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HEROES OF ARKESIA,
The summer heat brings new challenges. The Kazeros Raid Act 1 Extreme will push your raid party to the limit across three escalating difficulty tiers. Solo Mode expands to Kazeros Raid Act 4 and the Denouement, and a new Matchmaking Mode lets you tackle Serca at a reduced difficulty with dynamic party scaling. Paradise Season 4 begins, the Summer Night Festival kicks off on Arkesia's shores, and a collection of summer cosmetics arrives in the store.
Downtime will begin on July 15 at 12 AM PT (7 AM UTC) and is expected to last 6 hours. Read on for the full list of new content, events, store offerings, and other changes here.
We have a few things to share as we head into the July update.
The Kazeros Challenge Express, Twilight Road, Twilight Exchange Shop, and Mokoko Bootcamp will be ending on August 19, earlier than the original September 16 end date. This adjustment is being made to accommodate the server merge planned for August. If you're still working through any of these events, make sure to wrap up before maintenance on 8/19.
Support events won't be gone for long as September will bring new progression support, including Base Camp.
As shared in the roadmap, a server merge is coming in August. This is different than a region merge and we will only be consolidating worlds inside each region. The goal is to consolidate the player population within each region so open-world content like Field Bosses, Chaos Gates, and general channel activity feels more populated. We'll share specific details on timing, affected servers, and what to expect closer to the date.
We've seen the positive response to the solo mode and matchmaking announcements from the roadmap. Serca Matchmaking Mode arrives with the July update, and Solo Mode for Act 4 and Denouement is coming alongside it. We're paying attention to how these land and will continue expanding accessible options based on your feedback.
We've been watching the data on Horizon Cathedral since it opened and reading your feedback on difficulty, disconnect handling, and the reward structure. Nothing specific to announce today, but it's being tracked.
Without spoiling everything in July's release notes, here are a few QoL improvements coming with the update:
Ark Grid Astrogem Auto Equip — A new auto equip function for Astrogems, saving you the hassle of manually slotting them.
Card Set Auto Equip — Automatically equips the card set matching the required Elemental Attribute for each raid.
Recommended Skill for Ark Grid — The recommended skill system now includes Ark Grid configurations.
Submissions for the 2026 Community Emote Design Competition are open! We're already seeing great entries come in. If you haven't submitted yet, the deadline is July 6 and voting starts July 8. Check the #2026-emote-contest-entries channel on Discord to enter or browse what others have created.
If anything in this article is news to you, you can catch up with our Roadmap Part 3 article here.
Thanks for your support. See you in the Summer of Extremes on July 15!
Heroes of Arkesia,
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.
You can enter your submissions to the emote contest through the official Lost Ark Discord by creating a post in the 2026 Emote Contest section of Discord (#2026-emote-contest-entries) with the image of your artwork attached. Submissions will be accepted from June 15 until July 6. Once we select 10 finalists, the Lost Ark community will vote on their favorites using reactions in Discord from July 8 through 13.
The top 5 most popular emotes will get added to the game for everyone to use as part of 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.
Submission requirements include:
A JPG or PNG under 25mb
Ideal emote size is 500x500 at 300 DPI.
Submission emotes need to be static images with transparent backgrounds unless there are intentional design decisions requiring a background color.
Submissions must include character name and server name of the player submitting.
Art must be original and cannot use AI.
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.
If you're unable to find the 2026 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.
We're excited to see what the community submits! Don't forget to enter your emote submissions before the July 6 deadline, and check back on July 8 to vote on your favorite finalists.
Watch some of your favorite Creators race through Corvus Tul Rat, Gate 2 Nightmare, spanning two days. Event starts June 12, 12 p.m. PT and day one will be hosted by Stoopzz. Day two on June 13, 12 p.m. PT will be hosted by Johnpal.
Whether you tune in for the triumphs or failures, you'll receive Twitch Drop rewards for watching the event. Who will you be cheering for?
EU
NA
Hang out with Lost Ark Creators for 4 hours of cumulative watch time starting June 12 through July 4, 2026 to claim your rewards.
Arkesian Arsenal II
Collective Battle Item Selection Chest × 10
Delight Legendary - Rare Card Pack × 5
Joyful Legendary - Epic Card Pack × 3
If you haven't done so already, make sure your Twitch account is linked to your Steam account. Twitch Drops will be delivered to your in-game mailbox after claiming.
Thanks for your support and we'll see you in Arkesia!
A new chapter begins. Uncharted islands have emerged from the mists, a forgotten cathedral holds new challenges, and a massive wave of progression events is here to help you and your friends gear up for what comes next.
This update introduces the Cadarum Isles, the Horizon Cathedral Abyssal Dungeon, the 2026 Global Exclusive cosmetics collection, a new Ark Pass, progression events, class balance adjustments, raid gold changes, and more.
Downtime will begin on June 10 at 12am PT (7am UTC) and is expected to last 6 hours. Read on for the full list of new content, events, store offerings, and other changes here.
Argos is back. The Holy Beast has been reimagined as a standalone frost-themed event encounter, and whether you cleared the original on day one or never got the chance, Snowflake Argos has something for you.
This update introduces the Snowflake Argos event alongside new Wandering Merchant cards to help prepare for the upcoming Horizon Cathedral Abyssal Raid, the return of the Golden Frog Event Shop, and more. Downtime will begin on May 13 at 12 AM (7AM UTC) and is expected to last 7 hours. Read on for the full list of new content, events, store offerings, and other changes here.
Heroes of Arkesia,
We caught up with Smilegate to learn what went into creating the new Shadow Raid experience.After the fall of Kazeros, the Primordial Beings have begun to stir. Serca, the Witch of Pain, makes her debut in Arkesia. Shadow Raids introduce three new mechanics that will change how players interact with raid combat: the brawl system, shadow skills and a shared resurrection pool.
The Primordial Beings are entities that exist in endless deficiency, parasitizing others by wearing their appearances. The drastic transformation in appearance from Serca to Corvus Tul Rak was the very first attempt to visually convey the deceptive nature of these Primordial Beings.
Serca's design was inspired by witches that appear in "grim fairy tales." One of the key design principles for her appearance was to retain the archetypal visual traits of a witch, while also including elements that would spark curiosity from the player's perspective. For example: "Why is she wearing such a large hat?" "Why is her hair so long?" "Why are her hands golden?" We believed that curiosity would naturally lead to interest in the character, and that such interest could ultimately be perceived as charm.
With that in mind, we made sure to clearly express the elements that were intentionally designed, while excluding additional decorative elements. As a result, the character's appearance became more intuitive; her appeal stood out more strongly, and she came to resemble an alluring host whose body the Primordial Being had taken over.
Because Serca had the appearance of a witch, we naturally felt that Corvus Tul Rak should take on a form that would appropriately correspond to that. This led us to begin with the appearance of a raven. Initially, we considered a sturdier, more solid bipedal form. However, given Shadow Raid's defining characteristics—dark fantasy aesthetics and the transition from a beautiful humanoid form to the true monstrosity—we felt there needed to be a much stronger visual contrast, and thus decided to revise the design.
From the hunched spine, bent under countless eons endured since the dawn of time, to multiple pairs of thin arms, tattered garments, and grotesquely twisted dead branches, we combined these elements in an effort to express the horror and discomfort befitting the Primordial Beings.
Once the character was brought to life through actual modeling, the dark background in which the Primordial Being appears, combined with Corvus's voice howling as if it might tear apart, finally made it feel as though the intended atmosphere had been fully realized.
Looking ahead, as a foundational step in establishing the identity of the Primordial Beings that players will encounter in future Shadow Raids—entities that are far beyond imagination—this felt like a very solid beginning.
One of the biggest differences between the Korean and Global versions of Shadow Raid: Serca lies in the rewards. In the Global version, players can obtain Agony Thorn even in Normal Mode. This is the most significant change compared to Korea, where Agony Thorn was only available in Hard Mode or Nightmare difficulty.
Since the release of the Kazeros Raid, we've continued to receive feedback from global players about the reward gap between Normal and Hard modes. Advancing Advanced Honing to level 20 required clearing Overture Hard difficulty, and many players expressed fatigue over having to learn new mechanics and compete for party slots just to progress. Because rewards differed between modes, all players had to learn and play both in order to continue their character progression.
To address this, we've introduced Fragmented Agony Thorn which can only be obtained through Normal Mode. Players can exchange Fragmented Agony Thorn for Agony Thorn and honing materials. Those who prefer to progress at their own pace on a lower difficulty will now be able to obtain Agony Thorn through Normal Mode and proceed with gear inheritance accordingly.
For this Shadow Raid, Frontier Mode will not be applied. Frontier Mode was introduced in the Global environment to provide more dynamic difficulty scaling. Normal Mode offered an easier clear experience, while Hard Mode became easier over time. However, Frontier Mode also came with its own drawbacks: overly shortened combat time, battles lacking tension, and gatekeeping caused by limited-time titles.
Shadow Raid: Serca will be offered with three total difficulty tiers. Players can choose Normal Mode for comfortable and fast progression or select Nightmare Mode for a more intense combat experience. While there are slight reward differences for each mode, all players will be able to progress at a pace that suits them.
For those who seek the ultimate challenge (like The First) Nightmare Mode will allow players to test the limits of their character's growth and control. Since Frontier Mode isn't applied this time, no Frontier titles will be provided. The Doloris title, available in Korean service as a first-week Nightmare clear reward, will be available globally for players seeking the ultimate challenge during launch week.
Finally, to coincide with the release of Shadow Raid: Serca, we've prepared an event shop for both new adventurers and those honing new equipment. Through the shop, players can obtain Astrogems, cards, and Advanced Honing materials, along with newly added T4-2 honing materials. For players who have recently expressed shortages of Silver, we've added significantly stronger Silver rewards compared to previous event shops. We recognize that the Global environment has more Silver-consuming systems, and we'll continue our efforts to alleviate that burden.
Event feast ingredients will also be added with the new raid release. We hope this will help many Lords facilitate communication and cooperation with fellow adventurers taking on the challenge.
When we began planning the music for Shadow Raid, we spent a great deal of time contemplating the question: "What exactly is Dark Fantasy?" When people hear the word "fantasy," they often think of something bright and mystical. But once the word "dark" is added, we felt it required something paradoxically contrasting—something that could be explained through multiple facets. With that in mind, we focused on depicting the process of a once benevolent being gradually collapsing and transforming into a monster
The past nobility, expressed through medieval instruments, slowly crumbles through unstable arrangements, chromatic movement, and distorted harmony. Elegant waltzes coexist with brutal imagery, and by the second gate, the music resolves not into overwhelming evil, but into a being filled with sorrow and emptiness. Our goal was to paint a world where beauty and cruelty, fear and compassion are all intertwined.
For Gate 1: Serca, we sought to musically portray the process through which Serca—who once possessed golden hands capable of healing the sick—falls into corruption. When her primary theme melody is first introduced, medieval instruments such as the organ and harpsichord are used to express her past. As the piece progresses, the theme is rearranged and transformed through a variety of instruments, depicting the emotional turbulence and corruption she undergoes. From 1 minute and 40 seconds onward, the music begins to fully illustrate the process of Serca being consumed by the shadows. Whispers emerge from all directions as she gradually loses her sanity, while chromatic progressions rising from the lower register describe the tense moment just before she's completely devoured. The waltz climax that follows was composed while imagining Serca laughing madly, dancing atop the tortured corpses of the dead.
For Gate 2: Corvus Tul Rak, we aimed to express the chaotic nature of the true form through music, clearly differentiating it from the beautiful outer shell of Serca. Unlike Serca's music, which firmly presented its theme within the key of D minor, Corvus Tul Rak's music deliberately incorporates extensive chromatic elements and avoids conventionally expected harmonic progressions to obscure its tonal center. After the one-minute mark, the cello melody and choir that emerge were composed with less focus on fear or overwhelming dominance, and with more emphasis on expressing the sorrow and gloom inherent within its true form. We felt, Corvus Tul Rak's screams did not sound frightening—but, rather, deeply sorrowful
If you want to spoil the music ahead of time, you can click on the following links for the official background music uploaded to the KR Lost Ark official Youtube channel.
We can't wait for you to face Serca and uncover the terrifying truth behind her beautiful facade when Shadow Raid arrives on April 15th. Prepare yourselves, heroes—the Primordial Beings await.
The Shadows Rise and await your arrival.
This update features loads of new content, including the very first Shadow Raid - Serca, Witch Of Pain, new Tier 4 progression with Destined Tremor Gear, challenging solo content including Chaos Rift and Haal's Hourglass, Inanna's Blessing, and more. Downtime will begin on April 15 at 12 a.m. PT (7AM UTC) and is expected to last 5 hours. Read on for the full list of new content, events, store offerings, and other changes here.
Embark on an epic adventure across the continent of Arkesia with every step you take. Face overwhelming battles against the Abyss Lord, Kazeros, in intense combat that unfolds before your eyes. Experience Lost Ark in a stunning new dimension, fully realized in 3D. Version 4.1 coming soon.
Heroes of Arkesia,
We have a few topics we wanted to share updates on, so this team update will focus on weaving together items and thoughts for the next few months. Roxx will join you for Eye on Arkesia later this week to cover most of the major details for the March Update, but we will start off by discussing one additional update for March.
There will be a few changes coming for Paradise Season 3, which will be fully shared in the upcoming release notes. There is one update we wanted to provide some advanced notice for. We have decided to remove the 1580 Hell Keys from the Paradise system. With the introduction of Rimeria Powerpasses being given out to all players for progression events (taking players to the 1640 Hell Key bracket automatically), there are extremely few players even using 1580 Hell Keys. While the removal of this bracket will have a very small impact on participation in the system, we will still monitor and work to ensure that the removal of these Hell Keys won’t have negative effects on player progression.
We are planning an upcoming wave of server merges in May, and cannot have a Powerpass running during the merge. The merge will layer a few worlds into each other to consolidate the number of servers in both NA and EU regions. We’ll have more information and details as we head toward the merge, and will share the full policy closer to May, but wanted to mention it to give some advance notice.
Finally, on Friday, we shared a link to our latest Lost Ark survey. The responses we’ve received in past surveys has been instrumental and directly led to some major game changes. As an added bonus, we’ve set a community goal. If we receive 3,500 survey responses, we will share a code that all players can use on the website to claim a gift that includes:
Aura of Resonance Recovery Brew (14 d.) x2
Rest Bonus Recovery Brew (14 d.) x2
Collective Battle Item Selection Chest x3
Epic Hell Key of Destiny (Season 3) x1
We’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure to help the community reach the goal! The survey will run until Friday, March 6, and can be found here.
We’re excited for the March Update, which includes new events, new stories, and a new season of Paradise. Make sure to checkout our last team update if you want some additional information about the update, tune into Eye on Arkesia later this week, or the full release notes next week. In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia.
Happy Anniversary! This weekend will mark 4 years since the world of Arkesia launched in the early access window and many of our adventurers began their journeys. We planned a lot of special activities for this week, make sure to check out the 4th Anniversary Reward Guide for information about special Twitch Drops, Gifts, and more!
We wanted to give a quick follow-up on one issue we’ve been encountering since the update— the current block on Hell Keys. The issue is isolated to certain rewards in 1730 keys. We have removed the block on all other Hell Keys, but the block on 1730 keys will remain for the rest of the week, as we are targeting the weekly maintenance to fix the issue. We are going to give compensation to those that opened the 1730+ chests and didn't receive their rewards. The compensation will be equal to what the key would've provided in Gold, Honing Support, or Shards. We’re tracking a few other bugs after the update and are working on fixes for those as well. Thank you for your patience and support in the meantime.
It’s been an exceptionally fun week watching players progress with the new Guardianknight class, so we’ll leave you with a few fun facts for the first 48 hours post update.
16,821 Guardianknights awakened across Arkesia in just 48 hours.
We are seeing a mix of Guardianknights starting from scratch and using progression events. 10,001 Guardians have pushed past 1640+
Highest Item Level achieved: 1743.33
Average Item Level across 1640+ players: 1669.85
1,522 dedicated accounts have already declared their Guardianknights as their main character.
Total deaths recorded: 32,544
Top 3 locations:
Crucible - 12,174 deaths
Ataraxium, Temple of Joy (Echidna Hard Mode) - 6,696 deaths
The Pathless Lands - 2,396 deaths
Top deaths by type:
6,189 environmental deaths (fall damage, environmental hazards)
24,781 deaths to NPC bosses
We wish all these Guardianknights luck in the many more adventures to come!
From the excitement of last spring and summer with the introduction of Paradise to some low lows in defeat and high highs in victory against the Lord of the Abyss, it’s been an exciting and special year for Lost Ark. We appreciate the community’s ongoing passion and can’t wait to witness new journeys, stories, and player experiences in year 5 of Lost Ark. As always, we’ll see you in Arkesia, celebrating!
Two paid subscriptions (regular or gift) are required to receive the Argos Skin and Pet Selection Chest: Kakul Saydon.
If a gift subscription is purchased, the reward is granted to the person who paid for the subscription.
Renewing an existing subscription will also count toward the reward.
The subscription must be to any Creator who is broadcasting in the Lost Ark category during this campaign.
Free subscriptions, including through Amazon Prime, will not count toward this Twitch Drop.
4th Anniversary Skin Selection Chest (Event)
4th Anniversary Weapon Chest (Event)
Relic Combat Engraving Recipe Selection Pouch
Relic Core Selection Chest
Leap Legendary Card Selection Pack II
Rest Bonus Recovery Brew (30) x3
Aura of Resonance Recov. Brew (30) x3
Pheon x100
Epic Astrogem Selection Chest
Astrogem Processing Reset Ticket x3
Lofty Chaos Stone Selection Chest
We already had strong reference material and experience in designing powerful, destructive actions unique to long polearms. The halberd proved to be the perfect weapon to fully leverage that know-how, plus we were confident that this type of action would be fun and impactful.
The new Guardianknight class releases on February 4 as part of the Guardians’ Rage update, plus Lost Ark’s fourth anniversary celebration. Watch this month’s episode of Eye on Arkesia to learn more.
Whether you're a longtime player interested in a new playstyle or a returning player ready for a fresh adventure in Arkesia, the Guardianknight offers explosive, visually stunning combat that we can't wait for players to experience firsthand. Alongside quality of life changes are revamps to the Skill Recommendation system, progression for Tier 3 and below, and Growth Missions, now called Milestone Missions.Finally, our fourth anniversary celebration features the return of the anniversary event island. When you arrive to greet Roxx and Matt, you’ll notice we’re missing someone who seems to be caught up in their own adventures.Thanks for four fantastic years in Arkesia! Let’s make the fifth one our best yet.Heroes of Arkesia,
Start your first adventure of the year now on Illios Island. Festive flair, music, and more await. Both solo players and groups can explore Illios Island during this limited-time event for unique rewards. Ignite your New Year wishes with some of the best views in Arkesia through memorable quest festivities.
Each of the two Illios Island quests can be reexperienced. However, rewards will only be provided once per roster. Claim yours and then enjoy the island’s distinct environments like shimmering crystal shores or ancient caverns.
Together at the End and the Beginning
Rewards:
New Year Firecracker Chest (1)
Regulus’s Light Currency Chest (10)
Menelik’s Tome (5)
Greet the New Year Together
Rewards:
2026 New Year’s Emote Pack (1)
New Year Paradise Blessing Chest (1)
Legendary Card Pack IV (1)
Each of the following rewards will cost 10,000 Silver.
Emoticon Pack: It's A New Year (1)
Gathering Little Lights (Music) (1)
Dream of Hope (Music) (1)
Mokoko Fireworks (10)
Cahni Firecrackers (10)
Homunculus Firecrackers (10)
2025 was a fantastic year for Lost Ark and not just because Kazeros was finally toppled. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to the players that keep coming back for the next adventure, plus the countless Mokokos bringing fresh perspectives to Arkesia throughout their travels. We cannot wait to share more about what’s coming later this year. Look forward to more adventures and we’ll see you on Illios Island!
We've seen significant discussion in the community following recent roadmap announcements, particularly regarding the timing of balance patches. We understand the frustration when update timelines don't align with expectations, and how seeing different schedules announced in other regions can create confusion about why Western players have not received certain updates yet. We'd like to provide clarity on what happened and share how we're addressing this.
Following recent roadmap announcements, many players noticed that the Western version would not be receiving balance patches in December, and that they were planned to release in February. We understand why this has created frustration and concerns, and wanted to provide some additional context to our players about these initial plans.
It is important to note that the CN version of Lost Ark, which has been a point of comparison for many players, does not currently have the Ark Grid system implemented. The technical reality of this is that it has simplified their ability to integrate the coming balance changes more quickly into their version of the game. For the Western version, our December calendar was already extremely packed with the Elixir/Transcendence Removal, Solo Kazeros Act 2 & 3, seasonal content, and year-end activities, which created technical and scheduling constraints that pushed the balance patch integration to February in our original planning.However, we hear your feedback loud and clear. We brought the community's concerns directly to Smilegate RPG and worked together to find a solution that accelerates this timeline. As a result, we're moving up the balance patch implementation to an earlier build.As a result of your feedback, both Korea's October and December balance patches will arrive in the January update. While this is not an immediate change, we wanted to accelerate the release and ensure Western players receive these important balance changes much sooner than initially planned. We know balance patches are crucial to keeping classes feeling fresh and competitive, and we appreciate the community's passion in advocating for timely updates. Your feedback directly influenced this decision, and we're committed to continuing to listen and adapt when we're able.
We'll share full details on the balance changes in the January release notes as we get closer to the update. We also want you to know that we're actively working with Smilegate RPG on improving the processes to bring Korea's balance patches to the West more quickly. This situation highlighted the importance of timely balance updates, and we're committed to making this a priority as we move forward into 2026. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and ongoing feedback as we work to make Lost Ark the best experience possible across all regions.
Thank you for your continued support and passion for Lost Ark. We'll see you in Arkesia!
Join Roxx, Marketing and Community Lead on Lost Ark, Associate Franchise Lead Matt and Senior Producer Henry for a first look at what’s coming to Arkesia in early 2026. Today we'll be focusing on the major content pieces each month, but please keep in mind that we won't dive too deeply into some of the smaller updates and adjustments. As we close out 2025, we also wanted to look back at everything we've accomplished together this year. It's been an amazing journey, and we're grateful to have shared it with such a passionate community.
Here’s a summary of the highlights. As always, we'll share more detailed updates, specifics, and additional information in the months to come.
In January, we’ll have a new type of collectible. To give a little back story, the first elder of the Yoz, Nukman sent a crescent moon shaped stone in the night sky to give the Yoz people hope and courage. It holds the enlightenment and emotions that Nukman had experienced, but over time it shattered into pieces. Collect Nukman’s Illusion Stones for valuable rewards.
While very similar to the original Thaemine Hard Gate 4, Thaemine Extreme is an event raid with adjusted difficulty and patterns. Changes include resurrection at the 4-2 battle workshop, and a system where successfully landing Just Guards can provide buffs for yourself and the whole team.
The raid can be entered once a week per roster, and will be around for a limited time. Thaemine Extreme offers first clear rewards and a set of weekly rewards through an Event NPC Shop. We’re looking into making some difficulty adjustments from when it released in Korea to balance for Ark Grid and other systems, and will follow up with the full suite of key information as we head toward its release.
The winners of the recent Community Emote competition will be added into the game, and January will feature the next Ark Pass, which has some pretty cool cosmetics, the Day and Night Minister skins.
Lost Ark’s latest class, Dragonknight will arrive in February alongside the latest wave of progression events. The Dragonknight wields a massive Halberd as her primary weapon, but also uses hardened wings, scales, and other abilities that stem from her tragic past.
The Dragonknight has three types of skills: Normal Skills using the Halberd, Manifest Skills that pull upon the energy granted to her by the Guardians, and Incarnation skills, which modify the Manifest Skills to new heights when channeling the full potential of her draconic powers. While transformed, skills gain additional powers and even change their tripods. However, gems are shared across the different versions of each skill.
We will release another South Rimeria Powerpass to accompany the release of the Dragonknight. We are working to bring the latest balance changes coming from Korea as soon as we can, especially for classes with some pretty impactful changes. We plan to merge both of the last balance patches and release them together in February. This will be a great opportunity for you to use the powerpass on Dragonknight or any other class you’ve got your eyes on.
It will also be accompanied by other major progression events, which are still being discussed, given the regional differences. We’ll provide more updates as we head toward February. Other notable progression changes include updates to the character creation flow that add a class testing option before character selection, an early story revamp, and a better milestone mission system to help players learn the basics as they embark on their journey in Arkesia.
This is also when we plan to release the progression changes to Tier 3 that adjust the honing experience, including removing gold cost from Tier 3, removing gear honing altogether for lower level T3 honing (Brelshaza Gear), and adding some new quality of life features to honing such as bulk honing. In addition, there will be the new smart-facet feature for cutting ability stones.
We’re also moving forward with the major content simplification that was recently announced in Korea. Some of the most notable changes are listed below. Look forward to more details closer to release.
The book of coordination will be removed, along with the content that used it, including Proving Grounds, Inferno raid content, and the earlier Trial Guardian Raids (other than Hanumatan). Tower content will also be removed, along with Weekly Unas. If there are any pieces of content in there that you want to experience before it goes away, you have about 2 months!
Along with the content removal, there’s also going to be a bit of content reward restructuring for daily and weekly activities.
Guardian Stones and Destruction Stones obtained from the Kurzan Front and Chaos Dungeons have been changed from tradeable items to character-bound items, and the quantity has been increased.
Honing materials obtained from Fate Embers that appear during the Kurzan Front and Chaos Dungeons have been changed from character-bound to tradeable items, and Destiny Shards are now obtained in the form of tradeable pouches.
Gems, Accessories, Bracelets, and Ability Stones will no longer be obtained from Kurzan Front and Chaos Dungeons.
Instead, Guardians at Trial of Vairgrys Stage 5 and above will drop gems appropriate to the Guardian’s tier. Guardians at Purification Stage 2 and above now drop Luminous Gem Shards.
The drop quantities of accessories, bracelets, and ability stones from Guardian Raids have been increased. Guardian Stones, Destruction Stones, and Leapstones are no longer obtainable from Guardian Raids.
Clearing a Chaos Gate will grant character bound gold. Higher-level Chaos Gates grant a greater amount of character bound gold upon completion. The Chaos Gates below item level 1580 have been removed.
The amount of Guardian Stones and Destruction Stones obtained from defeating the South Kurzan Field Boss Sevek Atun will be significantly increased.
Defeating Sevek Atun will also grant tradeable Leapstones. The type of Leapstone obtained corresponds to the character’s Item Level bracket. Characters below Item Level 1580 will no longer obtain honing materials when defeating field bosses.
There are a ton more specifics in this category, so once again, we’ll reiterate everything in a future team update.
In March, we’ll launch the third season of Paradise. Overall, we’re really happy with how the system has turned out, with the different types of gameplay loops it provides, along with the accelerated progression for all characters. We worked with Smilegate to implement some feedback that everyone had from Season 1 into Season 2, from how upgrading gear worked, to some of the gameplay patterns coming from the gear upgrades, along with changing the early drop rates for gear. You’ve already experienced some of the changes, but with the season still progressing there should be some more interesting gameplay at the end with the 5 additional Crucible levels.
We’ll continue to be on the lookout for feedback throughout Season 2, and are excited for the continuation of the system in Season 3.
The story marking the end of Chapter 1 of Lost Ark in what has been a multi-year battle against Kazeros and his forces will draw to a close in the final story quest, titled “One Who Confronted Abyss’s End”. It’s a continuation of the story directly after the last cutscene in Kazeros Denouement, and features a final battle against Kazeros in Petrania. We don’t want to share any other spoilers for those excited to experience it firsthand, but it will serve as the conclusion to Part 1 of Lost Ark’s story. It’s a pretty lengthy quest, so a Knowledge Transfer will be added for it as well.
With March wrapping up Chapter 1, we’ll begin the next chapter of Lost Ark in April, with the battle beginning against the primordial beings in the first Shadow Raid. The Primordial beings are mythical creatures who wander in search of meaning and a sense of self. They can even take on various forms. This chapter of Lost Ark will contain some dark stories, which will be reflected in some of the upcoming raids.
The first Shadow Raid will be against Serka, the Witch of Pain. There are going to be three difficulties: Normal at (1710), Hard at (1730), Nightmare at (1740). It’s a 4-player raid with 2 gates. In Gate 1 you’ll face off against Serka, a sadistic witch who enjoys torturing others. This will be followed by Gate 2, where you’ll see the Primordial Being’s true form, Corbus Tul Lark.
While the Serka Shadow Raid will provide Ark Grid Cores, the main progression system will be a new set of Tier 4 gear. This time around, less time will be needed to farm materials for crafting gear, but there will be a new Acceleration system added (using the same materials as crafting). Crafted gear can be honed up to lv. 20, and +25 when accelerated.
The new Nightmare difficulty will be similar to harder past raids hard mode (like Kazeros and Thaemine) to provide more challenge. Hard Mode will instead be in between the current difficulty of Normal and Hard, and normal mode will be an easier experience to help learn the raid. Gear Progression materials will only be dropped in Hard mode and Nightmare (no materials in Normal mode). Nightmare mode will provide the same amount of gear materials, but will provide more cores, gold, and more items in the auction, like 2 Relic Books.
There will also be some changes in raid systems for this Shadow Raid. You’ll go straight to boss room, there won’t be any HP recovery when the boss goes berserk, and there are two new systems, the New Brawl system which adds a unique action, and Shadow Skills, where you can steal a skill from the boss to use in battle. On top of that, the revive system in the Serka Shadow Raid will be called Brave Hearts, which shares revive counts between the party.
There are a few things we’re still investigating the timing for and whether or not there will be adjustments for players in the West, such as the Argos/Valtan mashup event, and some other Quality of Life adjustments. We’ll communicate any changes and adjustments when the timing is right through Team Update articles or release notes in the coming months.
We're incredibly excited about what lies ahead for Lost Ark in 2026. Thanks for joining us today, and as always, we'll see you in Arkesia!
Heroes of Arkesia,
There have been exciting moments on the battlefield in the race against Kazeros, along with dramatic moments off of the battlefield, but the time to open The First Mode to a wider group of players has arrived. We previously announced that after the top 10 teams in each region have been identified, the next weekly maintenance will unlock the First After Race, an ongoing mode where players can compete for class-based leaderboards based around clear time. Unfortunately, due to our version of Lost Ark having multiple regions, we cannot open the after race separately in the regions, it needs to be done at the same time.
We’ve seen many requests from players who want to experience The First Mode, but want the damage increase that Ark Grid provides to help ease the difficulty slightly. While North America has the Top 10 locked in, there are still a few slots open in Europe. We will be giving the European region until the next maintenance to vie for the remaining leaderboard spots. The race will officially end, regardless of the number of eligible teams who have cleared, when weekly maintenance begins on December 24.
During that maintenance, we will enable the First After Race, along with the ability for the Ark Grid system to be used in Kazeros The First. This will allow a wider range of players to attempt this special difficulty, and we’re also excited to see the beginning of the in-game leaderboards. Heroes at the top of leaderboard each week will earn temporary cosmetics, and those at the top when The First Mode ends (date to be determined) will earn the cosmetics (such as an insignia and class symbol) in perpetuity. The Ark Grid will become enabled for this mode.
As a reminder, disqualifications are based solely on violations of the five conditions we set forth for the race as well as our Code of Conduct and Terms of Service, not player reports or leaderboard positioning. Our review process involves multiple independent team members examining account behavior, transaction patterns, and gameplay data. We do not discuss specific cases publicly, but all disqualifications are supported by clear evidence of policy violations.
Congratulations to those who have participated in an eligible clear, and good luck players in the European Region this week! We have the cosmetic items ready for 1st - 6th place winners in North America, along with 1st - 5th place winners in Europe, and we will be distributing them this week. The rest of the custom rewards will be prepared in the coming weeks as we await the final week of clears in Europe, and will be distributed in early to mid January.
Thanks for your support, and we’ll see you in Arkesia.
Heroes of Arkesia,
Race to clear Kazeros the First for prestigious rewards, check out the Monarch skins showcase, and more. Downtime will begin on December 3 at 12AM PT (8AM UTC), and last approximately 4 hours. May the best group win this special event!
The race to clear the most difficult version of Kazeros Raid Denouement: Final Day will begin on December 3 at 10AM PT (6PM UTC). Vanquishing Kazeros in this special version will pose quite a challenge, even for the best raiders in Lost Ark.
Leaderboards will celebrate the top 10 teams from each in-game region (North America and Europe) throughout the race and beyond. It may take some time for groups to be added to the leaderboard, as each group will need to be reviewed to ensure they meet the conditions. For more details on the rules and requirements, view the event announcement article.
Players in North America and Europe will compete against other players in their region for the following rewards:
First Place in each region - Portal Statue
Special Animated Titles
Top 1 – Kazeros The First
Top 2 – Kazeros The Second
Top 3 – Kazeros The Third
Top 4 - 10 – Kazeros Top 10
Stronghold Structure
Will have the players names etched into it along side their clear time. Users can see the information when interacting with the Stronghold Structure.
Rank 1 - Unique 1st place Structure
Rank 2 & 3 - Structure unique to places 2 & 3
Rank 4 - 10 - Structure unique to places 4 - 10
Adventure Banner
Rank 1 - Unique
Rank 2 & 3 - Banner unique to places 2 & 3
Rank 4 - 10 - Banner unique to places 4 - 10
Please note that it will take several weeks to receive the top 10 rewards. However, upon clear, all players who vanquish the special difficulty will receive a chest titled “Clear: Kazeros The First". It contains the following:
Title "Lord of the Abyss"
MVP Background: Final Day
Mount: Brilliant Wings
Lounge: Fortress of Destruction
Insignia "Conqueror: Kazeros The First Difficulty"
100,000 Gold
To enter, players much reach Item Level 1740 or higher and clear Act 4: Fortress of Destruction – Hard Difficulty (Gate 1 & 2). The First difficulty is treated separately from Normal/Hard in terms of entry count and rewards. Entry is limited to once per week per character. Rewards can be obtained once per roster during the entire event period.
The Ark Grid effect is disabled during the Kazeros The First event. It will be re-enabled after the event ends. The First difficulty does not have revives. Extreme coordination and survival are required.
One armor darker than the depths of Kazeros’ malice. Another brighter than the brilliance of the heroes’ ambition. Which will you wear to usher in a new age of Arkesia?
We can’t wait to watch everyone face Kazeros The First and look forward to your triumphs!
Heroes of Arkesia,
Kazeros The First is a special event where players can race to clear the most difficult version of Kazeros Raid Denouement: Final Day. Vanquishing Kazeros in this special version will pose quite a challenge, even for the best raiders in Lost Ark. But with extreme challenge comes prestige, and we have a variety of prestigious rewards planned for those who can vanquish Kazeros in his most powerful form. The race for Kazeros The First will begin on December 3 at 10AM PT (6PM UTC). Learn about the rewards, details regarding the competition, and the conditions needed to enter below.
To enter, players much reach Item Level 1740 or higher and clear Act 4: Fortress of Destruction – Hard Difficulty (Gate 1 & 2). The First difficulty is treated separately from Normal/Hard in terms of entry count and rewards. Entry is limited to once per week per character. Rewards can be obtained once per roster during the entire event period.
The Ark Grid effect is disabled during the Kazeros The First event. It will be re-enabled after the event ends. The First difficulty does not have revives. Extreme coordination and survival are required.
The race to clear Kazeros The First will feature a leaderboard for the fastest groups to clear, with spots to celebrate the top 10 teams from each in-game region (North America and Europe). The leaderboards will first release alongside the The First Mode on December 3, and available for players to view throughout the race and beyond. These teams’ victory will stay showcased on the leaderboard, and each team will also earn a suite of in-game rewards. It may take some time for groups to be added to the leaderboard, as each group will need to be reviewed to ensure they meet the conditions. Please read the ‘Conditions’ section for the rules and conditions that parties must meet to be eligible for feature on the leaderboards.
Similar to the Kazeros Race Leaderboard, the in-game rewards will be rewarded on a per-region basis. This means that players in North America and Europe will each compete against the other players in their region for the following rewards contained within a Rank Box including:
First Place in each region - Portal Statue
Special Animated Titles
Top 1 – Kazeros The First
Top 2 – Kazeros The Second
Top 3 – Kazeros The Third
Top 4 - 10 – Kazeros Top 10
Stronghold Structure
Will have the players names etched into it along side their clear time. Users can see the information when interacting with the Stronghold Structure.
Rank 1 - Unique 1st place Structure
Rank 2 & 3 - Structure unique to places 2 & 3
Rank 4- 10 - Structure unique to places 4 - 10
Adventure Banner
Rank 1 - Unique
Rank 2 & 3 - Banner unique to places 2 & 3
Rank 4 - 10 - Banner unique to places 4 - 10
Please note that it will take several weeks to receive the top 10 rewards. However, upon clear and regardless of placement, all players who vanquish the special difficulty will receive a chest titled “Clear: Kazeros The First". It contains the following:
Title "Lord of the Abyss"
MVP Background: Final Day
Mount: Brilliant Wings
Lounge: Fortress of Destruction
Insignia "Conqueror: Kazeros The First Difficulty"
100,000 Gold
All participants must not engage in any actions that violate Amazon Game Studios’ policy (Amazon's Code of Conduct and Terms of Service), such as using illegal programs, exploiting bugs, RMT, Piloting, using apps that modify the game and/or interacts with it in a way that provides information that is otherwise not available to players, or engaging in any other actions that Amazon Games deems inappropriate. Players participating in the first clear race event will be investigated, and clears will not be official until uploaded onto the Leaderboard Website. Penalties for breaking the Code of Conduct or Terms of Service will range from disqualification up to a permanent ban.
A player that has been previously penalized for RMT or other forms of cheating (such as using illegal programs, botting, exploiting bugs, piloting/account sharing, using apps that modify the game) in Lost Ark will be ineligible to compete in the first clear race, no matter when they received it (from launch until the race). Players with previous penalties (and their raid group) will still be able to complete the First Mode for the general rewards, but will not be eligible for leaderboard placement and Top 10 event rewards.
Actions may be taken against offending players, and the entire party, such as invalidating the raid clear record, or removing achieved ranking records and event rewards. There are two exceptions to this policy:
Players who were penalized for the Ignite Stronghold bug. Players who severely exploited this bug were perma-banned. Some other players received the rewards and opened without understanding that it was unintended, and for that reason we are allowing eligibility as long as there are no other disqualifying offenses logged or discovered in the account review.
Players who received a false-positive ban that was successfully appealed or reversed will still be eligible to participate.
For more information, please review Amazon's Code of Conduct and Terms of Service.
Please make sure to form a raid using 'Recruitment Lobby' in the party finder to check whether raid members meet the event participation conditions. You can check whether each member meets the event participation conditions in the raid participant list and applicant list in the party recruitment details.
If there is a raid member who does not meet the participation conditions upon entry, entry will be possible, but the First Clear Challenge record will not be saved for eligibility on the leaderboards and for rewards.
If you use the matchmaking system, it is not possible to check in advance whether raid members meet the conditions, and event participants are responsible for any disadvantages resulting from this.
The system will not show you if a user has cleared the raid in another region, or if they have violated Condition 1, so do your due diligence.
The clear record (including clear time) is recorded based on the composition of raid members at the time of clearing Gate 2 in The First mode. Even if Gate 1 is cleared with different raid members, only the members of the raid after completing Gate 2 will be saved.
If any character in the player’s account who holds a record from 1st to 10th place in this event on any region participates in another raid with others, the record of the raid clear will not be accepted. All members of the party must not have already completed "The First" difficulty to be recognized, unless they were in a disqualified group but were not disqualified themselves.
If a raid member is disconnected and cannot return and the party clears the raid without stopping the dungeon, the raid member's opportunity to enter may be lost. Please be careful during the challenge!
If you clear Gate 2 with a raid member who isn't eligible for the event, that run will be disqualified for all raid members. Qualified raid members can re-try the 'Kazeros, the First' event when next eligible.
Please note that even if you cannot participate in the event, there is no disadvantage to playing the Normal/Hard versions of the Raid.
After the top 10 teams in each region have been identified, the next weekly maintenance will unlock the First After Race, an ongoing mode where players can compete for class-based leaderboards based around clear time. Heroes at the top of leaderboard each week will earn temporary cosmetics, and those at the top when The First Mode ends (date to be determined) will earn the cosmetics (such as an insignia and class symbol) in perpetuity. The Ark Grid will become enabled for this mode.
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. Should an account on the After Race Leaderboard be found in new violation of our Terms of Service, 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.
Good luck to all preparing for the Day of Prophecy and the battle against Kazeros, whether that’s attempting Normal, Hard, or those preparing to race for the First Mode. In the meantime, we’ll see you in Arkesia.
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Lost Ark, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main Lost Ark statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.