MMOs are high-risk and high-reward. Plenty of MMOs come and go in the matrix. Some disappear into the void as their player numbers dwindle, while others grow in popularity with each passing year and with new expansions. Based on the popularity and reviews, at least on the Western shores, it appears Lost Ark settled into the latter category. Lost Ark is an MMORPG developed by Smilegate RPG and published by Amazon Games. First, it got released in South Korea in November 2018, but now it’s available in North America, South America, and Europe. There’s never been an isometric MMORPG quite so comprehensive or adventurous as this is because it has ARPG elements inspired by games like Diablo and Path of Exile. It’s story may be generic fantasy, but there’s a surprising degree of depth to each of it’s sprawling systems.
The fact that it’s free-to-play is an obvious ascendance in this gaming world. But this fascinating, solid, alluring, and substantial Korean hybrid of MMO and action RPG has a lot more going for it, with the spectacularly addictive combat system. The campaign is extremely long and beautiful, but you can complete that with or without friends. It’s very solo-friendly and offers a vast amount of well-made content for everyone. From launch, the game was a huge success, with peaks of over 1.3 million players on Steam. It still sees peaks of almost 300k players, which is pretty huge in the MMO genre.
Gameplay:
Lost Ark is a wide-ranging game with many regions to traverse, resources to stockpile, and gear to earn. That said, combat is easily Lost Ark’s greatest strength. Abilities look good, sound sufficiently formidable, and feel extraordinary to use. In the game, an ancient myth suggests that the Lost Ark is the weapon to dispel the monsters and their influential leader. The more you explore, the more you grow stronger by joining together the story of the Ark. You will meet numerous NPCs sharing the lore and unfolding more mysteries. And after completing each quest, you will get close in finding the legendary Ark and saving the world. Lost Ark has quests such as main story quests, quests given by NPCs, chained quests, and rapport quests in which you build relationships with NPCs. Also, you will come across adventure and dungeon quests.
Key Features:
Some of the best aspects of playing Lost Ark:
Different Classes – You can play the game using 15 different classes. Play it as an Assassin, Gunner, Mage, Martial Artist, or Warrior. Each class has multiple job advance options, up to 15.
Start-out for Adventure – Set sail to pave your path through it’s mysterious world on your own Ark to discover unique areas or seek your fortune by hunting for treasure.
Tripod System – Tripods are augmenting to your skills that enhance their functionality. Put together different skill elements to perform different alterations of the same base skills.
Mini Games – One of the fun and intelligible challenges of Lost Ark is to visit the local tavern and challenge players to different mini-games. Such as the Monster card game or Keg drinking contest.
Raid Boss– You can team up with players to defeat powerful bosses on interactive battlegrounds to receive impressive rewards.
The Colosseum – Challenge players online to combat them in 1v1 or 3v3 PvP matches.
Relish Life – Go fishing, mining, digging for artifacts, chopping trees, and practicing other life skills to collect beneficial supplies.
Island Ownership – Conquer and manage the island of your Ark as you see fit.
Now, Smilegate’s MMO Lost Ark is doing great in the gaming scene. It is soaring up the Steam charts, becoming one of the biggest games in terms of concurrent players. Remarkably, the sheer volume of traffic is only coming from PC players, as it’s only available for PC for now. Even though there is no Lost Ark version for PS4, PS5, or Xbox Series Consoles yet, gamers continue to speculate about the possibility.
Will Lost Ark ever release on PS4, PS5, or Xbox Series Consoles?
In the matter of a console release for Lost Ark in the future, Smilegate hasn’t said anything solid. Sadly, if you are waiting for Lost Ark to launch on PS4, PS5, or Xbox, dont get disappointed to know that the developers have no such plans to release the game on consoles for now. As of right now, there is no definitive report or statement, so that remains a mystery. Currently, it appears that console versions are not something Smilegate and publisher Amazon Games are interested in developing. On the FAQ page of Lost Ark, there is a question that says, “Will it only be on PC?” and the answer is, “Yes, Lost Ark is only available on PC.”
Even if Lost Ark was launched in Korea in 2018 without any console release, it has a significant meaning behind this. No recent titles published by Amazon Games have been released on a gaming console yet. In 2019, Amazon’s MMORPG, New World, has only been made available for Windows PCs by the end of 2019. There are no plans for a console port of New World at this time from Amazon Games as well.
Although in a recent interview Amazon Games Franchise Leader for Lost Ark, Soomin Park, told VG247 that a Lost Ark console version could be a possibility if they see the demand. He said, “If Lost Ark on consoles is something that fans want, then I think it’s something both parties would consider.”
Despite Lost Ark not coming to PS4, PS5, or Xbox Series consoles anytime soon, Smilegate has proven that it can make games for consoles. They have recently released CrossFireX for the Xbox Series, which is a new title from the company. So console players can hope that someday in the future, we will get Lost Ark for PS4. PS5 or Xbox Series consoles. So as of now, one of the most popular games in the world will remain exclusively available for PC.
Can you play Lost Ark with a Controller?
Although there’s no release of Lost Ark on PS4, PS5, or Xbox consoles, you can play the game using a controller. It also has support for the Dual Shock and Dual Sense Controllers, Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, etc. This is also a huge reason why there’s speculation for it to come out for consoles because you can play the game using your Controller with the same input type.
PC System Requirements for Lost Ark:
Even though you cannot enjoy Lost Ark on PS4, PS5, or Xbox Series consoles at the moment, you can play it on PC. So these are the minimum and recommended system requirements for playing Lost Ark on PC.
Minimum System Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 460
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 50 GB+ available space
Recommended System Requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5 / AMD Ryzen 5
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050
- Storage: 50 GB + available space
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
Additional Notes: Internet connection required to play, offers in-game purchases.
Conclusion:
Lost Ark is in the same category as many renowned titles that have already been released on console, such as the Diablo franchise. So with support from Amazon Games and Smilegate, and since Smilegate still owns Lost Ark, a console port would be a project that both dev and publisher should tackle together. So if there’s enough fan support for this game, we might see a PS4, PS5, or Xbox console version of Lost Ark very soon. Till then, good luck and have fun!
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