On March 10, Lost Ark will receive the first major content update in the West. The focus is on new story content and a completely new raid experience. We have gathered the most important information about the update and the associated maintenance work for you.
Update 15:30: The servers are offline again. Here we reveal what’s going on: Lost Ark: New update causes issues – developers take servers down.
Update 12:41: The servers are back online. In this article, we tell you what exactly awaits you in the new raid: Lost Ark brings the first raid for 8 players, but they cannot play together.
What does the new patch bring? The focus of the major March update is primarily on three innovations:
- There is a new story quest line around the character Kadan, the first butcher of the guardians. There you will explore a new island and meet new, as well as recurring characters.
- The first Abyss raid will be released. In it, you will face the boss Argos, which you must defeat with a total of 8 players.
- A time-limited race is introduced: the Great Prize of Arkesia. In this, players will compete in a 7v7 match and must complete a course as quickly as possible. However, the opposing team can hinder you. To enter, you must have reached level 50.
In addition to the major innovations, there are also many small adjustments, including the groundwork for the first PvP season, new login bonuses, and new skins in the shop. There were also some bug fixes.
How long will the server maintenance last? The new update will be implemented on March 10 at 9:00 AM. Subsequently, there should be server downtime lasting about 4 hours. According to plan, the servers will be back online with the new update at 1:00 PM.
We will keep you updated in this post in case of delays or an early start of the servers.
Official patch notes for the major March update
Kadan quest line
Experience a new storyline with unique quests, new islands, and cinematic moments. While you learn more about the star messengers in these quests and search for the legendary Kadan, the first butcher of the guardians, on your journey to the last ark, you will encounter a series of new and recurring characters.
Players must have completed both Feiton and the following quests: ‘Yorn – Let there be light’, ‘Whisperholm – The beginning of our story’, and ‘Illusion Bamboo Island – End of the Trials’ as a prerequisite to tackle the new endgame quests. The Isteri & Illusion Bamboo Islands are recommended for players of item level 1100.
Abyss raid: Argos
Much like the guardian raids that players had to face during their adventures in Arkesia, participants must work together to defeat the guardian Argos before time runs out, while the group has only a limited number of revives available. Argos is a relentless opponent, which is why eight players are needed to engage him.
Players must go through three different phases and cooperate to conquer this mighty guardian. In the three phases, Argos becomes more powerful through different mechanics and attack patterns. Each phase has its own rewards (which can be collected once a week) and a different item level requirement that players must meet.
- Section 1 – Item level 1370
- Section 2 – Item level 1385
- Section 3 – Item level 1400
To face Argos, you must first complete the guide quest ‘Abyss raid unlocked!’. Those who meet the requirements can join the fight via the Abyss raid statue in the major cities. There they can search for battle companions through match search, or by looking for a specific group. Players can also search for a group via the ‘Find Group’ button below the minimap, and join the encounter.
General updates
Great Prize of Arkesia
Are you looking for a change after all those intense abyss raids and competitions in the trial arena? Then the limited-time race of the Great Prize of Arkesia, available next month, is just the thing. In this mode, two teams of seven players (7v7) compete against each other. They race through an obstacle course and try to reach their goal while hindering the other team from progressing. Progress can be achieved by reaching the goal and eating cake! The Great Prize of Arkesia will be live for about a month after the March update until the release of the April update.
In every major city (except Prideholme), an NPC named ‘Administrator of the Great Prize of Arkesia’ will appear to assist you in joining the event and grant you access to the quest ‘[Event][Daily] Go to the Arena!’. Players must be level 50 to participate in the event. Please note that there is a known issue where messages for this requirement in-game are only available in English.
Competitive Trial Arena Season 1
Unlike the other content of the March update, the first March update will lay the groundwork for the competitive trial arena of Season 1, which will begin at the end of the month. We will keep you updated on the exact timing of the season’s start.
It’s time to hone your skills in combat against other players – the first season of the competitive trial arena is approaching, where players can compete against each other for prestige and rewards. Players can only queue for the ‘Team Deathmatch’ mode. You can track your wins and losses during the season in your ‘Average Competitive Game Rating’. Your rank will be determined based on your score, just like the rewards you receive at the end of the season. To participate, players must compete in the trial arena and reach rank 1. So, make sure to have a few fights before Season 1 begins!
New skins
The Omen skin has been added to the in-game shop. These cosmetic items can be purchased for royal crystals until the release of the April update.
New login bonuses
The March update includes a new feature where players receive daily rewards for logging in daily and claiming them. The rewards include many helpful materials such as enhancement materials, relationship selection chests, card packs, and much more! You can receive 25 daily bonuses as well as additional rewards for reaching the 10, 15, and 20-day milestones. These rewards will be available until our April update.
Western Europe will receive adjusted login bonuses to help players who have changed regions catch up on their game progress. We will announce more information for players in Western Europe on our official forums.
Important bug fixes
- A problem related to Direct X 11 has been resolved, which caused the game client to become unresponsive when switching from windowed mode to fullscreen mode while using Alt+Tab.
- A problem with the graphics settings has been fixed, where using the ‘Restore Default Settings’ button sometimes set the graphics settings to a higher than intended default setting.
- Some controller support issues for tutorials and other guides have been resolved.
- A problem has been fixed where it was impossible to drop gems when using a controller.
- A character creation/customization issue has been fixed where the ‘Hello’ tattoo was displayed backwards.
- A problem in the UI of the estate management of fortresses has been fixed where AZERTY keyboard input was not properly supported.
- A problem has been fixed where the wrong tutorial video for the abyss dungeon was played.
- Issues have been resolved that occasionally prevented players from hearing, speaking, or moving while in raid group chat.
- A problem has been fixed that caused the hotkey function for the global chat to not work properly.
- A bug has been fixed where the weekly combat item package displayed that it could be claimed 10 times. This was changed to indicate a purchase limit of 1 per week. Although we already reported this issue as resolved in our last update, we continued to work on the solution and apologize for any confusion between updates.
- A problem in the training room has been fixed where the tutorial text for the movement ‘Stand Up’ disappeared too quickly.
- A problem in the quest ‘Honest Liar’ has been fixed that prevented players from progressing through quest interactions and NPC dialogues with a mouse click.
- A problem was fixed that limited the ship skin selection chest: Notos Orka to only one purchase instead of three purchases.
- A problem in the UI of the fortress laboratory was resolved, which caused additional unlocked research labs to not be displayed.
- Additional minor and backend issues have been fixed.
