Lost Ark players without verified Steam accounts "in good standing" may find their accounts restricted as part of Smilegate's ongoing battle against bots.
Smilegate has "been hard at work on crafting effective tools and methods to identify and remove bots from the game", banning over a million "bot" accounts from its servers on March 4. And the work didn't stop there, it seems; in the MMO's most recent game update, Smilegate explained how it has implemented new systems to "help fight botting", which include ensuring Steam accounts are legitimate in order to have access to some basic in-game features.
"While bots are still prevalent in Lost Ark and we are continuing work, we can report that we have seen some improvements in the numbers of bots seen in-game and are continuing to take action against those who have been able to remain," the development team clarified. "One of these changes included a prevention system to crack down on bots and fraudulent purchases.
"Players who have a Steam account in good standing and have met the small purchase requirement needed to use Steam’s social systems, or made a purchase in Lost Ark through either Amazon or Steam will not be impacted. Accounts that have not met this ‘Trusted’ status through Steam or Lost Ark will experience reduced access to a small number of social and economic systems."
Accounts that have not met the "Trusted" threshold will have smaller daily Steam purchase limits than those that have, and will be restricted from initiating player-to-player trades (although requests can still be received), sending in-game gifts, exchanging Royal Crystals for Gold, and sending in-game mail with attachments.
"While this system has helped us see major improvements when it comes to fraudulent game activity, we also understand it may have had some effects on free-to-play players," the update concludes. "We are keeping a close eye out for feedback on this topic, so please continue to share your experiences with us on the forums."
Lost Ark may not have been out that long, but it's already one of the biggest games to ever hit Steam. Within 24 hours of release, it clocked up so many players that it now boasts the second-highest concurrent peak ever, topping games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Amazon's own New World, which currently has a peak of 913K. The only game to have ever had more concurrent record players is PlayerUnknown's PUBG.
If Lost Ark's phenomenal success has taken you by surprise, you may find Ali's article, What is Lost Ark and Why Is It Blowing up on Steam? a helpful read.
"If this is the first you're hearing of Lost Ark, then you also need to know that it isn't a 'traditional' MMO by any stretch of the imagination," he explains.
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