The free-to-play MMO Lost Ark is getting ready to welcome its long-awaited May update later this month. While players can look forward to plenty of new cosmetic items–including modern clothing!–most fans are clamoring for the first endgame Legion Raid to be made available for Western players. These raids see teams of players working together through ever-more-complex multi-phase boss fights, and developer Smilegate thinks that players are finally ready.
In an update on the Lost Ark official blog, the dev team has confirmed that players will need an item level of 1415 for normal difficulty and 1445 for hard mode. The post also makes it clear that this first Legion Raid, Valtan, will seriously test player mettle.
“Valtan will introduce the first Legion Raid into the western version of Lost Ark. Legion Raids are difficult team-based activities that require teamwork to understand and execute the strategy necessary to counter each Legion Commander’s unique characteristics, abilities, and mechanics,” the post reads.
“As Legion Raids are challenging and take time, there are gates (or checkpoints) that will save player’s progress as they advance through the Raid. Valtan is an eight-player Legion raid, has 2 gates, and introduces a swathe of new mechanics.”
The raid will also introduce a new rarity for gear called “Relic.”
The May update will also add something players have been asking for since day one–front and back attack indicators. This quality of life update will indicate exactly where a boss’s hitbox begins and ends. Players will also now have the ability to check daily and weekly content participation in a new menu, along with UI updates, improved party finder and party invites, updated loot dismantling, and plenty more. (Don’t forget the new hairstyles.)
Lost Ark was fully released in its free-to-play format on February 11, 2022. On March 8, it was announced that the title had surpassed 20 million players worldwide.