5 Classes for the New and Returning Jump

Sep 19, 2023

Anthony Lowry Updated: Sep 29, 2023 3:05 PM Posted: Sep 29, 2023 3:00 PM ET Category: Editorials 0

For the new player in Lost Ark, choosing a class can be daunting for many different reasons that can be specific to the player. Some players want the class fantasy, but it either may not be available or said fantasy may not be “good”. Some players want a class that fits their playstyle, but again, the fear of said playstyle not being good enough for PvE is a real concern.

After all, you’ll be playing these characters for quite a while, and you want to make sure any investment you make, whether it's time or money, is worth it. On top of all of that, the balance in Lost Ark has changed quite a bit since I last covered it. The newly introduced Jump-Start servers will give many players, old and new, the opportunity to jump right into the thick of raiding, and with the feedback of many players, I’ve nailed down five classes and specs that are worth considering for you.

Note: The purpose of this list is to highlight classes that are on the easier side of playability, allowing you to focus on mechanics and staying alive. This does not mean classes not listed are necessarily worse. Pick whatever you feel looks cool. You’d be hard-pressed to find a truly terrible class these days anyway.

Image via IcyVeins

This build is one of the easiest builds to play. It’s fairly durable, has pretty nice stagger and destruction, is mobile, and does decent damage. It also only requires two gems, making it pretty damn cheap to put together relative to other specialization classes. With that said, there is one major issue that kept it right outside the top five: Wealth runes. In jump-start servers, it’s going to take you a fair while to obtain enough wealth runes to make the flow of Legacy Machinist feel good. Your goal is to get into your transformation as quickly as possible, and not having these, especially the legendary rune, is a big hindrance. Legacy Machinist will make a very strong alt class once you do acquire these runes though.

Predator Slayer is one of the newer classes to arrive in Lost Ark, and she is a very powerful pick in my book. She’s pretty easy to pick up and is a swiftness build, making her feel nice and nimble. Has a ton of mobility and pretty good durability. She’s easily one of the best classes I’ve progged raids with, and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a fast-paced hack-and-slash style.

The biggest strike against her is the required back attacking, which is a big turn-off for those who aren’t looking to be bound to positionals, or want to not worry about if you’re going to randomly miss out on big damage because the boss turned around or something.

The class I chose for jump-start. Pistoleer Deadeye is extremely mobile (one of two[?] classes that have two dodges!), very easy to pick up and play, and doesn’t require directionals. His recent rework a few months ago has skyrocketed his popularity, and with his other weapon stances being locked out, you only ever have to focus on one set of skills. You’ll start to see a trend where the classes here are reliable, efficient, and on the easier side, and Pistoleer Deadeye fits that bill to a T. His only downside is that he’s pretty squishy, so you have to rely on his excellent mobility to get out of harm’s way, but if you’re okay with your survivability being more active, this is the build for you.

This build is a true all-rounder, and is one of the few classes that I don’t think has a real weakness. Her class mechanic is quickly understood, is yet another swiftness class, and has one of the better synergies for a party (10% crit rate permanently and 12% attack and movement speed when in Sun Shower). She also generates a bit of shield on her own, and while she does use said shield to deal more damage, it’s still a pretty nice buffer when you do end up taking damage, making her survivability a bit higher than average. Choose this build if you want to have very reliable DPS, while also providing two synergies to your group.

I promise that I didn’t list this as number two to encourage more players to join Brelshaza PUGs…

Supports of any kind are always welcome in Lost Ark, especially those who want to actually main them. You’ll always find groups, and at higher-end raids, they’re always in demand. No one is really picky which one you pick, so any of the three (Paladin, Bard, Artist) will always be welcomed. If I had to pick a weakness, it’s that at lower end raids, like Valtan and Vykas, there will inevitably be an overabundance of supports, and many of them wind up relegated to alts, making it a bit harder to join those groups. While I’m not a big subscriber to the “every account should have a support” rhetoric anymore, I do think they’re the best classes to make if you’re even slightly interested in playing a support role.

Sharpshooter is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best DPS class in Lost Ark.. Both builds are extremely powerful, and he’s also one of the most chill classes you can play.

No, seriously, this class is busted.

He is a bit squishy, as are most gunners, but if you don’t delete most things before it matters anyway, your mobility is good enough to survive, so who cares? This class is for the meta chasing, no-frills, no-nonsense, bacon egg, and cheese damage on top of damage.

Pick Sharpshooter. You will not regret it at all.

Jump-start servers have been such a great time for me and my group, and I hope you’re having fun too if you’re playing them!

Anthony is an avid MMO gamer since childhood, with experience in all different kinds of games. From FFXIV as a Red Mage specialist, to Lost Ark as a Gunlancer, you can always find them (probably) getting way too greedy with mechanics and wondering how they wiped the group