What is a Perma-Beginner?
A Perma-Beginner is someone who refuses to take a job at level 8 or 10, and continue leveling as a beginner. They're often called superbeginners, since their skills are beyond and above regular beginners.
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Reasons to be a Perma Beginner.
Being jobless sucks, in real life or otherwise, and MapleStory is no different. However, there is something nice about not having a job, and that's not having any responsibilities either. No one cares if your n00b does not make it to level 70, nor do they expect it. Taxis cost only at
maximum 120 mesos, which makes a perma-beginner a great way to deliver goods to guild members and offsite auction winners. Since you don't lose experience when you die, you are free to explore Victoria Island without fear of death. Go ahead and fight the Crimson Balrog or Mushmom at level 15, just don't expect to win.
It's also difficult to be the most powerful people on your server, but fairly easy to reach the top 10 on any server as a beginner, just make it to around level 35 on any servers.
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Reasons not to be a Perma Beginner.
I don't recommend a perma beginner as your main character, just as something to do when you're bored of your main character. They level slowly, they're the lowest power of any class, and if you like melee combat, warriors are a much better choice, since beginners are limited to only one-on-one combat, with no mob control skills.
They don't have much of a choice in armor or weapons, with no armor(excluding capes and helmets) after level 31. They also have less inventory space, which makes them less ideal as a storage box then a warrior.
Anytime you spend with your Beginner is time you could have spent with your
main character.
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Three kinds of Perma Beginners
There are three kinds of Perma Beginners: Islanders, Snail Crushers and Pros. Islanders stay on Maple Island and attempt to be the most powerful character there.
Pro: Very easy to become the strongest character on Maple Island
Con: Not much to do on Maple Island, so it gets really boring after level 25.
Snail Crushers prefer to master a low-level monster, rather than train towards higher ones.
Pro: Other characters awe at your skills as you ks in your undies.
Con: Can get very boring fighting the same monster over and over again.
Pros actually play the beginner class as a serous class. They attempt to compete with everyone, a tough choice.
Pro: You have the best chance with this build to reach level 70.
Con: You're much weaker then every other class, so the training is very slow and unrewarding.
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So, you want to be an Islander?
Well, here's the perfect roll you want.
Str X
Dex 4
Int 4
Luk X
Unlike off the Island, all you need is 4 accuracy to hit everything, which you can obtain with 4 luk and 4 dex. Having more in dex is fine, but Int should be 4.
There are two standard builds for Islanders. The first would maximize your chances of one hit killing a monster by using strength and dex. With the standard 10% mastery, strength adds to your maximum damage while dex adds to your minimum damage. At some point, raising your strength will not yield a better chance of one hit killing a monster. The calculations supplied by
Shoax(using a 38 attack purse)
For best chance of 1HKO Orange Mushroom: Cap at 205 STR, rest into DEX
For best chance of 2HKO Orange Mushroom: Cap at 100 STR, rest into DEX
For best chance of 3HKO Orange Mushroom: Cap at 65 STR, rest into DEX
The 2nd build would be to add to luk instead of dex, to take advantage of more avoid. Since a miss prevents knockback, it's possible that your beginner will be able to train faster.
Training:
I recommend getting the razor as soon as you can afford it. Its range is pretty poor, but it's an ultimate shroom and snail killer. Keep the first weapon for the Orange Mushrooms, until you find a high attack sword. Around level 7 ~ 8, begin focusing on obtaining the drops you need to be the best-dressed and equipped character on maple island.
(Side note for the jobbed classes, once you get mastery, strength adds more to your minimum attack then dex does. However, with 10% mastery, dex adds more to your minimum attack than strength)
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Weapons
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All Levels.
Sword - Snail and Red Snail (Look for w.atk 19)
Hand Ax - Shroom (Look for w.atk 19)
Sky Snowboard - Orange Mushroom and Red Snail (Limited time only)
Yellow Valentine Rose - All monsters.
Level 10:
Double Ax - Orange Mushroom(limited time only)
Level 12:
Red Valentine Rose - All Monsters(limited time only)
Level 15:
Leather Purse - Red Snail
Level 24:
White Valentine Rose - All monsters(limited time only)
Level 48:
Blue Valentine Rose - All monsters(limted time only)(Only for Godly Islanders)
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Armor
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Level 0:
Red Mini Skirt (F) - Snail
Yellow Cotton Shirt(F) - Red Snail
White UnderShirt (M) - Snail
UnderShirt (M) - Blue Snail
Leather Sandals - Red Snail
Level 5:
Green Headband - Snail
Blue ClamDigger's - Shroom
Level 11:
Red-Striped T-Shirt (F) - Blue Snail
Blue One-lined T-Shirt (M) - Blue Snail
Gray Thick Sweat Pants (M) - Blue Snail
White Gomushin (White Korean Rubber Shoes) - Orange Mushroom
(The White Gomushin is like haste for n00bs)
Level 15:
Amethyst Earrings - Red Snail
Level 16:
Ice Jeans - Snail and Shroom
Usable Items that can be used with the limited number of Island Items:
Scroll for Helmet for Def. (10%) - Snail
Scroll for Shoes for Jump (10%) - Orange Mushroom
Scroll for Helmet for Def. (60%) - Orange Mushroom
You can also barter a brown or green skullcap or a red, yellow, green or blue headband from the pre-jobbers doing the "Bring this letter to Lucas" quest. If you made it to level 10, you can also party and train pre-jobbers in exchange for these items.
I'd recommend some training areas, but I guarantee by level 15, you will have been over the Island many, many times and know it all by heart.
Congratulations, you're on your way to becoming king of the Island.
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So, you want to be a Snail Crusher?
Snail Crushers rule the n00bs. A snail crusher chooses to master a certain monster, such as squishes, orange mushrooms, snails or boars. You may choose to rule the squishy tree, or Land of the Wild Boar or whatever map(s) you choose.
The build is very simple, add dex until you can hit the monster you want to fight, add strength and dex until you can one hit kill them, then add luk so you can 100% avoid them.(scrolls and buff items maybe used to archive your goal). Fight in your undies! The build is basically the same as the Islander, you just get off the Island, I recommend leaving the Island at level 16 ~ 20, because that's when you begin to become too powerful for it or leave when you're ready to face your real adversary.
Orange mushroom spawns at the Dangerous Forest are really nice on the Island, much better than the slime tree. If everyone could stay to level 20, they would.
There's no real training for this build, because it's up to you which goal you want to hit.
This website has an estimated chance to hit calculator. This calculation uses *accuracy*, not dex, which can be found by clicking Abilities and then clicking details. You get 4 accuracy for every 5 dex you add and 1 accuracy for every 2 luk you add.
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So, you want to be a ProBeginner?
Pros are built with the goal of hitting the high levels, although it's a lofty attempt. High-level beginners are rare; everyone wants to be a friend of a 30 level n00b, when they're not accusing you of cheating.
Str X
Dex X
Int 4
Luk 4
Is the perfect build, having more in luk won't hurt, but int is mostly useless, because AP is better off spent somewher else.
Originally, I thought the warrior 2x dex per level build was good enough for a beginner, but I was mistaken, I apologies for anyone who followed that advice, because it's a wrong fit for a beginner. My new suggestion is to just obtain exactly the acc needed to hit your target 100%, and plan head to reach that goal. Then dump everything into strength you need for dex, because beginners require the extra strength to make up for our lack of skills.
I'm going to start a new trend in warrior guides, I'm just going to list acc needed to hit what I recommend for you to train on, and I'll leave it up to the reader on how to obtain the needed acc, whither by scrolling your equipment, using acc adding equipment like the red headband, or the pig illustrated, by using sniper pots (+5 acc) or pills (+10 acc), by add dex. (5 dex = 4 acc) or by adding luk (2 luk = 1 acc)
Again do *not* gradually build up your acc by adding dex, because this makes training even slower. Put everything into dex at the last possible level to reach your next accuracy goal for your next training area. You'll be training on the same thing for many levels, so being able to hit it for more damage is more important than being able to hit things you won't train on for a few
levels. Planning your training route beforehand is required, but part of the fun of a hard build like perma-beginner is trying to find the optimal path that will lead you to level 70+.
Unless otherwise noted, the recommend acc is to hit 100%, although many warriors suggest that 50% ~ 75% is good enough, so it's possible to train on these things with less acc then listed, just use the acc calculator to make sure you're going to hit above 50%.
Here's a guess at training.
Level 1-10 Snails on Maple Island
==== Level 0 Acc 1
Level 8-25 Orange Mushrooms at Maple Island
Level 9-25 Orange Mushrooms at Dangerous Forest on Maple Island (Good spawn)
Level 9 ~ 25 Orange Mushrooms at Small Field of Flowers on Maple Island
Level 10 -25 Orange Mushrooms at Henesey Hunting Grounds I
Level 10 - 25 Hidden Street: The Mushroom Garden
==== Level 8 Acc 4
Level 10-Forever Slime Tree. (You're not a n00b if you haven't played
in the slime tree)
==== Level 10 Acc 4
Level 20-30 Green Mushrooms at Henesey Hunting Grounds I
Level 20-30 Green Mushrooms at Tree Dungeons around Ellinia.
==== Level 20 Acc 18
Level 22-30 Green and Horned Mushrooms at Tree Dungeons around Ellinia.
Level 22-40 Horned Mushrooms in the Ant Tunnel
==== Level 22 Acc 26
Level 40 - 50 Evil Eyes in the Ant Tunnel
==== Level 40 Acc 37
Level 40 - 50 Wild Boars on the maps east of Perion, where the spawn is slower.
Or Land of the Wild Boars II, if you feel lucky.
==== Level 40 Acc 29
Level 40 - 50 Ratz
==== Level 40 Acc 48
Level 40 - 50 Dirty Ratz
==== Level 40 Acc 55
Level 40 - 50 Jr. Lioner, Jr. Grupin, Jr. Cellion
==== Level 40 Acc 55
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Aqua Road Monsters
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Level 30 - 40 Cico
==== Level 30 Acc 29
Level 30 - 40 Krappi
==== Level 30 Acc 29
Level 30 - 40 Cicle
==== Level 30 Acc 33
Level 40 - 50 Mask Fish (Recommended for their good drops)
==== Level 40 Acc 51
Level 40 - 50 Bubblefish (Recommended for their good drops)
==== Level 40 Acc 37
I'd like to mention here, that there's also the Zakum PQ, which gives
out exp for completing it.
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Ultimate beginner / some beginner ranting.
Since the n00b is basically a warrior without skills, so it's possible to do the ultimate fighter build on him. Gloves, Shoes, Capes and Overall Armor can be +dex scrolled, so it's possible to dump all skill points into str and rely on scrolled armors to take the place of your missing dex. This would give a beginner enough strength to overpower all other classes's raw damage.
Another possibility is to put points in your skill points in luk instead of dex in the proBeginner. Having a lot of monsters missing may make up for the lack of armor past level 31.
Another strategy is Instead of relying on avoid, a beginner may attempt to get the max amount of jump and speed. This would allow a beginner to manually avoid monsters, instead of relying on avoid. The catch is that monsters often spawn right on top of you, which is pretty difficult to manually avoid, but for all other cases, it's more reliable than hoping the game mechanics will do it for you.
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Jobbed Beginners.
A job beginner is somewhat of a vague category. The basic idea is to create a beginner-style character, but give him a job so he can use many of the skills along with his toy weapons. This is different then just a unique build, because a unique build looks at a class and figures out a new way of modifying it while a job beginner tweaks a beginner's build around a class. Below are
common job beginners.
Woodsman
A woodsman is a bowman that takes advantage of *The Blessing of Amazon* and *Focus* to gain +36 free accuracy, allowing for a beginner with more strength(and therefore more raw damage) then a normal build. In the second job, a woodsman can use *Power Knock Back* with a bow to do damage, instead of their toy weapons, since the Maple weapons can be equipped without a dex requirement. Many Woodsmen who focuses on Power Knock Back prefers to be called
a "Bow Whacker" rather then a woodsman.
Standard build:
Blessing of Amazon -> Focus -> whatever, since you need to burn AP
Brigand
A Brigand is a bandit that takes advantage of the often unused bandit skills, like Max Dark Sight, Max Steal and Max Disorder as well as haste and Nimble Body. Both Max Disorder and Max Steal are very good PQ skills, which makes a Brigand a good PQ support character.
Standard Build:
Max Nimble Body -> Max Disorder -> Max Disorder -> 1 point in Whatever
Max Haste -> Max Steal -> Whatever.
Str Mage aka Mace mage aka Palladian aka GuardMage
I'm very hesitate to include the strength mage as a jobbed beginner, because in truth, a strength mage is a previously supported class, with it's mace for mages and Blue Doros Robe which gives +3 strength. However, I included it because Nexon dropped the support for this class by failing to give mages mace mastery and mace booster in the 2nd job, as well as failing to make the 50+ level maces available to magicians. After about level 50, a Str mage must use the same
beginner toy weapons and armor a normal beginner must use, which is why I consider them jobbed beginners.
Of all the jobbed beginners, a str mage is probably the best off. In the first job they get Magic Guard and Magic Armor. And they are free to pick which class in the 2nd job. An I/L mage has the ability to freeze a monster and attack them. A F/P mage can poison a monster and use their
weapons to finish them off. A Cleric gets heal, which is pretty weak for attacking monsters without the needed int, but since healing yourself and your party is % based and not magic attack based, it's very useful. All of them get teleport, which most warriors would give their left nut for.
Standard Build:
Magic Armor -> Magic Guard -> MP Recovery(5)-> Improving Max MP -> MP recovery
I/L:
Ice Beam -> Teleport -> Slow -> Whatever
F/P:
Poison -> Teleport -> Slow -> Whatever
Cleric:
Heal -> Teleport > Bless -> Invincible -> Whatever
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Party Questing
After meeting 2Hearts1Lov3 and having a minor discussion with Dreamnoob; I now fully recommend PQ'ing for all perma-beginners who are experienced PQ'ers.
I originally thought it would be tough for a beginner to find a PQ, but I forgot that one of the coolest things you can do is party with a subern00b, and most PQ'ers know it! Secondly, most beginner have no problem leaving the boss stages,since beginner do not have a chance with Alishar, and only a minor chance with the King Slime. This means the beginner is free to check and find tracks, as well as scout out the area for a rush. That makes beginner a value to
the party.
The reason I suggest this route for experienced PQ'ers, is because as a beginner, you'll drag your party down during battle heavy stages, so you need to make up for it by doing quick non-battle stages.(sometimes half the PQ is stage 8!)
Here's the accuracy needed to hit some of the PQ monsters.
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PQ Monsters
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Level 24-30 Party Quest at Kerning.
Hit Ligators 100%
==== Level 24 Acc 47
==== Level 26 Acc 45
==== Level 28 Acc 42
==== Level 30 Acc 39
Hit Ligators 50%
==== Level 24 Acc 36
==== Level 26 Acc 34
==== Level 28 Acc 32
==== Level 30 Acc 30
Slime King 100%
==== Level 24 Acc 58
==== Level 26 Acc 55
==== Level 28 Acc 53
==== Level 30 Acc 50
Slime King 50%
==== Level 24 Acc 44
==== Level 26 Acc 42
==== Level 28 Acc 40
==== Level 30 Acc 38
Level 40-50 Party Quest at Ludibrium.
Ratz
==== Level 40 Acc 48
Ratz 50%
==== Level 40 Acc 36
Black Ratz
==== Level 40 Acc 51
Black Ratz 50%
==== Level 40 Acc 39
Bloctopus
==== Level 40 Acc 55
Bloctopus 50%
==== Level 40 Acc 42
Dark Eyes (The mean looking eyes which are weak to physical attacks)
==== Level 40 Acc 73
==== Level 43 Acc 66
Dark Eyes 50%
==== Level 40 Acc 55
==== Level 43 Acc 50
Alishar
==== Level 40 Run away!(151)
==== Level 50 Run away!(116)
Alishar(50%)
==== Level 40 Run away!(114)
==== Level 50 Run away!(88)
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Armor and Weapons.
My personal suggestion is to head towards blunt weapons. They are the cheapest to scroll and you'll need to scroll if you want to make it to the later levels. Plus, there's just something cool about ks jobbed Maplers with your purse. Otherwise, you're pretty limited in your choices. Just
choose what you like, because n00bs are style over substance.
The Snowboards and Roses are also nice.
Some notable weapons and armors I've found: The plunger (level 25), which is dropped from the Jr. Lioner, because it's maximum possible attack, is 49 without scrolling. That's much higher than most class's 30 level weapons and much cheaper to scroll, too.
The Fish Spear, which is dropped from bubbling. Avoid the one from the Aqua road quest, it's pretty weak.
The Pigs Illustrated, which gives a +10 accuracy.
The Maple Sword is a level 35 weapon with gives +20 to acc.
The Maple Soul Singer is a level 43 weapon that gives +30 acc A godly Dex scrolled Sauna robe is easy-ish to find, since other classes like them as well. If not, 1 10% and 9 100% dex scroll Sauna robe is a good option.
In MapleGlobal, a funded beginner can scroll an American flag and get that extra +10 strength as well as a weapon that has the potetional of being better then the average 25 level weapons.
In MapleGlobal, the Valentine Roses are pretty good weapons, especially since polearm scrolls are fairly cheap.
There are two frozen tunas, the first is a level 10 weapon which can be equipped by anyone, while the level 20 weapon is for beginners only.
MapleSEA has the Sake Bottle, which has more attack then any average weapon
in the game.
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Scrolling.
Just like a normal class's 6x, you'll be 25+ for a very long time, so you benefit from scrolling everything.
I'm only listing the ones available on MapleGlobal, so it's possible your version of MapleStory has additional scrolls. The ones marked with a *#* can be purchased, otherwise they must be found or bought on the FM.
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This is a list of scrolls that improve Dex
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Scroll for Cape for Dex 100% = +1 Dex
Scroll for Cape for Dex 60% = + 2 Dex
Scroll for Cape for Dex 10% = + 3 Dex
*2* *3* Scroll for Gloves for Dex 100% = +1 Acc
Scroll for Gloves for Dex 60% = +2 Acc, +1 Dex
Scroll for Gloves for Dex 10% = +5 Acc, +3 Dex , +1 Avoid
*1* Scroll for Overall for Dex 100% = +1 to Dex
Scroll for Overall for Dex 60% = +1 Acc, +2 Dex
Scroll for Overall for Dex 10% = +3 Acc , +5 Dex, +1 Speed
Scroll for Shoes for Dex 100% = *No Dex! Misleading name!* +1 Avoid
Scroll for Shoes for Dex 60% = +1 Acc, +2 Avoid
Scroll for Shoes for Dex 10% = +3 Acc, +5 Avoid, +1 Speed
Scroll for Shoes for Jump 60% = +2 Jump, +1 Dex
Scroll for Shoes for Jump 10% = +5 Jump, +3 Dex, +1 Speed
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I recommend scrolling your helmet for HP as well
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*1* *2*Scroll for Helmet for HP 100% = +5 HP
Scroll for Helmet for HP 60% = +10 HP
Scroll for Helmet for HP 10% = +30 HP
*1* Toolcas from Swamp of Despair II
*2* Barn from the 14 floor of Orbis Tower
*3* Vega from the 44 floor of EoS Tower
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Skills and possible training
N00bs got Skillz! Beginner skills are here to let pre-mages and pre-thieves, who have really poor damage, have a chance to complete the quests on Maple Island. Here's a list of the skills you can choose from.
Recover
Recover HP over a period of 30 seconds - usable only once every ten minutes
Level 1 - Use 10 MP to heal 24 HP.
Level 2 - Use 20 MP to heal 48 HP.
Level 3 - Use 30 MP to heal 72 HP.
Three Snails
Throw a snail shell to attack an enemy from far away.
Level 1 - Use 10 MP to throw a snail shell for 10 damage
Level 2 - Use 15 MP to throw a blue snail shell for 25 damage
Level 3 - Use 20 MP to throw a red snail shell for 40 damage
Agility Tickle
Suddenly move quickly. Usable once every fifteen minutes.
Level 1 - Use 10 MP to gain 10 speed for 4 seconds.
Level 2 - Use 15 MP to gain 15 speed for 8 seconds.
Level 3 - Use 30 MP to gain 20 speed for 12 seconds.
And now a real description, since those ones are pretty sparse.
Recover is good before you need MP. Every 10 minutes, it gives you 72 HP, which is about one pot, and 10 minutes between usage gives a beginner enough time to recharge MP naturally. However, when a person needs MP for their main skills, this one is pointless.
Agility Tickle is often called beginner haste, but it's better described as beginner flash jump. It's not here to aid in training, but to use the extra speed to escape from a bad situation and position yourself into a better one.
Three Snails is probably the best skill in the 3. 10, 25 or 40 damage. Most people prefer only putting two points in this skill, since it's much easier to find blue snails then red ones. This skill was nerfed, it originally always hit, but now it only hits based on your own accuracy.
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Conclusion
This route is not for everyone, in fact, it's really just for goofing off and trying to be different. Don't be afraid to not follow a build, explore places you shouldn't have been, get owned by the various creatures that inhabit MapleStory and have a good time. Perma-Beginner is all about style over substance, to be the guy with a baseball cap and a snowboard competing against
someone with a sword and armor
It's a chance to play a character that can lose nothing in MapleStory, one that doesn't belong in the Maple world, and one that is not afraid to step outside the boat during the trip between Orbis and Ellinia. One that will never care about flashily moves.
All Mario has is jump and attack, and he gets to rescue the princess! If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for you.
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Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank myself, Diet Pepsi for keeping me awake at night and Korea.
Thank you Dreamnoob for emailing me.
Thank you BeginOfTime, for the guide to Aqua road monsters, as well as advice outside of MapleGlobal.
Thank you Island King for telling how to fix my Island guide.
If you hate my guide, I highly recommend Shoax's guide; it's the encyclopedia of perma-beginners. I don't have the attention span to read it, but I've heard it was pretty good.
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Author.
OresPlz is on Bera, as a 1 handed swordsman.
Contact me at binomine AT gmail. Or via GoogleTalk with the same name if you have important corrections or suggestions to this guide,
I always accept meaningful criticism.
