Lost Ark has the best combat system in any MMO I've ever played. Unfortunately, it's wrapped in so many layers of predatory systems, FOMO mechanics, and terrible new player experience that I can't recommend it unless you hate yourself or have unlimited free time.


- No joke, the raid fights and combat mechanics are chef's kiss. This is what keeps people playing despite everything else. The boss encounters are challenging, rewarding, and genuinely fun. If you could extract just the combat and raids, this would be a masterpiece.

- Game looks gorgeous. The particle effects, character designs, and animations are top-tier. You'll look cool while suffering.

- There's an insane amount of stuff to do. Whether you should do it all is another question entirely.



Imagine walking into a library where every book is written in a different language, the Dewey Decimal System was replaced with hieroglyphics, and the librarian just screams FIGURE IT OUT before running away. That's Lost Ark for new players.

You'll be bombarded with:
47 different currencies (I counted)
Systems within systems within systems
Pop-ups that make early 2000s malware look subtle
Events you can't do
Guides that are already outdated
That nagging feeling you're doing everything wrong (you probably are)

Korean MMO grind is expected, but Lost Ark takes it to another level. Everything is time-gated, ticket-gated, RNG-gated, and paywall-gated. Miss your daily/weekly stuff? Congrats, you're now permanently behind forever.

"It's not P2W, it's pay-to-progress-faster!"... Sure BRO, while you can technically do everything as F2P, whales will reach endgame content months before you. The game constantly reminds you that your life would be easier if you just opened your wallet

The story is so bad it's almost impressive. You're supposedly the chosen one, but you feel like an NPC in your own adventure



Returning Player Experience: 0/10

Took a break? Cool, the game changed completely, your guides are worthless, and there's zero help to catch you up. Hope you enjoy feeling lost in a game called Lost Ark (maybe that's the joke?).

FOMO Mechanics: 0/10

This game wants you to feel bad about having a life. Limited events, daily lockouts, weekly resets, seasonal content - it's all designed to keep you anxious and logging in. It's exhausting.

Customer Service: 1/10

Amazon Games customer service is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Lost items? Bugs? Good luck.



You enjoy Korean MMO grind culture and know what you're signing up for
You have 4-6 hours daily to commit
You love spreadsheets, wikis, and external guides
You either started at launch or you're a masochist
You have a guild/friends to carry you through the learning curve
You don't mind P2W elements

You have a job, family, or literally any other hobby
You want to play casually
You value your mental health
You expect games to teach you how to play them
You took a break and want to return
You're new to MMOs



I have almost 1,2k hours in this game. That should tell you something about how good the core combat is. But it should also tell you something that despite loving the raids, I still can't recommend this to anyone. The combat is a 10/10 trapped inside a 4/10 game.

We'd love to have you! (But also, save yourself....) peace :)

I was literally playing Lost Ark only for the PvP.

Because holy cow, the combat is insane.
I mean hands-down the best combat system in any MMO ever made.

Smooth. Impactful. Flashy. Responsive.
A PvP system where skill actually matters, combos actually matter, positioning matters, and you can outplay people instead of out-credit-carding them.

Absolute peak.

Probably the most satisfying MMO PvP experience I’ve ever touched.
A fton of potential. Like… genuinely special.

So of course… they’re removing it entirely. 💀

Because why keep a brilliant competitive system when you can’t monetize it?
Cancelled because it doesn’t print money.

Lmao.

The studio doesn’t care about good gameplay.
They just want your money and literally nothing else.

Ok so imma finally gonna leave a review. I'm a returning player that has played since alpha.

This is what I think of the state of the game:

For a new player that's never played a Korean MMO, its grindy and has RNG systems for progressing. It has p2w leaned mechanics for end game. Not necessary but will get u there faster.

If that's a pass in your book, try the game. You're given power passes (every release of a new class) which boost your level up to (currently tier 4) skipping all old content.
If you start fresh, you'll most likely have to do all old raids for progression solo and imo can be a rough experience especially the current T3 honing currency.
Its still required gold instead of silver. We are supposed to get an update soon.
(As of 2/4 this change has been implemented.)

With Guardian Knight (the newest class) being released in Feb 2026 there will be a new power pass.

With that being said, its a pretty game with unique classes. Designed with Unreal engine 3.
Director said they will not upgrade and keep this engine.

Amazon Game Studio is the publisher and I can tell you from experience that the customer service is horrid.
Don't expect them to help you recover anything over a month ago. Customer Service Representative told me they only keep purchasing records for a month. (on a long break i lost most skins, including my founders skin and mount)

I'm an MMO veteran and can say the true action combat system and raids so far have been the best experience I've had so far within the genre.

Feel free to ask any questions and/or if your looking for learners raids (for current content) on NA.

Hope this review helps you make your decision. We'd love to have you!