Since its release almost three years ago, Lost Ark has had a wild journey getting to where it is. Amazon has been speeding up content, trying to keep up and slowly catch up with the Korean releases. While we’ll never truly be day and date with Korea, AGS has been doing a good job lately quickly implementing quality-of-life changes, if not at the same, while the raids and other content came a few months later.
We talked with Amazon earlier this yearabout their upcoming Echidna expansion, but with the huge release of Tier 4 (Season 3) slated for next week, we wanted to sit down with the publisher to see what’s in store for the western version of the game.
Lost Ark Sees Huge Changes, Tier 4 in Near Future
Lost Ark will be reworked in a significant way to feel fresh for existing players.
[Hardcore Gamer] Tier 4 is something I know a lot of fans have been anticipating for a long time. What does it mean for Amazon and Smilegate to move into another tier/season after so many years?
[Roxanne Sabo] As the game and story have progressed, another Tier and a refresh on Lost Ark’s end game was the natural progression of things — it keeps the game fresh and exciting and allows new systems to be explored like the Ark Passive System and Hyper Awakening Skills. We refer to the newest content in Lost Ark as the “end game” but it’s really more like the beginning of a new era or chapter for players to experience!
How has the transition been adapting Tier 4 into the west? Have there been any unforeseen challenges?
We know that the content pacing has been a lot faster here than it was when Tier 4 was released in Korea, and we’ve worked to make sure players feel less rushed and more ready. Decisions like releasing Behemoth early and shifting Aegir to release later in October helped alter some of this pacing, and finding places to rebalance some raid content have all been a part of ensuring that it felt like the right time to release Tier 4. But overall, we’re thrilled to be able to bring this exciting new piece of the game to players!
What are some of the changes you are most excited to see fans get their hands on and experiment with in Tier 4?
Tier 4 isn’t only a new gear tier, it also brings forward all new systems, like the Ark Passive. The Ark Passive System is something I’m personally very excited to see what players do with it, especially in terms of all of the new ways they try to build and play their characters. Lost Ark’s combat has always been a very high point of the game, so presenting players with new ways to create builds and unlock potential going to be very cool.
Speaking of which, there are various new and overhauled systems with the new tier. What is being done to help players transition smoothly into these new systems?
The Ark Passive System is something that players will unlock over time, and it’s also something they won’t have to fully commit to using right away. Options to use Tier 3 Engravings and Accessories will remain available even after the Ark Passive launches, which means players will be able to use what they prefer as they get up to speed!
As our teams decided to bring Hyper Awakening Skills and Hyper Awakening Techniques together with the T4 update, players will be able to experience their new powerful Hyper Awakening Skills, and helpful Hyper Awakening Techniques even before they open the Ark Passive system.
It has been made apparent that the Korean and Western versions need to be handled slightly differently from one another. While the core content will no doubt be the same, could we see more deviations from difficulty or reward structures? Looking at Aegir, for example, what is being done (if anything at all) to accommodate the western audience?
We are definitely looking into different ways we can adjust content to verify it feels good for our audience at all times — that was recently apparent in our decision to release the Behemoth Raid in September at item level 1620. It’s going to be something we keep assessing and making adjustments on. As far as Aegir, we have pushed the release of the content back somewhat to create a bigger gap between the Aegir and Behemoth releases.
While it’s still fairly new, how has the reception been to bound gold? Can we expect it to be implemented in other sources outside Solo Mode and Una/Paragon Tokens?
Bound Gold has definitely been well received, and we’re looking for more opportunities to utilize it! In September, we’ll be re-releasing the Blooming Mokokos event, where players can find blooming Mokokos in exchange for earning random amounts of Silver and Gold. With the inclusion of the Bound Gold system, we will be increasing the Gold jackpot in this event to be higher than ever, which should be exciting and rewarding!
This interview was conducted before the Blooming Mokoko event made its return. This is why the answer above may be a bit outdated.
Amazon Talks Lost Ark’s Support Shortage, Accelerated Time Frame, Future
We talk with Roxanne Sabo about what Amazon has in store for their MMORPG.
Speaking of which, Solo Mode is something that I personally have been enjoying as of late, as it can be easily digestible content for someone with not a lot of time or someone still learning. What is Smilegate and Amazon’s philosophy towards Solo content moving forward?
We’re very excited by the reception of Solo Raids in the West, and saw a lot of players return to the game to try them out. While we’ll definitely be releasing more solo content in the future, group raiding is a core part of Lost Ark’s gameplay, so we’ll be determining how to balance both solo and group content in terms of making sure it feels true to the spirit of the game.
With the introduction of the Ignite Servers, what can new and returning players expect to see in the evolution of the Jump Start servers that were introduced a year ago? What were some of the key takeaways from the previous servers that you wanted to better improve or focus on this time around?
Ignite servers are going to feel very different from Jump Start servers. While Jump Start servers were more focused on bringing new and long lapsed players into the game and forming a new server community, Ignite servers are going to function more as a trip straight to the end game. Ignite servers are going to be run for a very limited time and will allow players to quickly prep a character to be ready for the end game that will quickly join up with players on Legacy servers. While we’ll have a lot more to share about how these servers will work, we’re very excited about this new iteration and think players will be, too!
We saw the raid scene in the Jump Start servers flourish for a few weeks when it was new, but it fell off pretty quickly afterward. What measures are being put into place to ensure we don’t see a similar situation?
Aside from the goal of Ignite servers being to move characters and players over to the Legacy servers fairly quickly, the introduction and accessibility of Solo raids also means that players on these servers will always have options for clearing the content they need to get through.
It has been a long time since we last inquired about this, but what are the chances we see a merch lineup for Lost Ark? We need a Mokoko plushy in our lives.
We know a lot of folks would like to see merch more widely available in the West, but unfortunately, we don’t have any of the rights to sell merch for the game.
Any final words for our viewers about what’s ahead for Lost Ark?
This is by far the largest update we’ve ever brought to the game, and we can’t wait for players to get their hands on it. The release of Tier 4 will be bringing a whole new era into Lost Ark’s end game — but even though we call it the end game, it’s like a new beginning!
Amazon Talks Echidna Prep, Thaemine Changes, Exclusive Cosmetics in Lost Ark
Community Lead Roxanne Sabo brings insight on the next couple of months for Lost Ark.
