Lost Ark offers many different classes for players to choose from, including the newly added Summoner. This new advanced class is a type of mage that summons elemental spirits to fight for her. She also has access to powerful earth, lightning, and water spells that wreak havoc on enemies. However, the Summoner class is not for everyone. She is fragile, very slow compared to other classes, and difficult to master.

The Summoner offers excellent mobility with ranged options and high damage for consistency and burst. All of her spells have an AoE component, allowing her to wipe out entire hordes with one cast in many situations. Giving the Summoner the best build possible will help counteract her negative aspects, making her a force to be reckoned with in Lost Ark.

Engravings For The Summoner

To complete the best build for the Summoner, players must ensure they use the proper engravings. As soon as their Summoner reaches level 50, they must equip these engravings to complete the build. From the class-specific options, they will need to choose the Master Summoner engraving, which reduces the cost of elemental bullets and increases damage and crit probabilities.

Keen Blunt Weapon

Inflicts additional crit damage but has the chance of dealing 20% less damage.

Adrenaline

Receive a damage bonus per ability used.

Hit Master

Increases damage when attacking from the side.

Grudge

Additional damage to higher tier enemies and bosses but at the cost of +20% damage inflicted by them, making it more effective in the endgame.

Skills For The Summoner

The best plan of action is to choose the Master Summoner Build. For raids, players will get the maximum flexibility possible out of their Summoner and have consistent burst damage. The only problem with this build is that it can be highly immobile and challenging for some players.

While other options can prove easier to manage, they won't offer the same in damage output. The Master Summoner is the favored option by many players for this reason. There are specific skills and tripods for these skills that will make this build the best.

Shurdi

For the Summoner, Shurdi is a small light elemental. She can summon this elemental, and it will move with her for 20 seconds. As it moves with her, it causes 130 damage to nearby enemies.

Tripod

• Shining Growth
• Faltering Shurdi
• MP Recovery

Effects At Maximum Level

• Increases Crit Rate of Summoner +11.8%
• Increases summon rate by 8 seconds
• All party members' MP recovery increases by +40% during summoning

Elcid

The Elcid skill summons two lily elementals, or Elcids. They will fly around for 10 seconds, attacking any nearby enemies. They deal 36 damage with basic attacks.

Tripod

• Magic Amplification
• Deadly Poison Seed
• Elite Summoning

Effects At Maximum Level

• Increases Attack power +44.4% for 5 seconds and increases MP cost +50%.
• Changes Elcid's attack to piercing poison seeds that inflict poison on enemies for 5 seconds, dealing +14% damage.
• Decreases Elcids to one, increases damage dealt to +490%, increases attack range +40%, and inflicts Paralysis on normal enemies.

Water Elemental

The Water Elemental skill allows the player to summon a water elemental. This elemental will inflict water damage on the enemies over the course of 2 seconds.

Tripod

• MP Recovery
• Weak Point Detection
• Water Canon

Effects At Maximum Level

• During summoning, MP recovery speed is +158.2%.
• Damage to Push-Immune enemies increases +80%.
• Elemental's Attack angle decreases by -50%. Attack range increases by +100%. In PVE, +150% Ancient Energy is obtained on hit.

Sticky Moss Swamp

With this skill, the player can summon a sticky, mossy swamp to aid them. It takes 0.5 seconds to generate and will last for 5 seconds, inflicting 26 damage on enemies every second. It also decreases enemies' move speed by -60% for 2 seconds.

Tripod

• Ready Attack
• Corrosion Diffusion

Effects At Maximum Level

• Increases Attack power 44.4% and increases MP cost 50%.
• Creates Moss Swamp immediately and adds benefit of -12% enemy defense for 16 seconds on hit.

Electric Storm

Electric Storm is a skill for players who want to create massive damage among the ranks of their enemies. It concentrates energy over the course of 1.5 seconds, then unleashes it for 5 seconds in a barrage of 10 hits, inflicting lightning damage. It packs a punch with 981 damage.

Tripod

• Swift Cast
• Sustain Enhancement
• Guiding Storm

Effects At Maximum Level

• Increases casting speed +36%.
• Increases storm duration +3 seconds, increases number of hits +3, increases MP cost +43%.
• Ancient Energy obtained is +150% on hit and the electric storm moves slowly, chasing the target,

Earth Collapse

For massive earth damage, players will need Earth Collapse in their Summoner's arsenal. This skill will summon an earthquake in the target area that sends enemies flying, causing 441 earth damage.

Tripod

• Flame Collapse
• Shake
• Earth Manipulator

Effects At Maximum Level

• The element changes to fire and the damage output increases by +40%
• During casting, nearby enemies will be attacked 4 times, dealing +60% of base damage
• Damage output increases +120% but MP cost increases +50%

Steed Charge

With Steed Charge, magical energy is summoned in the form of a horse. This summon will cause 143 damage as it attacks enemies, sending them flying through the air.

Tripod

• Stormlike Gallop
• Weak Point Detection
• Destruction Charger

Effects At Maximum Level

• Changes the Element to lightning, increases the Crit Rate by +40%, and includes a 30% chance to inflict Electric Shock. This will cause 4 damage each second for 5 seconds.
• Increases Crit Damage on Push-Immune enemies by +160%.
• Changes the skill so that 5 horses charge in succession. These cause damage, but also increase cooldown by 8 seconds.

Flash Explosion

Flash Explosion creates a condensed blast of energy that is sent at the chosen target location. It will cause 176 damage.

Tripod

• Energy Control
• Weak Point Detection
• Great Explosion

Effects At Maximum Level

• On hit, Ancient Energy will be obtained at +75%.
• Increases damage to Push-Immune enemies by +70%.
• Delays explosion release, increases damage +80%, and increases explosion area +30%.

If you bought a PlayStation 5 for New Year's vacation, there are a bunch of great games for you to play on that console. Since its release in late 2020, dozens of must-play games have appeared, including several console-exclusive games that you won't be able to play anywhere else.

If you don't have the cash to spend on a PS5, don't worry. Due to the continued difficulty of finding PS5s in stock, Sony has released PS4 versions of some of its biggest 2022 titles, including God of War Ragnorök, Gran Turismo 7, and Horizon Forbidden West. However, that trend may eventually fizzle out, with Sony shifting more of its focus to the newer, more powerful console. As for what's below, these are the best PlayStation games to play in 2022.

Gran Turismo 7

This is the game to get if you're a lover of automobiles and jazz. Gran Turismo 7 is the latest iteration of the car racing simulator, and it lets you get even more granular with your car obsession than before. The game quickly gives you the tools to spec cars to your liking, and this game stands out with its story mode that delves into the past, present, and future of classic car models, presented by people who were responsible for making them. And as I mentioned earlier, it plays jazz over your gameplay.

On the side, Gran Turismo 7 has all of the features you might be expecting from a modern racing game, including online play, a photo mode, and a vast array of customization for each car model. This game is relaxing to play, letting you simply focus on your position in the race instead of juggling myriad objectives, which is what most games ask of you.

Elden Ring

Costing $59.99, no other game on this list comes close to offering as much replay value for the price as Elden Ring. It's the latest game from FromSoftware, the makers of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, and it features more of that company's signature difficult-yet-rewarding gameplay, but it's set in a vast open-world environment that encourages exploration and experimentation.

Elden Ring isn't the best choice for beginners unless you're willing to commit to honing your skills. Even the starter enemies waste no time putting you in your place, but it's never unfair. If you're a fan of the developers' past games, which several of us at The Verge are, we think you'll quickly find your groove in Elden Ring.

Horizon Forbidden West

The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn arrived on PS5 and PS4 in early 2022, expanding on the original action-adventure game with an even bigger world and story. As with any sequel, you should play the first game first to fully understand the stakes. However, this newer game provides a thorough recap of the first entry in case you just want to start with the sequel. No one can blame you since Forbidden West provides more quality-of-life gameplay tweaks, as well as more graphical eye candy with its realistic characters and environments. Just to note, this game is a single-player experience, and it doesn't have any multiplayer components.

The Last of Us Part I

The Last of Us has become a multimedia property, expanding from video games to its own HBO TV show coming in early 2023. To prime viewers for the survival-horror drama they'll likely see play out in the show, Naughty Dog remastered The Last of Us for PS5. The game originally launched for the PS3 in 2013 (it was remastered for the PS4 a year later).

The Last of Us Part I, as it's called, is available on the PS5 and is coming to PC in 2023. It's a gritty and violent game, told from the perspective of Joel and Ellie as they attempt to bludgeon their way through a zombie, like apocalypse with the hopes of finding a cure to save humanity.

As was expected, it greatly improved the graphics and gameplay to make it look and feel similar to The Last of Us Part II, which released in 2020. With this remaster, playing those games back-to-back to soak in all of the story should feel more seamless.

God of War Ragnorök

God of War Ragnorök is yet another sequel on this list that's worth playing. It follows the 2018 God of War title, taking place right after that game's final scene (it offers a recap, but you should seek out a YouTube summary, as the recap's not comprehensive).

While Ragnorök's third-person action gameplay feels similar to its predecessor, its story is far more ambitious. As Kratos wishes to bury his past, he's trying to convince his young son, Atreus, not to follow a tempting path at discovering his godhood and defying prophecy. Of course, things don't go as planned, but that's what makes this game so fun. God of War Ragnorök is available on PS4 and PS5.

Horizon Forbidden West

The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn arrived on PS5 and PS4 in early 2022, expanding on the original action-adventure game with an even bigger world and story. As with any sequel, you should play the first game first to fully understand the stakes. However, this newer game provides a thorough recap of the first entry in case you just want to start with the sequel. No one can blame you since Forbidden West provides more quality-of-life gameplay tweaks, as well as more graphical eye candy with its realistic characters and environments. Just to note, this game is a single-player experience, and it doesn't have any multiplayer components.

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

While this game didn't release in 2022, its big, free next-gen patch did. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt now offers ray-traced graphics, faster loading times, and other refinements on the PS5, making this the best time to jump in. CD Projekt Red originally launched this game in 2015 on the PS4, and it was a miraculous achievement at the time - and still is. It's one of a few open-world RPGs that has a huge map that's worth fully exploring and fun, memorable missions that should keep you entertained for dozens of hours.

If you're deciding between The Witcher III: Wild Hunt or CD Projekt Red's newer, flashier game Cyberpunk 2077, I highly suggest checking out the former first. It's a more polished and fun experience front-to-back.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

And lastly, the ultimate Best Nintendo Switch game is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Let’s face it, the Zelda series was long overdue for a major change, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild offers an unparalleled sense of freedom and scale in the palm of your hand. Now widely considered one of the best games of all time, Breath of the Wild tells an epic story, as you glide, cook, and battle your way across a beautifully ruined version of Hyrule. It helped reinvigorate The Legend of Zelda in a way that fans had only dreamt of, easily propelling it to the number one spot on our list and in our hearts.

Breath of the Wild also topped our updated list of the 100 best video games of all time. The sequel is officially titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and it's out on May 12, 2023.

2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is exactly what its name implies: it’s the ultimate incarnation of Nintendo’s now 20-year-old brawler series. It’s a celebration of Smash Bros. as a whole, filled with more fighters and levels than ever before, and packed to the gills with over 1000 more characters from all across gaming. “Everyone is here!” may have started out as just another tagline, but it’s one that Nintendo has impressively backed up, and it’s made Ultimate the definitive Smash Bros. game for a long time to come. Add a 20+ hour single-player mode with full-on boss fights and huge world maps and it’s easy to get lost in Ultimate. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate had a lot to live up to with that name, but it has undoubtedly done just that.

3. Super Mario Odyssey

A masterclass in 3D platforming, Super Mario Odyssey seamlessly blends the best elements from nearly every Mario game with an entire portfolio of new gameplay mechanics to create something both nostalgic and courageous. New players will adore stomping through the vivid and vast new worlds, while seasoned veterans will stick around after the credits to unlock the hundreds of challenges that await their skill and dexterity. To put it succinctly, Super Mario Odyssey is pure, sublime joy and one of the best Super Mario games ever made.

Elsewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom, Nintendo and Illumination debuted the second Super Mario Bros. movie trailer. Check out our trailer breakdown for a look at all the secrets and Easter eggs we discovered.

4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Released on the doorstep of a global pandemic, Animal Crossing: New Horizons provided a much need escape to many, selling nearly 34 million copies to date. Routine and discovery play equally important roles as you plan the perfect layout for your island, make friends (or enemies) with all your villagers, and invite your friends to your own little utopia to trade items and swap secrets.

It’s brilliant in its simplicity and masterful in the way it encourages players to keep up with chores, redecorate and/or reshape entire plots of land, or burn dozens of hours trying to catch rare fish or find every last seasonal item. It certainly helps that all the writing is supremely funny and that, hundreds of hours in, you’re still able to chuckle at a random comment or find genuine inspiration in the places you’d least expect.

Taking a cue from many of Nintendo’s Switch editions of their long-running franchises, Animal Crossing New Horizons does little to completely reinvent the franchise, but it makes a great series even more accessible, more exciting, and more wonderful than it has ever been.

New Horizons is officially Japan's best-selling game of all time. Animal Crossing players can get even more out of it with the Happy Home Paradise DLC. Our reviewer Taylor Lyles called the expansion "a must-have for base game owners."

5. Metroid Dread

Metroid Dread had become a near-mythic game, a fabled DS entry that never saw the light of day by the time it was announced at E3 2021 as a Switch game. With nearly 20 years having passed since the last new 2D Metroid, expectations were sky high. Fortunately for fans, Dread met (and in many cases surpassed) expectations for what a modern 2D Metroid game could accomplish.

It’s easily the smoothest game in the series, running at a silky 60fps, and incorporates several new weapons and abilities the series now can’t live without -- the Flash Shift alone makes Dread feel entirely fresh. With high-production values, incredible game design that gently guides the player through ZDR’s labyrinthine corridors, and the most unflinching version of Samus we’ve seen yet, Mercury Steam hit Metroid Dread out of the stratosphere and brought the franchise back into Nintendo’s orbit.

6. Luigi's Mansion 3

Luigi's Mansion 3 is essentially a FrankenLuigistein’s monster of the first two games, a mashup of both that creates the perfect Luigi's Mansion experience. Charming, clever, and absolutely gorgeous to look at, Luigi's Mansion is 17 levels of pure ghost-hunting joy. Working your way through each of the haunted hotels may never extremely challenging, but the creative boss fights and deviously hidden collectibles will keep you busy for a dozen hours or more. The excitement of getting to a new level just to see its theme (TV Studio! Sewer Maze! Egypt!) is well worth the price of admission, plus the game opens with Toad driving a bus. Priceless.

7. Hades

Roguelikes don’t always appeal to everyone, but Hades has somehow found a way to win over even those with a distaste for them. Fighting your way out of the Greek underworld is a ruthless and challenging affair, but every failure is rewarded in a way that somehow makes them exciting in their own right.

Instead of just notching up each loss and moving onto the next, the moments between each run push Hades’ excellent storytelling to the forefront, giving you opportunities to learn more about its charming characters and grow close to them – as well as improve the prince of the underworld’s abilities and weapons. It’s that meaningful mix of progression and infinitely repeatable escape attempts (coupled with genuinely fantastic writing, art, and action) that make Hades as delectable as Ambrosia itself.

A sequel, Hades 2, was announced at The Game Awards.

8. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8’s encore on Nintendo Switch didn’t just keep the online community alive and added returning favorites like Balloon Battle and Bob-omb Blast, we also got a brand-new “cops and robbers” team mode with Renegade Roundup, all of the great DLC stages, and even some guests from the Splatoon universe. It’s not a new game, but one so good, it deserved to reach a bigger audience on Switch right away.

It's the best-selling Switch game to date with over 48 million copies sold, and there's still more to come: The Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pass will add 48 courses to the game by the end of 2023.

9. Celeste

Celeste is a surprise masterpiece. Its 2D platforming is some of the best and toughest since Super Meat Boy, with levels that are as challenging to figure out as they are satisfying to complete. But the greatest triumph of Celeste is that its best-in-class jumping and dashing is blended beautifully with an important and sincere story and an incredible soundtrack that make it a genuinely emotional game, even when your feet are planted firmly on the ground.

The developer's next game is Earthblade, a "2D explor-action game in a seamless pixel art world" due out in 2024.

10. Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight is one of the best modern MetroidVania’s available, using all the pieces that make the genre so great in the first place without feeling derivative of anything that came before it.

The expertly crafted map that is the kingdom of Hallownest has an absurd amount of paths to explore, bosses to fight, and secrets to uncover. That's all drawn in a somber but expressive art style that gives the adorable bug people who live their lives, and stories, of their own. It can undoubtedly be a challenging and demanding game, but what you get out of will be a reward worth far more than you put in.

A sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, is now in development. It will seemingly be released sometime before June 2023.

Recent leaks have claimed that Respawn Entertainment may bring a major overhaul to both classes and Legends during Season 16 of Apex Legends.

With Apex Legends receiving few updates to close out 2022, the community is already speculating what Season 16 may have in store for the battle royale.

Some leakers have claimed that Respawn Entertainment is looking to make some big changes to World’s Edge by removing some major parts of the Fragment POI.

However, it seems World’s Edge isn’t the only thing getting changed if leaks are to be believed, as one leak claimed Respawn is planning a major class system overhaul alongside multiple Legend reworks.

Apex Legends leak claims massive class overhaul in the works

The leak comes by way of content creator Thordansmash on Twitter, though the name of the original leaker seems to have been omitted.

Thordansmash tweeted out an image of leaked info with the caption: “The new classes in Apex Legends have another leaker putting out info about them…and I’m all for it. Pathfinder finally getting a solid rework baby.”

The leak claims that Respawn is planning to overhaul Apex’s current class system away from Attack, Defense, Support, and Recon to give roles a bit more variation. According to the leak, Respawn is planning to add the “Assualt” and “Skirmisher” classes to differentiate Attack Legends.

Additionally, Defense Legends like Wattson, Caustic, and Rampart will now be classified as “Control” Legends, while Gibby and Newcastle will shift to the Support class alongside Loba and Lifeline.

Finally, the leak claimed that Pathfinder and “possibly even Mirage” will receive reworks when these class changes arrive.

As for the two new roles, Assualt and Skirmisher, Assault Legends “will get red bins AND extra inventory ammo” while Skirmisher Legends will include more Legends mobility and “hit and run type” Legends, like Wraith and Mirage.

The leak also referred to Thordansmash and claimed that they had “said all of this before in the past and this lines up perfectly to what I’ve heard, read, and been told.”

Of course, these leaks are still unconfirmed so fans should definitely view them with some skepticism. Regardless of if they are true or not, Apex Legends’ class system could definitely use an overhaul after nearly four years and over 15 new Legends added to the game.

With new games coming out every month on so many different platforms, it can be really hard to decide which games are really worth your time. That’s where we come in, with this ever-changing list of the best games of 2022.

Picking out a new game can be really overwhelming, especially if you happen to own more than one console or a PC. That’s why we’ve decided to round up the best games released in 2022, all of which have been thoroughly reviewed so you know that you’re getting real-world advice.

And since we’ve made sure to include as many genres here as possible, from racing games to hack-and-slash titles, there really should be something for everybody. We’ve also included games that are playable on a range of platforms, including the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and the Nintendo Switch.

And if nothing is catching your eye right now, make sure you bookmark this page and return at a later date, as we endeavour to update this list every time a new game is released. One of the most anticipated titles coming soon is Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which we expect to review in the coming weeks.

If you are lucky enough to own more than one console and want to look at games that are more specific, don’t hesitate to check out our other best lists; we’ve covered best PS4 games, best PS5 games, best Xbox Series X/Series S games, best PC games and the best Switch games, so you know which games on the market are worth your time.

2022 Best Games Overview

• Best action-adventure game: God of War Ragnarök
• Best RPG: Elden Ring
• Best zombie game: Dying Light 2 Stay Human
• Best family-friendly game: Pokémon Legends: Arceus
• Best remake: The Last of Us Part 1
• Best racing game: Gran Turismo 7
• Best management simulator: Two Point Campus
• Best co-op game: Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
• Best hack-and-slash game: Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
• Best open-world game: Horizon Forbidden West