If you’ve hit level 50 in Lost Ark and felt like your damage output is hitting a wall against endgame bosses, you’re not alone. Most players hit this plateau right when they unlock the first awakening skill, but the second one is where the real power spike hits. Many new players assume the first awakening is the strongest skill their class has to offer, but the second awakening often deals 2x as much damage, plus adds bonus buffs for you or your entire party. In this guide, we’re breaking down exactly how to get Awakening Skill 2 in Lost Ark, no fluff or confusing quest detours included. I’ve unlocked this skill on 7 different classes across both NA and EU servers, so I’ll also point out the most common roadblocks that trip up new players along the way, plus share a few tricks to cut your grind time in half.
Prerequisites You Need to Unlock Awakening Skill 2 First
You can’t jump straight to the second awakening quest if you haven’t checked off a few key boxes first. Skipping any of these will mean the quest won’t pop up in your quest log, even if you’re searching for it in the right location. First, you must have completed the first awakening quest for your class, and have that first awakening skill unlocked and available in your skill bar. That’s non-negotiable, as the second quest builds directly on the story of the first.
Second, your character must be at least item level 460 to pick up the initial quest for the second awakening. You don’t need to be higher than that to complete the quest, but you won’t see it if your gear score is too low. Third, you need to have completed the main story questline for North Vern, including the final quest that unlocks sailing access to Rohendel.
I’ve had a lot of guild mates message me confused why they can’t find the quest, and 9 times out of 10 they skipped the last few North Vern side quests that unlock the Rohendel sailing path. You don’t need to complete every side quest in North Vern, but you do need to finish the blue "World Quest" line all the way through to open up the next set of endgame content.
How to Get Awakening Skill 2 in Lost Ark: Full Quest Walkthrough
Once you’ve met all the prerequisites, the first quest for your second awakening will pop up as a purple guide quest in your log, marked with a small awakening icon next to it. The quest starts at the top of the Trixion monastery, where you first met Beatrice during the first awakening quest. Talk to her, and she’ll send you on a multi-region quest chain that takes you across Arkesia to collect rare relics and test your combat skills.
The full quest chain breaks down into 3 core phases:
- Phase 1 (Rohendel): You’ll travel to the Elven continent to complete 3 small dungeon runs, collect 7 relic fragments from defeated world bosses, and turn in the items to the Priest of the Sun in Rohendel’s capital city. You don’t need to run the dungeons on hard mode, and you can join matchmaking for all of them to save time. If world bosses aren’t spawning when you’re online, you can pick up a daily repeatable quest from the Rohendel notice board that gives you one fragment per completion.
- Phase 2 (Yorn): Next, you’ll head to the dwarf continent of Yorn to complete a short combat trial against 10 waves of elite enemies. This trial is solo-only, but it’s tuned for item level 460, so you won’t struggle even if your gear is at the minimum requirement. I recommend bringing a few health potions just in case, but I’ve never died on this phase even on squishy mage and gunner classes.
- Phase 3 (Return to Trixion): Once you finish the Yorn trial, head back to Trixion to talk to Beatrice one last time. She’ll grant you the second awakening skill rune, which you can right-click to add to your skill bar permanently. You’ll also get 10 extra awakening skill potions to use right away, which is a nice bonus for players who burn through potions fast during endgame runs.
A lot of players make the mistake of abandoning the quest halfway because it spans multiple regions, but the entire chain only takes about 90 minutes to complete if you skip unnecessary cutscenes. You can also use your bifrost to teleport between regions faster if you have extra bifrost slots saved for popular endgame locations.
If you’re playing an alt character, you don’t have to do the entire quest chain again! Once you unlock the second awakening on one character on your account, you can buy a second awakening skill rune from the general goods vendor in any major city for 10,000 silver. That’s a huge time saver for players with multiple alts, and it’s one of the most underrated quality of life features in the game.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Your Second Awakening Skill
Even though the quest chain is pretty straightforward, there are a few small mistakes that can add hours to your grind if you don’t watch out for them. First, don’t forget to pick up the daily awakening quest from the Rohendel notice board if you’re missing relic fragments. If you can’t find a world boss up to get the last fragment, the daily quest will give you one fragment per completion, so you can finish that phase in 1 day instead of waiting for boss respawns that can take up to 12 hours.
Second, don’t try to do the Yorn combat trial on item level 440 or lower. The quest won’t even let you enter, so don’t waste time traveling to Yorn before you hit 460. I made that mistake on my first alt, and I had to run 3 extra Chaos Dungeons just to get the 20 item levels I needed to enter the trial area.
Third, don’t delete the quest mid-chain if you get frustrated. If you abandon it, you’ll have to start the entire chain over from Trixion, which means you’ll have to re-do all the dungeon runs and fragment collection. If you get stuck on a part of the quest, ask your guild or world chat for help. Most players are happy to group up for world boss kills or dungeon runs to help you knock out the quest faster.
How to Optimize Your Second Awakening Skill for Maximum Impact
Once you have the skill unlocked, it’s not just a matter of slapping it on your skill bar and using it whenever it’s off cooldown. To get the most out of this massive damage boost, there are a few small optimizations you can make right away. First, allocate skill points to the awakening skill as soon as you unlock it. Even 10 extra points will increase its damage by over 30% and add extra effects like crowd control or damage over time, depending on your class. For example, on the Berserker class, maxing the second awakening adds a 20% damage buff to all your other skills for 10 seconds after you cast it, which makes it even more powerful than its base damage suggests.
Second, pair the skill with your class’s other buffs and cooldowns. If you have a support in your party, wait for their damage buffs to go off before you cast your awakening to get the highest possible damage output. I usually save my awakening for boss phases where the boss is stationary, so I don’t waste any of the skill’s damage by missing attacks. For support classes like the Bard or Paladin, the second awakening isn’t just for damage. It also gives a massive party-wide shield or healing buff, so you’ll want to time it for boss mechanics that deal large area-of-effect damage to the entire party. I’ve seen Bards save entire raid runs by using their second awakening right before a one-shot mechanic, so don’t sleep on the utility of this skill even if you’re not playing a damage-focused class.
Third, make sure you have enough awakening potions stocked for endgame content. You can buy them from the potion vendor in any major city, or get them as rewards from daily and weekly quests. You’ll need at least 3 per Legion Raid run, so it’s a good idea to keep a stack of 50 or so in your inventory at all times. Don’t waste awakening potions on low-level content like Chaos Dungeons or Guardian Raids below item level 800; save them for harder content where the extra damage or utility will make a real difference.
Unlocking your second awakening is one of the biggest power spikes you’ll get in Lost Ark’s early endgame, and it’s well worth the 90 minutes of grind to complete the quest chain. Whether you’re gearing up for your first Legion Raid or just trying to clear Chaos Dungeons faster, knowing how to get Awakening Skill 2 in Lost Ark will help you hit harder and clear content way faster than players who put off the quest. If you run into any roadblocks along the way, don’t be afraid to ask your guild or world chat for help—most players are happy to group up for world boss kills or dungeon runs to help you finish the chain faster. Once you have the skill unlocked, take 10 minutes to test it out in a low-stakes Guardian Raid to get a feel for its cast time and effects, so you’re ready to use it effectively when you jump into harder content.