Lost Ark's Holiday Awakening Update Brings New Island, Pet System, and Black Friday Deals

The November Holiday Awakening update for Lost Ark is set to go live on November 27, bringing a slew of new content, events, and quality-of-life improvements. The update introduces a new island to explore, progression events to prepare for higher tiers, class balance changes and Black Friday bundles packed with valuable items.

New Content: Buzzling Island

• Buzzling Island: A whimsical new location in the Gienah Sea, Buzzling Island challenges players with quests, races, and trials while transforming them into bees.
  • Requirements: Item Level 1520+.
  • Activities: Players compete in the Trial of Honor, earning rewards like T4 honing materials and cards.
  • Extras: The island adds Mokoko Seeds, a Buzzling Island Soul, achievements, and jukebox songs to collect.

Expanded Rapport and New Pet Ability System

• North Kurzan Rapport: Three new NPCs, Mystic, Tamut, and Ren, bring additional story content and items. Players can trade new rapport items for Vitameow currency in the stronghold.
• Pet Ability System: Pets can now provide buffs when stationed in specific stronghold areas. Through training, pets can gain abilities of varying rarity (Rare, Epic, Legendary), enhancing activities like crafting or dispatch missions.

Raid Updates and Balancing

The HP of several raid bosses, including those in Legion Raids (Brelshaza, Akkan, Thaemine) and Kazeros Raids (Echidna), has been adjusted to make encounters more accessible.

Progression Events: Power and Hyper Awakening Road

To help players reach Tier 4 content:

• Voldis Power: Grants an Item Level 1540 character and expires December 18.
• Hyper Awakening Road: Boosts progression to Item Level 1620 with rewards like T4 honing materials, gems, and currency. Available through January 15.

Honing and material costs have also been reduced for a smoother leveling experience:

• 1540–1620: XP discounts up to 70%, doubled Artisan’s Energy, and free honing for lower levels.

Seasonal Fun: Toto’s Ice Castle

Running until February, this seasonal event transforms players into Mokokos for a minigame involving icy tiles and snowflakes. Rewards include tokens for valuable items and holiday-themed cosmetics.

Black Friday Deals

The update introduces three special Black Friday bundles, available November 27–December 4:

• Golden Grab Bundle: High-value resources, including Legendary Card Packs and honing materials.
• Harvest Haul Bundle: A balance of crystals and honing materials for steady progression.
• Thrifty Thrills Bundle: Affordable options with essential resources.

Features and Updates

• Party System Updates: Changes to Champion Points in 1v1 ‘Three Champions’ mode aim to balance combat buffs and cooldowns.
• New Minigames and Challenges: December’s Dark Maplemas and January’s New Name Auction will bring fresh ways to engage players.

Further Reading: Full patchnotes