Class Choosing Guide

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Introduction

First off, there is no best class. This is because game creators go through a process called class balancing. If there was a best class, everyone would be playing that class and there would be no need for a variety of classes. That is why game creators create an array of balanced classes: to make sure that varied playing experiences are available. Each class has its own pros and cons.

Therefore, the hard part is deciding which class fits you the best. It might be because of the massive damage, looks, or just for fun, but your class should fit your playing style. Otherwise, you'll probably become bored quickly and Maplestory won't be very much fun for you.

Warrior

Warriors are like tanks: they can take a lot of damage, and can deal it right back. As they are melee fighters, they cannot use ranged attacks, so they are given much more health and defense to compensate. While they can later prove to be quite powerful, warriors are generally eclipsed by some classes in 1st and 2nd job (you probably aren't playing for purely that, anyway, right?). The life of a warrior requires much patience, but to those willing to tough it out, it can be a rewarding experience.

There are five different types of weapons available to the warrior class: Polearms, Spears, Blunt Weapons, One-handed axes, Two-handed Axes and Swords. Except in the case of Spearmen and D(r)Ks, it is highly recommended to choose one weapon type and stick with it, as the second job advancement will only offer mastery skills for two or three weapons. With one weapon skill mastered, one can maximize the amount of damage they can potentially dish out.

Pros

• Highest HP and defense of all classes.
• Choice of 5 different weapon types.

Cons

• No ranged attacks until 3rd job.
• Lowest MP of all classes.
• Damage is unstable in 1st job.
• Low accuracy and avoidability.

Fighter

Fighters are all-around fighters, with average damage for single and multiple targets. They get effective attack skills such as Final Attack and Rage. Weapons available are fierce swords and cool-looking axes. Their damage-dealing capability is further enhanced by their advancement to Crusader, and even further to Heroes.

Pros:

• Highest HP in the game.
• Acquires Rage.
• Deal more damage than the other two on single elementally-neutral monsters in 3rd job, and on mobs of 2 or 3 in 4th job.

Cons:

• Lowest MP in the game.
• Lose their mob control in 2nd job, but regain it in 3rd and 4th.

Page

Pages focus on swords and blunt weapons, and also receive higher HP and MP than Fighters and Spearmen. With the advancement to White Knight, Pages become capable of dealing with any enemy weak to elemental attacks.

Pros:

• Rarest Warrior.
• More HP than Spearmen.
• More MP than Fighters.
• Deal more damage than the other two on single elementally-weak monsters in 3rd and 4th jobs, as well as on elementally-weak mobs of 4-6 in 4th job as a Paladin.
• Become a very defensive class by 3rd and 4th job.

Cons:

• Less HP than other Fighters.
• Less MP than Spearmen.
• Gain no party skill.

Spearman

Spearmen use Pole Arms and Spears. Generally, their attacking is quite slow. However, they are very good at mob control and have good party skills such as Hyper Body, which puts them in high demand for parties. They can advance towards Dragon Knighthood and further towards Dark Knighthood.

Pros:

• High maximum damage.
• Mob control masters.
• Acquire Hyper Body, essential to (Cross)Bow and Claw users in boss run survivability 3rd job and beyond.
• Balanced HP and MP.
• Larger melee range than Fighters and Pages.
• Stable damage 3rd job and beyond.
• Hybrid (those who use both weapons) D(r)Ks experience greater mob versatility that the other two 3rd job and beyond.

Cons:

• Less HP than other Warriors.
• Most unstable damage in 1st and 2nd jobs.
• Slower attacking speed.
• Beaten by the other two in 3rd and 4ths job on single targets.
• Most common Warrior.

Magicians

Magicians are very abundant in the MS community. You can't get very close to enemies, or stay out forever in the field, but spells like Energy Bolt and Magic Claw, as well as the protection of Magic Guard more than make up for it. They are preferred in many party quests (PQ) for the damage they are able to do.

Pros:

• Somewhat fast leveling from levels 15 to about 50.
• Incredible amounts of MP and MP recovery.
• Stable damage at throughout the game.
• Can attack both up close and ranged.

Cons:

• Very low HP without Magic Guard.
• Most money spent on MP pots until you get MP Eater in 2nd job unless you know how to conserve well.
• Generally do not shine on single targets.
• Due to the reliance on elemental weaknesses, the leveling process can pit you against same enemies over and over

Notes: Magicians can "jump attack" by pressing the spell's assigned key and jump at the exact the same time. 2nd job+ mages can also "telecast", which is similar, replacing the jump key with the Teleport key. Ice strike can be used while jumping if done at the same frame. Note: Although other classes overpower in 3rd class, magicians have strong mob attacks and party skills that are liked among parties.

Fire/Poison

Fire/Poison wizards deal a lot of damage and can drain away at the monster's HP using poison spells.

Pros:

• Rarest Magician.
• Decent 3rd job leveling speed because of poison mist.
• Highest damage of 2nd adv Magicians.
• Effective drain against high level enemies with poison.
• Fire has the second most elemental advantage, second to holy.
• Almost effortless 4th job leveling with Meteo (as with the other two).

Cons:

• Poison can be difficult to use if inexperienced.
• The only fire offensive spell for 2nd job, Fire Arrow, is blocked by terrain (as with Assassins).
• Poison ((Effect)) leaves the monster with 1 hp; it cannot kill a monster.
• No mobbing skill until 3rd job
• Poor bossing in 3rd job

Ice/Lightning

Ice/Lightning wizards can freeze their opponents and bombard them with spells that hit multiple enemies at once.

Pros:

• Never have no mob skills (Thunderstorm at 2nd job, Ice Strike at 3rd, and Chain Lightning/Big Bang/Blizzard at 4th).
• MP Eater + Lightning will often get a great amount of MP back.
• Cold Beam isn't blocked by terrain.
• Constant freezing usually spells less potion use.
• Damage on ice-/lightning weak monsters is generally more than a Cleric's/Priest's/Bishop's damage on Holy-/Heal- weak monsters

Cons:

• Damage on ice-/lightning-weak monsters is generally less than an F/P's damage on fire-weak monsters
• Lightning as the second least elemental advantage
• Lightning is expensive in MP in 2nd job; 40 Mana when maxed.

Cleric

While Clerics don't deal as much damage as the other magicians, they do possess the unique ability to heal, which tends to have the opposite effect on the undead, and can affect up to six monsters of this type at a time. Dark creatures are also vulnerable to Holy Arrow.

Although clerics are perfectly capable of soloing, they are widely acknowledged as a party class. This is especially true once they reach the third job advancement, as priests receive excellent supportive skills.

Pros:

• Can self-heal, eliminating the need for HP pots (unless sealed)
• Heal is a great mobbing skill for undead monsters
• Great support skills, making it easy to find a party
• Able to jump-attack freely with Heal
• Can gain EXP from healing other players (not a lot at all, though).

Cons:

• Weakest damage until 4th Job
• Leveling process pits you against same enemies over and over
• Limited enemies are affected by heal (the only mob skill until one reaches mid-level Priest)
• Most common magician class
• The low HP limits training options for Priests to almost exclusively training with Dark Knights

In 4th Job, all Mages get a skill where they can have infinite MP, but of course, to use the skill itself, it uses a big amount of MP, only lasts for 40 seconds, and has a cool-down timer of 10 minutes.

Thief

Thieves are a very unique class in MapleStory. They can jump-attack with throwing stars and attack up close with daggers. Thieves don't have much defense, but they have high avoidability, so enemies tend to miss. They get fast attacks instead of few strong blows.

Pros:

• Fast rather quickly.
• Can attack with range or melee.
• Can jump-attack.
• High accuracy and second highest avoidability.

Cons:

• Low defense.
• Most common job (kinda killing their uniqueness in a way).
• Rather expensive, even if using a normal AP build.

Because of the noticeable difference between the two, more cons will be placed in their respective jobs.

Assassin

An Assassin (often abbreviated 'sin) is the ranged thief using throwing stars and claws. They have more stable damage than bowmen but do less damage in general than Bandits because unstable damage. With Haste, they are very fast.

Pros:

• Ranged attacks from throwing stars.
• A bit stabler than Bowmen.
• Can jump-attack.
• Pretty good single target combat.

Cons:

• Poor at short range/melee combat (they do not get a KB skill until 4th job).
• Do not shine at mobbing (no mob attacks in 2nd or 4th job).
• Lucky Seven is their main attack skill until the 4th job.
• Sins are VERY common.
• Low HP becomes a hassle in 3rd job, as with Bowmen.

Bandit

A Bandits (abbreviated 'dit) is the melee dagger thief. Although they have less HP and defense than Warriors, they have high avoidability and generally fast attacking. They get a high-damage skill during the 2nd class advancement called Savage Blow.

Pros:

• Melee attacker.
• High damage potential with Savage Blow.
• Less common than 'sins.
• Very versatile (mobbing, single targets, meso exploding).
• Acquire Meso Guard in 3rd job, granting them survivability parallel to Warriors and Mages.

Cons:

• No long-ranged attacking.
• Savage Blow's multiple attacking means it being more affected by monsters' weapon defense, which becomes a problem later in the game.
• Versatility brings little specialization on one specific thing.

Bowman

Bowmen can use ranged attacks and hit VERY hard with them. Although useless at close range combat until the 3rd job with Arrow Rain or Arrow Eruption, their high ranged damage capability makes up for it. They have unstable damage at first, and jump-attacking with a bowman requires precision timing.

Pros:

• Uncommon class.
• Highest accuracy among all classes.
• Cheap equipment and arrows.
• Has a knockback ability.
• Has excellent range, even without passive skills.
• Large arsenal of mob attacks.

Cons:

• Unstable damage until the 2nd job advancement.
• Difficult to use in melee combat during 1st and early 2nd job.
• Restricted jump-attacking.
• Slower attack rate and less avoidability than Thieves.
• Low HP and no HP protection skills become a hassle in 3rd job, as with Hermits/Night Lords.

Hunter

Hunters are Bowmen who use bows. Hunters attack faster, but they do less damage than Crossbowmen. They can move onward towards becoming a Ranger, and further towards Bowmastery.

Pros:

• Faster attacks.
• Acquires a stunning (Arrow Bomb) mob skill in 2nd job and high-damaging fire-based (Inferno) mob skill in 3rd job.
• Acquires Hurricane, an attack skill that fires normal damage arrows (100%) at a rate of 500 per minute.

Cons:

• Lesser damage than Crossbowmen due to the 3.6 bow damage multiplier.
• More common than Crossbowmen.

Crossbowman

Crossbowmen are Bowmen who use crossbows. Crossbowmen do higher damage at a slower attack rate. They can move on towards becoming a Sniper, and further towards Marksmanship.

Pros:

• Higher damage due to the 3.6 crossbow damage multiplier.
• Crossbowmen are even less common than Hunters, meaning cheaper crossbows and scrolls.
• Acquires a high-damaging (Iron Arrow) mob skill in 2nd job and a freezing (Blizzard (not to be confused with Blizzard (Ice/Lightning)) mob skill.
• Acquires a powerful mob attack similar to Iron Arrow (Pierce).

Cons:

• Slower attacks.
• Iron Arrow can't fire upward or downward like Arrow Bomb.

Level Power of Classes (In the Author's Opinion)

Beginner: levels 1-10 (8 for magician)

• Most powerful: Pre-Warrior
• Least powerful: Pre-Magician

First Class Advancement: levels 10-20

• Most powerful: Warrior, level 15 Magician
• Least powerful: Pre-Bandit

First Class Advancement: levels 20-30

• Most powerful: Magician
• Least powerful: Pre-Bandit

Second Class Advancement: levels 30-50

• Most powerful: Assassin
• Least powerful: Bandit, Warrior

Second Class Advancement: levels 50-70

• Most powerful: Bandit
• Least powerful: Magician

Third Class Advancement: levels 70-120

• Most powerful: Warrior, Bowman, Hermit (opinion and situation varies)
• Least powerful: Magician

In summary, the power level rotates between classes and all classes get to be the "most powerful" at one time. Magicians tend to be early gamers, followed by assassins, then bandits, then finally warriors and bowmen.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you have realized that there is no best class to Maple Story. All classes have their good points and bad points.

Remember class-balancing and keep in mind that although one class might dominate at a certain level, at later levels your class may be stronger than they are. Do not forget that you should also allow your personality to dominate the decision on which class to choose, rather than choosing a class because many people choose it, or because it is recommended by your friends.