How to complete Shadespire Tower in Lost Ark

The Shadow Isle of Lost Ark is home to the Shadespire Tower, a mid-game boss rush challenge for solo players looking to put their character builds to the test. With 50 floors that increase in difficulty from floor to floor, each one must be defeated in order for the player to reach the top of the tower.

Requirements: Build a one-man army

Although Lost Ark is an MMO focused on party-based dungeon crawling, Shadespire Tower is a challenge that must be attempted on its own. As such, it’s in the best interest of would-be climbers to use combat items that minimize their single class’s weaknesses. Sluggish Warrior-types could use marching flags to better avoid incoming damage, while squishier and easier to defeat supports can activate bonfires for passive health regeneration.

Players must use a character of at least level 50 with gear totaling item level 302. These stats allow them to participate in Shadespire’s earliest challenges, although the item level required to proceed increases every five floors. For example, players who want to complete the 50th floor tower will need a total item level of 540.

Keep in mind that Shadespire Tower doesn’t have a hard skill cap. Players controlling far better equipped characters are encouraged to use them, as their higher damage output and incoming damage resistance allow them to split through the early stages of the Tower with relative ease.

Given the often overwhelming amount of damage hurled at the player, it would be wise to bring as many health potions as your consumable hotbar will allow. This includes, but is not limited to, stacks of several hundred Adept, Expert, and Super Heal potions.

Related: Lost Ark Shadow Island Quest Chain Guide

Clearing Shadespire Tower: It’s Ascension

PvE content in Shadespire Tower takes one of three forms – surviving multiple enemies in waves, defeating elite versions of standard enemies, or killing a unique boss every fifth floor. Health bars increase and attack cycles can vary, but the tower follows this general pattern from floor one to floor 50.

In order to clear a floor and advance to the next, players must defeat all enemies within the given time limit without suffering a death. Should the player fail a floor due to one of these loss conditions, they are not forced to try previous floors again, but must restart their current floor from the beginning.

Survival and Elite floors challenge the player with a three minute time limit, after which they fail their current floor. Boss floors, however, save the player five minutes to determine each boss’s attack cycles and clear the room before failing.

Related: Lost Ark PvE Classes Rankings – The best characters for PvE