Hello everyone and welcome to our Lost Ark PvP Basics Guide! In this guide we will be covering everything you can expect when dipping into Lost Ark’s PvP for the very first time (or even if you’re returning and need a refresher!). Once you have taken the time to read through this guide you will be prepared and ready to become the next top gladiator in the Arena!

Lost Ark PvP Gamemodes

PvP in Lost Ark is a fun, competitive and refreshing experience if you have been deep diving into the PvE content Lost Ark has to offer. Similar to other titles such as World of Warcraft, Lost Ark’s premium PvP experience is formatted into a similar Arena setting. With 3v3 being the forefront of the experience.

However there are other gamemodes in Lost Ark. Many that cater for those that prefer an all-against-all brawl. Or even a 3v3 system that is queued into multiple winner-stays-on 1v1’s. However to navigate through all these options and settings required for PvP, we’ll have to bring up the Proving Grounds interface:

Normal Matches

Firstly, we have the Normal Match section. This is where you will find your one-stop option for a plethora of PvP modes! First up you have Team Deathmatch. TDM is your classic but also main gamemode of Lost Ark PvP. Competitive Proving Grounds and even tournaments follow this format. TDM is your traditional 3v3 Arena experience you know and love from various games. Work together with your teammates to defeat the enemy by scoring the most kills!

Secondly, we have Deathmatch. This is your standard all-against-all brawl between 6 individual players. There are no teams in this mode. So it’s a good opportunity to just hop in and maybe warm up & cause some chaos. DM is definitely a more casual mode.

Thirdly, we get to Team Elimination. Elimination puts a twist on the traditional 3v3 formula, and instead puts you into multiple 1v1s. Before the match starts each teammate chooses where they would prefer to start in order of first up to last. Then each team will send out their warrior in a winner-stays-on format until one is left standing.

Competitive Matches

Next up we have the true testing ground. Ranked Competitive PvP. As previously mentioned this mode follows the TDM format and the goal of the game is to get the most kills before the time expires. However you will be ranked based on your wins and losses, gaining rating for winning, and losing rating in defeat.

It should be noted too that in Competitive you typically won’t see multi-stacked classes. If the opposing team has duplicates (for example two Sorceress) your team will have the exact same duplicates.

Note: Your first 100 matches of Competitive PvP give you increased rating gains. They are very important, especially your first 30 as they’ll give you the biggest boost of up to 2.5x rating!

Competitive is where your skills will truly be tested. And if you’re fairly casual and don’t want to stress too much – maybe stay away from Competitive until you’re comfortable. Keep in mind you can only queue solo for this mode. But if you’re thirsting for top competition, look no further. Depending on where you finish in the rankings at the end of the season. You could potentially see yourself earning rewards too:

As you can see, if you reach the best of the best you can see yourself earning huge rewards like 10,000 Crystals, exclusive mounts, titles and auras. Lower ranked however do generally get less rewards such as not getting the Mount until Platinum+. 

You also get to check the top couple of hundred players in your region or even compare with friends/guildmates! See who is the best of the best and maybe find yourself up there with your own stats above.

Co-op Battle

Only in Co-op Battle can you find yourself having 6v6 gameplay in the interface. The map you will duke it out on will rotate and the gamemode is only open a couple of hours a day. However this gamemode boasts a lot of different objective control type gamemodes within it and the 6v6 dynamic creates a fun experience. You can queue this mode as a solo, trio or full 6 stack.

Finally you also have Custom Games. Where you and your friends can create a private match and set-up the teams and map you want to play on!

How Does Lost Ark PvP Work – The Basics

The first thing to note in Lost Ark’s PvP is that you can access it as early as level 26. If you purely want to experience the PvP there is no time investment into the rest. 

In Lost Ark PvP Arena you will find that there is equalization. Meaning that all Engravings, Card sets, PvE gear and more do not apply to this PvP content. You fight on an even playing field with every player. Getting the same distributable skill points, stat points and class choices. This does lead to some Rock Paper Scissors type counters when it comes to class matchups but overall it is very balanced. 

As previously mentioned you will be given skill points and stat points to allocate. This is all configured in the Book of Coordination:

The Book of Coordination is your full customization section. As you can see in the image above you have a Stat Tuning section, where you will be given 1000 stat points to allocate into what you prefer for your build.

Below Stat Tuning you also have Skill Tuning, where you can choose your spell placement for Keybinds and your Awakening. Finally, you have 340 skill points to allocate to your skills of choice.

The Book of Coordination really lets you fine tune your class before going into the Arena. For a quick heads up there is also a Recommended button, for those who are very new and want to see what is considered a good starting point. For what we believe is the best choice for each class, however make sure to check out our Lost Ark PvP Guide for classes!

How Lost Ark PvP Combat Works

Using the traditional Team Deathmatch as an example as it is the core mode of PvP. You can expect matches to last 240 seconds. There is overtime in the game when teams have tied their score.

30 seconds before overtime a burst buff will activate which will increase damage and crit damage. This is something to watch out for. If both teams have tied at the end of overtime it goes down to golden kill – next kill will win the match.

Combat

One of the main fundamentals of PvP in Lost Ark is understanding and dealing with Stagger and Crowd Control in general. This part of the PvP can be one of the most frustrating parts to deal with.

The game functions much like a traditional Fighting Game would, you look for openings or mistakes to punish – you go in for the kill with combo strings. That is where most of the frustration is with PvP, you have to sit through the combos and sometimes feel helpless.

Eventually you will have seen that some moves have CC immunity. Depending on the level of immunity they have you have the opportunity to effectively counter. 

1. Paralysis Immunity. This immunity will often prevent the softer CC of the game, namely Stagger. You will however still be susceptible to CC’s above Stagger such as Knock-ups and Knock-downs. There are softer forms of Stagger too, try Auto-attacking.

2. Push Immunity. Push Immunity is your “Tier 2 immunity”. With Push Immunity active you’ll be immune to Knock-downs and Knock-ups, skills that essentially “push” you in a direction like a Knock-back.

3. Debuff Immunity. The best of the best CC immunity under the name of “Tier 3” superarmor. This immunity essentially covers all major CC’s such as Earthquake, Freeze, Electrocution and more. Typically Debuff Immunity is not a very common Immunity level to have on skills but when you have it you will love it. Receiving one of these major CC’s renders you entirely unable to move.

All the Crowd Control types you will see in Lost Ark PvP will come under these categories and once you learn which skills have these types of CC, but also the skills that can counter these types of CC’s you’ll have a much more enjoyable experience in the Arena.

Finally, should you receive a stagger for a certain period of time or lose 30% of your health in a single juggle, you will gain immunity to all CC and have the opportunity to roll back up. This will have a scale hanging above your head.

A final topic of discussion inside the PvP Arena is the camera perspective. In this gamemode both teams will have a flipped perspective of around 90 degrees. With this you can use your knowledge to better position yourself on your opponent’s screen. Giving you options to attack from blind spots.

As you can see here (Credit to Lin-0, a fantastic top rank PvP player) this is the general perspective both teams have. You can find blind spots under the opponent’s skill bar or even timer. Use this to your advantage!

PvP Vendor

Every match you complete in PvP will award you with a certain number of Coins of Courage based on whether you win or lose. Another source of this currency you can find at the Weekly Reset. Also depending on the amount you decide to play during that given week you will receive awarded a Weekly amount of Coins of Courage.

Once you have accrued a decent amount and you want to spend them, take yourself to the closest Vendor (usually located by the Proving Grounds board). The Vendor provides great purchasable rewards such as honing materials to upgrade your character’s gear. 

Summary Tips

1. Make sure to force your aspect ratio in your settings to 21:9 (Widescreen). This will give you more FoV and a significant advantage over those who do not use it.

2. Some skills may have changes between the PvP and PvE counterparts so make sure to check those out by holding the ALT key down.

3. Learning every class engagement pattern as well as the immunities their skills provide including your own is by far the most important thing to learn for successful matches and countering effectively.

4. Remember to take a break if you’re feeling frustration, you will learn much less and ultimately have less fun and play worse. Know when to give it a rest!

Finally there are two other forms of PvP to mention. GvG which we currently have no confirmation of but we will update as and when needed, also in the distant future we will receive a PvP Continent named Rowen. Rowen will come with massive 48v48 battles in Realm vs Realm but also large Open World PvP with a lot of equalization.

Thank you for checking out our Lost Ark PvP Basics Guide for everything you will need to know to begin your Arena journey! I hope this helps you become the PvP player you have always wanted to become but also find enjoyment in the scene. We will make sure that we update this guide in the future since Lost Ark can make any changes for the PvP scene.