The system is super flexible, and I've loved toying with various builds to see how efficiently and stylishly I can wreak havoc on my enemies. You can really make each character your own and heavily tailor these moves to fit your preferred playstyle. These perks can tack on additional burn damage to a fire-based attack, change the mana cost of an ability, or reduce cooldown times significantly. Stacked on top of that are skill points granted on level ups that you can feed into each skill, unlocking perks that can modify that given skill. These are selected from a pool of attacks and skills you'll learn as your character levels up. Most fundamental is the configuration of your eight hotkey abilities. Unlocking more skills for both of my characters is always exciting, and I can't wait to check out even more classes when I start fresh with the upcoming launch.Ĭlasses have plenty of customization in their sets of skills. Even after playing a class for hours on end, seeing a crowd of thieves or monsters explode into gory gibs using what's supposed to be an early game attack is surprising and fun. Instead of having a dodge roll like the Warrior, the Mage blinks a few feet in the desired direction, adding a nice little touch to the class fantasy. My Sorceress, a Mage subclass, utilizes the elements of water, fire, and ice, among others, to wash away torrents of foes in bloody heaps.

This class features a lot of up-close-and-personal attacks like a shoulder charge, leaping sword slashes, whirlwind spins, and a ground-exploding AOE. The Berserker is a hulking Warrior that carries a massive greatsword into battle to decimate everything in sight. Both give a great first impression, decked out with a handful of skills that showcase the flavor of that class. I spent my time split between the Berserker and the Sorceress. Instead, here are some of my thoughts on this impressive free-to-play title after playing pre-release.Īt launch, Lost Ark features five broader class archetypes (Warrior, Martial Artist, Gunner, Mage, and Assassin) with 15 total sub-classes to choose from, some only accessible depending on if you chose the male or female version of a class. So, for now, I'm not comfortable dropping my final assessment on Lost Ark. Because of the small sample size of players, all of my time in the world of Arkesia was by my lonesome. Much of the game was in place when I played, although I was missing a very big aspect of it: the broader social component. Amazon Games, the publisher bringing Tripod Studios and Smilegate's RPG to the west, has been kind enough to let some of the press in a little early to play on a private server, so I've had my hands on the action-RPG MMO for a few weeks now. Lost Ark launches for Western audiences this week, with its three-day early access event starting today.

Lost ark release date early access