How to start well on Lost Ark with classes, leveling, story phase, equipment and skills in this beginner's guide!

First steps on Lost Ark

What is Lost Ark?

Lost Ark is an MMORPG-like game that mixes action-RPG and Hack'n'slash gameplay elements.
Lost Ark is developed by Tripod Studio and published by Amazon Games Studios.
Released on November 7, 2018 in Korea, and October 27, 2019 in Russia, after great success and many awards, it is finally coming out in Europe on February 11, 2022 on Steam.

Which Server to Choose?

According to the latest news according to the polls on the official Lost Ark forums, the Rethramis and Trixion servers have more advantages of having French people, but we do not recommend the Trixion server which is very often overcrowded.

Classes and Archetypes

For your information, not all classes of the game will be available in Europe. As the game is more developed in South Korea, new classes have been added and will not be available. Moreover, in Lost Ark, you will find 5 archetypes including 15 classes (6 only available in Korea, Japan and Russia).

• Warrior: as his name suggests, he is very focused on melee combat, who makes big attacks and who knows how to take it well
• • gunslinger
    Gunslingers are equipped with a large spear and shield and are the best tank in the game.
  • Berserker
    Berserkers are fighters who don't hesitate to dash into enemies and can deal high area damage while going into Fury, which increases their abilities.
  • Paladin
    Paladins are more defensive warriors, who can use magic and support the rest of the team.

• Martialist: Martialists are melee fighters, who use their fists as weapons in their own right, and specialize in light attacks with high combos.
  • Elementist
    This class can unleash elemental powers in addition to mastering the art of melee combat
  • Essentialist
    Essentialists are among the fastest characters in the game, and strike using the force of the wind, especially to perform aerial combos
  • spiritist
    Unlike other Martialists, Spiritists juggle melee combat and ranged attacks
  • Pugilist
    Pugilists hit harder than other Martialists, with good defense and heavy damage for a fairly versatile class.

• Marksman: As the name suggests, this class specializes in ranged combat with firearms and other more exotic weapons.
  • sniper
    Snipers can also opt for several weapons to adapt to all situations and all enemies. They have double pistols, a shotgun and a sniper
  • Fusilier
    Worthy of the greatest cowboys, the Riflewomen have great speed and draw at the speed of light, alternating between their two weapons depending on the situation.
  • Relentless Salvo
    The class of archer par excellence, with a bonus can easily be forgotten on the battlefield thanks to a stealth mode, to aim with precision.
  • Gunner
    Gunners are equipped with big guns, which necessarily makes them slower, but also more powerful with a good attack radius.

• Mage: As you can imagine, Mages are the fighters who use magic to fight from a distance, both with support spells and devastating spells offering great area damage.
  • Bard
    Bards are the closest thing to the role of healer in the game, with a lot of healing and great support for the team.
  • sorcerer
    Conversely, Sorcerers specialize in offensive spells and can use the elements to wreak havoc on the battlefield.

• Assassin: Assassins slip into the shadows and quickly attack their enemies using the forces of darkness.
  • Warlock
    Warlocks can truly use the powers of darkness by channeling their energy to attack, but also to create a clone for themselves.
  • Bloodblade
    Bloodblades are more specialized in quick sword attacks.

What are the future classes to come?

Here are the next additions planned in the game:

• Warrior:
  • Destructive
    Plays with a big hammer, has one of the best attacks in the game and has a big defense. In return, low attack speed and low mobility, one of the easiest classes to learn
• Martialist
  • Lancer
    A very difficult class to learn, due to the fact that it plays with two different weapons (1 Halberd and a Spear) and that each weapon has its own skills. The most mobile class in the game and a very good attack speed.
• Sniper
  • Machinist (Scooter)
    As difficult to handle as the Lancer, its gameplay revolves around its drone and its transformation into Iron Man. He has as much DPS as the destroyer and very good mobility, average defense like all snipers, but it's all thanks to the use of his drone.
• Mage
  • Arcanist
    Her ranged gameplay revolves around magic and card throwing, she has a very good attack, average attack speed but average defense and mobility.
  • Summoner
    This class invokes spirits that allow you to fight by your side, it requires a perfect knowledge of the class to be monstrous, of course, it lacks mobility, defense, attack speed, but in end-game with a good skill rotation and excellent knowledge of the class, she becomes a killing machine.
• Assassin
  • reaper
    Very energetic CaC gameplay, she has excellent mobility and very good attack speed, defense and good offense
• Spécialiste
  • The artist
    The artist is a new class of a new archetype called specialist, it is a semi-ranged class with support-only gameplay, it has a very low attack, average defense and mobility.

Which classes to choose?

This is one of the appreciable points of Lost Ark, there is not really a dominant class compared to others or so “periodically”. So, play the class you want and have the most fun with. Lost Ark also plans to add more over time. At launch, 15 classes are available here compared to 22 in Korea, including one more archetype.

With the absence of the usual MMO trinity, all classes are useful. Thus, your choice will be made according to your preferences: Melee or ranged, DPS or support, PVP or PVE... Lost Ark is also designed for you to play more than one character by offering (or buying) growth tickets that allow you not to retype the "leveling" phase.

Not to mention that you can customize each class in different ways based on preferred traits. The important thing is to be certain of your choice before investing resources from level 50. Do not hesitate to try several classes when introducing the game if you have any doubts.

How to Quickly Level in Lost Ark

For leveling, again nothing complicated. For the first step, you will have to go to Trixion to be able to choose your archetype and be able to try them all before making your choice.
After the main story rush to level 50 and arrive at the city of Bern where you will start unlocking End-game content. From level 35 you will unlock your first ship, and exploration at sea. With loot from PvE and PvP content, you will also be able to travel at sea quickly using the ocean liner.
The maximum level of your character is 60, the end-game content from level 50.

The most important tip to remember: Lost Ark is full of hundreds of side quests. If you're in the process of accepting a main quest, you can usually accept two or three nearby side quests. However, ordinary side quests, marked with a yellow exclamation mark, are not worth the effort at all.

Since they offer a lot more experience points, you should mostly stick to the orange main quests - at least until you get your own ship one day. Indeed, you will then have to follow the world quests marked with a light blue globe symbol.
But there are also exceptions to the rule. Occasionally, when you enter a certain area, you will receive an area quest with a red quest marker and a time limit. You should still complete it, as the XP gained is significantly higher than other side quests. Additionally, you absolutely must complete the companion quest, which is unlocked early in the game after the demons attack on Prideholm.

All other quests, like frame quests, which sometimes give really useful rewards like skill points or valuable potions, can always be caught up later. If necessary, you can even do it on a new character, because these bonuses are valid for each of your characters.

The Lore of Lost Ark

Arkesia is the vast game world of Losk Ark, consisting of seven huge continents with different cultures, strange creatures and fantastic beasts. These continents are separated by an explorable ocean where there are also creatures, events, and ghost ships with background stories that you will discover as you progress through your journey and explore the world. The seas are also filled with islands that contain exceptional enemies, NPCs, bosses, and hidden treasures. Secret locations can be found all around Arkesia and also quite a few events.

Equipment Score

next guide

See you next week on our next guide, What to do after lvl 50?

By Panda-Schizo, March 2022