First of all, I’m not 1370 yet. Sitting at 1352, with 1325 alt, and three more T2 alts atm.
I consider myself a hardcore gamer when it comes to progression in MMORPGs and I’ve done some high end contents mostly in WoW.
After hearing that the Argos will be released later today, I wanted to take a step back and share my thoughts on this current situation, which can be framed as F2P + casuals vs whales + hardcore players, or, players under 1370 vs players above 1370.
I think both sides are reasonable in their opinions regarding who gets to do Argos first, but I believe, that ultimately this is a fire started by the developers’ poor decision making.
In my opinion, I do think releasing Argos today is a bad idea without a honing success buff.
Why? Because it sends a message that divides players into the previously mentioned groups and will poison the community in future.
The message will be heard differently by each of the different playerbase, and this is why the forum is on fire.
Any players under 1370 including those who failed multiple times, those struggling to reach T3 etc are mad because the content will be locked behind countless hours of grinding or a ‘paywall’. meanwhile, those above 1370 feel they are rewarded for their hours spent grinding or their credit card swipings are justified and not devalued.
This, will ultimately poison the community and divide the crowd. What happens when the playerbase is divided? Developers will have to constantly deal with toxic feedbacks from the players.
And this, is not our fault.
I believe that the first ‘major’ update should’ve catered to playerbase whether or not he/she spent money, or countless hours, or just casually collecting mokoko seeds. The first major updates are the most important part of a MMORPG since during first 1-2 months of a new MMO release or a new expansion release is when players flock the most to play the game, and what happens if you lose their support? Just take a look at New World or WoW.
But the Lost Ark being a PvE oriented game with a very competent gear progression system, the Argos raid is obviously the major point in this patch, and it failed to cater to most of the playerbase.
Either the honing buff, OR more sources of materials should have been announced (such as a PvP vendor that sells mats) alongside with the release of Argos, then I am 99% sure most of the players would’ve been happy whether he/she is or isn’t above 1370.
I just wish Amazon or SG learned their lesson from this mess and I really do wish players don’t fall off after today’s patch and before the next Valtan raid.
What scares me is that players who are struggling with low honing success rates in T1 and T2 will eventually get stressed out for knowing that they have such a long way to go to go against Argos and quit the game.
I know it will be hard to admit, but casuals + players who have family , full time jobs etc are what comprise of the majority of the population and these players are what a MMORPG needs to secure its longevity. Whales + hardcore players aren’t enough to keep a MMO going, even if they do, Lost Ark will just gain its reputation of being a game with high entry level in NA / EU.
I mean, let’s admit it. We all never seen a MMORPG release a content that’ll be only available to less than 1% of the player base, while at the same time establishing a very high entry level for the rest 99% ESPECIALLY on the game’s first month of release.
Amazon / SG should’ve released something to cater to those in T1 T2 and those under 1370 such as a PvP vendor, or a honing success rate buff, etc to help those progress their gear score faster to 1370, and ultimately, make them feel ensured that they’ll reach 1370 without tough RNGs.
This way, those who paid or grinded harder than others feel rewarded to enter Argos on the very first day of release, and also to those who want to defeat Argos but don’t meet the requirements have something to aim for with CONFIDENCE.
Thx for reading, wish you all a good luck and have fun !