Lost Ark — Collection of tools, maps, and guides

This Lost Ark guide will tell you about things it doesn’t tell you upfront, or you might not notice in its swirl of pop-ups. This MMO arrived here after more than two years of evolution in Korea, which means that many of the things Korean players have gradually become familiar with are present from the very beginning. That’s why Lost Ark feels like a blast in a submenu factory full of endless new systems and references to endgame content, which you can only see at level 50.

One significant change made to the Korean version and inherited by the Western version is the removal of class prologues. These single intros originally took players up to level 10 before choosing an advanced class and joining other players in Pridholm. Still, these bespoke tutorials have now been replaced by the current, shorter prologue common to Lost Ark all classes.

That is why you start at level 10 with five offensive abilities currently installed and are subjected to a confusing slideshow summarizing the events you missed, even though they have nothing to do with finding the arks you’re about to embark on.

Lost Ark is full of stuff like this. Luckily, the Western version includes a new system called the Welcome Challenge. This is another menu, but it brings together task lists to walk you through the basics. Check it regularly to see which ones you’ve completed and receive rewards, including Lost Ark silver, HP potions, and so on. Between the welcome call and the following tips, you should be fine.

Use healing potions, save HP potions

While we’re talking about HP potions: don’t drink them yet. When you are injured, use healing potions. These are the ones that restore a certain amount of points over time and are tied to F1 by default. More valuable HP potions instantly restore a portion of your total health. This means that HP potions remain useful at high levels, while apprentice healing potions that return 600 hit points will eventually become trash when you have a total hit point in the thousands.

Moreover, HP potions can be used in raids, but healing potions cannot. So while you’re working your way up to level 50, only drink this red juice if the label says a healing potion, and save your HP potions for the final game. Of course, it would be easier if these two types of potions had more descriptive names, huh?

The UI shouldn’t take up all that space

As with most MMOs, Lost Ark’s interface takes up more screen real estate than it should. When you can lessen personal elements (goodbye worldwide chat), this nevertheless leaves you with what you have to see, blocking additional of your view than it must.

If you have good eyesight, there is an option in the video settings to change the size of the HUD. Lowering it to 80% is a definite improvement. Pressing Alt-X also hides UI elements. Press it as soon as to have rid of the mini-map, quest log, and best menu. Press it a second time for you to hide every little thing but basic things like hotbars, health, and mana, plus a third time for you to eliminate everything. Sadly, every little thing will return as soon as you exit the dialogue.

Ultimately, the overlay map you bring up by pressing Tab could be moved to the side — middle-click and drag it wherever you would like.

Respecs are free. Spend those skill points

You achieve talent points to distribute amongst your skills every time you level up. If you’re utilized to games that happen to be stingy with respecs, you may be tempted to save them till you choose on a create, but in Lost Ark, you can moveability points around at any time free of charge.

They add or change elemental damage, add effects such as knockdown or push, increase range, and otherwise transform skills. Open the ability menu by pressing K, then click the plus and minus indicators after each skill to assign or remove points. Each point increases the ability’s effectiveness, and you unlock “tripod” options for each skill at levels 4, 20, and 48.

Please spend attention to the skill’s attack type, although you happen to be at it. Some deal additional damage if you use them in the front or back, some counter the boss, and so on.

Related: The complete guide to using skill levels, points, and get more in Lost Ark?

Reskins cost money, however

If you decide you don’t like your face or your name, it’s harder to change than your skills. The Appearance Change Ticket and Character Name Change Ticket are premium items available in the Shop for 800 and 1500 Crown Crystals each. Be sure before giving yourself a clown makeup and meme name.

Your G key will be erased to a thread

The quests you complete on your way to level 50 are nothing special, as is the dialogue with the quest giver. You’ll press G line by line to get through a lot of chatter as characters tell you where to go to kill bandits find a monolith. The combat, the scenery like the castle siege, the later dungeons, and the end game make it worth it, but you’re not alone if you sigh when you listen in on another conversation with a villager.

And no, you can’t reassign G for some reason.

Pets are more than just cosmetics

Cute as all those bunnies, cats in crowns, and so on, keeping an eye on the cool Lost Ark characters around, they’re more than just adorable chumps. Pets collect loot for you, which is very useful and provides small combat bonuses. Your very first pet is free of charge and can be obtained by finishing the Pet Investigation quest in Prideholm. If you have Crystal Aura active (a store item that gives bonuses for a month and is a premium Lost Ark subscription), pets also allow you to access menus such as storage, repairs, and the market when you are away from the city.

If you don’t find pets that cute, please note that there are options in the Gameplay section of the settings menu to prevent them from being displayed. You can even hide other people’s pets while keeping your special baby visible.

Complete early dungeons on normal instead of hard

While there aren’t many issues during Lost Ark’s opening hours, it’s not worth it to increase the difficulty of the dungeons. While the loot you get is slightly better, the experience rewards aren’t, and you need experience.

You’re already getting decent loot often enough that you’ll be trying to level up as quickly as possible to get to the good stuff in Lost Ark — like the dungeons from Ruins of Morai onwards that are full of traps, multiple bosses, scenery, ziplines and minecarts, and general excitement. When you level up, race through the dungeons in normal mode alone to get them out of the way. You can always come back and repeat them later with friends.

You can quickly move around the map

Once you have unlocked the Triports, you will be able to return to each one you have activated for a small fee paid in silver. (If you don’t have an active crystal aura, in which case it’s free.)

However, you do not need to be in a triport to fast travel. You can do this at any time by clicking on a triport on the world map, either inside the list around the left or directly on the map. It is possible to do the same around the overlay map by pressing the Alt key. Your character will take out his instrument, play a tune, and you will leave.

Each class has its musical instrument

To fast travel, teleport from dungeons, and impress certain NPCs, you turn on music. Songs are gradually unlocked as the game progresses, but they are often played in your class’s default instrument. If you are getting difficulty picking out between the well-balanced Lost Ark classes, it may well sway you one particular way or the other.

l All gunners have electric guitars, martial artists have lutes, warriors have war horns, assassins have flutes, and mages have Pan flutes (an advanced mage class bard uses a harp in combat but still plays the Pan flute for everything the rest).