Lost Ark - 13 Huge Mistakes To Avoid. Save Time, Resources, And More For All Players (na/eu)
Intro
Hey there, friends. It's Kodiak here. Welcome to Legacy Gaming. Today I'm putting my experience with the game to the test and will be sharing a number of huge mistakes to avoid in Lost Ark. Lost Ark is an expansive, ever-changing game. That's the nature of mmos, right? There are a million opinions and guides out there, and while they're chock full of information, sometimes a bit of perspective puts things into focus.
That's really the goal of this article: to provide you with facts but also to give you philosophical insight into how best to approach the game. That's ultimately going to provide you with the best experience.
Changing your main character
so this first one might be a bit strange for a lot of you, especially any MMOR refugees. I'm coming to check out the game Lost Ark's End Game. It breaks down into two concepts. One thing I want you all to keep in mind is the fact that changing your main is a very common phenomenon in this game.
In fact, it's so common that most people will tell you it's okay to change your main pretty much all the way up to tier three. Now the Nae eu will launch at tier one with some modifications. But keep in mind this: you're not going to get to experience your full character with a full kit until you reach the end-game content and unlock the additional skill point potions needed to see the class in full.
At that point, don't be afraid to say, "You know what, this class just isn't for me." The leveling process in Lost Ark is short by design because the developers, rightly so, realize that it's impossible to judge a class based on its leveling experience. It may feel like you're throwing progression down the drain, but remember that alts play a crucial role in funneling upgrade materials to your main, so making a swap may mean you have to level up a new character, but it also means you have an alt standing by in the wings ready to support that new main. Just pull the trigger, and try something else.
The con man
Since we have the chance to do this again, I wanted to add another tip into the mix here. When you reach Lake Bar, you're going to start unlocking your life skills, mining and fishing to be exact. You're going to notice there's a vendor that sells you tools.
Don't be fooled, you do not need to buy any tools from this life skills vendor at this point. You actually get basic tools and upgraded tools once you complete the associated guide quest, so save yourself the silver and don't fall into this trap.
Quest the way you want
In a similar vein, I want to pivot and talk about questing.
You're going to read a lot of guides and see a lot of articles about the best way to level or the fastest route to 50, whatever it may be when the chips are down. There are really two ways to do this. The first is to only do the main story missions. The developers have tuned this entire quest line perfectly, so that when you finish the final set of quests in Shoshire, you're at level 50 in a set of gear ready to take on the first bit of end-game content in the chaos dungeons.
In my opinion, this is a great way to level as you're not bogged down by all those additional side quests that just slow you down, plus you get to see more of the world and you get a starter set of endgame gear. It's a win across the board. You're going to hit level 50 well before the end of that main quest line, and that's fine.
You're also going to pick up more silver account XP and currencies for things like rapport. But this method isn't foolproof. There's a chance you might have a small gear gap that requires you to progress further anyway to get your item level high enough to enter chaos dungeons. Also, at some point, you're going to need to go back and finish that main quest line, even if you're overpowered to do so.
I would also argue this is a slower way to level, especially if you're playing a class that takes a bit longer to kill enemies, like a gunner. Bottom line: you can choose to level up either way you want. It's entirely up to you, but those two options are really the only true paths to the end game. You may see slight variations here and there, but at the end of the day, either one is going to get the job done.
Join a guild
Join a guild, full stop. Being part of a community is at the core of any MMO, and Lost Ark makes it an integral theme within the game. Being in a guild is more than just having a new chat channel to talk on.
In Lost Ark, being in a guild means working towards collective goals and rewards. Each guild has access to research that will unlock new aspects of the guild, including a guild shop where you can turn in bloodstones for special items like upgrade materials, gear chests, and even percent-based health potions.
These are things that will help you in other aspects of the game by simply being in a guild and contributing towards quests or making small donations in silver or gold. You're getting something valuable back in return, something you wouldn't otherwise have access to. Am I segueing this into a shameless plug?
I am, but I truly believe that mmos are better together, and to that end, I will say that this legacy gaming is already one of the biggest guilds in North America. We've amassed an incredible group of people from around the world, with over 1,100 of us in the discord. We're excited to take on the challenges of Arcasia together. Yes, guilds are limited to how many people can be in them, but trust me when I say we've got a big plan.
Leveling gear
If you're someone that really wants to make the most out of their time with the game, but maybe you've only got a couple hours a week to spare, well then hopefully this advice saves you some valuable time.
Don't worry about your gear while you're leveling. Like most MMOs, leveling gear is a wash and doesn't provide you with any real value. In the long term, I would argue that the loot in the game is one of the least interesting aspects of Lost Ark. It's not like running dead mines and getting the cruel barb to drop loot.
It just doesn't work the same way. My simple advice? Check your inventory while you're leveling and equip anything with a little blue arrow in the bottom right hand corner that's going to provide you with enough of a stat boost to keep you going. Keep in mind that you can equip two rings and two earrings, so best be sure you're utilizing them, Every piece of gear just don't waste your time min-maxing.
While you're leveling, you'll just be wasting time that would be better spent pushing deeper into the game.
The strength of a stronghold
Once you reclaim Lutra Castle, you'll be rewarded with a stronghold. I've talked about this feature in a number of different articles, and while it's still not my favorite system in the game, it's impossible to deny how important it actually is.