In MMOs, getting to the endgame is part of the journey, and Lost Ark is no exception. That being said, depending on the type of player you are, most people will be interested in reaching that threshold as soon as possible. If you’re interested in learning about Lost Ark leveling so you can get to level 50 fast, or just curious about what to expect, this guide will explain the details.
If you’re in need of more help, we also have guides covering a walkthrough of the main quests, the main character mechanic, how to unlock a free pet, whether to save or run away from Gerka, what to do at level 50, how to unlock sailing, two Powerpass tickets, the hotfix schedule, best classes for PVP and PVE, Ghost Ship and Shangra locations, and 16 tips that may come handy.
How to Get to Level 50 – Lost Ark Leveling
In Lost Ark, all characters start with Combat level 10. At the moment, the cap is level 50, although the game doesn’t exactly finish once you get there — quite the contrary. Not to be confused with Roster level, which is based on completing certain tasks and milestones to obtain rewards. The biggest difference is that Roster level is shared between all characters, as opposed to the Combat level of each.
After you embark on a journey with a new character, whatever you choose to do is up to you — but keep in mind that Lost Ark doesn’t really open up until you unlock sailing. In brief, if you want to get to level 50 fast, here’s what you should do:
- Focus on main quests: This is your go-to for Lost Ark leveling. Completing main quests will give you tons of experience that will scale as you progress through the story. It’s the best way to gain levels, and you should ignore all possible distractions until you’re around level 40 or so.
- Ignore side quests: You will come across many ! icons around areas and towns. Honestly, just ignore them. Most of them aren’t just fetch quests, but they’ll give you so little XP that they’re not worth the effort. At one point I needed more than 200k XP to reach the next level, and some of the side quests I was encountering would only offer 10 to 15k XP. With this requirement increasing more with each level, it really doesn’t make much sense.
- Don’t waste time killing mobs: At least in the private server that I had access to before release, mobs in the world only granted me 2 XP each, aside from some exceptions like mini bosses and other special encounters. It was never worth taking the time to kill enemies, except for the times where a main quest asked me to. This isn’t World of Warcraft by any means, so focus on quests first and foremost.
- Sudden quests are a valuable exception to these rules: Okay, sudden quests can be good sometimes — as you traverse through areas you may receive a random objective signalized in red, which usually involves killing a certain amount of enemies under a few minutes. These quests don’t take a lot of time and are often easy to complete on a whim and continue your journey. Just don’t waste time actively looking for them, and instead tackle them as they appear.
- Set your dungeons to normal difficulty: The temptation of increasing the difficulty in dungeons for the chance to get better rewards is ever present, but it doesn’t make sense considering how Lost Ark leveling works. You will find better gear in the next area or two, and all the efforts you made with a higher dungeon will be in vain. Stick to normal!
- Make use of all movement shortcuts: Press T to auto move, jump with your mount, and use Triports to avoid unnecessary back and forth.
- Once you get to Finding the Arks, pivot to World Quests: At one point you will unlock sailing, as well as the Finding the Arks quest. From here on out you’ll have to switch over to World Quests to continue with your Lost Ark leveling.
Best of luck getting to level 50 in Lost Ark!
[Disclaimer: All the screenshots were taken from an early build of the game that was available pre-release for coverage purposes.]
