Smilegate has posted a Lost Ark update addressing its recent compensation controversy, and attempting to restore balance among players after a mistaken message led some users to claim large numbers of Pheons, the RPG game’s premium currency. The message was sent out to alert players to upcoming changes to the skill tree effect system. However, the developers accidentally attached a small sum of Pheons to the message, which was then followed up by a response stating that this accidental Lost Ark compensation would be removed from players’ accounts.
Following initial backlash to this decision, community manager Sandovall says that the team “unlocked servers and chose not to retrieve the Pheons that had already been distributed.” However, they also note that an exploit had allowed some users to repeatedly claim additional Pheons from this message. As such, they say that after some contemplation they have struck a solution that they hope provides balance across the player base.
“We want to ensure fairness,” explains Sandovall, “We know this situation was confusion, and it was unclear to players how many Pheons they should claim and how it was exploited by others.” They continue, saying that “Although we initially stated we would not take back any of the Pheons that were distributed, we feel that fairness means everyone receiving an equal amount of Pheons.”
The upshot of this is that all Pheons removed from the misadvised mail will be taken away, and instead all players will be granted 30 Pheons. The team adds that, because of this adjustment, players who collected and spent more than 30 Pheons after taking advantage of the exploit will be allowed to keep their purchased items but “may see a negative Pheon balance.” The post also notes that “94.2% of players claimed 30 Pheons or less,” suggesting that most Lost Ark players decided to act in the spirit of fairness in light of this exploit.
As further apology and to compensate for additional server downtime caused, an additional compensation package is being sent out including 3 days of Crystalline Aura, two Hope Amulets, and an Animal Skin Gift Package. The Hope Amulets are new items that will be used in the updated skill tree system, allowing you to increase a designated skill level to level four. The Animal Skin Gift Package includes a selection of new and old animal-themed skins to choose from.
Reports from players say that random Lost Ark disconnect errors are still prevalent following a recent update aimed at addressing them. If you’re playing, be sure to check out our Lost Ark tier list for the best classes, as well as where to find all the Lost Ark Mokoko Seeds and the Lost Ark Reaper release date and skills for the newest class to arrive in Arkadia.