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Lost Ark · Korean server

The road to winter

This page covers every promise from Smilegate's Oct 29 broadcast, in the order it comes due. Outgoing director Jeon Jae-hak called himself "a guilty man". This is what Lee Byung-tak now has to deliver.

Next stop Nov 4 The 8th anniversary patch and five quick fixes

Confirmed date A window, no exact date No date given Lee Byung-tak, new director Jeon Jae-hak, outgoing director

Dates are for the Korean server. NA and EU follow later on their own schedule, so the useful part for us is the order. Every timecode opens Smilegate's broadcast VOD at that moment.

Start the road or use ← → on your keyboard

WednesdayNov 4

MaintenanceConfirmed: "next week"

The 8th anniversary patch and five quick fixes

1-button resonance and Paradise slot upgrades.Lee2:15:02
Atropine and Stimulant cooldowns are separated.Lee2:16:24
Mount summon animation removed: no more whistling!Lee2:17:11
Arkland, a new 8th anniversary island: with community memes reworked into stories, a 9-square bingo board that expands with rewards and a "special place".Speaker unclear2:21:50
Eternal avatar and Weapon Chests from the apology coupon become usable on Guardian Knight and Dimensionalist (likely KR only).Coupon slide2:31:47

Small fixes, and that is the point: a little snack to start building trust.

FridayNov 6

BroadcastConfirmed: "next week's Friday"

8th anniversary broadcast, Lee's first as director

Lee hosts the anniversary broadcast, the day before the 8th anniversary itself, with the anniversary rewards.Lee2:32:33
The contest avatar is revealed during the anniversary broadcast.Jeon2:19:10

His first broadcast in the chair. Watch the tone more than the rewards: does he keep giving dates?

WednesdayNov 18

PatchPlanned: "we will try to get it done by"

Multi-crit, support QOL, and a small balance patch

Crit overcap becomes multi-crit: at 120% crit rate, a multi-crit procs 20% of the time (shown in red, 100 → 200 → 300).Lee1:15:57
A balance patch goes with it, because multi-crit alone gives some classes about 10% more damage.Lee1:22:28
Bard Sonic Vibration and Artist Sunwell now last for the full duration after touching them once.Lee1:20:04
Paladin and Valkyrie AP buff cooldowns are equaled, and Brand lasts about 50% longer.Lee1:20:04
These are targeted fixes. The larger all-class balance patch is saved for the winter update.Lee1:24:07

The first real test of the new director. "About 10%" was said out loud, not shown on a slide, so check the numbers on patch day.

FridayNov 20

BroadcastConfirmed date

Part 2 systems broadcast: the growth transfer in full

All the details we have for carrying progress into Part 2 (the comprehensive systems overhaul).Lee1:56:55
Already shown on Oct 29: honing moves to the slot, gems go roster-wide with upper levels expanded, cards become codex-based; ability stones, Karma, and quality are removed with compensation.Lee1:44:16
Bracelets: a maxed bracelet (about 20% DPS) will transfer over as a maxed slot. Anything below max is the open question; Lee concedes it "may fall short of players' expectations."Lee1:52:28
The gem cap: how high the expanded gem levels go was not fixed.Lee1:47:36

They are gentle parenting the whales to be ready for a soft reset.

WindowDecember

ReleasesMonth only

A new class, a winter avatar, and LOA ON Winter

A new class in December. The name slipped on air (heard as a female Sharpshooter; unofficial but confirmed from reactions).Lee1:25:46
A winter-concept avatar in early December.Jeon2:19:10
LOA ON Winter comes before the winter update. No date was given.Lee1:17:16

If Part 2 isn't announced in full at LOA ON Winter it's an insane disappointment. That is the major test for Lee's leadership.

After LOA ONWinter update

Update"Winter", December after LOA ON

The Sea of Aldebaran

Smilegate key art: a turquoise sea of islands with a cliffside capital city and sailing ships — Smilegate's key art from the broadcast: 알데바란의 바다, the Sea of Aldebaran.

A new wave of islands arrives. A third great sea after Gienah and Procyon, named for Aldebaran, god of life: 17 islands at once, 4 of them Adventure Islands. Today's Adventure Islands retire to solo mode.Lee1:59:34
Rasamoa, capital of the Holy Sacrian Empire and the last great city; the story's subtitle is "War of the Gods".Lee2:01:28
Companions: an AI party of Arkesia NPCs with dealer and support roles, earned through Adventurer Requests, not gacha. With them come Guardian Frontier and Companion Expedition.Lee2:02:41

It's extremely important to keep the world feeling like an MMO by adding MMO features and if these land well they could pull players back in.

Winter updateThe systems

UpdateSame window

The daily loop, the endgame and the UI

Adventurer Requests fold Guardian Raids, Chaos Dungeons, Chaos Rifts, Haal's Hourglass, Cube and Una's Tasks into one system, and the Golden Compass adds a weekly bonus pool you pick every Wednesday.Lee2:09:22
The open world: Peyto Members, Toypia mini-games, a cross-channel World Boss on Sacria, sea-fishing records and Adventurer's Tome Part 2.Lee2:06:58
The third Shadow Raid. Shadow Raids stay the "pillars" of endgame in winter and summer while we get Middle Raids A and B in between them.Lee1:00:55
Support dependence comes down: the support share of party damage gets reduced, and the method lands with this update.Lee1:19:29
A large UI overhaul and some graphics improvements; many requested fixes are tied to the UI work.Lee2:15:29
The Legendary avatar arrives with the update, plus one more dye area, and dyeing no longer whitens other parts.Jeon2:19:10

This is gonna be a major change that could be fantastic or terrible depending on implementation.

OpenNo date

Still waiting

Promised, without a date

Part 2 itself. The broadcast never dated it.
The six-character limit: "two options", no conclusion; the answer comes at a later broadcast. Nov 20 is the likely slot, but nobody said so.2:23:13
A roster-level safety net ("adjusting the root class") is being examined; cost and complexity are the hold-ups.Lee1:26:34
Ark Grid cores get simplified later. Nothing changes this winter, and Astrogem is kept to appease whales...Lee1:45:32
Server transfers were not mentioned.

Most of these were on Oct 16's list too.

WindowSummer 2027

Next year

Four raids a year, and a new kind of raid

A new type of top-end raid next summer, "a level above the Shadow Raid".Lee1:00:55
Four raids a year, three months apart: Middle Raids A and B between the summer and winter Shadow Raids.Lee1:00:55
No new class next summer; a maintenance period for aged classes instead.Lee1:26:16

End of the road

Sources and thanks

The broadcast

Smilegate's live broadcast "Is Lost Ark OK as it is?", Oct 29, 2026: the VOD and the official notice.

About this page

Translated and read by thejunglewalrus from the Korean broadcast. Thanks to wineblue, Memorizer and ohbenjitv, who translated it live. Updated Oct 30, 2026.

Watch the breakdown

Live on twitch.tv/thejunglewalrus. In chat: !roadtowinter.

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