Heroes of Arkesia,
As we prepare for launch next month we wanted to spend our January update sharing some new features and important changes we’ve made alongside Smilegate RPG stemming from Closed Beta player feedback, and answering open questions we’ve seen from players on forums, social media, and in our Discord server. In the coming weeks we’ll be sharing more information on launch details, monetization, and much more!
New Features
Before launch we will be sharing a full list of patch notes, but we wanted to share a few planned new features that will be available at launch.
Yorn Region
While Closed Beta allowed you to visit Rohendel for the first time, at launch you will be able to traverse even more of Arkesia’s vast lands! The Yorn region will be open for exploration.
In Yorn, you’ll find yourself headed underground to the home of the Umar race — a group of dwarven people that inhabit the depths below the seemingly barren land. The Umar artisans are known for their craftwork, so be sure to take a moment to enjoy the carefully constructed architecture that has resulted from hundreds of years of building work before you get to back to looking for the Ark.
Yorn includes new quests, bosses, Chaos dungeons, and more.
Feiton Region
In addition to Yorn, the continent of Feiton has also been added for launch.
You might find Feiton to be a little bit... less than welcoming. The lands of this continent were poisoned during the Chain War, and the effects of this continue to influence the landscape to this day. In Feiton, the half-human half-demon Delains reside, but only under the careful control of Avesta, a powerful assassin organization.
Feiton will also introduce new quests, bosses, Chaos dungeons, and more.
Punika Region
Punika is another region that was not included in the Closed Beta test that will be available at launch
Punika is tropical and magical, with much to explore and experience from nature’s beauty to the festivals put on by the inhabitants. You can spend time in the vibrant and lively Nia Village, or traverse the colorful sands of Starstand Beach. The land may be lush, but watch out for the wildlife — something strange seems to be happening with the creatures that inhabit the island.
In addition to new quests and bosses, the release of Punika also means that more late-game content will be available at launch, including limited T3 content.
Tier 3 Content
T3 gear will be available at launch, as well as a few core T3 dungeons to support proper progression including Oreha’s Well (Abyssal Dungeon), Chaos Dungeon Stage 3, and the Velganos Guardian Raid.
The Combat level cap has been increased to 60.
Additional T3 content will be added to the game post-launch in order to set the pace for player progression, both in terms of new content and optimal difficulty
Steam Achievements
173 Steam Achievements will be available in the game at launch. These mirror some of the achievements you’ll find in-game (although there are many more to unlock in-game as well!)
Character Voice Selection
Character creation now includes an option to select a voice for your character — each class has 3 - 4 options to choose from!
Based on Player Feedback
Korean VO DLC Options
Players will be able to select the option to use the original Korean voice over in game along the subtitles of their choice — this will be obtainable in a free Steam DLC pack at launch. Korean subtitles will not be available.
Some early game cut-scenes are now skippable
During Beta, we gathered lots of feedback from players about the early game experience. While we want to continue to improve the first time experience for new players, one of the changes we made before launch is that a number of cutscenes (with the exception of some important pieces of the story) are now skippable, even the first time you play through them. Whether you got your fill of story time during the Beta, or are just more interested in powering through to the end of the game, this will save you a little bit of time if you wish.
Balance tweaks for pacing of the game
Another huge point of feedback that we received during the Closed Beta Test was that many players felt like some of the game’s pacing and gearing was not quite challenging enough. We’ve worked to make balance changes to combat this, and while it won’t slow you down early on, the endgame content will prove to be a bit more challenging for players.
Community FAQ
Character Customization Questions
What are the Character, Stronghold, and Guild Naming restrictions?
The following are restricted: Special characters (!@#$%, etc.), capitalized letters other than the first letter of the name (e.g., McFly, WeIrDoGuY), and spaces.
How does character name reservation and deletion work? How long after I delete a character until it is available again? Do I need to play with a character in order to reserve the name or just create the character?
Completing the character creation process will reserve the name for that character. Character names are not automatically released again after character deletion. Releasing names for re-use is a manual process that we will likely run at some point in the future but it is not something we expect to do regularly or start doing in the near future.
What is the minimum and maximum number of letters that are allowed to be used in a character’s name or guild?
Guild names are limited to 2 - 20 characters, character names are limited to 2 - 16 characters. Note that spaces, numbers, and multiple capital letters cannot be used in either guild or character names.
Will character voice selection be available at launch?
Yes, you will be able to select a voice for your player. Each class will include 3 - 4 options for you to choose from!
Founder’s Packs and Skins Questions
Is it possible to stack Founder’s Packs for multiple rewards?
Players can buy 1 of each Founder Pack which will stack, meaning they will receive all of the contents they purchased in each pack — the only things that will not stack are the 3-day Head Start, and the Founder’s Title (which is the same title for each pack).
How will you receive your Founder’s Pack contents, and for what classes are they available?
Founder’s Packs will be delivered to your Product Inventory, and from here you will be able to obtain the contents when they are directly delivered to your character’s inventory. But sure to open the your Northern Lawmaker or Platinum skin chest with the character you want to use it on, as the skin will be set to match this character’s class! These skins will only be usable on the 15 classes that are available at launch.
Misc. Gameplay Questions
What happens if your Guild Leader doesn’t log in for weeks?
If the Guild Leader has not logged in after ten days, there is a system that can be used to promote the Deputy of the Guild to be the new Guild Leader.
Will players be able to get content or rewards from events that occurred in KR/RU over the last few years, that were time-limited there?
Some of these items may appear in our version of the game for various events or happenings in the future.
Will players be able to change the font in-game?
The in-game font type and size cannot be changed, however the font size within text chat can be changed.
In the case of damage numbers being unreadable on high resolution monitors, this is a known bug that is currently out for a fix.
Rather than having Roster based PvP rankings, can it be character based?
We don’t have plans on changing this for launch, but player feedback on the game is always welcome.
Looking Ahead
While we know there’s a ton of excitement surrounding launch day and launch day information, rest assured that we’ll have more details on their way to you next week. This article will include launch day instructions for players, a launch server list, information about weekly reset times, the exact server open and pre-download times, and more.
Before launch, we also have plans to share additional details about Lost Ark’s Business Model and Monetization, full launch patch notes, some information about what makes this version of game different from other versions, and more. There will also be a roadmap to share our post-launch plans headed your way once the game is in your hands so you’ll know what to look forward to!
As always, thank you for your support. Make sure to follow our social channels and PlayLostArk.com as we head toward launch. Here’s where you can find us:
See you in Arkesia!
