Introduction
Lost Ark is an amazing MMORPG, we can safely say that after playing it for... too much time over the past few months. If you're looking for engaging End Game content, a well-designed progression system, and a ton of fun side activities, you won't be disappointed with this game. However, Lost Ark is a big game with a lot of nooks and crannies, so it can get a bit overwhelming for new players. Because of this, and to not let the time we've spent playing Lost Ark go to waste, we've decided to share the knowledge we've acquired about the game with you!
In this guide, we will do our best to introduce you to Lost Ark's gameplay features and systems in detail to draw a bigger picture of what the game has to offer. We will also briefly describe the exciting continent of Arkesia in which most of Lost Ark's action takes place. This guide should help you start playing and enjoying the game right from the get-go!
Lost Ark Class Overview
Down below, you will find brief breakdowns of each of the currently available Lost Ark Advanced Classes. From them, you'll learn about Class' aesthetics, main gameplay features, strong points, and weaknesses. It should help you to make an educated Class choice!
If the information provided here is not enough for you and want to know a bit more about the Classes, or you're looking for optimal End-Game builds, we've got you covered as well! Check out our Lost Ark Builds and Classes Guide for more detailed Class descriptions and multiple Build examples!
Assassins |
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Assassins are your sneaky, backstaby, and very shady death dealers who value surprise attacks and deadly combos and prefer to exploit enemies' weaknesses instead of being forced into face-to-face encounters. After all, fair fights are for losers, aren't they? | |
Shadowhunter |
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Shadowhunter possesses demonic powers that let her turn into a powerful Demon once her Identity Gauge, called Shadowburst Meter, is fully charged after using enough Human Form skills. Her two Class Engravings are Perfect Suppression and Demonic Impulse. Builds that use the latter emphasize Shadowhunter's Demon Form and build around it, while Perfect Suppression Shadowhunters forgo the Demon Form completely in exchange for more powerful Human Form Skills. | |
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Deathblade |
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Deathblade prefers a surprisingly straightforward approach to combat. She dual-wields blade weapons and uses them to quickly cut through her enemies in CQB, just like a Martial Artist would. Her two Class Engravings are Surge and Remaining Energy. Surge Deathblade builds stacks during Death Trance, benefits from a flat DPS boost, and deals full damage with their signature skill regardless of the amount of Death Orbs she has. Remaining Energy Deathblade, on the other hand, receives bonus Move Speed, Attack Speed, and Attack Power whenever she uses Blade Surge. | |
Strengths and Weaknesses | |
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Mages |
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Mages are characters who wield powerful magic as a weapon. They can tap into their arcane powers to cast devastating elemental spells or, in some cases, aid their comrades in combat. Their power also lets them relocate very rapidly if needed. | |
Sorceress |
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Sorceress unleashes death and destruction upon her enemies by channeling the power of the elements (Fire, Frost, and Lightning) through her staff. A wide variety of spells, she has access to, ensures that She is very versatile in combat. Depending on the chosen Class Engraving, Reflux or Igniter, She focuses on devastating long-range Burst Damage (Igniter Sorceress), or high and reliable Sustained Damage (Reflux Sorceress). The two variants also differ in terms of dynamics and mobility - Igniter Sorceress is less mobile and has longer animation locks in general. | |
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Bard |
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Bard excels at burst healing and keeping her teammates alive. She can reduce the group's damage taken and increase everyone's attack speed. Her aesthetic is very unique - She fights using a plethora of music-themed magic spells and uses a harp as her weapon of choice. Unlike other Classes that heavily rely on their Class Engravings, Bard has a very flexible toolkit that can be mixed and matched based on your needs. As a result, she is very versatile and can easily adapt to any type of content. | |
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Warriors |
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Warriors are melee fighters who value heavy armor and slow hard-hitting weapons over mobility. They can shrug off more hits than other classes and hit harder than most, but their preferred equipment weights them down and makes them feel rather sluggish at times. | |
Paladin |
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Paladin is one of two Classes with access to dedicated Healing/Support abilities designed to bolster and reinvigorate teammates. He is a resilient melee fighter that can easily pull his weight during a fight. While in a group, Paladin focuses on damage prevention and aiding teammates. He has access to two types of abilities: Support-oriented Holy Skills and DPS-oriented Punish Skills. PvE builds mostly focus on the former. Thanks to the high uptime of His buffs, Paladin works especially well with classes focused on sustained DPS. | |
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Berserker |
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Despite His thick armor, Berserker moves around the battlefield with considerable speed and agility, and, thanks to his Burst Mode, He is able to deal considerable damage to anything that stumbles on his path. He has two viable raiding builds, based on His Class Engravings: Berserker's Technique and Mayhem. Mayhem Berserkers are the more flexible ones but are also much trickier to play as their HP is constantly locked ad 25% of its maximum. Berserker's Technique Berserkers, on the other hand, offer a more tame experience based on a builder-spender rotation loop and put a large emphasis on dealing Burst Damage. | |
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Gunlancer |
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Gunlancer is the most resilient of all currently available Classes. His defenses are, in some cases, formidable enough to simply ignore some of the mechanics and soak up the incoming damage instead. Unlike an average tank class', Gunlancer's damage output is actually very solid, but He is the slowest and least mobile of all Lost Ark Classes. He is also known for his solid team utility. Gunlancer's PvE builds are based on His Class Engravings: Lone Knight and Combat Readiness. The latter offers unmatched defense paired with high sustained DPS while the former sacrifices some of its survivability to gain better offensive capabilities, including high Stagger and solid Burst Damage. | |
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Destroyer |
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Destroyer wears heavy armor, so he can take a beating and survive to live the other day. He also wields a giant hammer, so being hit by him will definitely leave a mark. Just like Gunlancer, He has access to the Taunt ability and can greatly improve the defensive capabilities of his teammates. He can also become almost unkillable through one of his cooldowns and He deals the highest Stagger Damage in the game. Depending on the chosen Class Engraving, He can deal impressive consistent Damage (Rage Hammer) or focus more on dealing Burst Damage (Gravity Training). | |
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Martial Artists |
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Martial Artists dance around the battlefield and dish out incredible amounts of punishment while jumping in and out of the enemies' effective range. These CQB (close quarters battle) specialists emphasize fast movement and devastating attack combinations. | |
Scrapper |
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Scrapper's abilities deal a lot of damage and feel very impactful, but often suffer from long animations that may cause you some trouble if you use them in the wrong moments - good timing means a lot if you're a Scrapper. As for attack range... you'll spend a lot of time in melee, as a Scrapper, let's just say. Defense-wise, Scrapper is surprisingly durable and can withstand more than an average Martial Artist. Her two Class Engravings, Shock Training and Taijutsu, each boost one of Her signature skill types: Taijutsu increases Stamina Skill damage, while Shock Training improves Shock Skills. | |
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Soulfist |
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Unlike the purely melee-oriented Scrapper, Soulfist mixes powerful melee skills with a solid selection of ranged abilities. Because of this, she can dish out damage while staying out of range of enemy attacks. She is also a queen of burst damage, as Her World Decimation Awakening Skill is the single most powerful nuke in the game. In the late game, she can choose to specialize in two ways, by choosing either Robust Spirit or Energy Overflow Engraving. The former is all about the Burst Damage of World Decimation and the latter focuses on sustained damage, dynamic attacks, and mobility. | |
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Wardancer |
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Wardancer is a dynamic Class that rewards awareness, positioning, and encounter knowledge, but punishes mistakes. She is usually welcome in groups, thanks to her buff that grants attack speed and a higher critical chance to all party members. In combat, she generates so-called Elemental Orbs, She can then spend on Esoteric Skills to deal massive burst damage. Her Class Engravings are First Intention and Esoteric Skill Enhancement. While the latter does exactly what it says - it improves Wardancer's Esoteric Skills, the latter is a bit more convoluted - it prevents you from using Esoteric Skills but also increases your overall Damage done by a large margin. | |
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Striker |
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Striker shares a lot of similarities with the Wardancer, as he's basically Her male counterpart. Just like the Wardancer, He offers very potent party buffs that make him a very desirable teammate, but He doesn't provide a move speed bonus which makes him a bit worse in this aspect. As for offensive power, Striker excels in dealing high amounts of Burst Damage and boasts a very high Critical Chance, but requires proper positioning to show his full potential. Sadly, he suffers from mobility problems if He decides to go the burst damage route. Striker's Class Engravings are Esoteric Flurry and Deathblow. Both of them affect Striker's Esoteric Skills but in completely different ways (Without going into detail, Esoteric Flurry results in high Sustained Damage, and Deathblow boosts Burst Damage). | |
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Glaivier |
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Glaivier is a master of a Glaive and a Spear. Depending on the situation, she uses one or the other which makes her very unique as far as Martial Artists go. Depending on the chosen Class Engraving (Pinnacle or Control), she can focus on just one Weapon/Stance or embrace her identity and swap between the Stances to buff herself up during combat. Pinnacle Glaivier obtains powerful self-buffs from switching between stances with maxed Identity Gauge, While Control Glaivier forgoes the Focus Stance (Spear Stance) and focuses solely on the Glaive. | |
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Gunners |
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Gunners are incredibly diverse when it comes to their approach to combat. Some of them prefer mobility and flexibility, while others opt for heavy armor and even heavier guns. What's common for all of them is their incredible damage potential. | |
Gunslinger |
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Ganslinger is a firearm enthusiast that makes use of three ranged weapons: a pistol, a shotgun, and a rifle. Each of Her weapons is suitable for a different task and has a different effective range. Switching between them plays a big part in Gunslinger's gameplay, so be prepared for a lot of movement (when you switch weapons, you also have to change your position, depending on the chosen weapon's effective range). If you prefer simpler Classes, Gunslinger's Time to Hunt Engraving will come in handy for you, as it removes Shotguns from the mix. If you'd like to embrace the class's identity, pick Peacemaker which promotes frequent weapon swaps. | |
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Artillerist |
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Artillerist takes the phrase "victory through superior firepower" a bit too literally... He's like a mobile heavy artillery emplacement combined with a rocket launcher and a heavy flamethrower. As you can imagine, His abilities can deal very high AoE damage. Also, unlike other Gunners, he wears a set of Heavy Armor which makes him very resilient, especially for a ranged combatant. While in a group, Artillerist offers an on-demand group-wide shield and a defense debuff. The PvE Class Engraving of choice for the Artillerist is the Firepower Enhancement which reduces all incoming damage by 20% and provides a powerful Crit Rate buff. | |
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Deadeye |
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Deadeye is a male counterpart to the Gunslinger and thus they share a lot of similarities, however, Deadeye prefers to stay up close and personal with His enemies and favors the Shotgun, over Gunslinger's favorite Rifle, because of that. Lower optimal engagement range makes Him trickier to master than the Gunslinger and, as a result, He's a bit less popular. Deadeye's Class Engravings are Pistoleer and Enhanced Weapon. Pistoleer is a great choice for new players as it simply removes both Rifle and Shotgun while providing a significant buff to Pistols. Enhanced Weapon, on the other hand, provides powerful buffs when Deadeye swaps between His weapons. | |
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Sharpshooter |
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Sharpshooter is a hipster among Gunners, as he uses a Bow instead of a Firearm. Because of this, he feels more dynamic and a bit more... sophisticated. His other selling point is the fact that He can have a loyal pet companion that will always aid Him in combat. Defense-wise, He has to rely on His mobility to survive. Luckily, He can move and dodge like the best of them. When it comes to Class Engravings, Sharpshooter is quite Unique, as both of His (Death Strike and Loyal Companion) enhance the same playstyle and thus are used together. Both of Sharpshooter's Class Engravings revolve around building up His Identity Gauge and boosting His capabilities once He summons His pet Silverhawk. | |
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Leveling in Lost Ark
Once you've created a character and chosen an Advanced Class, it's time for you to start leveling up as reaching the End Game quickly has some great benefits. These benefits include, among others, being able to participate in the End Game content that can provide you with large amounts of Gold and increasingly stronger Equipment.
Tips for Quick Lost Ark Leveling |
*You'll get a special Boost, that will let you level up a Character to 50 instantly, upon reaching Level 50 with your first Character and completing the Story Line Questline up to the Ealyn's Gift Quest. |
*For example: Opening the Chest on a Berserker will lock the Googles to Berserkers, Paladins, Gunlancers, and Destroyers on your Account. |
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Here are some additional Tips & Tricks that should make your Leveling even faster: |
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Lost Ark End Game Progression
So, you've reached level 50, congratulations! Now the real game begins! There are a lot of things to do and very many features to explore in Lost Ark's End Game. In this chapter, we'll try to explain in detail how you can take full advantage of all of it.
Unlocking the End Game Progression |
The first thing you should do after reaching Level 50 is to unlock all progression possibilities the game presents you with. This can take up to 5 hours, so be prepared for quite a task!
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Unlocking Guardian Raids, Chaos Dungeons, and Awakening Skills
IMPORTANT: Don't enter Chaos Dungeons or Guardian Raids yet. Follow the rest of the steps beforehand to properly prepare your Character for them! |
Unlocking Abyssal Dungeons
Abyssal Dungeons require Item Level 340 to enter. You'll also need a team of 4. Once you meet these requirements, you should run some of these, as you can get Engraving Recipes, Accessories, Enhancing Materials, and more out of them. With the stuff dropped from Abyssal Dungeons, you can start to work on your new Gear Set. Note: You'll also get Sturmbrecher Ship as a reward for completing the World Quest Line in North Vern. This ship will allow you to sail to the Shunshire Continent. |
Finishing the World Quest Line Once you've unlocked Abyssal Dungeons and received the Sturmbrecher while doing so, you are able to sail to Shunshire and complete the World Quest Line. Equip your Shunshire, sail to Shunshire and complete your quest line to obtain a Chest that will provide you with a free 302 iLevel Set for free. This will be your starting End-Game gear. Note: If you're not a big fan of optimization, you can get the exact same set from running your first Chaos Dungeon. |
Unlocking Una's Tasks Una's Tasks can be a solid and very reliable source of Lost Ark Gold if you do them regularly. There is a special (purple) questline that will explain this system to you in detail - accept and complete it! The tasks consist of various daily and weekly missions and award special Points that reset each week. The amount awarded depends on the task type:
After reaching point thresholds, you will be awarded Una's Tokens. The tokens are awarded after collecting 25, 35, 45, 55, and 70 Points. These tokens can be exchanged at Gold Shops for special Lost Ark Gold Chests. There are three types of these:
Different Una's Tasks are unlocked by completing specific objectives. Here are the most worthwhile Tasks you definitely should unlock:
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Completing the Adventure Questline on Dreamgull Island This step is very important as it will be your main way of getting your initial Stone Fragments and Shards (Each Quest in this Chain awards Stone Fragment and Shard Chests!). To start the Questline, simply interact with an abandoned backpack right by the entrance. You can complete 5 Quests of this Questline immediately, however, to complete the rest you'll need Forest's Minuet Song. You can obtain the Music Sheet that teaches it to you from the "The Forest Where Fairies Sing" Questline on Lullaby Island. This questline is not too long and very easy (but there is a part that might require you to wait for up to 20 minutes - Check Lullaby Island Event Timer beforehand to avoid waiting). |
Upgrading your Gear After all of the above is done, return to Vern Castle (via your Song of Return, for example) - it's about time you've upgraded your Gear! After returning, open your Quest Journal, you'll have multiple new Guide Quests there - accept them and head to NPC Senard who specializes in Honing Gear.
After all of this is done, you're ready to start the Eng Game grind... |
Completing your first Chaos Dungeons, Guardian Raids, and Abyssal Dungeons Head to the Chaos Dungeon Entrance that is located in Vern Castle and Select North Vern Echo (it requires iLevel of 340 - you should be eligible by now). Complete two first Dungeons on the List (these will be your 2 Daily Chaos Dungeons that grant increased rewards!). You'll get a set of new powerful Accessories from these, so remember to equip them! You should also invest the obtained Materials into your Gear.
After you're done with your first two Chaos Dungeons, it's time to face off against deadly bosses in Guardian Raids! Defeat Ur'Nil to obtain your first clear reward (IMPORTANT: you should have the Guardian Soul reward UNCHECKED for this one). After that, clear Lumerus two times with your Guardian Soul active (this will maximize your rewards, as higher level Bosses reward more Leap Stones).
After you're done with your Daily Chaos Dungeons and Guardian Raids, you can test your Skills in Abyssal Dungeons. These Weekly challenges are hybrids of Guardian Raids and Chaos Dungeons - You'll fight your way through a dungeon to face a deadly Boss at the end. Boss fights inside Abyssal Dungeons are difficult and require Encounter Knowledge, so don't get discouraged if you wipe - learn and you will definitely overcome the challenge!
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Lost Ark Gold Making
Gold is a very important commodity in Lost Ark and you'll need tons of it to upgrade your Gear, trade with other players, and generally progress your Character and Account as a whole. There are a lot of ways of earning Lost Ark Gold, some better than others. If you want to min-max your income, you will have to mix and match multiple methods, as most of them rely on various types of Daily and Weekly activities.
Here is a short list of some of the most profitable activities, you can do to earn large amounts of Lost Ark Gold:
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We've just scratched the surface when it comes to Lost Ark moneymaking. If you want to learn much more about it, you should check out our detailed Lost Ark Gold Farming and Making Guide! |
END NOTE We will do our best to keep this guide up to date with all future game updates so that it stays true to the currently available in-game content. If we have missed a piece of information that is especially important to you, please let us know and we will make sure to add the missing information. Please note that this is an early version of our guide, and we will be happy to receive constructive criticism, that will help us improve it, so leave your suggestions in the comments section below. We also plan on expanding this guide with further sections, so stay tuned. |