The first end-game PvE content you’ll encounter in Lost Ark is Chaos Dungeons.
You’ll get your first set of end-game equipment from Chaos Dungeons, which you can upgrade to increase your item level to unlock more end-game content.
Recommended Read: Lost Ark – Complete Guardian Raid Guide
In Chaos Dungeons, you’ll fight huge waves of enemies in different areas of the dungeon to bring its Purification to 100%.
While you slay hundreds of enemies to bring up the Purification, you’ll get tons of drops from the monsters, including honing material, equipment, and accessories.
In this guide, we give you all the information that you need on Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark, from how to unlock them to the different systems around them.
Table of contents
- What are Chaos Dungeons?
- How to unlock Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark
- How do Chaos Dungeons work?
- All Chaos Dungeons overview
- Chaos Dungeons rewards and loot
- What is Aura of Resonance, and can you get more
- Can you keep doing Chaos Dungeons with no Aura of Resonance?
- How does Rest Bonus work?
- Can you solo Chaos Dungeons?
- Chaos Dungeon entry and loot limit
- Chaos Dungeon Vendor NPC
What are Chaos Dungeons?
Chaos Dungeons are special dungeons in Lost Ark that are full of creatures and small bosses that you have to defeat.
The first end-game content you unlock in Lost Ark is Chaos Dungeons, and they are what will give you your first set of end-game equipment, which you can upgrade to increase your item level.
Because of this, Chaos Dungeons are incredibly important, as they allow you to make your character stronger and unlock more end-game content by upgrading your item level.
You first unlock them after reaching level 50 and going through some of the main questline in North Vern.
They work similarly to rifts in other games like Diablo, where you battle a ton of enemies at the same time.
Monsters spawn all around you and run towards you. Your job is to kite around them while bringing them down.
While you defeat enemies, you purify the dungeon, and the goal is to bring the Purification to 100%, at which point you complete the Chaos Dungeon.
You’ll be taken through different areas in the dungeon before you reach 100% Purification.
You do get some rewards from completing a Chaos Dungeon, but the majority are obtained from the monsters and bosses dropping them through the dungeon.
How to unlock Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark
You unlock Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark by completing the quest Ealyn’s Request in Vern Castle located in North Vern. You can get to Vern Castle after reaching level 50 and having completed the main questline in Arthetine.
The quest Ealyn’s Request is in the main questline, which means that you cannot miss it. The quest starts from Queen Ealyn, then makes you speak to Knight Avele, and lastly to Professor Ronatas, who is located at the top of Vern Castle in front of the Chaos Dungeon Statue.
After speaking to Professor Ronatas, you’ve unlocked Chaos Dungeon!
Once you’ve unlocked Chaos Dungeons, you can access them from the Chaos Dungeon Statue, which is located in every major city.
Right when you unlock Chaos Dungeons, you only have access to the Chaos Dungeons under the North Vern tab. You can do any of them if you meet the item level requirement.
To unlock the Chaos Dungeons in the next tabs like Rohendel and Yorn, you need to go through the main questline in those respective areas of the game.
You can see the exact quest that you need to complete in an area to unlock the Chaos Dungeons for that area in the Chaos Dungeon Statue. It’s usually the last main quest in the area.
Unlike Guardian Raids, you do not have to complete the previous Chaos Dungeons levels to access the later ones in the same tab.
So, if you, for example, go through the main questline in Rohendel to unlock Rohendel Chaos Dungeons and have an item level of at least 580 upon completing them, you can do the level 4 Rohendel Chaos Dungeon directly.
How do Chaos Dungeons work?
To challenge a Chaos Dungeon, head to the Chaos Dungeon Statue, which is located in every major town, including Vern Castle, select the Chaos Dungeon you wish to do, and click Enter.
You can also click either Matchmaking or Find Party if you want to team up with other players. The Enter button just puts you in alone or with the party you’re currently in a party with.
Inside the Chaos Dungeon, your goal is to keep defeating monsters and small bosses that spawn all around you until the Purification meter is at 100%. Every time you defeat a monster or a boss, the Purification goes up.
You won’t reach 100% Purification in just one area of the Chaos Dungeon. You need to fight in multiple areas, as monsters stop spawning after you’ve defeated a certain amount in one area.
After you’ve defeated a bunch of enemies in the same area, a portal will appear around the middle of the map, which takes you to the next area.
You can use it as soon as it appears, or you can wait till you’ve defeated all enemies in the area you’re currently in. Taking the portal as soon as it spawns is a bit faster, as there’ll be more enemies to defeat in a fresh area.
As soon as the Purification meter reaches 100% from you defeating enemies and bosses, you complete the Chaos Dungeon, and enemies disappear. You’re then given some rewards.
While you do get some rewards from completing a Chaos Dungeon, the vast majority of rewards earned from a Chaos Dungeon come from the loot of monsters and bosses.
When you’ve completed a Chaos Dungeon, you can click either Select Level to start a new Chaos Dungeon or click Leave to exit the dungeon. Both buttons are located in the top-left corner.
In Chaos Dungeons, you can use any potions and battle items you want. There is no limit on how many times they can be used like there is in Guardian Raids.
All Chaos Dungeons overview
There are many Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark and requirements to challenge each one.
Here is a complete overview of all Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark, their tier, and requirements.
Chaos Dungeon | Level | Area | Item Tier | Item Level Requirement | Quest Requirement |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Echo | 1 | North Vern | 1 | 250 | Ealyn's Request |
Echo | 2 | North Vern | 1 | 340 | Ealyn's Request |
Echo | 3 | North Vern | 1 | 380 | Ealyn's Request |
Echo | 4 | North Vern | 1 | 420 | Ealyn's Request |
Phantom | 1 | Rohendel | 1 | 460 | Ratik |
Phantom | 2 | Rohendel | 1 | 500 | Ratik |
Phantom | 3 | Rohendel | 1 | 540 | Ratik |
Phantom | 4 | Rohendel | 1 | 580 | Ratik |
Earth | 1 | Yorn | 2 | 600 | The Final Report |
Earth | 2 | Yorn | 2 | 840 | The Final Report |
Earth | 3 | Yorn | 2 | 880 | The Final Report |
Earth | 4 | Yorn | 2 | 920 | The Final Report |
Shadow | 1 | Feiton | 2 | 960 | Will |
Shadow | 2 | Feiton | 2 | 1000 | Will |
Shadow | 3 | Feiton | 2 | 1040 | Will |
Shadow | 4 | Feiton | 2 | 1080 | Will |
Star | 1 | Punika | 3 | 1100 | Festival Adventure |
Star | 2 | Punika | 3 | 1310 | Festival Adventure |
Moon | 1 | Punika | 3 | 1325 | Festival Adventure |
Moon | 2 | Punika | 3 | 1340 | Festival Adventure |
Moon | 3 | Punika | 3 | 1355 | Festival Adventure |
Sun | 1 | Punika | 3 | 1370 | Festival Adventure |
Sun | 2 | Punika | 3 | 1385 | Festival Adventure |
Sun | 3 | Punika | 3 | 1400 | Festival Adventure |
The item tier describes what tier the equipment and accessories dropped in the Chaos Dungeon are.
The item level requirement is the minimum item level you need to have to access the dungeon, and the quest requirement is the quest that you need to have completed to access the dungeon. The quest is usually the last quest in the main questline of the dungeon’s area.
As Chaos Dungeons give more and better rewards the higher the level of the dungeon, you always want to do the highest level dungeon that you meet the requirements for.
Chaos Dungeons rewards and loot
Challenging and completing Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark gives you a bunch of useful rewards and gear.
Chaos Dungeons is what’ll quickly bring up your item level at level 50 by giving you a full tier 1 equipment set and honing material to upgrade them further.
Here are the different rewards that you get from Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark:
- Tier 1, 2, and 3 equipment and accessories
- Honing material for tier 1, 2, and 3 gear
- Ability Stones
- Engraving Recipes
- Cube Entrance Tickets
- XP Cards
- Silver
The tier of a Chaos Dungeon determines whether the enemies inside drop tier 1, 2, or 3 equipment and accessories. You can see the tier of each Chaos Dungeon in the table in the previous paragraph.
Most of the rewards that you get in Chaos Dungeons are dropped by the monsters and bosses. But you do also get an extra reward upon completing a Chaos Dungeon.
The same applies to honing material. All North Vern and Rohendel Chaos Dungeons drop Destruction and Guardian Stone Fragments, for example, as they are tier 1 and therefore drop tier 1 honing material.
The higher the Chaos Dungeon level, the better loot you’ll get. The rarity of items and materials increases as the level of the dungeon increases. Therefore, you should do the highest level you can access.
You can see what rarity of equipment, accessories, and materials a specific Chaos Dungeon gives by selecting it in the Chaos Dungeon Statue and looking under Expected Rewards.
If an event is running, you can usually also get that event’s currency from Chaos Dungeons.
What is Aura of Resonance, and can you get more
Aura of Resonance is loot energy specific to Chaos Dungeons. If you have Aura of Resonance when entering a Chaos Dungeon, you get significantly more drops from the monsters and bosses inside.
When you enter a Chaos Dungeon with at least 50 Aura of Resonance, 50 Aura of Resonance will be consumed upon entry, and you will get the regular number of drops and rewards from it.
You get 100 Aura of Resonance every day at reset, but if you already have at least 50, your Aura of Resonance won’t go above 100 after reset. 100/50 Aura of Resonance will be displayed in the Chaos Dungeon window in this case.
Occasionally, Aura of Resonance can also be obtained from events, including the daily login event, but not always. Check what events are running when you read this.
However much Aura of Resonance that you don’t get to keep because it’s capped at 100/50 goes into your Rest Bonus at a rate of 10 Rest Bonus per 50 Aura of Resonance over 100.
For example, if you have 50/50 Aura of Resonance at reset time, you’ll be given the 100 Aura of Resonance as usual, but because you cannot have more than 100/50, 50 of that Aura of Resonance is given to you as 10 Rest Bonus.
Rest Bonus only counts for half as much as Aura of Resonance in terms of extra drops. Therefore, it’s much better to use all the 100 Aura of Resonance you get daily, so you get to keep all the 100 Aura of Resonance you get at the next reset.
Can you keep doing Chaos Dungeons with no Aura of Resonance?
Yes, you can keep doing Chaos Dungeons as much as you want when you run out of Aura of Resonance for the day.
When you run Chaos Dungeons with no Aura of Resonance, you do, however, get far fewer rewards and drops directly – but you do get Chaos Dungeon Shards and Crystals, which can be exchanged for useful items.
Even though you get Chaos Dungeon Shards and Crystals from runs when you have no Aura of Resonance, the overall rewards are still far fewer.
We tested the difference between a Chaos Dungeon run with and without Aura of Resonance in Echo level 4 – these were the results:
- In one Chaos Dungeon run with Aura of Resonance, we got around 500 Guardian Stone Fragments and around 200 Destruction Stone Fragments, as well as lots of Harmony Shards, gear, and some other materials.
- In one Chaos Dungeon run without Aura of Resonance, we got 38 Guardian Stone Fragments and 4 Destruction Stone Fragments, as well as a few of the other types of drops.
- From the run without Aura of Resonance, we also got 178 Perception Shards and 19 Disorder Crystals, which can be exchanged for around 20 Destruction Stone Fragments, 60 Guardian Stone Fragments, and one epic tier 1 accessory.
When including the rewards you can exchange the Chaos Dungeon Shards and Crystals for, a run without Aura of Resonance gives around 80-90% fewer drops than a run with it.
Keep in mind that those numbers are only from one specific run. The actual reduction in rewards when comparing a run with and without Aura of Resonance might be higher or lower in reality.
How does Rest Bonus work?
The Rest Bonus system for Chaos Dungeons is a catch-up mechanism that stores some of the Aura of Resonance that you didn’t use on the previous day in the form of a Rest Bonus.
You can only store a maximum of 100/50 Aura of Resonance at a time in Lost Ark.
If you don’t do two Chaos Dungeon runs in a day, which consumes 50 Aura of Resonance each, you can’t store all the 100 Aura of Resonance you get at the next daily reset.
However much Aura of Resonance you cannot store is given as a Rest Bonus. For every 50 Aura of Resonance you cannot store, you get 10 points of Rest Bonus.
For example, if you have 100/50 Aura of Resonance on a day and don’t do any Chaos Dungeon runs, you cannot store any of the 100 Aura of Resonance you get at the next daily reset, as you’re already at the limit.
When reset happens in this case, you’re automatically given 20 Rest Bonus points instead, as all of the 100 Aura of Resonance couldn’t be stored.
To see your current rest bonus, look in the top-left corner of the Chaos Dungeon window.
You can store up to 100 points of Rest Bonus, after which all of the Aura of Resonance you receive daily goes to waste.
If you have at least 20 Rest Bonus points and start a Chaos Dungeon, 20 points of Rest Bonus will be consumed automatically, even if Aura of Resonance is also being consumed.
The Rest Bonus points that are being consumed further increase the amount of loot you get from the Chaos Dungeon, which means it acts in the same way as Aura of Resonance.
Rest Bonus doesn’t increase the number of drops as much as Aura of Resonance, though, so it’s much better to spend all your Aura of Resonance daily so you can keep the 100 you get again at the next daily reset.
Can you solo Chaos Dungeons?
Yes, you can solo all Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark. Lost Ark can be challenged alone or with up to three other players.
The health of monsters and bosses in Chaos Dungeons scale to the number of players challenging the dungeon.
Therefore, it’s usually not more difficult to solo a Chaos Dungeon than doing it with a party.
Sometimes, you’ll actually have an easier time soloing a Chaos Dungeon if your team members aren’t pulling their weight.
So, should you solo Chaos Dungeons or do them with a party? Most players prefer to solo Chaos Dungeons as it’s usually just as easy as doing it with a party, if not easier, and it’s more convenient.
Chaos Dungeon entry and loot limit
You can enter Chaos Dungeons as many times as you want to every day. You do, however, only get full rewards from Chaos Dungeons twice a day.
If you don’t use your daily Chaos Dungeon runs, you’ll get some Rest Bonus as compensation, which makes you get a bit more rewards the next time you do Chaos Dungeons.
To get the most out of Chaos Dungeons, you should do at least two Chaos Dungeon runs a day to use your daily Aura of Resonance. You get two Chaos Dungeon runs worth of Aura of Resonance every day.
You can get more information on both the Aura of Resonance loot system and the Rest Bonus loot system above in this guide.
Chaos Dungeon Vendor NPC
Next to the Chaos Dungeon Statue, you’ll find the Exchange Chaos Dungeon Shard NPC.
At this NPC, you can exchange the Shards and Crystals you get from running Chaos Dungeons after you’ve exhausted your daily Aura of Resonance.
You can exchange Shards and Crystals for the following things:
- Honing Material
- Engraving Recipe Pouches
- Accessories
There are three taps in the Exchange Chaos Dungeon Shard NPC, each of which corresponds to an item tier and thus a Chaos Dungeon tier.
That’s everything you need to know about Chaos Dungeons in Lost Ark!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.