New Player Help | Lost Ark Wiki

New Player Help for Lost Ark is the ideal page to learn if you are new to the game. You can learn about the basics of the game's mechanics as well as recommended activities or decisions to jumpstart your adventure during your early levels.

Lost Ark Best Tips

Lost Ark Best Class Guide

Helpful pages for Lost Ark

Classes: A detailed guide on the 5 main class archetypes and 15 advanced sub-classes available in Lost Ark.
Skills: An overview of all the available skills for each Classes in Lost Ark
Stats: A detailed information on how the Stats system works in Lost Ark.
Weapons: An overview and complete list of all available weapons in Lost Ark.
Armor: Provides a detailed overview and covers the list of all available armors and armor sets in Lost Ark.

Lost Ark New Player Help

Lost Ark Beginner's Guide

Getting Started

See out About page on Lost Ark to get a general idea about the different concepts and mechanics of the game. You can then visit our Character Creation page to view information regarding the customization process and diverse options available in choosing a character in the game. On the Classes page, you'll see the list of available classes to choose from. Lost Ark features 5 Main Class Archetypes that divide into 15 Advanced sub-classes. Each class features a unique set of abilities and game style that sets it apart from the different classes featured in the game.

Controls

You can visit the Controls page to view detailed information on the control inputs for Lost Ark. You'll see there the default key bindings for the standard Keyboard + Mouse controls.

What is the Best Class?

There is no actual best class in Lost Ark, since it features 5 main class archetypes and 15 advanced sub-classes, each class presents different and distinct gameplay and combat with its own strengths and weaknesses. Players will find that there are preferred classes for specific roles, and classes that are more difficult to master.

Best Ranged DPS Classes: Deadeye, Gunslinger, Sharpshooter
Best Melee DPS Classes: Berserker, Striker, Shadowhunter
Best Support Classes: Bard, Paladin
Best Tank Classes: Gunlancer, Artillerist
Best Beginner Classes: Berserker, Scrapper, Summoner, Sharpshooter, Shadowhunter
Best PvP Classes: Striker, Berserker, Sharpshooter

Combat

Lost Ark features a fast-paced isometric ARPG combat style where you get to eliminate multiple sprawling enemies at once as you become more powerful when you acquire certain skills and when you level them up accordingly. A dodge roll button is also added to help evade against enemy attacks and you can also utilize different combat items such as bombs, single-use trinkets, and potions. Among the 5 main class archetypes, the Warrior, Martial Artist, and Assassin are the melee-focused classes, and the Gunner and Mage as the ranged-focused classes.

Lost Ark's combat system revolves around customizing your own skills and abilities by upgrading them to suit your own playstyle. This is where the Tripod System comes into play, where it allows you to customize a variety of highly specialized skills to create multiple builds. You can select up to three customized skills per character. You can then improve these abilities by leveling them up and applying upgrades.

Apart from the 5 main class archetypes, each advanced class have its own different moves, combos, and class dynamics that would change the combat entirely based on what you mix and match.

Your character also gains a certain amount of skill points every time you level them up, and these can be used to upgrade your combat skills. All skills cost more points the higher level they are and provide more rewards in each succeeding tier. Take note that you can always reset and play around with your combat skill to figure out what suits your playstyle best. You can change them anytime as well as save presets to easily switch between them from time to time.

You can also view more information about the different classes and sub-classes and their certain Skills and Stats on the Classes page.

Stats and Skills

Stats and Skills go hand in hand in helping improve your selected character.

Stats are different traits or attributes characters possess in Lost Ark. These traits indicate the aptitude in different facets of the character's performance during gameplay such as attack speed, resistance or healing. Stats can be improved by equipping different types of Accessories and Armor. Each piece can have positive or negative effects on different Stats. Skills are the abilities available for all Classes.

Skills are locked depending on the Class selected. They can provide different ways of dealing damage, as well as improving certain Stats or allowing your character to debuff enemies. You can increase the level of your skills by leveling up your character. In Lost Ark, you will find that the Tripod System will grant improvements to your Skills. You can also save your different Skill sets, so you can quickly switch between them before going into PvE or PvP activities.

You can view a more detailed guide on both the Stats and Skills on their individual pages.

Game Progress

Lost Ark is strikingly similar to games like Diablo and Path of Exile in terms of isometric ARPG combat system, but in terms of overall progression, Lost Ark's gameplay is gradual such that you’re enticed to play for longer periods of time. Hunting for gear can take some time as you would need to collect specific materials to enhance them and their respective scores. The seasons are also implemented differently, although there may be new raids and classes, the top priority is to improve the state of the game.

When you reach max level however, you would probably start focusing on raising your gear level or score. The higher your gear score is, the higher the tier of content you unlock. There are endgame raids available in Tier 1, however, you gain access to more of them when you reach Tier 2 and so on.

Numerous materials can be collected from participating in Dungeons, Raids and Trading. Gold is also one of the most essential currencies in order to upgrade gear. You can earn valuable rewards by engaging in daily activities such as slaying world bosses, finishing cube dungeons, and completing an island quest. These rewards can either be gold, silver, or legendary materials.

PvP Features

PvP in Lost Ark features the standard duels and 3v3 arena combat with normal and rank modes. There is also an island PvP with set objectives as well as Guild vs. Guild. Although there are quite a number of PvP activities in the game, it’s not as frequently balanced as PvE.

Island Management

In Lost Ark, there's this feature called Island Management where you gain access to your own private island and housing by completing a quest. Variety of designs will be available for you to choose in customizing the island. Additional features can also be unlocked by building a Research Center, and as for the Production Workshop, you can craft your own furniture and decorations for you to further customize your own private island.

Lost Ark Everything You Should Know

Lost Ark's Unique Class System

If you are that veteran player who is well experienced and someone who knows his/her way around the traditional MMO experience, then you might find yourself a tad bit lost or confused about how classes work in Lost Ark. In most cases, a player can easily identify the common roles of a class that cater to DPS, Tank, and Healer, but in Lost Ark, there is a variety of Classes and its corresponding Advanced Class that shows you a bigger picture of how you want your character or playstyle to be. That being said, if you are someone who is looking for a class that heavily leans against the traditional DPS, Tank, and Healer roles, then you might want to check out our recommended classes:

Gunlancer: The Gunlancer class is the closest that you can experience to taking on a role as the Tank of the team. Gunlancers are very much capable of taking huge amounts of damage, they work best with using Melee Attacks and Skills, as well as drawing in the attention of hostile characters without even worrying about your defenses and health.
Paladin: Paladins is a hybrid of both Support and DPS, it is a counterpart of the Bard but it mainly focuses on executing offensive abilities to deal great damage using a One-Handed Sword against mobs of enemies. But of course, with their Book, Paladins are also capable of providing support skills that can buff and heal the party.
Bard: The Bard is an Advanced Class of the Mage class, although they are considered to be the second main support class of all Classes in Lost Ark, a strong and well-versed Bard can provide defensive skills and are more focused at helping allies survive difficult encounters. Bards are able to do this and fulfill their role with the help of their trusty Harp, allowing them to cast buffs and heals. As strong and useful as a Bard may sound, they are not of course, limited to just providing support, but they can also conjure sustaining, yet decent amount of damage.

Lost Ark Advanced Combat Mechanics

Some may think that using your skills simply just deals damage, but there's more to that, and it's always better to better understand how your skills work in order to utilize it propery and when to use it. Each skill is tied to a Modifier/s, and with these Modifiers, you can find more information such as the attack type and more, by doing this, just hover over the skill in the Skills Menu and you'll find the vital information that you need. Just keep in mind that not every single skill will have every Modifier. We will list down the various types of attacks that are shown in a skill's modifier and how to use it effectively:

Back Attacks: When a skill that indicates a Back Attack, if used behind an enemy, the skill deals 5% bonus damage and has a 10% chance to land a CRIT.
Headshot Attacks: Skills that have the Headshot Modifier are used directly in-front of the enemy. If used correctly, skills land 20% more Damage and also has a 10% increase of Stagger Damage.
Stagger Damage: Just as it says, a skill modifier that has Stagger Damage is more effective in depleting the Stagger Bar of an enemy or boss which is the bar that can be found under the hostile character's health. Once the stagger bar is empty, they will become temporarily stunned for a few seconds, allowing the player to punish with various attacks.
Counterattack Modifier: Some Skills will have the Counterattack modifier which means you can interrupt a boss attack if you use a Skill that has a Counterattack modifier. How do you use this? When fighting a Boss, you'll sometimes notice a boss glow and emit a blue energy, when this happens, ready your Counterattack Skill. If it connects, the boss becomes stunned for a couple of seconds, making them open for free damage.
Destruction Modifier: Skills that have the Destruction Modifier are useful in breaking some Bosses that have shields that prevent them from their health being depleted or minimizes the amount of damage that you inflict. Players will see once a Boss triggers or uses a shield, and when this happens, ready your Skill that has the Destruction property. Once the shield is detroyed, this breaks, and you can then deplete the stagger bar and health of the boss.

Create a Skills Loadout

One of the many useful things you may miss but eventually come across it are loadouts for your Skills. There are 10 loadouts that you can modify, but at the start, you can only use 2. However, if you want more loadouts unlocked, you will need to purchase it via the in-game store. In order to find your Loadouts, click on the Character Icon at the bottom right of the screen, open the Skills menu, and then you'll find the designated number of loadouts at the top of the Skills Menu. Alternatively, just press [K] on your keyboard to bring up the Skills Menu.

Why are Skills Loadouts important? Lost Ark is quite situational where you either fight hordes of minions, a singular boss, or even a player. Having the accessibility to switch between a loadout will make it easier for you to adapt to any given situation thrown at you. Of course, it's better to just build a set of Skills that can be used in general, but why not take advantage of even just one of the free available loadout slots and try to build an extra set of skills for more variety of gameplay.

Lost Ark Runes for Skills

If you want to even push yourself further by boosting the effects of your character's skills, then use your Runes. Runes are mainly used and apply to a Skill which alters how your Skills originally work, for example, you can inflict the bleeding effect, reduce the cooldown of the skill, lessen the mana cost, and many more. Even though a certain rune may not be helpful or even useful to your character, try to collect as much as you can when you see one or receive one so that when you come to a point that you want to play around with your Skills, then you have enough Runes that are ready to be used.

Join a Guild!

If possible, join a guild as soon as possible, it's more than just meeting new people and having chat or so, but being in a guild allows you to work with each other to reach a common goal and to acquire unique rewards. Each guild has access to new aspects of the guild such as a Guild Shop where you can turn in blood stones for special items such as upgrade mats, chests, and rare potions. Just by being in a Guild, your contribution through completing Quests or by donations, you definitely acquire something in return that you will not find or wouldn't have access to in general

Do Not Ignore the Stronghold

The Stronghold in Lost Ark and Life Skills are important and go hand-in-hand with each other. Strongholds become available once you reclaim Luterra Castle Strongholds shouldn't be overlooked since you can use the Workshop to craft valuable items such as percentage based potions as well as other combat items such as bombs. This is where your Life Skills come in handy, Life Skills in Lost Ark are essentially gathering professions that players can invest in and master. Life Skills allow players to collect various materials and resources used in Crafting. Here are the various Life Skills that are available in Lost Ark:

Herbalism: Used to gather flowers and mushrooms which are used in crafting Potions.
Lumbering: A Life Skill focused on cutting down trees and gathering wood. Useful in building your Stronghold.
Mining: A Life Skill used to mine ore. Specializes in crafting Weapons as well as bombs for use in combat.
Hunting: Used to gather materials from animals useful in crafting food.
Fishing: A Life Skill focused on gathering food materials.
Archaeology: A Life Skill focused on unearthing relics.

Try to Avoid the Tools Vendor First

Upon reaching Lakebar, you will be introduced to certain Life Skills such as Mining and Fishing, and eventually, encounter a Tools Vendor who sells the items you need for mining and fishing. At this point, we highly recommend not to pruchase anything first to save your silver since you can get the basic and upgrade tools as rewards for completing the related guide quest.

Lost Ark Leveling System

Lost Ark has a Dual Leveling System that pushes a player to really grind their character into becoming the strongest that they can be. There are two features that affect the game when you level up and these two are the Character and your Account. Leveling up your Character is the traditional MMO feature where your character levels up through completing Quests and by simple killing hostile characters such as Enemies and Bosses.

On the other hand, players also level up their Account which can be done by simply playing the game, do your quests, and simply interact with everything or anything that you can find. Now, it is very important that you check out the level of your Account and the rewards that come with it since it can reward you with perks that increase your stats. To find the Level Menu of your Account, click the "Legacy" button at the bottom right of the screen and this opens the menu.

Save your Potions and Bombs

Let's be honest, Lost Ark can be quite overwhelming at the start, especially to those who are new to the MMO scene, regardless, there is one tip we want you newcomers to remember, which is about Potions and Bombs. These items are ESSENTIAL when you reach End Game. Don't waste them when you are leveling up since you will end up trying to buy or craft them when you need to.

Potions are separated into two types, the basic potions heal a set amount of health, while the other restores a percentage of your HP. This means that the potions that restore a percentage of your health are more viable since it will recover the percentage it states no matter what your level is or how much health you have. Bombs on the other hand, are used to quickly execute bursts of damage against hostile characters or to destroy Shields that are put up by a Boss, Bombs are introduced to you very early on while you are leveling up, nonetheless, having a bunch of Bombs in your inventory will always be useful once you reach end game.

Quests in Lost Ark

The various Quests in Lost Ark will introduce you and bring you across different areas and environments as you try to find the "Lost Arks". Of course when you start the game, there will be a lot of cut-scenes and dialogues which it may in-fact, feel slow for some players. But there's nothing to worry about, it's better to fully immerse yourself in these cut-scenes and if you are someone who is new to the MMO scene, take your time and play the game on your own pace. Moving forward, once you've reached Prideholm which is the first town you encounter, things start to pick up here since you will find the many and different kinds of quests. We will list down the different quests in the game to help you better understand it:

Main Quests: Main Quests are automatically accepted from the prologue and are essential quests that shapes the basis for the continuation of the main campaign, as well as character development. In completing Main Quests, you proceed with World Quests by Finding the Arks.
World Quests: Upon leaving Luterra and as you start to sail, players can continue the main campaign on different continents via World Quests. Take note that some of the contents in Lost Ark may not be available and will only become accessible if you complete a certain World Quest.
General Quests: Universal and General Quests that are acquired through the NPCs in every area you find. Accepting and completing a General Quest will allow you to learn and gather more information about the location, stories, and lore of the various characters and history of the game.
Chain Quest: Chain Quests appear if a story or quest is linked in sequence. Chain Quests offer permanent stat potions as a reward for completing them.
Dungeon Quest: Dungeon Quests become active and are automatically accepted when you enter a dungeon. But in order to partake in a Dungeon Quest, you must first complete the prerequisites of the relevant Main Quest. Dungeon Quests becomes cleared once you leave the dungeon.
Adventure Quest: Adventure Quests, similar to General Quests can be acquired through NPCs that can be found on continents and islands while you are sailing. Completing an Adventure Quests will allow you to acquire an island's token or building rapport with NPCs. Some Adventure Quests can only be accepted and continued once per "Account" unit and are called "Account Quests".
Rapport Quest: As you build a relationship and become intimate with NPCs, players will be able to hear more news or stories that cannot be heard or found through the other quests. Further increasing your intimacy and completing a Rapport Quest will provide you with special/unique rewards.
Sudden Quest: In some cases, if certain conditions are met, a Sudden Quest becomes available and is automatically accepted. Sudden Quests can sometimes lead to a quest failure since it consists of time limitations or prohibits you to enter anoter area. If the quest fails, it is deleted from your list and you cannot re-do it.
Co-op Quest: A co-op quest requires the player to complete the quest with other players. A co-op quest normally starts with a notification, it will be displayed on the map, and is automatically accepted upon entering or arriving at the area. You gain rewards for a co-op quest based on the player's contribution.
Daily Quest: Daily Quests are these minor quests that a player can complete every single day. Each day, a player is capped to complete up to 3 Daily Quests and it will refresh every single day. Players can find and accept a Daily Quest via Una’s Tasks by pressing ALT + J.
Weekly Quest: Weekly Quests are similar to Daily Quests, only that the rewards are better than a Daily Quest. Each week, a player is capped to complete up to 3 Weekly Quests per week and will refresh everyday as well. Players can find and accept a Weekly Quest via Una’s Tasks by pressing ALT + J.