Wondering what class to play? Check out our top picks for the Lost Ark NA Tier List that we’ve compiled for 2022 and onwards. Get the low down on each class and figure out what suits you best.
It’s no secret that Lost Ark is launching its North American servers in just a few days. And with the huge announcement – many players old and new are finding themselves wondering about the current Lost Ark NA Tier List for 2022.
What classes are good? What classes suck?
If you’re curious about these questions and need a quick rundown on the state of PvE in Lost Ark’s NA release – keep reading.
First and foremost, it’s important to understand that the tier-list we’ve put together below is going to cover Lost Ark’s NA and EU regions that are set to launch on February 11, 2022 (or February 8 if you bought a Founder’s Pack).
And of course, you shouldn’t forget that all classes and subclasses in Lost Ark are end-game viable. You’ll be able to take any character from leveling into Tier 3 raids in the game, albeit some will be slower than others, particularly when it comes to solo-play.
Need a quick refresher on what to do for leveling to 50? Check out our fresh and updated Lost Ark Leveling guide to see what you should be doing when NA and EU realms launch to get ahead of the curve.
And without further ado – let’s dive into the tier-list!
How Did We Rank The Classes In Lost Ark NA?
While putting together this tier list, we had PvE content in mind (which covers the vast majority of Lost Ark’s endgame content).
As such, we factored in a few important criteria:
- What sort of Damage The Class Puts out in fights.
- What kind of Utility the class brings to the party.
- How reliant is the class on RNG (Luck) in order to perform well.
- How difficult is the class to pick up and play well for a complete beginner.
These criteria helped us gain a deeper understanding of where each of Lost Ark’s core classes stands. And in turn, we ranked them based on the summary scores each of them accrued.
Editor’s Note: We only looked at the core classes that will be available when Lost Ark launches in EU and NA. As new classes hit the deck – we will update the tier-list to stay consistent with new patches and content.
Lost Ark S-Tier Classes (Start Playing It Now)
Now that we’re all on the same page about how we sorted our picks, let’s take a look at the best of the best – the S-Tier classes in Lost Ark NA.
Bard – Utility / Support
While in most other MMORPG’s support classes get little fame or love – Lost Ark’s Bard is definitely a hyper desired class to have in your party. Whether you’re running some Guild PvE content, doing raids, or even kicking back with a few friends – she’s sure to bring lots of oomph to your party.
The Good:
The Bard is a master of healing, damage buffs, negative effect debuffs, and shields for your party. And coupled with a quick skill refresh timer – she’s going to carry your party hard.
The Bad:
Positioning is the one significant down-side we’ll mention in our Lost Ark NA Tier List when it comes to the Bard. She’s squishy, and you’ll need to get a basic understanding of boss mechanics quickly to not get facerolled in raids.
Difficulty Rating:
Easy
The Bard is very simple to play and requires very little mechanical skill or game knowledge to do well. All of her abilities are beneficial, and you’ll end up an asset to any party even if you just made your Bard a few minutes back.
However, it’s good to know that the Bard has a fairly high skill ceiling – meaning there’s lots of room to improve and a solid gap between the average Bard and high-ranking players.
Paladin – Utility / Support / Off-Tank
As one of the Warrior’s subclasses, the Paladin is definitely a fun pick if you like engaging gameplay with lots of variance in playstyles, builds, and how you want to tackle Lost Ark’s vast amounts of content.
The Good:
If you’re not keen on playing the Bard, the Paladin is the next best pick for a host of very similar reasons. He provides excellent healing, shields, and a flurry of buffs & debuffs for your party.
The Paladin is also quite tanky thanks to a massive HP pool, which makes him a little more forgiving when it comes to messing up your positioning or getting caught in sneaky mechanics.
The Bad:
Unfortunately, unlike the Bard – the Paladin’s skill floor is a little higher. This means you’ll need to have a slightly better understanding of the game, and how to juggle the myriad of mechanics the Paladin offers before you’ll be decently viable at playing the class.
Difficulty Rating:
Medium
While he’s not hard to play in comparison to many other classes in the game – the Paladin definitely leans on some game knowledge to really shine. And with a very high skill ceiling, you’ll find yourself being left in the dust quickly for top-tier content if you lack the mechanics or game macro.
Gunlancer – Tank / Utility / DPS
This class brings a lot to the table. You can be a supporting DPS, or even facetank most mechanics in the game without a care for the world. And you can do it all while babysitting your party through even the most challenging T3 content in Lost Ark.
The Good:
If you play a Gunlancer – you’ll get to enjoy a humongous health pool, fantastic shields, and sizable damage to boot. And did we mention that this class can interrupt most boss mechanics in the game?
The Bad:
While the Gunlancer has a lot to offer – you’ll have to pick a side and stick with it. This means you’ll need to build your character around a particular role. So if you want to be your party’s primary tank – you’ll sacrifice some damage and utility. While on the other hand, if you want to dish out mad numbers, you’ll be letting go of some of that care-free toolkit that he offers.
Difficulty Rating:
Medium
While Lost Ark’s Gunlancer can seem a bit overwhelming at first, he offers a very simple skill rotation, and with a little bit of game knowledge – you’ll be racking up Guardian kills in no time.
However, the trade off is the fact that you’ll need to hone in on your build and polish up your knowledge of boss mechanics, otherwise you’ll just be a walking hunk of muscle without much purpose or use to your party.
Lost Ark A-Tier Classes (Always A Good Pick)
Now that we’ve had a quick gander at some of the superstar classes you can pick up and level on NA and EU release of the game – let’s take a closer look at some of the other viable candidates for the question of “What Class To Play In Lost Ark NA?”
Gunslinger – Ranged DPS
Let’s face it, not everyone wants to get up close and personal with their enemies. And this is exactly what the gunslinger excels at – dishing out crazy damage, while keeping a safe distance from the big threats.
The Good:
What do you get when you combine high basic damage with an expansive kit of abilities that go boom, and a passive 10% Critical damage buff that’s always up? You get an excellent DPS class of course!
The Bad:
While the Gunslinger can look shiny and attractive (similar to how Lucian drew in crowds when he was released in League Of Legends) – unfortunately, it’s a very mechanically challenging class to play. At least if you want to play it well.
Difficulty Rating:
Hard
As we mentioned above, mechanics are a must for this class. And while the vast majority of your time is spent out of danger’s reach, you do have to draw in close for certain abilities – for example the ample kit that relies on dishing out back attacks. This leaves your vulnerable and exposed, and a liability to your party if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Sharpshooter – Ranged DPS
Swap out the gunslinger’s rifles for a bow and an equally as flashy kit of abilities and you’re looking at Lost Ark’s Sharpshooter subclass.
The Good:
Similarly to the Gunslinger, you get amazing damage, and a very fluid and engaging playstyle with this class. However, one added benefit is that your range is significantly larger, and you get a lot more mobility to get you out of sticky situations.
The Bad:
The Sharpshooter is pretty squishy. And while he’s very mobile compared to most classes, his lack of defences leaves him wide open to getting caught in surprise mechanics. That coupled with a very high skill ceiling makes him a not-so-noob-friendly class to roll in Lost Ark.
Difficulty Rating:
Very Hard
This class requires very good mechanics, and an in-depth knowledge of the bosses and PvE content mechanics you’ll face and how to deal with them. After all, if you’re too busy running for your life, your party loses a source of damage, and if you keep getting wiped out – same story.
Berserker – Melee DPS
Maybe staying at a distance and pew-pewing your way to victory just isn’t your thing. Well if you need a bit of brawn and muscle to spice things up – the Berserker should be the right class for you.
The Good:
This class offers a super simple playstyle, coupled with high versatility, and absolutely staggering damage output. And while he’s very simple to get started with, there’s a tonne of room for progress thanks to the Berserker’s high skill ceiling.
The Bad:
While the Berserker is easy to play and will reliably get you into the endgame – it’s also a bit monotonous since it’s not very mobile, there’s little fluidity to the playstyle, and it largely relies on a single ability for most of its damage output. Additionally, a huge percentage of people will start with the Berserker as their first class, so be prepared to fight tooth and nail for a spot in raids since there will be 10 other Berserkers trying to get through the door too.
Sorceress – Mage DPS / Utility
What’s a fantasy MMORPG without a little magic? The Sorceress in Lost Ark is an amazing and engaging class that was actually released not long before the NA and EU servers were announced. It offers a fun playstyle, some familiarity for western gamers, and a great kit of abilities to help your party progress through content that much quicker.
The Good:
One of the Sorceress’ biggest selling points is her versatile DPS kit. You’ll be dishing out a huge amount of damage, while also offering some Utility to your party through CC’s (crowd control abilities) and soft interrupts that will keep your party safe and speed up your farming substantially.
The Bad:
Of course, in line with many other DPS classes in this game – the Sorceress is pretty squishy, and lacks a good deal of mobility. This makes positioning very important, and when you factor in her ability rotation, you’ll really need to have a solid grasp on the game’s mechanics before you can really start to shine in this role.
Difficulty Rating:
Medium
While the Sorceress definitely has a high skill floor and you’ll need to freshen up on how to run certain bosses with this class – it’s not rocket science. And it’s good to note that most early mechanics that you’ll be introduced to in T1-T2 should prepare you well for the endgame, making it a pretty forgiving experience earlier on.
Lost Ark B-Tier Classes (Bonus Options)
Having learned at a glance about the best classes in Lost Ark – let’s take a moment to cover some of the other less star-like but viable picks in the game.
Striker – Melee DPS
As a subclass of the Monk, the Striker offers fantastic DPS and a fun vibrant playstyle to boot. But while it’s a viable first class to roll, it falls off at the higher stages of the endgame when compared to other DPS options due to having less overall synergy and a slightly less valuable kit of skills.
Artillerist – Ranged DPS
Similarly to the Gunslinger, the Artillerist is a fantastic ranged DPS with huge numbers and a well-rounded kit that includes staggers and party shielding. However, it suffers from a chronic lack of mobility. This makes it a very challenging class to play if you’re not a master of the game’s mechanics and macro.
Shadowhunter – Melee DPS
Being very easy to pick up and very forgiving early on – the Shadowhunter is a fantastic pick for a starting class. Especially when you consider the fun playstyle you get switching in an out of demon form. However, just like the Striker, it falls off pretty quickly at the endgame unless perfected to the umpteenth degree.
Soulfist – Melee DPS
While this class is definitely one of the highest number-generating DPS classes in Lost Ark, it has one simple caveat. You have to actually land your skills to do any significant damage. And given it’s hyper reliance on hitting its ultimate ability, you’ll really need to hone your skill-shots before you can play this class at a viable level. But, otherwise its very engaging and relatively easy to play at the low-mid tier without significant prior experience with skillshot champions or classes in other games.
Scrapper – Melee DPS
The Scrapper offers great stagger, and a decent kit of defence, mobility, and fast-paced attacks. However, it’s only downfall is the fact that it doesn’t do great damage when compared to other DPS classes, even in mid-tier content. This makes it less desirable for endgame grinds, and a significantly slower experience down the line.
Lost Ark C-Tier Classes (Continuously Struggling)
So with the B-Tier classes out of the way, we’ve got a few more picks to cover. Here we’ll discuss some of the least desirable classes in Lost Ark’s NA release and show you why they don’t always make the charts on pretty much any server across the game.
Wardancer – Melee DPS
Starting with another one of the Monk’s subclasses – the Wardancer looks shiny and cool with its huge array of buffs and utility skills. But the one thing it lacks is damage – of any sorts. This makes her a poor pick due to the fact that her utility skills don’t offer that much, and without any damage to boot – you’d probably want just about any other class in your party to get some use out of the spot.
Deathblade – Melee DPS
While this class might seem similar to the Shadowhunter we covered earlier – Lost Ark was a little less generous with this killer lady. You’ve got mobility, you’ve got some utility, and a flashy play-style too. However, the damage just isn’t there.
Deadeye – Ranged DPS
If you want to play a much worse version of the Gunslinger, with a lot more mechanical complexity – the Deadeye should be your number one choice for trying to advance through the game on Challenger difficulty. That said, it does stack up well, maybe even earning it an A-Tier rating if played by a veteran player with good mechanics and macro. But for newer players, this class will feel absolutely painful to grind with through the endgame.
Which Class To Play In Lost Ark NA / EU Release?
Now that we’ve perused the choices you’ll have available once the game launches in North America and Europe – an obvious question comes to mind for most Lost Ark Players.
What class should you play?
At the end of the day, the information we’ve shared above is our personal take on the classes and how well they perform in their respective roles. However, a lot of that is geared towards the endgame – which makes up a major portion of what you’ll be doing in Lost Ark.
That said, if you’re playing for the first time and aren’t planning to go hyper competitive in PvE or PvP – you should play any class that looks interesting and feels fun to you. Even if you end up leveling an alt in each of the classes to try them all out, you’ll eventually settle on what feels right and master it.
Closing Thoughts
And there you have it folks – the official FragMeta Lost Ark NA Tier List for 2022. We’ve covered your options, discussed them in depth, and given you our insight on what some of the best classes will be at launch.
With that – it’s our turn to ask you a question. Which class will you be rolling on February 11th?
Leave us a comment and share your thoughts with us below!
