Beware, Heroes of Arkesia. After being critically injured at the Wall of Glory in Luterra, Legion Commander Valtan was betrayed by Kharmine and his thirst for power. Kharmine absorbed Valtan’s body, tearing his soul to pieces. Time passed, Valtan’s shredded soul wandering endlessly through the abyss. Requiring reinforcements for the invasion of Arkesia, Plague Legion Commander Akkan used his powers to stitch Valtan's soul back together. Akkan placed it in a new patchwork body— a physical representation of Valtan's tattered soul. Valtan feels endless anguish. Tortured by memories of being torn into pieces and constant pain having a new patchwork body, the Lord of the Demon Beasts will not stop until he destroys everything in sight— inflicting the same crushing agony on all those in his path. Filled with the traces of a horrific massacre, the Resurrected Demon Beast Lair is an area that Valtan entered from a Chaos Gate after the events that recently transpired in South Vern. Strategically located upon a towering mountain peak in Luterra, it now serves as the Demon Beast Legion's camp. Once again, the Lord of the Demon Beasts will return to the battlefield to fill Arkesia with blood and shrieks of terror... "I am… Valtan, the Demon Beast Legion Commander!" [h2]LEGION RAID OVERVIEW & GETTING STARTED[/h2] [img]https://images.ctfassets.net/umhrp0op95v1/5u59NVqdT4w9UVQuwhdFxw/8414cab32184405546b9f097944dd269/episode_Valtan_06_1920x1080.jpg[/img] Valtan will introduce the first Legion Raid into the Western version of Lost Ark. Legion Raids are difficult team-based activities that require teamwork to understand and execute the strategy necessary to counter each Legion Commander's unique characteristics, abilities, and mechanics. As Legion Raids are challenging and take time, there are gates (or checkpoints) that will save players' progression as they advance through the Raid. Valtan is an eight-player Legion raid, has 2 gates, and introduces a swathe of new mechanics. Players will need to be item level 1415 to attempt Normal difficulty, and 1445 for Hard mode. Normal and Hard share a weekly lockout, so you can only attempt one difficulty per week. Players can participate in Legion Raids after completing the guide quest ‘[Guide] Notice: Legion Raid’. Once you’ve completed the guide quest, you can visit the “Lunar Knights” NPC located in Vern castle to start the quest 'Resurrected Lord of Destruction' which tells the story of Valtan. Once unlocked, the Valtan Legion Raid is available to enter through a new structure located in major cities. Legion Raids can also be entered through the Party Finder tool (icon found below the mini-map), or through the new “Integrated Dungeon” menu arriving in the May update that lists all the Dungeons and Raids available to a player and allows entry into those activities directly. This menu can be found by selecting the Integrated Dungeon icon under the mini-map, or by pressing [ALT] + [Q]. [h2]GATE PROGRESSION SYSTEM[/h2] [img]https://images.ctfassets.net/umhrp0op95v1/6nRztBJjQNWnfsqvcWITRS/c574d034ff7e1b935d2af2ddf765935f/episode_Valtan_03_1920x1080.jpg[/img] In Legion Raids, gates (or checkpoints) work a little differently than other activities. In other activities, gates will save your progression for that session in case you wipe and need to try again, but in Legion Raids the gate save point system will not only let you try again in case of a wipe, it also lets you take a break from a Legion Raid without losing out on progress or rewards. You’ll receive a reward whenever you clear a gate in a Legion Raid. Your completed gate information will be saved when you claim your reward, and your group can vote to decide whether you continue to the next gate or not. If your group votes to continue on, you’ll move forward with your current group to challenge the boss, enemies, or Legion Commander guarding the remaining gates. If you’ve decided to wait on challenging the remaining gates, you can resume challenging the remaining gates until the weekly reset. The May “Destined for Destruction” Update will include a new drop down menu in the Find Party UI (in the Legion Raid section) where you can select which gate you want to find teammates for. Valtan will have two gates. If you complete the first one you can come back and challenge the second one later on, even with a whole new group if you deem it necessary. [h2]SIDEREAL SKILLS[/h2] [img]https://images.ctfassets.net/umhrp0op95v1/1o3068D5bD7JdntM8bHTQz/7056690db9b0702003dce5c624396ce6/Kadan_KA_01_1920x1080.jpg[/img] Legion Raids introduce a new mechanic; Sidereal Skills. In each Legion Raid, you will find Sidereals who will fight alongside your group, allowing you to enlist their help for powerful skills mid-battle. You can fill up the Sidereal Skill meter throughout the raid, when meeting certain conditions during boss battles. When the meter is full, the raid group leader can use one of the available Sidereal Skills, unique to each Legion Raid. In the Valtan Legion Raid, there are 3 Sidereals you can call upon for aid: Thirain - Completed Vanquisher Thirain awakens the Vanquisher and smashes it with the power of light to create a massively damaging explosion. It has a powerful Weak Point ability granted by Vanquisher’s holy powers. Wei - Awakened Dochul Wei summons Dochul to launch 3 powerful attacks. Awakened Dochul inflicts massive Stagger damage whenever he attacks. Balthorr - Arcturus's Breath Balthorr strikes the anvil with Earthen Strength. When he strikes the anvil, all squad members within 14 meters of the anvil are enhanced for a short time with enchanted armor. The enchanted armor grants Push immunity, reduces the damage taken from the foes, and blocks some of the Legion Commander’s powerful skills. [h2]GEAR & REWARDS[/h2] With great challenge comes great reward. In Legion Raids, you can earn Legendary gear crafting materials, Relic gear crafting materials, Relic accessories, Gold, honing materials, Ability Stones, Cards, and more! Each gate of a Legion Raid will grant rewards to all players, and the final gate granting additional rewards with the customary bonus chest you can buy for gold, and a loot auction— both similar to what you’d experience in an Abyssal Dungeon or Abyss Raid. While the same rewards can be found in both Normal and Hard mode of Valtan, the Hard mode will grant greater quantities. You’ll also need to be item level 1445 to craft the Relic sets of gear. The gear transfer function will work on Relic gear, so you won’t lose any progress when switching over. Additionally, a "Quality Upgrade" NPC has been added to all major cities allowing players a chance to upgrade the quality of Relic gear obtained from Legion Raids. [h2]TWITCH DROP[/h2] [img]https://images.ctfassets.net/umhrp0op95v1/709u7CQ05DWflroZNZzkJv/67f79dda3056547cb03e87a7aece2da4/LA_MayBattleChest_TwitchDrop_1960x1080.jpg[/img] Starting on May 19 at 8AM PT (3PM UTC) and running through June 15, members of the Lost Ark Creator Program will have access to a Battle Chest & Amethyst Shard Set Twitch Drop to enable on their channels. Viewers will need to accumulate 2 hours of watch time in participating Lost Ark streams to claim this Drop reward. [h2]VALTAN CHALLENGE[/h2] Valtan brings the first Legion Raid to the western version of Lost Ark, dropping May 19th! In celebration of the Legion Commander’s arrival, the Lost Ark Creator Program is hosting the “Valtan Challenge”. Participation in this friendly competition is being offered exclusively members of the Lost Ark Creator Program. Try your hand at being one of the first 10 teams to defeat Valtan (normal or hard) before Saturday May 21st, 11:59 PM PT. Each qualified Creator Program Member on the team will earn 10 Bronze Founders Packs to distribute to their communities. Please see qualification and submission guidelines below. RULES, QUALIFICATIONS & SUBMISSION To qualify for this challenge, all of the following conditions must apply to you: [list] [*] You’re a member of the Lost Ark Creator Program by Valtan’s release on May 19th. Members accepted later than the 19th will not qualify for the challenge. If you’ve received this email, you are a member of the Lost Ark Creator Program already. [*] For your raid clear to qualify, you must complete Valtan on the western version of Lost Ark published by Amazon Games. [/list] In order to validate your submission, you must send the following to the LostArkCreator@amazon.com email alias: [list] [*] Defeat Valtan and submit a link to a VOD or clip of you and your team completing the Legion Raid, showing the defeated boss and Raid completion screen. [*] You may only submit your Valtan Raid once. Multiple submissions are not allowed. [*] Not all team members need to be Content Creators. However, all Creators on your team are eligible to win the Bronze Founders Packs. For all Content Creators in your team meeting the qualifications above, provide a list of their in-game names and their Twitch channel URL. [*] The challenge must be completed before Saturday May 21st, 11:59 PM PT. [*] Once validated (if you’re part of the first 10 groups to submit), you will receive an email from us with your prize during the following week. [/list] [h2]LOOKING AHEAD[/h2] [img]https://images.ctfassets.net/umhrp0op95v1/2IiZ792KjFibOjcqCZHE49/5e616b64fb2652cfefee2806cd8a0984/episode_Valtan_04_1920x1080.jpg[/img] We’re not going to spoil the unique mechanics, moves, and challenges you’ll experience within the Valtan Legion Raid, as we know some groups like to figure it out on their own! If you want some tips or tricks, head over to YouTube! There are a variety of talented Content Creators who have already made comprehensive guides to prepare you and your group for Valtan. On May 19, Valtan, Deskaluda, The Destroyer Advanced Class, Challenge Guardians, and many more threats, new types of content, and skins will arrive in Arkesia. Good luck to all members of the Lost Ark community— creators and viewers alike as they earn drops, rewards, and in-game loot in their battles against the Demon Beast Legion Commander. We’ll see you in Arkesia!