Yes, we're going hard in Lost Ark. Hsiri found this game and then Auth fell in love with it because UwU. Then they tried not to burn out in Russia before the game actually launched.
Check out the complete list of StratsCo guides for Lost Ark as well as the community repository of useful Lost Ark links.
¶ Our Guilds
We've launched guilds on both NA East (Avesta) and NA West (Valtan)!
TL;DR: We have a plan (with contingencies based on our growth) for guild management.
What began as a mega-guild on each cost spread across multiple in-game guilds has finally merged down into a community guild (where everyone is welcome) and a merit guild (with stritcter playtime/progression requirements) on each coast, as well as an OCE/SEA timezone guild. The additional guilds have since been converted to alt guilds for players to put their various alts as there are benefits to having your alts in a guild, even just a pocket one they’re the sole member of; since we already had guilds established and partially leveled, it made sense to put them to good use.
To help keep track of who is who, we require the following:
- You must put your Discord ID in the Memo field of the guild menu.
This helps us not only track who we have in the various guilds, but also makes it easier to put a character name to a Discord name (especially for alts).
¶ NA East Teams and Leaders
StratsCo's NA East guild is rolled up on Avesta and headed by Tetrics.
We began with 6 in-game guilds initially and have since merged the active playerbase together into our 2 primary guilds (Stratsco Shields and Stratsco), and converted the other launch guilds into homes for our players' alts.
- Community Guild, where everyone is welcome
- Merit Guild with more strict playtime/progression requirements
- Alt Guild
- Alt Guild
- Alt Guild
- Alt Guild
¶ NA West Teams and Leaders
StratsCo's NA West guild is rolled up on Valtan, with a Team comprised almost exclusively of OCE/SEA players. VeniVidiVici and Zoxxar are managing the NA timezones, with FouLou heading up the OCE/SEA folks.
We began with 6 in-game guilds initially and have since merged the active playerbase together into our 3 primary guilds (Stratsfire, Stratswater, and Stratsco).
- Community/Casual Guild where everyone is welcome
- 250 Contribution 50/50 Bloodstone Distribution
- Community/Casual Guild alts
- 150 Contribution 50/50 Bloodstone Distribution
- Merit/Semi-hardcore Guild with specific requirement detailed here.
- 350 Contribution 70/30 Bloodstone Distribution
- Stratsfire alts
- 250 Contribution 70/30 Bloodstone Disctribution
- Lead by FouLou
- Primary home for all our OCE/SEA timezone players
- 300 Contribution 70/30 Bloodstone Disctribution
- Inactive
- Inactive
¶ Player Activity Expectations
While some people consider having any sort of activity requirements “elitist” or “exclusionary,” with a group of people as big as StratsCo, there is some level of expectation that you are actually playing The Game if you're in one of the guilds. We understand life can get busy, games can get unfun for a time, and a host of other things can prevent you from playing; at StratsCo, one of the things we espouse is “real life comes first.”
That said, we also want to enable people to join in the group activities and participate with us in game, so we must strive to find a middle ground. The compromise we’re using in other titles like ESO will be the same one we use in Lost Ark:
- If you are offline for 1 week, you MAY be removed from your Team
There are several circumstances where this will not happen. For example, if you know you’ve got a business trip, major exam, or family vacation, are moving/switching ISP's, or have unexpected situation arise that’s going to keep you out of game for a bit, just let us know and we will not remove you; we just want to know that you’re good and that you’ll be back.
However, if you are taking a break from the game due to burnout, other games are stealing your attention for a while, or will be away for an extended period of time (several weeks or longer), we may remove you even with notification because some of those are things with uncertain and/or very long durations; we’d rather bring somebody in to fill that spot in your absence than have an effectively empty spot on the roster.
Anyone who is removed due to this Player Activity Expectations policy is welcome to rejoin us when they decide to get back into the game. Simply open a mod support ticket on the StratsCo Discord and ask to be brought back into the fold; the mods will pass that information to your coast’s leadership team and get you back in a Team ASAP. We cannot promise you’ll end up back on the exact same team you were on previously, but if you tell us where you had been, we’ll do our best to get you back there.
The Merit Guilds have additional requirements/expectations as set forth by their respective leadership. If you are in one of those guilds, be sure you're meeting and following those expectations or you may be removed and placed in a different StratsCo guild on your coast.
¶ Waitlist and Guild Merge Lotteries [RETIRED]
This system has been retired now that everyone is merged.
Rather than run a traditional first-in/first-out system for merging folks together and bringing new people in, we've decided to use a lottery system. This opt-in method ensures only those still actively seeking to join us or merge into one of the merge guilds are able to do so and greatly reduces the administrative burden on our coast's leadership teams.
The lotteries will take place in the #open-guild-slot channel as spots on the Teams come available. This system enables us to reward people who are actively participating in our community with a higher chance to win based on their Discord trust level.
If you receive an error stating you are missing a required role while trying to enter a lottery, confirm that you are entering the correct lottery (Waitlist or Guild Merge).
¶ Waitlist Lottery - [RETIRED]
We have finally caught up on our waitlist. New members joining the Discord who take the @lostark-waitlist role from #lost-ark-info will see a new channel called #looking-for-guild. Please indicate in your post which coast you're playing on and if there's a specific Team you'd like to join and someone from that coast's leadership team will reach out to invite you (provided spots are available).
We're going to have a lottery to bring in new players from the @lostark-waitlist role (which can be obtained on our Discord server in the #lost-ark-info channel; you'll need the appropriate coast's role from there as well) if there are new/available spots from in-game guilds leveling up or people leaving. These will happen periodically as spots become available.
The lottery will take place in the #open-guild-slots channel on Discord, last 24-48 hours, and be weighted based on Discord trust levels, meaning people who are active in the Discord should always have a significantly-improved chance to gain entry to one of the Teams than fresh joins.
We are going to do what we can to get friends that are coming in post-launch with friends that are already in one of our Teams. If you are chosen for the lottery, you'll need to DM Auth#8008 on Discord with the Team you'd like to be added ASAP; he will be sorting people in the evening of the day a lottery ends and will need to know of any Team requests before that time.
¶ Stratswater
Stratswater is our OCE/SEA branch, so they won’t be part of the normal lottery processes. Instead, there is a more manual process Foulou and Auth will execute. If you are an OCE/SEA player and interested in joining with this group (as a new join to StratsCo or a member of another StratsCo Team), feel free to reach out to Auth#8008 on Discord.
If you receive an error advising that you do not have the @lostark-waitlist, @lostark-east, or @lostark-west role and you're trying to enter the Waitlist Lottery, you need to go to #lost-ark-info and select the appropriate roles via the emojis before you can enter the lottery.
¶ Guild Merge Lottery [RETIRED]
As spots become available in game, we’ll be having the merge lottery for people already in a Lost Ark Team who want to merge into the Community Teams we’re working to funnel folks into. This has always been our long-term goal: to get everyone on each coast under the same 1-2 banners in-game. Those banners are…
NA East:
- Stratsco
NA West:
- Stratsco
These lotteries will take place in #open-guild-spots and run for 24-48 hours. If you're already in Stratsco on either coast, please don't enter the Guild Merge Lottery; you're already merged!
¶ Stratswater
Stratswater is our OCE/SEA branch, so they won’t be part of the normal lottery processes. Instead, there is a more manual process Foulou and Auth will execute. If you are an OCE/SEA player and interested in joining with this group (as a new join to StratsCo or a member of another StratsCo Team), feel free to reach out to Auth#8008 on Discord.
If you get an error saying you do not have the @lostark-guilded role, are currently in a StratsCo Team, and are attempting to enter the Guild Merge Lottery, please submit a mod ticket on Discord indicating this.
¶ Merit Guilds
We had initially planned to delay identifying guilds that would have stricter requirements of their members and take the focus of vertical progression more seriously; however, we heard from many Strategists that they’d rather we did this sooner than later. The purpose of these teams is simple: to provide a place where the Strategists who intend to take vertical progression seriously (and demonstrate that desire in game) to work more closely with one another. After a cross-coast deliberation on the matter, we’re pleased to announce our Merit guilds as…
NA East:
- Stratsco Shields
NA West:
- Stratsfire
These guilds will be excluded both from the Waitlist Lottery and the Guild Merge Lottery. Instead, the leadership teams of Stratsco Shields and Stratsfire will be selecting and inviting members as they see fit. They will also have stricter guidelines and expectations about things like guild contributions and overall activity. These will be established and enforced by each guild's leadership. Those who are currently in one of these two guilds who do not feel like this new direction is something they want to participate in will be given priority to merge into the Stratsco guild on their coast, no lottery required (reach out to your guild’s leadership and/or Auth#8008 on Discord and we’ll coordinate your relocation).
You are welcome to express your interest to these guilds’ leadership about joining their ranks, but that does not mean you are permitted to harass them about it. If you send a message after reading this or mention it in a VOIP to one of the guilds’ leaders, that’s fine, but constantly messaging/asking multiple times about being invited/accepted is inappropriate and likely to disqualify you from being invited. Additionally, those who are not invited or are removed after being invited for failing to adhere to the stricter requirements should not harass members of the Discord staff or Lost Ark leadership teams unless there are extreme circumstances that warrant it (e.g., blatant prejudice; being told you aren’t progressing fast enough, meeting established requirements, or aren’t playing well enough in high-level content typically does not constitute prejudice).
This is not to say that members of other guilds are not also intending to pursue vertical progression (indeed, many Strategists are), and anyone not selected to join the ranks of these guilds shouldn’t feel like they’re missing out. Stratsco (on each coast) will continue to grow and unite as many people as possible (and if recruitment/retention maintains, we’ll identify an additional guild on each coast to merge folks into). Rather, the intent of these teams is to provide a more hardcore setting for Strategists that enjoy that sort of environment and playstyle.
¶ Why Play Lost Ark?
Lost Ark is one of the most widely anticipated MMOs set to launch very soon, and people are excited to test it out and play it starting February 8th. But the question is, does this game deserve your time? Sure, it’s free to play, but is it actually a good title to play? We are here to answer some questions about the title, the way it plays, and also its guild system.
¶ Incredible visuals
Right off the bat, what stands out in Lost Ark is its incredible visuals. The game has already been available in Asian countries for more than 3 years, and it has been optimized and polished, so the version we get is also high quality and without the bugs that a game like this would have. There is a lot of attention to detail when it comes to visuals, and the gameplay itself does resemble Diablo a bit, which is a great thing to say the least.
¶ Engaging story
The story in Lost Ark is quite complicated, with many twists and turns. But it’s also easy to follow thanks to the way it’s presented, and every action does seem meaningful. This certainly adds to the experience, and it conveys impressive results, while pushing the limits in a very rewarding and powerful manner. That’s the thing that truly makes it worth the effort.
¶ Multiple great classes
What we like about Lost Ark is the fact that they don’t shy away from the idea of having a lot of variety when it comes to classes. There are classes like the gunner, martial artist, warrior, mage and assassin. Each one feels different, and it definitely adds to the gameplay and the experience as a whole. You will appreciate the great attention to detail, and thankfully you do get a max level character boost when you reach level 50. That means you can try out a new class, which is great because you can adapt and adjust accordingly as you play, while still testing things out and seeing if you like the class in question.
¶ Depth and immersion
We like the fact that Lost Ark is unraveling a wonderful, deep world with many interesting rules. They are not afraid of pushing the limits and showing something different, but it does pay off. The world, its structure and economy are very similar to our own. You receive a high level of immersion, and you will appreciate the unique style and ideas being brought to the table. It’s nice to see how Lost Ark comes together and how it’s presented, which is incredible in its own right.
There’s also a lot of loot and variation, something that’s important in a game like this. It doesn’t hold your hand either, it continually strives to convey something new and rewarding, while still pushing the limits and truly offering the value that you are interested in. People love Lost Ark because it has a great fantasy world, there are reasons to replay the game over and over. There’s also quite a lot of endgame content to try out. So, you won’t have a shortage of things to do in the game, which is significant for a game like this.
¶ Guild content
Lost Ark does allow you to play on your own throughout the entire game if you want. But if you really want to enjoy all the content the way it was meant to be played, entering a guild is a good idea. We like the fact that joining and exiting a guild is very seamless, short and simple. That means you can easily try out a guild, see if you like it, and if you don’t like it you can easily exit, and you won’t have any possible issues related to that.
There’s also quite a lot of stuff to do in a guild. All the guild members need to contribute with guild work according to the set guidelines. It’s important to keep in mind because not contributing to the guild as a whole will give you less gold and extra features, which is something you want to avoid dealing with. Every guild will have crystals gained on a variety of factors. There are distribution settings, as well as weekly contribution and guild vs guild and guild vs environment experiences.
The guild vs environment is pretty simple, it’s PVE content where the entire guild will have to complete various objectives against NPCs in the game. It’s straightforward, and the loot is excellent, so it’s definitely worth a shot. In Lost Ark, the PVE missions are pretty varied, even if some of them do seem to repeat regularly. But it’s still enjoyable, and that can make a huge difference if you do it right. These boss raids are exciting, and they do require the entire team to work together if they want to win.
Guild vs guild, on the other hand, is a weekly PVP mode created specifically for guilds. In Lost Ark, it’s also known as island capture. The idea here is that guilds compete every week to try and take control of a contested island. You will need to eliminate the enemy players. However, there are islands that come with a variety of other game modes. If you enter the guild vs guild experience, you will have guild contribution and participation points. This is a great way to acquire better guild rewards and also boost your standing in that guild.
¶ Conclusion
Lost Ark is very promising, it has incredible content and some impressive ideas. It’s definitely engaging and quite fun to go through, but the best part is that it includes lots of endgame content for guilds too. That certainly adds a lot of replay value, and it makes the game a lot more exciting and engaging than what you would expect. It’s absolutely worth a shot, especially since it’s free to play, you just have to download and see if you like it!