Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure
Lost Ark
Debate Club Episode 11
Heroes of Arkesia,
We’re back with your host Roxx and debaters Grenton, Bobajenny, Stoopzz, and DatModz. This episode’s warmup debate topic is: Which Sidereal would be the coolest to spend the day with? For our 1v1 debate, Bobajenny and DatModz have the topic of: What is more impressive Grand Master PVP title or Legion Raid Inferno title?
Head over to YouTube and let us know who you think is not a Mokoko in the comments. We’ll see you next week for Episode 12!
2023 Roadmap - Part 3
Heroes of Arkesia,
We’re excited to share the third and final part of the 2023 roadmap, which includes the major planned content pieces arriving in Arkesia during the rest of the year. Join Franchise Lead Soomin Park, Product Manager Andy Lin, Head of Editorial Henry Stelter, and Community Manager Roxanne Sabo for our team’s first video update.
The roadmap content discussed are highlights we know players are eagerly awaiting, but the roadmap is not a comprehensive list of every change arriving in Arkesia over the next few months, and could change. As we approach each month, more details will be shared. There will be plenty of other quality of life (QoL) updates, balance tuning, adjustments to support new and returning players, and unique events. Stay tuned to our website and social channels for future release notes including the full list of new content, cosmetics, balance changes, events, bug-fixes, and more included in our major monthly updates. With that, let’s dive in.
The normal written roadmap can be found below.
UPDATES TO AUGUST
Before diving into the upcoming plans for September through December 2023, we have additional changes that players can look forward to experiencing in the August Update. The full release notes will be available next week, ahead of the update’s release.
DAILY ACTIVITY ADJUSTMENTS
Chaos Dungeon Adjustments
For Chaos Dungeons, our first priority is to improve the playability of the dungeon itself. Fatigue in Chaos Dungeons is not a problem that can be solved by simply reducing the number of encounters, and if Chaos Dungeons are fun and rewarding to play, players will feel less fatigued.
The first phase of our overhaul of Chaos Dungeons includes increased rewards such as cards, higher level gems, more silver, along with enemy AI tweaks to reduce the time it takes to play a single dungeon by roughly 25%.
We plan to work with Smilegate RPG to make further improvements as we continue to listen to player feedback and in-game data.
Guardian Raids
Guardian Raids will be adjusted to one per day, and the rewards will be increased.
INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY TO CARDS
We are aware of the reluctance to play with new users due to content fatigue. We want to continue to improve this by reducing content fatigue, and we'll start by increasing the base supply of cards. Along with increasing the supply of cards in Chaos Dungeons and Guardian Raids, we plan to increase other sources of supply, such as adjusting the frequency of Wandering Vendors.
SEPTEMBER
JUMP-START SERVERS
We’re excited to announce Jump-Start servers, a system we hope will provide a fresh beginning for new or returning players who are interested in giving Lost Ark another try. Over the year, we conducted focus groups and other feedback mechanisms to understand what might prevent interested players in giving Lost Ark another try. We heard a few consistent themes: Gatekeeping, bots, and the daily grind.
Many parts of the game require other Players to complete. By bringing together a big group of Jump Starters at the same time, we expect the early and mid game to feel much more lively, and to reduce the amount of gate keeping in raid lobbies. We recognize that the game encountered many challenges at initial launch, with a steep progression curve, Bots and stability issues. We’ve made serious strides in addressing these and feel confident that the Western service is in a good place to bring players back.
There will be a server available in each region. Players will get a South Vern pass to ‘Jump-Start’ a character immediately to Item Level 1415. Jump-Start servers will be isolated from other servers, with independent matchmaking, party finder, marketplace and auction house. This allows restarting players to have an independent experience that’s unaffected by existing servers/regions. Players on Jump-Start servers will receive materials that provide faster vertical and horizontal progression, including honing materials, card packs, and more, and will also benefit from the ongoing Super Mokoko Express event that kicks off on all servers in August, which goes up to Item Level 1540. Jump-Start Players will be able to get an abundance of free honing materials in a special event shop, helping them quickly climb to Item Level 1580.
We’ll have more information to share closer to the launch of the September Update.
YOZ’S JAR - SEASON 1 & 2
Yoz’s Jar is a new consumable that will introduce a variety of Epic and Legendary skins. If you have a skin you don’t like or wear anymore (or maybe one from Yoz’s Jar you’re not a fan of) you can break it down for “Cloth”, which can be used with a Jar (either Season 1 or 2) to roll a new skin from a determined list. Yoz’s Jar and Cloth will be sold in the store. Cloth can also be obtained by dismantling Epic skins looted from Yoz’s Jar. In addition, there will be discounted packs of Cloth and Jars available on a monthly basis. Players can break down the skins that are no longer tradable (because the trade limit of 3 times has all been used up) into Cloth as well. Not all Skins can be broken down to Cloth. Only skins that are purchased by Royal Crystals (tradable) can be broken down. The Epic and Legendary Skins in Yoz’s Jar can be traded in Auction House, so players can use Gold instead of Crystals to purchase.
This new cosmetic system will also give a 10% chance to acquire Legendary skins, which provide better benefits than Epic skins. No worries if you like a different skin more than the looks of your new Legendary one with bigger bonuses, you can ‘Overlay’ the skin you like over the Legendary skin.
The Yoz’s Jar system will be updated to include 1,000 Amethyst Shards when the result is an Epic skin. As a part of this update, we’re adding new purchase options to the Amethyst Shop, including Silver, Dawn skins, and various reagents for players to customize their skins. The Dawn Skins will even be available for Slayer, Artist, and Aeromancer. We’re also committing to refreshing the Amethyst Shop once a year.
Legendary Skins are something that players have been waiting for, and we wanted to take the time to get it right. We listened to your feedback, and we heard that you wanted access to the Legendary skins as they were in the Korean version. We’re excited about the changes made to Yoz’s Jar, which were done in careful collaboration with the Smilegate RPG team. We wanted to smooth out the drops and make each pull feel rewarding, even if you didn’t get a Legendary.
AFFECTION RAPPORT RANKS
Thirain and Nineveh are two characters that players have gotten to know very well during their time in Arkesia — and now there’s an opportunity to further deepen those relationships.
Thirain has been busy with work, but the royal ball is quickly approaching! This ball is meant to commemorate the day that he ascended to the throne, but behind Luterra’s excitement for the event, Thirain is facing hardships that he only trusts you with.
Nineveh is always a bright spot in Arkesia, working hard to help others. Her animal friends have prepared a surprise party for her, but before she can celebrate, she collapses due to a mysterious chaotic force! It seems there is more beyond Nineveh’s cheerful exterior; deep wounds and stories that she is ready to reveal to you.
PRIMAL ISLAND BATTLE ROYALE
Sail over to Primal Island and brace yourself — you’ll have to fight, steal, and survive against fierce competition in a new battle royale style event where you’ll drop into an arena to face off against other players and hordes of ferocious dinosaurs, fighting to defeat your opponents and be the last one standing. The arena is open to competitors item level 1490 and higher, but your item level and stats won’t help you much here. Players will need to scavenge gear during the match and upgrade it in real time.
ARK PASS
A new Ark Pass season will be available, including free tiers for all players, and premium tracks with more rewards and cosmetics.
OCTOBER
PLECCIA
Pleccia is a new continent that players over item level 1475 will be able to visit. Pleccia is a continent of romance, art, and freedom. Players can enjoy the fantastic view of Pleccia Port and Prehilia Prairie, and interact with unique NPCs including the Vediches, Yoz illusionists, and more. The story of Pleccia begins in Luterra - with rumors of strange things happening in the beautiful continent. Players must solve the mysteries surrounding the Vediche family, the priests of Sacria, and an old friend to reach the end of the story. After the story has ended, players can search for a unique set of collectible items to receive special rewards, and look for hidden achievements unlockable only in Pleccia. And don’t forget, you’ll need to finish the Pleccia story before Voldis— more on that soon.
CALILIGOS TRIAL GUARDIAN RAID
A new Trial Guardian Raid is arriving. Face off against Caliligos, the master of lightning in a special challenge that displays both the first clear in the region and fastest clear time! Earn new titles to show off your accomplishments if your group is triumphant.
NOVEMBER
SOULEATER ADVANCED CLASS
Localization for the identity meters, skills, and class engravings have not been finalized, and names may change.
Souleater – the Master of Specters – is an Assassin subclass who wields a giant scythe to collect her enemies’ souls. Souleater can choose to attack in three different ways: directly with the scythe, by summoning the dead, or by turning into a reaper.
Souleater’s class identity is ‘Reaper Mode’, which puts her into a powerful reaper form after players have filled the Soul Stones identity gauge. Souleater also has a second identity meter, the ‘Possession Meter’, used only in Reaper Mode. The two identity meters can be filled up using specific types of skills, and knowing when to use the identity meter is critical.
Class Engravings:
Full Moon - helps players fill up Soul Stones to quickly enter Reaper Mode, and burst enormous damage in a short window. For those who want to land powerful strikes with big numbers while playing the Souleater, this engraving would be it.
Dark Moon - is an engraving that does not use Reaper Mode, but instead uses the identity meter to enhance existing skills instead. It provides a speedier and agile combat experience to players, compared to its counterpart.
PROGRESSION EVENTS
Progression events for the Souleater class will be released to help players level up their new characters, including an Express event along with a free Powerpass.
DECEMBER
VOLDIS
Voldis is a new continent with an entrance Item Level of 1520 and above. The continent of Voldis is the land of sages and alchemy, with the magnificent city of Kalinar located at the mouth of Ketsla River. The city is always bustling with tourists seeking for advice from the renowned sages. The city itself has a fantastic view and is full of cute Homunculi dashing to and fro as they run the citizens’ errands. Voldis is home to the Sages, who delve into the secrets of the human body with alchemy and ancient knowledge. They are well-respected for their vast knowledge and powers, and with the Chaos Guardians returning, their aid will be more than helpful in the upcoming war.
Outside of the city, much of the continent is full of giant trees – all part of the Great Rainforest. The Rainforest holds many mysteries, with powerful monsters lurking in the shadows. Players can get help from the Raiyas, the people of the Forest, to enter the Sage’s Tower and reach the end of the story. After the story has ended, players can complete their Adventurer’s Tome, as well as complete a brief set of epilogue quests.
IVORY TOWER ABYSSAL DUNGEON
The Ivory Tower is a new Abyssal Dungeon located in Voldis, which has 4 gates. The entrance Item Level is 1600 for the Normal difficulty and 1620 for Hard Mode. The rewards include Honing Materials (Refined Protection Stone, Refined Obliteration Stone, Radiant Honor Leapstones, Honor Shards), Gold, special hidden rewards, and the new Elixir system.
ELIXIRS
Elixirs are a new system which will drastically increase player’s combat abilities by imbuing their gear with new, powerful effects. Epic elixirs will be obtainable through the Normal mode of the Ivory Tower Abyssal Dungeon, while Legendary Elixirs can be earned via Hard mode. Once obtained, Elixirs need to be refined and imbued onto a player’s gear.
To refine an Elixir, players need to first get ‘Ductility Catalyst’ by paying gold and Chaos Stones. Catalysts are also acquirable through Wandering Merchant in Voldis.
The refining process requires both a certain amount of Gold and Catalysts. Players have a set amount of tries for each refining process (11 tries for Epic, and 14 tries for Legendary), and players can use the advice from the three Sages of the Tower to pick the best outcome possible. Players will need to think carefully and use the advice well – it’s important to understand the logic of the system.
There are powerful Set bonuses to aim for when special conditions are met. The refining process is unlike any other experience in Lost Ark – it relies on a certain amount of luck, but it also requires the players to think carefully and logically to plan for the best outcome.
Once the Elixir is done refining, players can imbue the Elixir to their equipment to get bonus effects. There are various types of bonuses that Elixirs provide – categorized broadly into offensive, defensive, and utility. Players can choose a maximum of five abilities for each Elixir and refine two out of the five. So there will be 10 abilities once refining is done – two for each equipment, without the weapon.
ARK PASS
A new Ark Pass season will be available, including free tiers for all players, and premium tracks with more rewards and cosmetics.
LOOKING AHEAD
We’re excited to witness players experience the unique events, explore new parts of Arkesia, battle in new PvP events, and prepare for the challenging experiences awaiting in the new dungeons and raids over the coming months. In the meantime, stay tuned to our website, social channels, and the release notes for the full list of new content, store updates, events, bug-fixes, and more over the coming months.
Head over to YouTube to let us know your thoughts on the video component of the Roadmap, and if you’d like to see this type of content heading forward.
We’ll see you in Arkesia!
Aeromancer Lost Ark Academy
Heroes of Arkesia,
The Aeromancer arrives in Arkesia next week on August 16, accompanied by progression events to help players quickly level up. Learn about the Aeromancer’s abilities, engravings, and progression events below. The Aeromancer is the second Specialist Advanced Class. With power of mystical illusion she’s able to manipulate the weather to devastating effect on the battlefield, or fight to vanquish enemies with spectacular flourishes of her umbrella.
The Aeromancer’s Identity is Sun Shower. The Sun Shower Raindrop Meter is filled as the Aeromancer successfully hits enemies with skills, and Sun Shower can be used when the meter fills all the way up— providing dual benefits of offense and defense. Upon using Sun Shower, the Aeromancer’s basic attacks and movement skill evolve while active, nearby enemies are constantly damaged, and her (and her party's) damage received from enemies is reduced.
Class Engravings
Wind Fury - Crit Rate +7/15/30% of the basic Move Speed Bonus percentage, and Crit damage +22/45/90% of the basic Atk. Speed Increase percentage. If Umbrella skill is used and then again within 3s, recover max 12% of Raindrop Meter. Sun Shower is enhanced and counts as an Umbrella skill. Sun Shower AoE radius is reduced and Raindrop Meter consumption +50%. Foes no longer receive the Atk. Power Reduction effect, but Atk. Speed and Move Speed Increase of allies +12%.
Drizzle - Sun Shower's Raindrop Meter consumption decreases by 50%. While Sun Shower is active, damage dealt by Weather skills increases by 7/15/30%.
Skills
Spread - Rapidly charge forward, piercing the target in front and inflicting Damage. On hit, open the umbrella, inflicting Damage.
Downward Strike - Slam down the umbrella, inflicting Damage, then slam it down with greater strength, inflicting Damage.
Tornado Dance - Open up the umbrella and rapidly spin it while charging forward, inflicting Damage. At the end, swing the umbrella with great force, inflicting Damage and pushing the foe away.
Rage - Perform a fierce umbrella swing and inflict Damage. Use the skill again to unsheathe a sword hidden in the umbrella and swing to inflict Damage.
Tornado - Throw the umbrella in the direction of the target location, hitting the target up to 8 times, inflicting Damage. The spinning umbrella pushes the target away.
Wind Gimlet - Perform a tornado attack using the wind-infused umbrella. If the target is downed or in the air, lift them again and inflict Damage.
Face to Face - Hold the umbrella up in the target location to block. Blocks Damage up to a percentage of Max HP. At this moment, if an enemy's attack touches the umbrella within 0.8s, perform a Footwork Skill, inflicting Damage and blasting the foe away.
Piercing Wind - Instantly take position and unleash the Footwork Skill, inflicting Damage and blasting the foe away.
Whirlpool - Create a whirlpool in the direction of the target location. For 2s, attack the foe 4 times with a whirlpool that inflicts Water Elemental Damage, dragging the foe to itself. The whirlpool spins increasingly faster, inflicting Water Elemental Damage.
Rainstorm - Create a Rainstorm at the target location within 10 meters. Inflicts Water Damage to the foes over 6 times for up to 3s.
Strong Wind - Swing the umbrella in the direction of the target location, summoning a penetrating wind that inflicts Damage to nearby foes. The wind strikes up to 5 times, inflicting Damage and pushing them back.
Thick Fog - Unleash the umbrella's fog to unleash a shockwave, inflicting Damage, and move 6 meters backward. The fog lasts for 5s, attacking 10 times, dealing damage, and Move Speed decreases temporarily and inflicts Darkness.
Spring Breeze - Spin on the spot, creating a wind that deals Damage and pushes the foe away.
Fly Open - your umbrella and fly before quickly moving forward. Create abnormal weather in your path, inflicting damage every 1s on foes exposed to the abnormal weather.
Wiping Wind - Create a gust of wind at the cursor location within 12 meters. Inflict Damage over 5 strikes, and deal Damage and lift them into the air.
Scorching Sun - Create a ray of sunlight at the target location within 10 meters. Sunlight shines down after 0.5s, knocking down the enemy and dealing Fire Damage over 20 strikes.
Awakening Skills
Storm's Approach - Create a huge tsunami at the target location within 12 meters. Inflicts Water Damage to the foes and pulling them in over 7 times and knock them away with Water Damage. Those hit by the tsunami have their Crit Resistance reduced.
Narr's Blade - Throw the umbrella up and quickly slash at foes in front, inflicting damage and disappearing, then quickly slash toward the front 12 times, inflicting damage and pulling foes in toward the center of the sword burst. Catch the falling umbrella and perform a powerful Footwork Skill, inflicting Damage to the foe in front and penetrate with the sword, inflicting Damage and blast the foe away.
Progression Events
Full Details will be provided in next week’s release notes, but we’re excited to share that players can look forward to a South Vern Powerpass, and the Super Mokoko Express Event, which will help players quickly level up to Item Level 1540 and beyond. With 5x3 Engraving Support, new gem unlocks going up to Lvl. 8, and plenty of honing materials, it will be easy to quickly level up an Aeromancer (or other new class)!
The Aeromancer and progression events aren’t all we have planned for the August Update— the Akkan Legion Raid releases along with quality of life updates, new player improvements, and more! Stay tuned to PlayLostArk.com and our social media channels for the full list of updates in next week's Release Notes. Until then, we'll see you in Arkesia.
Debate Club Episode 10
Heroes of Arkesia,
We’re back with your host Roxx and debaters Grenton, Bobajenny, Stoopzz, and DatModz. This episode’s warmup debate topic is: What’s the craziest thing in Lost Ark? For our 1v1 debate, Bobajenny and Stoopzz have the topic of: What is the most important thing that can be added to Lost Ark?
Head over to YouTube and let us know who you think is not a Mokoko in the comments. We’ll see you next week for Episode 11!
Notice - August Update
Heroes of Arkesia,
Many of you are already aware of some of the key content arriving in the August Update, such as the Akkan Legion Raid, Aeromancer Advanced Class, the Sonavel Guardian Raid, QoL Updates, a revamp to the early game tiers, and more! Along with all these updates, we’ve seen player questions pop up on when the next balance patch will arrive so that players can properly prepare. While all of the specifics will be included in the release notes arriving in a few weeks, we can confirm that the next balance patch will arrive in the August Update.
We’re also excited to announce that the winning emotes (found above) from the Maykoko Fest emote design competition will arrive in August! We’d like to extend a huge thank you to all the artists and community members who entered submissions and voted on the finalists.
We know there are more questions about what players can expect in the August update and the rest of 2023. Our team is working on preparing more communication on that front— so we’ll see you next week with more information! In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia.
Debate Club Episode 9
Heroes of Arkesia,
We’re back with your host Roxx and debaters Grenton, Bobajenny, Stoopzz, and DatModz. This episode’s warmup debate topic is: Which one is better, cardinal directions or x3? For our 1v1 debate, DatModz and Grenton have the topic of: What is the easiest class to play besides Paladin?
Head over to YouTube and let us know who you think is not a Mokoko in the comments. We’ll see you next week for Episode 10!
Academy Debate Club Episode 8
Heroes of Arkesia,
This episode’s warmup debate topic is: Excluding gear, what is the most impressive thing you can max out in Lost Ark? For our 1v1 debate, Bobajenny and Grenton have the topic of: Should content be changed for new or returning players?
Head over to YouTube and let us know who you think is not a Mokoko in the comments. We’ll see you next week for Episode 9!
Elgacia Lore Interview with Gold River
Heroes of Arkesia,
We invited Gold River, the Director of Lost Ark to go behind-the-scenes of Elgacia, Lost Ark universe lore, and his passion for crafting new narratives. We’d like to thank Gold River for joining us for the interview, found below.
Hello, this is Gold River, Director of Lost Ark at Smilegate RPG.
To begin, let me express my gratitude to all the adventurers who expressed love and support for the Elgacia Continent and Kayangel Dungeon which were released in the June Update. In many ways, I feel both apologetic and grateful toward the adventurers who wanted to know more about the behind-the-scenes stories from me. I will answer the questions with all my heart.
For someone new or returning to Lost Ark, what is Elgacia?
Elgacia, the fourteenth continent of Lost Ark, is the sky island created by Regulus, the God of Order. It is a paradise for Lazeniths. Lazeniths, the creation of Procyon, the God of Honor, are a race who once soared through the sky with their beautiful wings. But they were banished to Elgacia with their wings were torn away for their sin of stealing the Ark.
Ever since, Lazeniths repented their sins in the paradise full of light. All of Elgacia— such as the city of Ereonnor, Mount Phylantos, and Hestera Garden— are filled with yearning and praises towards the gods. You will embark on the journey to the last Ark here in Elgacia, and discover the true meaning of the Lost Ark.
In a past Loa On, Elgacia was reportedly the first region to be created during the development of Lost Ark. Out of the three parts of Lost Ark story, what made Smilegate RPG choose this aerial city as the highlight of the first part of the story?
To me, it looked like Elgacia and Kayangel could be a major highlight of the game, so I began developing them first above all else. Some of you may know that Kayangel was once revealed as a video clip before the game’s official launch in Korea. Considering most games develop content in the order of release, you might find it peculiar that Elgacia, which gets introduced at the later stages of the game, was developed first.
However, because Elgacia would need complicated animations/cutscenes and technology, I thought if we finished Elgacia first, we will be able to utilize the technology we established during development for other content development. The features that were created during Elgacia development are objects with various functionalities, various character movements via objects such as zip lines, and pulling landmasses towards the character.
While developing Elgacia, we were able to expand our scope by learning how to move camera view freely in a quarter-view angle of the game. In-game scenes that you may be familiar with such as two Gigantic statues putting the swords down, and landmasses being pulled were all created during the early stages of Lost Ark development. By making and testing these scenes, we were able to consolidate the direction for in-game cutscenes/animations. In the end, Elgacia is a highly meaningful continent in terms of both lore and establishing game’s developmental mechanisms.
In terms of lore, Lost Ark lore consists of three chapters, and all the continents disclosed so far belong to the first chapter. Lore-wise, South Vern, Elgacia, and Kurzan (which will be added in the future) play a key role in the first chapter.
Follow-up: Was there any difficulty you experienced when developing?
It is difficult to pick one case, as everything was not easy. The rest of the continents of Lost Ark, while they each have diverse concepts, are lands rooted on earth. On the contrary, Elgacia is the highlight of the lore. This is because I wanted to give a visually distinctive look to the continent, and so much effort was put into Elgacia.
I wanted to have a different direction in terms of concept design from other earthly continents even when deciding concepts for a library or a temple for Elgacia. I also made Elgacia-exclusive language called “Elgic” to give a clear difference between earthly continents and this sky island. Due to this, the volume of the concept design got bigger than that of the other continents. Not to mention that more effort was put in when developing and testing the continent.
Follow-up: Reportedly, the entire story has been developed for a decade. Is the lore of Lost Ark pre-written to the end? Do you make unplanned changes of the story or concept during development?
The general storyline until the end of Chapter 3 is complete. While the overall order and flow of the continents, sea and other lore updates have all been planned, detailed stories are still being developed by our Scenario Team.
So far, most of the detailed storyline for Chapter 1 has been decided. Still, time is needed for me to deliver and discuss the story I came up with to the Scenario Team, and more time for actual development. The same process remains for the second and third chapter as well. So many secrets that are yet to unfold exist in the lore, and only a select few members of the Scenario Team knows the full storyline of the second and third chapters. In reality, much of Smilegate RPG’s staff found out the true meaning of the game’s title after the Elgacia Update.
Of course, there are cases where the storyline changes spontaneously. The overall storyline has never changed, but the importance of certain main characters and the main focus of the story changes as the game updates. Sometimes, some characters get much support from the players unexpectedly. As lore is one of the many factors that consist Lost Ark, sometimes the focus of the story gets adjusted based on the game system, contents, and order of the update.
For example, there was much more planned for Blackfang lore. But as content other than sailing content became more important to the game, the focus of the story and the character Blackfang got adjusted a bit. Meanwhile, I am embarrassed to say that I never expected Jederico to be that popular among the adventurers. After realizing his popularity, his role got bit bigger in the overall lore.
In conclusion, partial portions of the stories change based on the comments of the adventurers, but the general flow of the lore is being updated as originally planned.
Lost Ark’s extensive lore is delivered through in-game cinematics/animations. Glorious Wall, Feiton, South Vern and more in early gameplay gave strong impression to the adventurers. Elgacia has about 90 minutes of cutscenes. How were they developed? How did the story come together? What inspired the story creation and the team’s development process?
Usually, you can get to the ending relatively quickly when playing console games. In contrast, the storytelling of MMORPG is conducted long term. For example, you need to spend a lot of time to keep up with Lost Ark’s story in real time. Because of this, some adventurers express frustration when story unfolds slowly. My heart sinks at times like this, because even if I want to show all the storyline at once, it’s a shame that I cannot do that.
For those of you who have been paying attention to the lore of Lost Ark, I wanted you all to have a special experience in Elgacia so that your past adventures in Lost Ark will be worthwhile. To do this, all the staff got together and put in so much effort. All of the staff such as Designers, Scenario Team, Cinematics Team, Graphic, Sound, Devs, QA and so on put extra effort to effectively deliver Elgacia lore to the adventurers.
A fun fact about the Studio is that an immense number of people participate in the cinematics meetings. Many monitor the progress, review, and put much effort in bringing up the quality. The whole process does not only entail participation from the Scenario Team, but also other teams such as Combat, Sound, etc.. For example, when designing Lauriel’s skills and skill effects, our staff needed to understand the concepts in order to come up with results fitting the lore and universe.
Lauriel’s skill reminds you of “Heavenly Punishment”, and his theme song has a sense of awe, but not in a demonic or demon-worshipping way. The staff’s understanding of the universe and lore leads to such a lore-fitting creations, so much of the staff are striving to convey the concept in to their results. We develop many cinematics/animations so that the adventurers can experience the lore in decent quality. Especially, as I had high ambitions for Elgacia, I had to request many more cinematics/animations tasks. Despite this, the members of the Studio were willing to take on the extra work, and they themselves polished the results saying “a little more polishing, a little more polishing” for the best outcome.
I am always grateful for the members of the Studio, and I believe their efforts to understand, immerse, and enjoy brought up the best result. I will keep working with these great members to continuously deliver great-quality cinematics/animations.
To all of the Western adventurers out there, I would like to thank you all for continuing to enjoy Lost Ark despite the game not being perfect. I am aware of both the recent community sentiments regarding some inconveniences, and the many positive comments for Elgacia. I am once again touched and also feel apologetic at the same time. I express my gratitude to all the adventurers who love Lost Ark, and will strive to fix other inconveniences as fast as possible. Many discussions are happening between us and Amazon Games, and we will continue to improve the game.
With Elgacia’s angelic theme, many of the raids and bosses have mechanics that play off of ‘light and shadow’. How were these ideated and created? What was the creative process?
Light and Shadow that appears in Kayangel is the main theme of Elgacia, and it was designed from the concept development stage. It is also a place where both Light (absolute good) and Chaos (absolute evil) coexist. This concept had a big impact on the designs of Kayangel dungeon. Naturally, there is a mechanic using the shadow in the dungeon.
The concept of light and shadow is not only opposition, but also coexistence. After the update in Western territories, I also heard that many adventurers liked the mechanics because it was not unpleasant. Speaking of the combat mechanics, I want to bring this up. In truth, there were many unpleasant combat mechanics in the Brelshaza Legion Raid. Co-op mechanics can be fun, but we used this in rather incorrect ways. We tried to adjust the issues, and Kayangel is a culmination of these adjustments.
Dungeons/Raids created after Kayangel are also carefully developed not to tread the same path as Brelshaza. I wonder, rather nervously, if they were delivered as intended. We will try to be careful with mechanics in the future raids, and will continue to revamp the unreasonable mechanics in Brelshaza.
Reportedly, Elgacia is the update content that you put most strength in. What is the significance of Elgacia, and why is it monumental to Smilegate RPG? Why were players so receptive and excited when it first released in Korea?
Because Elgacia Update itself was a moment of creating the vision that I’ve been dreaming for more than 10 years, I daresay that it was my best moment of fulfillment. When I re-watch the Elgacia episode, I feel so touched that I cry, and even when it’s been a while after I finished developing it, my heart still flutters/throbs as it did when I first started developing it. This kind of feeling is not just about the accomplishment from development. It is rather about the connections I felt with the adventurers.
When Elgacia first went live in Korea, I was deeply touched when seeing the players reactions and comments such as “The adventure I kept on in Lost Ark has not been in vain, after all”. This was truly an amazing experience for me. I never actually said this to the adventurers out loud, but I have always thought this in my mind: “You did great, adventurers. Thank you so much for staying, believing, and enjoying the game for more than 3 years of both good and bad memories of the game. Thank you for coming all this way.”
To all of the Western adventurers out there, I would like to thank you all for continuing to enjoy Lost Ark despite the game not being perfect. I am aware of both the recent community sentiments regarding some inconveniences, and the many positive comments for Elgacia. I am once again touched and also feel apologetic at the same time as I was not able to provide more on other content. I express my gratitude to all the adventurers who love Lost Ark, and will strive to fix other inconveniences as fast as possible. Many discussions are happening between us and Amazon Games, and we will continue to improve the game.
What is your favorite character and continent?
Actually, I did receive this question many times before, but never really gave an answer. It was only when Lost Ark was launching globally (in Amazon Games’ Western version) that I answered for the first time in the live interview. My favorite character is Kadan. I put extra effort when creating Kadan. Multiple character illustrations were drawn for Nineveh and Kadan. In the future, you will have a chance to meet Kadan in different ways. We are currently preparing something, and hope you will look forward to it.
My favorite continent is, without doubt, Elgacia. It means a lot to me. All of the continents have a special place in my heart, but Elgacia is my first love and naturally it takes up the largest place in my heart. Elgacia is my comfort zone. At times, I place my character at Ereonnor just listen to the soundtrack of Ereonnor and meditate.
Elgacia is not only famous for its lore, but also for its soundtrack. Could you tell us the meaning and background story of its main theme “Sweet Dreams, My Dear”?
In terms of lore, the lyrics are themselves what Beatrice wants to say to the adventurers. You adventurers have endless support and trust from Beatrice. I hope you can understand how Beatrice feels for you through the lyrics. Additionally, it’s my personal message to you all.
What I wanted to say through the song is this: keep on dreaming. I heard this many times when I was young, but as I became an adult, I realized it has been a while since I heard anyone tell me to keep following your dream. While the contemporary world provides more convenience to people with its technological innovations, I believe that many things have been lost along the way. One such thing is passion, as many people compromise with reality in everyday life.
In a nutshell, the song holds my small wishes that you adventurers will be able to recall good old memories, bringing back warm recollections of pure youth as well as making new good memories and dreaming on in Lost Ark.
The song was co-composed with a composer that also worked on “Phantom Astalgia” and “Romantic Weapon” with me. She expressed my wishes and intentions through the songs so well. Moreover, Sohyang, one of the top vocalists in Korea, recorded the song. She is famous for singing “How Far I’ll Go” in the Korean soundtrack of “Moana”.
You may remember that there is a phrase, “crystal melody” in the lyrics. Just like this phrase, Sohyang had a crystal-clear voice befitting the lyrics. That is why I wrote the song with Sohyang in mind, hoping she would sing my song. After finishing the song, I sent a sincere letter to her explaining the meanings in the song, and she agreed to sing the song. She sang incredibly well, and I believe there will be no one else who could have brought the song to life. I hope her voice has reached your heart as it did me.
What do you hope the players take away from the Elgacia story?
I cannot wish for more if the adventurers will think that all of the adventures they had in Arkesia were not in vain, as they play Elgacia. Moreover, nothing would make me happier if the adventurers will be able to recall a precious piece of their memory at Elgacia through soundtracks such as “Sweet Dreams, My Dear” or “Ereonnor” in the far future. In your real life, some hardships might find you, but I wish that you will make good choices without regrets in the end.
Before Elgacia, the main angle of opposition was Good (Order, Light) versus Evil (Chaos, Darkness, Demons). In contrast, as Elgacia Lore unfolds, the line between good and evil seems to have become vague. The original belief that Regulus being the Good, and Ark being salvation has been shaken a bit. What fate will await the adventurers in the future?
At the beginning, Lost Ark’s scenario was intentionally rather simple. This is because, we believe that the casual players will find it hard to concentrate if we start to unravel the complex stories from the beginning.
With this in mind, some scenarios were written in more linear and typical way. But still, we put focus on delivering the gist of the story such as who Armen, Thirain, and Kharmine are like, and also let players remember main allies and enemies such as Ninaveh, Azena, Brelshaza, Kakul-Saydon, and more. After all, MMORPG is a game, not a storytelling genre. Our plan was to have ice-breaking moments(or introductory phase) for the players and the game characters first, and then develop the relationship between them step by step.
From now on, as the introductory phase seems to have passed, we might be introducing more complex stories. Using cinematics to help players understand the storytelling of Lost Ark easier is still our aim. Until now, the adventurers’ biggest goal was saving the world from the demons. From now on, however, an agonizing journey of discovering what it truly means to save Arkesia and what the Arks really are is awaiting you adventurers. You will begin to see if the gods that were deemed as absolute good and you yourself is truly on the right paths of saving the world, and also start to understand the real meaning of darkness and chaos that were deemed as the root of the evil.
The lore of Lost Ark grows along with you adventurers. Please stay tuned to what we have in store!
How does it feel to be closing this chapter of Lost Ark’s story? What’s next?
Actually, the first chapter hasn’t been finished yet. A true highlight of Chapter 1 is yet to come. Elgacia is just the ignition point of the highlight. The Amazon Games’ version will see continuous updates which add the Elgacia Epilogue, Pleccia, and Voldis, while in Korea, the tempo of Lost Ark’s story will pick up pace. More and more secrets will unravel, finally leading to the true pinnacle of the Chapter 1. I cannot wait to deliver this interesting story to all you global adventurers out there.
Meanwhile, I hope you will all enjoy everyday stories in the Music Box of Memories, added in the July Update. You will find the stories of ordinary people - not just special heroes – in Lost Ark. As each story was woven by different team members, each story will be unique with their characters, and filled with joy in many different ways.
The Lost Ark universe has been honed for such a long time. We will continue to do our best in preparing both the universe and lore that compliments each other, to avoid causing any issues to the great adventures you will embark on. I wholeheartedly appreciate your support and love for Lost Ark. All of our staff will do our best not to disappoint you. Thank you very much.
-Gold River
Debate Club Episode 7
Heroes of Arkesia,
We’re back with your host Roxx and debaters Grenton, Bobajenny, Stoopzz, and DatModz for episode 7 of the Lost Ark Academy Debate Club. This episode’s warmup debate topic is: What is the worst place in Arkesia to live? For our 1v1 debate, DatModz and Stoopzz have the topic of: What is the best strategy for playing alts?
Head over to YouTube and let us know who you think is not a Mokoko in the comments. We’ll see you next week for Episode 8!
July Twitch Drop
Heroes of Arkesia,
A Twitch Drop with honing materials and 1,000 Amethyst Shards arrives, available for members of the Lost Ark Creator Program to enable on their channel. Make sure to head over to Twitch and watch your favorite Lost Ark content creators to earn the drops before they end on August 8. The Twitch Drop will have four tiers containing the rewards:
Protection Stone Pouch x10 - 1hr of watch time
Obliteration Stone Pouch - 1hr of watch time
Honing Shard Selection Chest x5 - 2hrs of watch time
Honing Leapstone Selection Chest III x5 and Amethyst Shard x1,000 - 2hrs of watch time
Viewers will need to accumulate 6 hours of total watch time to claim all four tiers. Full instructions on account linking and claiming can be found on our Twitch Drops page.
We’ll see you in Arkesia and on Twitch, watching members of the Lost Ark Creator Program.
