Sacchari's Wind/Earth Bard

[Sacchari]

CURRENTLY UNDER REVISION
NOTE: You need a basic understanding of Trickster to use this guide.

Why Choose Wind/Earth?

-Wind/Earth is THE AoE (Area of Effect) sheep. All of their attack skills are AoE, so if you enjoy watching large groups of enemies drop dead simultaniously, this is the build for you
-Wind is fast. A good Ring/Blade combo will kill mobs before other mages finish casting a single spell.
-Tons of monsters are weak to Earth. No joke.
-Cleaving Terra is HUGE.
-Wind Blade only takes 100 mp at mastery.
-Better survivability due to high charm



Stat Builds

You will need a lot of HP and DEF to use wind effectively without dying, so make sure you have at least a three in charm.

1423
PROS: More accuracy (from LUK) and more WT for lugging around potions
CONS: Not as much HP or DEF. Dies easier then 1414.

1414
PROS: You will be a tank, you will laugh at enemies feeble attempts to OHKO you. Also, you can invest more equips towards raising MA and MP.
CONS: You wont be able to hit things for a long time. Your low WT will limit how much junk (ie: pots and drops) you can carry around.

My advice? Go with 1423, you can get plenty of HP and DEF equips.
Also, remember that you are an offensive build, only put points into MA, nothing else

Skills
The following skills are relevant to you as a Earth/Wind


Mana Arrow: Level: 1 Your first skill. Keep it at level one, and use it till you can afford to use Mana Ring. It attacks one enemy with magic.
TMpts to get: 1
Casttime: 1.5 seconds

Invincible Casting: Level: 10 An absolutely vital passive skill that you should get as soon as you can. It allows you to continue to cast spells while taking damage.
TMpts to get: 5

Cure: Level: 10 It restores HP. Though it's somewhat useless at low levels, it becomes very useful around level 50. You also need this at level 10 to get Mist of Mana.
TMpts to get: 1
TMpts to master: 2
Casttime: Instant


Bottle of Mana: Level: 20 Boosts your MP by a fixed amount. You need this at level 1 to get Mist of Mana. Never level this skill.
TMpts to get: 2

Mana Ring: Level: 20 Attacks by sending out three magical rings. Does splash damage*. This skill will be one of your main attacks later on. When you first get it the MP cost will be too high, and the accuracy too low for you to level effectively with it, so stick with Arrow till this is no longer a problem. Level to master.
*Does the most damage to the monster it's aimed at, and less damage to surrounding mobs. Think water balloon.
TMpts to get: 2
TMpts to master: 2
Casttime: 0.3 seconds

Mana Storm: Level: 35 Does AoE damage. You don't really need this till later, so hold off on leveling it till after you get Wind Blade and Cleaving Terra. You eventually need it to be level 10.
TMpts to get: 2
TMpts to Master: 2
Casttime: 1 second

Mist of Mana: Level: 40 Increases your MA by a percentage. This is a VITAL SKILL. You need this to level at a decent pace, mobs will be incredibly hard to kill without it. Level it to master.
TMpts to get: 4
TMpts to master: 3

Seal of Earth: Level: 55 Lets you learn Earth skills.

Seal of Wind: Level: 55 Lets you learn Wind skills.

Wind Blade: Level: 55 Personal based AoE with a .5 second casttime. Wind swirls around you and hits mobs on each side. You have to be right next to the mob to hit it. This can fail to cast as late as level 10. Master this as soon as possible.
TMpts to get: 2
TMpts to master: 2
Casttime: 0.5 seconds

Cleaving Terra: Level: 55 A very large ground base AoE. It has a slow casttime that gets faster every time you level the skill. Level to master.
TMpts to get: 2
TMpts to master: 2
Casttime: 2.5 seconds (level 1)
1.6 seconds (level 10)
1.5 seconds (Mastered)

Bolster Ballad: Level: 40 Reduces the amount of MP spent by a percentage. Not very useful for this particular build, but it looks pretty cool, and it's the trademark of Bards. Level as you please.

Whirlwind: Level: 105 You need level 10 Storm for this skill. It creates a set of tornadoes around you that attack the surrounding monsters every few seconds as long as you don't move.

Summon Boulder: Level: 115 Needs level 10 Ring to get. Summons a big old boulder that does Ring-like splash damage.

Wind Shield: Level: 100 Increases Wind resist. Virtually useless.

Earth Shield: Level: 100 Increases Earth Resist. Virtually useless.

Razor Gale: Level: 135 Needs level 10 Wind Blade and Mana Ring. A wind attack that sends out wind blades like boomerangs to hit a distant foe. Wind's first distance attack.

Botulism Cloud: Level: 120 Needs level 10 Mana Web. Petrifies the enemy, but cuts the damage they receive. Currently glitched, apparently.

Raging Storm: Level: 130 A Soul Master skill. Witches cannot get this. Requires level 10 Wind Blade and Mana Storm. Basically an upgrade to Wind Blade.

Earthquake: Level: 120 A Soul Master skill. Witches cannot get this. Requires level 10 Cleaving Terra and Mana Ring. An upgrade of Terra.



The Great Debate: Terra or Blade first?

Although there are many advantages to getting Terra early, there are many more to getting Blade early.
Why Blade? Well, it is a very fast skill with a short casttime and cooldown, which will take you through your difficult levels (right after job change) as painlessly as possible. Taking Terra first depends on fighting Nora Bigs, who do pretty big damage to level 50s. By the time you can fight Nora Bigs comfortably, you should have already mastered Blade, learned Terra, and leveled it up to a decent level (level 6+).
EDIT: As you are all aware, Nora Bigs have not been in the game for some time, so now there is less of a reason to get Terra first.

This brings us to....


Fighting Strategies

In my opinion, the best strategy for this build is a Ring/Blade blitzkrieg combo.
Snipe mobs with Ring, then run straight at them. Right before they are close enough to hit you, cast Wind Blade. It may take a little while to get the timing down on this. Run away quickly if that didn't kill them and hit them again with Ring. Whenever you see a very large amount of monsters together, hit them with Terra.
For ideal leveling, you should fight mobs that you can kill in two hits, and fight in a small area with the monsters crowded together (Phantom School is best).


Level Build
(all levels are TM)

(before job change)
Level 1: Mana Arrow to 1
Level 10: Get Invincible Casting, Cure to 4
Level 20: Get Bottle of Mana, Cure to 10
Level 28: Mana Ring to 9
Level 31: Mana Ring to Master
Level 40: Mist of Mana to 6
(job change)
Level 44: Mist of Mana to 10
Level 55: Wind Blade to 10
Level 57: Wind Blade to Master
Level 60: Mist of Mana to Master
Level 71: Cleaving Terra to 10
Level 73: Cleaving Terra to Master
Level 75: Cure to Master
Level 86: Mana Storm to 10
Level 87+: Pick and choose skills you want to level, however the third job skills are reccomended.

Notes: MR to master is optional, and after you master Blade you can move around the order you master skills to your own liking


ALTERNATE BUILDS

To be added later. Peruse the rest of the thread if you are interested.


FAQ

Q: I'm having difficulty with my Mana Ring, It always misses! What should I do?
A: Mana Ring has horrible accuracy at low levels, so it's wise to not use it until you have it leveled up a lot, level 8 or so. However, the MP cost for level 8 MR is too much for a low level... I would recommend to keep using your level 1 Mana Arrow until you can afford the MP cost.

Q: Does Cleaving Terra Miss?
A: I have never seen it miss. However, that does not mean that it can't miss. I've also noticed that Terra crits a lot.




Please tell me if you see anything wrong with the guide! Would you like me to clarify something? Did I spell something wrong? Do you think any of my opinions are unfounded? Is my guide an insult to humanity? Should I post a build summary?
Let me know! I will do my best to make this guide as accurate and clear as possible.
Now I need some sleep.


EDIT: to be totally revamped shortly. I should never write guides when sleep deprived.

[Leijido]

So.. according to your guide, a Sheep must master ring and get storm to 10 [well obviously, as it's a pre-req.] after their second job skills? @_@; I think it'd be easier if you posted a level by level type list, as to where one would put their points. >o<; Just because I leveled insanely fast using Mana Storm, and I was using Ring before it (I reset). I realize that ring is a better single attack, but level 1 arrow was just as effective for me y_y;

-Deleted for failing to read properly-

I was confused about the build thing haha. But uhm.. I read it more and understand it now.

Oh by the way, your guide swayed me from going Water/Wind to Earth/Wind. [: GOOD JOB. ;D

[KuyaBaka]

This is what I'm planning to do

Lv 1 Mana Arrow
Invincible Cast
Lv 10 Cure
Lv 10 Mana Ring
Lv 10 Mana Storm (can master)
Lv 1 Bottle of Mana
Lv 8 Mist of Mana
Seal of Earth
Seal of Wind (Mistake :X)
Lv 10 Cleaving Terra
Lv 10 Wind Blades
Lv 10 Mist of Mana (mastering as soon as I have Selis)
Master Galvest Typhoon*
Master Summon Boulder*

*Might not master ASAP. I might just get both to Lv 5 to see how they are, then master what I like better.

Mana Ring became troublesome when I had Lv 5 Terra and Wind Blades (a mistake), so I used the 5k from the Poppuri Event for a Master's Authority, and unlearned Rings -- giving me points for Terra and Wind Blades. I plan on getting Mana Ring learned again after Mist of Mana, Cleaving Terra, and Wind Blades is mastered (hopefully before I can get Summon Boulder and Galvest Typhoon).

[CombOver]

you also need to put that Wind Blade likes to FAIL alot...(very irritating)..until Mastered (or says by other people) mine is at lvl 10..it fails every once in awhile but alot less when i first go it!

[fieryshadowcard]

Nice reference guide. I think you should make mention of the Terra/Storm combo as well, though, as I feel that works better for kiting mobs. Also--since you're incorporating Ring into your preferred style-- it might be useful to note that Mana Ring Booster could be used down the line to make Mana Ring almost as strong as Cleaving Terra for single target-ish damage. When you do gain some insight into Summon Boulder, it might also be good to draw parallels between Summon Boulder and Mana Ring in terms of practicality.

[KairaKi]

Killing whole mobs at once is fun 8D Its funny to see so many ghosts floating up from the dead bodies XD. Maybe that's one of the reason people hate Sheeps. They think we all love AOEing everything (in my case I love too^^) I think I might try out this build. It seems like a lot of fun ;D

[sparkplug]

How do you calculate the damage of your spells? I think its MA related. but how exactly? does anyone know?

[Anchors]

You could check the Wiki, but the jWiki tends to be more accurate. (For instance, the Wiki's formula for Cleaving Terra uses the numbers directly off the skill card - 337? @ mastery - but those numbers are actually divided by 15, not 10 or 100, before you put them in the formula. That means terra's damage isn't 33.7×(MA-49?) but 337/15 × (MA-49?) or ~22.5×(MA-49?).)

[Levin]

Originally Posted by EarthBarrer

you also need to put that Wind Blade likes to FAIL alot...(very irritating)..until Mastered (or says by other people) mine is at lvl 10..it fails every once in awhile but alot less when i first go it!

I have no recollection of it failing, do you have some screenshots? o_o

As for whirlwind, well I've rarely ever used it since it's kinda limiting. You can't move even a inch or else it'll cancel so you have to make sure there's no lag that would force you to move or anything. So yeah unless you have people to lure to you or you're bossing, you won't be using it much. It is stronger than wind blade in damage on the hand.

[Anchors]

Galvest is great in combination with cleaving terra, which has large enough range made even larger by its AoE... meaning you can pretty much pull any monsters you can (and in some cases can't) see into its range.

Wind Blade fails on occasion before it's mastered. It's worth mastering, though... I don't know why anyone who has it would leave it unmastered.

[risea88]

Mist of Mana=should i master this one??? coz i see alot didnt master it...
but it boost your magic atcks

[Levin]

This is actually a very very old post and now you no longer need seli's to master mist of mana and only need 2 koom cards...making it a lot easier to master mist and now everyone can/does actually.

[useruseruser]

Since I can't make a topic, this is a good place.

I wanted to write something of my own up since there isn't hardly anything about these mage types, and the one that's here I don't quit agree with.

It's just a basic rundown of the first job skills in the order/level to get them.
The first way is focusing on mana storm while ignoring mana ring altogether.
The point is that you stick with a level one mana arrow until you get mana storm.

1 Mana Arrow - lv1 - tmlv1
6 Invincible Casting - learn - tmlv10 - 4 left
17 Mana Storm - lv10 - tmlv35 - 18 left
27 Cure - lv10 - tmlv40 - 13 left
29 Bottle of Mana - lv1 - tmlv40 - 11 left
40 Mist of Mana - lv8 - tmlv40 - 0 left
(gain two more tm levels)
42 Mist of Mana - lv10 - tmlv42 - 0 left
55 - Wind Blade - master - tmlv55

The point of this build is to get Mana Storm and go wail on mobs.
It can be done, I see Mana Storm users at path to oops wharf all the time, and kill so many enemies so fast it's ridiculous.

You'll probably notice how I tacked on cure all the way at tmlv40, but it's fine to get it earlier if you really want since there's spare points before mist of mana, just as long as it doesn't use points from other skills.
I'm just too lazy to list cure like five times.

Those with a keen eye will also notice how there's just enough points to get mist of mana to lv10 then have exactly enough points to master wind blade immediately when you get to tmlv55.

Do what you want at this point.
I'm not saying that getting to tmlv35 on a lv1 mana arrow is "easy", but it's doable.
You'll get mana ring eventually, but pretty much it's when you need it for higher up skills.

Also, if you want you can master mana storm, if you don't mind delaying every skill up by to tm levels.


Another way if you really can't stand a lv1 mana arrow until tm35.

1 Mana Arrow - lv1 - tmlv1
6 invincible casting - learn - tmlv6
12 mana ring - lv5 - tmlv20 - 8 left
23 mana storm - lv10 - tmlv 35 - 12 left
33 cure - lv10 - tmlv40 - 7 left
35 bottle of mana - lv1 - tmlv40 - 5 left
40 mist of mana - lv2 - tmlv40 - 0 left
(gain two more tm levels)
42 mist of mana - lv4 - tmlv42 - 0 left
55 wind blade - master - tmlv55

If you absolutely have to have an attack spell other than mana arrow.
It's lv5 because if it was lv1 then you might as well just use mana arrow.
I don't recommend this build though because you end up short on points for mist of mana, which means that, except for early on when you get mana ring, your overall damage will be lower until you build up points for mist of mana later on, which also means delaying cleaving terra.

Let me know what you think.

[Anchors]

Level 5 MR misses like freaking crazy.

Level 4 mist of mana with 4 attack spells really just means you'll be wasting tons and tons of MP potions compared to even just getting mist to 10 and using 3 attack spells (arrow, storm OR MR, blade) - or even mastering mist and using one attack spell (arrow or MR or blade, although getting to TM 55 without any attack spells would probably require plvling or card battle leveling).

If you want to get wind blade right away at TM 55, you almost don't need another attack spell at all. However, it might be worth putting off for MR, for its speed and range (and splash). It's very efficient at getting monsters into your wind blade range, and it's powerful enough at those levels with mist to get you to TM ~60 to master wind blade anyway.

[useruseruser]

I never heard of the mana ring accuracy being low, so I guess mana ring is pointless altogether unless it's lv10 or master.

Anyway, like I said, the point is to avoid mana ring, you don't need it and it saves some points on a build that is usually considered fairly hefty on tm points.
It's not very strong and it's splash damage doesn't mean much when you have the mana storm/wind blade/cleaving terra combo.

I suppose you could use it for luring monsters towards you when using wind blade, but 11 tm points just for that is not what I'd call efficient.
I would suggest using mana arrow for that if you can manage, and even if you can't well like 95% of higher level enemies are aggro anyway.

I'm not saying that you can't use mana ring or course, I'm just nitpicky and don't personally think that mana ring is a good use for tm points.

[Anchors]

I've found that MR 8+ has no hitrate problems for a 1423.

The nice thing about MR and booster is that it can do just enough damage to allow certain other (weak) spells to kill monsters. For instance, RMR + wind blade at level 6X in art room can become a kill combo if you gear up for MA. 10 MR + Light arrow can become a kill combo at techi 1 against Lakis at relatively low 1XX. Whirlwind blaze + MR will kill just about any magic weak monster of appropriate level, as will drip bomb + MR.

I guess it was a little misleading of me to say that it was used to "lure" monsters - it does that but also lets you start killing monsters from afar.

Terra and storm both do this, too, but both are actually far slower in comparison. MR takes a flat 0.3s to tag a monster - even though the tag doesn't show until the three rings hit and the damage appears (or if you cause damage before then). Storm takes 1s to cast and nearly another 1s for the tag to actually come into effect. (In crowded and/or high-level areas, you'll get KSed a lot out because of this if you use storm to start your combos.) Terra takes 1.5s. MR's splash effect also tags monsters in range at time of cast completion, so, as long as it does 1 damage or more, that monster is yours to finish off however you like.

Terra's much better for spread-out mobs, or maps with incredibly high spawn (like swamp6 or swamp2), but be prepared to lose a few monsters to other players nearby before completing the cast.

In case you couldn't tell, I absolutely love MR. x3 It's not necessary for any build (although as a light dragon i dunno what i'd do without it), but it sure helps a lot, especially since your other speed spell requires that you be in close proximity to your targets. (It'll also pretty much ~halve travel time to on-screen monsters since it'll basically call your target to you as you run to it - no sprints required.)

[Renz]

Yeah, nice words Anchors. MR is simply the best skill to make combos.