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Lost Ark is the hottest new MMO game, with thousands of players playing every day. The game came out in Korea a few years ago. Still, since it was released in America, the gaming community has noticed a noticeable similarity between Lost Ark and the classic Diablo series. For many people, it fills that Diablo-loving part—their hearts. If you're one of those longtime Diablo fans who's been intrigued by Lost Ark, let's help you dive into this fun new game that everyone's been talking about.
Luckily for any Diablo fan, there are quite a few Diablo class equivalents in Lost Ark. Love to play Wizard? Create your mage subclass sorceress to cast all the elemental spells you could ever dream of. Love Monk? The entire martial arts class is made for you.
However, none of these classes will be the proper one-on-one. For example, while the Berserker subclass has a lovely whirlwind barbarian rotation, the rest of their movements are a lot slower than you'd expect from a Diablo barbarian. In addition, it will be difficult for you to create the same specialized characters (for example, you cannot create a full-fire mage) because you are given so many skill options. And when it comes to summoner classes (Necromancer, Witch Doctor), you're out of luck until some unreleased classes make their way to Europe and America.
However, you can customize your character model, which is an exciting way to personalize your Lost Ark character in a way that Diablo doesn't allow.
One of the core gameplay elements of Diablo is going through different locations, dungeons, and challenges to get the best gear. While Diablo is famous for its powerful legendary and set items, Lost Ark doesn't have the same iconic gear situation. So, not Firebird39's Finery, but a complex system of leveling up, creating, and upgrading high-level equipment into something much more powerful. In both systems, you're looking for an RNG to get good drops, but Lost Ark focuses more on completing dungeons after level 50, while you can get your dream gear in Diablo anywhere (including seasonal challenges, which Lost Ark doesn't do). It's still a gear hunt, but it's not the same as hunting for the legendary Illusory Boots so you can get through the crowd. So be prepared to focus more on leveling and crafting than finding specific gear.
In addition, game features such as fortresses have been added to Lost Ark. Strongholds are especially important for making your character stronger. You can upgrade your stronghold to accumulate more materials and craft better items. You can make upgrade materials, potions, and get Lost Ark gold. When your stronghold is well leveled and organized, grinding becomes a lot easier, so don't forget that in your gameplay.
You can play all Lost Ark multiplayer games just like Diablo. However, since Lost Ark is always online and multiplayer (unlike Diablo), the system works differently. In Diablo, people join the game, and the enemies get stronger, and you complete all the missions in one game from one to four people. In Lost Ark, you, your friends, and even strangers can team up to complete dungeons and missions together. However, when you interact with NPCs, take on quests, and watch cutscenes, you will always be doing it alone. The game doesn't automatically sync you with your friends as Diablo does.
Any hardcore Diablo player will notice a noticeable design similarity between the two games. While some of these are probably just a coincidence because video games love things like bats and ghosts and demons, other times, they can be eerily similar. For example, the Plaguebringer from Act 3 of Diablo III has a very familiar doppelgänger in Lost Ark that can scare an old-school Diablo player upon seeing it.
With you (and admittedly got knocked out a lot). However, there are some notable differences in the visuals. You fight a lot more men in the game, all the settings are much brighter, and you take your NPC companions with you on missions much more often, so get used to having Armen, Therian, and a few others fighting in your battles.
All in all, Diablo is a fantastic single-hero dungeon crawler sometimes accompanied by friends. At the same time, Lost Ark is a fresh and exciting dungeon crawler where people solve the world's problems together. They're a bit different, but both are fun, so choose a class, adapt to the gameplay, and go.
Next: How to increase Kindness and what it is for in Lost Ark?
