[Lost Ark] Leveling Guide
Lost Ark Leveling Guide:
In Lost Ark, it is possible to reach level 50 in approximately 12 to 20 hours, depending on how quickly you want to progress and what you are willing to skip. The main way to level up in Lost Ark is through quests and dungeons. Main quests are usually the most rewarding, and if you want to level up quickly, I would recommend focusing on them. However, if it's your first time playing, I would suggest enjoying the game at a slower pace. You can always start a new character later and quickly progress through the content.
NOTE: This is a beginners guide, more in depth information including builds, group content, and gold accumulation will come in later blogs.
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Before you set foot in the vast world of Arkesia, you'll need to find a good class to accompany you on your journey. There are currently 6 classes each of which have their respective subclass (23 in total).
1. Warrior
2. Martial Artist
3. Gunner
4. Mage
5. Assassians
5. Specialist
1. Level 1 to 50:
Regardless of your approach, here is a general guide to reach level 50 as quickly as possible. It will also discuss some tips to speed up your progress. It's important to note that in the EU/NA version of the game, you start at level 10, which gives you an initial advantage.
- Skip the prologue: To level up faster, it is recommended to skip the prologue, which can take around 20-30 minutes. Although the prologue provides some cosmetic glasses, you can obtain them later in the game.
- Focus on main quests: Most Lost Ark leveling guides agree that focusing on main quests is the best way to reach level 50. Main quests are marked in orange and will provide you with a significant amount of experience. Until level 36, these quests are the most important for leveling up quickly.
- Side quests: As you progress through the main quests, you will come across side quests. While they are not necessary for leveling up quickly, they offer valuable rewards, additional loot, and completion of regions. You can return to them later in the game. In addition to the main and side quests, you will occasionally come across special quests marked in red. You can choose to complete them for additional rewards.
- Pets: There is a side quest that you shouldn't miss, as it will be of great help - it is about learning about pets and getting one for yourself. The "Learning About Pets" quest is a purple adventure. Purple adventure quests usually explain game mechanics or unlock new features. You can find this quest right from the start, in the first city. It will teach you the basics of how pets work, and in the end, you will receive a rabbit as a pet. But why are pets important? When you have an active pet, the auto-loot function is activated. Without a pet, you will have to manually loot everything that drops in the game world. With a pet, all loot will be automatically placed in your inventory. This will be very useful for quickly moving through areas and picking up any useful loot.
- Dungeons: Another thing you will come across while progressing through the main quests are dungeons. They are great for obtaining loot and a lot of experience, so make sure to do them. But here are some tips to make the most of dungeons. The first tip is to play them on normal mode. You may notice that on harder difficulties, you will get more loot and experience, but the total time it takes to complete the difficult dungeon does not justify the rewards obtained, as you will soon find better rewards. Even if you have a powerful class like Deathblade, you will find it difficult to complete the difficult dungeons fast enough to justify the rewards granted. Another tip is to solo dungeons unless you are playing with friends. Finally, make sure to do dungeons only when they are part of a quest and not just on your own will.
- After level 36: Once you have reached level 36, "World Quests" will open up, marked in blue. These quests will take you through different regions of the game, so it is recommended to consult our guide on the Best Ships to get an idea of which ship to use for navigation. However, in this Lost Ark leveling guide, our advice remains to focus solely on the main quests as you navigate. Nothing changes, you just have a larger map to explore. Make sure to always use fast travel and continue progressing through the main quests, which are now marked in blue. The path the game leads you to follow is Tortoyk, then Anikka, and finally Arthetine. By the time you reach Arthetine, you will likely have reached level 50.
- Power Pass: With the Power Pass, you can instantly level a character to 50. Before logging in, you may notice the option of the Power Pass on the character selection screen. Basically, it is an item that allows you to take any character directly to level 50. You can obtain 2 of these Power Passes for free. To get your first Power Pass, you must complete the main story quests with at least one character. If you do so, you will receive a Power Pass in your mail. Then, you can use that Power Pass on a newly created character to quickly level up. The second Power Pass will be granted to you once you have used the first one.
2. After reaching level 50:
Upon reaching level 50, we will focus on improving our equipment. Here is some information that will be useful to you.
Equipment progression in Lost Ark is crucial for improving your character. The higher your equipment score, the more activities will be available to help you increase that score. Before diving into the specific progression at each level, it's important to familiarize yourself with some daily activities and key terms related to equipment progression in Lost Ark.
2.1. Enhancement Materials and Key Terms:
Enhancement materials are obtained through various activities in Lost Ark, such as the ones we will mention below, Maria's Secret Shop, and guild vendors. Here is a list of enhancement materials and their uses:
- Guardian Stones: Used in the armor enhancement process, and there are 3 versions, one for each level.
- Destruction Stones: Used in the weapon enhancement process, and there are also 3 different variants.
- Leap Stones: These stones are used to enhance both armor and weapons. They are one of the most important elements in the enhancement process, so make sure to obtain them from Maria's Secret Shop, guild vendors, and by completing special tasks.
- Harmony/Vitality/Honor Fragments: Special coins used for both armor and weapon enhancement.
- Breath Stones: Used to improve the success chances in the final part of each enhancement level.
- Guardian Souls: Obtained in Guardian Raids. You can collect two of these souls daily. Guardian Souls significantly increase the rewards you receive from Guardian Raids.
- Resonance Aura: Used in Chaos Dungeons and regenerates daily, providing you with more rewards from your Chaos Dungeons.
2.2. Daily Activities:
Here are the daily activities that will help you obtain equipment and the necessary materials to enhance your equipment up to Tier 3. We have attempted to prioritize the importance of each of these activities to make the most of your time:
a. Chaos Dungeons: Chaos Dungeons unlock in the North Vern questline and require a minimum equipment score of 250. You can play them solo and they will reward you with a substantial amount of equipment. It is recommended to prioritize them over other daily activities. Make sure to do the highest-level version available to you at all times.
b. Guardian Raids: These are 4 boss fights located in North Vern. They require a minimum equipment level of 302 to complete. Do these raids to obtain the daily limit of 2 Guardian Souls and maximize your enhancement materials. Try to do the highest-level Guardian Raid available to you at that time.
QUICK TIP: If you have alternate characters, make sure to get 2 souls daily on each of them. This will provide you with additional Enhancement materials that are not tied to your main character and can be used to enhance your main character's equipment level.
c. Abyssal Dungeons: Unlocked through the main questline in North Vern, Abyssal Dungeons are challenging group dungeons that can be done weekly. They require a minimum equipment level of 340 to unlock. The main reason to do them is to obtain the epic and legendary versions of your level armor, which will provide you with powerful "set bonuses" to help you progress through content faster. Each Abyssal Dungeon has its own weekly cooldown, so make sure to do them when they are available. It is recommended to do them until you have a full set of legendary equipment for that level and then repeat them when you advance to the next level.
2.3. Other Ways to Obtain Enhancement Materials:
a. Mission Islands: Mission Islands are one of the most lucrative activities in Lost Ark. Completing the missions on the islands and collecting Island Souls can provide you with a significant amount of enhancement materials and other valuable items to help you progress your character.
b. Special Dispatch Station Mission: This mission can be found in your stronghold and rewards enhancement materials without requiring a significant time investment. Once you have upgraded your stronghold and the Dispatch Station, you can run 2 of these missions simultaneously.
c. Sylmael Bloodstone Exchange: Le'verille the Merchant in North Vern will exchange Bloodstones for enhancement materials. Bloodstones are obtained by donating silver (or other currency) to your guild daily using the ALT-U key combination.
d. Mari's Secret Shop: In the shop tab, you can exchange crystals for enhancement materials at Mari's Secret Shop.
e. Roaming Merchant Ship: This ship is located near each port and allows you to exchange your pirate coins for enhancement materials. Simply navigate to the ship and you can make the exchange. Note that these have a weekly limit.
2.4. Order of Progression Activities to Enhance Equipment in Lost Ark:
As you level up, it's important to make the most of your playtime. Here is an easy-to-follow list that takes into account both the rewards and the time required to complete each activity.
NOTE: Although Chaos Dungeons and Guardian Raids are at the top of the list, make sure to postpone them as much as possible during the day. This way, you can utilize the items obtained in other activities, such as the Islands, to enhance your equipment and ensure you are using your Resonance Aura to run the highest-level Chaos Dungeons and Guardian Raids possible.
- Complete 2 daily Chaos Dungeons of the highest level you can, using Resonance Aura.
- Guardian Raid: Obtain 2 Guardian Souls from the highest-level raid possible.
- Complete Island Missions until you have finished your corresponding level.
- Do daily/weekly Una tasks, prioritizing those that exclusively reward enhancement materials.
- Do weekly Abyssal Dungeons until you have completed your legendary set for that level.
3. Equipment Score Progression from Tier 1 (0 to 600) and Item Level from 0 to 302:
The first milestone in your equipment progression journey in Lost Ark will be getting your character to level 50. At this point, you should aim for an equipment score of at least 250 (or close to it) and unlock most of the daily activities that will help you progress towards Tier 2 and beyond.
Here is where the path can vary depending on your situation:
If you have time to complete the Vern/Shushire questline (approximately 3 hours total) before the server resets, continue with the main questline until you complete Shushire. By finishing the Shushire questline, you will be rewarded with a complete set of level 302 equipment. Then, go back and do your newly unlocked daily activities to start enhancing your level 302 equipment using the Enhancement (Honing) system.
If you don't have time to complete the Vern/Shushire questline, continue and start doing the daily activities using the mentioned Equipment Progression Activities Order. Then, when you have time, make sure to go back and complete the Shushire questline. You will need to finish it to advance to the next step in the story and progress beyond the 460 equipment level.
0 to 302 Item Level:
In this step, you will continue using your daily activities to reach the 460 equipment level. Make sure to utilize the activities mentioned earlier to obtain as many daily materials as possible.
During this phase, it is recommended to start the level 1 Island Missions. Before starting, head to Freedom Island and Black Fang Den and complete both quests. This will reward you with a significant amount of Pirate Coins, which you will need in the next step. Then, go to Peyto and buy the "Song of Resonance" sheet music. This will help you complete future islands more efficiently!
Quick tip: Islands can be found all over the world map by using the search bar in the top right corner of the map screen. Mission Islands offer many rewards, including enhancement materials and skill points.
Here is a list of the islands you should try to complete before reaching a 600 equipment level:
- Glacier Island
- Panda Island
- Shadow Tower Island
- Dream Seagull Island
- Serenity Island
- Silver Toto Island
- Starlight Island
- Ghost Island
- Outlaw Island
- Little Luck Island
- White Wave Island
- Giant Mushroom Island (you will need the Forest Minuet to complete it)
302 To 460 Item Level:
Once you have reached a 460 equipment level, it's time to continue with the main questline and complete the Rohendel chapter. This will unlock your Tier 2 Chaos Dungeons. Continue with your daily activities and finish any level 1 islands you may have until you reach a 600 equipment level. Once you have achieved that, you will be ready for the next step in Lost Ark equipment progression: Tier 2!
3.1. Equipment Score Progression for Tier 2 (600 to 1100) and Item Level from 600 to 802:
600 to 802 Item Level:
This should be the fastest step in your Lost Ark equipment progression. Head to the Auction House using Alt-Y and select "Gear DropBox" by highlighting "All". Here, you should be able to acquire a complete set of Tier 2 equipment for 1-2 gold per piece. If for some reason you don't have enough gold to purchase your 802 armor, you will need to start doing the Tier 2 daily activities, which requires completing the next step in our journey: the Yorn questline.
802 to 960 Item Level:
After obtaining all your 802 equipment and completing the Yorn questline, make sure to visit the Enhancement NPC and transfer all your Tier 1 equipment to your Tier 2 equipment. This should give you a free +1 enchantment for your entire armor set.
Quick tip: If you plan on using alternate characters (ALTS) to help level your main character, you can go to your stronghold and research the "Enhancement Success Rate," which enhances the Tier 1 enhancement process across all your accounts. This should help you level your main character faster so you can transfer Tier 2 Enhancement mats from your alternate characters to your main character.
Next, you'll want to make sure to complete all level 2 island missions. Here is a list of islands we recommend completing. Again, make sure to complete the yellow and purple quests on these islands:
- Fomona Island
- Aiwana Island
- Liebeheim Island
- Rowdy Line
- Distorted Island
- Twilight Island
- Gravis Island
- Hypnos Island
- Blue Wind Island
After completing these islands, return to North Vern and use the Enhancement mats you've obtained. This should take you to approximately a 960-1000 equipment level.
960 to 1100 Item Level:
Once you reach 960, you'll be ready to travel to Feiton and complete the Feiton story questline. By doing this, you will unlock your last set of Tier 2 Chaos Dungeons.
The rest of the Tier 2 progression is very similar to Tier 1 progression. Make sure to utilize your time wisely each day, prioritize your daily activities, complete Una's tasks, and check guild vendors and ship merchants (including Mari's Secret Shop).
Some other activities you can do once you've finished with your daily activities are Chaos Gates and Boss Rush. Chaos Gates are timed events that you can find in your calendar tab. They are world events that reward you with mats and maps. Boss Rush is an activity that requires a ticket, similar to the Cube, and rewards you with a large amount of Enhancement mats once you complete all floors.
Once you reach an equipment score of 1100, you'll be ready to move on to Tier 3 equipment progression in Lost Ark!
3.2. Equipment Score Progression for Tier 3 (1100 to 1415) and Item Level from 1100 to 1325:
1100 to 1325 Item Level:
This is where the real endgame and final content of Lost Ark begin. The core of equipment progression in Tier 3 remains the same as the previous two tiers.
First, head to
Punika and complete the Punika story questline. This will unlock your Tier 3 Chaos Dungeons. Next, you will start this tier by farming your first set of blue 3rd tier armor in Punika's Tier 3 Chaos Dungeons. Once you obtain the full set, make sure to use the equipment transfer feature and get the free +1 on your Tier 3 armor.
Now, you will go back to your daily activities (Tier 3). There is only one level 3 island you should do, Angusted Isle. Instead of being a one-time mission, Angusted Isle is a daily event. You'll want to use the Bifrost system to teleport here every day. Here is a priority list for daily activities in Tier 3:
- 2 highest-level Chaos Dungeons daily x2 using Resonance Aura.
- Guardian Raid: Get 2 Guardian Souls from the highest-level raid you can.
- Procyon Compass daily event.
- Una's daily/weekly tasks: select overlapping missions that exclusively reward enhancement mats.
- Weekly Abyss Dungeons until you complete your legendary set for that tier.
- Angusted Isle daily.
Quick tip: Don't forget to also set up your Tracking Tripod in the Combat Skills tab under Settings to make sure you're getting useful equipment.
1325 to 1415 Item Level:
Much of the same is kept here with some changes. First, you will now be getting upgrades for your equipment quality from Punika's Abyss Dungeons. As you obtain your new gear, make sure to use the equipment transfer feature to move your current item level. Once you obtain the full set, you'll want to progress to approximately 1370 to 1415 to prepare for the Argos Abyss Raid. However, you'll need to be patient as the upgrade will take much longer than before due to the low success rate in Tier 3 Enhancement. Continue with your daily tasks, and before you know it, you'll be ready to face Argos!
At this stage and beyond, having alternate characters (Alts) in Tier 3 becomes EXTREMELY beneficial. This allows you to channel enhancement materials towards your main character and reduce the time needed to reach the Argos raid. For that reason, if you run out of things to do during the day, progressing on an Alt will be more beneficial to equipment progression than playing with your main character. Just make sure you have all the upgrades for your stronghold to reduce the chance of Enhancement failures before starting.
Quick tip: Make sure to also upgrade your gems to Tier 3!
4. Gems:
Equipping gems will be one of the primary means to progress your character towards endgame in Lost Ark. They will allow you to further enhance your abilities beyond what was possible before. Gems are limited to Tier 2 and Tier 3, so don't worry if you didn't find them during Tier 1 content.
Each gem can have only one active skill, but you can change it through the "Refaceting" process. There are two types of gems: those that increase damage and those that reduce cooldown time.
The names vary for each type and tier: Tier 2 gems are Azure (damage) and Farsea (cooldown), while Tier 3 gems are Annihilation (damage) and Crimson (cooldown).
You can have a maximum of 11 active gems at a time, with a limit of 1 Azure gem and 1 Farsea gem per equipped skill. You can also combine gems to enhance their tier.
It is important to use gems of the appropriate tier, as otherwise, they will lose 50% effectiveness. The maximum level a gem can reach is level 10, although it's not an easy task as you will need to combine 19,683 level 1 gems to create a level 10 gem. This is crucial to maximizing your abilities in the endgame content, as an Azure or Annihilation gem will provide an additional 40% damage at the maximum level, while a Farsea or Crimson gem will provide a 20% cooldown reduction at the maximum level.
4.1. How to Obtain the Right Gems:
In general, obtaining gems is not difficult, but it will take time to get the ones you need. Here's how you can obtain gems:
- Complete Chaos Dungeons.
- Complete Boss Rush.
- Defeat field bosses and participate in daily events.
- Purchase them from the Auction House.
Boss Rush is the best place to obtain gems as it will reward you with chests full of them. You can also try to find affordable gems on the Auction House. When searching for gems to purchase, select "All" classes as the class tag of a gem will not limit its use. It doesn't need to match your character's class.
The best way to ensure you get the right gem for what you want is to purchase it, but keep in mind they can be costly. If the gem you desire is not available on the Auction House or is priced high, you will have to level up and do Refaceting. These mechanics are explained in detail later on.
4.2. Best Gems for Lost Ark:
Azure Lost Ark Gems are the most sought after, which is reflected in their prices on the Auction House. This is because most character builds benefit from increased damage during cooldown time. For specific gems for your class, refer to the individual guides for each class as each build is different.
5. Conclusion:
In conclusion, Lost Ark is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) packed with action and adventure that immerses you in a vast fantasy world. Throughout our conversation, we have explored various aspects of the game, from character creation and leveling progression to quests, dungeons, and daily activities.
We have discussed the importance of following the main quests to advance the story and unlock new features and areas. Additionally, we have highlighted the relevance of dungeons and raids, which offer valuable rewards, experience, and equipment. We have also mentioned the usefulness of pets and how they can streamline the looting process in the game.
Equipment progression has been another significant topic, with a focus on obtaining enhancement materials, using gems to enhance skills, and the challenge of constantly improving the equipment level.
Furthermore, we have addressed the importance of daily activities such as island missions and Una's tasks, which provide enhancement materials and other resources needed to strengthen your character. We have also mentioned the role of Chaos Dungeons, Guardian Raids, and Abyss Dungeons in equipment progression.
Overall, Lost Ark offers a rich and diverse gaming experience, with a wide range of activities to enjoy and a captivating world to explore. Whether you prefer solo play or group play, there are plenty of opportunities to challenge your skills, improve your equipment, and engage in exciting battles.