Lost Ark News

Lost Ark is receiving its March content update today, the first major content patch following the games western release earlier this year. The primary updates coming are a new abyss raid, a new story chapter, a PvP season for competitive players to take part in.

There are also a selection of smaller additions coming that’ll appeal to those looking for alternative gameplay progression separate from the main path. New islands are being added to the oceans of Arkesia, alongside a new login pass and a grand prix mode in which players race against each other for a variety of prizes.

The new story chapter, which has the player go out and discover the secrets of some bloke called Kadan, requires you to first complete a series of pre-requisite quests. This includes:

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Heroes of Arkesia,

The March Update with new content and a swath of bug fixes has arrived! Downtime for the update will begin on March 10 at 12AM PT (8AM UTC) and is expected to last 4 hours. Find the new content (including a few additions from our previous announced features) and the list of fixes below.


[h3]Kadan Story Episode (Includes Isteri & Illusion Bamboo Islands)[/h3]
Experience a new storyline, complete with its own quests, new islands, and cinematic moments. These quests will include a cast of new and returning characters as you learn more about the Sidereals and search for the legendary Kadan, the first Guardian slayer, in your journey to find the final Ark.
Players will need to have completed Feiton, alongside completing the following quests: ‘Yorn - Let There Be Light’, ‘Whispering Islet - Start of Our Story’, and ‘Illusion Bamboo Island - End of the Trials’ as a prerequisite before embarking on the new end-game questlines. Both Isteri & Illusion Bamboo islands are recommended for players at item level 1100.

[h3]Abyss Raid: Argos[/h3]
Similar to the Guardian Raids that players have encountered in their adventures across Arkesia, participants will need to work together to defeat the Guardian Argos before time expires, with a limited number of revives available to the party. As an unrelenting foe, eight players are required to face Argos.
Players will need to progress through three distinct phases as they work together to vanquish this powerful Guardian. In the three phases, Argos will grow more powerful with different mechanics and attack patterns. Each phase has its own table of rewards (collectable once a week), and a different item level requirement for players to participate.

Phase 1 - Item Level 1370
Phase 2 - Item Level 1385
Phase 3 - Item Level 1400

To face Argos players must first complete the guide quest “Abyss Raid Unlocked!”. Those meeting the requirements are able to enter the encounter through the Abyss Raid Statue in major cities, where they can look for battle companions through match-making or by finding a specific group. Players can also find a group and enter the encounter using the “Find Party” button located below the mini-map.


[h3]Arkesia Grand Prix[/h3]
Looking for a change of pace after intense Abyssal Raids and Competitive Proving Grounds matches? Look no further than the limited-time Arkesia Grand Prix racing event, available for the next month. In this mode, two teams of seven players (7v7) will compete against each other, racing around a course while transformed and attempting to progress toward their goal while preventing the other team from progressing. Progress can be earned by reaching the goal and eating cakes! The Arkesia Grand Prix will be live for roughly a month after the March update, until the April Update releases.
An NPC named “Arkesia Grand Prix Manager” will arrive in every major city (other than Prideholme) to help you enter the event, granting an “[Event][Daily] Go to the Arena!” quest for players to gain entry. Players must be level 50 to enter the event. Please note there is a known issue that the messaging for this requirement is only available in English in-game.

[h3]Competitive Proving Grounds Season 1[/h3]
Unlike the other content in the March Update, the initial March update will lay the groundwork for Season 1 of Competitive Proving Grounds, and the season will begin later in the month. We’ll keep you posted on the exact time the season is set to kick-off.
Time to start honing your player vs. player skills— the first season of competitive Proving Grounds is on its way; where players can battle each other for prestige and rewards. Players will be able to queue solo for the 'Team Deathmatch' mode. As you win and lose throughout the season, you can track your 'Competitive Match Average Score'. Your rank is determined based on your score, as are the rewards you receive when the season ends. To participate, players will need to play Proving Grounds and reach Tier 1, so make sure to get some matches in before Season 1 begins!

[h3]New Skins[/h3]
Added the Omen skin collection to the in-game store. These cosmetics will be available in exchange for Royal Crystals until the April Update releases.

[h3]New Log-in Bonuses[/h3]
The March update will add a new track for players to receive daily rewards for logging and claiming on a daily basis. Rewards include a variety of helpful materials, such as honing materials, rapport selection chests, card packs, and much more! This track will have 25 daily bonuses, alongside additional rewards at the 10, 15, and 20 day thresholds. These rewards will be available until our April Update.
Europe West will be receiving modified log-in bonuses to help players who moved regions to catch up. We'll share more information on our official forums soon for Europe West players.

• Fixed a Direct X 11 related issue causing the game client to become unresponsive after switching from Windowed Mode to Fullscreen and Alt+tabbing.
  
• Fixed an issue with graphical settings where sometimes the “Restore to Default” button would set the graphical settings to a higher than intended default setting.
  
• Fixed a few issues with Controller Support related messaging for tutorials and other instructions.
  
• Fixed an issue where it was not possible to unequip gems when using a controller.
  
• Fixed an issue in Character Creation/Customization causing the "hello" tattoo to display backwards.
  
• Fixed an issue with Stronghold's Manor Management UI causing the AZERTY keyboard input was not properly supported.
  
• Fixed an issue where the wrong Guide video for the Abyssal Dungeon was being played.
  
• Fixed issues causing players to sometimes be unable to hear others, speak, or leave while in Raid group chat.
  
• Fixed an issue causing hotkey functionality for global chat to not work properly.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Weekly Battle Item Bundle stated it can be claimed 10 times. Changed it to reflect a purchase limit of once a week. While previously communicated this issue as fixed in our last update, we continued to work on resolving it and apologize for any confusion between the updates.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Training Room causing the tutorial text for the Stand Up movement to disappear too quickly.
  
• Fixed an issue in the “Honest Liar” quest preventing players from using mouse clicks to advance quest interactions and NPC dialogue.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the Notos Orka Ship Skin Selection Chest to be limited to 1 purchase instead of 3.
  
• Fixed an issue causing the Stronghold Lab UI to not display additional research slots when unlocked.
  
• Fixed various other minor and backend issues.
  

Thanks for your support! We look forward to hearing of your adventures on the new islands and your battles against Argos.

Lost Ark was a hit when it launched in Korea, and has since been made available in Russia and Japan, but apparently this year's western release has doubled its numbers. English-language publisher Amazon Games announced that Lost Ark now has over 20 million global users, and "currently more than 10 million of Lost Ark's [players] come from North America, Europe, South America, and Australia."..
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The big fantasy MMO Lost Ark is a hit, but it's not without problems, including the fact that its classes are gender-locked: Warriors are men, mages are women. It's an old-school approach, and one that doesn't really hold up anymore. Developer Smilegate is attempting to address the situation through the addition of "advanced classes," which are specializations that enable both male and female characters in individual classes...
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Amazon Games and Smilegate have announced Lost Ark has exceeded 20 million global users.

In the first three days after launching in the West, more than 4.7 million new users joined the game, and currently, more than 10 million come from North America, Europe, South America, and Australia.

“Overall, the excitement surrounding Lost Ark from around the world is quickly gaining steam, as evidenced by the growing number of global players,” said Christoph Hartmann, VP, Amazon Games. “Together with Smilegate, we are committed to supporting the growing community with a robust roadmap of updates in the years to come.”

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