We’ve got the best Lost Ark Arcanist builds for PvP and PvE to get you started with the Mage Advanced Class following the Spells in Spades update

Looking for the best Lost Ark Arcanist builds for PvP and PvE? We’ve done some digging into the MMORPG’s Mage Advanced Class, which arrived as part of the Spells in Spades update. If you’re a fan of magic-users, you may already be familiar with the Sorceress and Bard, but the best Arcanist builds bring an exciting new level of unpredictability to combat thanks to her Card Deck.

You can unlock this Lost Ark class once your Mage reaches level ten. However, you can’t change your Advanced Class, so you need to level up a new character to test out this subclass. It’s worth it though, as the Arcanist’s unique powers make for interesting gameplay, from hurling her sharp-edged, Magick-infused cards at enemies, to activating randomised powers. While the following Lost Ark Arcanist builds are great for the powerful attacker, she doesn’t have the best survivability, so use Engravings to improve your survivability where possible.

Before we take a dive into which skills you might want to use for your Arcanist build, we first need to discuss her mechanics, as the new Mage has an interesting and complex combat style.

Alongside Normal skills, the Arcanist uses Stacking and Ruin skills, which work together for increased damage potential. Land four successful Stacking attacks on your foes to create a Stack, then follow them up with a Ruin skill which consumes the stack to deal greater damage. In any Lost Ark Arcanist build, make sure you have at least one Ruin skill alongside three or four Stacking skills to make the most of this power.

The Arcanist’s Specialty skill really shows off her unpredictable personality, as she leaves the fate of her foes up to the cards. Like other specialty skill meters, the Arcanist’s Card Meter is charged by landing attacks. Once filled, a random card is drawn from the Arcanist’s Card Deck, increasing the effect of future attacks.

Order of the Emperor: Increases Normal Skill Deck Meter gain by 50%, and damage by 10/20/30% (Level 1/2/3). The Emperor Card is added to the Card Deck.

Empress’ Grace: Four-stack Ruin skill damage is increased by 20/25/30%. With a successful Ruin hit, recover 30% of consumed mana.

The Arcanist skills fall under three categories (plus Awakening Skills): Normal Skills, Stacking Skills and Ruin Skills. Use multiple Stacking Skills on your enemy before unleashing a Ruin skill to inflict incredible amounts of damage. The following Lost Ark Arcanist builds for PvP and PvE include Awakening Skills, meaning you’ll need to reach level 50 to complete them. You can further customise your skills with tripod skill effects, the best of which to choose for each skill is also listed, but these can be swapped out depending on your preferred gameplay.

While it’s still early days for the new Mage subclass, these are currently our best Lost Ark Arcanist builds for PvP and PvE. If you’re still not sure the Arcanist is the best magic-user for you, maybe take a look at the best Lost Ark Bard builds while you work up to it. To get your Arcanist to level 50, check out our Lost Ark levelling guide and earn those new Awakening Skills.

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