It’s been just over a year since Lost Ark was released worldwide, and the Korean-developed game has proven to be one of the best new MMOs on PC despite a number of startup issues, including server issues and waves of bot accounts. At the start of Year 2, – Game News talks to Soomin Park, Franchise Leader at Publisher Amazon Games, about what the team has learned, their future plans, and how to bridge the gap between regional versions of Lost Ark.
– Game News: After a year of global release, how does the team feel about the differences between the Korean and global releases in the first year? Were there any noticeable changes you were forced to make, or areas where you felt the global version benefited from the things you learned from the Korean version?
Somin Park: After the first year of release in the West, we are quite happy with the differences between the Korean and Western versions of the game. Our policy is to stay as close to the source material of Lost Ark as possible, unless we feel there is has an advantage in tweaking something for a Western audience.
Most of what we’ve changed other than text localization are the game systems that we think would make them more comfortable for western audiences and what they expect from an action MMO free. This means minor tweaks to monetization aspects and some gameplay mechanics that we believe help Western players adjust to a game like Lost Ark.
I think the Western version benefited a lot from the Korean version of Lost Ark in the amount of polished Smilegate put into the game content before it hit our region. Lost Ark players in the West were able to benefit from years of refinement and improved content and balance when these updates hit the West.
Is there a push to bring new classes to servers around the world at a faster rate? Are there any plans to bridge this gap with eventual update parity, or are you happy with the timing difference between the releases?
Because we monitor player progress through Legion raids and continents, and because it takes time to localize content, catching up with the Korean version is difficult, to be realistic.
However, I can say that we plan to significantly narrow the gap between the Western version and the Korean version in our second year of live service compared to the first year. The speed to close this gap will be faster than players expect, with new classes coming out at a faster rate than new continents and Legion raids. We will soon have an official announcement that will shed more light on this positive news!
There have been a number of improvements since launch to both general quality of life and late-game upgrade speed. What improvements does the team prioritize at the start of the second year? Are there any particular areas you hope to tackle soon, or new ways for players to catch up?
It’s true that as the game enters its second year of live service, new users of the game may feel some pressure to “catch up” given the amount of premium content available. We are continually discussing this with Smilegate, and we will be announcing an update soon that will allow new users and old users to upgrade a little faster in addition to existing tools like Power Pass and Hyper Express, which will continue to roll. out. We’re excited to share this news, so stay tuned!
On top of that, Lost Ark really focuses on its endgame content. How do you encourage new players to pick up Lost Ark in its second year? Are there plans for more features like the Punika Power Pass and Hyper Express events to help newcomers get up to speed quickly, or ways to encourage veteran players to help new players through content older like some games like Final Fantasy XIV do?
As mentioned above, we will continue to develop and expand tools such as Power Pass and Hyper Express to ease the burden on new players who want to progress quickly. And, as mentioned above, we’ll soon have news to share about a new event that will allow players new and old to catch up faster.
We’re always looking for new ways with Smilegate to help the onboarding process for new players, whether through items that speed up progression or through special events where players can access important materials that are essential to its progress. characters.
The Witcher crossover was a really fun collaboration. How does the team feel? Do you plan to do more projects like this in the future? A “dream crossover” that you would like to see (even if it is not in preparation)?
We think The Witcher crossover was a successful event and we’re glad we were able to bring it to players. Since (The Witcher) is so popular in the West it felt like a great collaboration for our audience, especially since it was a combination of two beloved RPG franchises. Amazon and Smilegate are always talking together about future content and things we can bring to audiences in Korea and the West, and crossover events are something we’ll be looking at in the future.
Lost Ark has suffered quite a few issues over the past few months: bugs and exploits that caused server downtime, stability issues that caused disconnects in raids, and of course, the problem of inactive player accounts mistakenly banned, which was later undone. . What did the team learn from this to help mitigate and minimize these issues in the future?
As with any live service game, there are a few hiccups and things that need to be fixed. Our first year with Lost Ark has seen some growing pains, but a big silver lining to those challenges is how Smilegate and Amazon have worked together to address them for the community. Many serious issues were resolved within days and the community was compensated for the issues.
Some issues persisted, like the bot situation, but got better over time. Smilegate and Amazon remain committed to addressing these issues in Year Two of Lost Ark to create the best possible experience for Western gamers.
In addition to this, there is a lot of discussion about the compensation that is offered after such problems: what is needed to determine the appropriate amount to give and who should receive it?
This is a joint decision between Amazon Games and Smilegate. Smilegate or Amazon Games will present a proposed compensation package and distribution strategy, and the two teams will discuss it and come to an agreement on compensation. The decision is always a collaborative effort.
He’s been doing a lot of work recently to try to tackle bot accounts. Have you noticed any tangible improvements since this release? How are you working to continue to improve the player experience and ensure that there aren’t as many bots disrupting the game and the economy?
Bots are one of those issues mentioned above that persist in the game to some extent, but the situation has improved a lot since last year. With every tactic we implement, we learn something new and improve bot control. But the solutions that work today won’t necessarily work a year from now, that’s the evolving nature of this problem. It’s a bit of a moving target, but Smilegate and Amazon remain committed to working for our players.
What is the future update that the team is most looking forward to for players to see?
Great content is coming to the game this year, but I don’t want to spoil it for the fans! I encourage you to keep an eye on the Lost Ark website and social media for updates.
Interview with Soomin Park conducted by – Game News via email.
Check out the next RPG in our preview of the Lost Ark Tulubik Battleground, which features large-scale faction warfare with up to 96 players at once. If you want to jump in and try the game for yourself, check out our Lost Ark class tier list and our handy guide to finding all Lost Ark Mokoko seeds in the game.