Lost Ark Gear Progression: Best Ways To Upgrade

Our guide explains the gear upgrade in all phases of three different Tiers.

How Lost Ark Gear Progression Works

Each tier in Lost Ark Gear has its own level. If you are at level 50 when you hit the end game, your gear should be at level 250. Unlike other games that have a perplexing Gear Score System, Lost Ark has a relatively simpler gear system. 


Key Highlights:

  • Lost Ark has a simple gear system. Each tier in lost ark gear has its level. 
  • Players can manufacture the gear or complete the gear set with the score they want.
  • To progress in the game and reach higher gear upgrades, players can grind dungeons for better gear or improve their gear through main and side quests.
  • To reach level 50, players should follow the main storyline and complete main and side quests in specific continents in a specific order.
  • The progression of Tier 1 gear is divided into four phases. Players need to complete specific quests or instances to increase their gear level.
  • Tier 2 gear progression is quite similar to tier 1 and is divided into 3 phases. Tier 3 gear progression is divided into 6 phases.

You have both options to either manufacture the gear or complete the gear set with the score you want. Then, you can upgrade your gear using these materials. We will discuss how you can upgrade your gear once you hit level 50 in this guide. Before moving on to the details of Lost Ark Gear Progression, let us first discuss how you can reach level 50 and achieve higher upgrades.

Gear progression
How Lost Ark Gear Progression Works

Achieving Higher Upgrades

Changing tiers does not impact your ability to progress in the game. For example, you may notice that the first dungeon in the second tier requires you to have a 600 gear level. Once you have that required gear level, you can move on to the next tier of challenges. You have two possibilities here.

  • Grind dungeon for better gear
  • Improve gear from the main and side quests

Reaching Level 50

If you have not reached level 50 yet, do not worry, as we have got you covered. Leveling up in Lost Ark is not a difficult task, as you simply need to follow the main storyline in the game and complete the main quests. However, it is advisable to complete the side quests, as they are relatively easier than the main quests. Apart from that, you will not need to travel to some other location to complete the side quest because they are mostly in the same area as the main quest.

Visit the continents in the following order to reach level 50.

  • Complete the main quests in Rethramis, Yudia, and Luterra. You will reach level 35 by the time you get done with these quests.
  • Completing World Quests by sailing to Tortoyk will help you reach level 40 or more.
  • Sail to Anikka to reach level 45 or more.
  • You will sail to Arthetine, and before you complete the final world quest in this region, you will be at level 50. Your gear level at this time will be around 250. 

Lost Ark Tier 1 Gear Progression

The progression of Tier 1 Gear in Lost Ark is explained in the following four phases.

Gear Tier 1
Lost Ark Tier 1 Gear Progression

Phase 1

Once you reach level 50, your gear level is 250. This is the beginning of the end-game content. Now, you will start working to increase your gear level. To increase the gear level, your focus should be on the main quest, instances, and islands. At this point, you will already have Chaos Dungeon and Guardian Raids unlocked. Make sure that you complete the introductory quests first if the chaos dungeon quest is still locked. 

Phase 2

In the next phase, you will be required to complete the Shushire World Quest. Completing this quest will help you obtain the gear set of 302 level. Another option that you have got here is to play North Vern Chaos Dungeon. Each run will be for 5 minutes and will end pretty fast. 

Completing Ur’Nil Guardian Raid will help you collect materials like Destruction Stone fragments and Guardian Stone fragments. Now, finish the blue quest so you can unlock the ability to go to Abyssal Dungeons. If you decide to complete the Shushire questline instead of the Chaos dungeon, you will still be rewarded with a gear set of level 302.

Phase 3

Your focus at this point will be on engravings, stats, Abyss Dungeon, Chaos Dungeon, and Islands. Gear honing will upgrade your items with materials, and they have a success rate of upgrading the gear. Your gear will go from +1 to +15. The chances of failing are quite high when the gear upgrade is +15. In the lower gear level, the chances of failing are less, and failing costs you mats.

You should do all the activities that you feel like doing at this point, as almost all end-game activities will get you mats. These mats will help you to upgrade your gear. Moreover, honing materials that you can use to upgrade gear can be received from several sources, including Chaos Dungeons, Guardian Raids, and Una’s daily tasks. 

Ship Shop is a traveling merchant ship that you can use to exchange materials for Pirate Coins. Moreover, after completing the daily chaos dungeon, you can collect perception shards which are also exchange materials. Lastly, you can exchange craft materials for Sylmael bloodstone, which you can obtain from grinding guild activities. 

Completing the first two Abyssal Dungeons will allow you to obtain the epic tier 1 gear set. Later you can use gear recycling NPC to transfer your rare set to an epic set. You can also consider reading our guide on Lost Ark Frostfire Island if you are interested to know about the quests and rewards available on this island.

Phase 4

In phase 4, you can upgrade your gear level from 460 to 600. Continue to complete your daily quests and Una’s Tasks to gather more upgrade materials. You can achieve a gear level of +15 on each gear at Gear honing NPC. You will be repeating the same activities to get more mats and raid more material. 

Players can craft legendary gear at this point using order weapons, helmets, chests, and gloves. Make sure to keep transferring your gear upgrades, as they just make you stronger but do not give a higher item level. Note that transferring your gear upgrades will only cost you silver.

You will also be required to complete Blue World Quest Line in Yorn to unlock chaos Dungeon and Abyssal Dungeons. The tip here is not to rush anything; just keep playing along with the main storyline and enjoy it.

Lost Ark Tier 2 Gear Progression

The Tier 2 Gear in Lost Ark is divided into the following 3 phases.

Lost ark gear upgrade
Tier 2 Gear Upgrade

Phase 1

The first step in Tier 2 gear progression is similar to the first step of Tier 1, where you complete the first chaos dungeon to obtain the rare set. You will get the gear of level 802. Go ahead by completing Chaos Dungeon, Raids, ad Una’s tasks to collect the materials that you can use to upgrade your gear.

It is extremely important to complete islands for Tier 2 gear progression. You can start doing islands, including Hypnos’s Island, Twilight Isle, and Revelry Row. You do not have the option to switch between the alternatives. Instead, you will be doing these Lost Ark Islands along with the Chaos Dungeon. 

Phase 2

You will be able to achieve +2 on Tier 2 by upgrading it at the gear honing NPC. Completing the first two Abyssal Dungeons will allow you to obtain an epic gear set. As mentioned earlier, you can transfer your rare set to an epic set by using gear recycling NPC.

Note that completing two continents, Yorn and Feiton, will help you collect enough materials. If you are done questing in the continent, you always have the option to farm the continent’s dungeon. Remember that these dungeons are more difficult as compared to the quests. 

Phase 3

Phase 3, where your gear level upgrades from 1000 to 1100, is the one where you will find it difficult to collect materials. You will fail the honing, and it will be quite frustrating. The tip here is not to give up but continue farming the daily dungeons and completing the quests. 

Your main focus here should be spamming dungeons, cubes, and towers. This spamming will help you upgrade your gear to level 1080 but make sure not to hone your gear unless you possess 20 Moon’s Breath.

Lost Ark Tier 3 Gear Progression

Tier 3 is the last and most difficult Tier in the game. The four phases of Tier 3 Gear in Lost Ark are discussed below.

Gear Tier 3
Lost Ark Tier 3 Gear Progression

Phase 1

Now that you are at the maximum Tier level, you have unlocked the Punika continent. Your gear level will be upgraded from 1100 to 1302 in this phase. You will encounter a lot of hard bosses in this phase. This phase is similar to many others, where you are required to complete main quests, dungeons, Island Tokens, and Una’s Tasks. You can read Lost Ark Una’s Tasks guide to learn which ones are important and worth focusing on.

Phase 2

Phase 2 is divided into two further parts, where you will focus on Punika until your gear level reaches 1325. Getting the epic set will help you cause 10% or more damage. You can make the small leaps by increasing the number slowly until you reach gear level 1370. You will be required to complete Abyss Raid: Argos, where you will obtain a legendary set. Phase 2 also involves an average of +15 on all your gear.

Phase 3

In phase 3, you will stick to Punika, and you will get a set of legendary gear, which you can upgrade to 1415 gear level. Grinding Giant Hearts, Mokoko Seeds, and the rest of the achievements will help you become stronger with vitality potions and skill points. 

Phase 4

Things will start to become more difficult and interesting at this point. You can upgrade your gear like you normally did in the previous phases from 1415 to 1460. At this gear score, you are required to focus on the small details from each aspect of the game, your stronghold, continent progression, and Island Tokens. 

  • The first option you have in this phase is to upgrade your Argos set to +18.
  • The second option you have got here is to run the Legion Raid called “Valtan” to create a set of Legendary gear.
  • The final option you have is to upgrade Argos or Valtan set to +16 and then run Legion raid known as “Biackiss”. You can later upgrade your legendary gear set to +18.

Phase 5

Phase 5 is similar to phase 4, but you need to focus a lot more on completing the continents to get more skill point potions. At this stage, you need to have level 10 skills no matter what character you are playing with. Killing certain bosses will also require you to have a certain skill set so that you can compete with them. These skill sets are extremely helpful in Raid and dungeons as well. 

  • The first option to upgrade your gear here is to upgrade the set that is used up to 20+.
  • The second option is to run the Legion Raid called “Backiass” to crash a full set of gear and upgrade it to 20+.
  • The third option is to upgrade the 19+ set to 20+ by Legion Raid called “Kouko-Saton”. 

Phase 6

The gear level is upgraded from 1490 to 1575 in phase 6, which is the highest phase of the highest tier. You need to finish the rest of the upgrading in this phase using whatever materials and collectibles you are left with. The card collection of players is fully optimized at this point. 

After reaching gear level 1490, you have the following few options to upgrade it to 1575 gear level. 

  • The first option is to upgrade gear to 25+.
  • The second option is to run the Legion raid known as “Abrelshud” on normal difficulty. 
  • You can recycle your old gear and upgrade it to 25+.

Following this guide will help you upgrade your gear level from an initial 250 to 1575. 

Upgrading your gear is an important task in Lost Ark, so we have covered it in the Lost Ark Gear progression guide. There are various tiers and levels of the gear, and we have covered every phase of tier upgrade in this guide. You can upgrade your gear after reaching Level 50 by completing main quests as well as side quests. Side quests are not mandatory but are a good way to level up. 

Other Tips

Lost Ark is a game with action and adventure developed by Tripod and Smile gate’s studio. The game offers a diverse range of features and activities for players. Players get to choose from various classes, including Lost Ark Aeromancer Class, Deathblade Class, Gunslinger Class, and many more. 

The characters in the game have different sets of abilities, and you can even customize these characters using Umar Collections Skins and Legendary Skins in Lost Ark. No matter what character you play with, your gear should always be upgraded. The gear in Lost Ark is separated into levels and tiers, so we have discussed below how you can upgrade your gear. While you are at it, consider reading our guide on Lost Ark Battle Items.

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Javeria Ali


Just an avid gamer who loves everything about video games. I have a special place for Sims 4 in my heart, which happens to be one of the first games I tried.

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