Asmongold Gives Warning to Lost Ark Over "Pay-to-Win" Content
Lost Ark's new Argos Abyss raid has drawn some criticism from players, including Asmongold. In a recent video, the streamer claimed that the raid is effectively "pay-to-win," since players need a minimum Item Level of 1,370. Getting to that level requires a lot of resources, and players have been paying out of pocket. Asmongold isn't happy with Amazon Games and Smilegate over the situation, claiming that the game's honing rates aren't strong enough. The streamer also points out that it's harder to get to Level 1,370, but once that has been cleared, it becomes easier, causing a scenario where the "rich get richer," hugely benefitting those willing to spend.
"I think that's really created a bad taste in the player base's mouth, because they have heard all of these positive things about Lost Ark how it doesn't like kind of force you into paying money, how it doesn't make you feel like you're one of the have-nots if you don't have a certain item level or whatever. And now the game comes out in North America and we have this distinct class difference, we have this massive class difference between players who are able to either play 12 hours a day, and get lucky, and understand the game enough to get 1,370, and also players that are able to spend a lot of money and get up there on their own," said Asmongold.
The streamer went on to say that Lost Ark players in Korea and Russia have better opportunities to hone their Item Levels, and those are things that would help improve the situation, if they were brought to North America. It's worth noting that Asmongold has long been outspoken about games that are "pay-to-win," including Genshin Impact. The streamer is clearly fonder of Lost Ark, but he also feels strongly about the current direction of the game in North America. Asmongold ended the video, warning that the game will lose a significant amount of players if it continues on this path. Hopefully, Amazon and Smilegate will make improvements to the game before that happens!
Lost Ark is available now on PC. Readers can check out all of our previous coverage of Lost Ark right here.
Have you been enjoying Lost Ark? Do you feel the game is "pay-to-win?" Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!