Why an FAQ... well, I'm bored. Isn't that enough of a reason? ^_^ Well,
I've seen my fair share of wizards, both good and bad builds. Problem is...
I've seen too many of a particular build of wizards, and felt like providing
an alternative build to consider. That, and... yeah, I'm bored. So sue me~
What I'm going to do is present my build, and its strengths/weaknesses. What
I will NOT do, however, is give a complete description of every stat/skill or
whatnot... that's a waste of space, and if you're reading this guide, you
should know how to play the game already. If you want to learn more about
skills, refer to Gravity's site, as they have nice descriptions to every
single skill in the game. Or you could read another FAQ that already has a
description.
When somebody mentions a class, certain words come to mind; mages/wizards,
much like other games, allow you to go wild -- they have the most skills of
any classes in the game, so you're free to pick and choose. Mix and match to
your heart's content, and if you don't like it... you're free to start again!
Mages, compared to other 1st class characters, are one of the easiest to start
from scratch. Of course, certain melee classes are quick to start off if
they start with nice items, but mages don't really need anything until higher
up. That, and they're among the fastest to level.
Mages are basically walking tanks... without the armour. They're able to
dish out large amounts of damage quickly, but the tradeoff is that you
usually die within a few hits... unless you're rich, but we'll get around to
that later. Wizards, despite popular belief, aren't 100% offense; there are
certain skills available to the wizard that allows you aid others as well.
~> You can tank most monsters you fight... eventually; if you lag, there's a
higher probability of survival
~> You see a screen full of white; nobody likes to see red, especially coming
from other monsters ^o^
~> It's challenging (See point #2 of CONS)
~> You can fight in certain areas by yourself, and play with a different style
that would be suicide for other builds
~> Dodging top-tier monsters, to other players, is very impressive (again, see
point #2 of CONS)
~> If you piss somebody off... be prepared to be KSed. A LOT (explained
later)
~> It takes quite a bit of flee to dodge the top-tier monsters (which you will
be killing)... so you'll have to suffer through the lower levels dealing
with a 99int wizard that can neither cast fast nor take hits
~> If an aggressive monster spawns near you while you're casting, you WILL get
hit
~> If a monster hits you, you will most likely die within 2-3 hits*
... huh? Notice that there are *'s next to Soul Strike, and a weird -9
underneath... depending on your preference, you could either get Soul Strike
as a mage, or as a wizard. I recommend you get soul strike as the very last
skill; yes, after you get ALL your wizard skills. Why? Because you don't
need soul strike to kill... as a mage, its SP cost will drain you in less
than a minute if you're not careful. You don't need a 'fast-kill' skill, as
you have Frost Diver. Sure, it doesn't come out as fast, but once you freeze
the monster, you have all the time in the world to deal with it.
Also notice that your wizard receives all the skills you need after 32/33
skill points... with an extra 9 if you wish to get soul strike. If you don't
want soul strike, you have a whopping << 18 >> points to use on any other
skill you desire. So if you really want to, you could get 10 Icewall and 10
Storm Gust for a little bit faster casting, or perhaps use it on Meteor
Storm/Lord of Vermillion for special effects in town.
Whereas the typical FW/7FD/JT/FP/SG build requires j50 as a mage, my build
allows you to switch as soon as you turn j41, allowing you access to the
strong skills available to wizards at an earlier stage.
Traditionally, mage builds concentrate on casting fast and/or being able to
take lots of hit; this means, points in DEX and VIT. However, you are
provided with only so many stat points, so you'll have to choose. Although
VIT can be replaced with +5 equipment, acquiring that takes a lot of money...
at the time this guide is being written, pure eluniums cost around 700k
zeny, roughs around 125-135k... not a pretty sight.
This build is centered around monster-killing; fast, efficient mauling of mobs,
and nothing else. Although you *can* choose to MVP certain bosses (explained
later in STRATEGY section), your slow casting cannot keep up with the DEX
wizards. Not only do they cast fast, but most likely they will also have the
Fire Pillar skill, rendering anything you have useless.
You can still have a DEX wizard fight in the style I prescribe for this
particular build, but you will find that there are certain problems. Sure,
you can cast fast, but... generally, getting hit usually ends in your demise;
unless you use a fly wing, like any good wizard should!
If you follow this build with the belief that it is the best possible build,
then... well, you're wrong. It is merely an alternative, something different
to toss onto the table, so to speak. In fact, I would even go as far to say
that it is a pipe dream -- it sounds good on paper, but for it to actually
work, careful planning and lots of dedication is required. Some lucky breaks
as well, and that is not far from the truth -- playing this build will be an
uphill battle until you hit the around level 75-80, perhaps even higher. As
said earlier, you will NOT dodge; no, not even a DRAINLIAR, until you reach a
respectable level and have sufficient AGI points.
Now, to explain the stat points, and choice of skills. The 99INT is rather
obvious: a wizard without INT is like a knight trying to kill monsters with
1STR while holding a dagger. HP bonuses come every 10vit, while cast time
reductions come every 15dex. One HP bonus sufficient, and you don't really
need to cast that fast, although you are free to play around with stats to
your own liking. The optional 10 points in LUK gives you 2perfectdodge...
although not very useful, it's still there.... and then simply throw
everything else into AGI. Stat/skill sequencing comes later.
This build could very well be designed for firewizards. Although I do not see
this as a stupid idea (there is really no such thing), the disadvantages of
this stat placement affects firewizards in some way -- namely, speed at which
firewall comes out. Again, it's for you to decide. If you wish to choose
that particular group of skills as your bread/butter combo (FD + LB/JT), then
I strongly recommend you have AGI as your eventual crutch. Sure, it's nice to
have FD cast super-fast, and even better to have WB cast in 2 seconds at
75dex. Firewizards have one thing that FDwizards don't -- semi-impermeable
wall, if casted correctly. Against basically every monster except for
undeads, firewall stops monsters COLD, ceasing their advancement towards your
otherwise defenseless mage. FD-users, however, have only that one skill to
rely on... and it fails. Against some monsters, FD fails more often than
others. More often than not, by the time you find out that FD had failed to
freeze the monster, it will be very close to hitting distance... ending in a
dead pile of you.
Finally, level 10 Icewall. This is seen to be a very stupid idea... initially,
it is. However, such a crazy icewall does have some advantages. The obvious
one is that it lasts longer; at lower levels, when you still have to sit round
and regain SP, a long-lasting icewall will allow you to waste less SP ecasting
your walls. Secondly, a level 10 icewall will allow you to perform what I'd
like to call 'Multi-walling', a technique I'll cover later. I actually
discovered this method while watching a very talented wizard named 'L a g'
play. Although she has not directly taught me, I got the idea through
watching her run around... must give credit where credit is due.
There is, again, no 'right' way to set your hotkeys. There are two different
keyboard layouts that I know of: the 'traditional' variant, in which the F#
keys are located in groups of 4, and the annoying Microsoft variant, the one
that splits the beautiful keyboard in to two ugly halves... in that layout,
the F# keys are split into two groups of 6. Change your layout to account
for this.
Generally, the RO player has one key on the mouse for character movement, and
places the other hand on the F# keys in case they need to cast a skill. I
prefer to place my hand near the F1-4 row, and since that is where my skills
are closest, I place in this section two types of skills: Evasion, and
Killing. The next closest key is F5, and on this, due to its close proximity,
I place the 'Heal' skill. The next two key F# keys are the F8 and F9 keys,
due to their locations at the end and beginning of their respectable F#
groupings. In the heat of the battle, there is not always time to keep
looking down at your keyboard and fish for the right skill; by the time you
look back up, you may be dead already. On the F8 and F9 keys, I place my
alternate killing skills. The remaining ones are for you to fill in to your
heart's content. The following is my hotkey setting; by no means are you
forced to copy this 100%, as it is merely a guideline.
~> STING-KILLER
F1 Jupitel Thunder Level 10 Sting-killer (land)
F2 Quagmire -- Evasion/Immobilization
F3 Frost Diver -- Immobilization
F4 Fly Wing -- Evasion
F5 Heal -- Regeneration
F6 Jupitel Thunder Level 1 Drainliar-killing
F7 Ice Wall -- Evasion/Immobilization
F8 Waterball Level 4 General killing
F9 Jupitel Thunder Level 6/7 Cramp-killing
* F6 is also used to finished off other weakened monsters
If you so desire, you can play this character without any items. After all,
mages are the only class in the game (with the exception of priests, for
obvious reasons) that can fight without any equipment. However, certain
items would help you kill monsters faster, as well as helping you survive
more hits. I will list the subcategories of stat/skill-enhancing items in
decreasing order of importance.
1. As said before, INT is the most important stat to a wizard, as it
governs how much damage they can do to an enemy. Although not
essential, healing plays a vital (pun not intended) part in your
strategy. Being able to regenerate your HP at any given time allows
you to be more bold with your strategy. Conveniently, INT also
helps to increase how much you heal by. As an added bonus, the
higher your INT is, the faster your SP will regenerate.
2. Unlike melee classes, mages and wizards were not made to kill 24/7
without a moment's rest. Boosting your total SP cache, or
increasing rate of SP regeneration, will lengthen the period of time
between rests, allowing you to squeeze in a little bit more EXP
before having to sit down and rest.
3. At the mage and early wizard stage, you will NOT be able to dodge
anything. To fight this, there are wonderful cards out there that
allow you to either HIDE or CLOAK. If you do not have any INT-
boosting items to fill your accessory slot, allow a HIDE CLIP to
fill the void.
4. AGI-boosting items would rank higher on the list if it weren't for
one glaring disadvantage: *they are all rather pricey*. Still,
certain items are well worth the money..
5. You need nothing in terms of increasing the actual VIT stat; rather,
you will be eternally striving to obtain ELUNIUMS, in all shapes and
forms! Though they are rather expensive, they will make your life a
lot easier. I recommend you leave the elus until after you get your
INT and AGI-boosting items, though.
6. As said earlier, DEX-boosting items are not really required. In
fact, in some cases they are actually discouraged, simply because
they often occupy slots in which +INT or +AGI items may be used.
However, +DEX itemscan potentially mean more points into AGI..
7. Why do you need more HP for? As a wizard, you have one of the
lowest HP-to-character-level ratios in the whole game. Adding raw
HP to your cache is ridiculous, and +% is rather useless as well,
though not as bad as the alternative. +HP items general fall in the
*armour* category... which is where your BDW card goes. If you
really want to feel safer you can do so, but I discourage this.
8. By COOL STUFF, I mean items that have little/no use at all, and are
only in the game because they indicate some sort of status. An
example of this sould be Elven Ears -- at a pricey 3-6million zeny,
they give... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! All it shows is that the wearer
is over level 70... show that with your heal. Other items, such as
Crowns and Tiaras have an actual practical use, but are both way too
pricey, fetching prices of over 40million zeny. These cool gadgets
are fun to have, but only go for them after you bought everything
your character will ever need. Yes, this means pets too.
-> Note: these lists are probably not complete... so if you see
anything missing, don't hesitate to email me and tell me.
I'll shove you into credits, of course.
All these items in the game... which are best for you? Unlike knights, which
can function rather well with normal items bought from the store, wizards rely
on cards to boost them in all sorts of ways. Your best bet is to look at
category of items -- if it can be slotted, try to get it. After that small
prerequesite, look at stat bonuses, if any -- if it is of any use, slotted
items of that variant are probably expensive, and could be left off your
shopping list; the unslotted variant usually gives one more point, and is
much cheaper (with the exception of gloves). The next stat to look at is DEF
- obviously, the item that gives more defense is prefered, but is not
absolutely necessary. Personally, all of my items were just empty shells
that just happened to be housing the cards I needed... I mean, I was wearing
Silk Robe of the Desert, for crying out loud! So yeah... if you have an
Elder Willow card but need something to shove it in, just pick up anything
you can find, whether it is a pink hat or a lowly purple ribbon. Defense
doesn't really matter at first... and you can always resell the item to
another person when you feel the need to upgrade, anyways. Basically, follow
that guideline -- concentrate on finding a home for your cards first, and
work on improving the cardholder after the zeny flies in. Exception to this
is guard -- everybody's forced to use this crappy shield ^o^
Speaking of shields... there are 2 main cards you will need:
-> Orc Worrier Card [sic] -> -50% from brute
-> Thara Frog Card -> -50% from demi-human
OWC is ESSENTIAL when you go fight stings. Sooner or later, a cramp or
drainliar WILL catch you. A OWC guard... well, doubles your chances of
surviving the attack, and still winging away. The thara frog guard is not
needed until you go and fight reydrics, but it's wise to start saving for one.
Novices are always fun... I suggest you start yours off with a nice hairstyle
and a colour that isn't pain to the eyes, 9INT, 9AGI, and 9VIT. If you are a
well-liked person and found yourself somebody to tank you up, then switch 9VIT
with 9DEX. If you have a tank, you can skip two or three sections at a time,
since you don't have to worry about running away from hostile monsters.
Otherwise, read on...
You're basically stuck stabbing pickies and drops with your piddly dagger. I
advise you save up money, and buy a stronger DAGGER; swords have to cut
through a damage reduction. If you so desire, stab a few condors... but they
don't give much jExp, which is what you're looking for. Stab away at pickies
and drops until you get enough for a mage... do the quest, and switch to mage.
If you need help on the quest, consult another guide. Do NOT buy a new wand.
Do NOT sell/throw away your dagger. Instead, continue to stab away with your
dagger until you get Level 4 IceBolt. At this point, engage in a game of
hit/run with pecopecos. Cast bolt on the peco, and then RUN AWAY! When the
peco is not following you, return to finish it off... nice, fast exp.
Continue to pump SP regen, so you don't have to wait so much. Remember I
told you not to buy any wands? This is because pecopecos drop WAND, which
gives you +2int... not too shabby, and best of all, it's FREE!~
When you reach around Level 26 or so, it's time to move to Elder Willows. You
may have to hit/run your first few elders, but after a while you will be able
to kill them with one spell. Fill up SP regen, and then start on Lightning
Bolt. After you get to level 5 LB or baseLevel ~35, whichever comes first,
proceed to next section.
Killing has been very fast... up until now. Suck it in, and be prepared for
possibly one of the most tedious points in the life of your mage. It is now
time for you to take a trip to the land of many argiopes, just north of
Prontera. Upon entering this map, you will notice that there are many
mountains... guess what you're going to do? Yes, that's right... you are
going to snipe them! With none other than your beloved Lightning Bolt... I
suggest you stay close to the northern part of the larger mountain, as more
argiopes tend to spawn near ledges.
This is where you need to start packing fly wings. As you are sniping, you
will notice (with increasing annoyance) that monsters LOVE spawning near you.
Not while you were walking to your next victim, no... WHILE YOU'RE CASTING!
At this point, your only defense is to fly wing to a (hopefully) safer place,
and search again for a new victim.
Once you get level 10 LB and level 7 FD, you can try to roam around the map
now. Your FD will now freeze at a fairly nice rate, so it is safe to use it.
Remember, it will take a while before one LB kills an argiope... so be
prepared to keep running. Also, since you are now roaming the whole map, you
are more susceptible to random monsters spawning on you, so fast reflexes are
even more important now. Upon receiving level 10 FD, I strongly suggest you
head over to the Hode map. Haha no... you are NOT going there to bo...
remember how I mentioned anacondaqs in the transition period? Well, you're
going to practice casting FD on anacondaqs.
The first thing you will notice is that anacondaqs are *CAST SENSITIVE*. They
will most likely reach you before you get your Frost Diver off... this is
where you will learn a vital skill, one that you will use until you get bored
and quit playing your wizard -- Drift-Casting. Check for directions in the
'strategies' section. After you have practiced drift-casting or are confident
in your wizard, it is now time to proceed to the next section.
Now... it's time to play with stings. They come nice and plentiful at times.
There are few things you have to watch for -- cramps, and drainliars, namely.
If you hear a cramp, keep a finger on your flywing hotkey. Stop moving, and
take a look around. If the cramp has a direct path to you, wing away or walk
back where you came from. If the cramp close to a ramp that leads to you, see
if you can inch your way past without being detected.. but once the cramp runs
*IN YOUR DIRECTION*, wing away. Any drainliars that come your way, simply
freeze them and blow them to hell... it doesn't take much to put them down.
They only have around 1060 HP, so judge accordingly.
Stings... are a joke. They are arguably the slowest monsters in the game,
ranked up there w/ good ol' Khalitzburg. Don't let them catch you, though...
like khalitzburgs, stings attack FAST. You will not even survive more than
one hit for quite a while, so I hope that by this point, you know your FD
range. Use it, abuse it. If you wish to know some useful strategies for
mauling *groups* of monsters, refer to the strategy section.
Once you get quagmire... abuse it. At first, even if it's a drainliar, cast
quag first. Doing this at an early stage will build this action into your
subconscious... in the future, if a monster happens to spawn nearby, your
quick reactions will save you. Yes, it's better to run, then stand still
like a moron and then BLAME LAG when you die. Quagmire is your friend; learn
to tolerate the sound, because as you get higher, you WILL hear this sound
VERY often. Also, you should try to learn *chaining* at an early stage. Yes,
you CAN chain quagmire... that will often save your life. Remember, you can
chain your quagmire to cast ANYWHERE within range.
When you get waterball... hoho, that's when wizard gets fun. You can now make
*Ice Statues*, and *chain* them all. Both terms are listed in strategies. As
you get more and more flee, you will eventually be able to dodge cramps. At
this point, chain in quagmires and WB the cramps as well, instead of JTing
them. If you would like to know when you can dodge cramps... check a flee
chart. There are calculators out there.
Whisper card gives +20 flee. Take that, add it to the +8agi that jLvl 50
gives you. Remember, each AGi, as well as base level, gives you 1 flee point.
Now... get this -- around 192-195 flee, you will be able to dodge a sting 1v1
with quagmire. Sounds juicy? I bet it is ^o^
You can level in stings your whole life with you want... it gets boring and
you will most likely live a poor life, but as you level up, stings will only
get easier, and they will die faster. Eventually, you will be able to
*Immobilize* 5+ cramps at once, given you're good enough, and you have
permaAGI tacked onto your wiz. Again, Immobilization will be discussed
thoroughly in the Strategies section.
If you ever feel like a change of scenery, you can go visit the barracks.
Before you go there, however, make sure you find/buy a Thara frog card.
Reydrics do a whopping 1200+ damage/hit, without damage reduction. Thara
cards cut this number down by half. As an added bonus, it also halves damage
from jokers. Rather helpful, seeing as those monsters are a grand pain in the
derrierre.
Basically, in barracks and barracks2, you will be using and abusing
Immobilization... so be prepared to hear lots of quagmire, see lots of
Ice Wall statues all over the place... and yeah, lag. Lots of it. Be sure
you turn off effects before storm gust falls. Be nice, and warn others in
the area to turn their effects off, if you see anybody pass by. If you can't
type fast enough, at least try to protect them... trust me, SGing any more
than 5 reydrics generates some serious lag.
... guess what? That's about it. You will be altering your trips between
stings and reydrics for the rest of your life. If you are so inclined, you
can choose to play around with anolians once you can dodge stings... you can
do so before, actually. Also, you can play around in prison1/2 by
immobilizing mobs. I personally find this latter method to be very slow if
you're looking for EXP, but the money received from loot is somewhat worth it.
Plus, it's a change of scenery.
This pretty much wraps up the little mini-guide... I won't hold your hand
through the fine details. Figure out what's right for you -- just because I
use a level 6 JT to kill cramps doesn't mean a level 65 mage can do the same.
Now, without further ado, the strategy section, listed in order mentioned.
From here on in, these are either strategies that I have crafted myself, or
have witness through careful observation of other innovative wizards. They
are, again, merely a guide to faster killing of mobs. Almost all of these
are more risky than simply taking on the monsters one by one, but sometimes,
1v1 is simply not fast enough. I hope you will find the following strategies
useful. If you have anything you would like to add, feel free to email me
your suggestion, and I'll take a look at it. We'll start with some simple
time-savers, before diving into the complex stuff. I'll try to include some
diagrams when necessary, but remember... I'm not an ASCII artist, nor do I
have enough time to try to be one. Try to picture what's going on as if it
were happening ingame... that's the best I can do.
Note -- yes, this is a Wind/Water mage guide, but since I no longer have
the time to give personal lessons with ICEWALL (yes, I've done this
before ;x), I will include a mini-guide to firewalling as well.
This is seemingly worthless, but the concept sets the ground for the next
'skill', *chaining*. It is basically as described -- the process of picking
up items fast. This simple term actually stands for two actions: as said
above, picking up multiple items fast, and... picking up items without
pausing to move. The latter I call 'pick-up cancelling', because you are
basically cancelling the pick-up animation into something else, or cancelling
*into* picking up an item.
Picking up multiple items... rather simple, really. Practice by buying some
jellopies or apples, and drop them in a secluded area. Try to pick them up 2
at a time. It may seem like crazy random speed-clicking on everything at
first, but eventually you will arrive at the timed interval of around 0.2-0.3s
per click. If you like to do things by eye, best time to click the second
time is around the point when your character is bent over. It *is* possible
to pick up 3 items at a time, but picking 2 at a time with consistent success
will add up to a few more sting kills. Not really much, but hey, every
little bit helps.
The second step in this process is 'pick-up cancelling', or picking up an item,
and then cancelling the animation by making your character walking wherever
you clicked. The timing is the same as the item-grab listed above, it just
seems a little trickier. With practice, you will eventually be able to pick
up items... *without stopping your forward movement*. It's all adding up...
The final preparation to *chaining* is cancelling INTO the pick-up animation.
This is by far the most difficult of the three, simply because you are
basically chaining into a 'pick-up'. There are certain skills in the game
that have a delay in which your character is basically immobile until they
finish casting their skill; an example of this would be WATERBALL. However...
with this cool little trick, you will be able to pick up the item AND start
waterball *SIMULTANEOUSLY*! The most amazing thing is that most of the time,
the pickup will be INVISIBLE because the animation is cancelled into the
immediate start of the skill (in waterball's case), or the humourous
alternative, BENDING OVER while a bolt casts ^__^
Basically, if you wish to chain anything, you must input the command *while*
the skill is BEING CHARGED. If you input the command at the right time, you
will perform the action AT THE SAME TIME the first skill activates.
Experiment around by yourself to find the best time to cancel... or continue
onto the next section, the 'science' of Chaining.
Ahh, the first of the juicy stuff. If you have watched me play in the sting
map, you will see me Chain waterball quite often, in conjunction with the
strategy following this one. As explained above, chaining is basically the
input of another skill whilst the first skill is being charged. Since the
inputted skill (if successful) begins simultaneously with the activation of
the first skill, you cut a LOT of casting time if you chain waterball, and
allows for some miracles, too. Theoretically, if you were good enough, you
could eternally chain skills until you either died, ran out of monsters, or
disconnected from the servers. A small note... the SLOWER you cast, the
*EASIER* it is to chain your skills. This is because as you cast faster, the
window in which you must input the command to chain your skill is gradually
decreased into nothingness. That way, if you have -50% casting speed...
sorry, but you're probably stuck with chaining 2-3 skills in a row at most.
I generally input the skill *just* before it activates, but sometimes,
chaining is also successful if you press in other parts of the bar while it's
charging. I dunno... sometimes, you just *feel* that you input the command
at the right time, and... wow, it came out, though you may not have clicked
at normal times. My current wizard only has 31DEX, so that's 80% casting
speed. I will use waterball as an example, since chaining is basically
intended to be used with WB:
W A T E R B A L L ! !
| |
Personally, I find that the best time to click the next waterball is
W A T E R B A L L ! !
|||||||||||||||||||
In other words, around halfway between the l's in 'waterball' and the
exclamation marks. This point just happens to land upon the period of time
*just* before waterball activates, so I suppose this works for people who
insist on seeing what they do. Half the time I chain with my eyes closed
now... not because I'm cocky or anything, but because I'm tired... seeing the
same monsters for more than an hour gets mildly irritating ^_^
Chaining is fun... but there are only certain skills that can be chained.
Here's a small list that I can verify through personal experimentation. Any
guesses I make with have an asterisk (*) beside it. By 'chainable', I mean
you can keep chaining the skill over and over until you screw up.
CHAINABLE TERMINATES
JT LB
WB All other bolts *
Quagmire
SS
SG/LoV (for obvious reasons :p)
IW
FD
Basically, anything that has a delay
after casting *
ALL mage skills *
The list isn't big, but... look at the list of chainables -- JT/WB. Now, look
back to the TOP TIER monsters... cramps, and stings... yes, that's correct.
When used in conjunction with the strat below, you can chain WBs for the
stings, and JTs for the cramps. Being able to deal with big mobs... as well
with a few cramps sprinkled about, allows you to put your paws on some really
big mobs. And that only means one thing -- big exp~
Mini-tip: If you ever have any problems with chaining, simply chain into a
level 1 JT (assuming Drainliars are around). Since JT has 0 cast
delay, by chaining into lvl1 JT you are essentially giving yourself
another chance to start the chaining process over again. Not
necessary, but nice to know.
I didn't have a name for this 'strategy' until today... this is basically a
FDwizard's answer to the hunters' Ankle Snare. As the name implies, you make
ice statues... of what? Monsters, of course! If you see a great number of
monsters just standing around, simply FD them all!
That sounds easy... the hard part is FDing without getting hit. The best way
to do this is through 'herding'. This skill is ESSENTIAL for rounding up
reydrics, and will save your life a few times in sting maps. With permaAGI,
you can also 'herd' cramps and *immobilize* them. Essentially, this enables
you to take an infinite amount of monsters.... assuming you don't get hit by
even one of them. This is a little bit harder than it sounds...
To practice, run in a circle. Then, run in an ellipse (lopsided circle).
Mix it up. Congratulations, you know how to herd! Of course, it's not that
simple... you have to run in a circle while freezing each monster one by one.
Not only that, but you will probably need to remember the order you froze
each monster in... it wouldn't be very nice if one broke on you while you
were shooting off a waterball at another monster...
As a general guideline, freeze dangerous monsters first, such as cramps. Only
leave however many you feel you are confident you can dodge. After that,
freeze every single sting, leaving the drainliars for last. These you save
for last because even if they unfreeze, it will probably be after you finish
dancing with stings... and drainliars are by far the softest monsters on that
map. If you have permaAGI on, you *must* be sure you don't run too fast. If
you circle too fast, the monsters may turn around and cut you off, rendering
your running around totally useless. That, or the monsters may decide to
chase somebody else... which brings us to our next section...
I cannot stress this enough -- you MUST know your ranges at all time. There
are two main ranges you must be able to recognize at all times: maximum FD
range, and maximum range a monster will follow you before following somebody
else. FD range is approximately a half screen's distance at max game
resolution, while monster range seriously depends on the speed of the
character. As a general rule, if the monster is slow, keep as close to it as
you can; if the monster runs fast, it doesn't matter if you run for your dear
life, it wouldn't be far behind. The third 'range' isn't exactly a distance,
but rather a period of time. Namely, this is the 'cool-down' period each of
your skills have, or casting delay. Each skill has a small delay that
activates after you cast the spell, preventing you from immediately charging
another skill. You MUST MUST MUST know your FD cool-down period. Learning
will definately make your game more fast-paced, allowing you to kill faster.
Also note -- JT has *NO* casting delay -- meaning you can basically cast
another spell immediately after JT activates. As if JT wasn't cheap enough
already... again, I can't stress enough, know the cool-down times of each
skill you use, so that you can time yourself to be as efficient as possible.
Now, drift-casting. It sounds cool, and is exactly what it sounds like --
casting a spell while drifting away from the enemy. As usual, you are running
away from a monster. Remember what I said earlier about knowing your FD
range? This is why it's important -- drift-cast forces the casting of a skill
although your character is technically out of range. This is achieved by
clicking far, far away... as your character hits the maximum FD distance, you
CLICK THERE! On screen, your wizard will stand still to cast FD, but... you
finish FD, try clicking where you clicked before. You... TELEPORT?!! Yes,
that's right... because you clicked first, you told the client that you wish
to move to X,Y coordinates, but you interrupt with the casting of FD.
Despite popular belief, your first command to walk to X,Y is *NOT* cancelled!
Rather, that task is completed *while* you are casting, resulting in the
'teleporting' effect. Here is a little step-by-step diagram listing the
above steps.
STEP I --> Click on spot resulting in exit of FD radius
your wizard
\/
X<---#----------------> O
^monster ^FD range ^Click here!
STEP II --> Cast FD *AT MAX RANGE!*
your wizard
\/
X<-------------------#> (o)
^monster ^you clicked here before..
After step II, you can do two things: you can either click where you clicked
before, and teleport there; or, you can cast a killing spell from where you're
standing. Yes, that's correct... *your client still thinks you're standing
there*! Makes for some interesting fun, yes~
Do note that the monster *will* be moving, so account for that when clicking
away. If you so desire, you may throw in a quagmire to help you escape the
grasps of the approaching monster.
Firewall... such a nice skill. It can be stacked, and provides your wizard
with a seemingly impervious shield... not. If not cast right, you will
*still* die, despite your best efforts. Although in most situations a
perpendicular wall will suffice, other methods work best against certain
other monsters and/or mobs. A mini diagram will be given for both top/down
and left/right situations, with the string of X's being firewall, the # being
the wizard, and @ being the mob. Arrows indicate direction of movement
This method is generally used to deal with undeads, who tear through firewalls
like no tomorrow, as well as advanced mob control, or simply for those with
the guts to try it.
STEP 1 STEP 1
^
@-> # #>
^
@
STEP 2 STEP 2
# X
@-> XXX X#
X
^
@
Basically, make sure that the monster is following you on a parallel path.
Simply give yourself enough room, take one step up, and cast the firewall
where you were standing before. The result will be a firewall that is
parallel with the path that the monster is walking. In the case of an undead
monster, it will walk through all three squares of your firewall instead of
just one, resulting in maximum damage possible. In the case of mobs, doing
this will ensure that your firewall will not fail on you due to the taking
of too many hits from your mob. An alternative method to this is to
simply cast the firewall one square above or below you, and then walking to
the end of the firewall on the opposite side from where you were standing,
diagonally adjacent to the firewall. Here's yet another boring diagram to
illustrate that idea:
STEP 1
@-> #
XXX
STEP 2
@-> XXX
#
That's all there is to it... if you want, you can even try diagonal firewall.
I'm not a fire wizard, so I don't know if that works... but hey, why not
experiment? That's how you find cool things like these ^_^
T-walling is basically something is used for group-controll that essentially
combines the aforementioned methods into, you guessed it, a T. Simply cast
the perpendicular wall, and then immediately cast another wall parallel to
the path the mob is walking. Stand at the end of the firewall, and proceed
to hammer the crap out of your mob with whatever you like... or be a cocky
SOB, sit there and do nothing ^_^
Maybe this is the sole reason you are reading this guide... or perhaps you
were simply curious because I kept mentioning it beforehand. This is by far
the most difficult technique so far. As the name implies, this little skill
renders a mob basically immobile, with the exception of one or two squirting
loose. This method catches 95% of a mob with 100% success, if you know what
you're doing. And you accomplish this by using.... WTF, *ICEWALL*???
The idea sounds very simple, but there is actually only one way to get this to
work. But first, the concept -- simply herd a group of monsters into a
relatively close stack. By close, I mean almost running around on top of
each other. Though you don't have to, I strongly suggest you cast quag to
slow them down and give yourself a breather to time the IW. Next, you cast a
IW and if successful, it will rise at the exact square that the mob is
running over, trapping every single one. Then, cast another icewall behind
the first, making a 2x5 wall of ice. Sounds easy? You bet it does. The
catch is that it only works if you drag the monsters from the LEFT side of the
screen towards the RIGHT. I have tried top/down, down/top, right/left... I
have only managed to get LEFT/right to work. If you can somehow get the other
ways to work, please email me... I want to know how!
The timing is *very* tricky at first, but after a few practice runs, you'll be
able to get it every single time. The simplest way is to simply cast on the
square the mob runs over. This is the easiest, but leaves the most room for
mistake... you miss by half a second, and you will EAT that mob for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. I personally time it half a square behind. Sometimes you
don't have much space, and your mob is somewhat scattered... catch the front
monster by half-square, the middle by IW going up on the square... and by some
unknown phenomenon, the other reydrics following behind the wall stupidly run
into the wall. That's the hard part, getting the mob to run into the wall.
All you have to do afterwards is cast another wall one square behind the first
wall to make a thick double-wall. Then, cast SG and watch the monsters all
fall down simultaneously..
After a few test runs, you will notice that a few monsters always squirt out
of the wall, and are actually smart enough to run around to attack you. In
this case, FIRST thing you do is close the first icewall before leading the
stray monster away... why? In case you are forced to run behind the first
wall. If you run behind an unclosed icewall, every single monster will escape
and chase you all over again... not good.
Instead, close the wall, and continue leading the monster *around* the closed
ice walls. Simply perform the same Immobilization technique again, except you
attach your new wall to your old one... yay, more pictures!
STEP 1 STEP 2
XX $$
XX@ <-- trapped monsters $$& #
XX@ # <-- you $$
XX@ XX
& XX XX@
^ smart monster XX@
XX@
XX
The whole point of going through all this is... yes, you guessed it, to
manipulate the monsters so that they all fall to ONE SG casting. Unless you
chose to put more than one point into SG, it takes a long time to cast. I'm
sure you wouldn't want to waste your time casting an SG to kill only two
enemies; you would be better off FD/JTing them individually.
If only one or two monsters squirt out, you are better off simply freezing it,
and then killing it normally after SG finishes casting. Level 10 FD lasts
around 20-30seconds anyways, so you have plenty of time.
After you manage to wall the monsters with a 95%+ success rate, I strongly
suggest you learn how to 'corridor wall'. Basically, performing
Immobilization in a 6 or 8tile corridor. It IS possible (I've done it many
times), and if you ever come across a large enough group (don't train!), you
could make something that looks like.... this!
$$
$$@ XX
$$@ XX
XX SG!! XX@
XX@ # XX@
XX@ XX
XX@ $$@
XX $$@
DD@ $$
DD@
DD
Note that unless monsters spawn while you are setting up your icewalls, you
will only need this many icewalls if you screw up somehow. Though it's a sign
of failure, you sure look great if you manage to pull it off! All this,
thanks to the Ice Walls of Eternity (c).
There are two variants of Zero Walling... but before we get into that... what
is Zero Walling? Remember what I said about corridor-walling, where you only
have around 6 tiles to maneuver around with? Well... cut that down to two or
less tiles. Yes, that's right... Zero Walling is the process of casting
Icewall to immobilize an aggressive monster that is either VERY close, or is
currently hitting you; the name comes from the distance the monster is from
you (also, tribute to Rurouni Kenshin... who am I talking about? :D) The
actual immobilization technique is derived from the Zero Wall, so the same
restrictions (left/right, and down/up) apply. When the monster is hitting
you, it's very easy to do... simply cast icewall on the monster's tile, and
then move to the right. If you do it correctly, the monster won't follow you
past the firewall; then, you can proceed to cast the remaining wall to trap
it.
As for the 2-square immobilization... that's a little bit tougher, if you
don't want to be hit by the monster. You need VERY fast fingers, and a LOT of
practice. As a general guideline, learn to fast double-clicking: click once
to walk away, press icewall hotkey, and click where you were standing as fast
as you can... takes practice, but eventually you'll get it. The good part is
even if you miss, the monster has to run around the wall, which gives you time
to cast quagmire and all that. If you can do normal walls, you don't need
any diagrams on how to do this ^o^
There are some obvious do's and dont's with this method, and is potentially
VERY dangerous. When you are pulling a mob, *ALWAYS* check your screen to see
if anybody is nearby. If there is ANYBODY on your screen, do *not* make the
wall; continue pulling the mob away until you have the screen to yourself.
When you make the wall, cast the second one ASAP. If another person shows up
on the wrong side of the wall, *EVERY SINGLE MONSTER GOES TO HIM*. You can
only pray that person wings away and does not get mad at you. Also, the level
1 SG is chosen for a good reason -- it has a VERY slow cast time. It gives
you ample time to spot people getting close to your mob. If you see ANYBODY
pass by... tell them to turn off their effects, because if they don't...
congratulations, you have just given them a huge lag spike. Stand by them
and tank them if you have to, because that person's screen is frozen.
I cannot stress this enough... you should ONLY use this technique when
entering a room full of aggressive monsters. This method is *strictly*
crowd-control. Please do not drag one or two monsters halfway across the
map in order to abuse this... if I see you dragging only one or two monsters
for more than one screen, I *will* nail you for mob training. Again, I must
say again... NEVER wall if there is ANYBODY on your screen, and ALWAYS warn
of SG if you see somebody pass onto your screen. Be responsible
Personally, I never thought I'd be playing long enough to see it, but yes...
the Comodo patch finally comes. Being the cheap class wizards are, Gravity
added a few modifications to skills and certain monsters in order to make your
life harder. These changes include
-> Reduction of FD freeze probability to 65%
-> Increase of FD damage
-> Reduction of FD SP cost
-> Reduction of Icewall duration to 60s at level 10
-> Reduction of Icewall HP to 2000 at level 10
-> Modification of Storm Gust
-> Hits once every 0.4s
-> Damage done is dependent on skill level
-> Casting time increases with skill level
-> *SG now freezes long enough on lvl1 to hold monster for a
level 7 JT (30DEX)
-> Quagmire has a minor cast delay (approximately 0.3-0.4s)
-> Stings now move quite fast
-> Elder Willows now take like, 50% of what they did before...
-> Water-type monsters CANNOT be frozen
What exactly does this mean? You can no longer level one at superhuman
speeds, since Storm Gust will not hit as fast as it used to. Rather, you will
now be using Immobilization to neutralize hostile monsters that cannot be
frozen, or if you don't want to risk having your Frost Diver fail on you. In
fact, I believe it would be a good idea to immobilize a monster before you try
to cast Frost Diver on it, because you will often fail on your first try.
With the addition of gargoyles to the sting map, and the fact that stings now
move around as fast as anolians (EVERYTHING moves like them now ~_~), you may
opt to level in other places.. I suggest you try North Comodo Cave. There are
a few monsters in there that are quite a pain to deal with (Neralds, Mermen),
but other than the sting map, this is now the best place for a wizard of this
particular build to level up. If you find that your wizard can dodge cramps,
then you will do pretty well in North Comodo Cave. You will most likely be
replacing stings with Stalactic Golems, which give around the same exp as
stings, but have double the HP, non-aggressive (but cast-sensitive), and hit
at anolian-speed (again, w/ the anolians..) for around 1000 base damage. On
the plus side, these golems drop great loot -- they drop mud lumps, like
stings, and also brigans, which sell for 400z base. As if that wasn't enough,
they also drop eluniums... lots of monsters in this cave drop shiny things ^^
Other than golems, there are a few other monsters you have to aware of.
Neralds are tiny lizard-like creatures that have around 4500 hp, and drop
crap. As if that wasn't enough, they hit rather fast, for approximately 400
base damage. Next, there are tri... ugh, forgot what they were called. They
look like brown fabres... around 2200hp, and are only around for annoyance
purposes... those ugly things don't even give 500 base exp ~_~
The two truly 'dangerous' monsters in this map are megaliths and mermen.
Megaliths are somewhat like gargoyles -- they have a ranged attack that does
around 400dmg base damage... they hit fairly fast, and their range can be
rather deceiving if approached from the top or bottom of your screen. They
only have around 3/4 screen range (lengthwize)... they can be a huge problem
if they group up (they tend to do that a lot), but rest assured... although
they are a ranged monster, they're also stationary -- they can't move from
where they spawn. Also, they cannot hit you unless you are directly in their
line of sight -- you can use this do you advantage to take them on
individually, as opposed to tanking hits from them all at once.
As for mermen... think of them as anolians. They move pretty fast, and attack
quite fast for lots of damage... to make them more annoying, you can't freeze
them. Whenever you see a merman, drop whatever you are doing and immobilize
them first... cos if you don't, they'll kill you quite fast. Oh yeah...
you'll find hydras here, too. If you need help with them... don't disgrace
the wizard class; delete your character XD;
Despite the icewall nerf, I have to say that AGIwizards got a huge boost.
Nowadays, firewizards have a hard time fighting alone. As if dodging monsters
was cool enough before, it's even better now... think of it this way.
Everybody is fighting in North Comodo Cave in little parties... but you're
running around by yourself, easily owning all the monsters... isn't that
something to be jealous of? :D
In order to dodge stalactic golems 95% without quagmire, you will need around
200flee. Of course, with quagmire, you can effectively cut down the flee
required by a third, or more... ^_^ by the time you get 200 flee, you should
be able to dodge one megalith 95%... two megaliths probably 75-80%. I
suggest you cast quagmire on all megaliths, just to be on the safe side.
~> #Kitsune or #anime-empire @ irc.EnterTheGame.com
(just leave a PM)
-> Email
~> Kitsune@telus.net
(I rarely check it... don't be surprised if I don't see your comments
for a while)
-> MSN
~> yheti13@hotmail.com
(if I rarely check email, I almost never go on MSN)
-> Ingame
~> Loki server
~> Wizard - Mika; Merchant - Hoshino Mika
-> When sending PM, get to the point... if you don't identify yourself
within two lines, I *will* ignore you... so ask any question you have
right away
Here are random people have in some way or another contributed to this
guide...
-> L a g
~> Although we've never spoken before, I *did* learn 'Immobilization'
by watching you play... I've never seen anybody do it before you, so
I'll assume you invented it unless I'm told otherwise.
-> Light Bringer
~> I still remember when you laughed at my Lvl10LB back on argies...
*shakes fist* and oh yeah, I don't regret it one bit! So there :p
-> Michel
~> Though the only words he has spoken to me were '> <;;' and 'o.o', he
was the person who indirectly convinced me to become an AGIwiz... he
was the first wizard I've seen dodge cramps... I think I was still a
mage at that time :x
-> Bonkura 103
~> What can I say? I love my guild! It's not a big guild, and DEFINATELY
one one of those stupid gosu lvl-lvl guilds, thank god... with the
exception of a few passersby, Bonkura 103 has survived because of a few
core members -- Kamaji, a kickass MVPing firewiz type, and Kaii, our
BS... not only can he forge, but he can level... BY HIMSELF! So there!
He's pretty good at forging, so PM him with your wishlists~
-> The many newbie mages of Glast Heim
~> Thank you for putting a smile on my face. I don't know about you
people, but seeing a greedy firemage flop over because a sting flew
*around* his firewall to be rather funny... add on the fact that the
dumbass usually claims LAAAAAG, and that's enough to make the whole
server shake and rumble with laughter. Thank you for killstealing; it
only proves how much you SUCK, how dependent you are in other people,
and how poor your sportsmanship is.
-> Gravity!
~> I never thought I'd be saying this, but... wow, you guys have gone a
long way. My first playing experiences date from beta1... almost two
years ago. Back then... hell, even I botted; it was simply not fun,
and it lagged everywhere. It's nice to see Gravity actually DOING
SOMETHING to stop these obvious botters/scammers/other assort idiots
from doing their thing... I can go to sleep and not worry, because my
money is not going into the toilet. It missed, and simply landed in
the garbage can ^o^
-> Anybody who bothers to submit anything
~> I, like you, play RO on my spare time. Thus, I don't have much time to
check email and such... if you bothered to submit anything, despite
knowing this, I applaud you beforehand for bearing with me. Even if
nobody submits anything I'm still happy... I am not forced to make
revisions, and am quite happy with leaving this thing where it is... oh
well
v1.0 Very very new thing
1.01 Fixed some formatting problems... nothing big
1.02 Redid most of the formatting problems... hopefully it fits the 79chara
limit now :o also made a small correction for chaining WB
1.1 Added 'About Mika' section
1.2 Fixed some grammar mistakes
Added Immobilization expansions
2.0 Added Comodo updates/Zero-walling
If you thought that I'm going to talk about the RL me... well, you're wrong!
This is to silence you weird people who go around screaming 'lvl??' and
'how u dodg so high??' As said before... no, I don't spend time talking about
my character, simply because... do you go around asking hockey players why
they can shoot so fast? I simply don't like answering those stupid questions,
so don't ask them... read below and never ask again..
