Not long into a playthrough of Lost Ark, players will gain class-dependent instruments, learn songs that harness magic powers, and eventually become traveling bards at the behest of the many rapport subjects throughout Arkesia.
With the music system and rapport system as closely related as they are, it is beneficial that players are soon offered one of three instrument skins that each benefit their rapport relationships.
Tide, Sand, and Solar Dreams
At surface level, the greatest difference between Sand, Solar, and Tide instruments are the cosmetic appearances and colors they bear.
- Solar Dream — light blue
- Tide Dream — pink
- Sand Dream — yellow
Upon equipping any of these skins, however, players will notice that they each apply passive buffs to one of three Virtues.
- Solar Dream — +10 to Kindness
- Tide Dream — +10 to Wisdom
- Sand Dream — +10 to Charisma
Related: Guide to Cards in Lost Ark – Card Books, Decks, Upgrading and more
Virtues, and why to be them
Included under the “Skins and Virtues” tab of the player’s character profile window are four Virtue Statistics — Wisdom, Kindness, Charisma, and Courage.
In standard dungeon-crawling gameplay, these four virtues apply no changes to combat performance. For the purpose of progressing quests, Virtues do not change plot events or outcomes, though they can occasionally offer alternative dialogue options with NPCs.
Where Virtues do matter, however, is continuing rapport with a particular NPC. Many rapport partners will refuse to continue their specific rapport quests with the player until significant Virtue levels are met.
For example, Thirain’s rapport quest, The Bachelor, requires that the player have 140 in all four Virtues to start. However, he will allow the player to continue to interact with him, regardless of if their Virtues match his quest requirements.
In some instances, rapport NPCs won’t even let players interact with them until they happen to meet a certain Virtue threshold. Neria of Luterra Castle, for example, is looking for charismatic confidants, and will not involve herself with those who don’t meet her standards.
Related: How to increase your max health in Lost Ark
Becoming Virtuous
To keep up with rapport requirements, there are several means for players to raise their Virtues. As stated earlier, the player has a choice of one instrument skin, instantly boosting a Virtue by 10.
Characters naturally gain Virtue levels through the completion of quests. Slaying enemies often comes with courageous rewards, whereas solving interpersonal problems through dialogue occasionally gives bonuses to Wisdom.
Raising the Roster level of a group of characters can passively apply permanent Virtue buffs to every character included in the Roster. Alternatively, the Virtue potions occasionally given as Adventurer’s Tome completion rewards can be used as one-time boosts to one character’s Virtue stats.
Related: Lost Ark Leveling Guide – How to level up fast
