Lost Ark Leveling Guide: The Fastest Road to Tier 4
How to level and gear a character to the Tier 4 Item Level 1720 gate efficiently: the continent order, Chaos Dungeons and Guardians, and when to use an Express/Powerpass.
Reaching the endgame in Lost Ark is a two-phase climb: get to Tier 4, then gear up to the raid gates. This guide covers the first phase — the road to Item Level 1720, the gate where Kazeros Raid Act 1 Extreme opens. For the Western Tier 4 era (Summer of Extremes, live since July 15, 2026).
Follow the main story — mostly
The main quest line carries you through the continents in order: Bermost → Vern → South Vern → Rowen/Rozh → Punika, then into Tier 4. The story is the fastest XP and unlocks the systems you need. Don’t grind side quests instead — the主线 is the shortcut.
Fill the gaps with Chaos Dungeons and Guardians
Between story beats, your gear and XP come from two repeatable sources:
- Chaos Dungeons — daily-instance gear drops that also hand you the honing materials you’ll need later. Run your daily limit.
- Guardian Raids — boss fights that drop accessories and materials. Learn the boss mechanics; they teach you the dodge-and-punish rhythm every raid demands.
These reset daily/weekly, so a little every day beats a marathon once a week.
Use an Express or Powerpass if one is live
Lost Ark frequently runs Express events (a token that boosts a character along a progression track) and Powerpasses (instantly jump a character to near-endgame). If you are making an alt — or starting during an event — these can skip hours of the early climb. Your first character should still do the story so you learn the systems, but alts benefit hugely from Express.
The Mokoko Buff smooths it
If your roster’s highest IL was below 1720 on July 15, 2026, the Mokoko Buff gives combat assistance for new/returning players. Take it — it shortens the climb to the gate.
Honing: the gear-up treadmill
Once past the story, you “hone” gear (upgrade its IL) using materials from the dungeons/raids above. Honing has RNG and can fail — bank materials before big jumps and don’t blow them on gear you’ll replace. Reach 1720 and Kazeros Act 1 Extreme (Normal) unlocks; that is the start of the real loop (see our endgame guide).
Efficient first character: story → daily Chaos/Guardian → hone to 1720 → then learn endgame. Resist the urge to perfect early gear — it gets replaced.