(This was originally supposed to be a 3-part thing I was working on in my spare time ... but I get bored of it easily, so I've only really finished one. Since there's a contest for it, I might as well throw it in here. If people actually show interest in int./adv. magic advice, I'll write it up sometime. Also, sorry about the spacing in this. I think I've spent more time trying to edit the spaces out of it than copy&pasting this, but everytime I throw it into previews, it always adds them back...)Disclaimer: I, Shiyorie, am the sole author of this guide. Much of my recommendations pertain to what I find has most benefited me in personal experience & ideas that I have incorporated from other players. While I will always be open to new ideas and suggestions, please be advised that the listed play styles may very well not be suited to all users of this guide. Therefore, by following this guide, you, the user, agree that I hold no responsibility for any discrepancies or “casualties” that occur as a result.Introduction:“Hey, Shiyo! I want to rank magic! What do I do?”
I’ve always found this to be a difficult question to answer as I feel that magic is rather dependent on how you want to use and/or integrate it with other skill sets. For example, unlike melee, where windmill is considered a must-have, I do not feel that magic has any offensive ‘staple skills’ that every individual should have. However, after much thought, I figure that the best way to go about this guide is not to go through every skill & its uses (as I had previously intended), but rather, attempt to present broad cases in which one could categorize themselves, in hopes they can find the situation that best suits them.A reminder that said cases and recommendations are just that – purely recommendations. I will not tell you what to do, but you are free to use this guide to broaden your ideas of how you can incorporate magic into your gameplay.
[0.0] Assist skills:
Magic Mastery (when possible) – Magic mastery is generally ranked for one of the greatest mana pool (MP) boosts of all the skills. This skill is absolutely vital for magic because magic needs a lot of mana. Rank it when possible, or rank it as fast as you can if you find that you’re running out of MP too quickly.
[ Attainable through the 'Fighting Lessons' quest.]
Magic Weapon Mastery (rank it when you can, and master it!) – This skill is a must have if you’re an avid magic user overall. It increases bolt damage by 150% and its master title gives 25 magic attack (the second highest magic attack a normal title grants you in the game). It’s very easy to train and master, just watch out for your AP.[ Equip a wand or staff. ]Meditation (possibly after you have your offensives down) – A decent skill to have, although I’m not one to use it in battle. When it is nearly capped, it can regenerate your mana very quickly (especially at night), saving on potions.[ 'Start Conversation' with Stewart without the Elemental Apprentice Title or any wand equipped while you have Lightning, Ice, and Firebolt. ]Potion Making (highly recommended after you have finished your basic bolts & access to herbs) – This is a very helpful skill to have, as magic will take insane amounts of mana if you use it as a primary skillset (of course, you can use it to make hp & stamina potions as well you need them). Having the skill at rB should suffice for a decent success rate if you only need the basic hp/mp/stamina 100 potions, making it a good investment for your AP. Potion making can also double as a good source of intelligence for mid- to high-tier players.[ Equip a Potion-Making kit. ]Herbalism (optional/recommended in conjunction with potion making if you gather your own herbs) – This skill is purely optional, but is recommended for mid- to high-tier players who either have a herb farm, or are looking to increase their intelligence.Disadvantage: Can be slightly AP consuming for an assist skill; not recommended for early game.
[ Attainable from the 'Basics of Medicine' quest, talking to Atrata / Kirine with the Skills keyword, or raising your part-time job count with Manus to 10+. ]
[1.0] Magic for beginners: (no previous skillset)
This is probably the section I’ve had to put the most thought into, as I did not start off as a beginner mage. While starting a new character under the magic talent grants you a Beginner Ice Wand, I personally find that completely useless early game unless you want to be able to chaincast Icebolt for skill training (eg. Snapcast). However, it is a wand that you should keep nonetheless if you one day intend to rank Ice Spear (more on this skill later).
[1.1] Skills you should rank:
Firebolt (one of the first skills I’d recommend ranking, r5+) – Yes, I’m a strong advocate of firebolt. Despite being a single target bolt spell, it is the only bolt that can actually stack damage on top of itself with multiple charges. Given a chaincast+4 wand, firebolt singlehandedly yields the highest DPS of any bolt spell which can easily take out anything from basic – advanced missions. It is also able to knockback enemies with Level 1 Mana Deflector. Such a skill also opens opportunities for easily ranking exploration or money-making through hot-air balloon spam.Disadvantages: longest cast time of bolts & most mana costly; cc+4 fire wand will also have high repair costs for early game players since durability depletes significantly quicker.[ Attainable from the 'Basics of Magic' Quest, by reading the book 'A Guidebook to Firebolt', or by taking Lassar's Sorcery Chapter 2 ]
Lightning bolt (rank it after firebolt, r5+) – Lightning bolt is the AoE of bolts. At multiple charges, it hits/stuns up to 5 enemies at once, although each enemy that is successively lowers lightning bolt’s damage by 10% (eg. 1st target takes 100% LB damage, 2nd target takes 90%, 3rd target takes 80%, and so forth). Despite this, it is faster to charge than firebolt, making it good for stunning enemies in its path (provided that the enemy does not have mana deflector). With a chaincast+4 wand, one can consistently knockback 5 enemies at once, easily defeating multiple targets.
Disadvantages: Vulnerable to any level of mana deflector.
[ Attainable from the 'Basics of Magic' Quest, by reading 'Basics of Lightning Magic', or by taking Lassar's Sorcery Chapter 3 ]
Fusion bolt (it’s good to at least have this skill) – If you have high ranked firebolt and lightning bolt, why not take it a step further and put them together? It’ll take a little time to get to full charge, but a hard-hitting one-hit AoE is totally worth it, right? If you enjoy using fusion bolt to quickly dispel enemies, feel free to rank this skill as it gives incredibly good intelligence boosts as well.
Disadvantages: Takes longer to charge than any of the bolts (since you’re theoretically charging two bolts), cannot be chaincasted, and can be heavy on mana consumption & durability loss.
[ 'Start Conversation' > Skills keyword with Stewart & rNovice Bolt Mastery. Must not have any other skill quests going. Will need an ice &/or lightning wand for your quest. ]
Bolt Mastery (optional) – Depending on how long you want to rely on bolts, you may want to consider ranking this skill. However, if you are avid on ranking intermediate and/or advanced magic, bolt mastery might become secondary to you.Disadvantages: It never hurts to rank it, but depending on how you want to build your character, it might just end up being an AP drain instead of a big help early game.
[ 'Start Conversation' with 'Elemental Apprentice' title equipped > Skills keyword with Lassar. ]
[1.2] Recommended Equipment:
In this section, I’ll be focusing on wand upgrades since early game players don’t tend to have easy access to most enchants and equipment in the game. If you are an early game mage and are interested in enchants and equipment, reading up the non-weapon sections of later-tiered recommended equipment will likely provide the answers to what you’re looking for since devCAT hasn’t quite shown much love for intelligence and magic-attack related enchants compared to other skill sets. Equipment marked with “ADVANCED!” beside it symbolize that such equipment are generally difficult to independently obtain early game, but if you have access to it, it is an alternative to consider.
Also keep in mind that one does not need to have all the equipment listed here to be a good mage. What’s important is that you prioritize what you need based on what you use. (eg. It won’t help you nearly as much to have a chaincast+4 Fire Wand if you are a heavy fusion bolt user.) Thus, consider what kind of offensives you want to use before reading this section; if you’re a versatile mage though, having most of these upgrades won’t hurt as long as you can keep up with their costs!
Beginner Ice Wand – This is the wand you start with if you create a new character with the mage talent. It has 1g repairs at every magic weapon repair NPC, but I personally find this rather useless unless you upgrade it with chaincast+2 then chaincast icebolt as you see fit. However, icebolt is incredibly weak (and useless in my opinion) with lower-tiered players, so once you can consistently afford wand repairs, I strongly suggest moving up the ladder.
Upgrade path: Ice Elemental Resonance x 4 > Chaincasting+2
I list chaincast+2 because icebolt generally knocks back in a 3-2-2-2-etc. hit pattern. As such, if you’re charging on knockback, you don’t need another 5 charges – only the 2~3 you used previously. This way, you can save on the mana consumption penalty that the final upgrade imposes vs. chaincast+4.
[Chaincasting] Fire Wand – If you accumulate enough money, you can buy a fire wand from NPC shops or players. Fire wands are best known for their chaincast upgrades, leading to high dps, but resulting in heavy durability & mana loss. This is most commonly used for hot-air ballooning.
Upgrade path: Fire Elemental Resonance x4 > Chaincasting+4
ADVANCED! [Chaincasting] Savage Fire Wand – If you have access to a high ranked magic crafter or can afford it from player shops, you may want to try a Savage Fire Wand instead. Unlike a basic fire wand, Savage Fire Wands’ final chaincasting upgrades do not have a mana consumption penalty, making it easier on your mana pool to spam.
Upgrade path: Fire Elemental Resonance x4 > Chaincasting+4
[Speedcast] Phoenix Fire Wand – If you’re more heavily oriented in fusion bolt (with firebolt), upgrading a phoenix fire wand for faster casting speed will help you charge fusion bolts faster.
Upgrade path: Lassar’s Fire Elemental Acceleration Enhancement > Lightning Elemental Acceleration 2, Lightning Elemental Acceleration 3 > Lightning Elemental Acceleration 4 > Lightning Elemental Acceleration 4
[Magic Damage] Trinity Staff – Again, for those heavily oriented with fusion bolt, the trinity staff offers magic damage upgrades if you wish to hit harder.
Upgrade path: Ice Condensation 1 > Ice Condensation 1 > Ice Condensation 2 > Ice Condensation 2 > Artisan Upgrade
ADVANCED! [Magic Damage] Hermit’s Staff – Another all-around useful item, though mostly for fusion bolt early game, the hermit staff grants some amazing magic damage upgrades as well.
Upgrade path: Elemental Condensation 1 > Elemental Condensation 1 > Elemental Condensation 2 > Elemental Condensation 3 > Artisan Upgrade/Hermit’s Staff Unique Upgrade
Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:26 am by 
Subject: Beginner Magic Guide 