Introduction:

Magicians are some of the most interesting of all classes. Magicians are characters who possess great intelligence; their skills are strong in the beginning, but tend to slope beneath the other classes past the third job advancement. Most people recognise the magician as a fast leveler, a fun class to engage in, and a character that can produce exciting and stunning visual effects.

Customizing your Character:

To create a magician, I would suggest having no more than 4 strength and 4 dexterity. When you are prompted to roll the generator dice on the character customization page, be prepared to click continually until the numbers in each slot match:

Str: 4 or 5
Dex: 4 or 5
Int: anything [best if 10 to 13]
Luk: anything [best if lower than int]

Please remember that the lower the numbers remain for str and dex, the more successful your mage is likely to become. When the dice is clicked, four random numbers are generated into each of the slots. These numbers range from 4 to 13 and will always add up to 25. Because of this, since the magician has little need of str or dex, the lesser the number in them, the higher the number will be in int and luck.

Abilities and AP Placement:

Remember that intelligence is 100% a magician’s strength; the higher the intelligence of a magician, the more damage he will produce. The magician will need luck to hold his equipment and weapons. For this reason, it is imperative for an orthodox, traditional magician to invest several points in luck. However, some magicians prefer to create a luckless character; in other words, to not invest ap into luk. These characters cannot equip the normal armours or weapons.

The rule for advancing [ placing ap into abilities ] int and luk is as follows:
1. Luck should be three points above the character’s level: for instance, if the character is level 20, his luck count should be 23.
2. All extra points should be invested in intelligence.
If this rule is followed, each time your character levels, one point should be placed into luck, and the other four points would be placed into intelligence; a continual routine.

Note: never, EVER add ANY points into strength or dexterity.

On Maple Island:

Maple Island is the location for the beginners; the place to learn about the beginning tactics required in the later portions of the game. There are limited people on the island, and therefore little interference in training. The monsters are weak and spawn with considerable speed. It is recommended that, as a beginner, you should train on green snails on the first three maps on the island. Do not leave these maps until you have reached level 8; green snails provide a consistent source of xp that is quite useful to beginning magicians with their low strength. At level 8, find the location on Maple Island known as South Perry; the port leading to the great Victoria Island. Purchase a trip to Victoria Isle for 150 mesos from the captain. Please recognise that there is no heading back after this decision is made.

Note: magicians can begin their jobs at level 8. This makes the magician the class that is able to exit maple island the fastest. Do not be tempted to invest points in strength to speed up this process. It will corrupt your character.

On Victoria Island:

Victoria Island is a large area that includes several villages and numerous maps for you to explore. The monsters on this island are much more potent and lavish in their giving of xp. Therefore, the competition for these monsters is also higher. The ship will arrive in Lith Harbour, one of the six villages on the island. Beside the ship is a small booth where a man will sell tickets for immediate transportation to another village. Select the village of Ellinia; the perpetual home place of magicians. Those who are poor, who have not the mesos to purchase a trip back via taxi, should also obtain a Lith Harbour return scroll from the potions shop at the far right side of the map.

Visiting Hines and Grendel:

The head magician in Ellinia is called Hines, otherwise known as Grendel the Really Old. He is located in the magical guild at the highest, extreme point of the village. Locate him in the guild and speak with him; he will explain about the role of the magician and inquire to whether or not you desire to become one. Once this confirmation is complete, you will become a magician; a spellcaster, equipped with ONE sp.

Recommended Training Areas:

The monsters that you will train on with the most success are those you are able to kill in one or two hits… the following is a list of monsters and the levels in which you can kill them easily… please note that this is but a recommendation; you are, therefore, free to make other decisions reguarding the monsters you train on…

1 to 8: green snails
9 to 12: green, blue, red snails
13 to 15: green slimes or orange mushrooms
16 to 21: orange mushrooms or pigs
22 to 25: pigs, ribbon pigs, green mushroom, PQ
26 to 30: ribbon pigs, green and horned mush, PQ

Hint: most of these monsters can be found at the maps henseys hunting ground I, II, and III.

About Funded Magicians:

Sometimes, people may have succeeded earlier in creating another account before proceeding to create their magician. In this case, if their previous account contained a considerable amount of money or items, the person may have decided to transfer a small portion over to his magician, to make the leveling process progress more smoothly. In this case, their magician is called a Funded Magician, and does not need to rely upon their income and revenue purely from training. It is recommended to have a funded magician because it is possible to level it to level 30 within a matter of days.

Potions on Funded Magicians:

If you are a fortunate, funded magician, then you should purchase the following supply of potions. These will allow you to maintain a continual leveling rate from levels 10 to 20:

80 to 100 orange potions
80 to 100 blue potions
20 to 30 white potions
0 to 10 red potions

Recommended SP Placements and Builds:

As with most guides, this includes two different paths to creating a magician: the perfect magician, and the almost perfect magician. the path to perfection will difficult.

Perfect Build:

level 8: 1 point into mp recovery.
level 9: 3 points into mp recovery.
level 10: 1 point into mp recovery, 2 points into max mp.
level 11: 3 points into max mp.
level 12: 3 points into max mp.
level 13: 2 points into max mp, 1 point into energy bolt [ max mp MAXED ]

Now, we take a look at this selection above… max MP is a skill that must be maxed as SOON as possible. Max MP, however, must be unlocked with 5 points into MP recovery. Therefore, after investing those five points, we max out max MP. As soon as it is maxed, we are free to add the single point into energy bolt. Following this build will oftentimes feel boring because you are not given a magic attack until level 13. That means that, from levels 8 to 13, you will need to train with melee; something most people find unbearable. Here is the imperfect build:

Imperfect Build:

level 8: 1 point into energy bolt.
level 9: 3 points into mp recovery.
level 10: 2 points into mp recovery, 1 point into max mp.
level 11: 3 points into max mp.
level 12: 3 points into max mp.
level 13: 3 points into max mp. [ max mp MAXED ]

In the build above, the first skill invested in is energy bolt, our magic attack that allows us to train until level 13 with magic. This build, however, will be a slight bit imperfect, but, nonetheless, if you consider the difference to be minimal, it is suggested that you take the imperfect build. Good luck in considering.

Continuing the Build:

level 14: 3 points into magic slash.
level 15: 3 points into magic slash.
level 16: 3 points into magic slash.
level 17: 3 points into magic slash.
level 18: 3 points into magic slash.
level 19: 3 points into magic slash.
level 20: 2 points into magic slash, 1 point into mp recovery. [ magic slash MAXED ]
level 21: 3 points into mp recovery.
level 22: 3 points into mp recovery.
level 23: 3 points into mp recovery.
level 24: 1 point into mp recovery, 2 points into magic guard. [ mp recovery MAXED ]
level 25: 3 points into magic guard.
level 26: 3 points into magic guard.
level 27: 3 points into magic guard.
level 28: 3 points into magic guard.
level 29: 3 points into magic guard.
level 30: 3 points into magic guard. [ magic guard MAXED ]

Let us examine the build above. In this build, magic slash is maxed out before MP recovery. Because magic slash will require about twice as much mp as energy bolt, it will exhaust your store of mp quickly. This build is intended for magicians that are funded, in other words, for those who have enough money to purchase endless reservoirs of blue potions. The people who can do so are fortunate; this is the much faster route. For those who cannot, I would suggest maxing out MP recovery first from level 14, and then magic slash. No matter which, the LAST skill to invest in is magic guard, which will be maxed at level 30…

No matter what, at the end, the results should equal the following:

mp recovery: 16 [ maxed ]
max mp: 10 [ maxed ]
magic armour: 0
magic guard: 20 [ maxed ]
magic slash: 20 [ maxed ]
energy bolt: 1

Please note that no more than 1 point is added to energy bolt and that magic armour is not touched. It is a popular controversy over which is better: bolt or slash, and, in another set, armour or guard. I will explain the arguments and the recommended decision.

Controversies:

1. Bolt or slash: this one is simple. Most people realise almost immediately that the magic slash attack hits twice. This means that, whatever its base attack, the final outcome will be twice as much. The bolt, on the other hand, can attack but once, and, apart from that, is slower, more sedate, and cannot travel through walls or flooring. This makes slash the more superior and recommended of the two.

2. Armour or guard: this is somewhat more complicated. Most clerics seem to think that, because of their healing abilities and their second job skill, invincible, it would seem superfluous and extravagant [ in other words, useless ] to build up guard, instead choosing to invest sp into armour; a stupid move. Here is a ringing command: all magicians NEED magic guard!! As the game advances, the monsters become stronger and more potent. The extra weapon defense that armour provides cannot subdue the massive damage that will be pouring in at later levels. In this case, those 20 points invested in magic armour have suddenly been wasted. Choose guard instead.

Second Job Examination:

After you have achieved level 30, you will be able to unlock the second job advancement. Again, you must talk to your superior guardian, Hines, or Grendel the Really Old. He will hand you a letter that must reach an accomplice of his, somewhere in the forests of Ellinia, before you can begin the job advancement examination. The examination is a test of endurance, stamina, and magical prowess. Be prepared to bring up to 100 blue potions and at least 40 orange potions. These are useful as HP and MP tend to exhaust rather rapidly. The accomplice of Hines’ is at the highest point of the forest north of Ellinia, a map to the west of main Ellinia. Once the letter from Hines is transferred, he will explain the examination. You will be placed into a tree dungeon, much like the ones scattered around the forests. This dungeon will contain nothing but horned mushrooms and curse eyes. These monsters have been charmed to increase their strength and health. Killing them will no longer earn you xp, nor will it earn you the ordinary drops from these two creatures. Instead, each kill has a chance to bring you a dark marble. You must collect 30 of these dark marbles and present them to the accomplice of Hines, at the top of the tree dungeon in order to complete the examination. If you die, you will appear in Ellinia.

Congratulations:

After completing the examination, the accomplice will present you with a small medal of honour. This medal must be brought back to Hines in order to activate the second job advancement. Once accomplished, you will be given the choice to choose one out of the three second job classes you desire to become… either the cleric, the ice and lightning mage, or the fire and poison mage. the decision is a difficult one… good luck in considering, and enjoy the rest of your time as a magician.