Lost Ark Revamps Business Model For A Western Audience Ahead Of Next Week's Closed Beta

Amazon and Smilegate plan to launch the rather-anticipated MMOARPG Lost Ark early in 2022. As they work toward that, it means things like running beta tests and getting that whole monetization thing ironed out. You may or may not have expected this, but Lost Ark will be a completely free-to-play game for players in North America and Europe and will feature option in-game purchases. This includes Founder’s Packs and bundles along with other content. The in-game store will offer cosmetic items that will allow players to customize their characters’ looks from top-to-bottom. It will also include “convenience items” like auto-looting pets or storage access items, and a special store will offer a rotation of special deals.

To ensure the whole "spending money" thing is optional, Amazon will be offering players a way to obtain everything without having to make a real-money purchase. This will be achieved with Crystals that are acquired by exchanging gold at a player-run exchange. Most items will be available to purchase with Crystals and those that are not will be tradable via the in-game trading post.

As for pets, they’ve received an adjustment. No longer will players need to rent features for their pets. Any purchases of useful pet features are permanent or available via Crystalline Aura benefits. In addition, an epic-grade pet will be available for free as a quest reward and auto-looting will remain a default feature of pets.

It should be noted, that with this new system, there are now four types of currency to deal with. Each is acquired in a different way and can be used in different ways. A brief overview of each is in the image below.

As hinted at above, the other item Amazon decided to address is the upcoming beta tests. The next Closed Beta test will take place on both NA and EU servers in November – kicking off at 9:00 AM Pacific Time (4PM UTC) on November 4 and ending at 9:00 AM on November 11. The test will take place on Steam.

There are a LOT of things Amazon wants players to be aware of before the test starts – far more than we could include here. The good news is, they’ve included a set of patch notes for the many changes that have been implemented since the last Closed Beta as well as an FAQ in the most recent post on the subject. That said, there is one thing of note – the fact that when the test period kicks off players can expect a load test that lasts for a few hours. During that phase of the test, all players in a region will be sent to a single world, so expect queue times. (The post says they may have them, but let’s be honest, there will be queue times.)

If you haven’t participated in a closed beta test already and would like to be in this one, you have two options: You can gain a guaranteed spot by purchasing a Founder’s Pack, or you can do it the old-fashioned way and try to get a key via signing up for testing or participating in giveaways.