A new Lost Ark update has been released by Amazon Games and Smilegate, adding a glut of new content for March 2022.
As previously teased, this latest patch introduces a new story episode for the popular free to play title, as well as a bonus raid, a quirky Grand Prix mode, and the foundation for seasonal PvP.
The developers have also outlined some major bug fixes in this Lost Ark update. Lost Ark launched last month on February 11, 2022, and quickly blew up, smashing Steam player records on PC. Originally released in Korea back in 2019, Amazon helped bring the game to a western audience. It’s worth noting that this version of Lost Ark is slightly behind the Korean version in terms of receiving new content.
Here’s everything from the March 2022 patch.
Lost Ark Update – March 2022 Highlights
Story Episode – Kadan (Includes Isteri & Illusion Bamboo Islands)
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 comepleting 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.
Abyss Raid – Argos
Encounter an entirely new end-game activity: Abyss Raids. Similar to Guardian Raids, players will need to work together to defeat a Guardian before the time expires, with a limited number of revives available to the party. Abyss Raids will pit eight players against a Guardian- but these are bigger, badder, and much more difficult than your average Guardian.
Players will need to progress through three distinct phases as they work together to vanquish their titanic foe. In the three phases, the Guardian will grow more powerful with different mechanics and attack patterns. Each phase has its own rewards (collectable once a week), and different item level requirements for players to participate.
Argos will be available through the Abyss Raid Statue in major cities.
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.
Competitive Proving Ground 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!
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.
Lost Ark’s promise of deep player customisation, cinematic action, an exciting multiplayer has certainly been a hit with gamers looking for a new entry to the genre. Being free-to-play has no doubt had a major impact on its popularity.
Lost Ark – the best games like Diablo
Naturally, there will be console players wondering what all the fuss is about. Currently, there are no official plans to release Lost Ark on consoles with no version available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch. That’s not to say this will never happen – over the years we’ve seen similar dungeon crawling games make their way to consoles include Diablo III and Path of Exile.
Source: Lost Ark
