Lost Ark - Does Gear Quality Matter

Lost Ark has a multitude of different systems to learn once you hit the endgame. With so many mechanics to figure out, it can be difficult to understand what you should spend your time on. If you’re one of many players wondering does gear quality matter, this is a good place to start.

Gear quality is a useful stat to focus on a little after you hit level 50 in Lost Ark. Before that, you can’t do anything with an item’s quality because it either won’t have any or it will automatically be at 100. This mechanic doesn’t exist until you reach the endgame dungeons and raids. Also, this is around the same time you can start upgrading your gear through honing.

Does Gear Quality Matter in Lost Ark

You can see an item’s quality by hovering over it and checking near the top.

Gear quality isn’t just a fancy number you can tack onto your gear – it’ll boost the stats of your character noticeably. As quality increases, your other stats will as well. Depending on the piece of gear, your item quality can make a large impact on its’ bonus effect. Here are some examples below:

Weapons quality impacts the Additional Damage bonus effect.
Armor quality impacts Physical Defense, Magical Defense, and Vitality.
Jewelry such as Rings, Earrings, and Necklaces gain a varying amount of Combat Stats. Such as Crit, Specialization, Swiftness, e.g.

The first set of Chaos Dungeons you can run will be in North Vern at the Vern Castle.

An item can have up to 100 quality, but it’s not as simple as just upgrading your gear 90 times. While you can increase your item level through honing, you can’t raise your gear quality. This requires running Chaos Dungeons, Abyss Dungeons, and Guardian Raids. There are a few other methods to get endgame gear, but you’re relying on the RNG for high item quality.

If you’ve only just made it to Vern Castle, try not to worry heavily about your item quality. The Gear Transfer mechanic is a great way to continue improving your armor and weapon. But, you should prioritize getting jewelry with engravings that you benefit from. Instead of replacing a necklace or ring with an engraving you don’t need.

How to Upgrade Item Level in Lost Ark

Upgrading items in Lost Ark can quickly get expensive as you get further along.

Despite not being able to increase your item quality, you can still upgrade it for a higher item level. This is part of the honing system which requires certain materials. Examples include Destruction Stone Fragments, Guardian Stone Fragments, and Harmony Shards. While you can get these materials before unlocking honing, you won’t be able to use them.

These items are part of why many people argue that Lost Ark is pay-to-win since you can get them with gold and crystals. With that said, you can upgrade your gear level at the many honing stations across Arkesia. Talk to a Gear Honing NPC, and they will help you start upgrading your equipment.

Once you start getting 302 item level gear, you’ll need to hone it since this is the only way to increase your item level.

Any gear that’s at least item level 302 is upgradable. This is considered basic endgame equipment, and you can get a full set of it by going through Chaos Dungeons. You’ll more than likely need to go through it a few times before obtaining every piece you need, but it’s a pretty good way to start.

Luckily, you can also transfer gear level to any new equipment you get. This way you don’t have to worry about using better quality equipment you obtain through other endgame areas. For example, transferring a +5 Helmet with 50 quality to a +1 Helmet with 100 quality. This will give the 100 quality helmet the +5 gear level.

The Gear Transfer system is great for saving honing materials by only spending a small amount of silver.

While upgrading your gear level in Lost Ark can be expensive, both with in-game currency and real currency if you choose to spend it, it’s worth the time and effort. It’s part of what the endgame content is supposed to be about as well, so don’t let it intimidate you. Let us know what your highest gear quality is in the comments below!

Brittany Alva

Brittany’s a video game enthusiast who spends too much time playing Riot’s games and sinking time into fixations like Pokemon and Lost Ark.