The popular Twitch streamer Asmongold released a video on Youtube on March 14, criticizing the overall state of Lost Ark and the difficulty players have on reaching a certain item level. In the game, players need to upgrade their gear to certain levels to start certain content. However, the mechanic is gated behind RNG which many players find frustrating to breach.
Recently, Smilegate RPG released a new Abyss Dungeon, Argos, that requires you to reach item level 1,370. However, as Asmongold states, the process to reach 1,370 is an “insurmountable” obstacle, especially for free-to-play players. Asmongold believes that the average player would need to spend money to reach this goal, which “has created a really bad taste in the player base’s mouth.”
Asmongold also discussed a “distinct class difference” between players who can play for long periods of time, have massive luck, or have a large understanding of the game and more casual players. Those who can spend a lot of money would also be lumped in with the former. He’s worried that the potential of the game will be “squandered by mismanagement.”
The issues with raising item level gear have been a contentious topic within the community, with many players on the forums and Reddit expressing their dissatisfaction with this portion of the game. The MMORPG has also run into issues on a management level with players claiming they’ve been wrongly banned and other technical issues.