Your first character in Lost Ark doesn’t have to be the only one you’ll be sticking with throughout the whole game, but it’s certainly important. Unlike other games, characters can serve a distinct role. Lost Ark‘s main character mechanic can be confusing at first, but don’t fret, as we’ll explain it in detail, including how to change the character slot.
If you’re in need of more help, we also have guides covering a walkthrough of the main quests, how to unlock a free pet, whether to save or run away from Gerka, leveling to 50 and what to do, 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 the Lost Ark Main Character Mechanic Works
Curiously, the first character you create in Lost Ark becomes the main character in your roster. By default, you can create up to six, but only one can be the main character.
The idea is that your first character is the one you’ll be primarily focusing on. This means you’ll get them to Combat Level 50 to reach the endgame and take part in the activities that wait there, from daily quests to Chaos Dungeons, to name a few. Once you get to the point, you will only be able to grind a limited amount of resources per day. You can’t just grind the same tasks or events over and over to min-max everything.
In that sense, that’s where side characters come in. Lost Ark expects you to use additional characters to grind more materials and other items, which can then be transferred to your main character. Of course, they aren’t limited in any way, so you can go ahead and play them regularly. But you need to keep the purposes in mind.
You can play with your main character as much as you want. As you progress through the endgame, you’ll quickly learn that your gear is everything. Of course, as activities evolve and the game begins to receive content updates or events, the challenges will increase — and so will their requirements. You can only get so far with just one Lost Ark main character, as you will either fail to get all the materials you need on a weekly basis, or the purchases you have to make for your class become will begin to turn expensive.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to your playstyle and what you’re interested in getting from the game. If you’re only looking to chill with friends in a new MMO, you probably won’t have to worry about having alts for a long time. But if you’re planning on overstaying your welcome in the endgame, it’s definitely something to consider.
How to Change Your Main Character Slot in Lost Ark
The steps to change your main character in Lost Ark are as follows:
- Have at least two characters
- On the left side of the screen you’ll see a banner with both the picture and combat level of your main character
- Click the banner
- This will open a list with all your current characters
- Select the one you want to have as main character, and press Set
- Once it asks you to confirm, say yes
- Reminder that you’ll have to wait 24 hours to change the main character slot again
As I mentioned, you get six character slots for free in Lost Ark — by default, the first character you create automatically becomes your main character. That being said, you can change who your main character is once a day. This has no cost nor penalization for the time being, which makes for a great opportunity for experimentation.
If you’re not completely convinced by a class you’ve selected, don’t fret, as you can delete characters at any time. That being said, you can’t delete your main character, so you will have to switch slots accordingly.
Since this is a free-to-play game, you can have another batch of six characters, which demands an extension that is obtained with premium currency. If you ask me, six characters are already more than enough to keep you busy for a long time. And if you ever change your mind, don’t be afraid to select a new main character.
[Disclaimer: Some of the screenshots were taken from an early build of the game that was available pre-release for coverage purposes.]
