something engaging to do while you are waiting for those lucky rolls, tickets, daily events.
NA/EU is getting content and progressing at an accelerated rate compared to KR. It’s insane to say KR has less grinding. Sure, it may seem that way now when the game has been out for years and plenty of people have been grinding and progressing of long time, but the truth is, when KR folks were at the place we are, things weren’t better for them.
KR players were doing nothing but Gate of Paradise for 6 months while Smilegate was working on releasing T3. In fact, some players had +25-ed their equipment at this point, which became nothing but dirt when T3 was released.
You’re looking at the current KR version through a colored lense. They made things easier through honing buffs to allow players to catch up. The current NA/EU region does not need that.
Why create threads if you aren’t going to discuss, but instead you keep quoting other people that are not providing any sources to their claims? I wrote why your thoughts doesn’t matter whether the game should have full localization, because they game doesn’t have full localization and it is still a very popular game. That’s just plain fact.
1 year ago, before the Honing Rates were adjusted, LA was the 4:th most popular game in KR. Now tell me if that sounds like “almost killing the game”.
I just don’t want to talk with someone like you who just wants to hear themselves talk, you literally said my opinions don’t matter yet you try to bait me into conversation lmao
I’d rather talk to anyone but you in this thread, just move on bud this conversation is over.
I think this is a huge issue for me, personally I just get really sad when I see this because I think LA genuinely has a lot of potential and I’m excited to see where it goes but just been super disappointed at how random the release has been so far.
It’s tough because in the West, especially in gaming culture now no one is going to wait months and months and months for content. Other game companies see the downtrend trend, and they start stacking their releases and buying out streamers and you end up with even less people who are willing to come back even when they do update it.
They already suffered so why do we have to suffer lol
This is mentality I just don’t get it, it’s obvious that this deadzone almost killed this game over there and they knew about the dangers of T1/T2 honing gating as well as other pitfalls that they fell right into in this NA/EU release.
Why are we not learning from their mistakes and actually making it easier just like they did instead of making it difficult just for the sake of difficulty lmao, it really doesn’t mean anything even if you hit a high gear level in NA/EU because the content is so dead late game and most people just quit due to lack of anything interesting to do.
To Amazon, your opinion regarding localization literally doesn’t matter. They have already gone the route of releasing a version of the game with less content than KR.
The same as my opinion regarding localization doesn’t matter, whether I’m for or against it. Because the data is out there: The game got an overwhelming amount of players for launch, they sold way more founders edition than expected, and the amount of players in the game is still above their own forecast.
But hey, if you believe your opinion regarding localization matters and that somehow will get you the rest of the KR content, then you do you. We’re one month in, and we’ve only gotten Argos, and by the looks of it, there is no plan to release the rest of the content in one go.
I also forgot to mention, another reason to not release all content at the same time, is to try and keep players playing for a longer time, by spacing out new content. It will also be used to incetivise players to come back to the game if they took a break/quit. In the end, as I wrote but you just chose to ignore it, every decision they are doing, they are doing conciously because of money.
Ok my bad, you’re right this is actually something i’ll agree with you on
So this is also another mistake they made. I personally believe that this generation of gamers are gonna move on, especially when new titles come in.
Depending on the speed of their release, if they make people spend more time in the 1340 dead zone like 1 - 2 months and they don’t introduce any sort of new material stuff for lower tiers then it’s going be awful hard for people to justify spending time on this release when other games are fresh and new and popping up with way more content and streamer/youtuber marketing.
I don’t think AGS realizes that their plan is very short them, they can easily milk money off the first wave of people here but I doubt many will come back even once stuff does release because of their current experience with it.
That’s a lot of typing to make your point. Amazons biggest mistake is not allowing smilegate to call the shots and making it clear that this is their baby. They don’t have enough clout to pull this off and smilegate still has a good name. They don’t need the same version as much as they need deny ability. That’s all. No long post just a simple fact.
