The post states: “After closely monitoring alongside Smilegate RPG, we feel that enough of our player base has reached the item level needed to participate (or is within easy striking distance to get there over the next few weeks) and have decided this is the right time for these activities to enter the western shores of Arkesia.”
The Destroyer Advanced subclass The Valtan Legion Raid Deskaluda Guardian Raid Challenge Guardian Raids New Guild Activities Quality of life updates
The Destroyer Advanced subclass
One of the premier additions coming to the game in May is The Destroyer, a super heavy melee fighter joining the Berserker, Paladin, and Gunlancer as warrior subclasses available to all players. This class is all about swinging about your giant hammer, dealing massive damage to foes up close and shifting them around with powerful crowd control abilities. This is particularly exciting as it’s the second proper tank being added to the game following the Ginlancer, giving players another viable option if they want to absorb a lot of hits but don’t fancy swinging around a silly lance.
The Valtan Legion Raid
Valtan is the main chunk of content that’ll stand out to those who’ve already powered one or more characters to the heights of tier 3. It’s a eight-player raid packed full of devastating new mechanics that you’ll have to overcome if you want to grab some powerful new loot. The most valuable of all being Relic gear, a whole new rank of equipment that’s craftable from materials you pick up from the raid and can catapult you above pre-existing gear score caps. You’ll have to be at least item level 1415 to take on Valtain though, so if you’ve not quite made it yet you’ve got a few weeks to power through some tier 3 content and reach that bar.
Deskaluda Guardian Raid
Another bit of end game content coming to Lost Ark this May is Deskaluda! This feisty bird has the same gear level requirement as Valtan - 1415 - and provides a stable source of relic-level accessories for those eager to pump up their character with top range stats and appropriate engravings. It may play second fiddle to the Legion Raid, thanks in large part to the fact that Valtan is the first Legion Raid we’ve gotten on the Western version of Lost Ark, but it’ll nonetheless be a crucial barrier for exceptional players to overcome.
Challenge Guardian Raids
Deskaluda isn’t the only update coming to the Guardian Raids this month, as Challenge Guardian Raids are set to release as tricky weekly content for those looking to earn some increased rewards to tackle head on. Each week, three Guardian Raid monsters will be open to challenge (granted to meet their item level requirement) with a single Guardian rotating out every seven days. What’s fiddly abou these fellas is they apply a ‘Scale of Balance’ effect on all players taking them on, adjusting your item level so you can’t overpower these foes like you could with regular raids. In addition, you can’t use the battle workshop in these either, meaning you’ll have to keep your wits about you once you head into the arena. Rewards for Challenge Guardian Raids can be claimed once per roster every week, and include a vast array of rewards than your typical Guardian Raids.
New Guild Activities
Are you still in a guild filled with active players? If so, there’s some new guild PvE and PvP content you and your buds will be able to take part in this May. First there’s the Island Siege, a PvP activity where your guild faces off against another in player vs player fisticuffs. Through capturing objectives and wiping out other players you can earn points, which go on to decide the victor. Participants will then be able to earn rewards that go towards gems, accessories and more. PvP not your thing? Well the Raid Match is another avenue for guild activities which has you and your colleagues take on a Sylmael Devourer. The faster you kill it, the higher in the server guild rankings you climb, so bring your A game!
Quality of life updates
Alongside all of the above are some handy quality of life updates that aim to improve the overall experience of playing Lost Ark. This includes:
front and back attack indicators A new menu with daily & weekly content participation listed Improved party finder & party invites Convenience features for Market/Auction House, The ability to randomly summon favorited mounts New hairstyles Updated loot dismantling General UI updates
All in all, this looks to be a great update for those who’ve taken the time to power all the way to the top of current content. Judging by the post itself, that seems to be a large enough section of the playerbase to warrant a big drop like this, which indicates the previous decision to focus on content that all players can use to gear up at a faster rate worked as intended. Whether we’ll now see similar updates in the future jammed full of end-game challenging stuff like Legion Raids, or jump back and forth between harcore-focused updates and more universal updates remains to be seen! Either way, let us know below what part of the May update you’re keen to try out! For more Lost Ark content, check out our Glaivier PvE and PvP build if you’ve considered levelling one up, as well as our report on Lost Ark’s community manager asking for some calm from their agitated forum users.
