Lost Ark 1-50 FAST Level Up Skill Guide (Bard)

[@Aiyulol]

Description is UPDATED with level build for NA/EU Beta! New skill names and tripods names are there, make sure you check it out!

[@CrickBassify]

Cheers for keeping this up to date and huge thanks overall for your overview!

[@MinqTheSkinner]

Thanks so much for doing this! :D

[@BravelySmall]

You are a LEGEND. Legit made this class fun to play during the open beta.

[@Aiyulol]

Level 11: Dissonance Level 4 Level 12: Stigma Level 4 Level 13: (Optional) Ultrasonic Vibration Level 4 / Sound Shock Level 4 Level 14: (Optional) Ultrasonic Vibration Level 4 / Sound Shock Level 4 Level 15: Dissonance Level 7 *Note: if you skilled anything during levels 13-14, you will need to unspec them to get your skill points back. Level 16: (Optional) Ultrasonic Vibration Level 4 / Sound Shock Level 4 Level 17: (Optional) Ultrasonic Vibration Level 4 / Sound Shock Level 4 Level 18: Soundholic Level 4 Level 19: Soundholic Level 7 *Note: if you skilled anything during levels 16-17, you will need to unspec them to get your skill points back. Level 20: Unspec EVERYTHING. Pick up Dissonance Level 10. Level 21: Stigma Level 4 Level 22: (Optional) Ultrasonic Vibration Level 4 / Sound Shock Level 4 Level 23: (Optional) Ultrasonic Vibration Level 4 / Sound Shock Level 4 Level 24: Stigma Level 7 *Note: if you skilled anything during levels 22-23, you will need to unspec them to get your skill points back. Level 25: Sound Holic 4 Level 26: Filler Level 27: Filler Level 28: Unspec filler, skill Soundholic 7 Level 29: Filler Level 30: Unspec EVERYTHING except Dissonance. Pick up Soundholic Level 10. Level 31-33: Grab Stigma Level 4, then Heavenly Performance 4, and Sound Shock 4. Level 34-38: Prioritize getting Stigma Level 7 then Sound Shock 7. Level 39-49: Grab Stigma 10 or Sound Shock 10, whichever you like more. Then pick up the one you didn't max out next. Level 50: Your last points don't matter too much, you'll only have enough points here to level a skill from 1 to 4. Pick one that you are using and like.

[@Aiyulol]

@Aeiiku No, unfortunately I haven't leveled a Berseker!

[@Twelvestrings]

This is the most helpful Lost Ark video I've watched.

[@Aiyulol]

Thank you! Make sure you check out the updated one too.

[@lingth]

Just started a Bard and reached lvl 10 with a Mount.. Glad I found this guide.

[@Aiyulol]

Make sure you check out the updated video.

[@svens8674]

Great video. Not often I watch one video and then subscribe but here I am subscribing.

[@Aiyulol]

Thanks, glad it helped!

[@chadbonthuys]

Really great guide, loving the content thus far!

[@Aiyulol]

Thanks Chad!

[@Aliadeity]

Thanks for this, subbed during your stream so I could catch this lmao

[@Aiyulol]

Thanks Nub! Appreciate all the support!!

[@captainkanji1]

Nice guide. I've been working on a Bard and have been looking for advice like this.

[@Aiyulol]

Glad you enjoyed it! Keep in mind I have an updated video on my youtube, make sure you go look at that one.

[@Yeotmeogeo]

Awesome video would've never guessed it being your first! Subbed :D

[@Aiyulol]

Thanks Travis!

[@Gr_ywind]

Well fudge, that's now how I was doing it, no wonder Bard felt like trudging through glue, with wellingtons... and trench foot.

[@Aiyulol]

Good learning experience! Even with this build bosses can still feel slow going until you have access to Soundholic level 10 :(

[@Gr_ywind]

Indeed, which is why I was testing it. Totally new so I'm just testing out different play styles. Not knowing endgame mechanics makes choosing classes well hard.

[@Aiyulol]

@@Gr_ywind Yeah for sure! Good thing you want to play alts in this game so you'll end up picking a few classes, makes the choices a little easier.

[@Gr_ywind]

@@Aiyulol Yeah, I was thinking of bard but then I thought maybe it's a poor choice as a first character when you're brand new. I still have some concerns regarding the game and annoyingly they've been compounded since I've been playing over the last week, and now I hear they're adding forced PK zones as well, which is a nono for me. =7

[@Aiyulol]

@@Gr_ywind Bard was my first character and it was okay! Also the pvp zone has no details yet so it's too far to worry about.

[@monikadp1740]

Extremely helpful! Thanks

[@Aiyulol]

Check the updated video! There are some changes since then.

[@drask1988]

on the topic of survival of the fittest, it also increases damage against unique enemies as per description, so it covers half of all enemy types

[@Aiyulol]

Yes but it doesn't cover Seed/Boss types, which is where Bards really struggle. Good for clearing trash/elites (uniques) but not big boys.

[@d07RiV]

You get more skillpoints per level at higher levels 11-30 is 5 31-39 is 6 40-46 is 8 47-49 is 10 50 is 12 You can also change skills in combat, as long as the skill in question isn't on cooldown :)

[@Aiyulol]

Yes this is an older video, I have an updated build that I'll be sharing soon.

[@thirtysilver33]

Ty very much for making this. Sooooo goooood!

[@Aiyulol]

No problem, glad it helped!

[@pamelabrenot2375]

Good info! I wish I had time to do some research before the Beta and my slow going grind to level 32 Bard-dom before the end of it, lol. Will see how it goes next time around :)

[@Aiyulol]

Yeah, you can always take it easy and slow during launch too! No real reason to rush if it's your first time if you don't want to.

[@Nectey]

@@Aiyulol very true! Does the Bard become a good asset for a team in later levels? I really felt like I was just along for the ride when having to do a dungeon for a quest. I just thought that character would do more to help the team with heals and buffs...

[@Aiyulol]

@@Nectey Yes, very much so. In endgame (especially in later tiers), supports are absolutely needed/preferred for all groups. Unfortunately there isn't much point to grouping and supports before level 50.

[@barleyiced]

Thank you for the video! Subbed!

[@Aiyulol]

Thanks!

[@pro6tarax]

New sub bud good video guides!

[@Aiyulol]

Thanks for the sub BigBoss! Hope to get some better quality content out there when my new PC comes.

[@pro6tarax]

@@Aiyulol dude the guide was perfect I'm waiting the game on eu and this was amazing keep up the good work!

[@Afterhours.101]

Awesome ty, i did the ruins without soundholic on solo hard. The last boss took a yr. Wish i saw this first haha

[@Aiyulol]

Yeah without (lvl 10) Soundholic your single target DPS is like negative sadly.

[@Afterhours.101]

@@Aiyulol very much facts lol

[@cailee9820]

This is great! I would love to see a detailed leveling breakdown for some of the other classes. While some of the classes (Blade, Infighter, Arcana) are fairly straightforward, others (Gunslinger and Soul Fighter) are confusing to me - I'm never sure what skills to use/put points into while leveling.

[@Aiyulol]

Thanks! Unfortunately I haven't leveled those classes yet, but I generally found the same concepts to apply. For leveling and doing story quests, low cooldown AoE skills are good, and you generally want to keep a preset for bossing with heavy hitting single target skills. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but if I ever get to them I'll make something :>

[@cailee9820]

@@Aiyulol Ah, I understand. In fact, that's how I learned Arcana -- Dance of the Lotus Flower is crazy overpowered (like Dissonance is for Bard) so you just pump the crap out of it. Gunslinger is a little weird because of the different weapons so that's why I was wondering if you had any insight. If you ever give it a shot, I'd be interested to hear/see your thoughts. =)

[@Aiyulol]

Yeah, for sure! I have a friend planning to level GS during the beta, so I'll probably talk with him and figure some stuff out.

[@Boobookitty27]

This guide was SO helpful, thank you! Wish I saw it before I leveled my bard to 50 😂 Struggle was real. Do you have plans on making a guide on Support Bard?

[@Aiyulol]

That's the plan! I have a written version here: docs.google.com/document/d/1U8ILfac5wMqcGdjAuK-NwWrkLuow-7756S2lxNJ4PTQ/edit?usp=sharing But the video one is going to take some time!

[@dbrowdy]

@@Aiyulol Do you have one of these for Pally? This is dope!

[@Aiyulol]

@@dbrowdy Yeah I do it's on my channel somewhere!

[@dbrowdy]

@@Aiyulol I looked in the comments of every one of your videos and couldn't find it. :(

[@Aiyulol]

@@dbrowdy Oh I'm sorry, I thought you meant a leveling video. I don't have a written raid guide yet :(

[@TheOTKGameplay]

Ty for the video, i wanted to play the class but playing alone seemed really hard! ... random question but why are u running live split? Is there a speedrun community? XD

[@Aiyulol]

You won't have problems playing alone for leveling and chaos dungeons! Endgame raids you have to group up for, but the matching system is pretty good. No speedrun community as far as I know, but I was timing it to compare my time with some other fast runs/DPS classes. It was a bit of a slow run because I was fine tuning some stuff!

[@TheOTKGameplay]

@@Aiyulol gotcha, ty for replaying!

[@Aiyulol]

@@TheOTKGameplay Anytime!

[@mattd9205]

Very helpful thank you very much!

[@Aiyulol]

No worries!

[@Miukizwoll]

So survival of the fittest. You say it only works on Normal and Elite, but the text says "Of the UNIQUE type AND BELOW" so it should work on everything below Bosses really? or am i wrong here?

[@Aiyulol]

Translation difference!

[@janjankovicjahoda]

Hello thanks for the guide, but the detailed skill list on reddit is only till level 30. Is it different from the one you have here in description which is till 50?

[@Aiyulol]

Please check out the updated video on the channel.

[@cesareconsiglio2479]

Hey huge thanks for this! I wanted to main bard on west release but I had no idea where to start. Just one thing, by any chance will you also eventually make a guide on what runes and engraving to use in raid/dungeons?

[@Aiyulol]

Yeah, I definitely will! Runes and engravings are a little more advanced, so I'm pretty much going in order. Leveling > Chaos Dungeons > Raid Stuff > Super Endgame Guides.

[@cesareconsiglio2479]

@@Aiyulol Absolutely looking forward to it!

[@ahmedaboumosalm2307]

thanks so much for this .. I hope make all guide for all characters

[@Aiyulol]

Going to do as much as I can! Paladin coming up next.

[@ahmedaboumosalm2307]

@@Aiyulol i will waiting you 😍🥰

[@Aiyulol]

@@ahmedaboumosalm2307

[@ahmedaboumosalm2307]

@@Aiyulol do you have discord

[@Aiyulol]

@@ahmedaboumosalm2307 aiyulol#9387

[@Vayer8286]

Awesome video! What do you think is better for support, Holy Knight or Bard? Also is playing support endgame hard? If I’m completely new to the game would rolling support be rough not knowing the game well?

[@Aiyulol]

Hi! I have another video answering those questions and more, it's called "Lost Ark supports watch this first" or something. I'll answer them again here though: - Holy Knight is better for more offensive support, and Bard is better defensively (shields/heals). Both are good, it comes down to your playstyle preference. - Support endgame is easy to learn but harder to master, you do better the more familiar you are with the boss patterns and general game knowledge. Need to have good eyes and fast hands! - Like I said you can get started with support at a good enough level (as a newbie), then work your way up to master!

[@xer0vi]

I plan on doing bard on my Alt so this is awesome.

[@Aiyulol]

Nice, fellow Bard Buddy!

[@ColorfulHaze]

A Blade version of this would be wonderful!!!

[@Aiyulol]

If I ever find out some good information I'll be sure to share it!

[@ericcossette3999]

Great stuff! For someone who wants to main a bard, should he level up other classes first or go directly bard? For alts I'm not sure of the benefits of having level 50 characters already.

[@Aiyulol]

To be frankly honest, I'd probably recommend making a DPS first because a lot of the content you want to do is story/solo stuff until later. It can be done as a bard but it will take a little longer, especially for a new player. However, if you want to main a bard and you're set on it, go ahead and make a bard first! My first (two) characters were bards and I managed, made for a nice little challenge.

[@ericcossette3999]

@@Aiyulol thanks I appreciate the time and effort you put to educate us new players :D i still dont understand how my bard experience will be different if i do it after a dps. Dont all characters have to go though the exact same story stuff ? How is it different for the 2nd character you level? Thx again if you have time otherwise no worries :)

[@Aiyulol]

@@ericcossette3999 Mostly it won't make a difference, but namely it's for Tower (dungeon). You get one-time rewards like skill points/collectibles for your whole account so if you clear it on DPS first (easier), you'll have the skill points for your bard automatically. PLUS if you ever clear Tower on any other characters (2nd clear and onwards), you get materials for clearing so it's better to clear Tower on your alt first (the one you don't want to main) so you can get the materials on your main. A little confusing, I'll probably make a video on it eventually but that's the gist.

[@ericcossette3999]

​@@Aiyulol for me its much clearer now, you gave two solid reasons to level a main support as 2nd character ! Yes a video on that subject im sure a lot of new players would benefit :D

[@Aiyulol]

@@ericcossette3999 Good idea!

[@havoc7154]

I don't know which class to play, nothing seems good. I like bard, but i don't want to end up supporting 24/7. I'm thinking of making a Retribution pala. Is retribution pala any good?

[@Aiyulol]

No, DPS Paladin + Bard is not viable in raids for the most part. If you don't want to support 24/7 make a DPS alt once you learn the game more!

[@thongphung]

Can you make a support bard video?

[@Aiyulol]

Plan to! Check the guide in description for now.

[@julienduchesneau9747]

is it still valid for the NA launch?? and is it as quick as other classes?

[@Aiyulol]

This build will still work, but I have an updated one I'll post before launch. Stay tuned!

[@julienduchesneau9747]

@@Aiyulol thx

[@davidbai3543]

Should I do every quest I see while lving and also level gathering jobs?

[@Aiyulol]

If you want to level as fast as possible, then you should do only the main quest and skip gathering. If you don't care about that then feel free to do what you mentioned!

[@davidbai3543]

@@Aiyulol oh ok thanks. Also if you wanna make some alts to farm daily resources to funnel to your main, do they have to go through all of the main story, collect the skill points, ect? Feels like a lot of work

[@Aiyulol]

@@davidbai3543 You need to do main story, but all skill points and side stuff is account shared.

[@NootsaraTomKomOfficial]

Hi, my friend and I want to play this game for the first time and was wondering if you have any recommendations on classes that would synergize with Bard?

[@Aiyulol]

Any DPS class will be good!

[@HitotsunoTsubasa]

@aiyulol i'm thinking to main this class mainly to support my friends in dungeon, do you have a support focused tripods recommendation for bard?

[@Aiyulol]

Yeah, I'm coming out with a raid/party guide soon! It's just taking a while because there's a lot of information. For now you can look at this: lostarktree.ru/skill/bard?b=a31d212D32E112f22F111h13i21

[@HitotsunoTsubasa]

@@Aiyulol tyty

[@marktekk4982]

Will you be doing this for any of the other classes ?

[@Aiyulol]

I plan to cover other classes as I level them! I know approximately what skills are good but I don't feel like I can make the same quality guide unless I play them myself.

[@jonbeauharnois4444]

When leveling do you do the hard version of the dungeon or just normal?

[@Aiyulol]

If going for speed, never do hard, just solo queue normal mode.

[@jonbeauharnois4444]

@@Aiyulol do the hard give more exp? I will be lvling solo but I do have group of friends playing so for the first day all dungeon probably be able to do with friends would that make them worth doing or still just faster to solo normal and keep on zooming?

[@Aiyulol]

@@jonbeauharnois4444 Nope! Hard only gives slightly better equipment (which doesn't matter because you will replace it very fast while questing). Monsters in this game don't really give exp, so it's not worth it to do hard unless you want the challenge. A warning though, hard isn't actually very hard and you could solo it even as a bard. Better to get to 50 and do endgame content if you want difficult content.

[@santiagootero1660]

Noob question, how do I change soundholic beam direction without breaking the channel ?

[@Aiyulol]

If you have level 10 Soundholic you can't change the direction.

[@nahkuactual]

You just move your mouse cursor in the direction you want to move the beam, don't need to click or anything.

[@arlopull5565]

So do the prologue?

[@Aiyulol]

If you want to go fast, you should skip it (you can always do it on an alt later).

[@sherpagoolsbee8390]

What's a pretty standard time for 1-50 as a bard?

[@Aiyulol]

My run with the older game version (less streamlining) took just under 11 hours with a bunch of mistakes, I have a VOD of it from NA beta. I think with the latest leveling changes and damage buffs I could do it in 10.5 hours - if you're a brand new, fresh player, I would expect it to take anywhere from 12-15+ hours, depending on if you're watching cutscenes/doing side quests, etc.

[@sherpagoolsbee8390]

@@Aiyulol - Thank you for the reply! I love playing support classes. FFXI Bard is my favorite class of all time. For NA release, does it make sense doing the first 1-50 leveling and the follow-up exploration content for account unlocks with a faster class like a Scrapper? Or if I intend to main a Bard, just do Bard out the gate?

[@Aiyulol]

@@sherpagoolsbee8390 It's an interesting case because in tier 1 progression is really fast, so technically your first class to 50 doesn't matter as much. Still if you want to main bard I'd recommend leveling bard first, then a DPS next to do all the side quests, collect stuff, do Tower, etc.

[@Uly._.]

can bard solo most ingame content ear;y-mid-late?

[@Aiyulol]

If you're talking about stuff you're supposed to be able to solo (chaos dungeon, story dungeons/leveling), then yeah absolutely. For endgame stuff like abyss dungeons, raids, etc. you won't be able to solo them. Guardian hunts are a little different. If you're skilled and know the fights you'll be able to solo them, but it'll take you significantly longer than a DPS class and it's usually faster to queue using the party finder.

[@ML-wk3dg]

Lol that "same" at 3:37

[@Aiyulol]

same

[@AnonW]

This is Aiyu and until next time, Baiyu lmfao suddenly turned into a 13 yr old anime girl at the end :3

[@Aiyulol]

:3

[@cast4133]

uwu