In our Lost Ark PVP Tier List, we tell you which classes will be among the strongest at EU release.
On 8 February 2022, Lost Ark will launch in early access and already now many players are asking themselves which of the 15 classes their main character should belong to. To simplify the choice, many players resort to a PVP tier list. We have also compiled a list for you and explain in this guide which classes belong to the strongest.
Lost Ark Guide: The best classes for beginners with expert tips
Table of Contents
What is a Tier List?
A Tier List is a ranking list in which experts assess the strength of heroes or classes in video games and sort them into different Tiers, depending on their estimated usefulness. This format has proven itself in shooters like Overwatch, MOBAs like League of Legends or gacha games like Genshin Impact.
However, you should bear in mind that a tier list is always a highly subjective matter, so there is no definitive right or wrong here. Moreover, beginners will not automatically become better by choosing an S-tier class – a veteran will always win against a beginner, even with a low-rated class.
The tier list we have created refers to the 3v3 Deathmatch mode, because this is the mode in which the ranked matches are held in Lost Ark.
We have collected all the important info on PVP, the various modes and the rewards for you here:
Lost Ark PVP
S-Tier
Paladin
Role: Initiator, Support
The Paladin is definitely one of the most valuable classes in Lost Ark’s 3on3 matches. He has many skills to protect his teammates with shields or damage reduction. However, these only last for a short time and must be timed well. However, the holy knight is not a pure supporter.
For various reasons, he is also suitable as an initiator: He has a shield buff for himself, many of his offensive skills can interrupt enemy actions and with his sprint strike he can quickly close gaps between himself and enemies. Last but not least, the Paladin deals large amounts of damage, almost approaching the damage of pure DPS classes.
As a strong all-rounder he is prepared for almost every situation, only in one-on-one duels with other melee fighters he loses out if the skill level of the players is the same.
Gun Lancer
Role: Support, counter against melee fighters
The Pistol Lancer is the most defensively strong of all classes. Since he can also shield his team and reduce incoming damage, he is worth his weight in gold for every team composition, just like the Paladin.
His other great strength is countering enemy melee fighters. For example, if a Deathblade is hunting your vulnerable ranged fighters, the Pistol Lancer can inflict crowd control effects such as slowdowns or pull them to him with his hook chain. With some powerful skills such as the counter rifle lance, the Gunlancer is superior to most melee fighters in direct duels.
However, the tank also has weaknesses: It lacks mobility and is no match for ranged fighters.
Deathblade
Role: DPS
The Deathblade impresses as a typical rogue class with a high burst-damage potential. In concrete terms, this means that it can deal a lot of damage in a very short time, ideally finishing off battered enemies.
Her key strength, however, lies in her unique group buff, which increases movement and attack speed for the entire team – this enables extremely dangerous team attacks if the communication in your squad is right.
What’s particularly helpful for beginners is that many of the Deathblade’s skills have fast animations and are therefore easy to hit. In particular, their crowd control skills, which are difficult for enemies to dodge, are extremely important in Lost Ark’s PVP.
A-Tier
Artillerist
Role: Defensive DPS, counter against melee fighters
The Artilleryman can best be described as a defensive damage dealer: He is particularly strong when opponents pounce on him. But if he has to take the initiative himself, his effectiveness suffers.
He has the highest damage potential of all classes – but only if all attacks hit. Since many of his skills have a rather long casting time and short range, this is relatively difficult. For this reason, the Artilleryman is much stronger against close combatants than against ranged combatants.
Bardin
Role: Support
Those who like to support their team with a support class should keep an eye on the Bard – because this is exactly where her great strength lies. Not only does she support her team members with damage reduction, shields and attack speed, but she also has a unique buff.
With her ultimate skill Guardian Song, she can make her entire team immune to enemy crowd control effects for a full eight seconds. This is extremely powerful, as effects such as slowdowns, stuns and flinging up play an important role in Lost Ark’s PVP.
However, the Bard also has some weaknesses: Since her skills have a relatively short range, ranged fighters make her life difficult – also because she cannot simply push them away with her skills like melee fighters. In addition, she naturally lacks damage, which is why she has to be carried by a strong DPS.
Sniper
Role: DPS
The Sniper is the antithesis of the Bard: to be effective with him, you don’t have to rely on your team at all. He can turn invisible and thus evade enemy attacks, and he can also make himself immune to Crow Control effects.
His other strengths include the relatively high damage he can deal over huge distances and the ability to cover large areas with his CC skills.
His biggest problem is that the sniper’s playstyle is all about so-called kiting. This means that he has to keep his distance from the attacking enemy while attacking them again and again. Due to his focus on stealth and escapes, this is also possible – however, the archer quickly bites the dust when he is caught.
Soul Fist
Role: Support DPS
The Soul Fist offers the most variety of any class: it attacks in both melee and ranged combat, and its skill set allows for an exciting playstyle as a support-damage-distribution hybrid.
One of her great strengths is that she can reduce incoming damage to all team members every 30 seconds. She can also stun enemies over very long distances with her Storm Wave. Her ability Celestial Squeezer, which drops a giant hand from the sky, is one of the best finishers in the entire game – but is easy to miss thanks to its high cast time.
Due to her unique Identity class ability, which increases outgoing damage and decreases incoming damage during her activation period, her playstyle constantly changes during a match: as long as she’s running at maximum level, you need to dish out as much damage as possible. After it drops back to level 1, you have to survive until the next activation.
Sorceress
Role: DPS
We can keep the section on the sorceress relatively short: She is virtually a pure damage dealer without great support options for her team. Her damage output is enormous and due to her long range, she can also deliver it to the target from a safe distance.
However, she is also extremely vulnerable if she is cut off from her team and gets involved in one-on-one duels. In such cases, only her high mobility (through teleports) can save her, as she has hardly any CC immunity in her skill set.
B-Tier
Berserker
Role: DPS
The Berserker needs a well-coordinated team to call on his full potential: Namely, he himself has no hard crowd-control skills with which he can stun his enemies for safe hits.
Moreover, his high cooldowns make it difficult to fight effectively without coordination. Ideally, you should fire from all guns together to get safe kills and points.
But if the Berserker has all his skills ready, he can deal massive burst damage. However, his attacks are not easy to place: They have large hitboxes, but suffer from very slow attack animations.
War Dancer
Role: Initiator, Melee DPS
Do you like to jump into the fray? Then you should have the war dancer on your radar, because this one always fights on the front line.
Not only does she have naturally high basic values in the areas of health points and defence, but she can also support herself or her entire team with damage reduction using various skills. With her Blessing of the Wind, she can also increase the movement and attack speed of her friends.
However, she lacks strong CC skills. Although she can fling enemies up, push them away or pull them towards her for a short time, you won’t find stun effects lasting for seconds like with other classes – a big minus point in the CC-heavy PVP of Lost Ark.
Shadowhunter
Role: DPS
The Shadowhunter, much like the Sniper and Sorceress, is a strong class for solo players who don’t want to rely too much on their team. She has everything to do well on her own in the arena: Good range, good damage and good mobility.
However, she lacks buffs with which she can help her team. And should enemy melee fighters – especially mobile classes like martial artist or the deathblade – get to her, she has a bad hand due to a lack of CC immunity.
War Monk
Role: Initiator, Melee DPS
The War Monk is the male version of the War Dancer and accordingly very similar to her. However, there are some minor differences. His play style is just as straightforward as that of his female counterpart – however, his benefit lies in the fact that he has a greater damage potential.
He doesn’t support his team with defensive damage reductions, but on the offensive he uses strong crowd-control skills to throw enemies into the air, making them easier to hit. He can also cast lightning bolts that make hit enemies more vulnerable to critical hits.
The strong offensive comes with a price, of course: Due to the lack of damage reduction, he is relatively easy to kill for a front-line fighter, only CC immunity is part of his defensive repertoire. In addition, his effectiveness against classes with a lot of CC immunity (such as the Bard) is limited.
C-Tier
Artistic Marksman / Artistic Markswoman
Role: DPS
We group both the Artificer and the Artificer together as one class, as they have very similar skills and thus the same strengths and weaknesses. The only difference, which is not decisive for the classification within the Tier List, is that the death shooter works better against melee fighters, while the female variant prefers to compete with other ranged fighters.
As DPS classes, both shooters theoretically deal out massive damage. Both are among the most mechanically demanding classes and you have to invest a lot of time in mastering combos to get the most out of them.
Another disadvantage is that they do not support their team with either offensive or defensive buffs. In addition, the two artificers are very vulnerable anyway when they are targeted by the enemy team – apart from a rather abundant selection of CC immunity abilities, they have no options on the defensive side.
Scrapper
Role: Initiator, DPS
The Scrapper actually offers many advantages that make her a strong PVP class: Her base stats are the highest of all release classes, she is the only class that can dodge twice in a row by pressing the spacebar and theoretically deals a lot of damage. In addition, she has a really powerful stun with which she can stun enemies for several seconds.
If only it weren’t for her vulnerability to crowd control effects: She does have a certain amount of CC immunity, but mostly only when she is rushing at enemies with her skills. Her really powerful skills, on the other hand, are easy to interrupt.
For this reason alone, the Scrapper is denied a higher ranking in our list – if we were to evaluate the potential in one-on-one duels here, she would score significantly better.
Which class will you start with in Lost Ark? Let us know in the comments!
