Lost Ark dungeon guide: What is hard mode, and why should players activate it

Level and gear scaling are a core part of Lost Ark, and there are various ways that adventurers make their characters powerful in the game.

However, progressing through levels and getting better and more powerful gear in the game can take a considerable amount of time. But the scaling process can be accelerated, especially in the early stages of the MMO’s narrative, with the help of the difficulty option in dungeons.

Some areas of Arkesia, especially the instanced dungeon raids, come with their own difficulty options, and players can look to turn on the hard mode there for themselves and three other members in their party.

This will make the dungeon infinitely more challenging, along with dropping loot which is much more useful.

---

How to turn on hard mode in Lost Ark dungeons and why should players do it

Before entering a dungeon, players are usually given an overview that displays the potential loot that the quest will drop upon completion, along with prompting the recommended item level that adventurers should boast before attempting it.

In the top right-hand corner of the overlay menu, players will find three square buttons, each of them having a helmet logo accompanying it. The initial two options will prompt the ‘Normal’ and ‘Hard’ option, with the third choice unlocking much later into the game.

On selecting Hard before booting up the dungeon, adventurers will make it significantly more challenging, with higher-tier mobs and enemies spawning in it.

The enemies will not only have more levels but will also have a larger health pool and will deal much more damage than during the more casual run.

Although the challenge is harder, the recommended gear levels and ratings remain the same, so players will not be required to have better armor and weapons to attempt the dungeons on the harder difficulty.

This is one of the reasons why it’s recommended that players attempt the dungeons on hard early on in the game. While the recommended gear levels remain the same, the rewards that drop upon completion are far more useful to a character’s early-game progression.