Lost Ark’s 2026 Roadmap: What’s Coming First?
▼ Summary
– A new collectible, Nukman’s Illusion Stone, and a limited-time event raid, Thaemine Extreme, will be introduced in January 2026.
– The Dragonknight class, a new character wielding a Halberd and draconic powers, will launch in February alongside major progression events and balance updates.
– A significant activity overhaul in February will remove content like Proving Grounds and Tower, while restructuring rewards from activities like Chaos Dungeons and Guardian Raids.
– The third season of Paradise launches in March, and the first story chapter concludes with a final quest and battle against Kazeros.
– The story’s next chapter begins in April with the first Shadow Raid against Serka, introducing a new Tier 4 gear progression system and new raid mechanics.
The year 2026 promises to be a significant one for adventurers in Arkesia, with a packed schedule of new classes, challenging raids, and sweeping system changes designed to refine the player experience. The development team has outlined a detailed roadmap for the first several months, offering a glimpse into major updates while acknowledging that smaller adjustments will be detailed closer to their release. This forward look also serves as a moment to reflect on the community’s shared accomplishments throughout 2025.
January kicks off the new year with intriguing new content. Players can begin collecting Nukman’s Illusion Stones, a new type of collectible with a rich backstory tied to the Yoz people. These shattered pieces of a mystical stone offer valuable rewards for those who gather them. The month also introduces Thaemine Extreme, a limited-time event raid. While based on the original Thaemine Hard Gate 4, this version features adjusted difficulty, new patterns, and unique mechanics like team-wide buffs from successful Just Guards. A new Ark Pass arrives as well, featuring cosmetics like the Day and Night Minister skins and emotes from a recent community competition.
February brings the highly anticipated arrival of the Dragonknight class. This new warrior wields a massive Halberd and harnesses draconic powers through three distinct skill types: Normal, Manifest, and Incarnation skills. Her transformation abilities modify skills and tripods, offering dynamic combat gameplay. Her launch will be supported by a new wave of progression events, including a South Rimeria Powerpass. This update will also bundle the latest class balance changes from Korea, providing an excellent opportunity to boost the Dragonknight or another character.
Major foundational changes are also slated for February under an Activity Overhaul. This simplification aims to streamline daily and weekly gameplay. Content like the Proving Grounds, earlier Trial Guardian Raids, and Tower activities will be removed, with rewards restructured across remaining activities. Significant changes include making Guardian and Destruction Stones from Chaos Dungeons character-bound while increasing quantities, and shifting honing materials from Fate Embers to be tradeable. Guardian Raids will now focus on dropping gems, accessories, bracelets, and ability stones, while other sources like Chaos Gates and Field Bosses will see adjusted rewards.
In March, the third season of Paradise begins, building on feedback from previous seasons to refine gear upgrading and gameplay patterns. The narrative also reaches a pivotal point with the next story chapter, “One Who Confronted Abyss’s End.” This lengthy quest concludes the multi-year Chapter 1 saga against Kazeros, featuring a final battle in Petrania and will include a Knowledge Transfer option for players.
April opens the next chapter of Lost Ark with the first Shadow Raid, pitting players against primordial beings. The initial confrontation is with Serka, the Witch of Pain, a 4-player raid with three difficulties: Normal, Hard, and Nightmare. This raid introduces a new Tier 4 gear progression system requiring less material farming but adding an Acceleration mechanic. Raid systems are also updated, featuring a direct boss room entry, a shared party revive system called Brave Hearts, and new mechanics like Shadow Skills, which allow players to steal a boss’s ability.
The team continues to investigate timing for other updates, such as a potential Argos and Valtan mashup event and additional quality-of-life adjustments, with more information to come through future communications. The roadmap showcases a committed effort to evolve the game with fresh challenges, narrative conclusions, and systemic improvements for the community.
(Source: Play Lost Ark)