Since the day Lost Ark released, the response was overwhelming. Its Bot problem began rising rapidly which led to players abandoning the game. Players have been dropping out of the game in increasing numbers.
Smilegate’s Lost Ark published by Amazon Games had a big number of players join it in the first months. Eventually players experienced some questionable systems leading to more and more players quitting. Since then, Amazon Games has been struggling to retain them. Players have voiced numerous issues in the game that plague the MMORPG, which include bots and gambling-based progression. It has now become very hard to keep the players engaged as it’s extremely frustrating.
Lost Ark had a great opening this year when it released and created a roar amongst the audience. But with bots and unfair methodology being launched in the game, it has become difficult to retain the players. Not that Amazon Games is all at fault but nothing much has been done to solve these problems.
Bots Are Making Lost Ark Unplayable
Bots in the game have made it nearly impossible to cope with. Most games in this genre have this glitch of bot-infested lower levels. There are not enough human players to fill this early part of Lost Ark. This emptiness makes the game more boring opposed to the endgame. Moreover, with this bot issues, it is decreasing in popularity. In the endgame, players move vividly and there is very less engagement in the early areas. Not having enough entertainment and enjoyment because of bots has put an ugly decline in the game.
Excessive Grinding Is Leading to an Unfair Situation
For such bot issues, players are moving towards Real Money Trading (RMT). This is leading to an unfair situation as it increases the cost of items in the market. So, players with the biggest wallet simply skip the grind and in turn other players are forced to play catch-up, which is quite unfair. All of these problems have affected the draw of the game- the Legion Raids. This requires high-skill players to coordinate with team players. So, if we add a money grind on top of it, players might give up too soon.
Monetization Shouldn’t Be Tied to Progression
Monetization is one of the biggest problems in Lost Ark. Although, its’ not upto that much extent like most games, it is still resulting in players leaving. This has affected the overall health of the game. Players who are engaged in the game are forced to choose between “feeding” bots or going through a monotonous grind. Publisher Amazon Games has started giving the players cash shop items for free. However, it’s still better than the scenario in high profile games like Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft.
Amazon should make sure that player progression should not be tied to Monetization. As Lost Ark and Amazon Games both have incredible potential, only one thing can keep them back and that is relative inexperience compared to high profile games. Recently, they banned the troublesome bots in the early game which is a good move. A lot more fixes here and there are needed to keep players attached to the game for a longer time. If all things are mended, Lost Ark can become a strong competitor for other games.
