Lost Ark Class Overview

Shadowhunters have an Identity Gauge called Shadowburst Meter. You charge it by using skills in Human Form. While the main focus for Demonic Impulse are the Demon Form Skills, Perfect Suppression removes their ability to Demonize, keeping them in Human Form.

Demonic Impulse Shadowhunters build around their Demon Form and their 6 Demon Form skills whereas Perfect Suppression Shadowhunters ignores Demon Form entirely. Perfect Suppression Shadowhunters have a straightforward playstyle, generate enough Shadowburst Meter at the beginning to then unload all 7 Human Form skills in order. If done correctly and all skills hit, they never run out of Shadowburst Meter and sustain their DPS.

Shadowhunter's apply a debuff to the target with Howl to increase the damage dealt by you and your party.

In PvP, the Shadowhunter relies on quick catches with her dashes and long range engagements. She's a hit and run specialist that goes in when the time is right and escapes with ease. She ranks high in the PvP tier list for being an extremely mobile ranged class, that doesn't sacrifice damage because of her Demonic Form.

The Shadowhunter has small Area of Effect (AoE) skills, but compensates for that with low Cooldowns and high mobility. This helps to shorten the traveling time during the Leveling Phase.

The Artillerist's Identity Gauge is split into 3 stages that fill up by dealing damage. Each stage increases the damage dealt and the final stage allows you to activate Barrage Mode. During Barrage Mode you can't move but gain access to 4 skills: Bombardment: Howitzer, Bombardment: Focus Fire, Bombardment: Energy Cannon and Bombardment: Impregnability. Bombardment: Energy Cannon deals an insane amount of damage while protecting you with Bombardment: Impregnability.

The Artillerist is one of the Gunter Classes in Lost Ark that is easy to learn, but difficult to master. Their main damage skills like Air Raid and Homing Barrage require boss mechanic knowledge to use effectively. The Class Engraving Recipe Firepower Enhancement adds survivability and damage to the Artillerist. The combination of the Class Engraving Recipe and Energy Field makes this class more forgiving than others.

Artillerists deal consistent damage and have high Stagger Damage on most skills. They use Target Focus to buff the party with a Stagger Damage increase and also apply Armor Destruction as a Defense Debuff with high uptime to the target.

In PvP, the Artillerist is a combo-reliant class that relies on their stun to get off big damage. Its combos can deal half of an opponent's HP or more if it lands. They can be kited quite easily, so positioning and landing the stun is paramount. This class is easy to get into and can dominate newer players. They place lower on the tier list when playing against better opponents, but can still deal high damage when skills hit.

The Artillerist is deadly, a slow and steady damage focused class with decent leveling speed. Most of his skills deal damage in a huge Area of Effect (AoE) which helps to clear big monster waves within seconds.

The Deadeye can swap to 3 different weapons in order to match any situation, making him a well-balanced but difficult to play class. Pistol skills are used for mobility and engagement, Shotgun for melee high damage and Sniper for ranged damage. The preferred and highest damage dealing weapon for this class is the Shotgun. To deal optimal damage with it, you need to be close to and behind the target.

Out of the two Class Engravings available to Deadeyes, Enhanced Weapon does more damage but is more Back Attack focused. Deadeye has to be in melee range near the back of the boss for optimal damage. Shotgun skill damage starts to fall off with distance, so he is considered a melee class a majority of the time.

Spiral Tracker and AT02 Grenade applies a party synergy debuff called Weakness Exposure, which boosts Crit Rate on a target by 10% for all allies.

In PvP, the Deadeye revolves around quick catches with his Sniper and Pistol combo. The ability to dance around the arena with lethal skills gives him a high ranking on the PvP tier list. Enforce Execution and Aimed Shot are his signature moves. If played well, this class is a strong carry that is hard to stop.

The Deadeyes triple weapon swap is great for the leveling phase. He has everything in his kit, including mobility, single target and Area of Effect(AoE) damage.

Similar to Deadeye, Gunslinger can swap to 3 different weapons giving her a wide range of tools to deal with many situations. Pistol skills are used for mobility and engagement, Shotgun for melee high damage and Sniper for ranged damage. The preferred and highest damage dealing weapon for this class is the Sniper.

The Class Engraving Peacemaker gives a different benefit to all 3 weapons in her arsenal, but it's mainly used to further increase the most damaging Rifle Skills Perfect Shot, Focused Shot and Target Down. This build has a higher damage potential than the Time to Hunt build, which doesn't have access to the Shotgun.

Time to Hunt Class Engraving removes the Shotgun from her arsenal in exchange for added Crit Chance to all her remaining skills. This allows her to reallocate more points into other Combat Stats. Compared to the Peacemaker Build, Time to Hunt Gunslinger has fewer skills for a simplified play style. She no longer needs to get closer to use the Shotgun, but the total DPS is lower.

As a Gunslinger, you should try to keep the crit debuff up on your target by properly rotating between the skills Equilibrium and Dexterous Shot. This will increase the damage output of your entire party.

In PvP, the Gunslinger revolves around quick catches with her Sniper and Pistol combo. The ability to dance around the arena with lethal skills gives her a high ranking on the PvP tier list. If played well, this class is a strong carry that is hard to stop.

The Gunslingers triple weapon swap is great for the leveling phase. She has everything in her kit, including mobility, single target and Area of Effect (AoE) damage.

Bards have an Identity Gauge called Serenade Meter that charges by using skills and hitting bosses. Generally Bards use their skills to provide various buffs and effects to the party while building their Serenade Meter. When it's filled up, you can spend them to play one of two songs, Serenade of Courage for a large Attack buff, or Serenade of Salvation to heal the party.

The Bard is one of two support classes in Lost Ark, and one of the most wanted classes in any Raid. The harder the content, the more important Bards are. You need to understand the abilities of your teammates and coordinate with them to bring out their best. It’s easy to play a Bard at a basic level, but the difference between a highly skilled Bard and a beginner is tremendous.

In PvP, the Bard plays like your traditional support class. Although low in personal damage, she makes up for it with great defensive skills and buffs. She ranks high on the PvP tier list with only Paladin challenging her supportive position. Just having a support on your team alone gives you an innate advantage before the battle starts. Navigating the map can be tricky at first, but a well-played Bard can be the difference between winning and losing.

Bard levels slower than pure damage classes, but an experienced player can still finish 1-50 in under 11 hours. While her huge AoE clearing skills are up to par with other classes, she lacks high single target damage.

The Summoner can call forth Ancient Spirits to help aid her in battle. By using spells to accumulate Ancient Orbs, the Summoner will be able to use a wide variety of Spirits. These spirits range from a Giant's Foot smashing a target to an elemental lord striking down an enemy.

Master Summoner focuses on enhancing her Ancient Spirits to aid her in battle. If you prefer a more mage like playstyle, this is the build to run. On the other hand, Communication Overflow uses pets for high uptime damage. This build is what a traditional summoner class looks like.

In PvP as a Summoner, you'll be able to call forth 2 controllable Pets that will help you with skirmishes. When left alone, this has the highest damage potential in the game. With great damage, however, the class struggles with mobility and defense. This class is very easy to get into with a low floor but can feel very limited when it comes to harder games. Harness the Ancient Spirits. Destroy the battlefield and become the Master Summoner.

The Summoner is a great class for leveling, as most of her skills deal high damage and big AoEs.

The Arcanist is your mage class that specializes in cards. She plays more like a battle mage and has a wide variety of tricks up her sleeves to do so. Hitting skills grant her cards that grant different effects when used.

The Empress's Grace Arcanist is a high mobility and high damage class with low survivability. This class mainly focuses on the Combat Stat Specialization to increase the damage dealt by your Awakening Deathbound and Ruin Skills.

In PvP, this class is very unforgiving due to the nature of her kit and defense values. Although you have a lot of zone control, mobility and damage, they are very long and predictable in high rank PvP. The class is very reliant on the ability of the user to bring the most out of her kit. If you want a fun, yet challenging battle mage esque class, look no forward to dueling your opponents with the Arcanist.

The Arcanist's high AoE, mobility, and damage makes her exceptional at leveling up.

Scrapper utilizes a special Identity Gauge that consists of 2 different energy types: Stamina and Shock. Spending one restores the other and vice versa, making you non-reliant on mana and allowing you to stay in battle for as long as possible. Both of her Class Engravings: Taijutsu and Shock Regeneration complement their respective energy type, allowing for two very diverse playstyles in PvE.

This feisty Anikka girl is heavily centered around pure melee combat, utilizing her fists wherever possible. She offers no ranged skill options for you to choose from, making her the ultimate punching machine! Almost all of her skills provide Back Attack bonus, which means this is where you'll find yourself during battle most of the time. She has plenty of skills with movement attached to them, as well as a Spacebar Dash with two charges, letting you avoid most things others can't. And makes you one of the fastest at leveling to 50!

For group play, Scrapper provides some of the best Stagger, Weak Point Damage and Counter Attack capabilities in the game, making her a wanted pick for mechanically demanding fights!

In PvP her focus lies in a hit-and-run playstyle. Although she is able to stick to a target if necessary and given the opportunity can even dish out great damage

Soulfist's Identity skill has 3 levels that have to be manually increased. Higher Identity level results in higher Damage and Attack Speed with shorter Cooldowns. At the same time the overall Identity buff duration shortens, making the Level 1 Hype buff last way longer than the Level 3 Hype. But once you have your Class Engravings Robust Spirit applied, you skip the first 2 levels and directly jump to Level 3 Hype with even more benefits to the skill.

The Soulfist is one of the Martial Artist classes in Lost Ark that is hard to learn and master. The Robust Spirit build heavily focuses on the Combat Stat Specialization, making Soulfist one of the strongest burst damage dealers in Lost Ark. Her skill set consists of fast paced melee and powerful ranged attacks, making her a versatile and enjoyable class to play. The Energy Overflow build focuses on the Combat Stat Swiftness, which changes her playstyle from burst heavy to consistent damage.

Soulfist increases the party's Attack Damage and Defense with Energy Release. She synergizes well with other burst damage focused classes such as Berserker and Wardancer.

In PvP, the Soulfist relies on mid-range skill shots and their Hype windows. There are three stages of Hype that grant increasing stats and energy restoration. Knowing when to abuse these windows allows you to excel.

The Soulfist is a well rounded class with good mobility, single target and Area of Effect (AoE) damage. This combination makes the leveling experience pretty smooth.

By dealing damage, Striker generates Elemental Orbs. Esoteric skills like Esoteric Skill: Tiger Emerges and Esoteric Skill: Tiger Emerges consume the orbs to deal high burst damage.

The Esoteric Flurry Striker is built around the Class Engraving Esoteric Flurry which makes use of multiple Identity Gauge spender skills. With the help of the 3 spender skills, this build is less burst heavy. Instead, you focus on landing those skills to deal consistent damage.

The Deathblow Striker is built around the Class Engraving Deathblow which amplifies the damage of your Esoteric Skills. This build focuses more on burst damage than the Esoteric Flurry Striker.

The Striker is a synergy class because of the Attack Speed buff and Crit Chance debuff provided by Lightning Whisper. Synchronizing these with your team is crucial to dealing maximum damage.

In PvP, the Striker revolves around pressuring the opposing back line with his hit-and-run play style. There are a lot of ways this class can engage. Picking the right engagements and targets allows you to shine with this class. When played correctly, he can be extremely hard to shut down.

The Striker is a high mobility class with small Area of Effect (AoE) skills. At the early leveling stages, this class is slower at clearing bigger mob groups compared to other classes, until you unlock and invest in your bigger AoE skills.

The Glaivier's identity skill focuses on stance swapping between Focus Stance and Flurry Stance. Swing widely with the Glaivier's blue skills in Flurry Stance or hit hard and precise with the red skills in Focus Stance.

The Glaivier is one of the Martial Artist classes in Lost Ark. The Control build heavily focuses on the Combat Stat Swiftness, making her focus more on spamming skills off Cooldown. This build focuses on Flurry stance, the blue Glaivier skills. On the other hand, the Pinnacle build focuses her into a more bursty playstyle. With a focus on identity management, this build requires high Specialization.

The Glaivier increases it's parties Crit Rate with Shackling Blue Dragon.

This class ranks decently high on the overall PvP tier list for Team Deathmatch (3v3). With her high Push Immunity, mobility and quick crowd control she can be quite a presence to deal with in the field. Although she has had several small nerfs, she still has quite a reputation with her big AoE skills and fast damaging combos. If you like playing aggressively, this is the class for you.

Berserkers have two viable raid builds that center around their two available Class Engravings, Mayhem and Berserker's Technique. Both of Berserker's builds revolve around Burst Mode, and both builds incorporate a high amount of Stagger.

Berserker's Technique removes the Exhaustion debuff at the end of the Burst Mode and gives the Berserker additional Critical Damage when in Burst Mode. Additionally when in Burst Mode he gains Critical Hit Rate, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed.

Mayhem Berserkers enjoy not having to build identity to enter Burst Mode over Berserker's Technique Berserkers. They also have the ability to stay in Burst Mode for however long they want. While in Burst Mode they enjoy a flat Attack and Movement Speed increase and damage reduction.

Red Dust is an important skill that can be used as either a self or party buff to increase the damage dealt.

In PvP, the Berserker plays more like a hit-and-run assassin than a full-on brawler class. That's mainly because his skills in PvP have high Cooldowns and he can be gated by Mana issues as well. Don't worry though, his skills have a devastating impact in battle if used properly. This gives the Berserker a decently high rank on the PvP tier list.

The Berserker is a class with high burst damage and large Area of Effect (AoE) skills. The damage compensates more than enough for the long Cooldowns and low mobility of this class during the leveling phase. He obliterates group of mobs within seconds, especially after investing in Whirlwind and Tempest Slash.

The Identity Gauge of Gunlancer fills up while dealing damage. The Combat Stat Specialization further amplifies your Identity Gauge gain. Defensive Stance and Battlefield Shield consume the build up gauge to either protect yourself or the team.

The Combat Readiness Gunlancer aka. Blue Build Gunlancer has the highest survivability in Lost Ark with decent Stagger damage as well. Focusing on the Combat Stat, Specialization increases the damage of his spammable blue normal skills . Furthermore, the Combat Readiness Engraving increases the damage dealt by the Gunlancer every time he gets hit.

The Solo Knight Gunlancer, aka the Red Build Gunlancer has high amount of Stagger and Weak Point damage because of his main damage dealing skills Charged Stinger and Surge Cannon. The Solo Knight engraving increases the Crit Chance and Crit Damage, resulting in high burst damage even during the early game.

Besides damage, Gunlancers also support the team with shields, damage reduction buffs and target armor debuffs from Nellasia's Energy and Bash. They can also cancel many dangerous boss skills with the taunt skill Shout of Hatred while simultaneously increasing the back attack damage of your team.

In PvP, the Gunlancer stays true to his description, a big tanky class. His greatest strengths lie in his supportive kit. Don't let his looks fool you though, as he can also dish out respectable amounts of damage as well. Be prepared to be everyone's best friend if you play this class well.

The Gunlancer has great monster clear speed early on with strong Area of Effect Skills like Sharp Gunlance and Guardian's Thunderbolt. This makes his leveling process easy and enjoyable, despite his slow Movement Speed. Be aware that Gunlancer is the only class who's Spacebar moves them backwards. This is a huge turn-off for most of the players. But after a few days of gameplay, you will get used to it. Overall, the Gunlancer is a highly efficient class that doesn't require many resources or gold to be viable.

The Slayer, similar to Berserker, unleashes her berserk mode by stacking fury. She can hit fast and hit hard with both Engravings.

Slayers have 2 very unique playstyle based on their engravings with a playstyle that builds up gauge steadily with the ability to dish out an absurd amount of burst damage with Punisher. On the other hand, Predator grants a tons of Attack Speed, Movement Speed , Crit Chance , Crit Damage and Max Mana Gauge over a long period of time. Master her rage, and take control of the battle.

Similar to the Berserker, they focus on fast engages or counter engage in their play style in PvP. They have similar issues with long skill CDS but are very impactful when they land. In the right hands, this class deals high damage and can easily turn a losing game into a winning state with its tools. With protection on nearly all their skills and high damage output, Slayer is an extremely good class to take over games.

This class flows very smoothly and is one of the newest classes introduced in Lost Ark.