Lost Ark Machinist Guide: How To Build A Machinist – In this Lost Ark Machinist Guide, I’m going to show you what it means to play as a Machinist in terms of how well they perform in combat, the best Skills and Tripods to focus on, and the playstyles available to them. If you’re searching for a Gunner who deals excellent sustain damage using advanced technology like the powerful drone and a barrage of lasers, then this Lost Ark Machinist Guide is for you!
Be sure to check out our other Lost Ark Class Guides including: Shadowhunter, Sorceress, Gunslinger, Paladin, Gunlancer, Deathblade, Wardancer, Scrapper, Berserker, Bard, Deadeye, Striker, Artillerist, Soulfist, Glaivier, Destroyer & Arcanist!
Lost Ark Machinist Guide: How To Build A Machinist
Machinists are one of the Advanced Classes that fall under the Gunner Class. They utilize a drone and wield an SMG to quickly and effectively obliterate their enemies into pieces. In terms of difficulty, Machinists are fairly easier to pilot since the majority of their skills don’t require specific positioning, allowing them to be more flexible on the battlefield compared to other DPS Classes.
- Excellent Gunner Beginner Class
- Massive Sustain Damage
- Superb Mobility
- 2 Distinct Combat Modes
- Average to Low Defense
As a Lost Ark Machinist, you deal significant melee and ranged damage because of your SMG and drone, which you can control using your cursor and the SHIFT button. This makes it possible for you to move around fluidly to dodge attacks all while attacking enemies with Drone Skills. Similar to the Artillerist, you can easily destroy enemies by bombarding them with loads of bullets, bombs, and missiles, however, you’re not as tanky so you need to be cautious. Thankfully, you gain the Paralysis Immunity Super Armor from some of your skills as well as shield options to survive longer in combat.
And finally, like the Shadowhunter, you can transform or opt to wear a Hypersync Suit to not only grant the party with a damage buff for better overall damage but also boost your speed further.
Machinist Class Role and Identity
The Lost Ark Machinist is a Hybrid DPS Class that deals impeccable sustain damage with decent burst and Stagger Damage from any distance, depending on the ability. Because of the Advanced Class’s high mobility and capability to send their drone out in the open to fight for them, they can zip from one part of the area to the next with ease. These are essential for survivability since their defenses range from average to low even if they have at least 1 ability to absorb some damage. Note that the Machinist can also recall the drone should they instantly need them, however, doing so will automatically cancel the current skill’s animation.
All Advanced Classes in Lost Ark have unique Specialties or Identities that differentiate them from the other classes. These can either unleash more damage or enhance the buffs they grant. For the Lost Ark Machinist, it’s the Hypersync Mode Identity, allowing them to become the Iron Man that they’re meant to be to activate powerful Specialty Skills. To do so, they need to accumulate enough Core Energy by successfully hitting targets with Drone and Joint Skills. Once this gauge is filled, the Machinist can then activate Hypersync to wear the special suit.
Hypersync buffs the party with extra Attack Power while providing you with a shield, Paralysis Immunity, and additional Attack and Movement Speed boosts. This mode also gives you access to another set of abilities known as Sync Skills. Sync Skills like Comet Strike and Thruster Move coupled with Laser Blade and Echelon Beam will wipe out groups of enemies within a matter of seconds due to their synergies and significant burst damage so be sure to include them in your rotation. Remember that Hypersync Mode ends when your Core Energy has been completely depleted, your shield breaks, or you prematurely hit Z to return to Normal Mode.
Lost Ark Machinist Best Skills and Tripods
By the time your Lost Ark Machinist reaches Level 60, you will have unlocked a total of 26 skills comprised of Normal, Drone, Joint, Sync, and Awakening Skills. To add to this, you’ve invested several points into Normal, Drone, and Joint Skills to specialize further by unlocking their respective Tripods. The Tripod System allows players to customize skills in various ways by improving damage or reducing the cooldown of respective abilities. In total, you only need 8 skills for the Machinist with a select number of tripods. In this section, I’ll cover the essential Normal, Drone, and Joint Skills and tripods for both playstyles that are worth 288 skill points in total.
Lost Ark Machinist Normal Skills and Tripods
Overcharged Battery (Skill Lv. 4) – This is a good budget skill because the Fighting Spirit Enhancement Tripod grants an Attack Power Buff to the party for more than 10 seconds. Since Overcharged Battery’s cooldown period is shorter, you can keep triggering it for the offensive boost. Additionally, the batteries you throw at multiple targets are useful in Chaos Dungeon due to the skill’s stagger and knock-up capabilities.
Mobile Shot (Skill Lv. 7) – This is an excellent gap closer due to your roll distance as well as the decent damage you deal from bombarding enemies with SMG shots. To further improve Mobile Shot, you need to reach Skill Lv. 7 in order to invest in Solid Maneuver and Quickness, thereby allowing you to cover more ground and move faster. Ideally, it should be triggered after activating any of your Drone Skills to cancel their respective skill-end animations. One additional note is that Mobile Shot utilizes Back Attacks so you need to first position your Lost Ark Machinist behind targets to maximize the damage inflicted.
Avalanche (Skill Lv. 7) – This is the standard Counter and Combo Skill, allowing you to not only charge toward multiple enemies but also deal massive damage afterward. Additionally, you can stagger them effectively and gain the Paralysis Immunity Super Armor. To make Avalanche more effective, you need to reach Skill Lv. 7 if you’re following the Evolutionary Legacy Class Engraving to take the Diversion and Neat Combination Tripods. Diversion raises your charge distance whereas Neat Combination momentarily amplifies your overall damage. Controlling where you land can be done with your cursor but remember that you cannot change directions once you have initiated the skill’s animation. Finally, and similar to Mobile Shot, you need to attack enemies from behind to make the most out of Avalanche. Should you go with the Arthetinean Skill playstyle, I highly suggest reaching Skill Lv. 10 with the final tripod being Concise Finish to inflict additional 150% damage.
Lost Ark Machinist Alternative Normal Skills and Tripods
Backflip Strike (Skill Lv. 7) – Similar to Avalanche, Backflip Strike is a good alternative as a Counter Skill, especially if your Engraving is Evolutionary Legacy. Thanks to the Excellent Mobility and Tenacity Tripods, you can safely go into the fray of combat and then perform a backflip afterward to evade incoming attacks. Tenacity grants Push Immunity, preventing you from being knocked back. Preferably, this skill is best triggered right before initiating Hypersync Mode to activate the shield.
Strategic Fire (Skill Lv. 7) – Compared to the Fiery Escape Joint Skill, Strategic Fire will provide you with greater damage, and is specifically used for the Arthetinean Skill Engraving. The best tripods to select for Skill Lv. 7 are Weak Point Detection and Preheated Shot. Weak Point Detection makes Strategic Fire significantly more effective against stronger enemies whereas Preheated Shot amplifies your critical attacks when the targets’ HP is 80% or lower. Just make sure to properly position yourself behind them because you remain stationary during the animation period.
Lost Ark Machinist Drone Skills and Tripods
In this next section, you’ll mostly use the same set of Drone Skills for either playstyle, except that some Tripods will be different. Regardless, however, you’ll want to reach Skill Lv. 10 for all of the corresponding Skills to maximize their functionalities. If you’re focusing on the Evolutionary Legacy Engraving, these abilities will help you save Core Energy to trigger your Identity due to the Core Energy Charge or Supply Tripods. But for the Arthetinian Skill Engraving, Drone and Joint Skills will be your main damage sources.
Command: Flare Beam (Skill Lv. 10) – This is a potent skill for the Evolutionary Legacy Class Engraving that inflicts both burst and sustain damage. For the latter to take effect, you need to select Scar to deal Fire Damage over time, and Laser Cut to amplify the damage against a single enemy. Flare Beam is certainly a must-have skill because of its capability to destroy multiple targets due to your drone’s laser beams.
Command: Baby Drones (Skill Lv. 10) – This skill allows your drone to detonate self-destructing baby drones from any distance to deal massive damage. Regardless of your engraving, you’ll want to invest in Vital Point Attack to boost Crit Rate and Roundup Attack to amplify damage and bombard enemies. For the Arthetinian Skill, make sure to select Thunder Baby instead of Core Energy Supply to boost your Crit Damage.
Command: Raid Missile (Skill Lv. 10) – This skill sends a barrage of missiles to inflict significant damage. Regardless of the playstyle, you have to get the Volley of Missiles and Weak Point Detection Tripods. Volley of Missiles is better compared to Organ Missile since you do not incur a damage penalty. Rather than knocking targets down, you paralyze them instead. Meanwhile, Weak Point Detection boosts damage against Push-Immune enemies. Should you go for the Arthetinian Skill Engraving, you should substitute Core Energy Charge for Battery Discharge to considerably enhance the skill’s effectiveness.
Lost Ark Machinist Joint Skills and Tripods
Energy Buster (Skill Lv. 10) – This is an extremely powerful skill that lets you save a ton of energy, which is then unleashed in a straight line. The advantage of Energy Buster is the significant damage dealt on top of its high stagger potential to incapacitate targets. To amplify damage further, you should take Condense and Meltdown. Be sure to overcharge this skill to utilize Condense. Meanwhile, Flame Buster will ignite enemies to deal damage over time.
Fiery Escape (Skill Lv. 10) – Fiery Escape is a vital skill to have for the Evolutionary Legacy Machinist, primarily due to the Emergency Protection Tripod. This protects you from attacks for more than 5 seconds to boost your defenses while you’re transforming into the Hypersync Mode. Since you’ll aim for Skill Lv. 10, you’ll also want to take Excellent Mobility and Long Flight. Long Flight lets you hover above hapless enemies to shoot them down. As such, you can also use Fiery Escape to escape from dangerous situations.
Annihilation Mode (Skill Lv. 10) – Annihilation Mode, on the other hand, is a must-have skill for the Arthetinean Skill Machinist because it deals considerable damage without consuming too much Mana thanks to Battery Saving Mode. The other tripods you should consider are Reformation and Comrade to increase your overall damage. Another advantage of Annihilation Mode is you can easily turn by up to 90 degrees to keep shooting enemies, making it more flexible than Strategic Fire.
Lost Ark Machinist Engravings and Stats
In Lost Ark, every Advanced Class unlocks Engravings that allow you to further specialize in your chosen class as these grant special effects, which you can activate by reading Recipe Books and equipping Accessories and Ability Stones. You’re able to obtain them as random rewards by completing endgame activities such as Chaos and Abyss Dungeons, and Guardian Raids.
In this section, I’m going to talk about the Lost Ark Machinist Engravings, which determine the playstyle you wish to adopt for your character and are class-specific abilities and traits. You gain access to this when you reach higher levels. The 2 Class Engravings available to the Machinist are Evolutionary Legacy and Arthetinean Skill. Let’s first discuss the Evolutionary Legacy playstyle together with the Stats that go with it.
Evolutionary Legacy Playstyle
Evolutionary Legacy boosts the Lost Ark Machinist’s Sync Skill damage while reducing their cooldown rate. Additionally, you regain a large portion of Core Energy upon hitting Z to return to Normal Mode. Since the Sync Skill damage is only improved incrementally, reaching Level 1 for this Class Engraving is sufficient to enhance your effectiveness in encounters.
In terms of Evolutionary Legacy’s Combat Stats, you’ll want to prioritize Specialization followed by Crit when gearing up. This setup lets you fill the Core Energy Gauge faster to frequently enter Hypersync Mode. It also increases the damage of Sync Skills together with your Crit Rate.
Arthetinean Skill Playstyle
Comparatively, with Arthetinean Skill, you stay in Normal Mode to take advantage of the capabilities of your drone. By reaching Level 3, you considerably increase damage dealt from Drone and Joint Skills and raise your max Battery to trigger abilities often.
In terms of Arthetinean Skill’s Combat Stats, you should focus on Crit for higher Crit Rate and then Swiftness for better Attack and Movement Speed. The latter also reduces the cooldown period of your skills, allowing you to frequently use them.
Final Thoughts
As a Lost Machinist, there will be a bit of an adjustment period as you get used to controlling your drone and character at the same time. For your efforts, however, you’ll be rewarded with a high DPS class that has a very unique playstyle, especially if you choose the Evolutionary Legacy Engraving. Furthermore, finding the best position to execute some of your skills will notably amplify the overall damage. In PvP, Machinists need to prioritize mobility as they’re rather squishy although they do have sources of Super Armor.
Evolutionary Legacy’s skill rotation is straightforward compared to Arthetinean Skill. Here, you’ll fill up the Core Energy Gauge by triggering Drone and Joint Skills, with Fiery Escape being the Joint Skill you should use before entering Hypersync Mode. Doing so activates a shield as you’re transforming. You’ll then alternate between Comet Strike or Thruster Move before hitting Laser Blade and Echelon Beam to improve damage by 20%. Just remember that for Echelon Beam, you have to attack enemies from the front to gain this boost.
On the other hand, for Arthetinean Skill, start with Overcharged Battery to give you and your teammates the Attack Power Buff. Due to its shorter cooldown, you can keep its 100% uptime every time the skill becomes available for use. Next, use Mobile Shot to charge and shoot enemies up close, followed by Drone and Joint Skills. Keep these rotations in check and remember to control your drone to maintain your DPS.
Stay tuned for more Lost Ark Class Guides when new Advanced Classes are released and be sure to check out our Lost Ark Wiki or drop by our Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game. What did you think of this Lost Ark Machinist Class Guide? What Advanced Class are you enjoying the most? Let us know in the comments below!
Log in to leave a Comment