Lost Ark, the Korean free-to-play MMO recently published in the west by Amazon, remains incredibly popular nearly two weeks after launch. Part of that success is due to successful Twitch streamers like Shroud consistently featuring the game. Lost Ark is not without its detractors, however. The game's heavy-handed monetization is often decried as "pay-to-win." Shroud recently addressed this during one of his Twitch streams, telling his audience of over 10,000 viewers to "get over it."
"Get the **** over it," is what Shroud tells his Twitch viewers after they ask what his thoughts are on Lost Ark being pay-to-win. To his credit, Shroud doesn't deny or try to obfuscate the fact that Lost Ark has pay-to-win monetization, a standard response to the query. He's simply entirely comfortable with Lost Ark's monetization and doesn't agree with the current controversy.
Shroud does describe his attitude on Lost Ark's monetization, though, or at least he tries. What Shroud believes is that all MMOs are pay-to-win. He says that even in MMOs without gameplay-impacting monetization, there are "cheaters." Cheaters like gold miners are able to sell gold to other players outside any game's Terms of Service, which can be used by players for in-game advantages like loot or high-end content runs. In Shroud's view, game developers should be providing these types of services, so that they can profit.
As for Lost Ark's monetization, he acknowledges that the MMO's current microtransaction monetization "can be expensive." He even describes it as "not worth it." But he believes it's worth it since it makes a lot of money and the only trade-off is "some rich shmucks spend thousands of dollars to get a little bit ahead." If the cheating system is built into the game, it at least supports the game's development and its future.
On one hand, Shroud is making a strong point. There are always going to be players who get ahead through various questionably means in online games, whether it's cheating or spending money on pay-to-win microtransactions. Players should try and enjoy games their own way without comparing themselves to these other players. On the other hand, much of what Shroud says isn't necessarily accurate. Heavy monetization doesn't get rid of gold sellers, account hackers, or premium gear runs. And systems like Lost Ark's subscription service actively make playing the game in a normal way more time-consuming and frustrating.
It's easy to see why Shroud feels the way he does, however. He's both wealthy and has as much time as he needs to spend playing any game he wants in whatever way he wants. It's less straightforward for most MMO players whose time and money come at a premium. It's not so easy for them to dismiss exploitative monetization systems. Needless to say, the controversy surrounding Lost Ark and other pay-to-win games is unlikely to have been solved by Shroud.
Lost Ark is available now on PC.