Lost Ark was arguably the biggest MMORPG success story of 2022. Its mix of epic ARPG action alongside a huge sandbox world and compelling story brought in a large selection of players, with epic raids and tonnes of collectibles. One of the things that made it stand out was that every character class could be a soloDPS, moving away from the traditional model of party selection in MMOs. But those looking for a different role weren’t completely left behind. Below we’ll discuss the best support classes in Lost Ark.
Lost Ark support classes
Currently, there are just two viable support classes on Amazon’s western Lost Ark servers, theBardand thePaladin. However, theArtistis the third support class and is currently available on the Korean servers, with the class expected to arrive in the west during 2023.
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The Bard
The Bard is aranged mage classthat uses a harp as its main weapon. It is possible to focus on a damage build for your bard character, but it is equally viable to go down the support route. If you do so, you’ll be a welcome addition to any party thanks to yourstrong crowd controlandhealingcapabilities while still being able to contribute with ranged damage when the team is looking strong. The Bard is a great choice if you like to play support while surveying the battlefield from the edges.
Using your abilities in battle will build yourSerenade Meter. Once full, you can spend this power to play either the Serenade of Salvation (party heals) or Courage (party damage buff). The healing element of this, highly sought after on raids, can be further increased with theEngraving Desperate Salvation,which increases your serenade’s healing power.
Key support skills (Tripod ability required for the full effect in brackets):
The Paladin
The Paladin is a sword-wieldingmelee warrior classthat is great at tanking and can soak up a lot of damage. But you also wield a holy book, allowing you to concentrate less on dealing damage and more on protecting yourself and your party with both damage shields and heals. Unlike Bards, the Paladin tends to be in the thick of the action while aiding the other party members.
Your support role in a party is about building yourPiety Meterto provide the team withHoly Aura.This Holy Aura increases your allies' damage while also restoring their health over time. These abilities are increased further with theBlessed Aura Engraving, offering the team a large area buff while you continue to deal melee damage.
Coming in 2023: The Artist
While technically being the first of a new character class, defined by the developers as aSpecialist, reports from Korea suggest the Artist (sometimes calledThe Painter) seems to be very much a support class. The reason for the new term seems to be that while not quite as strong as the Bard and the Paladin at support, the Artist is astronger DPS. However, with the right engravings and build, the Artist can be a strong support class forhealing,crowd control,andDPS buffs.
The Artist buildsHarmony Energy, creating Rising Sun orbs that canrestore a party member’s health. The difference with the Artist is that these orbs (and bubbles below) appear on the ground, and your allies walk into them to receive the benefit. Key support skills will includeInk Strike(increases damage received for the enemy hit while creating a collectible bubble hat will shield an ally who collects it) andInk Swamp(slows and DOTs enemies in an area while increasing attack range, crit damage, and mana regen of allies in the same area).
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