Lost Ark Beginner Guide: Tips and Tricks
Lost Ark has finally arrived in the West, and everyone is thinking about playing. As a huge MMO and ARPG fan who has done everything from brick expensive PoE items to leveling every class in WoW for raids, I am stoked. If you are here, then either you are convinced or you are thinking about it.
Every time any of us decide to take on a new game, there are several things that come to mind. At Mobalytics we aim to help guide you through those decisions so you can maximize your fun with a game and play the way you want.
Aside from the fundamental questions of will the game be worth your time or will it be fun at the end game, there are some basic doubts that most of us have.
Lost Ark is no different than the other complex forever games and has so much to keep on top of. Nobody wants to have to learn something new and get overwhelmed.
How long will it take to get to the end game? Will I skip something important? Will I make a permanent bad decision? Luckily, that’s why we are here- to help you with those nagging concerns. Read on!
Before we help you figure out what to focus on and where to spend your time, let me start with a simple statement: Don’t stress or worry! Lost Ark is a beautiful game with something for everyone, and there is very little you can do to waste your time since most progress goes to your server account (Roster) and not your character. Whatever direction you choose to focus on, you will progress!
That being said, if you are the min-max type, or just want to be a little more efficient with your time and feel assured you aren’t wasting materials, here is a quick list of do’s and don’ts before hitting 50 and finishing the main quest!
Sign up for the Lost Ark Mobalytics Open Beta, the all-in-one companion for Lost Ark.
Lost Ark Do’s
#1 Use flat HP pots while leveling
This will be your main source of healing and can be found everywhere.
You can just mow down some whelps and they drop them- seriously.
#2 Open Cards and use them
These are account-wide. Once you get a few, feel free to play around and equip them, but don’t worry about if you are doing it right.
It’s really easy to do, and it’s not that significant in terms of bonus -2-5% elemental resistance.
#3 Plan around your Stronghold Timings
Lost Ark is all about time efficiency! If you’re able to queue up tasks that require a long development/cooldown period, consider doing that before you go to bed.
Likewise, or if you plan on having a long play session, you might want to do shorter ones instead.
#4 Open Chests with currency rewards
Most currencies are shared for your Roster, so feel free to open those chests. The one exception is if you are really unsure about your main, hold off on the Shards of Harmony.
However, they are easily farmable, so don’t sweat it if you do open.
#5 Try out Dungeons on Hard
If you’re experienced in similar games/genres and want a bit more spice from Lost Ark while leveling, consider upping the difficulty. You’ll get additional loot and potentially have more fun
#6 Experiment with different ability combinations and how you spend your Tripod points
Don’t worry about min/maxing right away, try out different combinations abilities on your hotbar and the different skill upgrades you can choose in the Tripod throughout your journey.
This will help you discover the best playstyle for you (bonus points if you adjust between PvE and PVP builds).
#7 If you’re short on time, spam Triports to travel
Silver is really easy to come by so don’t be stingy! Make good use of Alt + clicking on your map to bounce between Triports, the time you save will be worth it
#8 Adjust your Pet’s Effect buffs
Once you have a pet, did you know you can change its two buffs at any time?
Just head to any Pet Management NPC (with the dog icon on your map) to swap them out for free
#9 Enjoy the ride
The vistas are beautiful and there’s a lot to take in. Combat is funny. Focus on the journey. End game is pretty easy to plug into and no mistakes are final.
Don’t stress about leveling too fast. Taking your time can make the whole thing enjoyable. Explore and take it all in!
Lost Ark Don’ts
#10 Don’t Use any % HP potions while leveling
This is your main source of healing in endgame content, and can get expensive/time-consuming to get more.
Overall, this is probably the only one bad decision you can make while leveling – everything else is inconsequential…that and your Founder plat skin if you have it (choose that wisely- you only get one!)
#11 Don’t worry about choosing a main
The game gives you plenty of ways to swap, and even encourages other characters by giving you a free boost as soon as you complete the first character.
You can then get another boost for another character after that! Check out our character guide if you want more info on how to pick your class. The current state of meta can be found in our Lost Ark classes tier list.
#12 Don’t worry about choosing the wrong spec
You can respec anytime anywhere, and most choices for a very long time on setup are completely free.
#13 Don’t worry about being PVP or PVE
PVP can start at 26, and everyone is placed on a level playing field with the same amount of skill points to distribute.
This has no effect on the character you are building.
This also means that you can easily (in ~2 hours) have a fresh character PVP ready if you don’t like yours for PVP.
#14 Don’t worry about the 600 types of currency
We’ll break them down in a separate guide those of you who want to learn more, but for the rest of you just acquire them as you play through the main story.
There isn’t much to spend on at the start anyways.
#15 Don’t worry about missing side quests
Feel free to ditch the side quests if they aren’t to your liking it’s very easy to come back and do them later and doing the main quest will get you to max level no problem.
Note that they are super easy to do while questing and usually on your way, so you won’t lose much time and the flow will feel more natural while doing them as you do the main quest.
#16 Don’t worry about Collectibles and Rapport
These are really easy to do later- even easier than at the start. Even though the rewards can be significant, they are minuscule compared to other things in the game.
Likewise, feel free to ignore your friend Mokoko obsessing over the seeds and giving you anxiety that you are going to miss something.
Their reward isn’t going to make or break you. Note that finding them is actually fun, though, so if its your thing- go for it!
#17 Don’t worry about Ability Stones and Engraving
You will probably get a tutorial on this, and forget about it. It doesn’t come into play till you start the end game gearing your character.
In fact, I advise leaving all engraving chests unopened, so you don’t have to think about the choice of what you want.
Added bonus, these are Roster wide, so if they suck for your current class they will probably be good for your alt.
#18 Don’t worry about opening chests
They stack and you can just open them at the end of the game when you are ready to decide what you want.
In the case you already opened them or want to open them, don’t worry too much about your decision- most stuff is easily acquirable.
If you are unsure what character to commit to, try not to open any chests with Harmony crystals.
#19 Don’t worry about Life Skills (aka Trade Skills) like mining and fishing etc…
The game calls them life skills, and they are account-wide. So if you think that you have to go to old zones to farm, you are wrong.
You can just level an alt and pick some herbs and your main will level up too!
Don’t worry about buying them early either – the mandatory tutorial quests will give you what you need.
#20 Don’t about getting new gear and Ability Stones before T1 end game
You will organically upgrade your gear as you quest and kill monsters. You can buy gear from vendors if you feel like it, but it’s going to get replaced and the game is easy enough without it.
You can dismantle everything that’s not an upgrade with no fear. That includes all stones that drop. The ones you start with will be superior until the end game anyways.
Additional Questions and Tips
The above really is everything you need to know to get started and enjoy getting to lvl 50. However, if you must know everything, we are more than happy to oblige.
Here’s some extra info below to help you enjoy your Lost Arkventure!
Which items are shared across all my characters?
If you are curious here is a list of everything that is shared by your Roster (all characters on a server). If I missed something feel free to let us know in the comments and we will amend it:
- Achievements
- Adventure book completion
- Affinity
- Cards
- Engraving unlocks
- Lifeskills + Lifeskill tools
- Mokoko seeds/island heart/giant heart/masterpieces
- Mounts (after doing mount unlock quest)
- Pets
- PVP rank
- Sailors
- Ship upgrades
- Skill/life/nature/stat potions
- Most currencies
- Titles
- Your stronghold
Should I join a guild?
Why not? Especially if your friends are in it. You get a chance for more rewards by donating to the guild, so you may have to join strangers if you want to min-max.
However, it’s not that significant if you are not in one. Again, this is one of those things that doesn’t have such a huge impact, so do what you like.
What is an advanced resource I can use?
We’ll be creating a guide on which streamers to follow very soon. For now, check out this amazing all-in-one guide by SaintOne.
Thanks for reading! For more beginner content, check out our Lost Ark terminology article or our Lost Ark Class Overview.
