General Overview Hi everyone! During the prime years of GMS (up to early 2009... then I straggled into 2011/2012 before blowing up my perfect 185 attack crossbow and stopping for good.), I mained a marksman and as always, marksman are incredibly rare on MapleRoyals. However I think anyone who might want to play a marksman should be able to have an up-to-date guide to look at that's written by someone active and if any of you are as OCD about stuff as I am, you should be able to find most, if not all the answers you want here. I wrote this because I wanted a more active role in the community, but also because the current guide is no longer updated/watched by the writer. Updates: Spoiler: Expand for more info on updates Completed sections will be crossed out 4/7/17: Still debating whether to add a "training spot section" of it's own, or include with the SP builds. More on this later. I want to get the majority of it done and posted, then make final touches in the next couple of days. Once I figure out how to link within a guide, I will fix that as well. 6/9/17: I added a training location section. Train at you're own risk though, I'm a GMS grinder at heart so a lot of it is slow for some people. 6/20/17: Started work on a section for scrolling and item prioritization. 6/29/17: Thanks to Succubus, I was able to finally put in-guide links via anchors, and I started the scrolling/Item prioritization. It's gonna take a bit to get every part I want done + pictures, etc. I also added a post by Rauno in the Q&A, I'll work on answering a bunch of those points, since he brought up a lot of good points. 9/25/17: I finally got around to updating Rauno's post and adding that to the FAQ, and I tried adding pictures to the item/scrolling section but it gets REALLY cluttered and spread out, so I left it out. Instead, LINKS! 7/11/18: Did a bunch of smaller updates and forgot to log it. Woops! Also, added a big amount of changes to both the items, and the stuff about Update 54. 5/23/19: Been almost a year so I did some touch-ups, added some new stuff to the item/scrolling prioritization lists- Not a whole lot has changed for MM. Table of Contents Why a Marksman AP & SP Builds Training Spots Item/Stat/Scrolling prioritization FAQ and Special Considerations Credits/Thanks Go to Bottom 1. Why a Marksman? Marksman are solid ranged damage dealers. They offer a more versatile play-set when compared to NL and warriors (IMO). We've got Snipe, Piercing Arrow, and Sharp Eyes. What more is there to love? 2. Pros/Cons Pros -Sharp Eyes (SE) is highly sought after for bossing -One of the best mobbers in the game (Thank you pierce) -Freeze is amazing compared to a BM's fire attacks -Snipe! Duh.Cons -BM's are preferred for bossing, but more on this later (See FAQ) -Scrolls and crossbows can be hard to find, most people NPC them/drop them -Freeze doesn't work on certain mobs -Crossbows cover the face, but we don't have noses so who cares 3. AP and SP Builds AP Builds Full Strength Keep your strength = level up to 110 STRLow Strength Keeping your STR anywhere between 5 and 109 Spoiler: Explanation I know what you're thinking. Between 5 and 109? That's everything between Full STR and STR-less! You're right. The goal here is to keep your STR as low as possible while being able to equip the best weapon you can. You did this by offsetting the extra STR with equips while not sacrificing attack. It's relatively easy to get a decent amount of strength though, through a Zakum Helm, a Silver Deputy Star, and a Cape (scrolled for STR), you could easily have 40 STR. If you're funded, it's MUCH easier, with scrolled shoes, mid level archer gloves scrolled as well. HTP (till MoN becomes a thing). Keep in mind, this is less important at low levels, as Maple weapons will realistically get you to 80/90/end game weapons, as a well scrolled level 64 maple xbow will cover you till you start working on that end game Neschere or Dragon Shiner. Strength-less Keep your STR at 4. Easy as apple pie on paper, costs a bunch in practice. SP Builds For info on Job Advancements... See here First Job Build +3 The Blessing of Amazon +8 Eye of Amazon +1 Arrow Blow +20 Double Shot +20 Critical Shot Then all remaining points into whatever makes you happy Spoiler: Explanation of the build All pretty straight forward, you need the 3 Blessing of Amazon for Eye of Amazon (increased range), and then points into Arrow blow to add Double shot then Critical shot for damage. You can max Arrow Blow instead of Double Shot, but, I never liked it. It's flavor preference, there's a SLIGHT advantage with Arrow Blow because of the way defense is factored into the calculation for damage, but beside splitting hairs, no one will notice. Second Job Build +5 Crossbow Mastery +6 Crossbow Booster +15 Crossbow Mastery +30 Iron Arrow +20 Soul Arrow: Crossbow +14 Crossbow Booster +20 Power Knock-back Then all remaining points into whatever but NOT final attack. Spoiler: Explanation of the build DO NOT ADD TO FINAL ATTACK! Mastery stabilizes our damage, and booster increases our firing speed, they're self explanatory, and you want some booster and maxed mastery before adding to other skills. Don't give into the urge to get your new attack. Stable damage is your friend, and shooting consistent numbers will do more for your DPS than a mobber will. Once you finish Iron Arrow though, you have opened up a whole new door for training. With the new source, spawns at STD's (Straw Test Dummies) is back to normal, well, better, rates and they're AMAZING. Just walk left to right iron arrow-ing the crowds. DO NOT ADD TO FINAL ATTACK! It hurts your damage overall, and plants you in place while it initiates and shoots, which could be a killer at higher levels (we can't always tank hits). For the love of everything loving, don't add to final attack. Use the extra points and add to some first job skills. Third Job Spoiler: Explanation of the build Whether to go Strafe first or Arrow Eruption first is purely for your style of training. Strafe is a wonderful single target skill, Arrow Eruption is another mobber, that shoots "around" whatever is and can go THROUGH floors. [NOTE] As of Update 54... Traditionally places like squids was strafe first, gobies/pirates were Arrow eruption, but both of those spots required in-depth strategies. However, with the increased rate here, access to good weapons/armour, and leeching (ohhh scary I know), you can fly through these levels. After you've maxed Strafe and Arrow Eruption, you need to choose whether or not to max out Golden Eagle. Why? Well, Frostprey, which becomes SUPER awesome at level 1 in fourth job, needs 15 Golden Eagle. It was a WHOLE thing in GMS because so many people (well, not many, Marksman and all) sat at 120+ before 4th job landed, and most had maxed Golden Eagle without knowing Nexon/Wizet would arbitrarily place the pre-req level at 15. Personally, I leave it at 15. The extra stun is nice, but, I'm a speed demon, I'd rather stick more points into Thrust for that lovely passive speed boost. Mortal Blow is "Meh" at best. Blizzard is also your best friend. It allows you to freeze monsters and attack them (Newts <3) Lastly, you'll see a lot of BM not maxing Strafe. They get Hurricane which immediately kicks Strafes ass. We don't. You'll be using Strafe as your single target attack till the end of time (with Snipe, of course) Strafe is now better for MM than it is for BM to make up for some of the damage loss in comparison. I have no numbers to say it's now faster to level strafe first over AE, or the other way around, but it's something to consider while leveling. IMO, I would max strafe, as I found sniping more fun. Tastes may vary. Fourth Job Build +1 Dragon's Breath(e) +1 Frostprey +1 Piercing Arrow +1 Snipe (because holla!) Then you want to prioritize skills and add as you level/pass skill books. Maple Warrior (as far as priorities go AFTER adding initial points above. Can be ignored though, someone almost always has MW) ThenSharp Eyes -> Marksman Boost -> Piercing Arrow or Snipe* ThenFrostprey -> Dragon's Breath(e) ThenSave all your points -> Blind Spoiler: Explanation of the build Fourth job is special because you're at the end of your travels, but no where near done. Fortune cookie advice, I know. As you pass skill books, you want to level certain skills to the next max to maximize damage. Sharp Eyes and Marksman Boost are your greatest damage boosts in 4th job. It makes you crit more, crit harder (and irresistible to parties), and your damage becomes SUPER stable with 90% mastery. You want to have these as high as you can given skillbook passing. Then piercing arrow because it's your mobber. Think Iron Arrow but on steroids and able to out-lift Dwayne Johnson and Hulk's love child who is also on steroids. Damage increases as it passes through mobs, so the more monsters you have, the better, however it doesn't stack forever. Frostprey and Dragon's Breath(e) add to your utility. You can add either, I prefer Frostprey for the passive damage and more freezing, but some people like the mob pushing with Dragon's Breath(e), however, with our range, it's easier to just pierce groups and run. Dragon's Breath(e) is more of a... "O shit! Waddup (mob)" type of skill, it gets stuff off you. Snipe is what Marksman are known for (Blasphemy! I know, Pierce is so much better), but it's infinitely better than Blind. Hell, saving points for the day Pink Bean drops Maple Warrior 30, is better than blind. As of Update 54, Snipe is now a 33 second cooldown at level 1 to 4 seconds at level 30. [NOTE], the 4 seconds was always there, 5 seconds was an error in the description. If you want to boss, Snipe will be better to level before pierce as it's now completely useless at level 1... still bad, but not terrible. I won't go into details about the skill-books, because Plenty has already written a wonderful guide on it. 4. Training Spots First job Level 1-10 (11): Maple island it up Level 10-15: Do those slime training quests given by Pierce Level 15-25 (30): Go to Caution Falling Down. No seriously. Trust me. or 25-30: Ant tunnel and the Horny/Undead shroom 99 kill quests. Second Job Level 30-35 (40): Scorpions near Ariant (but really next to Magatia), Sunset Road 1 Level 40-50: I did those Iron Mutaes in Magatia. Level 50-70: No jokes I was at STD's the entire time. It's doable even without the nice exp bump we have here on MapleRoyals. Iron Arrow shreds these. But more realistically, go to MP3, you'll have the accuracy and you can snipe off the Hummer thing on the bottom floor. Ghost Ship 1 to whatever are good too, but it's a pot burn. Or stay in Magatia, those Roids are pretty sweet too. Third Job Here's where it gets fun(ner). lol jk it's a lot of sniping Strafe first 70-90: Windraiders. I prefer the maps that sit above the ones that spawn Headless Horseman, you just sit there and snipe them with strafe. Arrow Eruption 70-90: Pirates near Mu Lung Level 90-100:Typhons (maxed AE is a must here) Another HUGE pot burn but holy Smoley. It's also annoying as hell to get to and you'll fall down, but you don't have to aim, you just hit em' with AE and you'll get HUGE mobs and you just gun them down. Level 100-140: Legit sniped Newts into my 140's from the middle platform with a party of friends (Shadower or Hero bot and a DrK top lane, and our guilds HS slave). Once you have frostprey you can bottom level pretty easily because your bird will freeze behind you. Temple of Time and it's quests are also really good, with your icing abilities you breeze through the green and red areas, not so much the blue ones. Fourth Job Level 120-135: See above about Newts/ToT Level 135-200: It's pretty much grinding on what you like and bossing. Any maps with big groups of mobs are great because Pierce just wrecks groups. Also leeching from your guildies who hunt for Cravens/Spartas is also an option. So what I'm insane, I spent so many levels in places that would otherwise drive people insane, but I made it with the joy of movies, guild chatting, AIM (I'm old I know). I liked sniping stuff because it saved me a lot of money and I could focus on other stuff while I played without too much worry of dying. This isn't for everyone though. SO check out these awesome references too: New training location possibilities by Sila Catlaunch's Training Guide 80's music (mostly) playlist to get you PUMPED 5. Item/Stat/Scroll Prioritization The general rule is attack > Dex when it comes to items, and Dex > Str unless you need the strength to wear your xbow. But life is full of exceptions. I'm going to organize this by how much wealth you have. Of course this is all subjective, and you can have the best gear in the game and spend no money. Don't mind the bad references/stupid jokes. I'd also like to note, I am almost entirely terrible at knowing prices of stuff. So please don't ask me. If you post, someone else might be able to help you. Basic Gear Good Gear End-game Gear Cost Helmet Zakum Helmet Zakum Helmet, scrolled with some 10's/60's Zakum Helmet, godly with 10's/30's with WS Zakum Helmets are 50-100m (depending on run), scrolls vary Face Accessory n/a Dex Maple Leaf 10+ DEX Maple Leaf scrolled Free if you gach, can be pricy to scroll Earrings 10+ DEX Earrings scrolled 11+ DEX Earrings scrolled 15 DEX Earrings scrolled 10 dex isn't hard to get, anything higher can get pricy/time consuming to make Cape Look around for a miss CS'd Pink Adventurer or Gaia Clean Pink Adventurer Cape or Gaia Any CS'd Pink Adventurer or Gaia Gets very expensive, very quick, but good returns on money spent. Overall Bathrobe scrolled with whatever DEX/STR you can get Overall for your level, scrolled with some DEX or STR depending on your AP build 30+ STR overall is ideal, to help be as close to STR'less as possible Pricey, but not too bad. Pendant Spiegelmann's Necklace Silver Deputy Star Horntail Pendant, Egged/eventually a MoN possibly (depending on STR goals) Cheap overall, can be earned through questing/bossing Gloves 10 attack WG SCG glove scrolled, or a decent 80/90/100/110 glove 10 attack SCG 15+ ATT 9/10, relatively expensive to upgrade, big damage increase Shoes LV. 60-90 Shoes, 12+ all-stat scrolled Facestompers, 5+ ATT Chaos'd Facestompers, 12+ ATT Chaos'd 8.5/10, very expensive to upgrade, very big damage increase Weapon Get a cheap Nishada or level appopriate Xbow thats clean or scrolled with 60's Get a better Nishada or level appopriate Xbow (few 10's/30's then 60's) Perfect, godly, Xbow Can be expensive, luckily people hate MM so scrolls are cheap! Rings Event rings! Event rings + more event rings + a krex ring (just any old) Event ring + a godly Krex ring Besides Krex, rings are event based. So have at it! 6. FAQ and Special Considerations Q: Do I need to HP wash!? A: No, of course not. But you should (IMO). Whether you want to be a 30k Marksman, or just survive bosses more easily, It's just a matter of how much you want to do. Some quick-FAQ's-Answers on washing -Bowman lose 12MP and gain 16-20HP per wash. -YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE FRESH LEVEL UP AP. -The AP reset (currently) shows a static 16 gain, but using fresh AP or resetting MP, it's the same 16-20 range. -Min MP allowable is = 14 x level + 148 There are several guides already written here on the forums. Please use them. But feel free to post here as well asking. One of my passions is washing because it's so simple on MapleRoyals. Guide to 30K on bowman/NL by Christopher Chance Fully Revised HP washing Guide by Pheelo Q: What's the deal with bossing? A: The old saying is "DPS = BM, DPM = MM" Damage per second VS damage per minute is an age old argument between bow masters and marksman. The theory was because BM just spam hurricane, they can dish out great damage quickly, but when you count in the number of snipes/minute, MM would close the gap on bosses (who you can't insta-kill). In theory, if the party wants "damage", both classes are able to deliver, but even so, BM are still preferred. Either way, both classes have SE, and there WILL (probably) be Nightlords in the party who will jump at the chance to have your tasty SE increase their damage. You will be wanted, don't worry. Q: A bunch of stuff brought up by Rauno Spoiler: Rauno's Post incase you don't want to open/go to a new page A: Soooo bear with me. Spoiler: Answers At 64, I'd get whatever Nishada you can get, as you should be leveling pretty quick as it is, and your end game will probably be a Pyrope (fast 5, but costly/rare) or a really good Neschere (more likely). I would argue anything with a 10/30 on it and a few 60's is "good", but it's truly a stepping-stone weapon so I wouldn't break the bank on it. I'm awful at prices as I usually scroll my own or borrow from my friend Jeb who scrolls crazy stuff for fun. I usually use whatever I can farm, but buying Xbow scrolls is pretty cheap. Prices again, I'm awful with, but if you channel hop and collect what's dropped at Shrine, you'll probably find a couple xbow 70's or 30's, if farming is giving you trouble. It's not just a matter of number of landed scrolls, but the attack. You can perfect scroll with 10% scrolls and White Scrolls, but if the base weapon was well below average you shot yourself in the foot... albeit with an okay weapon, but far from godly. As a general rule, if you land a 30% or 2 on a good weapon then finish it off with 60's you're good for a bit. I always try to get a Z-helm at 50. The bonus def/STR/DEX is awesome at low levels and will save you money on pots/allow you to equip a better xbow earlier (earlier being once you're into the 80's/90's/100's, and start looking for xbows that need STR, assuming you don't have a godly Nishada/Pyrope. A glove (like 8-10 attack) will do more help for your damage than a Z helm will (unless the STR from the helm helps you wield a good xbow). However, a Z-helm takes time to get. If you do the pre-quests and you can get one, get it. If you're going to wait to get one when you hit 135, then get the glove to help you level. If you get a helm, and the stats are so-so, and you want to 60% it, you can get the Helm Dex Scrolls 60% from Master Chronos. I would personally buy one, as a 8 attack glove isn't too much, but if you want to hunt for scrolls, I STRONGLY suggest going to Platoon Chronos. The earlier you get a glove, the more it will help you with leveling, but I wouldn't focus on anything higher than 8/10 attack until well into late game. I'm absolutely terrible with quests, as most of them are gathering items and all over in weird places. I'm a HUGE fan of kill X mobs progressions like at ToT though, and I reccomend you do those ASAP, cause it's fun, kills time, and levels you. However, my brother is a quest nut and I asked him for some suggestions and he gave me this. Thanks @Dylanducki (feel free to bug him with more questions on quests) Depends on the item. Between your Z-helm, an overall, and a HTP (I know, looking late game), you should easily be able to be STR'less with some help from the event rings/Krex Ring, etc. The point is, any STR you reset into DEX, the more Maple Warrior helps your DEX, so even if you can't be STR'less, having as little STR as possible for the weapon you're using is a good idea. I agree with this 10000%. As much as I love grinding, if you're looking for something, the EXP flies by and you gain levels without even thinking about it. Killing two birds with 1 stone is also good (hunting Platoon Chronos for glove attack while in that level range is good for your glove/money making) Q:A bunch of stuff about the Update 54 Marksman buffs..... A:So, this is going to be a reeeeeally long thing... so hold onto your butts. Spoiler: Long post So... there's a thread here, which did some math before and after the update. I think it does a good job of doing the math I can't do.. ha. According to the thread, a MM is experiencing a 12% damage increase. HOWEVER, the cooldown on snipe isn't actually decreasing, as it was always 4 seconds... so to redo the math already posted...I actually couldn't get it to match... my math using his numbers, plus the 14 snipes consistent, is an 18% damage increase. Take it with a grain of salt though. Either way. This is a solid damage increase for MM, and I can't say it isn't welcome because it was. Q: -insert question- A: Ask me stuff guys, I'll answer them in the thread and update here! 7. Credits/Thanks Thank you Pheelo and ChristopherChance for the Washing info, Plenty for compiling all the guides allowing for easy linking because searching can be a pain! Credits to Motnahp for the current guide on the forums, I hope you don't mind I took over and wrote a new guide from scratch! Thanks of course to Jeb, because we've been playing this hellspawn of a game together since middle school and he's half the reason I play now (the other half is my crippling need for a nostalgia fix). Go to Top
Just curious, since I supposed the way BM and XBM wash their HP should be the same. Does that means that all the LevelUp AP can be added into the main stat without it being saved for HP washing? Like how Thief has to use LevelUp AP in order to wash, so we can only wash when we level up everytime. Essentially, BM/XBM can wash just by reducing 1 from MP and adding it into HP straight away with reset (assuming 1 AP already added into HP to enable washing)?
How good MM are in the new source? Snipe has 2 seconds delay now instead of 5 so doesn't it more than double the DPM, making MM much desirable than it was?
Thieves are the only class, for whatever reason, that use a different equation for fresh AP, and it adds slightly more if it's fresh, bowman can just do what you said. Snipe is 5 seconds, Pierce has been reduced to 1 instead of 2 (in terms of charging the attack.) It's not as simple as saying "Oh, they can do 3 snipes in the same period now, so my damage should be x2 or x3, because our filler otherwise on bosses is Frostprey and strafe. There's an argument that can be made for increasing snipe in the priority list, but only putting it on the same level as pierce. If you ONLY boss, snipe will help you more than pierce, but pierce is invaluable with training because it just shreds groups. That, however, is subject to good mob spawns. ToT took a hit with the new source, snipe/strafe may out EXP pierce-mobbing. It's also a matter of how strong you are, If you're weak, snipe is HUGE, so is pierce to a degree.
Before new source adding points to HP directly when you level gave 16-20 points each time and using the AP reset to add HP always gave 16 only, so adding HP when leveling is better. I don't know if it got changed now though (since AP reset doesn't work anyway)
So technically, a XBM/BM can wash HP using fresh AP, just like how Thief does? (+1 fresh into HP, reset MP and put into main stat) Also, think would be the same. Sila clarified that there won't be changes to maintain fairness.
Do you have evidence of this? Everything I've read about washing here and people I've talked to have said it's only thieves.
I'm pretty sure you can view it in the code. The AP reset wash definitely gives 16 HP only (it will never give any more than that, I tried it many times, you can try it yourself too and see you always get 16).
Adding reset AP to HP on Old Source: Code: else if (c.getPlayer().getJob().isA(MapleJob.BOWMAN)) { maxhp += rand(16, 20); }
Those flying goats near CWK are awesome. (assuming you have the HP to survive the walk there) I also spent an ungodly amount of time sniping newts. not very exciting though.
Forest of Golem! Well, with the old source more, but they drop there. They aren't too expensive though, you can buy them from other players pretty cheap because no one scrolls crossbows really.
