Updated on: October 7, 2024
Short on time? Here’s the best VPN for Lost Ark in 2024:
- 🥇 ExpressVPN : It has a large server network in 105 countries, so you can play the game no matter where you are. It’s the fastest VPN on the market and has great security features for gaming, including anti-DDoS protection on all servers. You also get great router support to play on your gaming console.
Lost Ark is available in different versions — the Western version, which is available in Europe, America, and Australia; and there are different versions you can play in South Korea, Japan, and Russia (which many players consider to be much better!).
You can play all versions with a good VPN. However, not all VPNs are good for playing Lost Ark. A lot of them are really slow, which means you’ll have to deal with a lot of lag, many don’t have good security features, and most of them don’t have large server networks, which makes it hard to find and connect to a nearby server or a server in your preferred location.
After a few weeks of testing different VPNs, I found the best ones for playing Lost Ark. ExpressVPN is my top pick as it has servers in 105 locations, great security features, and because it has the fastest speeds on the market for gaming. Editors' Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.
Quick Summary of the Best VPNs for Lost Ark in 2024
Some games ban users for using a VPN. This is usually to prevent them from gaining an unfair edge or access content that’s not available in their location. Lost Ark’s Terms of Use doesn’t explicitly prohibit players from using a VPN but says that you can be banned for “unfair play.” Neither I nor my colleagues at Safety Detectives endorse using a VPN for prohibited activities and recommend that you make sure you follow the game’s rules.
Editors' Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company
🥇1. ExpressVPN — Best Overall VPN for Lost Ark
ExpressVPN is my top choice for Lost Ark, as it has the best gaming support, maintains the fastest speeds on the market, and has a large server network in 105 countries, including in the US, UK, South Korea, Russia, and Japan.
The VPN has excellent speeds for gaming. I played Lost Ark on ExpressVPN’s servers without any lag. My ping remained low throughout my entire gaming session, and my connection to the servers never dropped.
It has anti-DDoS protection on all of its servers, meaning other players won’t be able to attack ExpressVPN’s server and force you offline. You get advanced security features, too, including RAM-only servers (wipe all data with every reboot), perfect forward secrecy (changes the encryption key for every session), and full leak protection against WebRTC, DNS, and IPv6 leaks, so your IP address won’t get leaked to Steam.
Its desktop apps are very intuitive. ExpressVPN’s servers are divided into regions, making it very easy to find your desired server location to play Lost Ark. There’s a Smart Location feature that recommends the fastest server for your location and a Shortcuts feature that allows you to create 1-click connections to Steam, where you can play Lost Ark.
ExpressVPN is one of the few VPNs that support cloud gaming services, including GeForce Now, so you can stream Lost Ark on other devices, including your phone or smart TV. When I tested it on my GeForce Now account, I had low ping and stable connections throughout my games.
I like that it has split-tunneling, which lets you choose which apps use the VPN or your local connection. This lets you only route your Lost Ark traffic on Steam through the VPN, which will boost your VPN speeds as the rest of your traffic won’t be encrypted.
ExpressVPN’s plans start at $4.99 / month. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for playing Lost Ark. It has a large server network, super-fast speeds for gaming with low ping, and anti-DDoS protection on all servers. There’s cloud support for GeForce Now and user-friendly desktop apps. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full ExpressVPN review
🥈2. Private Internet Access — Good Speeds & Stable Ping
Private Internet Access (PIA) maintains fast speeds and low ping for playing Lost Ark. In tests, my ping was stable on nearby and distant servers and my connection never dropped playing Lost Ark.
I like that the VPN has a large server network, with servers in 91 countries, including in South Korea and Japan — this way, users in different countries can try a different Lost Ark version. However, PIA doesn’t offer Russian servers — unlike ExpressVPN.
PIA’s desktop apps are user-friendly. You can connect to the fastest server in 1 click, find any server via the search function, and configure the VPN to automatically connect you to a VPN server when you game on public Wi-Fi. The VPN also supports unlimited connections, so your entire family will be able to play Lost Ark securely.
I really like that PIA has anti-DDoS protection on all servers. Plus, it includes protection against WebRTC, DNS, and IPv6 leaks, RAM-only servers, and perfect forward secrecy. I like that all of its apps are open-source, which means that anyone can inspect the code for vulnerabilities.
PIA lacks cloud gaming support, though I was able to play Lost Ark via GeForce Now in my tests. However, there’s no guarantee that it’ll work for you — if you game on GeForce Now or other cloud gaming services, I recommend checking out ExpressVPN, which fully supports cloud gaming.
Private Internet Access’s plans start at $2.03 / month and each plan is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access offers fast speed and stable ping for playing Lost Ark. It has a large server network in 91 locations and comes with user-friendly desktop apps, anti-DDoS protection, and other advanced security features for safe gaming. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Private Internet Access review
Editors' Note: Private Internet Access and this site are in the same ownership group.
🥉3. CyberGhost VPN — Dedicated Servers for Gaming
CyberGhost VPN has dedicated servers for gaming. These servers are located in 4 countries (the US, France, the UK, and Germany) and are optimized to provide fast speeds and low ping. In my tests, they worked as expected — I experienced no lag in any of my Lost Ark gaming sessions.
If you want to connect to a specific server for gaming, the VPN has servers in 100 countries, including Europe and North America. Plus, it has servers in Russia, Japan, and South Korea, which gives you an IP address from Seoul.
When it comes to security features, CyberGhost’s servers have anti-DDoS protection. Plus, the VPN uses perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers and comes with DNS and IPv6 leak protection (you have to manually disable WebRTC leak protection). Plus, I really like its Identity Guard feature, which notifies you if your Lost Ark credentials have been a part of a data breach.
CyberGhost’s desktop apps are very beginner-friendly. One of my favorite tools is Smart Rules, which allows you to customize your settings and preferences. For example, you can set the VPN to auto-connect to a gaming server when you launch the VPN app or auto-launch Steam on your desktop when it establishes a connection to your preferred gaming server.
CyberGhost VPN’s plans start as low as $2.19 / month. Long-term plans have a 45-day money-back guarantee, and its monthly plan comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN has dedicated servers for gaming that are optimized to provide low ping and fast speeds. It has servers in tons of countries, anti-DDoS protection on all servers, and offers strong security features for secure gaming. The long-term plans have a 45-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full CyberGhost VPN review
Editors' Note: CyberGhost and this site are in the same ownership group.
4. NordVPN — Great VPN for Hosting LAN Sessions
NordVPN has a very unique feature for gaming called Meshnet — it allows you to connect up to 60 devices over secure VPN connections. This is great if you want to host LAN parties while playing Lost Ark and protect all of your friends’ devices or remotely play the game on your computer from a different device.
NordVPN offers pretty fast speeds for playing Lost Ark lag-free. In my tests, I didn’t experience any lag when connected to nearby and distant servers, and I only experienced minor lag when connected to very distant servers.
NordVPN comes with RAM-only servers, full leak protection, and perfect forward secrecy. I really like its Dark Web Monitoring feature, which alerts you if your NordVPN credentials have been leaked in a data breach — this way, if you use the same email address for Steam you can make the necessary changes.
NordVPN has servers in 111 countries, which gives you plenty of options for connecting to a server close to your location for fast speeds.
The only thing I don’t like is that NordVPN doesn’t have anti-DDoS protection on its servers. It still protects you from direct DDoS attacks because it hides your IP address, but a sore loser can DDoS the NordVPN server you’re connected to and force you to reconnect.
NordVPN’s plans start at $2.99 / month. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN has strong security features to protect your data and device while playing Lost Ark. It has fast speeds for gaming and a Meshnet feature that lets you securely host LAN parties with up to 60 devices. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
5. Surfshark — Great for VPN Beginners
Surfshark has an intuitive interface that’s really good for Lost Ark players who are new to VPNs. The app lets you customize the quick-connect feature to any server on the list, auto-connect to a server of your choice every time you open the app, and mark servers as favorites to put them on the top of the server list for 1-click connections.
Surfshark has decent speeds for playing Lost Ark, though ExpressVPN is much faster. In my tests, I had low and stable ping on nearby servers and I didn’t experience any lag. There was some lag when I connected to distant servers, but it wasn’t game-breaking.
Surfshark has servers in 100 countries. It also has servers in South Korea and Japan for trying out other Lost Ark versions.
This provider has anti-DDoS protection on all servers and uses RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy. Surfshark offers DNS leak protection, but there’s no WebRTC or IPv6 leak protection — unlike ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.
Surfshark’s plans are very cheap, starting at $1.99 / month. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Surfshark has user-friendly apps that come with an intuitive interface, making it an ideal pick for VPN beginners who want to securely play Lost Ark. The VPN comes with advanced security features, including anti-DDoS protection on all servers, a massive server network, and decent speeds for gaming. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Surfshark review
Quick Comparison Table
Editors' Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company
How to Choose the Best VPN for Lost Ark in 2024
- Find a VPN with good gaming support. All VPNs on this list reliably work with Steam and Lost Ark.
- Choose a VPN with a large server network. A large server network means that you’ll easily find a nearby server in a location where Lost Ark is available. There’s also a better chance that the VPN has servers in locations like South Korea, where Lost Ark is available in a different version.
- Test for fast speeds. All VPNs slow down your speeds due to the encryption process, but the best VPNs are able to maintain fast speeds with minimal latency. In my tests, ExpressVPN had the fastest speeds.
- Look for strong security features. All the VPNs on my list have industry-standard security features like a no-logs policy, 256-bit AES encryption, and a kill switch that disconnects you from the internet when the connection to the VPN drops. They also protect you from DDoS attacks.
- Check for user-friendly apps. I only recommend VPNs that make it easy to find and connect to your preferred server location.
- Go for a VPN that offers good value. All the VPNs on this list have affordable plans, generous money-back guarantees, and offer extra features, like split-tunneling.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- PrivateVPN. PrivateVPN has servers in 63 countries, user-friendly apps, and advanced security features for safely playing Lost Ark. But, it’s slower than the VPN on my list.
- Proton VPN. Proton VPN is a secure VPN that offers great privacy and anti-DDoS protection on all of its servers. It has a great free plan for gaming, but I had high ping on some distant servers.
- TunnelBear. TunnelBear has a small server network in only 47 countries. It has decent speeds, but they’re not ideal for playing Lost Ark lag-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best VPN for Lost Ark?
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for Lost Ark. It has a server in 105 countries, including North America, Europe, and Australia, as well as South Korea, Japan, and Russia. The VPN maintains fast speeds for playing Lost Ark across all servers and has anti-DDoS protection and cloud gaming support.
Can I use a free VPN for Lost Ark?
Maybe, but I don’t recommend it. Many free VPNs are slow and have small server networks. This means you may experience high ping and lag during gaming sessions, and you might not be able to connect to a server in South Korea, Russia, or Japan.
Instead, I recommend purchasing a top VPN, like ExpressVPN. It has a huge server network (in 105 countries, fast speeds, excellent security for gaming, including anti-DDoS protection, and user-friendly apps.
How do I use a VPN to play Lost Ark?
To play Lost Ark with a VPN, just follow these 3 steps:
- Choose a good gaming VPN. I recommend ExpressVPN, as it has servers in a lot of countries. Plus, it maintains the fastest speeds on the market.
- Download and install the VPN on your desktop. Follow the on-screen instructions. The installation process shouldn’t take longer than 2 minutes.
- Open the VPN app and connect to a server. Now, you can start gaming securely!
Are there specific VPN server locations I should connect to for playing Lost Ark?
It depends. If you want to play the South Korean, Russian, or Japanese versions of the game, which are different from the Western version, you’ll need to connect to servers in these locations — ExpressVPN has at least 1 server in each of these locations.
Likewise, if you’re in South Korea, Russia, or Japan, and want to play the Western version, you’ll need to connect to a server in Europe, America, or Australia, where Lost Ark is available.
If you simply want to secure your connections when playing Lost Ark, you don’t need to connect to a specific server. In this case, however, I’d recommend connecting to a local server or a server in a nearby country, which will provide you with the fastest speeds possible for playing Lost Ark lag-free.
