The Starter's Guide to Magician (Lv 1-30)
Introduction
Hello there, Maplers! Let me tell you a little about Maplestory. Maplestory is a 2D multi-player online game. In this addictive game, you will make friends, create or join parties and guilds, do quests, trade and communicate with other players etc.
This guide is purely based on my own experience as a Magician, and you need not follow my guide completely. Who knows, maybe changing a little here and there will create a even better Magician? (:
Some Terms to take note of (I'll be using in my guide):
WA = Weapon Attack WD = Weapon Defence MA = Magic Attack MD = Magic Defence
HP = Health Points MP = Mana Points
Str = Strength Dex = Dexterity Int = Intelligence Luk = Luck
Why Choose Magician As A Job?
There are 5 jobs available in Maplestory: Warrior, Bowman, Thief, Pirate and, Magician. I assume that you are interested in choosing Magician, as that is what this guide is about.
Pros and Cons of being a Magician
Now, you may wonder, like all beginners, why you should become a Magician. Well, Magicians have the highest amount of MP in the game and the coolest spells. Also, Magicians can attack at both close range and long range and your spells are fast. Plus when your level reaches about 18+, your attacking abilities are second to Warrior. Don’t worry, Warriors can only attack close range and you can kill the monsters before they reach them. The disadvantage is that you have low HP. But if you carry along potions with you, or cast Magic Guard (a 1st job skill), you can avoid dying most of the time.
In summary:
Pros
- Highest amount of MP
- Quick recovery of MP
- Relatively high attack (compared to the other classes) from about Lv 15 to 50
- High Magic Defence
- Money-makers (have quite a lot of mesos compared to the other classes)
- Can hit monsters from near and far distances
Cons
- Low HP
- Low Attack at beginning of the game (Lv 1 to around 13)
- Low Weapon Defence
- Low Weapon Attack (don't even think of using weapon attack to attack your enemies x.x)
Getting Started
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NOTE: This guide contains a dice roll section for AP points. We would like to inform you that dice roll function is not used anymore in GMS and MapleSEA. If you are a beginner, there is no need as all points are assigned to STR. When you get your job advancement, click A and then click on auto-assign points. Please avoid that section and everytime you level up, press 'a' and press auto-assign. You may continue that system or if you are looking to use a special point build eg. dexless assassin, then you may do so.
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When you first start to create your character, you will notice that there is a dice and stats below your character’s name. Click to roll the dice until it looks like this:
Str: 4/5
Dex: 4/5
Int: Any number
Luk: Any number
It is best to go for a 4/4 build since magicians do not need strength or dexterity. But it takes a long time and if you feel impatient, just go for a 4/5 or a 5/4 build. I don’t think it makes much difference.
Note from player: There is no more rolling dice Another note: You can reset stats once you advance to the first job, so initial stats are not a big deal.
Ability Points (AP)
Now, you notice that you get 5 ability points (AP) whenever you level up.
How do you add those? Well, you just have to make sure that your luck is always 3 more than you level.
Example: When your lvl is 11, your Luk should be 11+3 = 14. It is needed for you to equip armours and weapons. The rest of your AP should go to INT
At Lv8, you should have 11 LUK. From then on, add 1 LUK every level and 4 INT.
Remember, DO NOT ADD STRENGTH OR DEXTERITY. Player note: Again, now MapleStory allows you to reset your stats once you make the job advancement, so initial stats are not a big deal.
Training on Maple Island
As a beginner training on Maple Island, it is hard since you do not have much strength. Don’t worry; you will soon catch up after you made your job advancement.
When you're just about Level 8, or going to reach it, go to Shanks in Southperry. Board the ship, it costs 150 mesos. Do note that you can NEVER go back to Maple Island.
DO NOT stay on the island till Level 9, it'll waste your SP.
Player note: Apparently the job master will now grant you extra SP for the ones you have "wasted" on Maple Island.
Beginner Skills
Now, there are 3 beginner skills for you to choose from:
| Icon | Skill Name | Description | Type | Mastered | Element | Prerequisites |
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Three Snails | Hurls snail shells to attack monsters from long distance. | Active | 3 | x | - |
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Recovery | Enables the user to recover HP constantly for 30 sec. | Supportive | 3 | x | - |
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Nimble Feet | Enables the character to move around quickly for a short amount of time. | Supportive | 3 | x | - |
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Blessing of the Fairy | Skill Point will increase by 1 when the related character reaches above Lv.10. | Supportive | 20 | x | - |
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Empress's Blessing | Grants 1 skill level for every 5 levels your highest level Cygnus character has. Between Blessing of the Fairy and Empress's Blessing, the higher increase is applied. | Supportive | 30 | x | - |
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Link Manager | Allows you to manage your Link Skills, either by sharing with other characters on your account, or by choosing which skills to use on this character. | Supportive | 1 | x | Must reach level 10. |
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Echo of Hero | Increase weapon attack and magic attack on all players around. | Supportive | 1 | x | Must be a level 200. |
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Maple Return | Return to Maple Island. | Supportive | 1 | x | Must reach 2nd Job. |
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Will of the Alliance | Strong force is released according to the Willpower of the Alliance. | Passive | 1 | x | Complete The Birth of an Alliance. |
Three Snails
I would suggest you leave this at Level 1. This is so as if it's at Level 1, you only need to use Green Snail Shells. If you up it to Level 2, you have to use Blue Snail Shells (which are harder to obtain)
At level one, it gives a damage of 10 to the monster (much better than our otherwise-would-be 1/2 damage)
Player Note: Now, the three snails skill does not require snail shells, rather it conjures them up from your MP.
Recovery
It's useful, but one may find Nimble Feet more effective. A relaxer will replace this skill.
Nimble Feet
It enables you to move around faster, and can be useful when you want to escape from monsters. However, it costs quite a lot of MP. With the edited cooldown, it's very useful for some classes with slow movement speeds, like Warriors.
Skill Build
Lv 2: 1 Three Snails
Lv 3: 1 Recovery
Lv 4: 1 Nimble Feet
Lv 5: 1 Recovery
Lv 6: 1 Nimble Feet
Lv 7: 1 Recovery
Training Areas
Train on the Green Snails, Blue snails, and the Shrooms. Do not attempt to kill the red snails or the orange mushrooms, unless you are doing quests, as their HP is quite high and does not give good EXP.
The best way to level up is to do all the available quests. They give good EXP, but it is difficult to complete some that requires you to kill high-leveled monsters (Slime, Pig, Red Snails)
Becoming A Magician
Once you reach Victoria Island, go towards Olaf, who's close to the other side of the city, on the bottom. Talk to him and complete his quests. From here, you can either take a taxi (100 mesos, recommended) or walk to Ellinia. If you want to take a taxi, head back towards the ship. You'll see a large wooden booth. Talk to the guy in the booth, and ask to go to another town (Ellinia)
As soon as you reached Ellinia, the Magicians’ City, go right up to the top where you will see a house. Press ‘up’ at the door and you will enter it. Once inside, talk to Grendel the Really Old and he will accept you as a Magician.
Congratulations! You are now a Magician!
Note:In the recently patched version that I have once you reach lvl 8 then you will be asked a series of questions by a maple admin. If you answer correctly she should tell you that you are suited to be a Magician, if you want, she will teleport you right to Grendel.
Introduction to Magic
After you made the job advancement, you will be able to access some skills as a Magician. Your skills are divided into 3 main groups—Passive, Supportive and Active. Passive skills cannot be cast but nevertheless, they are skills that will help you a lot in your game. Supportive skills are defensive skills that can be cast. Active skills are attack skills, which can be used to attack monsters.
Skills
The skills and their uses are shown below:
| Icon | Skill Name | Description | Type | Mastered | Element | Prerequisites |
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MP Boost | Increases Max MP permanently. Also increases MP proportional to your level. | Passive | 20 | x | - |
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Magic Guard | Damage dealt to you affects your MP instead of your HP. If your MP reaches 0, your HP takes the full amount of damage. | Supportive | 10 | x | - |
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Magic Armor | Condenses magic around your armor to increase Weapon Defense by a percentage of your Magic Defense. | Supportive | 10 | x | Magic Guard Level 3 |
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Energy Bolt | Consumes MP to fire a condensed energy bolt that explodes on contact with an enemy. | Active | 20 | x | - |
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Teleport | Allows you to teleport a set distance to other locations on the same map using the arrow keys. | Supportive | 5 | x | - |
Here are the simple explanations of these skills:
Improving MP Recovery
Master level : 16
Type : Passive
This skill increases the amount of MP you recover every 10 seconds. Important and very useful, must be maxed.
Improving Max MP Increase
Master level :10
Type : Passive
Required : Improving MP Recovery lvl 5
You may not understand what this skill does. Well, basically, you get some extra MP each time you lvl. When you have this skill, you will have more MP when you lvl up. This is a very important skill, and you must MAX IT ASAP . If you do not max it, you would have lesser MP compared to the other magicians, and in the long run, a little more MP may turn out to be a big difference. Ignore what the skill book says about this skill. Do not add any AP into MP as it is really a waste.
Magic Guard
Master level: 20
Type: Supportive
When you uses this skill, some of the HP damage u receives becomes MP damage for some time, depending on your skill lvl. However, when you have no MP left, the damage received will all be HP damage. A useful skill, can be maxed after you have added the other important skills
Magic Armor
Master level: 20
Type: Supportive
This skill temporarily increases your weapon defense. I don’t recommend using this skill since you already got Magic Guard, which is a better skill.
Energy Bolt
Master level: 20
Type: Attack
This is an attacking skill. It uses very little MP to attack an enemy once. You should leave it at level one to unlock Magic Claw, a more useful skill.
Magic Claw
Master level: 20
Type: Active
' Required ': Energy Bolt level 1
This is your main attacking skill. You have to max it in order to have high attack. It uses more MP than Energy Bolt to attack an enemy twice.
Skill Build
You will receive 1 skill point (SP) after you made the job advancement and 3 SP per level up after that. Now, what skills should you put SP into?
There are many skill builds, some funded, some unfunded.
Recommended skill build:
Lv8: 1 Energy Bolt
Lv9: 3 Improving MP Recovery
Lv10: 2 Improving MP Recovery, 1 Improving Max MP Increase
Lv11: 3 Improving MP Increase
Lv12: 3 Improving MP Increase
Lv13: 3 Improving MP Increase (maxed)
Lv14: 3 Magic Claw
Lv15: 2 Improving MP Recovery,1 Magic Claw
Lv16: 3 Improving MP Recovery
Lv17: 3 Magic Claw
Lv18: 3 Magic Claw
Lv19: 3 Improving MP Recovery
Lv20: 3 Magic Claws
Lv21: 3 Improving MP Recovery (maxed)
Lv22: 3 Magic Claw
Lv23: 3 Magic Claw
Lv24: 1 Magic Claw (maxed) , 2 Magic Guard
Lv25: 3 Magic Guard
Lv26: 3 Magic Guard
Lv27: 3 Magic Guard
Lv28: 3 Magic Guard
Lv29: 3 Magic Guard
Lv30: 3 Magic Guard (maxed)
Notes on Skill Build
You may not want to follow my build exactly. Feel free to edit the skills addition and sequence. Who knows, it might turn out to be even better! However, no matter how you add your skills, the results should be something like this:
Improving MP Recovery—Lvl 16 (maxed)
Improving Max MP Increase—Lvl 10 (maxed)
Magic Guard—Lvl 20 (maxed)
Magic Armor—Lvl 0
Energy Bolt—Lvl 1
Magic Claw—Lvl 20 (maxed)
Total SP Spent—67
Some may choose to add Magic Guard before Magic Claw, as Magic Guard will be very useful if one decide to do Kerning PQ at around level 21-24, saving you much potions.
FAQs on Skill Build
- Since Magic Claw requires more MP than Energy Bolt, why should I choose it?
Well, at first, Energy Bolt may seem like a better choice, as it causes higher damage. But after your Magic Claw is lvl 7 and above, you will notice that it is really useful and quick. It also applies high damage and when it is maxed, it can attack up to 400+ each time. Amazing, right?
- Why choose Magic Guard and not Magic Armour?
As we all know, Magicians have pathetic amount of HP and the highest amount of MP in game. Thus, to avoid dying due to our low HP, we should add Magic Guard, which helps to ensure that we do not die so easily as the damage given to us by monsters are taken by MP (which we have a lot of).
Training Places
You may want to know, since Magicians have weak melee attack, where should they train? I made a list of training places for you, but it is up to your own preference. You can choose others places to train too.
Level 1-8
Train at Maple Island (snails and shrooms). Remember to do quests, which will basically give you all the EXP you need
Level 8-12
Train at
- Henesys Hunting Ground Level 1
- Thicket around the Beach I
- Dungeon Southern Forest I
You should be able to kill the monsters there in a few shots.
Level 12-18
Train at
- Thicket Around the Beach III
- Henesys Hunting Ground Level 1, 2 and 3
- Henesys Hunting Ground 1 is usually crowded. You may want to go to Henesys Hunting Ground 2 or 3.
- Field South of Ellina
- The Tree That Grew
- Southern Forest I
Level 18-23
Train at
- Pig Beach
- Rain-Forest East of Henesys
- Southern Dungeon II and III.
Level 23-30
You can either choose to do Party Quest (PQ) or continue training.
If you are going to do PQ, go to Kerning City and form a party of 4. Choose a channel with very little people and ask your leader to talk to Lakelis. One word of warning though, you might have to wait very long for your turn. You might want to refer to: Kerning City Party Quest for more information on this.
You can also go to Ariant Battle Arena with a friend here and trade wins, with the winner being the one with the lower %, and the one who will win gets 31, and the other gets 30, after that you should kill the other scorpions in the arena. Note: Recently added down jump does not work in the Battle Arena.
If you wish to continue training, you can train at
- Construction Site North of Kerning City
- Kerning City Construction Site, Subway Line 1 Area 1, Southern Forest IV
- Blue Mushroom Forest
- Dungeon—Swampy Land in a Deep Forest
- Land of Wild Boar
- Ant Tunnels I-IV
- Cave of Evil Eye
- Royal Catthus Desert (Ariant)
I would recommend that you train mostly on green and horny mushrooms.
Equipments
For level 1-30, you don't have to buy every single equipment & weapon that comes your way (you'll run out of mesos easily!). To help you save mesos, here are my opinions on the equipments that Magicians can wear:
Note: Between level 1-30, most of the monsters you encounter would not deal out Magic Attacks, so you do not really need the added Magic Defence of the equipments for Magicians.
Hats
Apprentice Hat - Pretty useless. If you had completed the quest "Please bring this letter to Lucas" on Maple Island, you should have obtained a skullcap/headband which gives you the 5 WD you need. This hat only adds MD, which is not helpful at this level.
Moon Conehead - This hat has a WD of 8 and I recommend you to buy it. This will be your first magician's hat & it doesn't look bad! :)
Wizardry Hat - Don't waste your mesos to buy this. It only has a WD of 5 which is even lower than the previous hat.
Brown Bamboo Hat - You can get this from doing "Maya and the Weird Medicine" or Kerning City PQ. Good 15 WD.
Pride - Only the Golden Pride is useful. Unless you hunted one of those, don't bother buying/synthesizing the other prides.
Jester - This hat is quite good, with an average WD of 12 and some added stats. The Green Jester is the best & can be obtained by doing " Nemi's Dilemma (Level 28)" quest. If not, you can hunt the jesters from monsters such as Zombie Mushroom or buy it.
Tops
Armine (F)/ Training Shirt (M) - I wouldn't recommend buying this as it does not really add much WD, you can make do with your beginner shirts.
Arianne (F) - Not necessary but get the Purple Arianne if you want. It adds 1 int.
Split (F)/Split Piece (M) - Buy the black one which adds 1 int. You'll be wearing this for about 10 levels.
Fairy Robe (F) - Although it's a little expensive, it is pretty good due to the + 2 int (Purple) and 21 WD. Get it if you can afford it.
Bottoms
Shoes
Gloves
Shield
Stolen Fence - Your first shield. Buy it at Lith Harbour when you get to Victoria Island (if you have enough money). It costs 2k but offers 5 WD. Also, it's the only shield you can use at this level.
Panlid - If you manage to hunt one, hooray! Use it until you get a Mystic/Esther Shield. Sell it or scroll it afterwards.
Mystic Shield - Chronos at Ludibrium drop these, and they are pretty good since they offer decent MD and WD, with the added Int stats.
Capes
Old Raggedy Cape
Event: Maple Cape
Second Job Advancement
Once you reached lvl 30, you can take up a second job. The jobs available are: Fire and Poison Wizard, Ice and Lightning Wizard, Cleric. I'm going to tell you a little about each job, then you can choose which one you want to be.
Fire and Poison Wizard
They are strong against magic-based enemies with fire or poison-based attacks. Fire-based spells are the most powerful spells of all. They can perform up to 1.5 times damage to the ice-based enemies. Performing fire-based spells to fire-based enemies is of disadvantage. They will receive either half the normal damage attack or even none at all. Poison-based spells poison enemies. It will slowly take away enemies’ Health Points. But application of poison-based spell need time to take effect on enemies. Poison-based enemies will not be much affected by it.
Ice and Lightning Wizard
They are strong against magic-based enemies with ice or lightning-based attacks. Ice-based spells aren't as powerful as the fire-based spells, but they have an advantage of being able to freeze up an enemy temporarily. Performing ice-based spells to ice-based enemies is of disadvantage. They will receive either half the normal damage attack or even none at all. Lightening-based spells are the weakest of all spells, but they have the advantage of attacking many enemies at once. Performing lightning-based spells requires plenty of MP on each attack. Wizard of ice and lightning will also have the risk of dying as they are required to run into enemies during attacks.
Cleric
Cleric may not possess the attacking spells like fire and ice, but they have holy spells that are very powerful against the undeads and devil-based monsters. They are also equipped with skills of casting healing magic which make up to its disadvantages.
In summary,
Fire & Poison Wizard = High Damage
Ice & Lightning Wizard = Damage & Defensive, Can attack many enemies at once
Cleric = Defensive, Healing Spells
Process of the 2nd Job Advancement
Now, how do you do your job advancement? Easy! Just follow these steps:
1. Talk to Grendel the Really Old at Ellina again and you will obtain a letter.
2. Go to the Forest North of Ellina and go to the top where you will find the Magician Job Instructor. Pass him the letter and you will be transported to the Magicians’ Tree Dungeon.
3. Kill cursed eyes and horny mushrooms in order to get 30 Dark Marbles. (Note: Not all monsters you kill will drop the marbles)
Don’t worry; the monsters are quite easy to kill. The horny mushrooms are stronger than usual and the curse eyes are weaker. I used about 3 hits (Magic Claw) to kill each of the monsters. However, do remember to bring a few HP/MP Pots.
4. When you have collected 30 Dark Marbles, hand them over to the Magician Job Instructor at the top of the map and you will receive the Proof of a Hero.
5. You will then be teleported back to the Forest North of Ellina. Find Grendel the Really Old once more and give him the Proof. He will then ask you to choose your 2nd Job and choose the job you want.
Congratulations! You are now a Wizard/Cleric!
See Also
Scorwix's ice/lightning wizard guide
Credits
Special thanks goes to: