Lost Ark is the MMORPG that New World should have been

Nice, prettier, Lost Ark characters

When you start the game, you get to choose a class. With fixed genders, Lost Ark lets you choose between five different main classes and one to three subclasses, some of which differ greatly from one another. The magician can be played as a supporting bard or as a powerful nature magician who deals a lot of damage. There are three levels of martial artist, which have increasingly thick spanking gloves, but are less agile.

You have to decide right at the beginning which path you want to take - irrevocably! Fortunately, you can test each subclass in a training room beforehand for as long as you like and have time.

After that, you can dive into the character editor. With options for face shapes, skin color, a hairstyle with up to two hair colors, and even different outfits and backgrounds to test out your new look against, Lost Ark has a lot to offer. But keep in mind: You can only change your appearance afterwards if you pay.

Unfortunately, there was a small bug when switching the backgrounds, where I could no longer zoom into my mage's face. A fatal problem, as it turned out in the course of the game, because without realizing it, I had given myself eyes with little heart reflections, which from then on reminded me of my mishap with a close-up in every cutscene. Luckily you can't see it from afar.

Funny or wacky characters are difficult to create as each option makes the character appear flawless. All you can do is make your figure look a bit plainer without wild shine in your hair and on your skin. But enough of that, now it's off to Arkesia, a beautifully designed, charming fantasy world with hordes of enemies to offer - something I missed about New World last year.