If you’ve spent the last few weeks grinding through Tier 1 Lost Ark content, you’ve probably hit that frustrating wall where every new dungeon or raid is locked behind a higher item level requirement. Learning how to upgrade to tier 2 lost ark doesn’t have to be a weeks-long slog of repetitive daily missions, though. I’ve done this grind on four separate alts over the last two years, and I’ve picked up enough tricks to cut the total time spent by almost 40% compared to my first run. This guide cuts out all the useless filler you’ll find on other sites, and only covers the steps that actually move you closer to that Tier 2 threshold.
Core Requirements to Upgrade to Tier 2 Lost Ark
Before you even start planning your honing route, you need to make sure you meet the non-negotiable requirements the game sets for Tier 2 access. A lot of new players waste materials honing gear before they complete the required questlines, only to find they still can’t access Yorn or Feiton. If you’re missing any of these four requirements, you won’t be able to progress even if you hit the right item level.
- Completed the full North Vern main questline and unlocked the Una’s Tasks daily and weekly mission system
- Reached a minimum item level of 600 across all equipped gear (weapon, head, chest, pants, gloves, shoulders)
- Honed your full Tier 1 Legendary gear set to +15 (the maximum possible for Tier 1 equipment)
- Unlocked the Ocean Liner fast travel system to move between continents without sailing through dangerous open waters
You don’t need to complete every side quest or collect every Vern collectible to meet these requirements, so don’t waste time on low-reward content if you’re focused on progression. Many new servers also offer a 50% honing cost reduction buff for Tier 1 gear, so take advantage of that if it’s available on your server. That buff alone can cut your total grind time by half.
Optimal Honing Strategies to Cut Tier 1 Grind Time
Honing is the single biggest barrier to reaching Tier 2 for most players, and it’s easy to waste thousands of honor shards and leapstones on low-success attempts if you don’t have a plan. First, never hone rare or uncommon Tier 1 gear. Wait until you have the full Legendary Tier 1 set from Vern Castle chaos dungeons before you start any honing, as lower rarity gear can’t be upgraded to +15, and you’ll lose all your invested materials when you replace it.
If you follow these honing tips, you’ll cut the total time needed to learn how to upgrade to tier 2 lost ark by almost half, compared to players who waste materials on low-rarity gear. Save your honing success rate buffs and Books of Peace for +12 to +15 attempts, since those have the lowest base success rate (as low as 10% for +15 attempts). Using a 10% success rate buff on a +5 attempt, where base success is 90%, is a total waste of a valuable item.
You should also prioritize chaos dungeons twice per day over all other content, as they give the highest volume of honing materials per hour of play. When you get duplicate gear drops, always dismantle them instead of selling for silver. I made the mistake of selling all my duplicate gear for extra silver on my first run, and I ended up waiting almost two extra weeks for enough honor shards to hone my last piece to +15. Don’t make that same error.
Hidden Content That Gives Free Tier 1 Honing Materials
Most new players only run chaos dungeons and Una’s Tasks for honing materials, but there are dozens of hidden sources of free materials that can skip hours of grind. These hidden rewards are one of the most underused tricks for players figuring out how to upgrade to tier 2 lost ark, and they can save you dozens of hours of repetitive grind.
First, focus on completing questlines for small early-game islands that list honing materials as a first-completion reward. Panda Island, Turtle Island, and Totopia all give enough leapstones and honor shards to cover 2-3 honing attempts each, and their full questlines only take 15-20 minutes to complete. You don’t need to visit every island, though — skip any that only offer cosmetics or collectibles if you’re in a hurry to reach Tier 2.
The North Vern Adventure Tome also offers huge piles of honing materials for low-effort completion milestones. Hitting 50% completion only requires you to kill a few easy field bosses, cook a handful of common recipes, and visit 10 easy-to-find vista points, and it rewards 10 Legendary Tier 1 leapstones and 10,000 honor shards. That’s enough materials for at least one +15 honing attempt, for less than an hour of work. You should also check the event tab every time you log in, as most login and co-op events give free Tier 1 honing materials for new players.
First Steps to Take Immediately After Reaching Tier 2
Hitting that 600 item level mark feels like a huge win, but there are a few critical steps you need to take before you jump into Tier 2 content. First, don’t immediately sail to Yorn. Head to Vern Castle first and pick up the gear transfer quest, which lets you transfer all your +15 honing levels from your Tier 1 Legendary gear to your first Tier 2 Rare gear for a small silver fee. That means you won’t have to start honing from zero when you get your first Tier 2 gear drops.
Next, sell all your leftover Tier 1 honing materials on the auction house immediately. They’re completely useless to you now, and they sell for a surprising amount of gold that you can use to fund your first Tier 2 honing attempts. Adjust your Una’s Tasks to focus on Tier 2 materials right away, too — don’t waste your daily and weekly missions on Tier 1 rewards that you can no longer use.
Run your first Tier 2 chaos dungeon as soon as you complete the Yorn opening questline, even if you don’t plan to hone right away. The base Tier 2 Rare gear you get from these dungeons is a huge stat upgrade over your +15 Tier 1 gear, and it will make all early Tier 2 content significantly easier. I made the mistake of hanging around Tier 1 content for a week to finish collectibles after hitting 600 item level, and I missed out on hundreds of gold in extra rewards from Tier 2 daily runs during that time.
Reaching Tier 2 opens up a whole new world of Abyssal Dungeons, raids, and story content that makes all the Tier 1 grind feel worth it. You don’t have to spend weeks stuck doing the same daily runs over and over to get there, as long as you focus on high-reward content and avoid the common mistakes new players make. Learning how to upgrade to tier 2 lost ark is all about prioritizing progression over filler content, taking advantage of free hidden rewards, and using your honing materials strategically. Follow these steps, and you’ll be running Tier 2 content with your friends before you know it.