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MapleStory/FAQs

This page contains a listing of some Frequently Asked Questions. If you have a question that is not answered anywhere else in this book, please add it to the relevant section here and you should receive a reply within a few days. Questions may be removed at the discretion of the authors and editors. (For example, price checks and questions that only pertain to a very small group of Maplers do not belong here.)

= New Questions = If you have a question, please ask it here. It will be answered as soon as possible.

Hotmail accounts are not being accepted to make new acc anymore, will this change?

They have fixed the error with hotmail, you can try resending to code now.

How are Game Masters selected in MapleSEA?

what does it mean by "move" in maplestory on each characters account?

= General Questions =

What are the Minimum system requirements, and where can I find them?
The requirments for MapleStory can be found at the download page on Mapleglobal.com.

CPU: Celeron 500 MHz RAM: 64 MB HDD: 500 MB space needed OS: Windows 98/ME/2K/XP VGA: 3d acceleration card Sound: - Network: 56kbps MODEM

~Noted I originally started on 800Mhz and 64 MB RAM and... let's just say run double the recommended speed and RAM if you don't want to disconnect between screens XD But yeah, it will run, just really badly...

Can I choose a another character without quit game and log in again?
No. You must go to "Quit Game" and then log in again to switch to another character.

What should I do about disconnections?
There are some areas in the game where hackers have actually been able to force anyone who logs in to immediately disconnect from the game. The Sauna area in Sleepywood is one known area for this*. The best way to escape the map in this situation is to cause as much lag on purpose; and then walk out of the portal while you are in the lag.

For example, start downloading 20 YouTube videos at once, or turn on BitTorrent at a max upload rate, or do both. Then hold down the quest button as you walk out of the Sauna. Another possible solution is to connect using an old modem, or a phone modem. You should disconnect one last time, and you'll be able to play again.

The Sleepywood Sauna is the only verified place to have this occur. There is no known solution for any other area in MapleStory.

 * A hacker by the name of [please fill in name here I forgot it] used a special sort of vac-hack to pull all the npc's in the game to that location, so when a user walked in, they disconnected, or d/c'ed. This hacker also did it in other areas, too. He announced what areas would be "disconnection hotspot". These places are usually small, and places that sold exclusive items like weapon shops.

~I've seen this done in Perion also. It's just not very common now... whoever was doing it must have gotten bored....

Another reason I often disconnect is generally slow power computer or moving between too many screens. Resetting when you crash helps clear the RAM so you won't disconnect again as soon.

Is MapleStory appropriate for young children?
MapleStory is a game suitable for all ages. However, the players may not be. There is a very strict "curse word filter" that blocks certain curse words, even if the curse word is separated with a space. For example, the phrase "Bush italics" is blocked, even with the space in the middle (hint: look at the end of "Bush" and beginning of "italics").

Nonetheless, there are always the users bringing on immature jokes and trying to bypass the curse word filter; but that is to be expected in any community-based game.

It should also be noted that the "c word" is sometimes used.

There is no suggestive artwork; everything is done "Chibi-style" or Super Deformed, a popular anime/manga style in which characters are 3 heads tall and the overall style is very cute. There is no blood or gore; the violence level is equivalent to early Megaman games (enemies fall over and disappear). Death in the game is comical: a little ghost-shape replaces your avatar, and your chat bubble becomes a thought bubble.

There are no "surprises" in this game such as there are in Resident Evil.

In terms of difficulty, the base gameplay is easy enough for a 5-year-old to learn. However, some advanced stuff such as watching the market and trying to sell your ores at the correct price, or avoiding scammers who'll trick you into thinking an item is cheap when it is instead very rare, may be over the head for a child.

~Be warned users also swear, insult, harrass... there's quite a few who are only on Maple to harrass people for fun. The main problem with online games is, quite simply, the fact that you cannot control what the other people do. No amount of swear filtering stops people being racist, for example, and it does happen. But the game itself is very well built considering all that.

How do you save?
In most single-player games, you must save the game otherwise your progress will be lost. As this game is online, progress does not need to be saved. If you leave the game or get disconnected, you will be back in the same location(map that you were in) once you reconnect.

What are these different versions of MapleStory?
MapleStory is different in different parts of the world. Therefore, each of the versions are given a name based on where they are.
 * Official MapleStory South Korea [KoreaMS/kMS] (in Korean)
 * Official MapleStory Japan [JapanMS/jMS] (in Japanese)
 * Official MapleStory China [ChinaMS/cMS] (in Simplified Chinese)
 * Official MapleStory Taiwan [TaiwanMS/twMS] (in Traditional Chinese)
 * Official MapleStory Thailand [ThailandMS/thMS] (in Thai)
 * Official MapleStory Global [GlobalMS/gMS] (in English)
 * Official MapleStory South East Asia/SEA for Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand [MapleSEA/MSEA] (in English)
 * Closed-Beta MapleStory Europe (in multilanguage eg. Dutch, English, French, etc. European languages only however)
 * Tester/Beta MapleStory Global [GlobalMS Tespia] Closed - East Gateway June 2005, West Gateway 16 November 2005
 * Tester MapleStory South Korea [KoreaMS Tespia]

Thailand residents can play both MapleStory SEA and MapleStory Thailand.

How do I access the MapleStory website without using Internet Explorer?
The MapleStory Global website checks to see if the browser you are using is Internet Explorer or not. If it isn't, it will block you from accessing the website. This check is done using Javascript, so to access the website you need to disable Javascript. You will need to reenable Javascript once you are done to continue browsing other websites as some may not work properly without Javascript.

Disabling Javascript varies between browsers. If using Firefox, click on the "Tools" menu, then select "Options". Click the "Content" button and there should be a number of checkboxes to enable/disable certain features. Clear the checkbox beside Javascript, and select "OK". Now, when you visit the website it should allow you in.

Another option is to download the IE Tab extension from the Mozilla website. Once downloaded, select the Sites Filter tab from the top, then add the MapleGlobal website to the URL list. Make sure that the box at the top of the window is checked.

Taxes? Why taxes?
Taxes in MapleStory sounds like quite a bad idea. However, looking at the economic structure of the MapleStory community, we have a source of infinite income (killing monsters) and at the same time, no sources of taking money out of the economy.

Just as the federal government raises interest rates to control inflation, Wizet decided to implement a tax system to curb inflation. Inflation occurs when everyone is richer, but there is still not enough items for everyone. For example, if everyone has 2,000,000 Mesos, and there are 30 +10 ATK work gloves in all of MapleStory, most people will only be able to offer 2,000,000 Mesos because that's all they have.

But if the whole world just trained and trained, you have a situation where the whole world gets 20,000,000 Mesos instead of 2,000,000. This is the case in MapleStory. Given enough time, you will reach an infinite amount of Mesos. Regardless if the typical user had 2,000,000 Mesos or 20,000,000 Mesos, there are still only 30 +10 ATK work gloves. Because of this, work gloves will skyrocket in price to the 20,000,000 Meso range.

Having a tax system is a smart way to make everyone in the world more poor, to counteract this inflation. If the world went from 2,000,000 Mesos to 1,000,000 Mesos, then work gloves will drop in price. Additionally, this gives an edge to the lower-level characters in MapleStory. As players reach higher levels, they earn more money faster. Thus, we don't have a case where everyone has 2,000,000 Mesos, we have a case where 30 people have 20,000,000 Mesos who can buy that +10 ATK work glove, while the rest of the community can't. By making the taxes higher for more expensive purchases, this serves to even the playing field out a little between high level players, and low level players.

The main disadvantage of taxes comes when pure Meso transactions are involved, i.e. lending a friend 2 million Mesos. Mesos will be lost although no actual sale took place.

Taxes are usually circumvented in MapleStory by dropping Mesos in isolated loactions or paying in rates lower than the tax rate. This applies to all players that have trustworthy trade partners.

Maple Story Doesn't Work/Doesn't Run Smoothly...

 * Check the system requirements.
 * The system requirements listed are minimum requirements. Minimum requirements are only enough to get the program running. For better performance, get a system that at least doubles the requirements.
 * Close all other programs.
 * Run virus scans and check for spyware, adware, and other programs that secretly run in the background.
 * Occasionally, Maple Story is updated. This means download the latest version or patch, or wait for the update to finish.

~One more thing... tho I already mentioned it. After a while your RAM memory fills with loaded screens, character info etc... if you find yourself disconnecting or lagging heavily try shutting down the computer to empty the RAM, then reboot it. That usually helps.

what does it mean by "move" in maplestory on each characters account.

= Gameplay =

How do you activate a skill?
Open your skills window (usually by pressing the "K" key) and you can see the list of your skills. Now open your key settings window (usually by pressing the "\" key) and click on the skill icon you want to asign to the key on your keyboard. A faint image will follow your mouse after clicking on the skill icon. Move your mouse over the key on the key settings window that you want to assign that skill to, and click. You should not have the faint image following your cursor anymore. Close the key settings, and now anytime you want to activate the skill, just press the key you have assigned it to. Another way is to double click the skill in the skill book.

Can I use first job points for second job points? What about the third job?
No. Any skill points you gain in the first job MUST be used before the second job. It is okay to use second job points for the first job, but this is generally not recommended. The third job follows the same rule; first and second job points can't be applied to third job skills.

What are some good ways to make money? Both generally and class specific.
The best way to make money is to train on something that you can kill in 2 or less hits consecutively

Warriors: This shouldn't be too much of a problem before 2nd job. Warriors tend to make money really easily.

Thieves: Train on whatever suits best, during levels 21-30 I recommend NOT to PQ all the time if you are not funded. This is because pqing too much will slow down your money making pace.

Magicians: To save money, you should only buy red and blue pots till level 30. At lvl 25 magicians will entirely OWN the Kerning pq so you should be able to get pots or ores from there easily.

Bowman: As a newbie bowman you should find or buy a melee weapon (metal axe for example drop from slimes) untill lvl 15 then you could buy the lvl 15 bow there. Save up on stiff feathers, tree branches, and firewood. You use those to make arrows for free.

~Remember blue pots cost about twice what red ones do and using your MP based attacks can rapidly burn several hundred in a level.

When you buy armour and weapons focus on your body armour and weaponry. Check the actual bonus offered for the price... 10k isn't worth 2 more defence when 2 defence barely blocks 1 HP.

Pick up everything that drops. Everything. Even the stuff that sells for 1 meso adds up.

Only buy pots that heal you half or less of your HP and MP when you can. Unless you're fighting things that 2-hit kill you. That way you don't press your pot button when you're only 1/4 or 1/2 damaged and heal what would have been 3/4 of your HP... wasting mesos.

As a mage master MP Recovery VERY early. You can't make do without your magic attacks and MP Recovery rapidly starts to heal 50ish MP every 10 seconds WHILST YOU ATTACK! That means 300 MP every minute. That's a lot of free MP and it costs twice what HP does generally...

What happens if I don't use up all the points before advancing?
Your job instructor simply won't let you advance to the next job advancement.

Why should I max skills?
The argument usually goes: Skills cost more when they are at a higher level, and most of the time, they don't give the same mana/damage efficiency as lower levels. So why max skills at all?

Simple answer: When you are at a higher level, you make much more money. At level 10, you are generally happy to have 10,000 Mesos. At level 60, weapons may cost 15 million Mesos.

The money "wasted" from maxing out skills is miniscule compared to the money used on equipments, scrolls, and so forth. You will always make more money, but you cannot always do more damage.

And this goes for 'all mana- or HP-based skills, including Slash Blast, Arrow Bomb, Iron Arrow, Power Strike, Double Shot, Magic Claw, Lucky 7, Savage Blow, etc.

More importantly, when you max out a damage skill, you save time. 2 level 10 Slash Blasts > more damage than a level 20 Slash Blast, but a level 20 Slash Blast saves time, especially since that level 20 Slash Blast has a much better chance of a one-hit kill than a level 10 Slash Blast.

Is xxx skill good?
Check out the Jobs section with your specific job for the answer. A number of skills are considered useless irrespective of the build used and are only necessary if they are prerequisites for other, more powerful skills. Those skills are listed here.

Mage
 * Magic Armor (not to be confused with the skill "Magic Guard")
 * Magic Armor removes at most 30 or so damage. If fighting Yetis at level 50, you won't care that they do 470 damage to you instead of 500.

 * Energy Bolt
 * Energy Bolt is good if you want a skill to knockback enemys. Magic Claw outdamages Energy Bolt anytime, but doesn't knockback most of the time.

 * Poison Breath (second job, Fire/Poison Wizard)
 * It is weak, and the poison doesn't last long enough to warrant use. However, there are poison mages that like going against the crowd. Given the fact that Poison Mist and Magic Composition (both third-job skills) are more effective Poison-based spells, one would wonder why Poison Breath even exists. A maxed Poison Breath can do around 347 to 578 damage (with roughly 35 LUK and 175 MATK) plus, if poisoned, 70 HP or 1/40 HP damage, whichever is greater. If the enemy has roughly 3000+ HP the Poison will hit for 1/40 HP doing 75+ damage over time. This can allow Fire Wizards to hunt fire creatures they normally would not be able to such as Fire Boars. Some creatures weak to poison also give good EXP. It is recommended, however, that only advanced Fire Wizards should consider maxing Poison Breath after Fire Arrow has been maxed.

Bowman
 * Blessing of Amazon
 * Bowmen have the best accuracy in the game, and can generally hit monsters before they can even break a monster's armor. The only exception is Jr. Neckis in the beginning of the game, however, getting a skill for a single monster is a bad plan, especially when you gain enough accuracy to kill Jr. Neckis by level 28 or so.

Warrior
 * Endure
 * Recover while hanging on a rope. Quite useless since you'll be using potions to get HP. With 4000 HP at L60 it would take a lot of minutes to recover your total health. Besides if you want to recover health while being idle you'd better sit down somewhere. Only put the required 3 points into endure so you can put some points into Iron Body.

 * Iron Body
 * This skill can be handy at lower levels but around L60 it loses its value because of the much more powerful power guard skill. The main and only reason to have Iron body is to negate the weapon defense penalty of Rage. Theoretically you could do with only 1 point in Iron body to undo the -10 wdef effect of Rage. However, it is recommended to put around 8 - 10 points into this skill. There are some builds online that suggest maxing Iron body and only putting 6 points into sword/axe booster. This isn't really recommended as with a duration of 60 seconds the recasting becomes really annoying. Instead, putting 15 or 16 points into booster and 8 or 9 points into Iron body and maxing out Rage will result in 3 skills that will last for approximately 160 seconds. Since Rage and Iron body are casted at the same time this will make recasting easier and less annoying. Also consider this: having 16 versus 40 wdef doesn't really do a lot for the damage you take. A tauromaci touch would be around for example 450 versus 500 damages. However if you have maxed Power Guard(which is very likely) it will reflect 40 % of the damage so you only take 300 out of a total of 500.

(Third job Crusader and Page skills, warriors already have huge weapon defense, and Shield Mastery barely increases it)
 * Shield Mastery

Warriors still get some of these skills because there are too many first job points. It is recommended you get at least 1 SP in Endure and some HP Recovery to help at areas such as El Nath or Underwater maps where the area slowly drains your HP, but there are not enough points to max any of these skills.

Thief
 * Disorder
 * It has been quite a debate between many maplers about the "Which is better, disorder or dark sight?". I personally feel that disorder will not be often used when you are training and mostly only when fighting boss monsters and such. Dark sight, however, is used when you want to pass a map without being disturbed by monsters or when you ran out of potions and only have a little bit of hp left, you will die easily. This is where dark sight comes in to prevent yourself from dying. I feel that both skills are useful and you will have to choose one to add in 1st job advancement and maybe the other in the late 2nd job advancement. Dark sight is also required for the Ludibruim Party Quest, where only a theif with Dark Sight can get past two certain invincible monsters.(lv 60+).

 * Shield Mastery (3rd job, Bandit. Gets you about 10 extra weapon defense points assuming the best sheild for a Thief, which will block about 4 damage from the enemy)
 * Steal
 * Steal is more of a "fun" ability as its not to be used seriously. It CAN help you get something good, but it doesn't happen often. It may be useful in the Ludi party quest so you can get extra passes. But its not as useful as other skills

Why am I training so slow?
You will only train at a reasonable pace if you consistantly use your skills. Never use a "regular" attack for any class after level 25, and if you're an assassin or mage you will probably need to use skills WAY before that. To keep up the pace of your mana-consumption, you must buy potions to consistantly up your mana. By level 35 mages should hold ATLEAST 60 mana pots so you don't have to go back and forth to buy more.

Additionally, you must always have HP potions ready. Sitting still for 10 minutes every time you are hit is not a fast way to train. By level 35, any class should have 50 ORANGE pots, unless you are ungodly good.

Upon reaching level 40, you should start scrolling your weapons, on top of using your skills, to keep a reasonable pace of exp. 60% scrolls are the general recomendation, and if you are ready to play the lottery, just buy 10% off of other people. 100% are a safe choice, but do worse than 60% on average.

For you assassins, get the best stars you can afford at all times. Kumbis tend to be the ones people get most. Or, if you have another character or you have a really nice friend, get icys off of them at early levels and you kill much faster.

 * Actually, getting +7 100% claw is more important than getting stars, especially with Meba. Also, once you get Kumbis/Icicles you should start spending money on work glove scrolled for attack. You should get 8 atk glove before you get Tobi, 10 atk glove before you get Steely, and 11-12 attack glove before you get Ilbis. Also, starting from level 50 you should start considering get +5 or more 60% scrolled claws. Just look at your next upgrade's cost for your claw, glove, star, and determine which one is cheaper. Don't go out thinking that getting better star is your only option to raise your attack.

If you are low on money, here is the list of priorities if you want to continue training at a fast pace:

 * 1) HP potions and Mana potions
 * 2) Most powerful Weapon/stars money can buy
 * 3) Scrolls for Atk, or intelligence/Attack if a Mage
 * 4) Best Top/Bottom/Overalls you can buy

It is recomended that you don't waste money on gloves or shoes, unless they are upgraded with weapon attack, speed, or jump. The lvl 15 or 20 glove will suffice for a while for any class; in fact, most high levels (lvl 50+) use a lvl 10 work glove (upgraded with wAtk) !

So what does this list mean? It means, if you got nearly no mesos, buy as many HP and Mana potions as you can. If you saved up enough money, then buy a more powerful weapon. If you still got money, then scroll your weapon. If you still got money, then buy your armor.

~I tried this style of play unfunded... it does not work out well. Spending all your money on HP and MP pots sounds fair enough but when you hit level 35 in level 25 gear you start to realise that extra 30 HP you lost per hit added up to 30k after 1000 hits. It's slower to avoid using MP until you have mastery but it pays off. Btw, if you go with claw early as a mage that tends to sap funds too... I had no idea how much MP recovery helps them, Going broke as a mage is not fun...

~Note. Getting 8 mp recovery is sufficient to support 10 claw - around lvl 16-17. mp recovery gradually increases the mp recovered for every 4 int that you have. for example, a lvl 33 wiz with 5/5 stats and maxed recovery would heal 55 mp every 10 seconds. When you are low on cash and want to buy a new wep, you should save up until you have 150% of the cost of the item in case you find a bargain or you need pots or armour. Weps and armour should be considered first at lvls below 20, since ur mp and hp heals on its own. then it is followed by pots. Scrolls should not be considered until you're at least lvl 25 since even the cheapest 10% scrolls will cost you 20k.

~Note: I have no idea why people do not consider the benefits of training in parties. With the 10%+ to experience share and a good solid party that can 1HKO, levelling up becomes a tad bit faster then solo. Also spawn rate seems to be affected by the number of people on the same map.

How do I get to (insert place here)
If it is a hidden street, you must find a secret location somewhere, and press "up" on it. They are scattered all around.

If you are looking for a place in Victoria Island, check the world map by pressing "w".

www.hidden-street.net has a good list of almost all of the hidden streets.

Where do you find ***** item?
Refer to the in-depth item sections at Hidden-Street. They list all the enemies that drop a specific item.

Where do I find a good build for my Character?
Builds in general require a lot of thought and time to put together. There is simply not enough room in this page to describe all your builds. In your specific Job section however; you should be able to find a build for your specific character. Also keep in mind that a perfect build does not exist, every character is supposed to suit the player's style.

Why do people like to buy Solid Horns?
100 Solid horns can be exchanged at the Exchange Quest for 500 experience. While this is not much at higher levels, you can bring a level 10 player into the Exchange Quest and constantly get around 500 exp for every 100 horns. This is most likely the fastest way to level up at early levels, although it can be quite expensive if you do not gather the horns yourself.

Zombie's Lost Teeth, Jr. Yeti Skins, and Hector Tails are also popular choices, as they provide better rewards than Solid Horns. Though being more expensive, in these cases most people will hunt the items themselves. Zombie Teeth also have a relatively high supply due to the sheer number of players that train on Coolie Zombies for a large number of levels (60-80 for most classes).

Again, if you have a second, stronger character, use them to get the solid horns or any other exchange quest items. That way, you get exp for both of your characters.

What Job should I choose?
This has been answered in the Jobs section.

How do you jump and attack in the air with magicians and archers?
Assassins can do this much easier. For archers, this is answered in the Archer guides here. Magicians use the same technique, except with their spells. Magicians can also attack and teleport at the same time, and it is the same technique again, except using teleport instead of jump.

When doing an attack normally, your character is unable to move for a short period of time until the attack animation is complete. With the jump shot, you are able to move while performing the attack. However the arrow/spell acts as if it was shot/cast while on the ground.

For mages and bowmen, to jump shoot you have to jump and then a split second later, then shoot. This takes practice to master.

 * Warriors and Thieves have an innate ability to attack in mid-air, while Mages and Bowmen can't. Mages and Bowmen can take advantage of a glitch in the game to jump while attacking, although the only thing this does is help you move while attacking. This is accomplished by pressing attack *first*, then jump immediately afterwards. 20:23, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

 * It should be noted that different keyboards have different responces to the jump-attack glitch. Some keyboards can do it very easily, some keyboards require attack and then jump button, some keyboards require the reverse. So try doing it differently if it doesn't work for you the first time. Also, the internet connection of the user has an affect on the jump shot.

Is anything known about the fourth jobs?
Fourth jobs are currently not released in any server. However, the KoreaMS Beta server is testing fourth jobs. Currently, only a few things are known about this job advancement: KoreaMS is currently accepting suggestions for new skills. See MapleStory/Jobs for more information.
 * The names of the fourth job classes.
 * There is a skill that is common to all classes.
 * Each class currently has one class-specific skill.

How do I open a shop in the Free Market?
To do this, you must purchase a Store Permit in the Cash Shop. The Permit will last for 90 days, during which it may be used as often as you like within the numbered Free Market areas.

What Is Scrolling?
Scrolling is the process of buying usually expensive scrolls (70,000 mesos for cheap 100% scrolls, w.atk for gloves can rise as high as several million mesos), and then using them on your items. Usually; a fully scrolled item is better than the next item. For example, a +7 Red Viper (lvl 35 bow) can have 68 weapon attack and 7 accuracy if scrolled with 60%s. An unscrolled Vaulter 2000 (lvl 40 bow) has upto 59 weapon attack if you are lucky.

Because of the lvl 40/50 gap, it is recommended that you start scrolling your weapons at lvl 40. 10 levels take a long time, and most level 50 weapons are rare (though creatable in Ludibrium). So you may be using your lvl 40 weapon well into lvl 55 or even level 60! Scrolling allows you to make your weapon stronger without buying a new weapon.

10%s, 60%s and 100%s are three kinds of scrolls that are available. 10%s give the best stats, but only work 10% of the time. 60%s do best on average, but they are usually very very expensive. 100% scrolls are usually cheap, as most are available from NPCs scattered across the Maple Story world, and they always work. However, 100%s won't get you the best possible weapon.

In JMS, there are 30% and 70% scrolls also available. These are similar to 10%s and 60%s, except they may destroy your weapon in the process (50% chance if the scroll fails).

All items can be scrolled, even pet items! If you are a warrior, thief or archer, weapon attack effects your damage the most, usually 3 or 4 times more effective than increasing your primary stat. Mages should focus on getting intelligence on their items, usually on the earrings. 60% Jump scrolls on shoes are recommended for warriors, thieves and archers, while if you go with 100%s, speed on shoes works out better.

How long does it take for (name) to spawn?
The following are estimates:

 * Chief Gray: randomly
 * Rombot (Lombard): 15~20 minutes
 * MT-09: 15-30 minutes
 * Mushmom: 45~60 minutes
 * Jr. Balrog: 4~6 hours
 * Zombie Mushmom: 45-90 minutes

If anyone has more accurate information, feel free to add it.

How long will it take to get [certain starting ability point allocation]?
In general, it is more likely to generate evenly distributed ability points (e.g. STR6 DEX6 INT7 LUK6) than skewed ability points (e.g. STR4 DEX13 INT4 LUK4). The total ability points is 25, and the minimum for any ability is 4. The maximum for an ability is 13, though that is rare (see below).

The way starting abilities are generated: (Not verified, though seems to be a good approximation)
 * 1) All abilities are set equal to 4.
 * 2) Randomly choose STR, DEX, INT, or LUK and add one point to that ability.
 * 3) Repeat until STR + DEX + INT + LUK = 25.

The below table shows approximately how long it will take to generate certain ability point distributions. These times are approximate and actual results may vary. One person may get a certain distribution within 1 minute whereas another person will take 10 minutes, depending on clicking speed and pure luck. The table shows how hard it is to get large numbers like 12 and 13, especially where you want them. Therefore, don't set your goal too high, unless you have time for 3 days of nonstop playing!

What should I do to avoid being scammed?
Three important points:
 * 1) Learn how scammers scam. (Go to the Introduction.)
 * 2) Use common sense, be smart, and watch for suspicious offers.
 * 3) Report possible scams.

Common Scams:
 * "Drop Game": Someone dares you to drop a valuable item. That person picks it up before you can. (Don't do something because someone dares you to!) They often bring you to specific areas where another character can hid behind walls and run out to get your items when you drop them too.
 * "Tab Tab Space Enter": That key sequence accepts any trade that's going on. If you put something valuable up for trade, the other person can take it. (Don't press keys unless you know what they do.)
 * Any Unsecured Trade: Don't do it. You never know if someone will keep their promise.
 * "Middleman": A person is making a really good trade offer to you, but you don't have the specific thing they want. Luckily, you find someone who offers just that thing, but at a high price. You buy it, but when you go back to the first person to make the trade, they refuse. (This is a co-op scam between the two people.)
 * "Tax Evasion": Paying for an expensive item in parts is risky, because either the scammer gives only 49999 for your expensive item and doesn't pay up the rest, or the scammer makes you pay until you are short about 50000, then leaves without giving you anything.
 * "The Hold Enter, Keep Clicking Trick": This happens in the Free Market, the title usually says, "To Enter, Hold Enter and Click". When you actually enter, you would have clicked on something twice, and the pop up says 'You sure you want to buy ______ for ___ mesos" or something simular, while holding enter will trigger you to pressing 'OK' on that item, thus buying the item. The trick is you will not be able to see the pop-up since your holding enter which instantly presses 'OK'.  You could accidently buy a useless item(eg.Snail Shell) for 1 million mesos even.
 * "Scroll Switch" You are about to purchase an expensive scroll, but the trade window closes. The person with the scroll re-trades apologising that the window was closed by mistake and puts a scroll of the same % but is a worthless scroll and quickly trades. So you spend a large amount of mesos on a useless scroll if you do not check the item again.

Miscellaneous:
 * Always check the trade one last time before accepting. Carefully examine all items the other person is offering, and make sure you are putting up the correct items, too.
 * Beginners: learn the average prices of items on reliable websites before making expensive trades.

If anyone has any more tips, feel free to add them here.

= Warrior Specific=

What is the point of a Hybrid Spearman?
Hybrid spearmen seem like a dumb idea at first; you don't get final attack and you max out a weapon that you think you won't use.

However, maxing out both weapons gives a massive advantage in 3rd job. In 3rd job, there are 2 main attacks for a Dragon Knight, and those are Spear Crusher, and Dragon Fury. Dragon Fury will always be stronger with a polearm because it always swings, while Spear Crusher will always be stronger with a spear because it always stabs.

The idea is not to switch weapons in the middle of battle, but to switch to another weapon when the map calls for it. For example, flatter maps would prefer Spear Crusher because stabs have a bit more horizontal range, while in hilly maps, Dragon Fury's swing motion would cover more vertical grounds.

Do I need Final Attack or Not?
Many warriors wonder, whats final attack, and why should I have it? Final Attack is much like an MP free Power Strike. When it is maxed it has a 60% chance of following any attack with a damage of 250%. Now the real question is "Do I need it?" Well if you are a Fighter FA is almost required. It is fast MP free and powerful. Now with a Page I personally think it is a very good idea to max FA. At 3rd job the page gets elemental skills that work for a certain amount of time. Since FA is fast you can get a few extra hits with each element. Some Spearmans may prefer this skill, but it's usually the users choice (in my case, i have.)

 * Last I heard warrior third job skills DO NOT activate final attack. I.E. Crusher and Thresher will not activate it. ~Marl

 * I would have to agree with Marl. Any references though? This is one reason why most 2nd job Spearmen skip FA, because it doesn't work with Crusher. --Dragontamer 04:25, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

FA will definitely NOT work with 3rd job skills. It is only triggered by Power Strike and Slash Blast.

~If you check Sleepywood's guides you'll get verification from many people. Third job skills just don't activate final attack. And if anyone was still unclear, neither will NORMAL attacks. Just Power Strike and Slash Blast

~ One last thing, in case anyone wasn't aware of it still, Final Attack diffuses its damage with Slash Blast. Basically this means instead of doing 500, 500, 500 with Slash Blast you'll find your attack broken up with 500, 100, 500, 100, etc... whilst it's still free damage, and you'll level faster with Power Strike getting the free fast FA off it, it does mess with Slash Blast. It apparently goes down in damage as it spreads through the mob too. I've heard figures of 2000 normal damage, 20 on the mob edge with FA.
 * with SB FA each following monster will receive 50% of the damage (up to 6 monsters). ex. 1000, 500, 250, 125, 63... that's why when you SB a mob the last 1 or 2 need an extra hit.

Still, it's recommended you get it because there's not much else and it saves MP. ~ Marl hey

~ Adding to the confusion, it is possible for the first monster hit by a slash blast final attack to take more damage than a regular slash blast is capable of doing. It seems capable of doing 30% to 40% more damage than regular slash blast.

~ IMO there isn't a real reason as a fighter NOT to get it, because you can easily max all your skills as a fighter (as long as you pick either axe of sword) and it will GREATLY increase leveling speeds if this skill is maxed.

= Magician Specific=

Fire/poison vs Ice/lightning vs Cleric
Also known as Fire wizs, Ice wizs/Lit wizs, or Clerics.

This is answered in the Magician Guide already.

How does MP eater work?
For any magic attack you do, you have a chance of draining a good amount of MP from the enemy, While it does nothing to the enemy, this basically means with max MP eater, you would only be able to drain so much MP from 1 foe.

Every magic attack you do, there is a 30% chance that you would gain MP from the enemy. This includes magic claw, energy bolt, and even the cleric's "Heal" attack on undead monsters.

Because of this, it is highly recommended that mages get 1 MP eater at level 30, to heal back MP at a rate even faster than MP recovery.

MP Eater is especially effective with mob attacks such as Heal or Lightning, for obvious reasons.

How do mages teleport backwards?
The Mage and Cleric Teleport skill work by sending you a certain distance in the direction of whichever arrow key is pressed, given that there is a platform to stand on at that location.

~A mage teleports backwards by pressing teleport then very quickly pressing back on their arrow keys. Simple as that. With practice you can abuse this apparent glitch by attacking, teleporting and pressing back in that order to attack whilst retreating backwards. Most mages I've seen use this technique for bosses etc as the attacks miss them if they teleport at the right moment. You can also do this forwards. Telecasting can also be done vertically.

~It's not a glitch. Teleport can be used at any time provided that:
 * 1. You have enough mp
 * 2. You're teleporting to a valid location
 * 3. You're not in the middle of teleport

~ A glitch is anything occurring in a game that the programmers did not want to happen. Telecasting is a glitch that occurs because somehow they messed up so you can attack and teleport together. It just happens to be a very useful glitch they probably won't remove as it's become the only way mages can fight a lot of big monsters

= Rogue Specific=

What is a Banditsin?
A Banditsin is a bandit that uses Lucky 7s in 1st job, and then turns into a Bandit 2nd job. Lucky 7s is a much better skill than Double Stab, as it is ranged, has innate mastery and does more damage. While this is more expensive than the typical Bandit build, it is much faster if you got the money to burn. But it can cause problems after you make the second job advancement.

You might think that the banditsin are very much well stronger then you might be. There is a good explanation to that. The reason why is because of the use of there SP some might be dexless and some might raise STR. In the end a FULL BANDIT or a FULL ASSASSIN are way stronger then the hybrid BANDITSIN

 * Not true, the only difference between a Bandit and a Banditsin is that the Banditsin won't have Double Stab. Considering that Savage Blow will be more effective than Double Stab past Level ~45, and that the AP build doesn't change, we can concur that Banditsins are just as powerful as Bandits. --EMP Demon

 * And why the hell would a dexless banditsin raise their STR? LUK increases L7 damage, and STR is only used for STR bandits. --Daze

= Bowman Specific =

Double Shot or Arrow Blow?
This has been answered here in the bowman section completely.

Final Attack or No Final Attack??
The debate of FA vs FAless is different for Bowmen than warriors, so warriors who want that answer should check out the Warrior specific questions. As for archers, it has been answered in the Skills and Builds section of the Bowman Guide.

If you are to lazy to go there, well, there cannot be a very precise answer. FA archers and FA-less archers tend to hang out on the same forums, and thus you have clusters of people who think "everyone else" is doing the same as they are doing. For example: the GameFAQs forums usually say FA-less, while Sleepywood forums are a bit more neutral and say both ways go. But for someone on GameFAQs, it is easy for them to think that "everyone" is doing FA-less. This is a very deep issue, too deep to be summarized in a couple of sentences.

Crossbow or Bow?
Before changing classes to a Bowman or Crossbowman, the player can switch back and forth between bows and crossbows with no penalty. It is purely based on preference. In depth information about the advantages and disadvantages of both weapons can be found here.

title: MapleStory/FAQs


text:
Template:MapleStory/Quest

 * Requirements:, ,
 * Location:
 * Completion Requirements:
 * Reward:

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Template:MapleStory/Quest


text:
MapleStory/Quests/Jump Quests

This is where specific guides to jump quests go. The rewards, locations, requirements and so forth go on the previous page

What is a jump quest
a jump quest is simply a quest that requires you to reach a certain distance and retrieve an item(s) Which are required for a quest. The character must jump a certain distance which is up or right to reach the portal. When the player finishes the jump quest they will see a NPC and need to talk to them to retrieve the items. Sometimes in jump quests there are lv 200 monsters such as super stirge, super jr necki and invisible lupin. these monsters do only 1 damage when they hit you. You CANNOT kill them and you will miss every time. These monsters can be very annoying.Another obstacle is a invisble mob.Which is you cannot hit it and you can never aim at it. This includes forest spikes,electric wires,fire plants,red lasers,blue lasers,moving lasers and electricity spills,forest wolbi stars,swinging axe,the moving balls of green and the moving balls of red..All of these obstacles have a high chance of giving you a knockback and do 1 damage(except the electricity spills(10) and swinging axe(45-70))If you complete the quest a second time you may get rewarded with 2 jewel or mineral ores depending on which quest you attempted.Unlike the others,the level 50 anti aging machine for sabitrama has a SMALL chance of giving 1 red hearted earring.each invisible mob will have a different speed,attack and direction it goes.In the Johns Present quest there is something unique which is platform identifying.Some platforms are fake.the fake ones will not hold you. instead you will fall.Some people have a problem with the multiple bags part.The only way to identify this is the see the knot.People should be aware using haste and flash jump is completely stupid and does not work. This will down the difficulty! but for some point in maplestory they moved the spots of the super jr necki in the subway B1 AREA 1 to the end at some point of the day.....For some quests,you will need to pay a certain fee to go inside the jump quest area.which is for subway construction site quests and sabitrama quests(when finished you dont pay)

John's Pink Flower Basket
This is a relatively easy jumping quest which doesn't require a complete walkthrough. However, here are some useful tips.

There are two screens to pass in this jumping quest

Most, if not all balls can be ducked under in this. Use this to plan quick jumping and ducking.

When going down one step, you do not have to jump. Just walk off and you will land on the next lower step.

There are a few places where getting hit gives you an advantage, particularily the long flat platforms in the second map. Getting hit prevents you from getting hit from other balls, letting you reach the next part of the map.

The second map requires a lot of patience. You will need to concentrate a lot to get past this screen.

At the top of the second map, you will find some pink flowers. Double click the flowers to receive your reward.

If you reach the flowers and you have already completed the quest, you will get 2 ores of Adamantium, Bronze, Mithril, Silver, Orihalcon, or Steel

Doing this quest time and time again is common practice for everyone in need of ores.

John's Present
There are two screens to pass in this jumping quest

Time your jumps carefully.

For the first map, jump only on platforms with sacks on top but watch out for some which make you fall. Just make sure you jump on the platforms with the sacks all facing the same way, that is if you're standing on a platform with a sack facing left then you know to only jump on the platforms with the sacks facing left and not the ones facing right.

For the second map, patience and timing is your friend. I recommend taking the left side firstly wait for the satrz to pass and get to a safe platform on the left and duck if neccessary. Then when you are halfway up timing is all you need, and a bit of patience, do not rush this bit can be done without being hit. Finally, when you reach the top bit and it seems impossible to dodge any stars then your right, you have to get hit to get past this part. Here's a tip the black stars hit you back and the grey stars hit you forward, oh yeah and dont duck 'til the last bit then just jump up onto the saw platforms and then its easy from there, just jump over the saws and it doesn't matter if you get hit.

Don't forget to bring return scrolls before do the quest! This is because if you do not get 20 flowers in the first go then you have to go back and give the flowers you have to john and return and do the quest again.

 * You do not have to do the quest again and again any more, now you only have to do it once

Shumi's Lost Coin
Construction Site B1  WALKTHROUGH Jump Quest area completed
 * Jump your way to the left. Duck sometimes so the laser won`t hit you and knock you off.
 * Go down the rope and ladder and into the portal.
 * Go into the other portal to the right
 * Climb up the rope - your head should be at the platform to the left`s height
 * When the laser goes up, go onto the platform to the right
 * Quickly go onto the next rope and have your head at the platform height.
 * Once you are done, go into the portal
 * Jump around and duck when the spark goes on the wire.
 * Go into the portal when done.
 * Jump until you get to the portal and climb to the next one.
 * You may hunt Bubblings here until the 99 minute limit runs out.
 * When you are ready to leave, click the Treasure Chest to collect Shumi's Coin.
 * If the quest is already complete, you will receive two random mineral ores (Adamantium, Bronze, Mithril, Silver, Orihalcon, or Steel) instead.
 * A video guide by jvizzle can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9iXXIiY6_k

Shumi's Lost Bundle of Money

 * Overview:
 * Part 1: There are 3 ropes, and lasers. Take the left rope, get used to the stalling spots, and get to the top.  Next, there are lots of lasers, and platforms crowded together making a 'stair' formation.  At the top, go to the second platform from the right or the far left platform.  The far left platform takes you to the right side of the next part, and the second from the right takes you to the left side of the next part.  The other platforms at the top will 'toss' you around.  Next, the platforms are shaped like a W, and depending on the platform you pressed ^ on, you will be on the right or left point.  Climb to the top, duck until the lasers are gone.  As soon as they disappear completely, climb up the ladder.  The lasers will FINALLY be gone!  Well, except for the one in the middle.  There are lasers going through the middle only, and one going up and down like in the lvl 20 one.  There is a 'square' of platforms going around the edge, go to the top of it and wait for the lasers to disappear and the moving laser to be at the bottom.  Climb up to the portal.

 * Part 2: Start and fall down here. Press ^ on the light, and climb to the top of the room.  Go behind the wall, jump again.  If you're lucky you will land on the portal, if not you will have to climb.

 * Extra:Jr. Wraiths and Jr. Boogies galore! If you want to get it over with click on the treasure chest.

Part 1, section 1: Take the left rope and look for stalling gaps. Part 1, section 2 and 3: You can duck in some places, watch the lasers. Part 1, section 4: When at the top of the square, wait for everything to leave.
 * Guide:

Part 2, section 1: Fall, fall fall Part 2, section 2 and 3: You can duck or even stand up in some places, but don't think that the floor is actually solid...

Extra: Get in the subway by going into a sign and walk to the ladder past the treasure chest.

CONSTRUCTION SITE B2  GUIDE CONSTRUCTION SITE B2  GUIDE Jump Quest area completed
 * On the right of each ladder, theres a brown looking pole that is divided into cubes.
 * Take the second ladder to your left.
 * Take note of where your head is, it should be under the 4th cube of the pole next to you
 * Wait until the lasers go out COMPLETLY. One hit and you go off
 * When they go out, Go to they 7th or 8th cube of the pole ( your body should fit there )
 * Lasers out, Go up until you are nearly at the electric fence travel wire
 * Lasers out, Go and duck at the nearby electric fence at the top left
 * Lasers out, Go and quickly duck under the electric fences at the top.
 * Lasers out, Go to the 2nd last brick at the side(left or right) and press up.
 * Jump and duck sometimes and NEVER stop in the middle of the ladder.
 * If the moving laser is up and lasers out, jump and quickly get onto the side.
 * Keep going and beware of the laser at the top.
 * When you see the 0 and the slash (/) on a sign, it means if you fall, you fall more down.
 * Study the Lasers and eventually you`ll get it.
 * When you are done the 2 phrases of lasers, go and jump and FALL onto the portal spot
 * You will get knock back from the freefall so you need to keep going a little.
 * Redo Subway Jumping quest - 2 Random Jewel Ores (except Diamond or Black Crystal )

Shumi's Lost Sack Of Money

 * Part 1: This is a jump/wait run. Bat things will block your way sometimes, and to get through them quickly, you should get hit by the electric fences.

The fastest way to do this is to get hit by the electric fences. Electric fences push you to the left one "jump", and turn you invincible. Tricks include jumping when the electric fence is on, allowing you to jump to the left and up at the same time, while turning you invincible. This allows you to avoid bats easily.

It is much easier and faster to just jump/wait. But if you jump for ores, you need to master hitting the fences to avoid the bats.

It should be noted that the fastest way through on your first run is to just jump and wait, jump and wait. It takes much practice to beat this part like the masters, and the jump wait cycle does not take long to do either. A "perfect run" takes just under 30 seconds, and you should have only 1 "wait" the entire jump time if you do it correctly. Masters aim for "nearly perfect" runs, that takes a bit longer than 30 seconds and only wait 2 times the entire time. (once in the middle, and once on the end)
 * Part 2: The fastest way is to do a non-stop run through the map... it is hard to explain but easy to show. Just hold down right and keep jumping. There are only 3 spots you need to stop and wait. If done correctly, you should be done in just around 30 seconds. The ABSOLUTE perfect time includes getting hit by a few lasers to push you forward, and you end up around 28 seconds time.

Just like Part 2, it is much faster to jump and wait on your first try. But if you plan to be jumping for ores, you should learn how to master Part 3.
 * Part 3: The fastest way to complete this map is by getting hit at certain places. Red Horizontal lasers push you 1 jump to the left, Red Vertical Lasers push you right 1.5 jumps (so you have to jump into vertical lasers for it to work for you), blasters push you down or to the left/right 1 jump, and electric fences push you one to the left.

Sabitrama and the Diet Medicine
First you will enter a very tall map. It contains stair-like platforms. Becareful, the platforms are pretty wide apart, so try jumping close to the edge. When you get to a stair intersection, you can choose the left or the right path. Check your mini map, because one way could have a missing stair, forcing you to come back down. If you come back down, make sure you jump back, do not just try to walk down a platform because they are too far apart.

The next stage is smaller, but it would take atleast 2 times longer. First, there is a rope. It might take a while to get pass this rope since there are lupins throwing banana peels trying to push you off. If you timing is correct, you should pass it safely. Then you come to spears. There are 6 spears, 3 stabbing upwards and 3 stabbing downwards. They stab at the same time, so they won't be much trouble. Then, you should come to a structure at the very left. There should be 3 sets of spears stabbing at different times. Crouch under these spears, and wait until all spears stab at close times. Then quickly jump to the top of this structure. Now you come to sets of spears at the same spot, but they stab at different times. So, wait until the spears stab at around close times so you can safely jump. Now you to a same structure like the one to the left. It's similar, but just a little harder. After the structure, you come to these sharp things in the ground. If you tab the arrow key walking towards the spike, you should get hit but just only slide to the other side of it. You can jump over, but running into the spike gets you ready for.... later after the spikes there are more spikes except that they have spikes above the spikes you have to get past so you cant jump over them. Then pass the part... Now you see lots of ropes... and lupins. This part is probably the easiest part of this map. Just wait and get pass the lupins and wait between the gaps where the lupins don't throw anything. If you want to do it faster, I found that you can jump off the rope and land on the lupin platforms. Then when you reach the bushes, press q to open your quest menu and check which bush you need to get. If you choose the correct one, you get a scroll. If you choose the wrong one, you get 5 elixirs.

 * You will arrive at Hidden Street: The Forest of Patience
 * Jump up the tree stumps - some are missing. I took this path: Left, Right, Right, Left.
 * You will need to pass 2 Lupines throwing banana peels, just don't let the bananna peels touch you.
 * Go through the door to be taken to Hidden Street: The Forest of Patience
 * Jump as necessary to reach the top of this map, you will need to avoid spears.At the top of this level, there are lupins throwing there desert at you again. but there is a complete way to cheat in this part which is JUMP at the top which will allow you to have a shortcut(do at your own risk)

Sabitrama's Anti-Aging Medicine
This has three parts. The first you just jump and jump, my only suggestion is that you should take your time. The second has platforms going up in stair form. My suggestion is that to wait for the necki to go to the other side of the platform and then you should go move and get by her, this will make you jump a little back but won't make you fall. Then keep doing this until the end. The third part is hard to explain so just take your time and try to learn and decipher while you do it.

To finish this quest you need to pick the correct ginseng (which there are 4 different one). The reward for this quest you will get a star rock (you can use it for lvl 45 manji's quest). If you redo, you'll get bc, gold, diamond, and sometimes red hearted earrings (rare).

title: MapleStory/Quests/Jump Quests


text:
MapleStory/Bowman Guide/Builds

Stat distribution
Unlike other classes, Bowmen do not have any "special" stat distributions. Nearly everyone just follows the following formula:

Bowman: str = level + 5 XBowman: str = level

What does this mean?

And so on. Pretty simple stuff.

Luck should  ALWAYS be 4, and INT should ALWAYS be 4. If you started with 5 luck or int, you won't be perfect, but you won't be too bad off either. But a perfect archer has 4 points

Everything else goes into DEX.

There is no "low str" bowman, so don't bother trying to make one.

 * Note: In JMS, there is a bow that requires 0 str to wield at level 60. However, the level 90 bow still owerpowers that bow, so it is not a viable option. There are talks however; about using Red Viper bow, and upgrading that with 10% scrolls, and then keeping your str as low as possible. Still, higher level bows overpower even if you are pure dex with Red Viper, but you are welcome to try.

Additionally, other archers opt for an "early high str" build, by getting off of maple island with 25 dex and 35 str, and then they use a melee weapon till level 16 (increasing only dex). In the long run however, this build ends up just like the cookie cutter.

First Job Skill Build
The main decision required when going down the path of an archer, is whether or not to get Final Attack. The choice of going FA or FAless will have an impact on how many skill points are allocated for each skill, even in the first job, so you must choose early. If you want FA, then choose the FA Build. If you don't want it, choose the FAless build. For more info on Final Attack, checkout The FA or FA-less Debate. As Bowmen and Crossbowmen are very similar in skills, the basic build for both classes is the same.

Irrespective of whether you choose to have Final Attack or not, the first job build is essentially the same. For the most part, order does not matter, as long as the skill points end up in the right place at level 30. Here is a general path archers with little money should go down: At this point, all the required skills have been maxed, and you still have 9 points left over. If going with the FAless build, you should put these last points in since Arrow Blow is of no use in the FAless build.
 * 20
 * 3 (to unlock Eye)
 * 8
 * 1
 * 20

With this build, you will be able to do good damage with your basic attack fairly early, however your range will be terrible. A variation is to raise Blessing to 3 and begin raising Eye early. Adding only 3 Eye gives decent range, but it can be maxed early. If only 3 points are put in Eye at the beginning, it can then be maxed after maxing Critical Strike and Arrow Blow. Another variation is to put one point in Arrow Blow at level 10. Arrow Blow does a massive 141% of regular damage at level one for 6 mana. With a full bar of mana, may as well use it.

Those who are rich by level 10, through funding from another character or by finding a scroll early, can choose to go the more expensive path and max their active skills first. They would max Double Shot as soon as possible, and then max Critical Shot for the most damage as soon as possible, at the expense of range and lots of money spent on mana potions.

Second Job Skill Builds
After completing the first job, the second job unlocks many new powerful skills. Unlike the first job build order here is important, as it takes much longer to get to level 70. Having chosen between getting Final Attack or not, you should now execute your decision and follow the appropriate section.

Final Attack Build
If choosing to raise Final Attack in the second job, this is how your skills will look like after you are done with them.

 * Build Order
 * 1
 * 19
 * 6
 * 2
 * 30
 * +14 (for 15 Bomb total)
 * Save up 10 to 15 points, and get +15 (for 30 Bomb total)
 * 20
 * 15 and 5

Variations: You can get 20 PKB instead of saving up points. Some people opt for a longer booster/SA combo earlier, and get 9 booster and 3 Soul Arrow.

FA-Less Build

 * Build Order
 * 1 Arrow Bomb or Iron Arrow
 * 19 (X)Bow Mastery
 * 6 (X)Bow Booster
 * 2 Soul Arrow Soul Arrow
 * +14 Arrow Bomb or Iron Arrow (for 15 IA/Bomb total)
 * Save up 10 to 15 points, and get +15 Bomb (for 30 Bomb total) Arrow Bomb or Iron Arrow
 * 20 PKB
 * Max out Focus,  Soul Arrow, and  (X)Bow Booster at the same time.
 * Free Point is spent in Mastery or  Blessing of Amazon

Third Job
It should be noted that not many people are exposed to 3rd job as they only came out in OMS on December 20, 2005. Much of this section is not tested by more than 1 person at all, and holds a huge amount of speculation. Maybe in a few months or years people will understand what the best 3rd job build is; but not today.

Currently Agreed points about 3rd job

 * All 3rd archer skills are great, which makes the 3rd job build difficult as not all skills can be maxed.
 * Strafe, and Mortal Blow are must max skills. Strafe is both faster and stronger than any other skill you will get, and Mortal Blow covers your "minimum range" skill.
 * Mortal Blow is an underrated skill. Its purpose is NOT to do its instant kill on the enemy, but instead, to replace your "bow whack" animation.
 * Arrow Rain/Erruption is extremly useful, and should be put upto at least lvl 27 or 28.
 * Snipers should get ONLY 21 Ice Shot. No more, no less. The reason is that you are choosing not to use Ice Shot as your main mob attack, but to freeze the mob for 3 seconds. 21 points in Ice Shot is the lowest possible investment to give you 3 seconds of freezing.

Debates
Thrust is well-known to be a good skill. The problem with the skill is that it is passive, meaning it is permanent, and according to various sources, it becomes next to impossible to go through levels while having a massive speed boost that cannot be deactivated. The "thrustless" party claims that thrust is totally unnecessary, as you can get speed equips and use your skill points on a more powerful skill. 5 thrust makes the point that the last few points of all 3rd job skills are extreemly inefficient, and the difference of not-maxing skills and maxing skills is not much.
 * Thrust Debate (no thrust, 5/10 thrust, 20 thrust)

The only thing well accepted right now is that anything above 10 thrust is a bad idea; not only because you will have difficulty going through narrow levels with such a high speed, but also that the last 10 points of thrust only add 1 speed; instead of 2.

The maximum speed any class can have is 140%, or +40 speed. With scrolling, Haste and speed items not yet released, it is feasible to get your maximum speed any number of ways other than using SP on Thrust.

Fire Shot is attack that when maxed does 150% fire damage to 6 enemies. This means that monsters weak to fire will get hurt 225% damage (150% * 1.5x elemental damage), while monsters strong to fire will resist the damage by the same 1.5x rate, but in reverse. That means that if the max damage is 150%, a fire-based enemy would receive half of the damage, which is 75%. The debate is weather or not you should even get this skill. With Bomb doing 130% damage non-elemental, Fire Shot is only a moderate upgrade to most monsters, and weaker than Bomb on monsters resistant to fire.
 * Fire Shot Debate (Hunters/Rangers only)

Additionally, Arrow Rain/Erruption do more damage than Fire Shot. Fire Shot supporters demonstrate that Fire Shot is an arrow based attack, while Rain is an area based attack; they are used for different purposes. Fire Shot has more range, and can hit monsters across the screen. Rain/Erruption on the other hand, can only hit monsters around you. Granted, the horizontal range for Rain/Erruption is still massive, but not as massive as Fire Shot's horizontal range.

Fire Shot is obviously quite strong on monsters weak to fire. However Bains, perhaps the highest level mob monster in OMS, are *strong* to fire, and therefore Fire Shot is worthless on them. On the other hand, most monsters in El Nath are weak to fire due to the cold environment. Looking ahead to Lubridium, there are a few Viking ships that archers in JMS generally train on that are also strong to fire; while at the same time some ships that are weak to fire. So there would be a wide variaty of monsters Fire Shot would be useless to, and still a good variaty of monsters that Fire Shot would be the best mob skill in the game. You should note that Lubridium is in OMS now.

While a relatively minor debate over a measly 2 skill points, archers know that they must spend every skill point as wisely as possible. Both 18 and lvl 20 puppet last for a full minute, but lvl 20 puppet has 6000 HP instead of 5000. 5000 HP for a puppet is a lot, as puppets have godly defense. People for Lvl 20 Puppet feel that perhaps a new monster in the future will be released, and that 1000 extra HP points could mean the world. Lvl 18 puppet supporters claim that nearly no monster can take down lvl 18 puppet before time runs out anyway, so why bother?
 * Puppet Debate (18 Puppet vs 20 Puppet)

Hawk's stun rate is 90% at lvl 16, 95% at lvl 21, and 99% at lvl 27. Additionally, the amount of hits Hawk gets before it disappears goes up as well, so many archers are planning to get at least 21 hawk. Lvl 29 hawk/eagle may seem like a waste at first; however, it can be viewed that whenever lvl 21 would have missed, lvl 29 had a 80% chance of working, and if lvl 16 would have not stunned, lvl 29 would have a 90% chance of working.
 * Hawk/Eagle Debate (16 vs 21 vs 29 SP points)

With so many good skills, some archers feel that they need to cut corners to cover all the skills necessary. Rain/Erruption and Fire Shot are awesome skills, however, at the last 2 SP (lvl 29 and lvl 30), they gain 1% damage instead of the usual 2% damage. This makes the last 2 SP points less efficient than the first SP point.
 * Fire Shot or Rain/Erruption, 28sp vs 30sp

MajesticMystic's Third Job Build
For Rangers:

 * 1) Mortal Blow (1)
 * 2) Strafe (30)
 * 3) Puppet (10)
 * 4) Mortal Blow (4)
 * 5) Arrow Rain (30)
 * 6) Silver Hawk (30)
 * 7) Thrust (10)
 * 8) Puppet (10)
 * 9) Mortal Blow (15)
 * 10) Last 11 points can go anywhere.

Generally, There're not much uses for Fire Shot after you've done training on Yepes, so I didn't put points into there. If you're adamant about maxing Fire Shot, max it right before arrow rain, forget about the 15 points in Mortal Blow, and sacrifice 4 points from Puppet or Arrow Rain. Additionally, you can cut thrust down to 0 if you wish.

For Snipers:

 * 1) Mortal Blow (1)
 * 2) Strafe (30)
 * 3) Puppet (10)
 * 4) Ice Shot (21)
 * 5) Mortal Blow (4)
 * 6) Arrow Eruption (30)
 * 7) Golden Eagle (30)
 * 8) Thrust (10)
 * 9) Puppet (10)
 * 10) Mortal Blow (4)

Ice Shot is only useful for the freezing aspect, so 21 points is good enough. If you want to max it out, sacrifice 4 points from Mortal Blow, and 5 from Arrow Eruption.

Anti-Builds
When newbies begin this game, they come in and think they can do better than the guide. This should be encouraged, but if you wish to wander from the path, at least know which paths that you should be warned against. Now the following are all controvercial whether or not they are bad or not, but they aren't the cookie cutter for a reason.

However, if an archer is willing to sacrifice power, speed, efficiency, for uniqueness, go ahead with one of these builds.

The max AB build
DS has been proven time and time again to be stronger, contrary to the information that Wizet gives us. DS does 460% damage with critical, while AB does a flimzy 360% with critical. The pros this build has is simply Knockback instead of power; high leveled enemies don't flinch unless they are hit by one massive hit.

It should be added here that AB and DS have the same "armor break" value. Armor of the monster effects this skill just as much as DS, except DS is still stronger.

Note : There seems to be much controversy about these facts. I assure you; they are true. After spending hours shooting Snails, Iron Hogs, and Werewolves; the only conclusion possible is that AB's max damage is 360%, with DS's max damage at 460%. If anyone wishes to contradict this statement; please submit a screenshot of Arrow-Blow doing more than 400% damage with your stat window up. (Ex: Damage Range 300 to 400 damage, a screenshot of AB doing 1600 dmg on Snails is all that is necessary to disprove this fact) Thank you.

The max AB and max DS build
Ah, you hate FA, but now where do you put the points? The obvious choice is into AB. While it seems like a good idea at first, just know that you will only find AB useful at one monster, Cargos (in OMS anyway). Every other monster does not require knockback because they are either too slow, or have suitable sniping spots, or Bomb/FA can handle them fine, or simply: DS would KB them anyway.

If you max both, you will find that you will not be using AB that much at all.

There are a few rouge archers that go against the crowd and believe AB is better than Focus however.

The no/low-PKB build
While Dragontamer is going down this build, he recommends no one else follow the path unless they know what they are doing. PKB is one of THE most important skills for an archer. At level 1 and 2, this skill does nearly nothing, but by level 20, you can start killing monsters with reasonable efficiency with this skill, let alone sliding them. PKB is the only melee attack an archer gets till at least level 70, so this skill should not be skipped at all.

Again, due to the mysterious nature of PKB, there is no argument that is solid in fact. Despite Wizet's claim of +40% Knockback, PKB does not do +40% knockback, and most arguments bank on this fact. Everything with this debate is purely speculation. No facts or experiments have been gathered.

This build replaces the cookie cutter FA build, and gets 2 PKB instead of 20, and max Booster and Soul Arrow.

The no-Bomb or Iron Arrow or 15 Bomb/Iron Arrow Build
Some archers believe Bomb and IA is overrated. While they are welcome to this opinion, at least know what you are missing out on. First off, grows much stronger between level 15 and 30, so do not let level 15 IA fool you in its strength. Same thing for, in addition to the stun. A weak Iron Arrow and Arrow Bomb may suffice in the very short run, but in the long run, maxing is key.

Yes, 2x mana does seem like a lot more money spent over nothing, but the higher level you are, the more money you make and the less and less that extra mana costs. These are the *unique* skills that XBowmen and Bowmen get, so do it justice and actually max out these skills.

Lets put it this way: when you are level 10, you are glad to have 10k in your pocket, and spending more than 600 mesos was considered an investment. Then at level 20, you add a zero to that. You are glad to have 50k to 100k in your pocket, and spending more than 6000 mesos is an investment.

As you advance in levels, the bigger this difference gets. At high levels (60+) millions are no longer a big figure. And you would gladly spend more on arrow bomb for the massive 30% (Bomb) or 80% (IA) extra damage.

Conclusions of the first Great Archer Debate: AB vs DS
Background: There have been a great many debates on archer forums across many forums. The following conclusion came from the Sleepywood forums, and there is a great amount of evidence behind this conclusion:

Double Shot is stronger than Arrow Blow in all circumstances and better than Arrow Blow in almost all circumstances.

 * Critical is +100%, not 200%, and Critical may occur for every arrow you shoot. Hence maximum damage of Arrow Blow is 260% + 100% = 360%. Maximum damage of Double Shot is (130% + 100%) * 2 = 460%.
 * As a result, DS has a higher average damage(~340% damage) than AB(~300%) has, rendering the AB skill weaker for BOTH Hunters and Xbowmen. Furthermore, having only one shot, AB is unstable (dealing either high — 40% chance of 360% damage or low — 60% chance of 260% damage) while DS is more stable with two shots (DS, when activated, has 48% chance to deal average damage, which is one critical and one normal hit, hence the stable damage. Take note that this 'average' damage is 360% damage, equal to a critical shot AB. Furthermore, DS has 16% chance to deal 460% damage, which rocks).
 * DS has a higher average damage than AB (340% compared to 300%), a higher max damage (460% compared to 360%), and an equal minimum damage (both 260%).
 * On higher level monsters, DS is still stronger than AB despite the weapon defence of the monster, since defence is applied BEFORE the damage multiplier. This will be discussed more thoroughly in the formulae section.
 * Rebuttal: At low levels, ie. 30, attacking a stone golem with DS often results in 1 damage per arrow. However, AB will produce minimum damages of more than 100 damage. Analysis of this phenomenon indicates that weapon defense is applied AFTER the damage multiplier. Further confirmation can be derived by observation that AB's damage is MORE than 260% of a normal attack, indicating again that defense is applied AFTER the damage multiplier.
 * The only saving grace of AB is the ability to knockback. Because AB has higher damage in one hit, it is much easier to flinch higher level monsters with AB. However, knockback ability alone is not enough to warrant maxing AB instead of DS.
 * Despite all the flaws of AB compared to DS, Regal Star (aka MajesticMystic) considers it a better skill than Focus. Therefore, if you're going FA-less, you can consider maxing this instead of Focus, so you have KB ability against enemies where it would be useful (like, say, Wild Cargos).
 * Arrow Blow gives you 141% damage with just 1 point in it for a cheap-but-effective attack for your first point when you become a Bowman. Pursuing it further makes no sense because Double Shot accomplishes a different effect, and 1 point of AB is complimentary to DS, which you should pursue.

Ultimately, it should be noted that regardless of whether a player invested in AB or DS or both, once the player reaches lvl 70 and invests in Strafe, AB and DS will hardly be used, so even if a player does invest in the "wrong" skill, getting Strafe will more or less rectify that.

The New Job One Debate: AB vs Focus vs Blessing
Note: This section is currently incomplete.

Alright, so we proved that DS > AB, but that still doesn't answer wheather to get blessing, focus, or AB for your free 9 points. It should be noted that whatever you do, some archers consider these 9 points to be a waste anyway, so there is no massive disadvantage any way you go. Additionally, just because a build is cookie cutter doesn't mean it is the "best" either.

Pros for Blessing:
 * Passive -- No worries about casting or anything. Once you place points in here, you forget them, and they will always work to your favor
 * Stacks with Cleric's bless -- Unlike focus, Blessing stacks with the skill "Bless" assuming you are with a cleric.
 * Rebuttal: It is difficult to find a cleric, and archers hit most targets at 100% accuracy before they can even break the armor of enemies, so accuracy is generally a non-issue.

Cons for Blessing:
 * Archers have highest accuracy in the game, blessing does virtually nothing for an archer.
 * You gain about 2 levels worth of accuracy, every level you gain you basically get free accuracy + the fact you got dex
 * Opportunity cost for active Avoidability (aka, focus) or 10 AB.

Pros for Focus:
 * Offers a potential of 20 avoid (9 if you go for the 9 focus build).
 * Works great in FA-less build, as you can use points in 2nd job to finish off focus.

Cons for Focus:
 * Active -- for you lazy people, you have to cast this skill.
 * Rebuttal: You don't have to cast it if you don't want to, only cast it if you feel it will make a difference. Example: Stone golems have very low accuracy, so using focus in Stone Golem temple is a good idea. Basically, if you need it, it is there for you.
 * Costs MP with no direct offensive output.
 * Rebuttal: MP costs is minimal compared to DS.
 * You don't max this until 2nd job. Till then, you have 9 focus
 * Rebuttal: 9 avoidability is still a lot.
 * Opportunity cost for AB if you get Final attack
 * Rebuttal: 10 AB without final attack is too pathetically weak to train with
 * May increase chance of 'false hit' when used in conjunction with puppet

Pros for 10 AB:
 * Offers a cheaper alternative to your lvl 20 DS, 9mp for MSea (someone, check this please was it 9 or 10 ???) and 7 for OMS.
 * MP efficiency! This attack has the most MP efficiency of all Bowman skills if you get Final attack.
 * Rebuttal: Mana is cheap at lvl 50 and above, and by that point, killing efficiency takes priority over money-efficiency.
 * Rebuttal-Rebuttal: Bowmen use lots of mana at lower levels and are easily one of the poorest classes early on; having a cheaper skill that still does comparable damage is a nice advantage.
 * Rebuttal^3: There is always "Normal" attack that uses no mana; although it is weaker.
 * Best synergy with FA. FA enhanses this skill with a lot more damage.

Cons for 10 AB:
 * Pathetically weak in comparison to DS.
 * In MSEA, lvl 1 AB costs 6 mana for < MSEA archers, please fill out what the most efficient level for AB is.
 * Opportunity cost for Focus.

The Greater Archer Debate: FA or FA-less?
Unlike the AB vs. DS debate, a conclusion has not yet been reached. FA and FA-less have many pros and cons for and against both of them; this coupled with the fact that FA is a very "feel" based attack makes this is a difficult topic to discuss in the archer community.

Just know full well that if you go either FA or FA-less, the other half of the archer population will think you are stupid!

Reasons to get Final Attack: Reasons to NOT get Final Attack
 * You are fine with 5 Soul Arrow and 15 Bow Booster.
 * This should probably be explained in more depth. Soul Arrow and Bow Booster work as timer skills. Adding points to them does not increase their effectiveness as they only really decrease how often you cast these skills. The mana cost for both of these skills is negligible, and by using 5 SA /15 BB, you are already gaining back the mana cost by natural mana regeneration (both skills last 150 seconds at those levels, so you gain back 45 mana; BB and SA combined only costs 30 mana and 15 hit points at those levels).
 * You wish for more damage/time.
 * Final Attack increases your shots/time quite a lot. Final attack is fired at least 2x faster than DS, and so your bow shoots much faster as FA comes out.
 * You want to save mesos.
 * Final Attack is a free skill that activates 60% of the time when maxed. This means that instead of firing your DS which costs 16 mana, 60% of the time you will shoot something for free. This gives loads of savings in mana potions.
 * FA has no minimum range.
 * If Final Attack activates, you won't "bow-whack". You will always fire FA, no matter what the distance between you and your enemy.
 * FA knocks back enemies when DS cannot.
 * While many archers agree that knockback is not a necessary feature, they do agree that it is a nifty little feature of FA. DS damage is split over two weaker shots, while FA is one strong shot. This means that enemies that require 1000 damage dealt to them at once to be "flinched" or "KBed" may not be KBed by DS, and have a much higher chance of getting KBed by FA.
 * FA does not fire when you jump shot with a bow. However, you may need jump shoes or activate booster for it to not activate (For Hunters, +1 Jump is all that is required). Furthermore, because XBows are slower, FA may still fire with an XBow. The amount of jump required to not activate FA on an XBow is around +13.
 * To max out SA and Bow Booster.
 * When you skip FA, you get your mob skill much earlier on, and Iron Arrow/Arrow Bomb are very potent on large mobs of weak enemies, the main thing you will train on during those early levels.
 * You dislike FA itself; that is, you think the skill makes you worse and not better.
 * There is a valid argument to this. FA is a double-edged sword. While it does increase your damage/second, your mobility and control over your character is reduced — you lose control of your character during that 1/3 of a second when FA is fired. FA-less archers also note that while FA is firing, your crowd-control skills such Bomb or IA may be delayed (and in general, their effectiveness is lowered).
 * FA can get you mobbed if it gets activated. The delay can cause you not to turn quick enough if there is an enemy behind you, alas, causing damage. (Added by TheGoldenBadger)

Facts
 * FA does not activate when using 3rd job skills.
 * This sounds bad, but it is also good. Strafe does so much damage in the 3rd job that it beats DS/FA in all respects, including speed and power. If final attack activated in 3rd job skills, you'd be weaker. So it is a good thing it goes away.
 * FA always hits only one enemy. (It may even end up hitting a monster you didn't even provoke, such as when the skill activates and a monster spawns right in front in that same period of time.)
 * DS is more powerful than FA. See DS vs. AB debate; the rules in the debate apply to FA as well. FA receives only +100% from Critical Shot, and thus the max damage is 350% damage. But because FA is faster than DS and is a free shot, FA is more mana/damage efficient and damage/time efficient.
 * The delay of FA is between .3 to .35 of a second for bows, it is unknown what the delay is for XBows. For some, this is too long, others, it is not noticeable, which contributes to the controversy of this skill.

Dragontamer believes that as a rule of thumb, Hunters should get FA, while XBows should not. Hunters are much faster than XBows, and thus the lost time from FA is easily made up by the speed of your bow. This does not mean that it is a bad idea to be FAless if you are a Hunter or to get FA if you are an XBow however.

Regal Star/MajesticMystic, however, believes that Hunters should consider FA-less while XBows should consider FA. FA is much more of a hassle to AB than IA in my opinion, and IA is used less in 3rd job than AB is. Again, this does not mean that it is a bad idea to be FA hunter or FA-less XBows. It's all about your opinion, and suggestions can only do so much.

Common Myths
Myth: Arrow Blow is better than Double Shot

Arrow Blow does less damage than Double Shot, as it only has one chance of hitting critical.

 * It should be noted that most people don't understand how this works. Critical does +100% damage; not x 200% damage. This is a very big difference in AB vs DS damage calculations. If AB gets a critical, it does 260% + 100% damage, or 360% damage. If DS gets 1 critical, it does 130% + 130% + 100% damage, or 360% damage. If DS gets 2 criticals, it gets 460% damage.
 * Similarly speaking, Arrow Blow does not "armor break". That is; DS and AB take in the same amount of armor from the enemy. For example: Iron Hogs may remove 300 dmg from arrow-blow, but it will only remove 150 dmg from each double shot. It has been tested; and the amount of armor removed is porportional to the % dmg. So Power Strike, which does 260% damage, will take in 260% more armor than a normal hit. Same with Arrow Blow, Double Shot, final attack. The only attack that this may not work with is Arrow Bomb, PKB, and "Spread" Final attack on warriors; but tests in this area have been too few and no conclusion has been reached yet, as the damage formulas for these attacks are unknown. Note: When you do a critical shot with AB, the "armor" value is 360% higher than normal.
 * With these two facts; it is easy to see that DS will always do at least the same amount of damage as arrow blow; add in the critical damage, and DS does an average 12% more damage than Arrow Blow. Arrow blow is only better in the few cases of "flinch", aka "KB" or knockback. If you don't know what I'm talking about, shoot a few shots at Stone Golems, and notice they can only be "flinched" if you do 1000 dmg.
 * Arrow Blow DOES have an advantage over Double Shot, in that it's damage per MP rate is 21.4% dmg/MP, higher than the damage per MP rate of Double Shot (21.25%). However, the advantage is VERY slim, and the advantage of being able to kill monster faster outstrips the damage/MP rate by at least 10 to the exponent of 10 times.

Myth: Arrow Blow is just as good as Double Shot because of knockback

The only monster where knockback (KB) will matter is Cargos. At taurospears/tauromacis, they charge lightning even if you KB them. Zombies is same thing. Golems are too slow. Yetis and Yeti/pepes are slow, and Earthquake will still hit even if you KB them. DS will KB every other monster.

[NOTE] While arrowblow is weaker than doubleshot in terms of damage, its knock back ability may also be insignificant, it must be noted that double shot will be completely replaced by strafe while arrow blow retains some use. If you choose arrow blow, you will suffer the less damage but eventually have an greater array of skills.

~ You can always skip focus and get Arrow Blow anyway, and if you don't get FA then you have the points to finish it later.

Myth: I only need 15 Bomb/IA or 10 DS/AB

30 Bomb or IA is MUCH better than 15 bomb/ia. Additionally, the money "saved" in mana pots is near nothing compared to the money you will spend on your equipment which will be many millions at higher levels.

title: MapleStory/Bowman Guide/Builds


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Template:MapleStory/TOC/Quests

!Quests
 * Jump Quests
 * Party Quests
 * Exchange Quest
 * Party Quests
 * Exchange Quest
 * Exchange Quest

title: Template:MapleStory/TOC/Quests