Novice's Ascendancy: Pioneering Your Journey in Lost Ark

Most players make typical beginner mistakes in Lost Ark, but don't get frustrated by that! Exploring something new is one of the main reasons why you try out new games, but there is still some information you should know before it's too late. Here is a short beginner's guide for Lost Ark!

Lost Ark has 24 classes and 5 archetypes. Once you choose a specialization, you won't be able to change it anymore; however, you can change your abilities anytime and free of cost.

There are no classic Healer and Tank classes like you may know from other MMO games.

There are two support classes with group heal abilities: the Paladin (Holy Knight) and the Support Bard. The Gunlancer may be the DPS class which is the most similar to a tank.

You can reach 90% of the max. level with quests from the main quest chain. It's suggested to ignore everything except a few side quests and get to level 50. This way, you can explore professions at level 50 and receive more rewards from daily quests.
You can reach 90% of the max. level with quests from the main quest chain. It's suggested to ignore everything except a few side quests and get to level 50. This way, you can explore professions at level 50 and receive more rewards from daily quests.

There are two kinds of levels in Lost Ark: the character level, which improves your character, and the account level. Improving the account level will reward you with bonuses that strengthen all your characters on the account. The account level improves slowly but with the help of all your characters.

Character level 50 is the first soft cap. Afterward, you can improve your level to 55, the first hard cap. These 5 levels need as much time as reaching level 50. Big content patches usually increase the upper limit of levels.

There are 6 professions in Lost Ark. Collect materials and use them to upgrade your fortress, build ships, craft potions, or other things. Crafting is not mandatory to play the endgame but can help you gain in-game currency.

You will receive sheet music during leveling up from the main questline. You will receive buffs if you play the music written on these sheets; some even teleport you out of dungeons or directly into the main city.

Very early in the game, you will also unlock your first riding mount and your first pet. Mount your riding mount with a click and travel faster, but pay attention to enemies; they can slow and dismount you. Mounts have a special ability in Lost Ark: they can collect loot and give different buffs. Pets, on the other hand, are just collectible items.

You can gain reputation with many NPCs in the game by playing songs, using emotes, or giving them a gift to increase it. The higher your reputation, the higher the reward.

At level 50, you also unlock daily quests. These have a resting system, so if you are not able to play for 5 days, you can still gain 50% of the rewards.

Lost Ark offers several dungeons with different difficulties for 1-4 players, as well as a tower. You can play the tower once per level from level 50 onwards. It's a single-player adventure.