Sage

Sage
Job Base(s):	Mage
Job Type:	2-2
Changes At:	Juno
Number of Skills:	20
Total Skill Points:	116
Total Quest Skills:	2
Job Bonuses
STR AGI VIT INT DEX LUK +5 +5 +3 +9 +5 +3

Overview

Sages are a PvP-oriented class with the role of caster/anti-Mage. They do not have the offensive abilities of a Wizard, but are a slightly buffed version of Mage with their Free Casting. Sages shine in their defensive abilities, with many builds centered around Magnetic Earth. Dispell is also a popular and sought-after spell which is useful for removing buffs from the enemy. Many of their skills can only realistically be used in PvP, making PvM quite difficult, particularly for VIT/DEX builds that have difficulty solo levelling. Battle sages are a 'for fun' build which can become a powerful leveling build only if matched with a Soul Linker (see Sage Spirit for more info).

Job Change Guide

See Sage Job Change Guide for detailed information.

Changing into a Sage from a Mage requires the player to complete a number of tasks:

• Item Collection
• Written Test
• Battle Test
• Thesis Composition

After completing these tests, the player will be transformed into a Sage. This takes place in Juno.

Builds

Generally the best two Bolts to max are Fire Bolt and Lightning Bolt. The former is pretty much a given and LB is chosen because it is on the opposite side of the elements table. What this means is that having both FB and LB covers all the basic elements with no room for weakness. FB/CB on the other hand is weak to Water, as neither element is effective against it.

Skills generally include Thunderstorm, Fireball, and Heaven's Drive for mobbing, maxing all three Bolt skills and skipping the many PvP skills, such as Stone Curse and Magnetic Earth. However, this depends on personal preference.

Basic Sage Leveling Build

• STR: 1
• AGI: 1
• VIT: 50-80
• INT: 90-99
• DEX: 50-80
• LUK: 9 (starting stat)

Skill build: Skill Simulator

Sage's start off as strong leveling class, able to tank mobs while killing with Thunderstorm and Fireball, or pick off single targets with bolt spells. Unfortunately towards later levels (after about 85) it begins to get alot harder to kill with the weak bolt spells, and no matter how much INT you have, you will never be able to do enough damage in a reasonable amount of time to be considered a primary kill class anymore (although it is still possible to find mobs weak enough to aoe spells to solo level). That is why players should prepare their builds with a decent amount of VIT for survivability to be able to endure either while solo leveling, or while partying. Later levels will be spent either aiding with additional damage and buffs in parties, or finding mobs weak to Earth element to mob train with Heavens Drive(which can be much slower than just partying). Due to the lack of powerful damage, going PURE INT/DEX glasscannon does not work well with this class and is not a good idea.

Hindsight

With Soul Linker

• STR: 1
• AGI: 98
• VIT: 1
• INT: 99
• DEX: 9 (base stat)
• LUK: 1

Without Soul linker

• STR: 30-50
• AGI: 84-91 or 98 for max aspd
• VIT: 1-30
• INT: 80
• DEX: 35-45
• LUK: 1

Crit Build Without Soul Linker (the better of the 2 non-soullinked builds)

• STR: 30-60
• AGI: 84-91
• VIT: 1-30
• INT: 80
• DEX: 1-30 (ONLY if not hitting perfect crit rate, which can easily be fixed with proper gear)
• LUK: 1-30 (if using dagger of counter, little to no LUK will be needed other then for mATK and Atk dmg boost)

Crit build is the better of the 2 non-soul linked builds because it offers higher dmg hits, and requires little to no DEX to land hits, which means freed up STAT points to put into other things such as VIT or more STR. Additionally, LUK not only adds CRIT, but it now adds mATK, which makes this the ideal build for Hindsight. This build WILL require CRIT gear due to the lack of dex. Dagger of Counter or Skeleton Soldier cards in an Encyclopedia are the best option.

Skill build: Skill Simulator

Free Cast and Hindsight allows this build to melee with books while raining bolts from above on their foes. Despite being a melee build, their main offensive power doesn't come from having STR, but rather from the high ASPD to trigger the moderate damage bolts. Some even prefer to drop their STR to a marginal amount, and wield a Bazerald dagger for the added MATK bonus. Coupled with the Sage Spirit buff of Soul Linkers, leveling them in Ice Dungeon with Lightning Bolt is very effective. Hindsight Sages should not use any shield because using them will lower their ASPD by a significant amount.

It is not recommended to play this build without maximum FLEE rate gear due to the poor flee rate and low hp of mage class. A Whisper card and an Alicel card will almost be mandatory for survival if no soul linker is available to Kaahi the Sage. With auto-cast and CRIT or attack power boosting gear, players can make a non-soul linked version of this build work, however it is very pricey to do. The nonsoul linked version requires points into LUK or DEX and STR to makeup for the poor bolt damage to ensure that players hit their target . Relying solely on bolt casts will lead to many deaths.

Hocus-Pocus!!

• STR: 1
• AGI: 1
• VIT: 70
• INT: 130+
• DEX: 70
• LUK: 9

Skill build: Skill Simulator

During the early days of the introduction to the Sage class, it was the glory days of the Hocus-pocus Sages. Sadly the yellow-gem nerf and Hocus-pocus Boss nerf meant the end of their era. The build aims at the most INT possible for a good regen rate, since casting HP repeatedly can drain the SP considerably. It also doesn't go for maxed DEX, but focuses more on VIT instead to avoid death by random Hocus-pocus skills.

Tactics

PvM Leveling Tips

Their AoE-repertoire is limited to Fire Ball, Fire Wall, Heaven's Drive and Thunderstorm. Although a battle build can be enjoyable, partied with a Priest, a pure PvM caster build yields faster exp rates. Their endows can be indispensable for other classes during PvM/MVP, hence many Sages are built for slaving purposes only.

The fastest way to level with this class is to build on INT/VIT/DEX with HP boosting gears, and mob training using AoE spells to kill. Questing with the appropriate spells hotkeyed and preplanned out for the mob weakness, will yield fastest results. Teaming up with another DPS class is ideal, but not needed.

Equipment

Weapons

Book

Encyclopedia [2]

Ledger of Death [2]

Principles of Magic [2]

Strictly for Magic Attack, The Principles of Magic sets (Principles of Magic, Pocket Watch, Librarian Glove, Monocle) outperforms other gear combinations on a hindsight sage with a Soul Linker slave. Ledger of Death, on the other hand, is a better choice for those who wish to achieve the highest possible attack speed. The Encyclopedia coupled with dmg cards offers a decent replacement for using Dagger of Counter, although Dagger of Counter is still the ideal weapon to use for Hindsight builds.

Knife

Fortune Sword

Grimtooth

Combat Knife

Dagger of Counter

VIT/DEX Sages can use Fortune Swords, Grimtooths, or Combat Knives for defensive purposes.

Battlesages can use Dagger of Counter for crits.

Rod

Eden Staff II

This easy to get item is the best weapon a Sage has access to until rebirth. It offers the highest mAtk of all non-trans staffs and is only 1-handed so the Sage can also wear a shield with it for damage reduction.

Survivor's Rod (Dex)

Survivor's Rod (Int)

INT/DEX Sages and the majority of VIT/DEX opt for a Rod of some sort. Dexterous/Vital Rods/Staffs are the most common, although Survivor's Rods have become very popular. In Veins update there is an item called Survivor's Manteau, which grants bonuses if a Survivor's Rod is equipped.

Headgear

Top

Mage Hat

All around useful headgear for mage classes. Gives 2 INT and increases SP by 150.

Apple of Archer

This makes a good headgear for leveling, and can also be used in PvP. Although it is a fragile headgear (0 DEF and no damage reduction) the relatively large DEX bonus is a nice compensation.

Drooping Cat

A PvP/WoE headgear that is useful alongside a Poo Poo Hat. It's not recommended to use this for general leveling.

Golden Gear

A solid headgear which cannot be broken, giving 5 Defense. VIT/DEX Sages might be fond of this, although Drooping Cats and Poo Poo Hats are most common for WoE.

Feather Beret

-10% damage from Demi Humans makes for an excellent headgear in PvP and WoE. It gives an additional +1 MDEF, +1 DEF, and is upgradeable.

• Slotted headgear (Dress Hat, Virgo Diadem, Crown of Deceit, Moon Rabbit Hat, etc)
  (If the Sage is not VIT based then Marduk Card would be useful here, which protects from the silence status.)

Middle

Sunglasses [1]

• The mid-headgear for those with lots of money, or lucky enough to own/inherit one from years ago. S.Sunglasses are more likely now to be saved away for MvP cards. If a Sunglasses is Erudite or Peerless though, it can be useful for a Sage.

Takius Blindfold

Robo Eye

• DEF Headgears

Opera Masque

Angel Wing Ears

Evil Wing Ears

Alarm Mask

These headgears are mainly used for the DEF they provide. Angel/Evil Wing Ears are a particularly good choice for Battlesages as they give both DEF and STR, although Masquerade is a possibility as well (only for Battlesages - the +3% does not work in conjunction with Magic). Opera Masques and Alarm Masks also occupy the bottom slot.

Bottom

• Gangster Mask
  15% resistance to silence.

• Cigarette or Pipe
  3% damage from Insect race monsters.

• Evolved Pipe
  +1 VIT - Kafra Shop Item Only

Armor

• Formal Suit
  Provides 5 DEF and weigh very little.

• Mink Coat
  Provides 6 DEF but weighs a massive 230, drastically limiting the amount of other items that can be carried.

• Coat
  It doesn't have as much Def as Mink Coat and it's not as light as Formal Suit but an ordinary Coat is a lot cheaper. The weight is quite hefty though. Mantles are a good alternative for making an elemental armor set due to their low price and weight.

• Silk Robe
  Most popular choice for Unfrozen armors given its weight and MDEF.

Shield

• Guard/Memory Book
  Don't bother with the Mage-class Card combo (Parasite), just go for a racial card. Slotted memory book is very useful for caster sages, it has the same function as a guard with an additional +1 int. Memory Book is also part of the Pocket Watch set.

• Stone Buckler
  Tiny bit more Def than a Guard.. and also offers -5% damage from Large Sized Monsters (Ice Titans / Byalan Monsters).

Garment

• Muffler/Heavenly Maiden Robe
  Battlesages would be best off with either Whisper or Raydric depending on their flee whilst casters may opt for Raydric and Noxious Cards.

• Ragamuffin Manteau
  Gives a good chunk of MDEF.

Footgear

• Shoes
  For leveling Eggyra is best given the SP regeneration. Verit work well in WoE, Matyr and Firelock Soldier tend to be aimed more at melee/less SP dependent classes. The new +exp shoes make a good alternative for leveling.

Accessory

• Clip
  Clips are good for utility cards, for example Creamy, Phen and Vitata. It is almost essential to get these cards, otherwise it will be significantly harder to level. Once the player reaches level 90 alternatively they can be slotted into Gloves/Rosaries for a small boost in stats and to make switching easier.

• Ancient Glove
  Nimble Gloves (Zerom Card) give a large amount of DEX which makes a noticable difference to cast timed. Prior to level 90, Zerom/Wormtail Clips are feasible.

• Ancient Rosary
  Rosaries are the common choice for WoE.

• Ancient Ring/Brooch
  Aimed for melee only. Kukre or Mantis Cards can be used, depending upon which accessory is chosen.

• Nile Rose
  A good alternative for Clips. The reason to this is that they take a different hotkey. Cycling between 3 accessories has never been easier with two Clips (Phen and Zerom) and a Nile Rose (Vitata).

• Owl Baron/Owl Duke Combo
  Good choice for Battle Sages, since they can get close to 190 ASPD without accessories, having this combo lets you dish out a bit more damage.

• Pocket Watch and Librarian Glove
  Used with the Principles of Magic set. Pocket Watch is used with the monocle + memory book set.

Class Data

Skills

See Mage Skills for first class skills.

Skill	Description	Levels	Type
Cast Cancel	Cancel the casting of your skill and regain some of the SP.	5	Active
Deluge	Use a Yellow Gemstone to create a 7x7 area of water on the ground.	5	Active
Dispell	Use a Yellow Gemstone to remove all buffs from the target, with several exceptions.	5	Active
Dragonology	Increases INT up to 3, and increases ATK and MATK versus Dragon-race enemies.	5	Passive
Earth Spike	Attack a target for up to 500% Earth-element damage.	5	Offensive
Endow Blaze	Use a Red Blood to endow a party member's weapon with the Fire-element.	5	Supportive
Endow Quake	Use a Green Live to endow a party member's weapon with the Earth-element.	5	Supportive
Endow Tornado	Use a Wind of Verdure to endow a party member's weapon with the Wind-element.	5	Supportive
Endow Tsunami	Use a Crystal Blue to endow a party member's weapon with the Water-element.	5	Supportive
Free Cast	Allows you to walk and attack while casting spells.	10	Passive
Heaven's Drive	Earth-element AoE attack dealing up to 500% MATK to targets in a 5*5 area.	5	Offensive
Hindsight	Allows the Sage to choose a skill from a short list and autocast that skill when physically attacking.	10	Active
Hocus-pocus	Use 2 Yellow Gemstones to invoke a random non-Transcendent skill, or one of a few Hocus Pocus-specific effects.	10	Active
Magic Rod	Absorb a single-target skill that is targeting you, negating its damage and giving you SP.	5	Active
Magnetic Earth	Use a Blue Gemstone and Yellow Gemstone to create an area that cancels ground-targeting spells.	5	Active
Sense	Reveal basic information about the target monster.	1	Active
Spell Breaker	Cancel the skill that the target is currently casting and absorb it as SP.	5	Active
Study	Adds +3 ATK and +0.5% ASPD per skill level to Book weapons.	5	Passive
Volcano	Use a Yellow Gemstone to create a 7x7 area of fire on the ground.	5	Active
Whirlwind	Use a Yellow Gemstone to create a 7x7 area of wind on the ground.	5	Active

Quest Skills

Skill	Description	Levels	Type	Job Level Requirement	Quest
Create Elemental Converter	Allows the Sage to create Elemental Converters, which can be used for short term endows.	1	Active	None	Create Elemental Converter Quest
Elemental Change	Uses an Elemental Converter to permanently change the element of a monster.	1	Active	40	Elemental Change Quest

Soul Link

See Sage Spirit.

Job Bonuses

Stat\Amount	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5	+6	+7	+8	+9
STR	42	44	46	47	48
AGI	3	6	13	22	33
VIT	4	11	18
INT	1	8	15	24	30	37	38	45	50
DEX	20	25	27	32	39
LUK	17	35	40

ASPD

Sages can use Concentration and Awakening Potions.

Weapon	Base ASPD	ASPD w/ Study Lv.10	Base Delay	Delay w/ Study Lv.10
Unarmed	155	155	450	450
Dagger	147.5	147.5	525	525
Book	145	147.5	550	525
Rod	137.5	137.5	625	625

External Links

• Himeyasha's Skill Simulator