Crusader Leveling

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This article is a guide on where and how to level Crusaders and Paladins.


Glast Heim Chivalry 2

6x-9x; Grand Cross Crusader/Paladin

Glast Heim Chivalry 2 (short: Chiv) is known all around Rune-Midgard as one of the wealthiest places to level, and the EXP is decent for mid-range characters, too. Leveling typically involves mobbing a small handful of Raydrics and Khalitzburgs, but high level characters (and low-level characters with priests) will also want to stop for the rarer monsters: Abysmal Knights, Bloody Knights, Mysteltainns, and Alice. Almost everything in Chiv drops Elunium at a high rate, which is a fantastic way to build up a steady income. The best part about Chiv, though, is that almost all the rares are worth a bundle: Raydric Card, Khalitzburg Card, Alice Card, Abysmal Knight Card, and Bloody Knight Card are all very, very valuable, and most of the monsters in Chiv drop slotted gears, ripe for upgrading with all the Elunium you are getting along the way. Chiv is a great way to learn the basics of mobbing for Grand Cross: it's not quite as simple as it looks, since you do not want your monsters to end up stacked on the same cell.

Important Gear

Pros

  • Moderately easy
  • Not too mobby
  • Amazing loot

Cons

  • May require a priest at low levels
  • Eats SP fast when soloing

Monsters

  • Raydric: Fast, high damage, high ASPD, low DEF/HP. Main target.
  • Khalitzburg: Slow, high damage, moderate ASPD, low DEF. Good EXP, but annoying to mob.
  • Raydric Archer: Annoying. Avoid them.
  • Alice: One on the map. Kill her: she drops nice rares.
  • Bloody Knight: Very dangerous for low and midrange characters, even with a priest. Good rares.
  • Abysmal Knight: Watch out for Brandish. Valuable card, good drops.
  • Mysteltainn: Not too difficult, but be careful. Drops Biotite frequently.

Techniques

  • Khalitzburgs and Abysmal Knights move slowly. Take advantage of the fact that if monsters are still walking when they get hit by Grand Cross, they take up to four hits from Grand Cross, instead of three. Walk away from your target and cast Grand Cross before they catch up to you, timing it so they'll still be walking when GC hits them.
  • Raydrics don't switch easily once they have locked on to someone. It's much easier to get them to switch while they are chasing their target than while they are attacking their target, so make sure your priest knows to keep moving when a Raydric locks on to them so that you can Provoke it off of them. If your priest gets hitlocked, try using Bash to stun the Raydrics, or Magnum Break to push them away, sometimes redirecting them at you (or, of course, just try to kill them all with GC). Your priest might also want to hotkey Status Recovery: a quick and easy way to get monsters off their backs.
  • Khalitzburgs switch easily, and you can't Provoke Undead monsters. Use Shield Boomerang or a level 1 Heal bomb if you want them to stay on you.
  • Bloody Knights and Mysteltainns attack from 3 cells away, so make sure you are lined up horizontally or vertically with them before blowing SP on Grand Cross: your GC will miss altogether if the Bloody Knight is positioned diagonally.
  • Bloody Knights push you back, occasionally, so try to stand with your back against a wall. If your priest sprite lags during the push and is unable to heal you, you are in trouble.
  • Abysmal Knights use Brandish Spear, and it can be very painful, even for midrange and high-level characters. Pneuma blocks Brandish, but even still, make sure your priest stays well out of range.


Dark Frames

5x-8x

Glast Heim Towers (aka. GH Inside or Frames) is fantastic job EXP for low-level Crusaders and Paladins trying to earn their leveling skills. Leveling takes place in one of four very small rooms (usually the room in the southeast corner of the map) and revolves around Dark Frame monsters that instantly respawn somewhere nearby in the room as soon as they're killed. Aside from Dark Frames, there are also Marionettes, Sageworms, and Ridewords that instantly respawn, but it is very common for a Rogue with the Snatch skill to snatch everything except for the Dark Frames to one of the other three rooms. As long as nobody goes to the other rooms and kills the snatched monsters, they will not respawn in the room from which they were taken, leaving nothing but Job-EXP-rich Dark Frames, fresh for the killing. Depending on your character's build and level, Frames can either be soloed or done with a tank. Leveling is most efficient when you are able keep circling around the room, stopping to kill a Dark Frame with one or two quick moves. Most frequently, Crusaders will either use Grand Cross or Bash (with the proper weapon and Lex Aeterna), while battle Paladins often use Rapid Smiting or Martyr's Reckoning.

Important Gear

Pros

  • Great job EXP
  • Easy enough for mid-level characters with appropriate gears to solo
  • Nonstop leveling, no need to mob or regen frequently

Cons

  • Difficult if the room has not been "cleaned up" by a Snatch Rogue
  • Occasionally crowded, KSing can be frequent if there are inconsiderate archer classes present

Monsters

  • Dark Frame: Great job EXP, moderate base EXP, high damage, high ASPD, low DEF, moderate MDEF. Primary target.
  • Rideword: Very painful, hard to avoid or outrun. Snatch as soon as possible.
  • Marionette: Slow moving, low damage, but annoying and not worth the EXP. Snatch.
  • Sageworm: Non-aggressive. Low EXP, low damage. Snatch if they bother you.

Leeching

Plenty of great spots.

Courtesies

  • Mobbing isn't the most efficient way to level, here. Occasionally, multiple Frames with instant-spawn on you: if you're using Grand Cross, that's not a bad thing. Just kill them off and move on.
  • Try to avoid leveling here until you're able to kill Dark Frames quickly. There are only three Frames in most of the rooms, and if you can't kill one quickly, you're cutting everyone else's leveling down by a third.
  • Do not kill Ridewords, Marionettes, or Sageworms in the other rooms, or they will respawn in the "cleaned up" room.

Techniques

  • If the room is crowded, try to cooperate with the other parties: each party sticking to one portion of the room instead of running in circles around each other.
  • Because the rooms are so small, Frames will frequently respawn very close to you: sometimes so close that your priest will not have time to intercept them. Fortunately, Dark Frames switch very easily. Stay very close to your priest, and if a Frame spawns on you, drag it onto your priest as quickly as you can. Remember not to Provoke until the Frame is attacking your priest, or else it will switch to you and will not switch back.
  • If your Priest gets Stone Cursed, try dragging a Frame on top of them to break the curse without waiting. It's important to always keep moving, here.
  • Conserve your SP. Wait for Lex Aeterna.

Zenorcs

4x-6x

Orc Dungeon Lv.2 (aka. OD2, Zenorcs or Zens) has lots of weak monsters that make mobbing a piece of cake for Grand Cross Crusaders and Paladins. Your two primary targets are Orc Skeletons and Zenorcs, but there are also Drainliars, Steel Chonchons, and the occasional Orc Archer. Orc Skeletons are aggressive, while Zenorcs are looters, so the common technique is to gather a mob of Orc Skeletons, then drag it into an area where there are many Zenorcs. After killing the Orc Skeletons, the Zenorcs will rush in to gather the loot spread out around you, leaving them vulnerable to your next GC.

Important Gear

Pros

  • Very easy to get a good mob started
  • Easy enough for low-level characters with appropriate gears to solo
  • No dangerous surprises to watch out for
  • Easy to get to

Cons

  • May be crowded (popular with alchemists for leveling homunculi), and certain classes are irritated by the mobbing.

Monsters

  • Orc Skeleton: Moderately fast moving, aggressive, mediocre damage and ASPD. Fun to mob.
  • Zenorc: Very fast moving speed, mediocre damage, looters. Lower levels might want to avoid these because of their higher HP and ASPD.
  • Drainliar: Slow moving. Moderate EXP if you get a handful in your mob, or you can just leave them behind.
  • Orc Archer: Annoying while trying to mob, but very weak and slow. Not very many on the map, so don't worry too much about them.
  • Steel Chonchon: Looters, non-aggressive, very weak.

Leeching

Not very easily, but you might be able to find a nook or cranny, although many utilize the effects of the Antonio Card to teleport when hit for leeching

Courtesies

  • Don't drag your mob over another player. Likewise, don't try to intercept someone who's mobbing in order to switch their mob onto you.
  • Although Zenorcs are not aggressive, it is common courtesy to treat Zenorcs swarming around someone as part of their mob. Killing something nearby or dropping items to draw the Zenorcs to you is not generally appreciated.
  • If your mob gets out of hand, make sure you're not about to drop them on a nearby player before teleporting.
  • Alchemists will generally allow you to take over if their homunculus' mob is getting big and they're taking a long time to kill it all, but ask first, and remember that giving up a mob is a courtesy and not an obligation.

Techniques

  • Using a Moonlight Dagger in conjunction with Shield Reflect (or a High Orc Shield) is a very effective way to stretch out your SP, here.
  • Even with a Moonlight Dagger equipped, most of these monsters will die to a very low level Grand Cross. Moonlight Dagger works with GC, so if you use a low enough level, you might actually end up earning more SP than it costs to cast.
  • Teleporting around until you find a good mob may be faster than trying to make one.
  • If you’re worried about Zenorcs and Steel Chonchons eating up valuable loot, drop a jellopy on the ground before you kill the Orc Skeletons, that way the looting monsters rush into place first.
  • Orc Skeletons switch easily, and they can’t be Provoked. Fortunately, Shield Boomerang works just fine, so if the dungeon is crowded, whack everything you’re mobbing with a Shield Boomerang so it won’t switch if someone intercepts you.

Niflheim

6x-8x

The Valley of Gyoll is a paradise for Grand Cross Crusaders and Paladins. Everything here is either Undead or Shadow element, and very weak to Grand Cross. It’s easy to get a good mob started, and everything gives good Base EXP, and moderately nice Job EXP. If you take the time to gather all the loot, you can make a good deal of money Overcharging it to NPCs, and there are also a couple of decent rares to be found. Due to the awkward layout of the map, the peculiar attack speeds and walking speeds of monsters here, and the fact that many monsters here can attack from 2-3 cells away, Niflheim requires a lot of mobbing talent to be best handled. Hunters and crit Assassins seem to like Niflheim too, and they can get angry if you drag your mob on them, so be very careful to Provoke everything in your mob so it won’t switch, and try to avoid crossing paths with them if you can. Many people stay in Niflheim all the way to 99, so it’s best to learn the ropes and find a couple of consistent leveling partners.

Important Gear:

Pros

  • Great EXP
  • Fun to mob, once you’ve got the hang of it
  • Decent loot
  • Everything dies to GC pretty easily: there are no annoying monsters on this map
  • Because Niflheim spawns are all set to regular timers and spawn zones, it is usually predictable

Cons

  • You’ll need a priest or plenty of pots
  • Can get crowded, at times
  • It’s a pain to get here, since you can’t save or warp anywhere nearby

Monsters

  • Loli Ruri: Fast moving and ASPD, very high damage, attacks from 3 cells away. Primary source of EXP.
  • Gibbet: Easy to mob, low damage, dies quick.
  • Heirozoist: Low EXP, but easy to mob and low damage.
  • Bloody Murderer: High MDEF. Still dies pretty quickly (remember to Provoke for the extra damage).
  • Lude: Weak. A mob of them spawns outside the entrance to town. Fun to destroy.
  • Dullahan: Great job EXP, dies quickly, easy to mob.

Leeching

Not here.

Courtesies

  • Provoke everything in your mob. Mob switching is annoying and dangerous.
  • Do not intercept other mobbers, and do not drag your mob over other parties.
  • If the mob gets out of hand, warn anyone nearby before you teleport.
  • If you want to loot, make sure it is okay with your party. There is a lot of loot to stop for, and most people would rather keep going.

Techniques

  • Because monsters here walk at varying speeds, it is important to zig-zag back and forth while mobbing, to keep things a uniform distance from you. This can be very difficult in narrow passages, such as the bridge across the middle.
  • You can't Provoke Dullahans. Use Shield Boomerang or a level 1 Heal bomb.
  • The topmost part of the right side of the map has a very large mob that spawns on a regular timer. Hitting that area regularly is a good way to get some very large "free" mobs.
  • Many people prefer not to waste time walking across the bridge. Ask your party if they’d prefer to teleport to the other side once you’re finished on one side of the map.
  • Niflheim eats SP very quickly. Be considerate to your party and don’t mob unless you have enough SP to kill it all. Don not forget that Grand Cross blinds Demon monsters: you can cast a low-level GC to blind the mob, then walk away to sit down and regen for a few moments while they can't see you.
  • After killing everything in your mob except for Bloody Murderers, it is often a good idea to take them and start a new mob with them, instead of wasting SP finishing them off. Stretching Murderers out over two or three mobs saves SP, and since they’re not Demon type, they will not go blind when you GC them.
  • Bloody Murderers and Loli Ruris have a nasty tendency to stack on the same cells as one another, lowering the number of times each Grand Cross hits each of them. Try to zig-zag as you mob and run the mob around in circles before jumping in the middle to cast Grand Cross. This will help loosen up the mob and keep monsters on different cells as they scramble around to catch up with you.
  • Loli Ruris, Blood Murderers, and Dullahans attack from 3 cells away, so make sure you’re lined up horizontally or vertically with them before blowing SP on Grand Cross: your GC will miss altogether if the monster is positioned diagonally. If you’re missing something in your mob, take a few steps up, down, left, or right, and Provoke the monster again to draw it closer.


Geffen Guild Dungeon

8x-9x

Having access to Geffen Guild Dungeon is a huge privilege for Grand Cross Crusaders, as it is the epitome of mob leveling. GD requires either a Full Support priest to support you while you mob and then kill with Grand Cross, or a Magnus Exorcismus priest to destroy the mobs you build. Both are very acceptable means of leveling, but Grand Cross will eat through your SP very quickly, so finding an ME priest may be the better option for those who don't wish to regen.

Important Gear

Pros

  • Very good base EXP
  • Everything dies to Grand Cross or Magnus Exorcismus
  • Nonstop killing and mobbing

Cons

  • Job EXP does not match up to Base EXP
  • Loot is only valuable if you stop to pick it all up, and there is a lot of it.

Monsters

  • Zombie Master: Weakest monster in the dungeon, likes to Poison you and Brandish you away from where your priest is casting ME. Get against a wall before casting if you have a lot of these in your mob.
  • Mini Demon: Hardest monster to kill, and fairly painful, if you get too many of them in the mob.
  • Wraith Dead: Great, easy EXP.
  • Dark Lord: MvP, avoid.

Leeching

Not done frequently, but there are a couple good hiding places.

Courtesies

  • The Guild Dungeon is a PvP area, so in addition to managing your mob and not interrupting other parties, make sure to watch carefully for other players casting AoE spells that could hurt or kill you. Understand when a mistake is a mistake, and don't try to exact revenge for an accident. Likewise, be careful to make sure the area is clear before casting Grand Cross, if that's how you are leveling.

Techniques

  • Remember: Guild Dungeons are PvP areas. If you have enemies or if your guild has caused trouble with another guild recently, you might be better off to avoid the risk of getting killed by an angry (or bored) member of another guild.
  • Bring Fly Wings, even if you have a Teleport accessory. If you're in the middle of a cast delay when the Dark Lord or an angry player shows up, you're going to want to be out of there as fast as possible.
  • The dark-element Jupitel Thunder that Mini Demons use can be entirely stopped by wearing Bathory-carded armor. Use this if you don't want to have to get against a wall to avoid being knocked out of the Magnus Exorcismus.
  • Wraith Deads like to Curse and Decrease Agility while you're trying to mob, so make sure your priest stays with you to undo the status effects before you get hit locked. The cursing skill can be also avoided by wearing Bathory-carded armor.


Thanatos

8x-9x

Thanatos Tower is arguably the fastest Base EXP outside of Labs, and almost certainly the fastest job EXP. Additionally, the very unusual style of leveling and challenging nature of the tower makes for a very entertaining large-party situation. There are 12 floors on Thanatos Tower, plus a boss floor for those who are daring (or stupid) enough to summon the MvP. Floors 1-6 are mostly inhabited by weaker monsters, with a couple of boss monsters thrown in to stir things up. It is common to teleport through the first 6 floors until you get to floor 7, where teleporting is disabled. Starting on floor 7, all the boss monsters from previous floors become the main ingredient: and that's where the fun begins.

The Paladin makes a fantastic tank in Thanatos tower, for a good number of reasons. On top of the high HP, good gear, and tanking skills that make him valuable as a tank anywhere else, the Paladin also:

  • Has a 50% immunity to Holy-element skills, thanks to the Faith skill
  • Is able to stop the Dame of Sentinel from Snatching with the Guard skill
  • Can frequently outrun monsters back to the party in the event he gets Snatched, thanks to the Peco
  • Can very easily handle mobs of Baronesses of Retribution with Grand Cross

Leveling on floors 7 or 8 is recommended, depending on the size and strength of the party. On floors 9 and higher, all monsters are set to very long spawn timers, so once the room has been cleared, the monsters do not respawn quickly enough to maintain a good EXP rate.

Important Gear

  • Shield of Royal Guard (Alice Card)
    • If you do not have a Shield of Royal Guard, the Angel race-reduction card (Anubis Card) is the best alternative. A Fire-Proof Shield (Penomena Card) may also be used

Pros

  • Fantastic Base and Job EXP
  • Entertaining and unusual means of leveling. Great for large parties.

Cons

  • Until new armor sets are patched in, there aren't many good drops in Thanatos Tower.
  • Getting to floors 7+ can be annoying, even if not time consuming. Particularly annoying if the party dies often.
  • Transcendent classes only

Monsters

  • Ancient Mimic and Death Word: Annoying, not the main source of EXP.
  • Baroness of Retribution: Very painful, dies quickly to GC.
  • Dame of Sentinel: Arguably the most dangerous monster in the tower, because she uses Snatch, and players cannot teleport back once Snatched.
  • Despero of Thanatos (Floor 7): High damage output, dies quickly to Storm Gust. Very painful crits.
  • Lady Solace: Low melee damage, but packs a nasty Grand Cross, and likes to Silence the tank. Keep away from the party.
  • Mistress of Shelter: Venom Dust can be annoying for players with low VIT, and she has some painful spells for weaker party members.
  • Odium of Thanatos (Floor 8): Extremely painful when furied, ranged attack, likes to switch to the Wizard, Sniper, or SD SinX. Keep Pneuma up on the entire party.

Leeching

Nearly impossible.

Techniques

  • Baroness of Retribution is notorious for switching off the tank after casting Dark Grand Cross. Keep casting your own Grand Cross (even if only a level 1 GC) so that your GC is the first thing to hit it after it finishes casting its DGC. As long as you hit it first, it will stay on you.
  • Dame of Sentinel uses Snatch, and since you can't teleport on floors 7+, that is a very big deal. Safety Wall and Guard both block Snatch, but you should still make it a point to kill the Dame of Sentinel as quickly as possible. If your priest is in trouble or busy and cannot Safety Wall you, try to pull the Dame out of her own Safety Wall and use it instead.
  • Because the maps in Thanatos Tower are somewhat confined, and because of the awkward respawn timers, monsters will frequently spawn on or near the party. You and the other tanks should stand out in the open while your party members hug near walls and in corners, so that instant-spawns will switch to you and not a weaker party member.
  • In sticky situations, you need to make sure a priest is alive to cast Redemptio. If you have Sacrifice, now is a good time to use it.

Abyss Lake

7x-9x

Abyss Lake Dungeon is a very popular dungeon for large-party leveling, and a properly geared Crusader or Paladin can do a perfectly acceptable job as a mobber or tank. The third map is where the EXP is best, and teleporting all the way there is a frequent practice, even in very large parties. The dungeon is very mobby, so weaker parties should take it slow until they understand the dungeon.

Important Gear

Pros

  • Very good base EXP
  • Intimidating as they may be, Dragons are very easy to tank with proper gears
  • Very high population, easy to mob

Cons

  • Bad Job EXP

Monsters

  • Acidus: The gold ones are the best EXP. Primary target.
  • Detardeurus: MvP, dangerous but slow. Sizable party can take it down.
  • Ferus and Ancient Mimic: Annoying, not the best source of EXP.
  • Hydrolancer: Summons a nasty mob. Kill for good drops.
  • Mimic: Very annoying, but good drops.

Leeching

Nearly impossible.

Techniques

  • The green and red Ferus dragons like to push you around with Brandish Spear, and if they push you over another party member, the mob all switches. Try to pull against a wall to prevent this from happening.

Odin's Temple

7x-9x

Odin's temple is one of few places where a high-level Crusader or Paladin can earn decent EXP without mobbing, and the somewhat fresh nature of the dungeon makes it a relaxing getaway from the mindless drag of Niflheim or Geffen Guild Dungeon. Unfortunately, Odin's Temple is not a good source of Job EXP, so it is better suited for Crusaders trying to get to 99 than for Paladins trying to earn important skills.

All three maps in Odin's Temple are about the same, with varying spawn rates for Crusaders of different skill levels. Lower leveled Crusaders might want to visit Odin's Temple in a large-party situation, but it is also more than possible to level there with just a priest, as long as you avoid the holy-element Skeggiolds and focus on the Frus and Skoguls, which are very weak to Grand Cross.

Important Gear

Pros

  • A very different leveling experience that doesn't revolve around mobbing
  • Nice Base EXP

Cons

  • Can only be accessed from Hugel, which means you'll be taking the airship
  • Negligible Job EXP

Monsters

Leeching

There are some nooks and crannies where a leecher could hide.

Courtesies

  • Odin's Temple isn't a very busy place, and there isn't much to mob. Just be friendly if you do see another party here.

Techniques

  • Make sure your Priest keeps Ruwach up, and watch out for weird damage or Grimtooth. Skogul likes to cloak.
  • Avoid the Skeggiolds: they are immune to Grand Cross and pretty painful.


Footnotes


Leveling
Levels Experience (Quest Table) • Base Level (Base EXP Chart • Base EXP Quests) • Job Level (Job EXP Chart • Job EXP Quests) • Party System • Guild Level • Homunculus Level
Leveling Spots (Mage Leveling • Crusader Leveling • Rogue Leveling • Stalker Leveling • Wizard Leveling)
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