Lost Ark News

[h2][/h2][p][/p][p]Heroes of Arkesia,[/p][p][/p][p]Craft an original emote for the chance to get your creation into Lost Ark. You can focus on your favorite character, create the perfect reaction for a preferred activity, or anything else— as long it is Lost Ark themed! Here’s everything you need to know to join the community emote design competition.[/p][p][/p][h3]Competition Details[/h3][p]You can enter your submissions to the emote contest through the official Lost Ark Discord by creating a post in the 2025 Emote Contest section of Discord (#2025-emote-contest-entries) with the image of your artwork attached. Submissions will be accepted from October 22 until November 12. Once we select 10 finalists, the Lost Ark community will vote on their favorites using reactions in Discord from November 14 through 19.[/p][p][/p][p]The top 5 most popular emotes will get added to the game for everyone to use in a future update. Additionally, all ten finalists will receive the ‘Masterpiece Creator’ Title in-game, and the 10 finalist emotes will be available to use in the official Lost Ark Discord.[/p][p]Submission requirements include:[/p]

• [p]A JPG or PNG under 25mb[/p]
• [p]Ideal emote size is 500x500 at 300 DPI.[/p]
• [p]Submission emotes need to be static images with transparent backgrounds unless there are intentional design decisions requiring a background color.[/p]
• [p]Submissions must include character name and server name of the player submitting.[/p]
• [p]Art must be original and cannot use AI.[/p]

[p][/p][p]When preparing the winning emotes to be put in-game, some details may be removed or adjusted to better fit the game. Find the full contest rules here.[/p][p][/p][p]If you’re unable to find the 2025 Emote Contest section of Discord, you can add the relevant channels to your list of viewable channels on the left side of your screen by navigating to “Channels & Roles” in the top left of the Discord UI, then navigating to “Browse Channels” and selecting the channels you would like to see.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re excited to see what the community submits! Don’t forget to enter your emote submissions before the November 12 deadline, and check back on November 14 to vote on your favorite finalists.[/p]

[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]Welcome to Eye on Arkesia, where we’ll take a look ahead at all things Lost Ark coming your way. This time around we’re covering the October update, Fog of Diaspero, which will release on October 29, plus our response to player feedback on the Kazeros Raid and race timing.[/p][p][/p][p]For more information on the NA Region Merge, check out our merge policy. You can also watch our Halloween skin showcase video if you haven’t yet found the right outfit.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks for your support and we’ll see you in Arkesia![/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Heroes of Arkesia,[/p][p]The region merge for North America has arrived! The merge will begin tonight during the weekly maintenance at 12AM PT (7AM UTC). We are currently estimating total downtime for the North American regions to be 20hrs. For the European region, we estimate that downtime will last 8hrs.[/p][p]If you’re currently a resident of the North American regions being merged, learn about our plans for structuring servers, along with the planned compensation, gifts, and more![/p][p][/p][h2]NA Server Structure[/h2][p]Our teams at Amazon Games and Smilegate RPG have been collaborating in-person on some region merge magic to create the best possible experience for players post-merge. While the servers of North America West and East will be connected into one in-game region, the game worlds will remain in their original server locations. This will allow players to enjoy the positive aspects of the merge, such as a combined Auction House and Market, and new players to forge relationships within raid/dungeon groups, while mitigating concerns around latency/ping. Players will continue to enjoy the same experience while in their world, and you can learn more about the matchmaking/party-finder experience for instanced content below. For players joining from NA West, please note that the Auction House and Market will be hosted out of NA East, so players with high latency may notice slight lag in extreme circumstances.[/p][p][/p][p]Dungeon/Raid Experience[/p][p]Immediately following the merge, we will be implementing a temporary ruleset for all instanced content (raids, dungeons, etc.). This temporary ruleset will be replaced with an improved version during the November Update, which will stay in-game as the planned final ruleset featuring different rules for matchmaking and party-finder.[/p][p][/p][p]Temporary Ruleset (October - November) for matchmaking and party-finder[/p]

• [p]Instances will default to NA East for lobbies with players from different worlds.[/p]
• [p]If the lobby has 8 players from Brelshaza, the lobby will be created in Brelshaza.[/p]
• [p]If the lobby has 8 players from Thaemine, the lobby will be created in Thaemine.[/p]
• [p]However, if players from both Brelshaza and Thaemine are in a mixed lobby, they could still enter an instance hosted in NA East.[/p]

[p][/p][p]Final Ruleset (Planned for the November Update)[/p]

• [p]Party-Finder: Instance will be created in the world of the lobby leader.[/p]
• [p]Matchmaking:[/p]
  • [p]A full group of players from the original NA West worlds will have an instance created in NA West.[/p]
  • [p]A full group of players from the original NA East worlds will have an instance created in NA East.[/p]
  • [p]A mixed group of players will default to NA East. For players that rely on ping to NA West (such as those connecting from Oceania) we recommend using the party-finder tool to ensure they can find or create a lobby that best meets their needs.[/p]

[p]We’re excited for the opportunities this will create for players to be able to play together while still having control and agency over their raid and dungeon experience, and will be on the lookout for feedback to ensure it is best meeting the needs of our community.[/p][p][/p][p]Back-up Plan[/p][p]While testing has looked extremely promising for this custom solution leading up to the merge, we are preparing a back-up plan of hosting the Brelshaza and Thaemine Servers in NA East to avoid ongoing extensions of the region merge maintenance. If we need to proceed with the back-up plan, it could result in an additional maintenance. Afterward, we will continue to investigate the solution with NA West and NA East hosted servers that are connected, and identify a future window to make the change. We will provide updates and ensure the community is made aware of the status and result as we proceed through the merge.[/p][p][/p][h2]General Merge Notes[/h2]

• [p]While based in NA West, Brelshaza and Thaemine will need to share the same server time as the other worlds in the region, so they will be updated to NA East timing.[/p]
• [p]It may take up to one hour for the NA West Crucible Leaderboard information to display after servers are up from the merge, due to the server refreshing rankings hourly.[/p]
• [p]We’ll be on the lookout for feedback regarding the post-merge experience. If you encounter issues or have feedback, please let us know![/p]

[h2]After the Merge[/h2][p]Merge Compensation[/p][p]The following compensation gift will be available in the in-game shop \[F4] for players in the merged region at no cost:[/p]

• [p]Rest Bonus Recovery Brew x3[/p]
• [p]Aura of Resonance Recovery Elixir (14 days) x3[/p]
• [p](NEW) Ebony Cube Entrance Ticket Selection Chest x3[/p]
• [p]Regulus's Light Currency Chest x5[/p]
• [p]Crystalline Aura (3 days) x1[/p]
• [p]Collective Battle Item Chest x3[/p]

[p]There will also be a 1-day Azena’s Blessing compensation sent to each character in the merged region with Azena’s Blessing active during the merge. This compensation will be sent in the next week or two, once the data for the impacted characters has been collected. We appreciate your patience in the meantime![/p][p][/p][p]Merge Gift & Celebration Packs[/p][p]Along with the merge compensation available for only players in North America, a gift will be sent to players in all regions, which can be claimed in the Product Inventory after the merge. The gift will contain:[/p]

• [p]Rest Bonus Recovery Brew (14 days) x3[/p]
• [p]Aura of Resonance Recovery Elixir (14 days) x3[/p]
• [p]Collective Battle Item Chest x3[/p]
• [p](NEW) Ebony Cube Entrance Ticket Selection Chest x3[/p]
• [p]Legendary Pet Upgrade Supplies Chest x1[/p]
• [p]Small Processed Chaos Stone (Weapon) Chest x10[/p]
• [p]Small Processed Chaos Stone (Armor) Chest x10[/p]

[p]Along with the gift, there will be some special limited-time packs available through the in-game shop after the merge.[/p][p][/p][p]We appreciate your patience during the extensive downtime required for the merge. We’re excited to see the new friendships formed by players joining together in the new region! Updates can be found on the Lost Ark social channels, primarily the Lost Ark Game Status X account, throughout maintenance. We hope to see you back in Arkesia soon![/p]

[p]Heroes of Arkesia,[/p][p]In our previous team update, we discussed that we’d been reviewing lots of feedback around the Kazeros The First clear race along with the raid release plans. Today, we’re sharing an updated plan based around player feedback to ensure the release of the climactic battle against Kazeros is the best experience possible for the Lost Ark community.[/p][h2]Updated Release Plan[/h2][p]We’ve been reviewing player feedback and collaborating heavily with Smilegate RPG to customize the release plan and find the solution that best meets the needs of the Western Playerbase. We investigated several release plans but ultimately decided on the raid rollout listed below. You can dive into the final version of the plan, including dates and commentary on our reasoning for selecting this release plan.[/p][h3]Major November Update - November 19[/h3][p]Kazeros Raid: Act 4 and Kazeros Raid Denouement: Final Day will be released together as part of the major November Update on November 19. We were initially hesitant to release both raids on the same day as it could be overwhelming for players, but when looking through various scenarios, we think this will best meet the needs of our diverse playerbase for the following reasons:[/p]

• [p]For the top raiders, this will grant a practice window to level the playing field against players who have been practicing in other regions.[/p]
• [p]For hardcore players, this will be a lot of content, especially when talking about multiple characters, but should prove to be an exciting update as players progress through one battle after another. If Hard or Normal mode for Denouement proves to be too much for the first week, there will be second week to clear before the first round of Frontier nerfs.[/p]
• [p]For less hardcore players, where clearing as fast as possible is not a top priority and who enjoy the assistance of the Frontier System, this will allow a natural progression into the Frontier System in Denouement if the first few weeks after the update are spent learning Act 4. While normally we’d want to ensure that everyone is able to experience the original form of the fight before the Frontier system, Kazeros Raid Denouement will have a difficult version preserved for the foreseeable future with The First Mode allowing players to have a challenging experience on demand, even if they miss it in the first few weeks.[/p]

[h3]Kazeros the First Race - December 3[/h3][p]The First Mode (along with first clear race) will unlock two weeks later, on December 3, along with the first wave of Frontier Adjustments for both Kazeros Raid: Act 4 and Kazeros Raid Denouement: Final Day. We chose this date for 3 reasons:[/p]

1. [p]This will help level the playing field against players who have been practicing in other regions, by giving players two weeks to experience Hard Mode. While The First Mode will still present a greater challenge, this preparation time should help address a top concern amongst the broader community.[/p]
2. [p]We also saw concerns that the race would be taking place during North American holidays, which would prevent players from participating. This date will ensure players in North America are home and ready to play.[/p]
3. [p]The first wave of the Frontier Nerfs will allow players to reclear homework content faster than normal, for players who want to try their hand at The First Mode, without sacrificing the rewards from reclearing Act 4 and Denouement.[/p]

[h3]In Game After Race Leaderboards – After Top 10[/h3][p]The in-game After Race leaderboards will unlock during the weekly update after the leaderboard is full. This event will live in-game for the duration of the First Mode (until it ends at a future date, which is to be determined) allowing players to score their fastest clear time on character-based leaderboards and be rewarded with exclusive cosmetics and prizes![/p][p]We hope this mode will prove fun for players who want to improve and prove they are skillful enough to master the battle against the Lord of the Abyss. While all players can participate in this secondary leaderboard event, our primary enforcement focus and restrictions remain centered around the First Clear Race for Kazeros, as the rewards for the After Race are on a rolling weekly grant. Seasonal Rewards are subject to additional reviews when the event ends at a date to be determined. Should an account on the After Race Leaderboard be found in new violation of our ToS, Code of Conduct, or event conditions, there may be action taken against the offending player, depending on the violation. This includes account-wide disadvantages, such as invalidating the clear’s eligibility, removing achieved ranking records and event rewards or an account ban.[/p][h3]Looking Ahead[/h3][p]We have seen a lot of player questions about the race and policies and will share the full policy document in the near future as we head toward the race. In the meantime, we hope the dates are helpful as you begin to determine your plans to meet the Lord of the Abyss in battle next month. We appreciate the passion and feedback we’ve seen from players on this topic and will continue to factor in the community’s voice to find the best path forward![/p]

[p][/p][h3]Heroes of Arkesia,[/h3][p][/p][p]On October 22, we will conduct a region merge to fold the NA West region into NA East. The NA West world names (Brelshaza & Thaemine) will remain the same and will be integrated into NA East. No servers (and therefore rosters) are being merged into each other. Policies that merge or sum item counts will only apply to players with an account in both server regions, and players within those regions can find the specifics below.[/p][p][/p][h2]Merge Policy[/h2][h3]Market, Auction House, and Currency Exchange[/h3]

• [p]Cancels all posted items and offers listed on the Item Market, Auction House and Currency Exchange in both Regions prior to the merge.[/p]

[h3]Guild & Character Names[/h3]

• [p]Characters with duplicated character names will be reset based on following conditions:[/p]
  • [p]Retains the name of the character that belongs to a roster with a higher max character level.[/p]
  • [p]If condition A ties, retains the name of the first created character.[/p]
• [p]Characters with reset names will be prompted to change their name when logging in.[/p]
• [p]Overlapped guild names will be reset and receive a '##' in front of the original name based on following conditions:[/p]
  • [p]Retains the name of first created guild between two.[/p]
  • [p]If condition A ties, retains the target region data and resets the source region one.[/p]
• [p]A Guild name change ticket for the guilds with force-changed names will be added as a token for guild masters.[/p]

[h3]Social[/h3]

• [p]Friend Info & Recent List[/p]
  • [p]Friend list and friend requests will be retained and the list will reflect the character name changes due to duplicates.[/p]
  • [p]Names from the recent list will not be changed and stay as they were pre-merge.[/p]

[h3]Progression events, Tickets, & Tokens[/h3][p]Powerpasses, Character Slot Extension Tickets, Reskin Tickets, Name Change Tickets, and Guild Name Change Tickets will all follow the same policy:[/p]

• [p]Paid Tokens will be summed up to the cap.[/p]
  • [p]South Kurzan Powerpass[/p]
    • [p]Product Inventory[/p]
      • [p]If the ticket exists in both region's product inventory, transfers it to the target region.[/p]
      • [p]If exist in neither region's product inventory, no handling required.[/p]
    • [p]Item and Token[/p]
      • [p]If exist as an item in the source region, transfers it to the target region as an item.[/p]
      • [p]If exist as a token in the source region, transfers it to the target region as a token.[/p]
• [p]Free Tickets/Tokens will equal the lowest amount.[/p]
• [p]Ticket items that have been consumed from the inventory and stacked in the character select screen are called 'tokens'.[/p]
  • [p]Powerpass[/p]
  • [p]Character name change ticket[/p]
  • [p]Customization ticket[/p]
  • [p]Character slot expansion ticket[/p]
  • [p]Guild name change ticket[/p]
  • [p]Ticket items found in items or chests are also affected by this policy.[/p]

[h3]Stronghold[/h3]

• [p]Stronghold Gift - Sent - Merges data.[/p]
• [p]Stronghold Gift - Received - Returns unclaimed gifts.[/p]
• [p]Stronghold Guestbook - Merges data.[/p]
• [p]Stronghold Community: Saved Strongholds - Merges data.[/p]
• [p]Stronghold Community: Allied Strongholds - Merges data.[/p]
• [p]Stronghold Community: Activity History - Merges data.[/p]
• [p]Stronghold Recommendation List - Resets (insert region) region data. A list recalculation including the (insert region) region will be made at the following week's reset.[/p]
• [p]Instant Equip feature for both Mannequin and Weapon Display Rack, where the Stronghold owner can instantly equip outfit and weapon skins may not work after merge. Once re-putting the outfit and weapon skins to the Mannequin and Weapon Display Rack post merge, the feature will be back to normal.[/p]

[h3]Paradise[/h3]

• [p]Merges Paradise data, including Crucible Leaderboards.[/p]
• [p]Ranking rewards for the previous week will be granted to multiple players due to ranking overlaps caused the merge.[/p]

[h3]Book of Coordination[/h3]

• [p]Proving Grounds: Upper Ranker Settings[/p]
  • [p]Will default to NA East[/p]
• [p]Trial Guardian Raids: Recommended Skills[/p]
  • [p]Will default to NA East[/p]
• [p]Legion Raids: Recommended Skills[/p]
  • [p]Will default to NA East[/p]

[h3]In-Game Shop[/h3]

• [p]Products with Account-bound Purchase Limit[/p]
  • [p]Sums the purchase records of both regions.[/p]
• [p]Products in Product Inventory[/p]
  • [p]Sums the purchase records of both regions.[/p]
• [p]Azena's Blessing, Crystal, and Prestige[/p]
  • [p]Transfers the source region data to the target region.[/p]
• [p]Event Shop[/p]
  • [p]Event information will be transferred to the target region and mapped accordingly.[/p]

[h3]Proving Grounds[/h3]

• [p]MMR Information / Competitive Match Ranking[/p]
  • [p]Season inactive during the region merge period.[/p]
• [p]Three Champions Match / New PvP Ranking:[/p]
  • [p]Retains the target region settings for Three Champions match (character order & preset).[/p]
  • [p]Retains the target region ranking information.[/p]

[h3]Miscellaneous[/h3]

• [p]New & Returned Attendance Events[/p]
  • [p]Account status for the new and returned attendance events will be decided based on the last login history.[/p]
    • [p]The status of a region that the account is last logged in will be retained.[/p]
• [p]Trust Point System[/p]
  • [p]Retains data of a region with a higher max. item level within the account and deserts the other's.[/p]
    • [p]If ties, retains the data of a region that the account is last logged into.[/p]

[p]The expected Region Merge maintenance downtime will be shared closer to the merge date of October 22, so make sure you stay tuned to our official social media channels and Discord for updates.[/p]