Lost Ark Shows Exactly How Not To Design Female Characters
Lost Ark is facing criticism regarding its representation and design of female and non-masculine characters, as most are forced to wear similarly revealing clothing coupled with ridiculous walking animations. Regardless of the game's popularity (Lost Ark became Steam's fourth-biggest game one day after its launch in the United States and Europe), its limited diversity of female character designs and its depiction of women in general is disappointing.
For the most part, players have been drawn in by Lost Ark's captivating story, adorable pets, and crisp combat mechanics. In Lost Ark, players choose from a host of five archetypal fantasy classes, within which there are 15 subclasses. Each class invites a distinct way of playing with various attacks and abilities that suit all manner of preferred playstyles. For instance, Mages can attack from a distance with area-of-effect spells that deal massive elemental damage, while Warriors get up in the enemy's face with melee attacks and huge, two-handed weapons.
Related: Lost Ark's Pets Are A Lot More Than Just Cosmetics
While the inclusion of 15 subclasses within each Lost Ark classis beneficial and allows for varied character options for new players, the same cannot be said for the game's depiction of women specifically. Not only are the classes currently gender-locked, the limited choices for female character design in terms of cosmetics and animations feel extremely two-dimensional and a little fan service-y. The silly animations and high heels feel especially dated, and showcase how far the game has to come in order to achieve better non-masculine representation.
The major problem with Lost Ark's design of female characters comes from the limitations induced by the
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