Lost Ark Guardian Raids are a challenging set of endgame activities with some high-level rewards on offer if you manage to defeat the deadly boss in each trial. In most cases, you need to party up with other players to take on a Guardian and you need to optimise your skillset for higher-level Guardian Raids. Some foes have nearly impenetrable armour, for example, and you need Weak Point Affix to deal with that.
This guide explains how to unlock Guardian Raids and how the reward system is structured. It also lists each Raid with a few key tips for handling the bosses you’ll find within and when it might be better to just let a few days pass without challenging a Guardian Raid.
If your Lost Ark class just isn’t cutting it, make sure you’ve optimised your character’s Engravings and have the right Ability Stones for the situation. If all else fails, you can always use the Powerpass to level up a new character in a class that suits your needs more effectively.
How to Unlock Lost Ark Guardian Raids
Guardian Raids unlock after you’ve reached level 50 and completed the main storyline, which ends in North Vern. In Vern Castle, you’ll find the Guardian Raid Certificate Qualification test which asks you to speak with Raid Manager Seifeltz. It’s a straightforward quest that ends after you sign the certificate and you’re free to complete Guardian Raids every day from then on.
It’s worth noting, however, you can only begin a Guardian Raid once you meet the item level requirements, which means you’re a bit limited at first. Completing Chaos Dungeons is the best way to help raise your item level quickly in the endgame. Guardian Raids mostly give you high-level or rare items and are less handy for boosting your gear score.
How Guardian Raids Work in Lost Ark
A red banner on the map denotes where you should go for Guardian Raids, every city has one. The goal of Guardian Raids is defeating the Guardian – a giant boss, basically – and claiming its soul. Guardian Souls grant you a heap of high-level loot, including Engraving Books, Ability Stones, and accessories with strong Engravings. The downside is you can only harvest two Guardian Souls per day. Once the Lost Ark server resets, you can claim two more Guardian Souls, though there’s often a reason not to.
The Guardian Raid system includes a Rest Meter. If a day ends with a Guardian Soul slot unfilled, you’ll earn 20 Rest Points. Once you reach 100 Rest Points, you get the chance to earn a second Guardian Soul without it counting as one of your two daily Souls. You’ll have the option when a Raid starts to not claim the Soul, so pick that if you want to accumulate Rest Points. Some players report that choosing not to harvest the Soul still fills the Raid slot. It’s unclear if this is intentional or a bug, so you may have to just skip a Raid entirely if you want to build up Rest Points.
You may need to challenge a Raid several times before you’re successful, especially at higher levels. Guardian Raids have a 20 minute limit, and it takes roughly 15 minutes to defeat some of the bosses. More powerful foes also have a teleport skill that moves them elsewhere on the battlefield and makes it take even longer. Make sure to take a Flare or two with you to make tracking it down easier.
Lost Ark Guardian Raid Tips
Guardians introduce a few new mechanics not seen in other boss fights, chief among which are Enraged and Stagger. Keep an eye on Guardians when they glow orange, this is their Enraged state; a state unique to Guardian Raid monsters that increases attack power and often adds new effects to them. Staggering a Guardian gives you a brief window where you can attack without fear of reprisal. The purple health bar under the normal red bar is the boss’ stagger meter.
Tips and Tricks: Read our Lost Ark beginner’s guide to get started
Finally, make sure to challenge Guardians with a party of other players. Unless you’re at a substantially higher level than the Guardian itself, you’ll be hard pressed to complete the Raid within the time limit.
Lost Ark Guardian Raid List
These are all the Guardian Raids in Lost Ark, complete with item level requirements, tier levels, and boss tips.
Guardian Raid Level 1 Raids
Ur’Nil Raid
- Minimum level: 302
- Mostly close-range attacks. Will use a fire AoE attack when Enraged
Lumerus Raid
- Minimum level: 340
- Uses several close and long-range AoE attacks
Icy Legoros Raid
- Minimum level: 380
- Very agile. Can lock onto a target, and unleashes an icicle blast after being staggered
Vertus Raid
- Minimum level: 420
- Vertus is the most difficult Guardian so far with a range of combos, knockback and launch attacks, and AoE frost moves. It also has three phases. The second begins when it’s enraged and the third when its HP drops to 30%. During phase three, Vertus uses combos and breath moves more frequently
Guardian Raid Level 2 Raids
Three-phase battles are the norm from here on.
Chromanium Raid
- Minimum level: 460
- Chromanium uses a mix of powerful smash attacks and AoE bubbles that deal damage in a wide area. It takes more damage once you destroy its armour, so make that a priority
Nacrasena Raid
- Minimum level: 500
- Nacrasena uses mostly close-range attacks except with its tail. Stagger it, and focus your attacks on the tail to limit how much damage it can deal
Flame Fox Yoho Raid
- Minimum level: 540
- Yoho applies burn on contact and also sets the ground on fire. The flames don’t go out until you stagger it, so make that a top priority
Tytalos Raid
- Minimum level: 580
- Tytalos unleashes a powerful shock wave attack you can only avoid by standing in one of the sandstorms for a few seconds. It applies a debuff, but after two seconds or so, you’re also granted temporary invincibility
Guardian Raid Level 3 Raids
Dark Legoros Raid
- Minimum level: 802
- Dark Legoros deals heavy damage, but mostly relies on breath attacks and a backwards jumping attack. If you get lucky, you can use the back jumps to force it against the wall and reduce its mobility
Helgaia Raid
- Minimum level: 840
- Helgaia’s unique gimmick is that it evolves between phases, eventually taking flight and gaining much more mobility. You can stagger it to prevent evolution, though the timing doesn’t always work
Calventus Raid
- Minimum level: 880
- Calventus is fairly straightforward, but still dangerous. Its main attacks are a leaping jump and, in phase two, a blast of air. Any attack that connects will apply an armour debuff to your character, so cleanse when you can.
Achates Raid
- Minimum level: 920
- Achates generates a shield of invincibility and spawns four statues that spit coloured orbs. You need to destroy the statues, then throw orbs at Achates that match its shield colour to break it
Guardian Raid Level 4 Raids
Frost Helgaia Raid
- Minimum level: 960
- Frost Helgaia is similar to regular Helgaia, but deals more damage and applies Slow with its attacks
Lava Chromanium Raid
- Minimum level: 1,000
- Lava Chromanium functions the same as regular Chromanium with a few key differences. It’ll set the ground on fire like Yoho and apply burn when attacks connect. At low HP, it activates Melting Core, a move that will kill your party one by one unless you defeat the boss immediately
Levanos Raid
- Minimum level: 1,040
- Skills with Weak Point Affix are vital for tearing off Levanos’ armour. Otherwise, it’s nearly impossible to deal any damage
Alberhastic Raid
- Minimum level: 1,080
- Alberhastic is the most difficult Guardian yet. It has several forms, each with a unique attack that deals tremendous amounts of damage. In spear form, stagger Alberhastic while he skewers a party member to free them. In winged form, enter the tornadoes when he’s in the sky. The best way to avoid his ground smash is staying under him while he’s airborne, and then dashing away instantly before he hits the ground
Guardian Raid Level 5 Raids
Heavy Armour Nacrasena Raid
- Minimum level: 1,302
- Heavy Armour Nacrasena is essentially Nacrasena but with two armour break sequences. After you destroy its armour, focus on stagger attacks and breaking its tail
Igrexion Raid
- Minimum level: 1,325
- Igrexion is surprisingly straightforward compared to other Guardians. Focus on heavy-hitting attacks and make sure not to be in front of it for long. Most of Igrexion’s moves involve front-facing charges or AoE attacks
Night Fox Yoho Raid
- Minimum level: 1,355
- Night Fox Yoho is a tricky Guardian. It summons two lesser foxes that have to be defeated before you can damage Yoho, but it can also turn party members into foxes for a time. Focus on defeating the enemy foxes and picking up the orbs they drop to gain defence buffs
Velganos Raid
- Minimum level: 1,385
- Velganos is one of the fastest Guardians and deals heavy damage with every attack. Every so often, it’ll turn dark, and its attacks apply a debuff that increases the damage you take
That’s everything you need to know about Guardian Raids in Lost Ark. For more guides, check out how to level up quickly and Lost Ark Mokoko Seed locations.