Best Support Classes in Lost Ark

Lost Ark was arguably the biggest MMORPG success story of 2022. Its mix of epic ARPG action alongside a huge sandbox world and compelling story brought in a large selection of players, with epic raids and tonnes of collectibles. One of the things that made it stand out was that every character class could be a solo DPS, moving away from the traditional model of party selection in MMOs. But those looking for a different role weren’t completely left behind. Below we’ll discuss the best support classes in Lost Ark.

Lost Ark support classes

Currently, there are just two viable support classes on Amazon’s western Lost Ark servers, the Bard and the Paladin. However, the Artist is the third support class and is currently available on the Korean servers, with the class expected to arrive in the west during 2023.

Related: Lost Ark Reaper Guide – Builds, Engravings and Tips

The Bard

The Bard is a ranged mage class that uses a harp as its main weapon. It is possible to focus on a damage build for your bard character, but it is equally viable to go down the support route. If you do so, you’ll be a welcome addition to any party thanks to your strong crowd control and healing capabilities while still being able to contribute with ranged damage when the team is looking strong. The Bard is a great choice if you like to play support while surveying the battlefield from the edges.

Using your abilities in battle will build your Serenade Meter. Once full, you can spend this power to play either the Serenade of Salvation (party heals) or Courage (party damage buff). The healing element of this, highly sought after on raids, can be further increased with the Engraving Desperate Salvation, which increases your serenade’s healing power.

Key support skills (Tripod ability required for the full effect in brackets):

• Harp of Rhythm (Note Brand): Summons a harp that auto attacks enemies, applying a debuff to them, increasing damage taken by 10 percent.
• Sound Shock (Sacred Shock): An effective AOE attack that also debuffs those hit, increasing the damage they take by 10 percent.   
• Wind of Music (Wind of Protection): Pushes back enemies while also giving a four-second shield to all party members in the area targeted.  

The Paladin

The Paladin is a sword-wielding melee warrior class that is great at tanking and can soak up a lot of damage. But you also wield a holy book, allowing you to concentrate less on dealing damage and more on protecting yourself and your party with both damage shields and heals. Unlike Bards, the Paladin tends to be in the thick of the action while aiding the other party members.

Your support role in a party is about building your Piety Meter to provide the team with Holy Aura. This Holy Aura increases your allies' damage while also restoring their health over time. These abilities are increased further with the Blessed Aura Engraving, offering the team a large area buff while you continue to deal melee damage.

Key support skills (Tripod ability required for the full effect in brackets):

• Heavenly Blessings (Absolute Blessing): A jack-of-all-trades buff that gives the whole party damage reduction alongside damage and mana regeneration.
• Godsent Law (Shield): Target an area to give your allies inside it a 70 percent damage reduction buff while inside.
• Holy Protection (Vow of Light): Both heals and shields all team members while also cleansing them of their most recently received debuff.

Coming in 2023: The Artist

While technically being the first of a new character class, defined by the developers as a Specialist, reports from Korea suggest the Artist (sometimes called The Painter) seems to be very much a support class. The reason for the new term seems to be that while not quite as strong as the Bard and the Paladin at support, the Artist is a stronger DPS. However, with the right engravings and build, the Artist can be a strong support class for healing, crowd control, and DPS buffs.

The Artist builds Harmony Energy, creating Rising Sun orbs that can restore a party member’s health. The difference with the Artist is that these orbs (and bubbles below) appear on the ground, and your allies walk into them to receive the benefit. Key support skills will include Ink Strike (increases damage received for the enemy hit while creating a collectible bubble hat will shield an ally who collects it) and Ink Swamp (slows and DOTs enemies in an area while increasing attack range, crit damage, and mana regen of allies in the same area).

Looking for more Lost Ark Guides? Find All Mokoko Seed Locations in Yorn’s Cradle in Lost Ark and How to get and change MVP Poses in Lost Ark right here at Pro Game Guides!