The Western release of Lost Ark is getting its first major patch. The March Update introduces additional Story, Endgame and Events.
It’s March, and Lost Ark’s Western Release is getting its first major content update. This packed update includes additional Story, More Endgame Content, an Event and the official start of the first Ranked Season of Lost Ark PvP. There’s a lot to cover here so let’s dive into it.
March Update Patch Highlights
This section will cover each of the major additions of the patch, as well as our thoughts on the newly added content.
Kadan Story Episode
Experience a new storyline, complete with its own quests, new islands, and cinematic moments. These quests will include a cast of new and returning characters as you learn more about the Sidereals and search for the legendary Kadan, the first Guardian slayer, in your journey to find the final Ark.
Players will need to have completed Feiton, alongside completing the following quests: ‘Yorn – Let There Be Light’, ‘Whispering Islet – Start of Our Story’, and ‘Illusion Bamboo Island – End of the Trials’ as a prerequisite before embarking on the new end-game questlines. Both Isteri & Illusion Bamboo islands are recommended for players at item level 1100.
Our Thoughts
Lost Ark’s story is pretty good in itself, so those that are heavily interested or invested in the lore side of things will enjoy this part of the update. While I haven’t personally gotten into the lore yet, all of the stories in the game so far have been fantastic.
In addition to the story, this adds a couple of Tier 3 Islands, which can be an easy way to jump you forwards closer to the 1370 Item Level required for the Argos Abyss Raid. They do require Item Level 1100, so you’ll be able to do these without having to get your 1302 Item Level gear. This helps a lot if you don’t manage to luck out in your Chaos Dungeons enough to get the 1302 set.
Argos Abyss Raid
Similar to the Guardian Raids that players have encountered in their adventures across Arkesia, participants will need to work together to defeat the Guardian Argos before time expires, with a limited number of revives available to the party. As an unrelenting foe, eight players are required to face Argos.
Players will need to progress through three distinct phases as they work together to vanquish this powerful Guardian. In the three phases, Argos will grow more powerful with different mechanics and attack patterns. Each phase has its own table of rewards (collectable once a week), and a different item level requirement for players to participate.
- Phase 1 – Item Level 1370
- Phase 2 – Item Level 1385
- Phase 3 – Item Level 1400
To face Argos players must first complete the guide quest “Abyss Raid Unlocked!”. Those meeting the requirements are able to enter the encounter through the Abyss Raid Statue in major cities, where they can look for battle companions through match-making or by finding a specific group. Players can also find a group and enter the encounter using the “Find Party” button located below the mini-map.
Our Thoughts
It’s been a month since launch day, and we’re finally going to be able to access some of the harder endgame content.
The Argos Abyss Raid is broken into three phases, which allows you to challenge each phase independently. This allows you to comfortably progress through the raid as each phase cleared acts as a checkpoint, allowing you to start at each phase as you clear the previous.
This also adds new Tier 3 Gear, which can be crafted with drops from any phase of the raid.
Patch Events
This section will cover additional content and events being added or started in this patch.
Event: Arkesia Grand Prix
Looking for a change of pace after intense Abyssal Raids and Competitive Proving Grounds matches? Look no further than the limited-time Arkesia Grand Prix racing event, available for the next month. In this mode, two teams of seven players (7v7) will compete against each other, racing around a course while transformed and attempting to progress toward their goal while preventing the other team from progressing. Progress can be earned by reaching the goal and eating cakes! The Arkesia Grand Prix will be live for roughly a month after the March update, until the April Update releases.
An NPC named “Arkesia Grand Prix Manager” will arrive in every major city (other than Prideholme) to help you enter the event, granting an “[Event][Daily] Go to the Arena!” quest for players to gain entry. Players must be level 50 to enter the event. Please note there is a known issue that the messaging for this requirement is only available in English in-game.
Our Thoughts
Not entirely sure how this will play out, but if it gives decent rewards, it could be worth the time. It does sound like a fun thing at the very least.
You can read all about the Arkesia Grand Prix event in our guide. It shows you how to start it, shares tips on how to win and what rewards you can earn.
Competitve Proving Grounds Season 1
Unlike the other content in the March Update, the initial March update will lay the groundwork for Season 1 of Competitive Proving Grounds, and the season will begin later in the month. We’ll keep you posted on the exact time the season is set to kick-off.
Time to start honing your player vs. player skills— the first season of competitive Proving Grounds is on its way; where players can battle each other for prestige and rewards. Players will be able to queue solo for the ‘Team Deathmatch’ mode. As you win and lose throughout the season, you can track your ‘Competitive Match Average Score’. Your rank is determined based on your score, as are the rewards you receive when the season ends. To participate, players will need to play Proving Grounds and reach Tier 1, so make sure to get some matches in before Season 1 begins!
Our Thoughts
While this isn’t starting right away after the patch goes live, it is definitely worth watching out for and participating in. While it’s not required at all to progress, Ranked PvP has been incredibly rewarding to participate in for other regions. Provided it stays the same here it could very well be both rewarding and highly competitive, which is good news for those that have been enjoying the PvP.
Additional Changes and Fixes
Finally the smaller Changes and bugfixes. There’s not a whole lot to talk about with these overall.
New Skins
Added the Omen skin collection to the in-game store. These cosmetics will be available in exchange for Royal Crystals until the April Update releases.
New Log-in Bonuses
The March update will add a new track for players to receive daily rewards for logging and claiming on a daily basis. Rewards include a variety of helpful materials, such as honing materials, rapport selection chests, card packs, and much more! This track will have 25 daily bonuses, alongside additional rewards at the 10, 15, and 20 day thresholds. These rewards will be available until our April Update.
Europe West will be receiving modified log-in bonuses to help players who moved regions to catch up. We’ll share more information on our official forums soon for Europe West players.
Notanble Bug Fixes
- Fixed a Direct X 11 related issue causing the game client to become unresponsive after switching from Windowed Mode to Fullscreen and Alt+tabbing.
- Fixed an issue with graphical settings where sometimes the “Restore to Default” button would set the graphical settings to a higher than intended default setting.
- Fixed a few issues with Controller Support related messaging for tutorials and other instructions.
- Fixed an issue where it was not possible to unequip gems when using a controller.
- Fixed an issue in Character Creation/Customization causing the “hello” tattoo to display backwards.
- Fixed an issue with Stronghold’s Manor Management UI causing the AZERTY keyboard input was not properly supported.
- Fixed an issue where the wrong Guide video for the Abyssal Dungeon was being played.
- Fixed issues causing players to sometimes be unable to hear others, speak, or leave while in Raid group chat.
- Fixed an issue causing hotkey functionality for global chat to not work properly.
- Fixed an issue where the Weekly Battle Item Bundle stated it can be claimed 10 times. Changed it to reflect a purchase limit of once a week. While previously communicated this issue as fixed in our last update, we continued to work on resolving it and apologize for any confusion between the updates.
- Fixed an issue in the Training Room causing the tutorial text for the Stand Up movement to disappear too quickly.
- Fixed an issue in the “Honest Liar” quest preventing players from using mouse clicks to advance quest interactions and NPC dialogue.
- Fixed an issue causing the Notos Orka Ship Skin Selection Chest to be limited to 1 purchase instead of 3.
- Fixed an issue causing the Stronghold Lab UI to not display additional research slots when unlocked.
- Fixed various other minor and backend issues.
Check out the Lost Ark Guides available on VULKK.com and stay up-to-date with the latest news about the game.
