Best Lost Ark Soulfist build: recommended skill levelling, engravings, and awakening skills for PvE and PvP
Drop the (spirit) bomb on your foes with this Soulfist build
Need the best Soulfist build in Lost Ark? Have you ever found yourself looking through a fantasy RPG’s class list, skimming the rows of post-Dungeons and Dragons archetypes, and wondering to yourself, “what if I could be a Super Saiyan instead?” Well then, your oddly specific prayers are finally answered in the form of Lost Ark’s Soulfist. This martial arts master mixes close-up brawling techniques with ranged energy attacks, firing beams, bullets, and bombs at her foes. The Soulfist is a master of poking from range before diving in for the kill, crushing enemies with style. If you’re looking to get started in Lost Ark’s endgame with the Soulfist, this guide is here to help.
Looking for more Lost Ark class build guides?
- Artillerist
- Bard
- Berserker
- Deadeye
- Deathblade
- Destroyer
- Glaivier
- Gunlancer
- Gunslinger
- Paladin
- Scrapper
- Shadowhunter
- Sharpshooter
- Sorceress
- Soulfist
- Striker
- Wardancer
Best Lost Ark Soulfist build: class overview
Lost Ark’s class playstyles are formed by their Identity Gauges. For Soulfist, this is the Hype Gauge (and yes, that is really what it's called). Soulfist enters combat at Hype level 1, gaining minor damage, speed, and energy recharge buffs. At any time, she can enter Hype level 2, gaining more powerful buffs and a slowly draining meter. Finally, she can jump to level 3, gaining even larger bonuses. However, the level 3 meter drains quickly. When it empties, Soulfist enters a short cooldown period before returning to Hype level 1.
Soulfist’s basic gameplay patterns revolve around managing these Hype states. You will have to evaluate each fight and decide whether you need to extend Hype’s total duration by staying at levels 1 and 2 longer, or promptly jump to level 3 for immediate bursts of damage. Of course, this will change once you have access to class Engravings. More on these later.
Notably, Soulfist does not use mana. Instead, she uses energy, a secondary resource bar similar to bars of the same name in games like World of Warcraft and League of Legends. Soulfist burns through energy faster than other classes use mana, but it also recharges very quickly. However, if your energy hits 0, you will be unable to use any skills until it fully recharges. As previously mentioned, Hype levels increase your energy recharge rate, so you will be able to fire off skills much faster without hitting empty at higher Hype levels
Best Lost Ark Soulfist build: leveling and skills
Soulfist is one of the most well-rounded classes in Lost Ark, packing an excellent mix of ranged, melee, AoE, and single target skills. She can easily poke at enemies from afar with energy attacks, weave in a burst of damage at melee range, then disengage while still maintaining consistent DPS. The PvE build below focuses on AoE attacks for easy clearing in leveling zones and Chaos Dungeons, with enough single target to manage bosses.
You will earn skill points as you level up, and can invest them into leveling up your skills. Higher skill levels require more points but reward you with powerful Tripods, which augment a skill’s functionality. These unlock at skill levels 4, 7, and 10. As you level towards 50, invest in these skills to hit the listed Tripod breakpoints.
Best Soulfist skills for PvE
| Skills | Tripod 1 | Tripod 2 | Tripod 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heavenly Squash | Quick Prep | Burning Hands | Exquisite Attack |
| Force Orb | Quick Prep | Powerful Wave | Scattering Wave |
| Merciless Pummel | Hard Hitter | Coldhearted | Double Up |
| Energy Blast | Weak Point Detection | Ruthless | Ferocious Strike |
| Tempest Blast | Charge Enhancement | Energy Explosion | Demolition |
| Pulverizing Palm | Excellent Mobility | ||
| Lightning Palm | Prepared Attacker | ||
| Deadly Finger | Wide Hit |
Best Soulfist skills for PvP
| Skills | Tripod 1 | Tripod 2 | Tripod 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadly Finger | Quick Prep | Burning Hands | Lightspeed Hit |
| Force Orb | Quick Prep | Powerful Wave | Scattering Wave |
| Heavenly Squash | Quick Prep | Harsh Training | Enormous Pain |
| Crippling Barrier | Sturdy Armor | Tenacity | Desperate Attack |
| Flash Step | Excellent Mobility | Victory Shout | Tireless |
| Tempest Blast | Song of Time | Harsh Training | Demolition |
| Energy Release | Fighting Spirit Enhancement | Energy Release Enhancement | |
| Magnetic Palm | Sturdy Armor | Tenacity |
PvP skill point totals are normalized, so you will be able to max out most of the skills you choose, like in the build above. In PvP Soulfist wants to poke with ranged attacks before diving in during Hype level 3 windows to tear teams apart. Our build takes advantage of that with a mix of ranged attacks and gap-closers. It takes some patience and practice to master this style, but the results are well worth it.
Best Lost Ark Soulfist build: Engravings
Engravings are an endgame customization option that adds powerful bonuses to your character. There are several generic Engravings that all classes can access, but each class also has two class Engravings. These act as a sort of subclass and create more playstyle variety. Soulfist’s class engravings are:
- Robust Spirt removes Hype levels 1 and 2, allowing the Soulfist to jump straight into level 3. However, this means you will spend more time in cooldown mode. Robust Spirit also increases the damage and energy recovery bonuses from Hype.
- Energy Overflow makes Soulfist’s minimum energy 1, meaning it can never hit the ability-use lockout at 0. Soulfist also gains a damage buff when under 30% energy. However, Hype has no effect on energy recharge rate.
As with most classes, these Engravings create distinct playstyles. Robust Spirit Soulfist will quickly dip in and out of Hype 3 and must take advantage of this window to deal damage in bursts. Energy Overflow Soulfist will build Hype as usual, and look to consistently spam skills to stay below 30% energy.
Your generic Engraving choices are flexible, especially before reaching their higher levels. However, some options are particularly strong and/or synergistic with the Soulfist class. We recommend:
- Awakening reduces Awakening skill cooldowns and increases their maximum uses in limited content like Guardian Raids and Abyssal Dungeons. This is particularly useful for Soulfist. More on that soon.
- Raid Captain increases your damage based on your movement speed, which will increase during Hype.
- Adrenaline grants a stacking damage buff as you use skills, which works well with both Energy Overflow’s constant spam and Robust Spirit’s burst windows.
- Grudge increases outgoing and incoming damage. The incoming damage increase is flat across all levels of Grudge, while the outgoing boost scales up. For this reason, we only recommend using Grudge once you can max it out in the late endgame.
Best Lost Ark Soulfist build: Combat Stats and accessories
In addition to Engravings, accessory items in Lost Ark (necklaces, earrings, and rings) are your source for Combat Stats. These substats can have a major effect on your character, and it is important to target gear with the right stats for your build. Soulfist wants a lot of Specialization while leveling, which speeds up Hype generation and increases the effects of Hype states. Crit is a good secondary target, increasing your crit rate and damage for a nice DPS boost.
Once you start using class Engravings, you’ll want to tailor your Combat Stats to the Engraving you have active. When using Robust Spirit, stick with Specialization to reduce the post-Hype cooldown period and increase the effects of Hype. If you’re using Energy Overflow, however, look for gear with lots of Swiftness to increase attack speed and lower cooldowns, helping you pump out damage and keep your Energy down. For both Engravings, Crit should be your secondary stat of choice.
Best Lost Ark Soulfist build: Awakening skills
Awakening skills are your quasi-ultimate abilities, dealing massive damage in exchange for multi-minute cooldowns. You will unlock these from the post-50 Trixion questline. Each class has two but can equip only one at a time. For Soulfist, these are:
- World Decimation is a spirit bomb, complete with the raised hands and lengthy build-up. This attack’s long charge time makes it dangerous and easy to whiff. However, it is the single highest-damage ability in the entire game.
- Decimation Ray is a powerful, channeled beam. It deals less damage than World Decimation but is much safer and easier to hit.
In PvE content, World Decimation reigns supreme. It is tough to use and requires you to really study boss patterns to know when you have a window. If you can land it in Hype level 3 though, especially with a crit, you’re going to top the damage leaderboards regularly.
In PvP, however, Soulfist players should go with Decimation Ray. A live player is obviously going to react to World Decimation and reposition, or just kill you during the charge-up. Decimation Ray will be much easier to land, while still packing a ton of damage.
That's everything you need to get started with Soulfist in Lost Ark's expansive endgame! There is a ton of content out there, and Soulfist is great in just about all of it. If you're still trying to pick a class though, our tier list can give you some inspiration. Every class is solid though, so don't sweat it too much. If you're ready for more characters, use our guide to Knowledge Transfers to get them boosted up!