"It's pretty much pay-to-win": Lost Ark players are vexed at the honing rates and difficulty in progression to end-game

sportskeeda.com:

Lost Ark is quickly becoming a problem for several western version players if social media is believed. The game's launch was a massive success as more than a million concurrent players joined the game.

Amazon Games has routinely added new content, but some of it has now created problems. The crux of it came with the addition of the new Argos T3 raid. Since there are very few players at level 1370, the majority have started calling the game 'pay-to-win.'

Lost Ark's western version is an extension of the game that originated in South Korea. The game also has versions in Japan and Russia, but all the versions differ in content. The problem with many fans in the western version has been differences in content.

What has irritated most fans is the difficulty of reaching level 1370. Many fans believe that this level can only be reached by spending real-life money, and hence the claims of the game being 'pay-to-win' have arisen.

Free-to-play games often get accusations of becoming pay-to-win down the road. It also seems to be an issue with Lost Ark, as players lose patience with the game. Despite the developers stating that the game can be freely played, players believe otherwise.

The problem is not just for new players who may feel that the game is hard. Players will 300+ hours are informing their dissatisfaction over the game and dubbing it as play-to-win.

Players have reached a point where they want the game's name changed.

The accusations of the game being pay-to-win are deterring some players. The general belief is to wait and see if the game improves the situation.

The honing rate of the game has been a major cause of concern. One player stated about a user in Asia who has an incredibly leveled-up weapon. Considering the