Lost Ark News

Heroes of Arkesia,

The July Update arrives in Arkesia tomorrow. Downtime will begin on July 12 at 1AM PDT (8 AM UTC) and is expected to last 4 hours. Experience new storylines after the events of Elgacia, challenge Kakul-Saydon in the Inferno difficulty, experience new islands and events, and more. Find the full list of content, events, skins, and other updates below!

[h2]SPOTLIGHT[/h2]
[h3]ELGACIA EPILOGUE[/h3]

You’ve completed the Elgacia quest, but there’s more to experience, such as new quests and new rapport NPCs in Elgacia. Find your friends and help them discover their new futures while you share celebrated memories from your travels.

To experience the epilogue, you must first complete the following two quests - Truth, Lies, and Choices, and [Awakening] The Sunset. The epilogue can then be received from ‘Soldier Alexia’ in Ereonnor’s Military District. Finishing it will reward you with the Journey’s End Jukebox Song, plus a new Vairgrys Questline trigger item (Beautifully Folded Letter).

[h3]KAKUL-SAYDON INFERNO LEGION RAID[/h3]

The most difficult version of Legion Raids, the Inferno difficulty is all about proving you’re among the best of the best in Arkesia, and earning the accompanying prestige. Rather than chasing the normal rewards of gear, materials, and everything else you’d receive in a Legion Raid, Inferno rewards instead showcase your victory with titles, achievements, Stronghold structures, and more! The Inferno difficulty of Kakul-Saydon will require Item Level 1475, and a full build set-up in the Book of Coordination.

Checkout last week’s July Update Announcement for tips and tricks from Lost Ark legend Saintone on preparing for the raid and adapting to some of the new challenges that the Inferno difficulty weaves into the encounter. Along with the tips, Saintone welcomes all interested raiders to the Hell Academy Discord, a place for Inferno mode enthusiasts to learn more about the fights, builds for classes, and find other raiders.

[h3]MUSIC BOX OF MEMORIES[/h3]

The Music Box of Memories is the vestige of ancient civilization long gone, manifesting as a gadget that can be played with 'Memory Orbs', a new collectible. Experience new stories of the inhabitants of Arkesia who have not received the spotlight with the Music Box of Memories. Gain hints from various continents and progress quests to collect Memory Orbs and earn rewards. Acquired hints can be checked via mouse hovering the orb in the collectible UI (hotkey – Alt +L).

The update also includes:

• 'Music Box of Memories' Toy
  
• A new Music Box of Memories NPC 'Leviyan'
  
• 17 Achievements, 8 Titles
  
• 10 Jukebox Songs
  

Start your journey for Memory Orbs through the guide quest Poet’s Letter after completing the following:

• South Vern's world quest 'An Invasion of Chaos'
  
• East Luterra's normal quest 'A Song to Remember'
  
• East Luterra's normal quest 'The Blue Bird of a World Gone Mad'
  
• East Luterra's adventure quest 'Your Savior'
  
• Achievement 'Magick in Melody'
  

[h3]MAHARAKA FESTIVAL[/h3]

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. This month’s 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. “Run, Mokokos!” will continue until the August Update, when new activities will be added to the festival.

Excel in Maharaka Attractions, Guardian Soul Harvests, and Chaos Dungeons for Event Tokens (Moko Kindergarten Exchange Token, Maharaka Leaf, and Splendid Maharaka Fruit) and then exchange your spoils for festive rewards like the Cherry Blossom Class Mokoko.

[h3]GEAR PROGRESSION: TIER 3 ANCIENT LEGION COMMANDER GEAR (ITEM LEVEL 1390) ATTAINMENT CHANGE[/h3]

• The materials to craft Relic Brelshaza Gear (Upper Tier 3 Relic 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.
  
• Based on these changes, upper Tier 3 Relic Gear cannot be crafted.
  
• Any Phantom Horns in your inventory will be replaced with an equal amount of Phantom Intentions sent through your Universal Storage.
  

If you own Brelshaza Relic Gear that is affected by this change, it will be replaced with Brelshaza Ancient Gear:

• If you have Brelshaza Relic Gear in your inventory and don't have sufficient inventory space, you will get your new ancient gear in the mail.
  
• If you were equipped with Brelshaza Relic Gear before the July 12th maintenance, you will need to have sufficient inventory space before you can receive your new gear. If you did not receive your gear due to insufficient inventory space, you will receive it after you make room in your inventory and log in again.
  

Your replacement gear will maintain the following information from your old gear:

• Quality
  
• Honing Level
  
• Set Level
  
• Honing Information (Artisan’s Energy, Honing XP, increased success rate from honing fail)
  

Crafting requirements for Brelshaza Ancient Gear have been changed as follows:

• Before: Reach item level 1540 and “Phantom Shard Remnants” achievement Level 1
  
• After: Reach Item Level 1490 and "Kill the Legion Commanders and leave the gear behind” achievement Level 1
  

[h2]GENERAL UPDATES[/h2]
[h3]PROGRESSION UPDATES / PROGRESSION SUPPORT[/h3]
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.

• Arcturus' Touch is applied up to 5 times to characters who have cleared each Legion Raid and gate.
  
• Arcturus' Touch is applied up to 5 times to additional clear rewards and View More rewards, and the applicable mount gets deducted per loot.
  
• You can check if Arturus’s Touch is applied in the Expected Rwds at the Legion Raid entrance UI.
  

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%
  

To further help players below item level 1490, the Mokoko Buff level cap will be extended from item level 1475 to 1490. (Mokoko Challenge level also extended accordingly).

Mokoko Buff 1 is now under item level 1445 (previously 1415):

• Damage to monsters increases by 20%.
  
• Damage from monsters decreases by 40%.
  

Mokoko Buff 2 is now item level 1445 to 1489 (previously 1415 to 1444):

• Damage to monsters increases by 15%.
  
• Damage from monsters decreases by 30%.
  

Buff period for New and Returning players will be reset to 90 days.

Added Wandering Merchants in East Luterra/ Yorn / Feiton to make it easier for players to collect key stepping stone cards, such as Balthorr, Delain Armen, and Jederico.

[h3]MOKO ISLAND[/h3]

Countless bards sang of a mysterious island and its island soul. Adventurers believe the island to be real — in this quest you discover Moko Island, battle the evil witch Babayaba, and earn rewards. Moko Island includes:

• Moko Island Coin and Coin Exchange NPC
  
• 4 Achievements, 3 Titles
  
• Mokoko Seed added
  
• Island Soul added
  
• 3 Toys
  

[h3]STRONGHOLD UPDATES[/h3]

• New addition: Summer Trail Theme
  

[h3]MARKET / AUCTION HOUSE TRADE RESTRICTION CHANGE[/h3]
For your convenience, the following changes have been made to Market/Auction House restrictions:

• Increased the daily add item registration limit from 40 items to 100 items.
  
• Decreased the purchase cooldown from 10 seconds to 5 seconds.
  

[h3]GENERAL[/h3]

• Updated the daily log-in reward track.
  
• Battle items will now be roster bound. Now Battle Items will have 2 types; Tradable or Non-Tradable. Battle Item stackable amount will increase from 999 to 9999.
  
• 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.
  
• Updated some of the visuals around Anikka.
  
• Added an Unparticipating Party Report Feature. We've been receiving reports of players trying to sell gold by using other players' nicknames and party names. This feature will allow players to report these violations
  
• Players can now use character-report feature in Party Finder to a report a specific character in a party and violating parties even if they're not in the party.
  
• Party Finder > Select Party > Context menu opens upon right-clicking Party Details. 'Report' pop-up then opens when selecting 'Report' button on the context menu.
  
• The Balthorr Raid Event has ended with the start of the Maharaka Festival.
  

[h2]STORE UPDATES[/h2]
The Kimono Skin collection arrives along with Miho Mounts and Yoholing Pets. There’s also a new Festival Wallpaper. Channel longevity and good fortune when you pick up a kimono to battle the demonic hordes. See the new collection showcased below.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]NOTABLE BUG FIXES[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where the push to talk hotkey occasionally unbinds when switching to the AZERTY keyboard layout.
  
• The loading screen will now display the correct swimsuit skin sale end date.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the Ark Pass Celestial Power Weapon Glow Effect to not appear on the Slayer class.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the CVAA - Game Entry Narration to provide incorrect accessibility settings information.
  

That’s everything in the July Update - but keep an eye out for new Twitch Drops which keep the rewards coming! In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia.

Heroes of Arkesia,

New special summer sale packs have been added to Steam and Amazon, packed with unique mounts and pets along with other valuable items to help in your Arkesian Adventures. The packs are available for two weeks, from July 5 - July 19. Each pack can be purchased once per account. The mounts and pets will be roster-bound and untradeable. Find details for each pack and their contents showcased below! For pricing and links to purchase, visit the Arkesian Sun Sale page.

[h2]Arkesian Sun Pet Pack[/h2]

• Running Cahni Pet Chest
  
• Ancient Platinum Coin x50
  
• Menelik’s Tome x3
  
• Crystal x400
  
• Legendary Rapport Selection Chest x3
  
• Epic Rapport Selection Chest x5
  

[h2]Arkesian Sun Pet and Mount Pack[/h2]

• Running Cahni Pet Chest
  
• Balloon Pony Selection Chest
  
• Ancient Platinum Coin x100
  
• Crystal x1200
  
• Pheon x100
  
• Relic Rapport Selection Chest
  
• Legendary Rapport Selection Chest x3
  
• Epic Rapport Selection Chest x10
  

[h2]Arkesian Sun Card Pack[/h2]

• Legendary - Epic Card Pack II x10
  
• Legendary - Rare Card Pack II x30
  
• Any Card Pack II x40
  
• Menelik's Tome x20
  
• Creation Fragment x30
  

An automatic economic adjustment will occur when these packs are added to the Steam store, and players outside the United States may see pricing changes for these and other store offerings based on economic shifts that have taken place after the last Steam store update.

Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Arkesia.

Heroes of Arkesia,

We’re back with your host Roxx and debaters Grenton, Bobajenny, Stoopzz, and DatModz for episode 6 of the Lost Ark Academy Debate Club. This episode’s warmup debate topic is: Which loading screen is better, seagulls or sidereals? For our 1v1 debate, Grenton and Stoopzz have the topic of: To PVP or not to PVP?

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Head over to YouTube and let us know who you think is not a Mokoko in the comments. We’ll see you next week for Episode 7!

Heroes of Arkesia,

The July Update releases next week, on July 12, bringing Inferno Kakul-Saydon, the Elgacia Epilogue quests, the Music Box of Memories, the Maharaka Festival, QoL improvements, and more! The full release notes will drop next week.

[h2]PREPARE FOR INFERNO KAKUL-SAYDON[/h2]
While Legion Raids prove to be a challenging experience for many— Inferno takes it to the next level. It’s all about proving you’re the among the best of the best in Arkesia and earning the accompanying prestige. Inferno Kakul-Saydon will require Item Level 1475 or higher to participate, along with a build created in the Book of Coordination.

Below you’ll find tips and tricks from Lost Ark legend Saintone on preparing for the raid and adapting to some of the new challenges that the Inferno difficulty weaves into the encounter. Along with the tips, Saintone welcomes all interested raiders to the Hell Academy Discord, a place for Inferno mode enthusiasts to learn more about the fights, builds for classes, and find other raiders.

[h2]INFERNO KAKUL-SAYDON TIPS AND TRICKS FT. SAINTONE[/h2]

Hello! With the Inferno Kakul-Saydon Legion Raid arriving soon, I wanted to share my thoughts on my personal favorite Inferno mode in Lost Ark. Inferno Kakul is actually the one that I recommend for all people to start out with. Is it because of the difficulty?

No!

It's because the very nature of it being a 4-player raid lends to it being a lot more fun than previous encounters. In a 4-player setting, not only is it easier to quickly organize a group, but on top of that, personal responsibility and general involvement of the player is a lot higher when you make up a quarter of the entire party (for example it's easier to get involved in voice comms). Just look at how many more people enjoy Kayangel over Brelshaza!

[h3]INTRO & GATE 1[/h3]
Generally, I'd say that the overall difficulty of the battle isn't that much higher than Inferno Vykas, so if you've cleared that, you can definitely clear this. The DPS checks are more lenient than Vykas, but each player is responsible for a bigger portion. In terms of difficulty, the first gate is very easy, the second gate can be a bit challenging, and the last gate is moderately hard.

Each gate offers a few extra mechanics over the non-Inferno versions. Take time to figure out how you want to assign positions to deal with them ahead of time, especially mechanics like the new two-pair pattern in Gate 1. Most parties that I played with had some small deviations on how they handled this, but it ultimately boils down to quickly communicating which two suits you're looking for.

[h3]GATE 2[/h3]

In gate two, a few lethal patterns that knock you off the board no longer have telegraphs, so you need to cautiously attack the boss while looking out for them. In some cases, 'unfair' overlaps can occur where the solution to survive is not obvious. As this gate also has a very lenient DPS check, I would strongly recommend you bring a Time Stop Potion until you become acclimated with attacking and observing at the same time (kind of like playing the game while cross-eyed). For Entropy users, this fight is arguably one of the hardest battles in the entire game, but even if your uptime ends up being lower than usual, you should still be able to clear with comfort.

If you want even more time to clear this, I would also recommend that if you haven't already, you learn techniques that allow you to find which card Kakul is hiding under when Saydon is slamming the hammer down on the table. All classes can universally do this by applying Bleed before he disappears and listening for the proximity of the sound effect, but certain classes can also find him easily with their skills, such as Sharpshooter's Atomic Arrow.

The little clown has additional patterns which normally don't knock you off in Normal mode but will knock you off the table in Inferno mode, so make sure to respect them. The tracking laser can be mitigated with paralysis immunity and the horn is pretty easy to dodge.

Lastly, the pizza mech (which is often skipped in non-Hell mode) can be really tricky due to the flipped controls on random players. Sometimes the game won't immediately register that your controls are backwards, so check your debuff bar and if you have it, try to move around a little bit before the mech starts so it registers properly.

[h3]GATE 3[/h3]


The last gate is definitely the trickiest. Most of it should be common sense, but there's a few things to know. First, the order of difficulty of the platform mini-games is reversed. So in Normal mode, the difficulty order is 3, 4, 2, 1. In Hell mode, it's 1, 2, 4, 3. So if you're confident in your abilities, make sure to assign accordingly. Just know that the person doing the first platform game will get the most practice due to wipes.

Depending on your ability, you will get conversion stack mechanic at least twice, increasing the bosses' final damage considerably. This mechanic is timed, so you'll always experience it roughly around the same time each time (depending on speed for example, you can see it right before showtime or right after showtime).

My last tip for this gate is to be very conservative with your potions. It can be tempting to chug a potion when you're within lethal range of his attacks, but the worst thing that can happen is you drink a potion and then are immediately met with a reverse HP curse. This mechanic is also predictable, so you should wait and see if you're targeted with a curse before you decide to pot up.

Oh, and about bingo, don't play too passively. The boss does really high damage during bingo, and certain attacks can be close to lethal even from high HP. They aren't difficult to avoid, but if you take too long, the amount of space to dodge them can shrink a lot. A good support with solid shielding is vital here. Be concise with shotcalling where to place the bombs and have back-up plans to deal with the higher frequency of hammers to avoid screwing yourself over. If you do bingo well while maintaining your damage, he'll be dead by the third detonation, with plenty of space left on the board. Even if you mess up and die, your party members can finish the gate through additional detonations, as long as you don't flip the golden tile (which drops a mega bomb on the field that wipes the raid shortly afterwards).

Stay tuned for the full release notes next week. In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia!