Lost Ark: Release date, gameplay, classes, system requirements, price, more

After more than a decade of World of Warcraft's dominance amongst MMOs, it seems that things are finally starting to change.

In 2021, WoW went through a huge crisis as the community was unhappy with the state of the game and the scandal with harassment and discrimination accusations resulted in postponing many ongoing plans for all Blizzard's games, leading to even more problems for the once undisputed king of MMORPGs.

We saw a massive exodus of WoW players to Final Fantasy XIV, which has become one of the most popular MMOs in 2021. 

Then, in September 2021, New World was released, peaking at over 1 million concurrent players on Steam, and still maintaining a stable player base of around 100,000 congruent players.

And in February 2022, Amazon Games is bringing another big MMO - Lost Ark.

What is Lost Ark? Gameplay and features

Lost Ark is a fantasy MMORPG co-developed by Tripod Studio and Smilegate RPG. 

Unlike many popular MMOs of today, which are usually using first-person or third-person perspectives, Lost Ark is an isometric 2.5D game, which means you are playing it from a top-down perspective.

Although an MMO, the game is primarily focused on PvE and exploration, with many similarities to action RPGs like those from the Diablo series or Path Of Exile.

Asides from fast-paced hack and slash combat, players will partake in activities such as questing, achievement/collectable hunting, crafting, looting, and more.

The game is set in the world of Arkesia, which is divided into seven massive continents with distinctive features and biomes, where players will unravel numerous secrets and fight all kinds of enemies and bosses.

The game allows players complete freedom on how they want to play the game - you can embark on adventures completely solo, in groups with friends, or test your skills against other players in a PvP mode.

"Lost Ark offers easy-to-learn features with unexpected depth and room for customization," reads the official description. "Hit the ground running with pick-up-and-play action then take control of your combat with the unique Tripod system. Unlock three tiers of customization for each of your abilities, giving you powerful control of exactly how you fight."

Classes and Archetypes

Lost Ark features a system where players can choose between 15 unique character archetypes, grouped into 5 classes.

Each class can wield specific types of weapons and has a set of five unique abilities which you can further customize as you level up and unlock customisation options to tailor them exactly how you want in order to suit your playstyle.

Here is the full breakdown:

In addition, when Lost Ark launches in the EU and NA regions, the game will receive a brand new class - Sorceress.

For more details about each of these classes and archetypes, please visit the official page of the game.

Will Lost Ark be free? Price, subscription, and microtransactions details

Lost Ark utilizes a free-to-play monetisation model, which means that it will be free to download and play, with no monthly subscription, but it will have microtransactions.

Players can pre-purchase various "Founder's Pack" editions ahead of the release - Brzone, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Founder's Pack - which feature cosmetics and gameplay benefits.

For example, if you buy the Platinum Founder's Pack (the most expensive one, priced at 99,99€), you will receive the following items and benefits:

• 3-day Head start
• 7,000 Royal Crystals
• Founder's Exclusive Mount
• Founder's Exclusive Pet
• Founder's Exclusive Avatar
• Founder's Avatar
• Character Expansion Slot
• Founder's Title
• Founder's Exclusive Wallpaper
• Founder's Exclusive Structure
• Legendary Rapport Gift Selection Chest
• Launch Limited Card Pack
• 60 Resurrection Feathers
• 50,000 silver
• 5 Adventurer's Equipment Crates
• Gatherer's Tool Chest
• Hero's Ascent Chest (Level 20)
• Hero's Ascent Chest (Level 30)
• Hero's Ascent Chest (Level 40)
• Hero's Ascent Chest (level 50)
• 30 days of Crystalline Aura benefits

Lost Ark system requirements

Lost Ark boasts a beautiful world with stunning visuals, but the game is praised for its good optimisation, so you will not need to worry much about the system requirements if you have a decent mid-range PC.

Minimum system requirements:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit only)
• Processor: Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 / AMD HD6850
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 50 GB available space
• Additional Notes: Internet connection required to play, offers in-game purchases

Recommended system requirements:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit only)
• Processor: Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 50 GB available space
• Additional Notes: Internet connection required to play, offers in-game purchases

Lost Ark NA and EU release date

Lost Ark was originally released in South Korea in November 2018, in Russia in October 2019, and in Japan in June 2020. 

For European and North American regions, publishing is being handled by Amazon Games, and the game is set to be released on 11th February 2022.

It is important to note that the game will not be available in Belarus, Belgium, Moldova, Netherlands and Ukraine, as these countries are not supported, so if you are planning on playing the game from there, you will need to use a VPN service in order to access the game.

In addition to Europe and North America, the game will simultaneously be released in South America, Australia, and New Zealand.

For more MMO news, check out our dedicated MMO page with news, guides, rumours, and more!

Featured image courtesy of Amazon Games