Heroes of Arkesia,
On June 24 Smilegate RPG held their LOA ON event which contained key information for fans of Lost Ark and showcased some exciting upcoming content and plans. We know that Western players who tuned in are curious about when some of those changes are arriving in the Western version, so we’re excited to share a more in-depth look at July and August. Below, you’ll find an update on the progression updates intended to help all adventurers in Arkesia, especially those new to Lost Ark or returning after some time away. July and August have a lot more coming in terms of content. If you haven’t seen the roadmap yet, you can find the major pieces of content here.
Below the list of updates, you can find details on a special Summer 2023 gift we’re planning. With that spoiler, let’s dive into the upcoming changes.
July
Building off of previous months, another wave of quality of life changes (QoL) will accompany the July Update, paving the way for the major batch of progression changes arriving in August.
Easier Progression
Basic Honing Growth Boost extended up to 1490.
Tier 3 Lv. 1340 Gear Level 19 basic honing success rate increases by 5%
Tier 3 Lv. 1340 Gear Level 20 basic honing success rate increases by 3%
Tier 3 Lv. 1340 Gear Level 19~20 Gear XP requirements decreases by 50%
Tier 3 Lv. 1340 Gear Level 19~20 Honing material and price required decreases by 40%
Tier 3 Lv. 1340 Gear Level 19~20 Gold price honing cost decreases by 100%
A Legendary wandering merchant will be added to make it easier for players to collect stepping stone cards, such as Balthorr, Delain Armen, and Jederico.
Players will no longer need to use Pheons to move ability stones and accessories to other characters within the same Roster. However, moving an item within the Roster will count against number of trades for that item.
Battle items will now be roster bound.
The materials to craft Relic Brelshaza Gear will be removed. Instead, players will be able to earn “Phantom Intentions”, the crafting material for Brelshaza Ancient Gear, from Normal difficulty. Rewards will improve for both Normal and Hard modes.
Arcturus's Touch (which gives additional clear rewards, and “View More” rewards for Legion Raids) will be extended to Kakul-Saydon and Brelshaza Normal / Hard.
Maharaka Festival
The summertime Maharaka Festival returns with new activities! Bask in the sun, participate in unique games, and earn valuable progression rewards to help you prepare for the arrival of the new raids in August. One special activity is the “Run, Mokokos!” section of the Maharaka Festival where you’ll compete against other players and race to the finish line as a Mokoko, dodging obstacles as you go.
August
The bulk of the changes to improve the new and returning player experience will be added in August, with a consolidation of Tier 1 & 2, easier progression, QoL changes, and more. As the August Update includes the Akkan Legion Raid, new and returning players will be able to earn older Legion Raid materials much faster to catch up. Better progression events are added to help new/returning players catch-up, or for current players to quickly level up a new Aeromancer or other class they’re interested in adding to their roster. Here’s the full list of specifics.
Progression Events
A Powerpass
An upgraded Hyper Express Event
When players participate in the express event, they will receive gear and skills.
The honing boost will last up to Item Level 1490, with additional support up to Item Level 1540.
Rewards, including gems, will be better than previous Hyper Express events.
Consolidated T1 & T2
Because it’s important to progress quickly to T3, we will consolidate repetitive progression for players experiencing the earlier tiers of the game. We plan to combine the early Tiers of Lost Ark in the following ways.
The Tier 2 Item Level phase will be adjusted from 802 - 1225 to 500 - 1100.
Original T1 / T2 weapons and armor will be updated to new T2 gear.
Eliminated negative accessory engraving effects in T2, and one of the engravings on accessories will be a Class Engraving.
Abyssal Dungeons
Gear looted or crafted from Abyssal Dungeons and Abyss Raids will have Gear Set Effects. Crafting recipes will also be adjusted.
Wipe mechanics will be adjusted in many Abyssal Dungeons to help new players to learn the game. Players will no longer be wiped, but receive damage instead.
T2 gems will be removed.
Players can increase skill tree level starting in T1.
To minimize fatigue and help players feel they are progressing, Guardian Raid entry levels and rewards will be changed.
'Gatherable Expansion Level 1' research will be removed, 'Gatherable Expansion Level 2' will be changed to 'Gatherable Expansion Level 1'
Some research related to the Farm will be removed & changed.
T2-related crafting recipes will be removed.
T2 Caldarr Spice will no longer be used.
Tower stages will be changed to fit the Tier consolidation. Both Shadowspire and Fatespire will have 20 floors. Item Level entry requirements will be adjusted, and the difficulties and rewards will be rebalanced.
Engraving Updates
Engraving System Unlock Level will be changed to Lv. 50
Some engravings can be obtained and used before Lv. 50
If the engraving system is already open, the engraving can be applied the same way as before even after the update.
Starting levels of all engravings will be Lv.1 upon unlocking the engraving system.
Since all engravings can be used after unlocking the system, Uncommon Engraving Recipes will be removed from game (in-game compensations rewarding these will be added).
Tier 3 Progression Updates
The first phase of T3 will be updated from Item Level 1302 - 1490 to 1250 - 1490.
The Leapstones used during this phase will be "Great Honor Leapstone".
'Common Oreha Fusion Material' will become a Rare grade 'Oreha Fusion Material'.
'Simple Oreha Fusion Material' will become a legacy item (no longer can be used).
Original Item Level 1302 and 1340 gear will be consolidated into one gear set. Honing Levels will be compressed accordingly. The new gear can be honed up to gear level 20. As the max gear level gets adjusted from 25 to 20, gear levels and honing levels will be adjusted.
Crafting ingredients for each Relic Legion Commander Gear set (Item Level 1340) will be unified.
Weapon and Gloves can be crafted with 'Covetous Wings' from Vykas.
Head, Shoulder, Chest, and Pants can be crafted with 'Demonic Beast's Bone' from Valtan.
Due to the adjustments at T3 1302-1490, the required Item Level when using certain items will change, and some Stronghold research at that phase will be adjusted or removed.
Enhanced Rewards in earlier raids will be improved.
Increased drop rate of accessories with class engravings for Relic gear.
Lv. 4 and 5 Skill Tree Amulets will be added to the Legion Raid Exchange Merchant and can be obtained through gameplay in Valtan, Vykas, Kayangel, Phantom Astalgia Déjà Vu, Midnight Circus Rehearsal, and Akkan.
Increased the scope of the Mokoko Buff and Procyon’s Protection to Item Level 1490.
Quality of Life
Increase battle item support in Guardian Raids up to Kungelanium (Item Level 1460).
Ship skin’s cosmetic and effect will be separated in settings for convenience.
Waiting times for event islands will be eliminated.
Sailing coins and keys will be consolidated and changed from 5 to 2.
Reducing Sailing quests and playtime. Gate quests will be removed, and their rewards will be rebalanced as rewards for other content.
Maharaka Festival Part 2
More activities and rewards will become available at the Maharaka Festival, perfect for Arkesian adventures in any Tier of their journey.
2023 Summer Update Player Gift
To celebrate all the players of Lost Ark in our global community, we’re excited to share the following gift with players! We’re working to prepare the gift for delivery, and will post an additional notice when the gift is ready to send.
Special Animal Skin Selection Chest
Bunny Skin Selection Chest
Beetle Mount Selection Chest
Ancient Platinum Coin x100
Collective Battle Item Chest x10
Menelik's Tome x5
A Special Legendary Card Selection Chest (that contains Kadan and Thaemine)
Magick Society Special Dye Chest x10
Lvl 5 Tripod Wishful Amulet
Lvl 4 Tripod Hope Amulet x5
Pheon x100
We’re excited to witness players experience the unique events, explore new parts of Arkesia, and prepare for the challenging experiences awaiting in the new dungeons and raids over the coming months— and see new/returning players progress to these exciting activities at a faster rate. In the meantime, stay tuned to our website, social channels, and the release notes for the full list of new content, store updates, events, bug-fixes, and more in July and August.
