How to increase your max health in Lost Ark

Lost ark is, ostensibly, a game of huge damage numbers for all who wade through its ocean of enemies.

No matter the inherent tankiness or the conflict-avoidant agility of the class one plays, everyone should expect to take their fair share of lumps.

With this in mind, it’s in the best interest of players to look for opportunities to boost their total health bars at every stage of play, in order to keep up with the difficulty curve of later dungeons.

What affects max health

While two stats — Vitality and Vigor — gradually and steadily increase the player’s max health, external assets, such as card book bonuses, can apply a buff as well if activated.

Both Vitality and Vigor progress through different means, and contribute differently to the way a player’s total health is calculated.

Vitality

Vitality increases the player’s health vertically at a flat rate of around four times the player’s total Vitality, rounded up.

The only currently-available method of increasing one’s Vitality is through regular gear upgrades and, toward the end of Lost Ark’s progression system, honing equipment. As enemies and bosses grow stronger, so too do the Vitality statistics of the armor pieces they drop.

Generally speaking, the Player’s health bar will grow with respect to the progress they make in the process of playing through the core game casually.

Related: What is the best class to play solo in Lost Ark

Vigor

Vigor, on the other hand, provides much larger buffs to the player’s overall health, calculated as a percentage bonus added onto the previous amount of total health.

Where Vigor’s effect increases when the percentage is calculated from a larger whole, its value is maximized in instances where a build’s equipment already provides substantial Vitality.

As such, the equipment capable of boosting Vigor often comes as an additional effect of some extremely late-game legendary armor drops. These gear types boast some of the best Vitality bonuses available to players, which further compound the Vigor bonus to optimize the bearer’s health bar.

Related: Lost Ark Leveling Guide – How to level up fast

Card books

The six-card deck-building system integrated into Lost Ark’s equipment management can yield various effects if the active deck is structured to cater to a particular statistic.

If players are looking to additionally pad onto their health bar after the application of Vitality and Vigor-bearing equipment, they could build a deck of cards from books that boost overall health.

For example, adding pairs of cards from the Field Boss II book will grant the player between 4% and 12% additional health, calculated after both the bonuses of Vitality and Vigor.

Related: Guide to Cards in Lost Ark – Card Books, Decks, Upgrading and more