If MMOs were all different drugs, Lost Ark and F2P KMMOs in general are like the hard stuff that’ll get you addicted quick and make you run out of money even quicker if you have poor impulse control which games like this usually prey on.
In contrast I feel like games like WoW or FF14 are more like the soft stuff where you can dabble in it and get addicted the same way as the hard stuff and the option to still lose yourself financially is still there but it’s a lot less encouraged because of the way these games get monetized (Sub fee/B2P).
If this is someone’s first MMO ever I truly feel bad because this game lacks a lot of what makes MMO so great:
Crafting for example, in most MMOs you can craft gear and then transmog it over your set with unlimited dyes on literally every piece of gear as well as being able to use crafting as a way to make the best stuff without relying on honing/upgrading +1 level at a time which makes it a lot more in-depth and meaningful.
Raids/Dungeons in this game are also not impactful after the first time you beat it because it becomes less about accomplishing over a challenge and more just another to-do list to get done in your daily laundry list of in-game chores. Same can be said about current day WoW too as well, but at least the progression systems aren’t tied to repeating the same content as much as harder versions of it (M+ 1 - 20/ Torghast Upper Layers/Heroic → Mythic Prog) where as in LA the difficult will forever be the same and the rewards never change or differ except for the quantity of it which can turn people off from the excitement as well as it all blends in together and stops being memorable.
I could go on and on but honestly despite everything I think Lost Ark will have it’s small but niche audience that will forever love it in the West but man do I feel bad for newbie MMO players who will think this is how every other MMO is lol
Not every mmo needs to be “First timer friendly”. thinking like that is why a lot of mmos have content that’s so braindead you can finish it with a blindfold on and playing with your toes. LA is well known to be a grindy, difficult mmo. the vast majority of people coming into it know that, unfortunately some of them want to change it into something its not, never was intended to be, and never will be.
also this is entirely subjective. what makes mmos great for YOU is not what makes mmos great for everyone
exactly, and this is the audience the game was DESIGNED to cater to, not the average mmo gamer, and certainly not first timers.
I’ll bite ~
Always looking to expand my mmo horizons, would love to hear more about this plethora of current day mmos where this is even remotely true ^^
GW2 crafting does it the best imo, super casual friendly and you can make legendaries along with Ascended and you can kit your alts out with super good gear depending on your crafting levels and recipes you have.
WoW crafting is more so centered around Legendaries but craftable gear still works on alts and sells well on AH, any armor or wep you craft you can xmog the skins and they got cool QoL crafts like Engineering all the way to Jewlcrafting for accs.
FF14 has like a WoW mixed Eastern elements as well which is a really cool twist that makes crafting relevant there.
KMMO crafting is really just a slot machine to RNG +1 on stuff, there’s zero variety or depth.
3 games from the span of several decades where you can make subpar gear but have more customisation is about as good of a reply as i could’ve hoped for i guess. Oh well ~
I actually feel the opposite about the subject of this thread.
There are huge benefits of having Lost Ark as your first MMO.
it sets the bar high in terms of quality
will allow you to enjoy the content to the fullest without having other potentially bad habits carried over from other MMOs.
has a huge abundance of content to get lost in and learn
is a full experience despite no spend or low spend.
has an established and healthy community who have passion for the title.
There are some cons like the steep learning curve and or difficulty of raiding, but those can easily be nullified with time investment and effort.
Lost ark is a full package and I’d be proud of it being my first MMO, but alas I’ve been MMO gaming for about 18 years now xD but I still love it and it’s just as good if not better than my first MMO which held the favorite spot Ragnarok Online