Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure
Lost Ark
2023 Black Friday Deals
Heroes of Arkesia,
To celebrate Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we have bundles arriving later this week that offer major savings on a variety of cosmetics and valuable in-game items packaged together. The packs will arrive on November 22, and be available in exchange for Royal Crystals via the in-game store. They’ll stay in the store for one week, until November 29. Find all of the specific packs and their contents showcased below!
Pack Contents
Harvest Heroes Pack
Available in exchange for 9,800 Royal Crystals, with a limit of 3 per account.
Artiste Skin Selection Chest
Honorable Graduation Chamkuri Mount Selection Chest
Puppy Pet Selection Chest
2000 Crystal Bundle
Cloth x28
Yoz’s Jar x3
Magick Society Reagent Pack x1
Pheons x100
Una's Task Package x1
Regulus's Light Currency Chest x20
Epic Rapport Selection Chest x10
Legendary Rapport Selection Chest x3
Relic Rapport Selection Chest x1
Any Card Pack II x20
Legendary - Rare Card Pack II x15
Legendary - Epic Card Pack II x5
Solar Grace (Bound) x120
Solar Blessing (Bound) x60
Solar Protection (Bound) x30
Honing Shard Selection Chest x60
Destruction Stone Selection Pouch x35
Protection Stone Selection Pouch x50
Leapstone Selection Chest x32
Fusion Material Selection Chest x6
Autumn Adventure Pack
Available in exchange for 6,600 Royal Crystals, with a limit of 5 per account.
1000 Crystal Bundle
Cloth x14
Yoz’s Jar x1
Pheons x70
Elgacia Growth Support Pack x1
Any Card Pack II x15
Legendary - Rare Card Pack II x10
Legendary - Epic Card Pack II x3
Fall Frenzy Pack
Available in exchange for 3,300 Royal Crystals, with a limit of 3 per account.
Artiste Skin Selection Chest
Heavenly Instrument Selection Chest
Autumn Coat Selection Chest x3
Fallen Leaves Trail Effect Selection Chest
Thrifty Treat Pack
Available in exchange for 1,000 Royal Crystals, with a limit of 1 per account.
South Vern Growth Support Package II
Wallpaper: Trixion
Ancient Platinum Coin x20
400 Crystal Bundle
Pheons x10
We’re thankful to the heroes who spend their time adventuring throughout Arkesia. We hope all who celebrate have a happy Thanksgiving with those they’re thankful for. In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia!
November Twitch Drop
Heroes of Arkesia,
The Halo Selection Drop accompanies the November Soul Harvest Update, available for members of the Lost Ark Creator Program to enable on their channel. Rather than tiers, there are 3 Drops, each with their own watch time. Unlike tiered drops, watch time for each drop is earned simultaneously. Drop 1 - 4hrs - New Halo Selection Chest, choose between the Snowflake, Neon, or Obsidian Halo Drop 2 - 6hrs - Pheons x30 Drop 3 - 8hrs - Amethyst Shard x1000
Make sure to head over to Twitch and watch your favorite Lost Ark content creators to earn the drops before they end on December 13.
Twitch Drop Creator Spotlight
Looking for some creators to watch for the Twitch Drops? The content creators featured below are planning on creating content related to the new Souleater Advanced Class, so check them out if you’re interested in learning more about the newest class in Lost Ark while earning the Drops.
ZealsAmbitions
Twitch Channel "Hello, I am ZealsAmbitions and I have been streaming Lost Ark for 2 and a half years on Twitch alongside my awesome community. I currently main a 1650 Souleater, which is the newest subclass to Lost Ark."
Senderfn
Twitch Channel "Hey guys! I'm senderfn, a long time Lost Ark content creator. My journey started years ago on the Russian servers and I couldn't stop playing ever since. I owe this game and community many memorable moments, it's a great time overall! With Souleater releasing it's once again a great time to jump into the game and play with an exceptional class. The design is extraordinary this time around, Smilegate RPG outdid themselves. The effects are only trumped by the gameplay! Come by to enjoy the class together."
Grenton
Twitch Channel Most of you may know him for tweeting for almost 200 days for Reaper to launch or from his time casting esports events along with Lost Ark PvP tournaments. A self-proclaimed edgelord who got schooled on the Lost Ark Academy Debate club, he has been anxiously waiting since the announcement of Souleater and has already started prepping his roster. He has shown some insane passion for Souleater and is going to be fully swapping over to it as his main.
Soul Harvest Release Notes
Heroes of Arkesia,
The November “Soul Harvest” Update arrives in Arkesia tomorrow. Downtime will begin on November 15 at 1AM PDT (9AM UTC) and is expected to last 4 hours. This update brings the Souleater Advanced Class, new progression events, Quality of Life (QoL) changes, and more! Henry is back with an episode of “Patchnotes with Henry” for any players looking for an express video explanation and visual showcase.
Let us know on YouTube if you enjoy this type of content from our team and would like to see more heading forward. Want all the details? Find the full list of content, events, skins, and other updates below!
Souleater Advanced Class
The Souleater arrives in Arkesia, accompanied by progression events to help players quickly level up. Learn about the Souleater’s abilities, engravings, and progression events below. The Souleater – the Master of Specters – is an Assassin subclass who wields a giant scythe to collect her enemies’ souls. Souleater can choose to attack in three different ways: directly with the scythe, by summoning the dead, or with powerful Deathlord attacks.
An Event South Vern Powerpass will release with the update for players to use until February 7, 2024. Pairing well with the South Vern Powerpass, players will be able to designate one character between Item Level 1415 and 1540 on their account to participate in the Super Mokoko Express Event, where they’ll have discounted honing rates, discounted gold requirements, and earn honing materials to quickly level up to Item Level 1540 and beyond, with reward chests up to Item Level 1570. There are also Combat Style Setting Support options for players to easily set skills and Engravings through presets, and get item support for accessories with relevant stats and Ability Stones. The designated character will earn valuable rewards as they level up, including Silver, honing materials, high level Gems, Engravings, and more!
The Super Mokoko Express Event also includes an Engraving Support system that lets players choose 5 engravings to be in effect at level 3 during the event. Here’s how to get started:
After selecting a Super Mokoko Express character, the Engraving Support button will light up.
Click the Engraving Support button to open the Engraving Support page and select your 5 desired Engravings.
Press the Activate Engraving Support button to start using their effects.
The effects of Engraving Support will also be shown in your Character Profile.
The Event will last until February 7, 2024.
Path of the Souleater
A new progression arrives, built to progress a character quickly from 1490 to 1610. This special event includes:
A Gear Honing Support Effect applied when honing Brelshaza Ancient Gear from 1540 to 1580 that decreases the amount of Gold and materials needed to hone along with increased honing rates.
2x Artisan’s Energy when honing Brelshaza Ancient Gear from 1540 to 1580.
Caches of rewards every 10 Item Levels from 1540 to 1580, with a particularly valuable reward at 1580. Rewards include silver, gold, honing materials, honing books, and card packs!
Special Missions to earn additional Raid & Abyssal Dungeon materials, including bonuses of:
Phantom Intentions from the Brelshaza Legion Raid
Empyrean of Contemplation from the Kayangel Abyssal Dungeon
Eye of Decay from the Akkan Legion Raid
While the event is named after the Souleater, it can be used on any character, not just a Souleater. The Event will last until February 7, 2024.
Jump-Start Server Reconnection
In the November Update, we will be reconnecting Jump-Start Servers. When Jump-Start Servers are reconnected to their respective region, they will function like any other server, with the Auction House, Marketplace, PvE Matchmaking, and Party-Finder all available to play and interact with other players in that region. The Jump-Start Server progression events will continue as previously planned until December 13, 2023.
Voldis Prologue Quest
Prologue Quest for Voldis Added: "Madnick's Call".
Quest can be obtained from the NPC 'Shushire Mercenary' located at each city.
In Ereonnor, the quest can be obtained from the 'Transparent Mirror'.
The prerequisite quests for "Madnick's Call" are:
The 'Twilight Hill' World Quest in Pleccia
The 'Elpon' World Quest in Shushire
Events
The progression events that launched alongside the Aeromancer (the previous South Vern Powerpass, Super Mokoko Express Event, and Story Express Event) will draw to a close with this update. The Login Events & Hot Time Events have been refreshed.
Event Guardian Raid
The Event Guardian Raid continues with this update. Ancient Gold Coins (redeemable for Silver) have been added to the Event Guardian Raid shop as an outlet for players with excess Event Coins.
Daily Playtime Event
The Daily Playtime Event returns, which rewards players based on daily accumulated playtime. To be eligible, a player will need to have a character Combat Level 50 or higher, and have Trusted Status. Rewards will be given at 15min / 45min / 60min / 75min / 90min of playtime, and include valuable items such as silver, honing materials, card packs, and more!
Store Updates
Two new cosmetic collections arrive, along with exclusive Souleater cosmetics. Find the new collections showcased below.
Gothic Skins
Show your dark side with the new Goth skins. Heavy sigh and roll your eyes sitting on your Rose Throne Mount accompanied by the Nocturnal Cat. Don’t forget the Lone Prairie wallpaper, so your scenery can be as empty as your soul.
Song of Adventure Skins
The Korean fourth Anniversary Skins arrive, along with the Vykas Pet and Dragon Mount. Slayer Skins have also been developed and added to the collection. Find them showcased here.
Souleater Exclusive Skins
Souleater Launch Skins arrive with two color variations, along with the Epic and Legendary Leap Yoz’s Jar Skins. Find the launch skins and Legendary Leap skins showcased below.
The Souleater arrives in Arkesia next week on November 15, accompanied by progression events to help players quickly level up. Learn about the Souleater’s abilities, engravings, and progression events below. The Souleater – the Master of Specters – is an Assassin subclass who wields a giant scythe to collect her enemies’ souls. Souleater can choose to attack in three different ways: directly with the scythe, by summoning the dead, or with powerful Deathlord attacks.
PROGRESSION EVENTS
SOUTH VERN POWERPASS & SUPER MOKOKO EXPRESS EVENT
An Event South Vern Powerpass will release with the update for players to use until February 7, 2024. Pairing well with the South Vern Powerpass, players will be able to designate one character between Item Level 1415 and 1540 on their account to participate in the Super Mokoko Express Event, where they’ll have discounted honing rates, discounted gold requirements, and earn honing materials to quickly level up to Item Level 1540 and beyond. There’s also Combat Style Setting Support options for players to easily set skills and Engravings through presets, and get item support for accessories with relevant stats and Ability Stones. The designated character will earn valuable rewards as they level up, including Silver, honing materials, high level Gems, Engravings, and more!
The Super Mokoko Express Event also includes an Engraving Support system that lets players choose 5 engravings to be in effect at level 3 during the event. Here’s how to get started:
After selecting a Super Mokoko Express character, the Engraving Support button will light up.
Click the Engraving Support button to open the Engraving Support page and select your 5 desired Engravings.
Press the Activate Engraving Support button to start using their effects.
The effects of Engraving Support will also be shown in your Character Profile.
The Event will last until February 7, 2024.
PATH OF THE SOULEATER
A new progression arrives, built to progress a character quickly from 1540 to 1580. This special event includes:
A Gear Honing Support Effect applied when honing Brelshaza Ancient Gear from 1540 to 1580 that decreases the amount of gold and materials needed to hone along with increased honing rates.
2x Artisan’s Energy when honing Brelshaza Ancient Gear from 1540 to 1580.
Rewards every 10 Item Levels from 1540 to 1580, with a particularly valuable reward at 1580.
Special Missions to earn additional Raid & Abyssal Dungeon materials.
While the event is named after the Souleater, it can be used on any character between 1540 and 1580, not just a Souleater. The Event will last until February 7, 2024. Stay tuned for next week’s release notes for a more in-depth look at the new event.
SOULEATER CLASS DETAILS
IDENTITY - DEATHLORD MODE
Depending on the skill used, the Souleater gains Soul Stones or fills the Possession Meter with each successful attack. In normal mode, you can spend Soul Stones to use Deathlord skills. When the Possession Meter is full, the Souleater can enter Deathlord Mode. In the "Deathlord Mode," you can apply a powerful buff to yourself and use the Deathlord skill 3 times without consuming Soul Stones.
ENGRAVINGS
Full Moon Harvester Crit Rate +3/8/14%. Upon using Soul Stone, recover Possession Meter by 5%. Upon entering while in Deathlord Mode, the cooldown of Deathlord Skills resets and Deathlord Skills's Damage while in Deathlord Mode +5/10/15%, Deathlord Skills's cooldown -50/60/70%. Night's Edge Possession Meter turns into Edge Meter, disabling Deathlord Mode. Edge Meter increases upon using Deathlord Skills. When the Edge Meter is full, Deathlord Skills are disabled for 12s, but Ghast Skills are enhanced. Using Deathlord Skills does not consume Soul Stones. However, upon gathering 3 Soul Stones, instead of consuming all, the enhanced Deathlord Skills are used. Ghast and Deathlord Skills's Damage +20/30/40%. Additionally, the enhanced Deathlord Skills's Damage +25/35/50%.
SKILLS
Ghast Skills
Harvest - Strike with your dagger quickly empowered by the Ghast, inflicting Damage.
Lunatic Edge - Move 6 meters forward, inflicting Damage. Use the skill again to move 1 meter, inflicting Damage.
Rusted Nail - Move 3 meters, inflicting Damage. Use the skill again to move 2 meters in the direction of the mouse. Inflicts Damage with a powerful upward swing.
Thrashing - Throw the scythe like a boomerang and inflict Damage 2 times to foes in the path of trajectory. Use the skill again to throw another scythe and inflict Damage 2 times to foes in the path of trajectory.
Ghost Step - Quickly swing the scythe 6m forward and inflict Damage knocking back foes.
Lethal Spinning - Move quickly right and left heading forward while swinging the scythe. Inflict Damage 8 times and pull foes close.
Stygian Skills
Gluttony - Summon a Predator Spirit to the front. Inflict Damage and launch foes into the air. Jump into the air and swing the scythe down again inflicting Damage and knocking foes back.
Death Order - Summon a Dead Assaulter 10 meters within target location. Assaulters charge the target location and each inflicts Damage and launch foes into the air.
Spectral Coffin - Summon the coffin of the dead from the underground and inflict Damage to foes in front and push them back.
Astaros - Summon Inner Demon Astaros and charge it towards the foes inflicting Damage and knock them away.
Soul Drain - Absorb the energy of the dead and pull foes close for 1s and inflict Damage 5 times. Then release the energy of the dead and inflict Damage and pushes foes back. You can change the direction while using this skill.
Death Yard - Gather the wandering souls of the dead and emit them forward inflicting Damage 2 times. Use the skill again for a stronger emission inflicting Damage 2 times.
Deathlord Skills
Reaper's Scythe - Channel the Deathlord's power into the scythe to inflict Damage and knock down the foes. On Deathlord Mode, Deathlord appears and attacks with greater power inflicting Damage and knocks down foes.
Death Slash - Erupts the condensed souls of the dead with the Deathlord's power and inflicts Damage 4 times. It then explodes for Damage and knocks down foes. On Deathlord Mode, the caster is suspended in air with the Deathlord and inflicts Damage 4 times. The Deathlord personally cuts the condensed souls of the dead and explodes it for Damage and knocks down foes.
Guillotine Swing - The Scythe of Destruction sweeps across within max 12 meters of the mouse location and inflicts Damage to knocks foes away. On Deathlord Mode, an even more powerful Deathlord scythe is dropped on foes inflicting Damage to knock them away.
Vestige - Uses the Deathlord's power to momentarily pierce through foes to inflict Damage 4 times. On Deathlord Mode, attacks with the Deathlord inflict Damage 4 times. The attack avoids Collision with adventurers and Guardians.
AWAKENING SKILLS
Deathbringer - Gathers a great power and swings the scythe forward alternating with the Deathlord. Inflicts Damage 4 times. After alternating Damage 4 times, smashes the front and inflicts Damage and knocks down foes.
The End - Call upon the Deathlord in darkness and inflict Damage to foes, then gather energy from lost souls to pull foes close, inflicting Damage 7 times. When all souls are gathered, they are severed to inflict Damage and knock foes down.
The Souleater and progression events aren’t all we have planned for the November Update— a batch of quality of life changes and exciting skins will arrive too! Stay tuned to PlayLostArk.com and our social media channels for the full list of updates in next week's Release Notes. Until then, we'll see you in Arkesia.
Behind the Scenes: Developing Horror Bosses
Heroes of Arkesia,
From the pumpkin-headed Willi-Willi boss in Luterra— formed from the vengeful spirits of fallen soldiers combining into a single entity bent on revenge— to the beautiful and mysterious Countess Ezrebet (who harvests energy from her party guests in the eventual preparation that the ‘beings from the beginning of time’ that she worships descend upon Arkesia), there are dozens, if not hundreds, of unique and horrifying enemies of all types in Lost Ark.
Of all the specially crafted horror bosses in Lost Ark, Akkan is one of the most iconic. Drawing from and combining many classic horror elements along with twists and themes unique to Lost Ark, a monumental amount of work was put into designing the Plague Legion Commander, the Akkan Legion Raid, and the character’s lore and backstory. Join the creators of Akkan at Smilegate RPG for a look behind the scenes at how many different teams worked together to develop a compelling and horrifying enemy. Below you’ll find lore, stories, and quotes directly from the creators of Akkan. Happy Halloween!
Design Team - Creating Akkan
Background & Lore
While always an extremely cunning Demon, Akkan was originally vanquished by Kadan during the Chain War. Later resurrected with the help of Thaemine, he bears a deep hatred for the Sidereals that killed him and seeks revenge.
Akkan is obsessed with living bodies, so he plasters himself with the flesh of living beings. Because the skin is not his and that his powers stemming from the Plague domain, the flesh covering Akkan rots. His obsession led him to devour all life from the endless abyss, and in the process, he destroyed the dark star of Petrania (one of four prominent regions of Petrania). This earned his title as Lord of Kartheon.
But why is Akkan so obsessed with life?
Akkan had an imperfect body from birth. He was born on the edge between life and death. Due to this nature, he elongated his life and earned his powers of decay by hunting his fellow demons for their flesh and blood. His endless devouring of life also allowed him to create life (the undead), which gained Kazeros's attention. Kazeros named Akkan the Lord of Corruption and Decay, and made him a Legion Commander. Akkan is Kazeros' most loyal servant, alongside Brelshaza.
Akkan resurrected Valtan, who was initially killed by Adventurers in Luterra. They are also in a 'Note from a Dear Friend' Card Effect Set together. At first, they were not that close. But upon Valtan's death, Akkan became interested in him as the Lord of Corruption and Decay, not to mention the commander of spirits. Akkan sewed Valtan's torn spirit together to bring him back to life.
Attacks & Weapons
Akkan uses incantations to debuff enemies, creates plague fields (aoe attacks), and can both create and control infected living creatures (humans, plants, animals) to spread disease. For physical attacks, he wields Atlox. Atlox is Akkan’s gigantic scythe. The scythe type weapon is selected for Akkan, as it has life-reaping-reaper motif to it. Alongside Atlox, Akkan wields a Lantern, which is actually Akkan's eye.
Appearance
Originally, the designers wanted to make him look dry and bony as to symbolize barren/lifeless nature of Akkan. Ironically, Akkan is full of resilient life as he keeps resurrecting even when only a chunk of his body remains on earth. His main color theme is green to represent disease. Because his powers are disease itself, and because he keeps resurrecting, his body is grotesque. His flesh is rotting and pale with nasty green pustules hinting at the disease residing in him. As he was resurrected in an imperfect fashion, his heart is exposed.
Raid Concept
Overall Concept: “The dying city with disease and contamination.”
Ever since Akkan brought Corruption and Decay to the city, the city began to rot. Adventurers journey to this city in order to bring back life to this dying place by defeating Akkan.
Akkan, after recovering his body, seized the city to sacrifice its people as materials needed to resurrect Kazeros. He plans to do this by first flooding the city to spread his disease easily. Akkan also created Red Moon, a vessel to absorb and store energy of humans that are infected with disease. The Red Moon grows larger, and twitches as it collects nutritious energy from the city dwellers.
In Gate 1, the city is being submerged due to Akkan, who is flooding the city so that the disease will spread easily. The floor will continue to submerge during the raid, forcing players to evacuate to safe zones.
In Gate 2 the city is being twisted. The city jail building is floating mid-air as a result. The monsters (once humans) locked behind the bars appear as enemies. The Red Moon, created by Akkan with human sacrifice, now appears at the background.
In Gate 3 (Hard) Akkan summons the execution place, a stage which symbolizes Akkan's insides. The Huge scythe is placed there as a landmark, and the ever growing Red Moon is at the background.
Concept Team - Changing Akkan’s Appearance
One design feat that the concept team needed to accomplish was changing Akkan’s appearance during live service for Lost Ark. Akkan had seen a design change for quality polishing and to fit the combat styles in Legion Raid. Akkan existed in-game from the start (In the Gunner class tutorial), and his story was already developed. Later, when Smilegate RPG was creating the Legion Raid content of Akkan, some of his appearance changed to better fit the developed combat styles, and from a desire to make Akkan look like a “King of Death” in his strongest form. To accomplish this, the team added the following changes:
Akkan's Eye was first placed in Atlox, but was later moved to the Lantern.
The green them was bright green at first but it seemed too bright and energetic for a King of Death (looked almost magical), thus the green light was toned down.
Akkan's exposed heart got emphasized as he was brought back to life again.
Overall, Smilegate RPG wanted to make Akkan more 'rotted' but powerful. The first concept looks frail/too zombie-like, while the final version is more well-built.
Server Team - Akkan Horror Stories
"Which one will die first? Server or Legion Commander?" Generally, when it comes to any Legion Raid Updates, the Smilegate RPG Server Teams are always on alert until the first raid clear occurs. They worry if the server may crash/die due to the Raid, as there are new systems developed for each raid that may impact the servers. Luckily no server crashes or major issues requiring on-spot emergency maintenance have happened so far, including during the recent release of Thaemine in Korea. Still, the Smilegate RPG Server Teams always wait in horror in the case of a “server doomsday” due to major Legion Raid Updates.
The Server Team also takes a crucial role in creating Legion Raids. Interesting combat gimmicks may not have existed if it were not for their hard work. The Akkan Legion Raid has some combat gimmicks that required unprecedented (in Lost Ark) server side developments, which presented horrors and challenges to the Team.
Gate 1 is known for its time-attack/drown mechanism. While the mechanism brilliantly fits that concept, the system needed for this mechanic was a challenge. There were many issues regarding the timing of water flooding.
The Pillar (infamous mechanic from the last gate) also required new development of course, and also another reason of Server Team's internal horror.
The scariest story was perhaps when the Hidden Sidereal feature was first introduced in Akkan. To make hidden Sidereal cutscenes appear at the right timing while corresponding with certain events was a challenge. This unprecedented development led to major issues that required the Server Team to hardcode some features up until the last minute. The last minute is quite literal — as they stayed up until 5am to fix the issues— an hour away from the update going live in Korea. Of course, the issues were properly handled later to replace the temporary hardcode.
Designing the Soundtracks of Akkan
Below you’ll find stories and quotes directly from Smilegate RPG’s Sound Team, looking into the creation of Akkan's main musical themes. The music captures more than the Legion Commander's concept. Listen and learn how the team developed the iconic soundtrack.
Lord of Degradation Akkan (G2)
You can hear this soundtrack when you first encounter Akkan during the Akkan Legion Raid. As this is the first raid encounter music for Akkan, we wanted to make it as a powerful introduction to highlight the first encounter with Akkan in the raid.
The main internal keywords for this soundtrack are "Lord of Decay, horror, action, grotesque". We were captivated from Akkan, who is the lord of decay and death. Graphic designs of the raid location, Akkan, and his legion army inspired us while making this soundtrack. Akkan's concept that he greedily absorbs beings that he kills for his evil powers was also a huge inspiration for us. We wanted to translate the horror and despair caused by his grotesque twistedness and evil concept into this piece. We did this by adding sounds that resembled desperate screams and cries from Akkan's victims, those who were once human if not for Akkan.
Thus, we completed a song that is both heavy and desperate. The heavy feel was intended to represent Akkan's high position as a Legion Commander, while using 'Bulgarian Choir' technique along with orchestra to create terrible screams of despair.
Plague Legion Commander Akkan (G3)
The first idea that struck the team was a mash of orchestra, Bulgarian Choir, and heavy metal. We felt that heavy metal could embody action-oriented gameplay in a hellfire-ish environment very well, making the whole gameplay more immersive.
Just like 'Lord of Degradation Akkan' soundtrack, we depicted the sound of victims' screams, and Akkan's incantations with Bulgarian Choir along with orchestra to raise the tension. As the music develops to the mid-phase, heavy metal hits hard. The highlight-heavy metal part introduces solid drums and guitar to make the combat more immersive and intense. Heavy metal hits when the area destruction takes place and endless waves of demons arrive to emphasize the tense, scary emotions that the players will feel as they can die in a blink of an eye, if they are not careful.
Lord of Kartheon Akkan (G3 Hardmode Only Phase)
We wanted to not only make this song a boss combat theme, but also represent the players in this soundtrack. This is where players face Akkan for the last time, and Akkan will be in his giant form unlike previous gates. We wanted to depict this sense of gigantic scale in the music. We focused on the grotesqueness of Akkan's giant form, and pressure of facing Akkan in small, enclosed environment. The players, of course, will be at the brink of exhaustion by the time they face Akkan here. While still keeping in mind that we want to depict the intense battle with demon in the music, we wanted to add that feeling that "I" the player is a hero that is defeating the Demon Lord even while cornered.
Thank you for joining us for this special behind the scenes look at Akkan and what Smilegate RPG put into designing the horrifying and iconic enemies in Lost Ark. We hope you enjoyed and have a happy Halloween!
Introducing Tavern Talks with Roxx
Heroes of Arkesia,
Welcome to Tavern Talks with Roxx, a brand new series about all the fun things that can happen in a Lost Ark tavern. It's a variety show with segments that may include recaps, announcements, contests, and more! No two episodes will ever be identical, but the goal remains the same— have fun with the community.
On episode one, Community Manager Roxx honors the spooky season by telling scary stories from the community, talks about the Pleccia drama, introduces you to Tim Granich (Sr. Product Marketing Manager) to play a quick round of rapid fire, shares some trivia, and finally opens the mailbag where the community’s questions are answered. Watch now!
Heading forward, every episode will be a little different and we want to hear your ideas for upcoming features.
October 25 Release Notes
Heroes of Arkesia,
The Chaos Gate revamp arrives during the weekly maintenance on October 25. Downtime will begin on October 25 at 2AM PDT (9AM UTC) and is expected to last 4 hours.
Chaos Gate Revamp
The new Chaos Gate is a combination of Chaos Gates, Ghost Ships, and Treasure Map content. Chaos Gates will now consist of countless demons in consecutive waves, and 3 bosses. Defeating each boss will grant players with combat buffs that increases attack speed and decreases cooldowns. There’s also a chance that a special hidden boss will appear after defeating the last boss! No player stat adjustments will be applied, and the difficulty will depend on Item Level and the number of participants. Like the original Chaos Gates, one of the Demon Legions will appear:
Darkness Legion: During the boss battle, orbs that grant darkness debuffs will appear regularly.
Phantom Legion: During the boss battle, orbs that debuff player damage will appear regularly.
Plague Legion: During the boss battle, insects that debuff players' movement speed will appear regularly.
Mayhem Legion: During the boss battle, Grotesque Doll that gives a flame debuff will appear.
Entrance & Matchmaking
Players can enter from each continent by interacting with the gate. Interacting with gate will make the entry UI pop-up on the player’s screen.
Matchmaking is by region, and the required number of players is a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 16.
Players can also enter Chaos Gates when already in a party.
Content resets at 10AM, just like other content that resets.
Rewards
Honor Shards, Honing Support Materials, Legendary Engraving Recipe, Cards (XP cards, random card packs), Gems, Gold/Silver
There’s a small chance that the Hidden Boss will appear randomly with special rewards.
Chaos Gate General Updates
Some Mokoko Challenge Missions regarding Ghost Ships and legacy Chaos Gates were replaced.
Some Achievements have been categorized as 'Unavailable'.
Some Achievements' conditions have been changed.
Chaos Gate alarm set in the Calendar/Timer will be reset.
Information about the continent where Chaos Gate appear will be added to the Calendar/Timer .
Content List and Content Guide UI information regarding Chaos Gate, including content guide and main rewards, has been updated accordingly.
Exclusive passive skills 'Fighter' in Eibern's Wound crew 'Berald', 'Janes will be removed
'Berald' in Eibern's Wound will now have a new skill. The new skill will be from level 1-3 skills based on the crew grade. The new skill effect: Ship speed will increase in Sea of the Dead & Fast Sailing Meter will increase based on sailing length accumulated (the effect does not stack).
Codex will no longer list where Ghost Ship and Secret Map items can be obtained.
Ghost Ship related Guild/Co-Op Quests will be removed.
Ghost Shop related Una's Quest will be modified from clearing Ghost Ships to 'Go to Dead Waters'.
Ghost Ship related quest summary will be modified.
Partial quests conducted in Yudia will be modified. Achera the Leader of the Whitesand Bandits will not drop the 'Paper Dropped by Achera' item anymore. Zarka's lines will be altered accordingly.
October Twitch Drop
Heroes of Arkesia,
A Halloween inspired Twitch Drop accompanies the Monster Bash Update, available for members of the Lost Ark Creator Program to enable on their channel. There are three tiers for this special drop.
Tier 1 (4 hours)- A Halloween Candy Bag that includes:
Halloween Soda Candy x3 - Sweet soda flavored Halloween candy. On use, Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence +3,000. Combat Resource Natural Recovery +24%. Atk. Speed +2%
Halloween Strawberry Candy x3 - Sweet strawberry flavored Halloween candy. On use, Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence +6,000. Crit Rate +1%.
Halloween Twin Candy x3- Sweet Halloween twin candy. On use, Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence +3000. Vitality +4,500. Move Speed +3%.
Tier 2 (2 hours) Legendary Rapport Selection Chest x3
Make sure to head over to Twitch and watch your favorite Lost Ark content creators to earn the drops before they end on November 7. Full instructions on account linking and claiming can be found on our Twitch Drops page.
October Monster Bash Update
Heroes of Arkesia,
The October “Monster Bash” Update arrives in Arkesia tomorrow. Downtime will begin on October 11 at 2AM PDT (9 AM UTC) and is expected to last 4 hours. October brings a new continent, Trial Guardian, events, and more! Henry is also back with Episode 3 of “Patchnotes with Henry” for any players looking for a video explanation and visual showcase.
Let us know on YouTube if you enjoy this type of content from our team and would like to see more heading forward. Want all the details? Find the full list of content, events, skins, and other updates below!
Spotlight
New Continent - Pleccia
Pleccia is a new continent that players over Item Level 1475 will be able to visit. To begin the new questline, players will also need to complete the “Call of Destiny" Main Story Quest. Pleccia is a continent of romance, art, and freedom. Players can enjoy the fantastic view of Pleccia Port and Prehilia Prairie, and interact with unique NPCs including the Vediches, Yoz illusionists, and more. The story of Pleccia begins in Luterra - with rumors of strange things happening in the beautiful continent. Players must solve the mysteries surrounding the Vediche family, the priests of Sacria, and look into Armen’s memories to reach the end of the story. After the story has ended, players can search for a unique set of collectible items to receive special rewards, and look for hidden achievements unlockable only in Pleccia.
There's no Adventurer's Tome, Field Boss, or Chaos Gates available in Pleccia, but there are Mokoko Seeds, a Wandering Merchant, Cards, and Viewpoints. To accompany Pleccia, the following have been added:
Pleccia Una's Quests & Regular Quests added
Pleccia Guide Quest added
New Emote ‘Turn’ added
Pleccia Collectibles unlocked
Pleccia Rapport NPC added
Pleccia Wandering Merchant Pedro added
34 new Achievements
2 new Titles
6 new Cards
2 new Card Book sets
Trial Caliligos Guardian Raid
Caliligos is the master of lightning, commanding blue lightning to bring his enemies to their knees. His wings are as swift as wind, and the power of blue thunderbolts concentrate in his horn, sharper than any spear, to pierce the hearts of his enemies. As a ruler of the skies, he was worshipped in the past as a god. But Caliligos is no god— he’s a cruel ruler of the sky and a ruthless Guardian.
A challenging experience akin to the Inferno difficulty of Legion Raids, the Caliligos Trial Guardian Raid can only be entered after setting up your build through the 'Book of Coordination', completing Raid Level 1: Defeat Vertus, and reaching Item Level 1250. Trial Guardian Raids apply 'Scale of Harmony', meaning your Attack Power, Hit Points, Defenses and Combat Stats are scaled to simulate an appropriate difficulty level. If defeated, prestigious rewards of a Trophy (Thunderproof) and a Legendary Title (Thunderstrike) will be earned by the vanquishing party to celebrate their hard-fought victory. In total, 2 new Achievements, 2 new Titles, and a new Trophy have all been added.
The Caliligos Trial Guardian Raid displays the first clear in the region and fastest clear time on a leaderboard. With an inevitable competition brewing for those coveted slots, we will be opening the raid simultaneously at a more friendly time for all regions on Saturday, October 14 at 7PM UTC (12PM PT, 9PM CEST) to let as many players as possible participate in the competition.
New Runes will be added for use in Book of Coordination to support this (and other) raids.
Legendary Quick Recharge Skill Rune
Legendary Galewind Skill Rune
Events
The Blooming Mokoko / Arktoberfest, and Daily Log-in Events will end with the October Update.
Event Guardian Raid
Event Guardians return to Arkesia! Enjoy a fun twist on Guardian Raids, where you’ll hunt down Guardians (alone or with a group) in an arena with the Scale of Balance applied. To enter, you will need to be Combat Level 50 or above and Item Level 250 or above. Your goal is to attack the Event Guardian and meet certain conditions to cause it to drop buffs, which stack up to three times. The buffs will increase your damage output by a colossal amount. After defeating all the Guardians, tokens will drop in a rewards chest, which can be claimed once per day per character.
Tokens from Event Guardians can be spent at an event vendor, who has a variety of valuable and spooky seasonal Halloween rewards that can be earned! Special event feast items will be available during the event. The event will last until the December Update.
Jump-Start Shining Harvest Event
Brelshaza clear missions added to the Jump-Start exclusive Mokoko's Shining Harvest Event. Players who complete the missions will earn gear quality upgrade rewards!
Gear Quality Upgrade Ticket (Weapon) x 10
Gear Quality Upgrade Ticket (Armor) x 30
General
Refreshed the monthly Log-in Reward Track and Hot Time Events.
Added 2 new Female and 2 new Male hairstyles for character customization.
Added 1 New Preset for Male Warrior customization.
Players can now upgrade their Gear Set Effect from Level 1 to Level 3. If a player doesn’t have 'Mayhem Horns', but has enough 'Empyrean of Contemplation', it is possible to upgrade from Level 1 to 3, bypassing Level 2.
Thirain Rapport “Waiting for the Ball' Quest Step completion requirement has changed. Currently players need to use Emote: Blow a Kiss. After the update, players will need to use Emote: Turn. The Emote: Turn is a reward from the Pleccia main quest.
Added 15 new Jukebox songs.
Chaos Gate Revamp
The Chaos Gate revamp that combines Chaos Gates, Ghost Ship, and Treasure Map content is planned to arrive during weekly maintenance on October 25, as the teams at Smilegate RPG are still working on perfecting the adjustments. We’ll share more details leading up to the weekly update.
Store Updates
It’s spooky season and we have the skins to prove it. Dress up as witches and demons or pick up weapons guaranteed to scare your enemies. Find the Overlord and Witch Skins along with the Little Ghost Pet showcased below.
Notable Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where Machinist Drone Skills were not traveling towards the cursor when using a controller.
October Update Announcement
Heroes of Arkesia,
The October Update arrives in Arkesia next week, on October 11. To ensure players had time to prepare for the new content arriving, we wanted to share the Item Level requirements and other prerequisites for the new continent and Trial Guardian Raid.
PLECCIA
Pleccia is a new continent that players over Item Level 1475 will be able to visit. To begin the new questline, players will also need to complete the “Call of Destiny" quest. Pleccia is a continent of romance, art, and freedom. Players can enjoy the fantastic view of Pleccia Port and Prehilia Prairie, and interact with unique NPCs including the Vediches, Yoz illusionists, and more.
The story of Pleccia begins in Luterra - with rumors of strange things happening in the beautiful continent. Players must solve the mysteries surrounding the Vediche family, the priests of Sacria, and an old friend to reach the end of the story. After the story has ended, players can search for a unique set of collectible items to receive special rewards, and look for hidden achievements unlockable only in Pleccia.
CALILIGOS TRIAL GUARDIAN RAID
A challenging experience akin to the Inferno difficulty of Legion Raids, the Caliligos Trial Guardian Raid can only be entered after setting up your build through the 'Book of Coordination', completing Raid Level 1: Defeat Vertus, and reaching Item Level 1250. If defeated, prestigious rewards of achievements and a Legendary Title will be earned by the vanquishing party to celebrate their hard-fought victory.
The Caliligos Trial Guardian Raid displays the first clear in the region and fastest clear time on a leaderboard. With an inevitable competition brewing for those coveted slots, we will be opening the raid simultaneously at a more friendly time for all regions on Saturday, October 14 at 7PM UTC (12PM PT, 9PM CEST) to let as many players as possible participate in the competition.
Stay tuned for the full release notes next week! In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia.
