Lost Ark Roadmap Warns of Possible Delays
Lost Ark got its roadmap for April and May this week with plans for new classes and more laid out within, but the roadmap also carried warnings of possible delays for other features. The content that might be delayed deals with different raids planned to be added to the game, but they'll only be made available if Smilegate RPG feels players are in a suitable spot to receive and enjoy them in terms of progression and gear levels. This follows Smilegate's comments from before that they made a mistake in releasing some content too early, so it looks like they're trying to make sure that doesn't happen again.
The content planned for April is already locked in, however, so there shouldn't be any worries about the new Glaivier class and the South Vern continent getting pushed back. Some of May's plans are already set in stone too with Smilegate saying the developers "firmly plan" on putting out the Destroyer class, the Trial Guardian Raids, and other content. Valtan's Legion Raid and the Deskaluda Guardian Raid, however, are less certain. Smilegate said those releases will be moved if it's determined that "these activities would create pressure within the community" to get their gear levels up to speed at a faster pace than they're comfortable with.
The good news is that it's looking right now like a delay won't be necessary. Smilegate's been looking at the situation and said it feels players will at least be at or close to the item levels required to participate in these raids by the time the content comes out in May.
"Our data has suggested that a big enough portion of our active players will reach, or be close to reaching, the item levels needed to participate in higher level end-game content by May," Smilegate said. "Our goal is to provide fun content for players, even if it's at a higher level, while never making players feel pressured that they need to pay to keep up. We will continue monitoring player feedback and data, and provide updates when we're able as we strive to remain transparent in our communication and decision making."
Whether they come in May or not, Smilegate offered more info on those new raids over on the roadmap. You can check that out here to learn more about the raids and everything else planned for April and May.