The Lost Ark is in an interesting location. It's an MMO hack and slash game that became very popular in the West earlier this year but has been available in South Korea since 2019. That means there's plenty of existing stump content that the developers can decide when is appropriate for the western release.
They agreed on a date: this month.
"Having closely monitored Smilegate RPG, we believe that our player base has reached (or could easily reach in the next few weeks) the level of items required to participate and we think the timing is right," it reads in the Lost Ark post about the upcoming update in May.
"Valtan will introduce the first Legion raid in the western version of Lost Ark. Legion Raids are difficult team-based events that require teamwork to understand and execute the strategies necessary to combat each Legion Commander's unique traits, abilities, and mechanics ", according to the team.
"Because Legion raids are challenging and take time, there are gates (or checkpoints) that save player progress throughout the raid. valtan is an eight-player, 2-gate Legion raid and introduces a number of new mechanics. For Normal difficulty requires players to be level 1415 and Hard difficulty requires players to be level 1445."
The Valtan raid also introduces a new type of rare gear called "Relics" that allow you to craft "more potent armor and weapon bonuses" and
lost ark gold from the materials harvested in the raid. There is also a new class "Advanced Destroyer" and many new events and missions to participate in.
What about future updates?
"Now that we have our eyes firmly set on Valtan, Deskaluda and more endgame content for May, we'll be taking a look at the summer roadmap and sharing our plans throughout the month. As always, we'll be incorporating player data and feedback into our decisions and look forward to hearing your opinion."
As a result, in the western version of Lost Ark, they will introduce the first "Legion Raid". The first Legion raid is Valtan, an eight-player teamfight that includes two checkpoint professions for player rescue. You must be level 1415 to attempt Normal difficulty or 1445 to attempt Hard mode. The Valtan raid also introduces the Relic rarity gear.
The May update will also add Deskaluda, a new Guardian team copy that requires item level 1415, and a new high-level Destroyer profession. The Destroyer's abilities focus on "slowing down, shooting down, pushing and pulling" enemies.
For more details on the update, including information on new quests and open-world events, new costumes, and quality-of-life updates, visit the Lost Ark website. The update will be available sometime later in May, but if you're already playing, check out the Lost Ark Best of Class list.
