Heroes of Arkesia,
In March, Smilegate RPG joined us in our Seattle studio to take a look at the content roadmap, improve operations & tools, and continue collaboration on all things related to the western release of Lost Ark. If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to read our letter to the community that details our approach to content coming after the March Update. For the purposes of the April & May roadmap, we’ll start off by reiterating a few things from that letter.
We're going to keep the near future focused on horizontal content and giving players clear paths for progression without feeling like they need to pay. We want to give more players time to reach the end-game before introducing Legion Raids (the definitive Lost Ark raiding experience), and ensure players are able to explore Arkesia and progress at their own pace without feeling pressured to race toward end-game content. Our March 24 update included new materials to help with honing chances that can be earned in two events (the Guardian Raid Event & the Arkesia Grand Prix), more ways for players to earn weekly honing materials, and a honing materials gift for all players. April will continue that trend, providing more horizontal content for players to enjoy as they learn the systems of Lost Ark and continue to progress. With that, let’s dive into April.
April
New Martial Artist Advanced Class - Glaivier
Practicing an artistic and deadly form of martial arts, the Glaivier slices and dices her way through the battlefield, weaving together attacks with her spear and glaive. The Glaivier has two distinct skill sets which can be swapped between— Focus and Flurry— with each stance and skill set represented by one of her two weapons. The shorter spear is used to unleash a furious barrage in the Focus stance, while the longer glaive harnesses Flurry stance for gracefully lethal strikes and sweeping attacks. While certain builds may focus your attention onto one of these weapons, an effective Glaivier can maximize their potential by creating balance between the two stances, building up energy in one stance which grants an impactful stat-boost when swapping to the other. The Glaivier will join the Wardancer, Soulfist, Striker, and Scrapper as the fifth Martial Artist Advanced Class.
New Continent - South Vern
The settlers of South Vern borrowed technology from many different races to turn this once-barren land into a place of abundant waters and green pastures. Hearing rumors of the dangers that plagued North Vern, the Senate shut South Vern down and formed a new knightly order. Suspecting that something was amiss, Ealyn, the Queen of Vern ordered Knight Commander Avele to investigate. What could be happening to this peaceful continent? Uncover the mysteries of South Vern as you venture into this new region, encounter new characters, and complete quests. South Vern will join Punika as the second Tier 3 continent, requiring an item level of 1340 to begin. For our newer players, we’ll be sharing more information on how to work your way toward Tier 3 and join this new adventure.
General Updates
South Vern and the Glaivier Advanced Class are not the only things that will arrive in April. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more release specifics, such as new log-in rewards, in-game events, skins & store updates, and (okay, we’ll spoil one now), a Feiton powerpass that provides item level 960 gear to level your new Glaivier, or any other character you’d like!
Quality of Life Improvements:
Improved co-op party play for Secret Maps: all four members can submit a map to get rewards with one run.
Chat tab settings are shared across a player's Roster.
Improved Book of Coordination settings: Can use skill presets, tripod level, skill runes, gems, item set effects, etc.!
May
We promised to be honest, sometimes brutally so, and now is one of those times— while we can say that we firmly plan on releasing the Destroyer Advanced Class, Trial Guardian Raids, and quality of life adjustments in May, Valtan’s Legion Raid and Deskaluda will be moved if we feel these activities would create pressure within the community. Eventually, end-game content will be introduced, but players should feel comfortable to continue progressing at their own pace.
Our data has suggested that a big enough portion of our active players will reach, or be close to reaching, the item levels needed to participate in higher level end-game content by May. Our goal is to provide fun content for players, even if it’s at a higher level, while never making players feel pressured that they need to pay to keep up. We will continue monitoring player feedback and data, and provide updates when we’re able as we strive to remain transparent in our communication and decision making. We appreciate your support and feedback, so please keep it coming while we start this adventure together!
New Warrior Advanced Class - Destroyer
We’ve talked about the cataclysmic impact that Warriors have on the battlefield, but nothing embodies this better than the hammer-wielding Destroyer. Armed with a variety of skills centered around charging into the heart of the fray, their hammer attacks are so catastrophically crushing that Destroyers can bend gravity to their will— slowing, launching, pushing and pulling enemies— whatever it takes to utterly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, destroy them. The Destroyer will join the Berserker, Paladin, and Gunlancer as the fourth Warrior Advanced Class.
Challenge Guardian Raids
Challenge Guardian Raids will add a new weekly activity for players looking for a challenge. Each week, players can attempt to defeat three Challenge Guardians. Every Guardian has their own required item level to enter, and each week one Guardian will rotate out, replaced by a different foe. Differing from a normal Guardian Raid, Challenge Guardian Raids will apply ‘Scale of Harmony’ so that your characters’ item level will be adjusted appropriately to that of their enemy. Additionally, players cannot use the Battle Workshop in the raid region. However, with increased challenge comes increased rewards. Rewards for each Challenge Guardian can be obtained once per roster, per week, and offer more diverse rewards than normal Guardian Raids.
General Updates
May will also introduce a bunch of quality of life changes, including the ability to check daily & weekly content participation in a new menu, UI updates, improved party finder & party invites, updated loot dismantling, convenience features for Market/Auction House, and a few fun features, like being able to randomly summon favorited mounts and new hairstyles for customization!
May - Tentative
New Guardian Raid - Deskaluda
Guardians are powerful entities that can tip the scales toward good or evil. A new Guardian will arise and must be vanquished before they usher in an age of darkness. Upon arrival, Deskaluda will be one of the most powerful Guardians in Arkesia, requiring a high item level to encounter (1415). As with the other Guardian Raids, you can attempt to vanquish them alone, with a party, or matchmake with up to three other heroes.
Legion Raid - Valtan (Normal & Hard)
Valtan will introduce the first Legion Raid into the western version of Lost Ark. Legion Raids are difficult team-based activities that require teamwork to understand and enact the strategy necessary to counter each Legion Commander's unique characteristics, abilities, and mechanics. As Legion Raids are challenging and take time, there are gates (or checkpoints) that will save player's progress as they advance through the Raid. Valtan is an eight-player Legion raid, and introduces a swathe of new mechanics. Players will need to be item level 1415, and we'll share more information on Legion Raids when we approach the May Update.
Looking Ahead
Once again, this is not all of the content that will release in April & May. We’ll keep you up to date if anything changes as we work through both of those updates and work to ensure you know what is on the roadmap for coming months. We’re excited to watch you progress through your journeys in Arkesia, both in vertical content and horizontally, as you explore all Lost Ark has to offer. We’ll continue to evaluate data and listen to player feedback, and share summer roadmap content after April & May are wrapped up.
Thanks for joining us, and we’ll see you in Arkesia!
