After years of only being playable in regions like Asia and Russia, Smilegate RPG's Lost Ark is finally available in North America and Europe courtesy of Amazon. The free-to-play, top-down MMORPG is filled to the brim with things to see and do, and if you're diving in for the first time with no prior knowledge, the world of Arkesia can be more than a little intimidating.

The good news is that much of Lost Ark is only complicated at first glance. Spend some time with the game and its various systems and before long things will start to fall into place. Many of the different activities and much of the optional content can be safely ignored (or at least put off until reaching the endgame), meaning new players can simply pick their class of choice and quickly embark on the game's main story quest to find the titular lost ark. Here's a few tips to keep in mind over the course of the game's first two dozen hours as you work your way towards max level and Lost Ark's endgame content.

Don't Skip the Prologue (At Least On Your First Character)

If you are brand new to Lost Ark and have just made your first character, don't skip the prologue. It will introduce a number of Lost Ark's basic systems while also laying the groundwork for the game's core story. While action-RPG players will no doubt be familiar with many of the gameplay elements Lost Ark introduces here, it's still worth doing, especially since it only lasts about 30 minutes. That being said, feel free to skip it on subsequent characters.