Lost Ark: How to square up combat

Lost Ark, from Amazon Games, provides interesting combat possibilities and a sophisticated class system with several specialties and powers. Many of the obstacles you'll face in Arkesia will rely on your combat skills, so let's look at how to maximize your combat potential early on.

There's a lot to do in Lost Ark, from collecting pets to fighting huge demons, but combat is crucial to your overall experience and growth. The main mission has lots of dungeons to slice through, but even side storylines have their own challenges.

Combat can also reward you handsomely, with loot drops and gear upgrades available once most enemies are defeated. We look at the battle from all sides and give you some ideas to keep your advantage.

CLASS TYPES AND SUBCLASSES

Before you may go anywhere or kill anyone, you must select your class. Warrior, Martial Artist, Gunner, Mage, and Assassin are the options, each with their unique strengths and weaknesses. Your class decision will influence your fighting options, later on, so pick one that fits your play style. However, Martial Artists are more graceful and agile on their feet, catching their opponents off guard. Gunners can utilize heavy weaponry or long-range shooting, Mages can use ancient Arkesian magic, and Assassins can strike silently in the night.

Once you've chosen your class, you'll need to choose a subclass. You can try out each one in a sandbox before deciding. You'll need to use these skills early on because your weapons are weak. It's a fixable flaw

WEAPONRY AND LOOT

The weapons you find will gradually increase stronger as you advance. As you progress through the game, you'll find more advanced versions of your character's class weapon or armor from the main quest bosses. Getting raw hardware is simple enough.

Weapons are also color-coded for rarity: Legendary, Epic, Rare, and Uncommon. The names of common weapons are uncolored. Each subclass presently has seven Legendary weapons, each with a unique effect that allows for some really devastating moves. Along with the weapon's rarity and grade, you'll need to keep an eye on its condition, taking it to a repairman in one of the towns for a tune-up.

A Sorceress, for example, will wield a Stave, which can be utilized in combat alongside any loaded talents. You will grow proficient with this weapon, though you will want to upgrade it whenever possible. Each weapon upgrade costs more but yields a greater improvement.

First, you'll need to “treat” your gear with shards so it may be upgraded, which takes more materials. A failed upgrade won't break or lose the weapon, so keep trying until you obtain the weapon level you want.

KEEPING HEALTHY

Be brave and use your HP potions – they're plentiful and cheap, either dropped by smaller enemies or bought in merchants. If you step away from the action for a few moments, your character will begin to heal.

To defend yourself, you can employ potions and status effects to increase your speed, immunity to damage, and attack power. Your gear will also determine how resistant you are to enemy attacks, so keep an eye on your total Gear Score. You can check your Gear Score before entering a dungeon and decide if you're ready to take on the challenge.

BOSSES AND DUNGEONS

You'll find yourself in dungeons a lot in Lost Ark if you follow the main quest. You can perform these alone or with companions, but you won't be at a disadvantage. Keep in mind that higher-difficulty dungeons drop richer loot, but can be more difficult to complete.

Upon entering a dungeon, several NPCs vanish, leaving a clear road ahead. Waves of adversaries will appear, which should be attacked quickly to avoid being surrounded and overwhelmed. After a few waves and exploring the level, you'll meet the dungeon boss, who normally uses the most difficult opponent kinds available. They will be tough to beat but keep recovering and evading and you will ultimately wear them down. You should have practiced on a few smaller adversaries by now, so you know which skills to employ and in what order.

LEVELLING UP

The Combat Skills panel in Lost Ark allows you to customize your character's play style. You'll see each skill's level and how many skill points are required to raise it. Once a skill reaches level four, you can purchase upgrades that permanently improve it. Increasing your character's total level also grants you more fighting options, making you more powerful against demon monsters.

Now you have all the information you need to start battling every non-human entity — and maybe even a few people if you choose PvP. Lost Ark is now accessible on PC for free.