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Lost Ark Powerpass guide and how Knowledge Transfer works

Power to your people.

The Lost Ark Powerpass system is developer Smilegate's way of letting you experiment with other classes.

Lost Ark locks you to your starting class throughout your time in Arkesia, but the Powerpass lets you quickly raise an alt character to your main character's level for absolutely nothing - so long as you meet the requirements.

These passes are limited, though for a price, Knowledge Transfer lets you do mostly the same thing.

This page explains what the Powerpass does, how to get a Powerpass, and the differences between a Powerpass vs Knowledge Transfer (in short - they are the same - except one costs more time and effort...)

On this page:

Here's Ian exploring Lost Ark and playing a boring class, but he's got a really cool mount!Watch on YouTube

What does the Powerpass do in Lost Ark?

The Powerpass in Lost Ark lets you take an alt character and boost them to level 50 - your main character's level after completing the Vern content and unlocking the end game - without completing any story quests.

Instead, you'll head down the Adventurer's Path, where Beatrice summarizes the main game's story and gives you a primer on how your class works. You also receive a set of equipment at Vern levels (level 302) and are free to distribute your Skill Points as you see fit.

While the main story quests will be completed automatically, you still have access to all side quests.

How to get a Powerpass in Lost Ark

You'll automatically obtain a Powerpass after completing the final main story mission, Ealyn's Gift. The game sends it to your mailbox - the envelope icon in the top left portion of the UI, next to the time display - with a brief explanation of what it is and how to use it.

Exit to the main menu, choose the character you want to boost, and pick the "Power Pass" option next to "Launch" to get the process started.

After you use this initial Powerpass, you'll receive another one to use on a second alt character. For now, these are the only Powerpasses in Lost Ark, and there's no indication that Smilegate will add more.

The good news is there are Knowledge Transfers available...

Lost Ark Powerpass vs Knowledge Transfer explained

If you run out of Powerpasses, know you can use the Knowledge Transfer tool to do almost the same thing.

There's no superior choice between Powerpass vs. Knowledge Transfer. Knowledge Transfer costs gold and takes time, but it's also the only way to quickly level alt characters after you've used your Powerpasses.

How to get Knowledge Transfer in Lost Ark and Knowledge Transfer cost explained

Knowledge Transfer unlocks when you complete the Vern questline, roughly around the same time as you'll get a Powerpass, but it has a few additional requirements:

  • You need a Stronghold, which you'll get during the main story regardless.
  • You need to complete Atheline's quests in the stronghold, and speak to your personal robot to begin researching the Knowledge Transfer technology.
  • After that, you can pay 600 gold to take an alt character up to the Vern stages with level 302 equipment, though it takes eight hours of 'training' in the Training Grounds area, during which time you can't use that character.

You can also pay more gold to boost your alt character to higher levels you've obtained, including Rohendel and up through the Shushire content with gear to match. Knowledge Transfer to Shushire levels is a hefty investment and costs 2,400 gold.

As of launch, you're limited to nine Knowledge Transfers per account, so bear that in mind when deciding whether it's worth it.

Is the Lost Ark Powerpass cross server?

The final thing you might be wondering is how flexible the Powerpass is. Unfortunately, the Powerpass in Lost Ark does not work cross server. The Lost Ark Powerpass is tied to your Roster, or in other words, every character created under your account on a given server.

If you want to use a Powerpass on a different server, you'll have to create a new character and complete the main story on that server.

Looking for more help with Lost Ark? We have explainers for Mokoko Seeds locations, Lost Ark Dalian Orchard Secret area, Lost Ark Rambutan Orchard Secret area, Rudric, Salt Giant and Rovlen.