Lost Ark Mobile, which made its debut at last year's G-STAR, has been relatively quiet for some time. However, it held a private test for four days starting from the 13th. Until now, only limited content has been shown at game shows, making it challenging to experience the game as a whole.

However, in this CBT, we were able to confirm a relatively broad range of content, including the main features of Lost Ark Mobile, the early story, and some BM elements such as Battle Passes. In particular, it was impressive to be able to directly experience key combat content, including the Legion Raid, as well as the newly implemented story using Unreal Engine 5 and various convenience features that leverage the latest AI technology.

Lost Ark Mobile has finally revealed itself amid anticipation. What was your first impression of this CBT?

The Newly Directed Story Is Good, But…

The highlight of this CBT was undoubtedly the story. The main story of Lost Ark Mobile is characterized by following the existing Lost Ark narrative while incorporating unique elements throughout. In the tutorial, the protagonist adventurer is set as “one who transcends cause and effect,” hinting at a different progression from the original. The early story leading to the Sacria Sanctuary also gives the impression of being connected to the Sea of Aldebaran in the third part of the PC version of Lost Ark, showcasing its direction.

The visuals were also commendable. While using Unreal Engine 5 isn't groundbreaking, the new character designs and map atmospheres maintain the unique feel of Lost Ark while being more modern and polished, conveying the sense of a "living world." In Leonheart, a festival is taking place, and Armen is naturally seen interacting with other NPCs and performing priestly duties, adding a different level of liveliness and density to the world. Moreover, the major cutscenes are fully voiced, enhancing immersion, and the story's density is definitely reinforced by actively utilizing choices that alter cutscenes and endings depending on the situation.

▲ The new NPCs are definitely visually appealing

▲ Opening cutscene of Lost Ark Mobile

▲ It has further strengthened the choice that also appear in the PC version of Lost Ark

The roles of the new characters are also noteworthy. They have been placed at key points to vary the existing story. They add new perspectives and emotional depth without disrupting the overall flow, enhancing the richness of the narrative. In Leonhart, you meet Priest Armen again, but this time, the escort Jenya accompanies you, creating a different type of tension. In Aquilok's Tail, the mysterious girl Istriya, who is related to the snake's jewel, appears, naturally filling in the gaps of the existing narrative.

Istria, which appears in the borderlands, is regarded as a prime example of enriching existing content by naturally incorporating the background of Aquilok's Head and Tail Dungeon into the character, showcasing various endings based on the choices made.

The true essence of storytelling shines even more in the Wall of Glory and Luterra's story. Through the voice acting, the process of Thirain, known for his encouraging nature , overcoming frustration and gaining the qualifications of a king, is conveyed much more deeply. The emotional arcs and details that could have been overlooked in the PC version as text or notes are brought to life more vividly, clearly showcasing the strengths gained by Lost Ark Mobile through the introduction of full dubbing.

▲ The briefly mentioned Serpent’s Jewel story on PC is brought to life through the character-driven “Istria” storyline.

▲ One advantage is that the excellent voice acting makes Thirain's emotions distinctly felt

However, the story of Lost Ark Mobile was also a double-edged sword. It is captivating enough to enjoy the variations and depth, but the issue is that it is excessively long. When meticulously examining every cutscene and guide, the playtime reached a whopping 6 hours. This is comparable to the time it takes to conquer a continent in the PC version, and it is significantly longer than the main story of other mobile games. The PC version has dedicated jumping content, Story Express specifically for story appreciation, and this is why this CBT felt like one giant Story Express.

The problem is that even this vast amount is only a tiny fraction of the overall narrative of Lost Ark. The story ends with the Wall of Glory in the CBT, and the second dungeon, King's Tomb, doesn't even appear. The epic saga of Wavestrand Port's Cals and the Black Fang has not even begun, and the stories of the major continents such as Tortoyk, Anikka, Artethine, and Vern are all missing. Considering South Vern, where the Legion Leaders make their full appearance, the amount of story that needs to be covered in the future is literally enormous.

Not only the overall length, but also the combat difficulty and monster health settings are factors that slow down story progression. The monsters' health is so high that it takes two or three uses of skills to defeat enemies on auto-play, which naturally extends the time needed to complete the story. These aspects appear to require simplification or difficulty adjustments in the future.

▲ The world map extends to East Luterra... So the Luterra continent is not complete yet

▲ The high health of the story's lower-class monsters is one of the reasons for the long completion time

▲ In order for Valtan to appear, the story must reach at least South Vern...

Pre-Inputs, Cancels, and the Feel of Combat

The combat perfectly captured the unique feel of the original Lost Ark is known for its fast-paced, top-down, non-target action combat, which involves dodging enemy patterns while weaving in your own Skill cycle. The combat in the mobile version maintains this feel so well that it is nearly indistinguishable from the PC version. The impact of skills that comes to mind when you think of Lost Ark is also satisfactorily met.

The technical completeness is also high. The skill pre-input and cancel function naturally, allowing the motion to continue seamlessly, and the basic attack supports moving shots, eliminating any delay when using normal attacks. The Skill follow-up actions are also intricately designed like the PC version, with the new class Sword Master featuring distinct draw and sheathe motions for each skill, and the effect representations were excellent.

The Valtan [Hell] single mode, which is essentially the final content of this CBT, provided the same high-intensity boss battles that are unique to Lost Ark. The sense of growth through reading patterns and mastering cycles that is characteristic of PC Lost Ark raid strategies was fully felt on mobile as well. It is a level of completeness that can be expected from a Lost Ark-style boss raid on mobile.

However, this perfect implementation can also serve as a drawback. Almost all systems, including charge skills, holding skills, combo skills, back/head hit detection, and counters, remain intact. Some skills even support delay cancellation, making the combat complexity not significantly different from the PC version. While there are no issues in lower tiers or general hunting, the difficulty of mobile controls inevitably increases in end content like the Legion Raid.

In a mobile environment, you need to conduct a Legion Raid by simultaneously operating identity skills, using evasion skills, utilizing battle items, and managing skill cycles. Given that you must continuously cycle to minimize skill cooldown losses, the fatigue is substantial.

▲ Supports pre-input and motion canceling, enabling combos to connect smoothly

▲ The sheathing motion of the new class, Sword Master

▲ The tactile sensation of riding a skill rotation in actual practice is well preserved

The important feature here is the “Auto Skill” system. Lost Ark Mobile offers automatic combat across various sub-contents, allowing for extensive customization such as quickly rotating skills and setting skill bundles in cycles. While there are differences depending on the class, most sub-contents can be easily progressed through with automatic combat alone. High-difficulty content requires hands-on play, but farming dungeons and daily content can be managed without fatigue.

Especially in content like Chaos Break, where the early game includes a high proportion of basic attacks, auto-battle can be more efficient than manual control. While mixing basic attacks and Skills seamlessly with mobile controls is difficult, auto-battle handles it cleanly.

▲ The unexpected advantage was AI-based automatic combat

▲ Detailed settings can be customized from your identity to combo settings

▲ The QTE adapted for mobile was a bit subtle

Surprisingly Excellent AI Features

AI-powered content has been a source of concern since the early days of Lost Ark Mobile, but in reality, it has been integrated into the game much more naturally than expected. The AI provided in customization and My Room decorating enhances convenience by finding desired colors or adjusting shapes with simple dialogue. Recently popular features like AI texture mapping and object generation were also enjoyable to use.

The most impressive part was the AI guide Heririk consultation. It answers game-related questions with high accuracy and even has a voice reading function. It's also possible to ask in advance about upcoming content, and it responds quite naturally to questions about the lore, faithfully performing its role as a game guide. However, since the AI occasionally provides off-base answers or experiences hallucinations, some degree of cross-checking seems necessary.

The AI features introduced in combat are also interesting. If you die during a Legion Raid, an AI analysis explains the cause of death, and you can review the scene with the Killcam Rewatch feature, which serves as a kind of combat feedback tool. In party play, the Mercenary Hire feature allows you to fill in for missing members with AI. Although it operates at an auto-combat level, it still executes all skills and moves smoothly, making party progression more enjoyable than expected.

▲ AI that can be utilized in various ways in Customization

▲ A toy road made with quite high quality

▲ Information about the content requires no search, and they're good at answering even silly questions

▲ Mercenaries are useful, but they cost gold

End Content, a True “Everything in One” Package

In this CBT, if you achieve level 25 during the story, you can instantly jump to level 50 and experience the endgame content of the higher tier. The end content is so extensive that it can be accurately described as“including everything good.” Character growth is divided into Equipment Refinement, Accessory Growth, Bound, Accessory Research, Destiny's Orbit, Ability Stones, Skill Points, and Tripods. Within these categories, there are even further detailed elements such as Equipment Options, Set Effects, Star Assignments, and Yoz's Jar.

The content composition is also very diverse. There are numerous pieces of content that provide different resources,, and users cycle through them to obtain the resources they lack. The sources of Enhancement Stones, Honor Fragments, Fusion Materials, Gold, and Shells are all different, requiring users to engage in multiple pieces of content to obtain them. The concept of Action Points, known as "Adventurer's Token," is replenished by one point 10 minutes, and users can use these to access growth dungeons and endgame.

Compared to the PC version, the growth structure is quite different. Refinement has a downside, which is compensated by the tempering process that consumes sealing. The concept of enhancement is also applied to Accessories, allowing players to boost key Stats. The Destiny Track is a system that reinterprets Ascension and Elixir into a mobile-style puzzle structure, linking with the Legion Dungeon and Ebony Cube to increase Stats. As it is designed to evenly utilize various Rresources, players will naturally engage in multiple pieces of endgame content. This growth rate is connected to ranking and record competitions, providing a strong sense of growth while also increasing competitive stress.

▲ As your character grows, you start to run out of resources, and the structure pushes you to clear all kinds of content to make up for it.

▲ New Growth Element:"Accessory Enhancement"

▲ Equipment Refining System that Defends Against Enhancement Decline with "Tempering"

▲ The mobile version of El Cholo, "Fate's Orbit"

Each piece of end content has its own distinct characteristics. The new content "Chaos Break" is receiving high praise for its reinterpretation of the Vampire Survivor-style game structure in the style of Lost Ark."Chaos Dungeon" and "Cube" feature automatic progression added to the almost identical configuration of the PC version, making it easier to play.

The "Legion Dungeon" vokes the Throne of Chaos and Paradise, and as you progress to higher levels, the restrictions increase, allowing you to gauge your growth. The "Legion Raid" features the same system and progression method as the PC version, with additional mobile-exclusive mechanics introduced in Hell Mode. The "Abyss Dungeon" is a version that integrates gimmicks into the existing story dungeons, presenting a more intuitive flow.

In addition, there are PvP-style Guardian Raid competitions and the Arena of Proof, as well as in-game elements such as Adventures, Island Soul, and Mokoko Seeds.

The end content of this CBT is a composition close to a"greatest hits" collection, attempting to fully encapsulate the vast structure of Lost Ark within a mobile environment.

▲ The addition of a new pattern made clearing the Single Helltan enjoyable

▲ Mobile-exclusive “Abyss Dungeon”
You can encounter bosses that feel completely new

▲ Lost Ark's Vampire Survivor, "Chaos Break"

They Packed In Lost Ark, but What Should They Cut? Positioning Is Key

This CBT was a test that clearly revealed the direction that Lost Ark Mobile is aiming for. From story, combat, and end content, the overall structure was focused on maintaining the essence of Lost Ark, and it was evident that the intention was not merely to create a mobile game utilizing the IP, but to capture the structure and depth of the main game as faithfully as possible.

This is both a strength and a weakness. The combat has recreated the tight controls, cooldown cycles, and pattern clear structures of the PC version at a fairly high level, and the end content has also retained the complex system of growth by cycling through various resources. Because of this, it demonstrates a level of completeness that will satisfy existing Lost Ark fans who prioritize the"core fun."

On the other hand, considering the mobile environment, managing difficulty and fatigue will be the biggest challenges moving forward. Long and dense stories, complex growth structures, and high manipulation difficulty are somewhat at odds with the "light and fast flow" typical of mobile trends. The Auto Skill provided during CBT, easy party composition, and AI guides function as mechanisms to address these issues, but it remains unclear where the emphasis will lie in the actual service.

Ultimately, the direction that Lost Ark Mobile must choose is clear: "Will it pursue gameplay on par with the main game on mobile?" or "Will it prioritize accessibility and a lighter experience? While the CBT included almost everything possible, the choice of what to retain and what to remove in terms of "positioning" will now become the most important task.

▲ Even the content showcased in this CBT alone is already this much…

▲ The patterns in Single [Hell] Valtan feel like they are testing the limits of mobile games.

▲ "Auto-Battle" is a bigger advantage than you think

▲ The only BM revealed during the CBT period is the Super Premium Pass

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.