The Lost Ark July "Spells in Spades" update has officially been revealed, giving players a full-fledged, in-depth preview of what's to come starting this Wednesday.

From Arcanist, a new Mage Advanced Class, to the Inferno difficulty Valtan Legion Raid, Waterpop Arena time-limited event and more, here's a breakdown of Lost Ark’s Spells in Spades update.

Lost Ark July 'Spells in Spades' Update Revealed

Arcanist

Joining the Bard and Sorceress as the third available Mage Advanced Class, Arcanist imbues special cards with her Magick and uses them for a wide variety of effects. From slicing up enemies with a deluge of thrown cards to summoning powerful Magick attacks from the cards themselves, the Arcanist is said to have a trick up her sleeve for every situation.

Valtan Legion Raid - Inferno Difficulty

Noted as the most difficult version of Legion Raids, the Inferno difficulty will be newly available for the Valtan Legion Raid. Inferno rewards go above and beyond to showcase players' victories with titles, achievements, Stronghold structures, and more. A new in-game vendor will be added for players to access a variety of prestigious rewards, earned after various numbers of clears. Valtan Inferno difficulty will require item level 1445 for players to participate.

There are a few key differences between Normal/Hard and Inferno difficulties:

• "Scale of Balance" is applied, and the raid requires use of the Book of Coordination, so everyone’s gear is normalized against the level of your Legion Commander opponent.
• The gate progression system will not be active — you can’t make it halfway and come back later in the week.
• Inferno mode will not count against your weekly attempt limit for Legion Raids, so you can play Valtan on Normal/Hard and Inferno in the same week, and try Inferno as many times as you’d like.

Maharaka Festival and Waterpop Arena

This update is also set to debut a new time-limited Event, Waterpop Arena. Here, players are invited to hop in the Maharaka Paradise pool and compete on teams as they try to rack up points as quickly as possible by pushing the opposing team out of the arena with water guns. As the game progresses, the arena gets smaller and smaller.

The event occurs every two hours, and players can earn Maharaka Leafs to exchange at an Event Vendor for a variety of valuable rewards.

Challenge Abyssal Dungeons

In this new weekly activity, Challenge Abyssal Dungeons apply Scale of Harmony to equalize players' power against their foes in Abyssal Dungeons. With the greater challenge also comes greater rewards. Various honing material selection pouches will rotate through the rewards, and plenty of cards are said to be available as drops or in the end-of-dungeon loot auction. Players can play through each Abyssal Dungeon once (per roster) each week.

General Updates

New Progression Events

• This update introduces two new progression events, a Punika Powerpass and a Hyper Express Event that helps accelerate a character from Item Level 1302 to 1370.
• Players will receive a Punika Powerpass after completing Punika's quest “Berver's Friend” during the event period. To access this quest, players must first complete all Adventure Quests (marked by purple exclamation marks) on Punika to collect stamps and become a citizen. Once the final quest in this chain, “Honorary Punikan" has been completed, players can talk to Nia in Nia village to start "Berver's Friend."
• Players who've already finished the quest before the update will get the Powerpass when the event starts. The Punika Powerpass will function like the North Vern Powerpasses available to players in the launch version of Lost Ark — once you’ve completed the storyline through that continent, you can use it to bring an alternate character to that point in the game. With the Punika Powerpass, you'll receive Item Level 1302 gear. This is an event Powerpass that expires on Sept. 28.
• Players will be able to designate one character between item Level 1302 and 1370 on their roster to participate in the Hyper Express Event, where they’ll earn honing materials, and level up quickly to Item Level 1370. The designated character will earn rewards upon reaching Item Level 1302, 1310, 1320, and every ten levels until Item Level 1370 — which grants a particularly valuable reward.

Mokoko Challenge

• The new Mokoko Challenge will replace the existing Welcome Challenge series of missions.
• Functioning similarly to the Welcome Challenge, the Mokoko Challenge layers in additional progression mechanics to help accelerate new players and characters through Tier 1 and 2.
• Mokoko Buff - Players that have a new account or haven’t played within the past 30 days and have no characters at item level 1370 or higher will receive the Mokoko Buff. Users with the Mokoko Buff will deal 20% more damage to monsters and take 40% less damage. After 90 days pass or a character in your Roster reaches item level 1370, you will no longer be considered a new adventurer and the buff will end.
• Mokoko Challenge Missions - Players that have the Mokoko Buff active can complete special missions to earn honing and other progression materials, helping them reach item level 1370. When the Mokoko Buff ends, the Mokoko Challenge missions will no longer be available, and unclaimed rewards for completed missions will be sent to Universal Storage.

Growth Support Effect

This update also includes a new Growth Support Effect which will aid players in advancing their characters to item level 1370:

• Tier 1 Growth Support: 100% success rate when honing Tier 1 gear from level 1 to 15. / Double level ups when honing Tier 1 gear at level 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. / Required honing XP reduced by 20% when honing Tier 1 gear from level 1 to 15. / Honing breakthrough cost reduced by 100% when honing Tier 1 gear from level 1 to 15.
• Tier 2 Growth Support: 100% Success Rate when honing Tier 2 gear from level 1 to 15. / Double level ups when honing Tier 2 gear at level 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. / Required honing XP reduced by 15% when honing Tier 2 gear from level 1 to 15. / Honing breakthrough cost reduced by 100% when honing Tier 2 gear from level 1 to 15.
• Tier 3 Growth Support: Basic success rate increased by 20% (max. 20%) when honing Tier 3 item level 1302 gear from level 1 to 15. / Required honing XP reduced by 30% when honing Tier 3 item level 1302 gear from level 1 to 15. / Required honing breakthrough materials and cost reduced by 50% when honing Tier 3 item level 1302 gear from level 1 to 15. / Tier 3 honing costs decreased (30% Gold decrease and 50% gear XP decrease). / Increased honing success rate by 10%.

General Updates and QoL

• Added a new daily log-in reward track.
• Added a Jukebox for Strongholds. Talk to the new Jukebox Exchange NPC in your Stronghold to start the “One Thing Missing” quest and learn how to use your Jukebox.

For more on the Spells in Spades update, from Store Updates to Bug Fixes, feel free to check out the rest of the July patch notes.

This article was originally published on dbltap as Lost Ark July 'Spells in Spades' Update Revealed.