Artillerist Lost Ark Class Guide

Detailed breakdown of the Artillerist Class in Lost Ark
artillerist class guide lost ark

Our Artillerist Lost Ark class guide covers everything you need to know about this Gunner subclass, including its overall role in the team, its strengths and weaknesses, some tips, and more. Lost Ark allows you to control a number of classes, who all come with different benefits in PvE and PvP content. So if you want a breakdown of the Artillerist Lost Ark class, we’ve got you covered below.

Artillerist Class Guide Overview

The Artillerist in Lost Ark is a Gunner type class that wields a large Heavy Launcher gun. Their musical instrument is an Electric Guitar. The Artillerist is a Ranged DPS, safely blasting away from a distance enemies with hard hitting missiles, bombs, and other various explosives.

The Identity Gauge of the Artillerist is the Firepower Gauge. Successful hits to enemies will fill up the meter. There are 3 set intervals which produce bonus damage at each threshold. Once the Gauge is entirely full the Artillerist has access to the Identity Skill: Barrage Mode. This turns the Artillerist into a stationary Turret replacing their skill bar 4 separate Bombardment skills: 1 Shield and 3 powerful damaging abilities.

Unlike other classes, whose Class Engravings give them the option to change up their playstyle, there is really only one distinct playstyle that players can play. Hopefully in the future this will change, but here are the Artillerists Class Engravings anyway:

  • Firepower Enhancement – Reduce damage taken, Increase Crit Rate depending on how the level of the Firepower Gauge.
  • Barrage – Killing a foe in Barrage Mode resets the Cooldowns of all Barrage Skills.

In end game content, there really isn’t a use case to stay in Barrage Mode as the game is all about mobility; staying in one place for extended periods of time is very rare and typically punishing.

Role of a Artillerist

Artillerists are a pure DPS class in Lost Ark. In PvE, they are going to be on the top of the leaderboard for both their AoE and single target damage done in both Chaos dungeons and Guardian Raid or Abyss Dungeons. In PvP, they are going to be one of the highest threats in regards to damage in the arena, they can very easily take out nearly half of a players health in one well timed combo.

Strengths

  • Very High Damage
  • Fair Damage Mitigation
  • Lots of Super Armors
  • Very Easy to learn
  • High Destruction and Stagger

Weaknesses

  • Low Mobility
  • No Party Buffs
  • Can be difficult to master landing delayed abilities.

Skills

The following table is a list of all Lost Ark Artillerist Skills that you will unlock and at which level you will do so. You can click each line to expand the table.

LevelIcon Skill NameCooldown (seconds)TypeDescription
10iconEnhanced Shell5NormalFire a massive bullet to inflict 178 Damage.
10iconFreeze Shell6NormalFire a large-caliber bullet, inflicting 89 [Water] Damage and causing foe Move Speed – 60% for 4s.
10iconBuckshot8NormalFire a cone-shaped blast with a shotgun, inflicting 213 Damage and pushing foes away.
10iconHowitzer12PointFire an explosive cannon at the target location, inflicting 275 Damage and launching foes into the air.
10iconGatling Gun16NormalSpin toward the target location and fire your machine gun 24 times over 3s to inflict up to 433.2 Damage.
10iconNapalm Shot18NormalDetonate a napalm shell, launching foes into the air for 279 Damage. The napalm shell sets the ground ablaze on impact, inflicting 36 [Fire] Damage every second for 5s.
10iconBombardment: Howitzer12PointBombard the target location, inflicting 111 Damage and launching foes into the air.
12iconMultiple Rocket Launcher24NormalFire 5 missiles in random directions to inflict up to 678.6 Damage.
14Flamethrower20HoldingFire your flamethrower in a single direction while moving freely. This flamethrower lasts for up to 4s, inflicting a total of 886.5 [Fire] Damage.
16iconSwing24NormalSwing your launcher, inflicting 213 Damage and stunning foes for 3s.
18iconAir Raid20PointFire multiple large-caliber bullets into the sky. They drop onto random foes, launching them into the air inflicting up to 681.6 Damage.
20iconJump Bombardment20NormalJump vertically to bombard the area under your feet, inflicting 271 Damage and knocking foes back.
20iconBombardment: Focus Fire30HoldingSpin at the target location while madly firing cannot shots to inflict up to 1,110.1 Damage, launching foes into the air.
24iconSummon Turret1NormalSummon a turret equipped with a machine gun. The turret attacks surrounding foes for 10s, inflicting 125 Damage with every attack.
28iconPlasma Storm20NormalLaunch a plasma field that travels at a low speed toward foes, inflicting 50 Damage every 0.5s for5s.
32iconGravity Explosion30HoldingGenerate a gravitational field, pulling foes and inflicting up to 122.1 Damage, then cause an explosion knocking foes away for 595 Damage.
36iconForward Barrage8NormalQuickly fire a cannon to inflict 179 Damage.
40iconHoming Barrage20NormalPlant a homing device at a target location within 8 meters. A missile comes flying after 4s, exploding and launching foes into the air for 921 Damage.
40iconBombardment: Energy Cannon40NormalFire a powerful penetrating energy cannon, causing up to 1,443.1 Damage and knocking back foes.
40iconBombardment: Impregnability30NormalCreates a shield that absorbs Damage equal to 30% of Max HP for 8s. Shield expires when Barrage Mode ends.
50iconEnergy Field40NormalCreate a shield that absorbs Damage equal to 15% of your Max HP for 4s.
LevelIcon Skill NameCooldown (minutes)TypeDescription
50iconMissile Barrage5PointFire 20 rockets in the sky. The missiles fly to the target location and explode, inflicting up to 2,220.2 Damage.
50iconHeavy Turret5ChainSummon a heavy turret that lasts for 20s, inflicting 444.0 and 444.0 Damage with satellite-guided bombs and laser shots.

Artillerist Levelling Guide

We recommend that you try out all the skills and play whatever is the most fun for you. However, if you just want to speed up the process (maybe that’s the most fun for you) or you’re tying to power through levelling an alt, follow this level by level breakdown of what skills to use and level up and which tripods to activate.

You can swap between saved skill tree slots whenever for free (even in combat as long as no skills are on cooldown). It’s recommended to use both your skillbook slots, choose abilities based on this: one for AoE (packs of normal enemies) and one for Single Target (Boss/Elites).

Skill Progression

The Artillerist doesn’t have many movement abilities. The only ones available are:

  • Swing (unlocked at Level 16 and you need it to be Level 7 for Tripod 2: Advancing Strike)
  • Jump Bombardment (unlocked at Level 20 but you have max it out to Level 10 to get the Tripod 3: Rocket Jump and at that point you’re wasting points that could be used for higher damaging abilities)

Then there are the filler skills. Which you can choose to put points into before removing some or all of them when we need to max out our High Damage Skills to Level 10. (in order of importance by damage)

  • Multiple Rocket Launcher (Combat Lvl 12)
  • Enhanced Shell (default skill)
  • Howitzer (default skill)
  • Gatling Gun (default skill)
  • Buckshot (default skill)

Finally, the High Damage abilities you’ll want to max to level 10 when you can in this order:

  • Flamethrower (lvl 14) (max at Lvl 20)
  • Gravity Explosion* (lvl 32)
  • Napalm (default skill)
  • Plasma Storm (lvl 28) (keeping at level 7 is fine)
  • Air Raid (lvl 12)+
  • Homing Barrage (lvl 40)+

*You can create a second skill build for boss fights by using Air Raid (Tripods 2-3-2) to replace Gravity Explosion.

+Both Air Raid and Homing Barrage can be tricky for new players to time and hit properly, but when they do… oh lord are them those numbers satisfying. You will eventually have to learn to use them in Raids at End Game, so you might as well give it a shot practicing while you level.

Below is an example Skill Progression Chart, and their Tripods, you can use to Level your Artillerist.

To simplify everything, follow this priority:

  1. Make Level 10 if you can: Flamethrower > Gravity Explosion > Napalm > Air Raid > Homing Barrage
  2. Make Level 7 with leftover points: Plasma Storm > Multiple Rocket Launcher > Enhanced Shell > Swing
  3. Make Level 4 if any points remain: Howitzer > Gatling Gun > Buckshot
LevelIcon Skill NameSkill LevelTripod 1Tripod 2Tripod 3
14iconFlamethrower7Quick PreparationRanged Flame
18iconNapalm Shot 7Wide ExplosionVital Point Bombardment
20iconFlamethrower10* (remove points from everything else)Quick PreparationRanged FlameIncinerate
24iconNapalm Shot 7Wide ExplosionVital Point Bombardment
28iconPlasma Storm7Swift FingersSustain Enhancement
30iconNapalm Shot10* (remove points from Fillers)Wide ExplosionVital Point BombardmentChain Explosion
32 icon Gravity Explosion 10*(replace Napalm Shot)The More the Merrier Sturdy Armor Planetary Gravity
33 iconNapalm Shot 7Wide Explosion Vital Point Bombardment
36iconPlasma Storm7Swift FingersSustain Enhancement
38 icon Napalm Shot 10Wide Explosion Vital Point Bombardment Chain Explosion
41iconPlasma Storm7Swift FingersSustain Enhancement
43iconMultiple Rocket Launcher7Flame RocketQuick Bombardment
44iconAir Raid10Quick FireLightning BombardmentThe Big One
47iconHoming Barrage7Guiding EnhancementLaw of the Jungle
49iconHoming Barrage10Guiding EnhancementLaw of the JunglePower bomb

Gear

Just equip the highest Item Lv. item you find. Focus on Swiftness for increased movement speed, reduced casting time, and faster skill cooldowns. Secondly, your next best stat is Crit.

Artillerist AoE PvE Build

Here’s a basic PvE build for Artillerists. It’s good for AoE content such as Chaos Dungeons, Tower Event, Quests.

In the Build below, we focus on maximizing AoE potential with Tripods that increase the size of the attack and also some stuns to land heavy hitting combos.

Gather up all the enemies in a big group and use Energy Field before casting Gravity Explosion as you will be stationary and vulnerable. Gravity Explosion can take out most groups of enemies on it’s own.

Additionally, Fillers such as Plasma Storm, Flamethrower, and Enhanced Shell can also dish out high damage and take out lots of targets.

To easily clear Elites or Named Monsters use this combo:

  • Napalm Shot (Stun) >
  • Homing Barrage >
  • Air Raid

And for Bosses, if the above for some reason doesn’t kill them, you can always nuke them with the Awakening Skill: Missile Barrage

Artillerist AoE Stat Priority

Maximize Swiftness as much as possible; mainly to get your skills off faster and reduce the cooldowns. Then focus on Crit as a secondary stat. Alternatively, if you are confident in your ability to time everything perfectly and hit all your skills and time the Identity Skill correctly, try out a high Specialization stat build.

Artillerist AoE Build

This Artillerist build requires 268 Skill Points which will require the collecting of a few extra skill points from Shushire or Rohendel if you have it unlocked.

IconSkill NameSkill LevelTripodsNotes
iconFlamethrower101
3
2
High Damage
Tripod 3: Incinerate – Wider damage
iconAir Raid102
3
2
High Damage
iconGravity Explosion102
1
2
High Damage
Tripod 2: Sturdy Armor – shield while standing still casting
Tripod 3: PLanetary Gravity – Pull targets in and nuke
iconHoming Barrage102
1
2
High Damage
Tripod 3: EMP Explosion – alternative to stun
iconEnhanced Shell102
1
1
Damage
iconNapalm Shot72
3
1
Counter
Damage, Stun
Tripod 2: Flash Explosion – Stun
iconEnergy Field42Self Shield
iconPlasma Storm41Filler Damage

Artillerist Single Target PvE Build

Below is a good basic PvE Build for Single Target Boss Raids and battles. This build specifically provides more utility for part break destruction mechanics. It is generally a good build for Guardian Raids, and Abyss Dungeons.

Alternatives to this build are for when your party does not need as many skills for part break destruction mechanics (ie. using Destruction Bombs). Once you get a good feel for the bosses movements, these changes will make a big difference in Damage output if you can land all your shots. From highest Damage boost to lowest:

  • Reduce points down to Plasma Storm (4) for Air Raid (10) (Tripods 2-3-2).
  • Swap out Howitzer for Homing Barrage (10) (Tripods 2-3-2).
  • Swap out Enhanced Shell for Multiple Rocket Launcher (10) (Tripods 1-3-2).

And lastly, when you have enough skill points this change can help with survivability

  • Max out Energy Field (Tripods 3-2-1). Alternatively, you can use Tripod 3: Energy Share for the shield for party members.

Artillerist Boss Stat Priority

Maximize Swiftness as much as possible; mainly to get your skills off faster and reduce the cooldowns. Then focus on Crit as a secondary stat. Alternatively, if you are confident in your ability to time everything perfectly and hit all your skills and time the Identity Skill correctly, try out a high Specialization stat build.

Artillerist Boss Build

This Artillerist build requires 296 Skill Points which will require the collecting a few extra Skill Points in Shushire and Rohendel.

IconSkill NameSkill LevelTripodsNotes
iconHowitzer101
2
2
Part Break Destruction
Tripod 2: Swift Fingers -if the Boss doesn’t have a Part Break Mechanic
iconNapalm Shot101
1
1
Counter
Part Break Destruction
Tripod 1: Target Focus – if the boss doesnt have part break mechanic.
iconEnhanced Shell101
1
2
Part Break Destruction
Tripod 1: Vital Point Bombardment – if boss doesn’t have part break mechanic
iconFlamethrower101
3
1
High Damage
Tripod 3: Blue Flame – faster damage
iconSummon Turret102
1
2
Passive Damage
iconPlasma Storm101
2
1
Follows target; lower damage
iconHoming Barrage42Can be difficult to hit due to delay the boss might move away. can max with Tripods 2-3-2
iconEnergy Field42Can max for Tripod 3: Energy Share – party shield

Artillerist PvP Guide

In Player versus Player Arenas, Artillerists typically play the role of the “Nuke“. Being a primarily damage dealing class, they don’t generally provide any utility except if they choose the Energy Field Tripod 3: Energy Share for a small Party Shield. They do provide good zoning potential to prevent the enemy from getting positional advantage or to peel them off teammates. They are very good at eliminating the competition on their own.

How to combo with this build:

  • Gatling Gun or Flamethrower (stagger) >
  • Swing (stun) >
  • Homing Barrage > *
  • Howitzer (knock up) >
  • Air Raid (finisher)

*use Homing Barrage immediately following Swing as will hit at the end of the combo due to this skills delayed damage.

The above combo can easily take out approximately 40-50% of the enemies health pool

PvP Stats

  • 1000 Domination
  • 250 Crit

Artillerist PvP Skills Build

Feel free to change whatever skills you like depending on your playstyle and how you see fit.

Below is a general Artillerist PvP build that is a great foundation to build upon.

IconSkill NameSkill LevelTripodsNotes
iconNapalm Shot42Knock Up
AoE limits enemy Positioning
iconHowitzer102
1
2
Knock Up
iconFlamethrower102
2
2
Stagger
iconSwing103
1
2
Tripod 3: Dancing Flame – 3s Stun
iconGatling Gun102
2
1
Stagger
Alternative Tripod 3: Aimed Shot – if you are confident to line up the shot.
iconHoming Barrage102
1
2
Delayed Damage
Tripod 3: Power Bomb – AoE limits enemy Positioning
iconAir Raid102
3
2
High Damage Finisher
iconEnergy Field101
3
1
Self Shield
Tripod 3: Solid Shield – Push Immunity or
Tripod 3: Energy Share – Party Shield

Here’s Youtuber Pum with some great 1v3 PVP. Showcasing exactly how to pull off that insane combo explained above.

Full Games

Best Artillerist Engravings

Since the Artillerist only has one main build, and both AoE and Single Target builds benefit from the same engravings, there’s only one priority here. First and foremost acquire the first level of the class engraving. Which makes it very easy to focus on getting Grudge Level 3 and any of the other optional engravings listed.

Mandatory

IconEngravingDescriptionSource
iconFirepower EnhancementLv. 1: Incoming Damage -20%. Crit Rate +(15%, 20%, 25% )depending on the level of the Firepower Buff.
Lv. 2: Incoming Damage -25%. Crit Rate +(20%, 25%, 30%) …
Lv. 3: Incoming Damage -30%. Crit Rate +(25%, 30%, 35%) …
Guardian Raid
Abyss Dungeon
iconGrudgeLv. 1: Damage +4% to Boss or above monsters. Damage -20% from Boss or above monsters.
Lv. 2: Damage +10%. …
Lv. 3: Damage +20% …
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
icon Keen Blunt Weapon Lv. 1: +10% Crit Damage but your attacks have a chance to deal Damage -20%.
Lv. 2: +25% Crit Damage…
Lv. 3: +50% Crit Damage…
Chaos Dungeons
Cube

Optional

Icon EngravingDescriptionSource
iconCursed DollLv. 1: Atk. Power +3%. Healing -25%, natural recovery excluded.
Lv. 2: …+8%. …
Lv. 3: …+16%. …
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
iconSpirit AbsorptionLv. 1: Atk./Move Speed +3%.
Lv. 2: Atk./Move Speed +8%.
Lv. 3: Atk./Move Speed +15%
Chaos Dungeons
Cube
Massacre or Master of Striking*Lv. 1: Increases the damage of attacks that are not back attack or head attack by 3%. Does not affect Awakening.
Lv. 1: … 8% …
Lv. 1: … 16%. ..
*may not be available at launch
iconAdrenaline*Lv. 1: After using skills that exclude mobile and basic attacks, attack power increases by 0.3% (stacks up to 6) for 6 seconds, and when this effect reaches its maximum stack, crit rate increases by 5%.
Lv. 2: …attack power increases by 0.6% … crit rate increases by 10%. …
Lv. 3: …attack power increases by 1% … crit rate increases by 15% …

*may not be available at launch

Gear Sets

Below is a list of all the gear sets and their bonuses that available to Tier 1 Artillerists. You can mix and match 2-Set bonuses using 2 or 3 different ones. Depending on your playstyle and what’s available to you, you may want to take two 2-set bonuses instead of a full 5-set Bonus. You can also have one set for Chaos Dungeons and other Solo Content, and another for Guardian Raids and other Group Content.

Item LevelRaritySet Bonus NameEffectsSource
385RelicDark Night2-Set: When attacking a foe, 30% chance for +8% Atk and Move Speed for 6s. (Cooldown: 3s)
5-Set: Increases Crit Rate by 40%, but decreases Crit Damage by 40%.
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Welcome 3)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Nightmare 1-4)
385RelicPhantom Memory2-Set: Attack Speed and Move Speed +5%
5-Set: Increases Damage with an Awakening Skill to Seed or lesser monsters by 60%. Increases Damage to Challenge or lesser monsters by 60% when hitting them with an Awakening Skill for 10s. (Cooldown: 60s)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Welcome 3)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Nightmare 1-4)
385RelicVoid Afterimage2-Set: Decreases damage taken by 30% when HP is below 30%.
+15% Atk. Speed and Move Speed, +10% Skill Cooldown.
5-Set: When hitting a foe with a normal attack, +15% Additional Damage for 3s (Cooldown: 1s)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Welcome 3)
Chaos Dungeon Rohendel (Nightmare 1-4)
340LegendaryAwakened Hatred2-Set: Combat Resource Recovery Speed: +30%
5-Set: Crit Damage +25
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Boisterous Elemental2-Set: Increases Attack Speed and Move Speed by 4% for 6s, up to 8% when attacking monsters Boss rank or above. (Cooldown: 3s)
5-Set: Increases damage to monsters Boss ranked or above by 12%.
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Dense Confusion2-Set: Attack Speed and Move Speed +4%
5-Set: Crit Rate +15%
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Enraged Nature2-Set: Move Speed +8%
5-Set: Atk. Power +4% for 8s, up to 12% when attacking a monster Boss ranked or above. (Cooldown: 3s)
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
340Legendary Mist2-Set: Decreases damage taken from Normal ranked monsters by 20%.
5-Set: Increases damage dealt to monsters Challenge rank or below by 15%.
Abyss Dungeon (Corridor of the Twisted Lord)
Abyss Dungeon (Hildebrigne, Dream Palace)
302EpicAncient2-Set: When hit while HP is below 20%, restores 3% of Max HP for 15s each time you hit a Normal monster. (Cooldown: 60s)
5-Set: Increases damage by 17% when hitting 3 or more foes.
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)
302EpicRugged Valley2-Set: Move Speed +8%
5-Set: Atk. Power +4% for 8s, up to 12% when attacking a monster Boss ranked or above. (Cooldown: 3s)
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)
302 Epic Seraphic Oath2-Set: Attack Speed +8%
5-Set: Additional Damage +10%
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)
302 Epic Stalwart Years2-Set: Attack Speed +8%
5-Set: Additional Damage +10%
Abyss Dungeon (Valley of Beasts)
Abyss Dungeon (Spirit of the Necromancer)

Why not also check out our Lost Ark Sharpshooter builds, which covers everything you need to know about the class, including the best skills and engravings.