Good morning AGS/Smilegate,
I’ve been playing Lost Ark since Western release. While I am not an active contributor to the forums, I thought it would be worthwhile sharing my feedback after ~4 months of game time.
Balancing content release cadence and monetization
I think this is probably the most impactful topic that needs to be addressed; from my perspective. The western region is experiencing the fastest release cadence when compared to all other global regions. There is already a feeling within the western community that we need to catch up to the rest of the global regions. In order to accomplish this, players have to invest time & money to keep up. Having the players make that kind of investment in a shorter timespan (compared to other regions) is taxing and will discourage and burn out players in the long run.
- Please spend more time determining what the correct monetization model is for the West. For example, if players in KR spend an average of $200 a month in order to keep up with content release, then expecting the US players to spend $1000 a month in order to keep up with content that is being release x5 times faster is not realistic; this is an unhealthy model for your consumers and for the future of the game.
This feeling of needing to keep up with the game is causing other problems. Players are turning to other markets (aka., participating in RMT) in order to keep-up with the release cadence. It is deteriorating the region economy and the user-experience. Once again, this is not good for the health of the game and its longevity in the West.
If you want to get rid of bots, then tackle the issue indirectly; take away their customers. The players are turning to a market with better value and therefore contributing to the bot-market. Players have explicitly expressed via forums and implicitly via purchase patterns that they enjoy the game and want to keep up with the cadence. However that goal is not realistic for many if it will cost them $1000 a month. Please determine what the right monetization model is in order to maintain a healthy player base and secure longevity of the game.
Thank you for listening. I know there are lots of smart people working for Amazon/Smilegate, and I am confident that you guys will figure this out! Good luck!
Honestly, Im not sure where youre getting these numbers from. You really don’t have to RMT on this game to keep up with the content that is being released as long as you are utilizing your time on this game. Ive only spent money on the Ark pass and some outfits since playing this game and I am 2 upgrades from being able to do Vykas hard mode on release. I also have done a lot of horizontal content so it’s not like I purely focused on upgrading either.
I think you are focusing on the wrong thing. Those numbers were examples used to make a point. They aren’t actual numbers.
Also, your mileage will definitely differ. I’m sure there are outliers and people will progress at a different pace. There are lots of variables that account for people’s progression; not just $$. Investing in time will allow you to open up guild vendors, pvp vendors, and pirate ships for additional honing material. Not everyone has the same time commitment at their disposal.
Of course. And if you were just using that as an example then never mind. But also players have to realize that if they aren’t able to put in the same amount of time as a hardcore player or spender/someone who just got lucky on upgrades, then they just aren’t meant to be able to keep up with those players who do. If that was the case then there would just be no point of actually going out of your way to play more/spend more. Its just not a realistic approach to expect a casual player to keep up with released content. No one has issues with someone playing at their own pace, but those players need to let those of us who play get new content.
I think we are diverging from what I am trying to relay to AGS/Smilegate. I didn’t want to write an essay, but since you seem to be going down this rabbit hole, I’ll bite.
I have a 1475 Vykas-ready main with 4 other Tier-3 characters between 1340-1370. I have ~1400 hours invested into the game and have a solid roster, level 10 ships, supreme 4 pvp and stronghold level. So I understand where you are going with this. I am leveraging all of the game’s avenue for materials. On top of that, I spend on average $300-400 a month on the game to supplement my time investment.
This however, is NOT the norm for most players. While I understand that micro-transactions are embedded into the culture of this game, this is still a MMO. Catering to people like me does not promote a healthy player-base. Ensuring that more people play and enjoy the game will have the best outcome for the future of this game. That is the point that I am trying to relay to AGS/Smilegate.