Up until level 50, Lost Ark is a fairly simple game. The game carries you through the main questline, and at the end of it, you would reach item level 250.
At that stage, end-game content begins. Your goal is to increase your item level required to complete more difficult challenges. The progression will take you from dungeons that you can complete alone to raids requiring 8- or 16 man parties.
To reach that endgame gear, you will need to know how to upgrade your gear to save time and resources.
250 to 302 Item Level
You can get item level 302 gear from the first Chaos Dungeon. It unlocks if you have item level 250 and can drop level 302 rare or blue gear. However, the better way to obtain 302 gear is to head to the Shushire continent.
The Shushire continent unlocks once you complete North Bern. The time it takes to complete the Shushire story is about 3 hours. At the end of those 3 hours you get:
a complete 302 gear set
- 495 Small Armor Crystals
- 360 Small Weapon Crystals
- 35 Givena’s Emeralds
- 11.5k x Emerald Shards
302 to 340 Item Level
To reach item level 340, you need the following:
- 540 Small Armor Crystals
- 300 Small Weapon Crystals
- 3360 Emerald Shards
- 16 Givena’s Emeralds
Completing Shushire will award you most of the materials needed to upgrade your gear, but you will still need more. To get the remainder of the Armor and Weapon Crystals, you will need to do 4 runs of the Chaos Dungeons in North Bern.
Because you do not have 340 yet, you will do 4 runs or two days of the first Tier of the Resonance Charm Chaos Dungeon.
After that, you will have enough materials to upgrade your gear to 340. At 340, you unlock the next tier of the Chaos Dungeon that requires exactly 340 item level.
Alternatively, you can do the Guardian Raids. With item level 302 you can unlock and solo the Urunil Guardian Raid.
340 to 460 Item Level
You will keep the gear that you got from Shushire until you reach item level 460. There is no need to replace it as you will keep upgrading it. You will need to continue running Chaos Dungeons in North Bern or Guardian Raids until you achieve 460.
460 to 600 Item Level
Once you reach item level 460, it will trigger an in-game event which will offer you a quest to start the Rohendel story. You complete the Rohendel story and you start the Chaos Dungeons there.
The first tier of Chaos Dungeons will require item level 460. As you upgrade your gear, you unlock higher tiers of the Chaos Dungeon. You continue to do this until you upgrade the blue gear that you got from Shushire to +15. Once you reach +15 on your gear, you should have item level 600.
600 to 802 Item Level
Once you get to item level 600, head to Yorn. You will again start doing Chaos Dungeons. Like in North Bern and Rohendel, you will first have access to the dungeon’s first tier or the weakest version. However, you will no longer upgrade your original blue gear this time.
The Chaos Dungeons from Yorn will drop a new rare gear set but it will be item level 802. You will need to run the first dungeon tier until you get your entire gear replaced with the gear rewarded by the Chaos Dungeon in Yorn.
802 to 960 Item Level
From 802 to 960 item level, you will only spend time in Yorn. You will have to do your daily Chaos Dungeon runs until you have enough materials to upgrade your gear to item level 960.
It will take a few days to get all the materials to upgrade your gear which is why you should not rely only on Chaos Dungeons. All the gear that you get should be dismantled to get more materials. You should complete the Guardian Raid dailies as well to get more materials.
960 to 1100 Item Level
To get to item level 1100, you need to farm in Payton. You will have to complete the Chaos Dungeon dailies and everything else that you can do to get as many materials as possible to upgrade your gear.
Like you did in Yorn, you will keep your existing gear and upgrade it to item level 1100. Stop investing in your current gear once you get to item level 1100. You are still running with blue or rare gear that you got from Yorn.
1100 Item Level and Beyond
Once you reach item level 1100, you will need to move to Papunika Abyss Dungeons. Here, you will get a new gear set, which should be your main goal. This new gear set will be the one you will invest most of your resources.Â
This is where most players claim that the game starts. North Bern, Rohendel, Yorn, and Payton are considered a tutorial. They are meant to introduce you to how your gear is upgraded and where you get the required materials.
Tips
Gear should never be soldÂ
When you get new and better gear, you should always dismantle it. If you dismantle the gear, you will get upgrade materials considered more valuable. If you choose to sell it to vendors, you will get just some silver coins that have little value.
Upgrading Gear
To upgrade your gear, you will need to go to the Quality Upgrade NPC which can be found in most cities. In Bern Castle, Marcia is the vendor you will be looking for.
Do not get attached to your gear in the early stages. You will be investing a lot into upgrading your gear but you will replace it eventually. As the developers of Lost Ark add more endgame content, you will keep on replacing your gear. Even the gear you will get from Papunika will be replaced at some point.
Guardian Raids
Do not neglect Guardian Raids. They are a useful source of materials and you should complete them every day along with your Chaos Dungeon runs.
Chaos Dungeons
Always move to the next Chaos Dungeon tier. All Chaos Dungeon tiers in an area offer the same rewards. Their difficulty increases with each tier but you get more rewards. You get the same item level gear drops but more shards and crystals which means that the higher the dungeon tier you do, the faster you will upgrade your gear.
