The Lost Ark update for June is finally set to go live June 30, and Amazon Game Studios made some welcome announcements in the update patch notes. Along with the features we already expected, including the Vykas Raid, the Kungelanium Guardian, and Thronespire single-player activity, Amazon and Smilegate are adding a couple of bot prevention measures to the MMO game in a bid to help address what the community considers one of the game’s biggest problems.
Lost Ark will randomly throw a captcha verification test your way when entering a new area, and you’re required to complete the test within a few minutes. The idea is booting “away from keyboard” bots, fake characters, if you will, designed to make gold that’s then sold outside the Lost Ark economy.
How effective it will be is another matter, though. Several players believe captchas are too weak an effort to make a significant difference and have called for two-factor identification previously. It’s also unclear whether the captchas will pop in Raids, which have occasionally had bots populate in them as well.
What seems like it may have a bigger effect is the new limit imposed on transferring purchases.
“New store purchases will now have a 3 day waiting period before they can be traded or transferred out of the buyer’s account via mailing, trading, gifting, or selling on the Auction House,” Amazon says in the patch notes.
It doesn’t stop the bot problem, but it does make it take longer to get any tangible rewards from cheating.
On a happier note, the June update will add Heartbeat Island, a new event location you can access by speaking to Jollous in any major city. While on Heartbeat Island, you earn Festival Coins for taking part in event-specific activities, including relaxing and taking part in dance competitions. If only real life were so kind.
Once you’ve had your fill of relaxation, you may want to check out Lost Ark’s PvP scene for some action or gather Mokoko Seeds to trade in for sweet rewards.