Lost Ark Wardancer guide: Best skills, build, engravings, and leveling

Feb 7, 2022

In Lost Ark, the Wardancer is a martial artist class that focuses on hand-to-hand combat with an elemental twist. Unlike Scrapper (full Scrapper guide here), the Wardancer skill set consists of a variety of strikes. If you’re looking for diverse martial arts, Wardancer has you covered. If the thought of getting up close and personal with your enemies sounds appealing, but you also kind of want to play a mage too, look no further than the Wardancer.

The Wardancer is another straightforward class in Lost Ark and as a result, this class is also perfect for beginners (our guide on best beginners' classes in Lost Ark here). As a Wardancer, our identity is a gauge composed of three Elemental Orbs (four Elemental Orbs with Esoteric Skill Enhancement). Wardancer skills will fill the gauge, up to the maximum amount of Elemental Orbs we have available. We can then use Esoteric skills, which are stronger skills that will consume some of the Wardancer’s filled Elemental Orbs for a powerful attack.

Best Wardancer builds

Much like every other class, the two primary builds that Wardancer has are determined by their Class Engravings.

Esoteric Skill Enhancement

The Esoteric Skill Enhancement build primarily uses normal skills as a means of generating Elemental Orbs, which are used for their hard-hitting Esoteric skills. The Esoteric Skill Enhancement engraving allows you to have an additional Elemental Orb (for a total of four) and gives a damage bonus to Esoteric skills per Elemental Orb you have.

The Esoteric Skill Enhancement build resembles what you played while leveling. The Esoteric Skill Enhancement build generally hits harder than the First Intention build, since the it grants more damage to Esoteric skills per Elemental Orb you have. Time your Wind’s Whisper and Roar of Courage buffs with your party. Keep the Esoteric Skill Enhancement Engraving at level 1, as the Engraving gains the majority of its strength at level 1.

This build typically looks for Specialization and Swiftness as their desired stats, with Specialization usually being the primary focus. Aim for around a 70/30 Specialization/Swiftness split. Esoteric Skill Enhancement Wardancer can afford to run without Crit due to their Synergy buffs Wind’s Whisper and Roar of Courage, which provide party Crit chance.

Desired engravings for this build are (in order):

Esoteric Skill Enhancement
Grudge
Raid Captain
Adrenaline
Keen Blunt

An example Esoteric Skill Enhancement build for a brand new level 50 character with 252 Skill Points will look like this:

(Note that we only have one Esoteric Skill here. This is because earlier in the game, it is difficult to consistently build enough Elemental Orbs to use two effectively. With more skill points and Specialization, you can fit an additional Esoteric skill in lieu of Triple Fist.)

First Intention

The First Intention build only uses normal skills. This is because the First Intention Engraving disables your ability to gain Elemental Orbs, in return for a global increase in damage. This means that you won’t be able to use Esoteric skills, since you won’t be able to spend Elemental Orbs in the first place.

First Intention is a simpler build with high attack speed and consistent damage. There is no Elemental Orb gain, so there isn’t really any resource management besides mana, just hit whatever buttons are off cooldown when you can. Time your Wind’s Whisper and Roar of Courage buffs with your party.

This build typically looks for Swiftness and Crit as their desired stats, with Swiftness usually being the primary focus. Aim for around a 60/40 Swiftness/Crit split. First Intention Wardancer can afford to run less Crit due to their Synergy buffs Wind’s Whisper and Roar of Courage, which provide party Crit chance. You can run more Crit if you prefer.

Desired engravings for this build are (in order):

First Intention
Grudge
Keen Blunt
Adrenaline
Raid Captain

An example First Intention build for a brand new level 50 character with 252 Skill Points will look like this:

Wardancer leveling guide

Leveling in Lost Ark is pretty streamlined and straightforward, but here are a few key skills and tripods that will aid you in the leveling process.

Moon Flash Kick

This is a normal skill that is unlocked immediately. This is our main single target damage skill, as it does fantastic damage and is available almost immediately. You want to get this skill to level 10 by investing 48 skill points into it as soon as possible. I would level this skill first, as we’re always going to be using this skill and the Full Moon Kick tripod makes this skill super fast.

Lightning Kick

This is a normal skill that is unlocked immediately. The skill has good damage but we’ll mostly be using it for mobility during the leveling process. With 4 skill points, you can level this skill to 4 and increase the leap distance by 2 meters with the Sharp Movement tripod. I would leave this skill at level 4 in order to conserve skill points thereafter. This is also a great skill for moving through zones and you should be using it often.

Sleeping Ascent Celebration

Wow, that’s a mouthful. This is a normal skill that is unlocked at level 16. This is a great skill for moving through zones and you should be using it often. I prefer to leave this skill at level 4 for mobility, increasing the attack speed of the skill with the Spiral Kick tripod. You can also level this skill to 7 by investing 20 points into it to grant an attack buff with the Ready Attack tripod, but it requires hitting the second part of the skill.

Swift Wind Kick

This is a normal skill that is unlocked at level 20. This is one of your “Spin 2 Win” high damage AoE skills available to you as a Wardancer. You’ll use this skill to clear large packs of trash mobs and as one of your main damage skills to bosses. You want to get this skill to level 10 by investing 48 skill points into it as soon as possible. I’d level this one to level 10 after Moon Flash Kick.

Call of the Wind God

This is an Esoteric skill that is unlocked at level 28. This is the other “Spin 2 Win” high damage AoE skills available to you as a Wardancer. You’ll use this skill to clear large packs of trash mobs and as one of your main damage skills to bosses. You want to get this skill to level 10 by investing 48 skill points into it. This is the hardest hitting of the “Spin 2 Win” AoE skills that you have access to, but you’ll need Elemental Orbs to cast it. I’d level this one last. You can choose to level this one to 10 first, but you’ll have more downtime clearing packs of trash mobs due to the increased dependency on Elemental Orbs.

Sweeping Kick

This is a normal skill that is unlocked at level 36. This is another insane single target skill available to you as a Wardancer. You’ll use this skill as one of your main damage skills to bosses. You want to get this skill to level 10 by investing 48 skill points into it, but I’d prioritize leveling Moon Flash Kick, Swift Wind Kick, and Call of the Wind God to level 10 first.

Thanks for reading our Wardancer Guide! We hope you enjoy punching (and kicking) your way through the world of Arkesia!