Interview: Lost Ark Community Lead Roxanne Sabo Answers Our Questions About The Game And Upcoming Anniversary

Before the holidays we got a chance to shoot some questions over to Roxanne Sabo, Community Lead for Lost Ark at Amazon Games. She was kind enough to throw some great answers back at us and you can find the full interview below. We got to ask about the history of Lost Ark, the upcoming update that brings the Breaker class into the game, and the future of the MMO.

What type of rewards can players look forward to in the Second Anniversary Celebration?

Players can look forward to earning rewards from the in-game Anniversary events that will help them make progress in their journey, which includes honing and progression materials. Players will also have an opportunity to earn an Anniversary Skin for one of their characters, which we are very excited to be sharing as a reward! The anniversary cosmetics will be part of the event shop where players can use event tokens (that are not cash or obtainable by cash) to get these cosmetics. On top of that, there will be a number of additional in-game items and materials that can be earned each week, so players should be sure to keep checking back.

What are some of the Lost Ark moments players can look forward to in the event that revisits some of the most iconic pieces of content?

The second year of Lost Ark in the West saw a number of awesome endgame content releases, kicking off with Brelshaza Hard Mode last April and introducing new Raids, Dungeons, and more. We’re working on a Special Memorial Event that will encourage players to revisit some of these epic pieces of content from the game’s second year in order to earn rewards that will help propel them on their journey into our third year. While the general concept of this event is “revisiting” some fan-favorite content from the past, some content is still “ongoing” because it’s necessary for players to progress at their current status.

Will the Breaker class be a 1-for-1 of the Scrapper or will there be differences?

Although the Breaker class can be thought of as a male version of the Scrapper, there will be some differences between the classes and it isn’t 1 to 1. The Breaker class should feel like a fresh and new take on the Scrapper rather than a copy and paste. It will have its own unique animations, unique takes on skills, individual playstyles and engraving options, and more!

The Breaker is all about dynamic action with fierce punch attacks and heavy blows. There’s a special control mechanism built for this class that adds a lot of extra fun in combat, especially for players who enjoy how the game controls. They’ll love this class for the added layer it provides to combat! Additionally, the combat style for the Breaker will be diametrically different based on the type of the Class Engraving the player uses.

The roadmap says we are getting closer to finding the Lost Ark. Will the Chapter 1 story conclude in 2024?

Thaemine is a big part of Lost Ark’s Chapter 1 story, but we can tell you that it’s not yet the end! While more to the story will be released in 2024, players will have to tune in to see where it goes and how the rest of the first Chapter plays out. We don’t want to spoil the story timeline too early.

Are there any cash shop elements to the Transcendence Gear Progression system? Is it a guaranteed upgrade with mats, or a percent chance to upgrade?

The Transcendence Gear Progression system is a major progression system that will be updated along with Thaemine. Players will be able to upgrade their armor to gain effects that will be helpful in the Thaemine Raid.

Unlike Gear Honing, this system has a mini-game factor included so players can try different strategies that can affect the percent chance to upgrade. To use the Transcendence system, gold, and materials are needed. Materials can be gained in-game, while gold can be gained for free in-game or via the Currency Exchange.

What are some of the team's favorite moments since Lost Ark launched?

Having worked on Lost Ark back before it was launched in the West, it’s really amazing to me to see how much the game has grown and changed from when I started working on it. Ever since the record-breaking launch two years ago, things have moved forward incredibly fast. It’s been a unique situation to work in, where we have consistently put out new content every month since the game launched in the West.

It’s given us all an opportunity to see Lost Ark grow and change rapidly over time, and we’ve been able to help the game grow along with our passionate community of fans. Their feedback has been instrumental in helping us evolve Lost Ark into the game it has become, and they’ll continue to be a huge part of where things go in the future."

Has there been anything since the launch that players did that really surprised the team?

I think it’s fair to say that from the very first day of launch we were happily surprised about just how many players joined us to experience the world of Arkesia! Watching the game rocket to reach the third-highest number of concurrent users on Steam of all time was incredible, and the feelings of excitement shared among the team were palpable.

What has been the hardest part to figure out when it comes to changes the team makes for the western version of Lost Ark? How does the team avoid the "P2W" bug?

There are a lot of folks that come together to make these decisions around localization for the West, but I would say one of the big challenges is making changes while holding onto the goal of staying true to the original vision and version for the game. Smilegate RPG has done a fantastic job creating Lost Ark and the world of Arkesia, and we want to make sure that our players have that full experience from the developers.

In terms of the “P2W” conversation, early on we wanted to ensure that players have paths in-game to earn the items they are interested in without spending. Although it may take some time, things like game progression can be earned through regular gameplay, and items in our in-game store such as skins can be traded on the Market and purchased for in-game currency.

Ultimately, Lost Ark is a free-to-play game with a shop that sells items that are all attainable via gameplay, without having to make a purchase. And of course, purchasing items does offer faster progression at some parts, but this is also due to the fact that Smilegate has added many endgame/vertical contents to the Western version of the game rather quickly. We are communicating with Smilegate about the content update speed, and also brainstorming short-term solutions with them, such as enhancing the event rewards that help player progression speed."

Our thanks go out to Roxanne for answering our questions.