Welcome to our Lost Ark Tier List. This list focuses on the strength of each class in Lost Ark PvE content in the western release of the game. It is structured in the usual tier list format, ranking classes from S to F tier, depending on how good they are.
Before we get into it, it’s vital for you to note that every single class in Lost Ark is viable. You can take down all the content in the game with any mixture of classes (a support or two might be necessary for raids!) and the difference between classes isn’t as massive as other MMOs. With the game having equalized so much content, even players playing ‘underpowered classes’ and facing a huge Gold deficit can still succeed in endgame PvE.
Tier lists are also almost always quite controversial since people tend to rank classes based on different factors. For us, we’ll be ranking classes by: utility, damage, defense, and difficulty. We’ll also make sure to keep this list up to date, as we will definitely see classes move up and down the rankings as the game receives updates and patches.
You can find our full tier list below, followed by a brief rundown of why each class fits that rank.
Lost Ark Tier List
S-Tier Classes
- Bard
- Paladin
- Gunlancer
- Berserker
- Gunslinger
A-Tier Classes
- Artillerist
- Striker
- Sorceress
- Shadowhunter
- Sharpshooter
B-Tier Classes
- Deathblade
- Scrapper
- Soulfist
- Wardancer
C-Tier Classes
- Deadeye
Lost Ark S-Tier Classes
There are a whopping five classes in S-Tier, making it the joint-most populated tier. This is simply due to the role distribution in Lost Ark.
Paladin and Bard are the only supports, which are vital to the end game. Both classes do their job very well and will always be good, as well as required for raids. As such, they belong in S-Tier until more supports come along and dethrone them. You can learn more about the classes in our Paladin and Bard guides.
Similarly, Gunlancer is also an S-Tier class due to the role it plays. Gunlancer is the only class that can ‘tank’, having a taunt ability, as well as being incredibly tough. It can even ignore a lot of boss mechanics with its tankiness, protect members, and even interrupt, cleanse, and shield others. Find out more about it in our Gunlancer guide.
Next, we have Berserker. This class is S-Tier for multiple reasons. First off is its very powerful utility, with the Red Dust skill providing a massive 12% damage increase from all sources debuff. This is huge for burst windows and massively increases not only your own, but also your team’s damage. Berserker itself also brings a ton of damage, isn’t the most difficult class, and is naturally one of the tankiest classes. Learn how to master the class with our Berserker PvE guide.
Last but not least is Gunslinger. The class is one of the highest damage dealers in the game and has insane mobility, making it a very powerful DPS choice for PvE. It also provides the whole group with an extra 10% crit chance, which can be applied for almost the entire fight. However, it’s definitely at the bottom of S-Tier as it can be tricky to master – luckily with our Gunslinger guide, that shouldn’t be too difficult.
Lost Ark A-Tier Classes
Moving onto A-Tier, we see five more classes, covering the majority of the roster. As mentioned, every class is good enough to clear all content and a lot of them are very competitive, here’s why.
Artillerist is a surprisingly tanky damage dealer that also brings the pain. The class has multiple shields (one of which affects your team) as well as increasing the damage enemies take, with really high uptime. Overall it’s fairly safe, supportive, and does a lot of damage. Make sure to check out our Artillerist guide to learn how to master it.
Next is Striker, another powerful class. It’s a great utility class, increasing both crit chance and attack speed for allies and has some very powerful burst. Striker can be hard to master as it relies a lot on positioning, but it’s damage and utility make it an amazing pick. Check out our Striker guide to learn more about the class.
Sorceress is one of the newest Lost Ark classes and also one of the best. The class has one of the highest burst windows in the entire game (thanks to Ignite) and is honestly a real contender for S-Tier based on raw damage alone. It also brings a 6% damage buff, which while good, isn’t the strongest buff. However, the class has quite a high skill cap and is also very squishy, so it will take a good player to get the most out of it. If you want to succeed with the class, head to our Sorceress guide.
Moving on to Shadowhunter, it’s a class that provides strong damage, a 12% additional damage buff, and is pretty easy to play. Its burst isn’t out of this world like other classes, but it does its job well, as well as helps the team do more damage. You can learn more about it in our Shadowhunter guide.
We close out A-Tier with Sharpshooter. The class is a long-ranged expert, providing very high damage, an almost constant 6% damage increase to it’s team, and a fairly straightforward playstyle. You can stand at range and use your abilities, avoiding a lot of mechanics. Check out our Sharpshooter guide to learn more about the class.
Lost Ark B-Tier Classes
Our Lost Ark tier list B-Tier features four classes, all of which are still good choices. The classes are mostly down here because of a specific weakness, but if you like them don’t be discouraged, as you can still be competitive with these classes.
First up is Deathblade, it has its perks, doing pretty good damage and providing a nice 12% increased damage buff. However, there are two key problems. The other classes in this list do more damage and Deathblade’s damage debuff is situational, as it only applies to head and back attacks. This means it doesn’t benefit every class and sometimes even does nothing. You can learn to get the most out of the class with our Deathblade guide.
Scrapper is placed in B-Tier simply due to its damage. The class is overall pretty new player friendly, being fairly tanky and easy to play. It even provides a 6% damage increase that is constant, but again, that’s not as powerful as other classes. The biggest drawback is a lack of damage, where other classes just do more damage. Still, if the class calls to you, check out our Scrapper guide to learn more.
Up next is Soulfist. The class has a very high burst thanks to its Awakening ability, however, it’s also very reliant on it and suffers the rest of the time. There is also an element of RNG, as the class is dependent on crits during its Awakening. It does, however, provide a decent 6% attack power buff and in the right circumstances can be one of the best damage dealers, so it’s not all bad news. If you want to learn about the class, check out our Soulfist guide.
Finally, we have Wardancer. This class is definitely one of the best B-Tier picks, but still suffers from a lack of damage. Wardancer provides amazing buffs to its team, increasing crit chance and attack speed. However, the buffs have a long cooldown and the class overall just can’t reach the damage of S and A-Tier picks. You can learn more about the class in our Wardancer guide.
Lost Ark C-Tier Classes
C-Tier features just one class, Deadeye. This class is alone in the bottom tier for multiple reasons. First of all, it’s very hard to play well. It requires a complex combo, excellent positioning, and playing in almost melee range. Being a squishy class, this all spells disaster for new players. Even when played well, other classes can do more damage with much less effort and its counterpart the Gunslinger is just much easier for much better results.
The class does provide a nice 10% crit chance buff and the damage is good once mastered, so don’t be disheartened if you want to play it. Check out our Deadeye guide to learn more about the class.
That’s it for our Lost Ark tier list. Hopefully, this helps you learn about the classes in Lost Ark and maybe even pick a main heading into the western launch. We’ll make sure to keep this page up to date as balance changes come in, so make sure to tune back in to see how patches affect the strength of classes.