Engraving is a system of min-maxing in Lost Ark that grants characters statistical bonuses and vertical progression in certain areas. Faster than waiting on the drip-feed of new equipment, while also more reliable than hoping to get good RNG rolls when honing gear or faceting ability stones, engravings can simply be leveled up using tiered rarities of engraving recipes, providing better bonuses with each engraving level.
Engravings are applied much like a piece of equipment would be. Each character has two active engraving slots, into which players can opt to equip up to two engravings of differing types. As these can be applied and removed at the user’s discretion, players are encouraged to collect and level as many engravings as possible, switching between combat situations as needed.
Due to Lost Ark’s heavy focus on boss rushing in the late game, high emphasis is placed on unlocking engravings that prove effective in boss fights. Grudge, which boosts damage against boss enemies, is virtually necessary to have on every character in order to contribute meaningfully within Guardian Raids and Chaos Dungeons. While the prospect of grinding out Grudge on every character may seem overly complicated at first, Smilegate accounted for the grind by simplifying how rosters progress through engravings.
Can you transfer engravings?
When using a recipe of a particular engraving type, that engraving is bound to the entire roster, not just the character to which the engraving is applied. This also applies to subclass-specific engravings, albeit in limited capacity — while players can transfer Paladin-specific engravings across the roster, these can only be applied to other Paladin characters, rather than to a Bard or Scrapper.
Alternatively, engraving recipes and recipe pouches can be transferred from one character to another through the roster-specific storage space. This system is particularly useful when transferring recipes for subclass engravings, as it allows each unique class to progress itself independently.
Related: 5 best Engravings to use in Lost Ark
