Heroes of Arkesia,
We wanted to take a moment and provide an update on our plans for two important things arriving next month; the upcoming region merge and Ladon/Echidna.
Region Merge Update
In a team update earlier this year we shared our plans to merge several regions for players to grow, play, and explore Arkesia together in Summer of 2024. On June 5, 2024, we will begin this process by merging South America into North America East.
For NA West, we are still searching the best solution to ensure the lowest latency possible for all players. Unfortunately, we found issues that would prevent a good customer experience during the extensive testing we conducted. Identifying an optimal outcome will take time, and this merge will not take place in Summer of 2024. We wish we could provide a firmer update on when we could move forward with connecting these regions, but we have not yet identified a path to do so. Our current plan is to proceed with merging South America into NA East on June 5, and to continue investigating options to combine the merged region with NA West in a way that provides the best player experience possible for all.
Next week, we’ll share the Region Merge policy and what players in the South America and North America East can expect when they merge.
Localization Update
When our teams first uncovered the name Echidna many years ago, the final form of the original Covetous Legion Commander hadn’t yet been fully revealed— so it was changed to a related figure in Mythology; Ladon. After reviewing Echidna’s presentation in Lost Ark and reading through community feedback, we agree that the name Echidna is best suited for the alluring and deadly enemy in the first Kazeros Raid arriving June 2024. We will be working to update the name from Ladon to Echidna for her release. There may be a few places where we can’t change previous messaging, such as the video component of Part 2 of the 2024 Roadmap— but rest assured— the official name is now Echidna. Interested in learning more about Echidna and the upcoming Kazeros Raid? Checkout Part 2 of the 2024 Roadmap or stay tuned our website and social channels for more information.
Thank you for your continued passion and feedback! We’ll see you in Arkesia.