Lost Ark Pushes Next Server Merge to September 9 After Long Downtime

Lost Ark’s second planned server merge for this phase has been delayed by one week. Instead of happening on September 2, the merge is now scheduled for September 9.

Amazon Games said the change is partly a response to the recent 35-plus-hour downtime tied to the previous merge. The team wants more space between major maintenance periods and says it will use the extra time to make adjustments aimed at reducing downtime for the next one. Full maintenance timing is expected next week, ahead of the merge.

Paradise content is also reopening after being temporarily closed while the team investigated an issue with Elysian challenge attempt tickets. According to the update, some tickets were being returned to accounts in a way that wasn’t intended.

As part of the fix, those tickets won’t be restored or re-granted. Amazon says reissuing them would carry the exploit forward and affect progression fairness. Accounts that took advantage of the issue are being reviewed, with action planned where appropriate.

For players, the practical takeaway is simple: Paradise is back, but any missing or improperly returned Elysian challenge tickets shouldn’t be expected to come back. The next big schedule item is now the September 9 server merge, with more specific downtime details still to come.

Further reading: Official Lost Ark server merge update