This will be a levelling guide to Agi-build bards in Ragnarok Online. In particular, it will be a guide to bards with obviously high DEX, relatively high AGI, therefore decently high flee (200?), moderate amount of INT, capability to DS for a relatively long time and recover the SP from DSing in a relatively short time, a small but enough-to-carry-stuff amount of STR (10 STR = 3000 weight), 2 LUK that you put in by accident, and 1 VIT therefore having incredibly low max HP. Additionally, this is for bards who are obviously not rich but at least have a decent amount of gear for levelling, such as mocking [something], heal clip, and at least size-dependent bows (boned and titan). Additionally, bards can have an infinite supply of the 4 elemental arrows because they are either filthy rich or know where to look for them.
In other words, the only bard in all of RO around the world with details like that are me. So, the only bard that should think this guide is PERFECT is ME and ME only. But, that doesn't mean other AGI bards (or dancers like Pastel and Sherona) can take a few tips from the guide. :P
Before I begin talking about levelling spots, there are a few levelling tips that every AGI bard/dancer should take into account.
1. Organize your arrows so they will be the top of your MISC section in Kafra storage. This may seem trivial and a pain to do if you have a ton of junk, but it is WORTH THE TIME. It saves a LOT of time shifting through whatever crud you collected over your RO career for that one type of arrow. Get your high-weight type char to move all the stuff out except the arrows, so they'll be on top. And when they are on top, NEVER TAKE OUT ALL OF THEM AT ONCE. Otherwise you'll have to start over.
2. Bows are great, but instruments (or whips?) can be awesome too. Get a good instrument and you can level like an AGI knight and not have to worry about arrows (carry more weight!) or SP (use it for steal /gg). In particular, the Electric Guitar is a highly useful and highly underestimated elemental instrument because of its elemental property. And, with the arrival of the new elemental instruments from the Lighthazen patch, I predict that there will be expanded areas of levelling with just your instrument, so you can pick up more loot and level more lazily. :p
3. Levelling through support USUALLY is a bad idea. This is because the party would need to split the EXP 3 way for the bard, and they can usually do fine without Magic Strings anyway (Any other song they CAN do without; it just looks cool to play them on your bard...). But it can work out sometimes. Or if the party is just nice. And if they are nice, its a pretty nifty way of gaining exp. One tip, if levelling with an SG wizard, is to use Unchained Serenade right when all the monsters freeze, switch weapons to cancel your song, then Unchained Serenade again. This is a very good way of killing off frozen monsters really quickly, and usually there is little risk of you getting mobbed because of the Storm Gust's delay.
4. ME priests might be a good idea. Although technically another priest or just another VIT char (or heck, a VIT bard) would be better just because they can mob. Unless you're at Niff2 with Bloody Murderers. Then you can kill them. And be awesome.
5. Mobs suck for Agi bards, period. Agi bards have an awesome move called DS which can allow them to kill off a mob of 30... assuming each monster comes like, at 3 at a time. So, while we can't have as much monsters on us at one time, it IS possible to kill off a mob as fast as a Grimtoothing sin, or a low level (low dex?) wizard/GC sader.
Now for levelling spots. I will grade the levelling spots on five conditions: the EXP, how hard it is, the loot, the time it takes to get there/time it takes to restock, and how much people there are. The first two are obvious criteria; the third is probably more if one relies on the bard/dancer as the main money maker (generally a bad idea) or collecting arrowcrafting items; the last two are things people rarely consider but should, because seriously, if it takes you two hours to get to stings, then upon reaching there, only kill one in 5 stings you see because of how much people are there, you might as well have gone north and killed some goats and probably recieve more EXP from doing that. My ratings are of follows:
*****- This is my new home.
****- this place is awesome!
***- Could be better, but it's not bad.
**- This place sucks.
*- Dude, why are you on this map? (I probably won't even put places like this on here)
I'll start with places that are popular for bards, and go from there.
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Loyang Migaos-**
Pros:
-Easy to get to
-(Decently) Safe
-Does not require a lot to level: almost any bow with fire arrows will do
Cons:
-Pesky Mantises
-Pesky KSers and Looters
-Crap EXP at higher levels
Comments: Probably good until about 70, then EXP is slow and it sucks because its wayyyyy too popular. A decent alternative to everything if you don't have ANY good gear (IE, a heal clip or a good bow), but personally, I like Geographers better.
First level of Stings- ***
Pros:
-Good EXP
-Stings are slow and easy to kill
Cons:
-Pesky Gargoyles
-If Sting hits you must fwing or else you're screwed
-Lots of people, Lots of lag, Lots of drama
-Pain as hell to get to
-When out of SP, must run to adjacent map to recover, or risk staying still and getting a Sting spawned on you.
-Those occasional pathways where it blocks your view and the distinct ability for a sting to spawn RIGHT WHEN YOU'RE UNDER THOSE BRIDGES SO IT CAN KILL YOU WITHOUT YOU EVEN KNOWING
Comments: Every non-low-level bard's levelling spot. Personally being AGI there are better, more fun places to level. Still, EXP is not bad.
Stings, Level 2- ****
Pros:
-Good Exp
-Need only fire arrows
Cons:
-Pesky Arclouze
-Still a pain as hell to get to
-Still have to run to adjacent map to recover SP
Comments: A way better place to level than first Stings, IMO. Get yourself a lotta dex, a triple underneath boned comp, and you're set to nuke and destroy. Best place to solo if you have at least 200 flee with only IC; or, a good place for any bard in general if you have a healslave.
Majorous, underneath Stings- ***
Comments: Level at this place with a wizard and priest, only. It gets an extra star because of the incredible funness associated with levelling here. "Hey Hey over here" "HOLY CRAP THERE'S A MOB GOING AFTER THE WIZ" "OMG RUN RUN RUN" "HOLY CRAP EVERYONE'S DEAD" "Kame!! Hame!! Ha!! Oops, Wrong Game" (For those who don't get it the last one is a frost joke move)
Turtle Island, First Level- **
Pros:
-Monsters spawn very fast
-Monsters have decent exp
-Map is very small
Cons:
-Everybody KSes and loots
-Monsters tend to spawn in mobs of 30
-10 k per trip and no Kafra.......
-This map has trees. LOTS of trees.
-Burns through your SP like crazy
Comments: I personally hate this place. That's why I give it a low rating. However, it works for other people, obviously. Get some good bows and you can level here like a hunter.
High Orcs, Geffen Field- ***
Pros:
-Good Exp
Cons:
-Damn Orc Archers and their Hit...
-The place is kind of boring...
Comments: I figure, if you can get a triple Orc Lady Bloody comp, you'll have much fun in this field. Otherwise, I think it's boring.
High Orcs, Clock Tower- ***
Comments: Level with a wizard and priest here. You cannot solo here; you can try levelling with a priest, but chances are you will run out of SP quickly.
Clocks, Clock Tower- **
Comments: Clocks give decent exp, and I hear you can hide from them, raising the possibility for soloing. However, you need 225 flee to completely dodge, and ridewords and mimics are a pain, so I don't think its a great place to level.
Alarms, Clock Tower-*
Comments: Alarms are large type (25% reduction in damage from bows) and neutral (no elemental advantage). ARE YOU FREAKIN CRAZY TRYING TO LEVEL HERE?
Bathories, Clock Tower- N/A
Comments: I heard from some boards that Bathories are a good place to level bards in general. Checking their stats, I notice that you can probably kill off a Bathory in two DS, possibly in one if you have incredibly high DEX and a good bow. Even though Bathory gives not-so-high exp, the fact that you can kill them off in two hits may be advantageous. On the other hand, that map has scary Jokers. I have not tested that map with my bard, so I will not give this place a rating yet.
Niffleheim, level 1- **
Pros:
- Monsters with decent EXP
- Not very crowded, people-wise
Cons:
- Mobby... it's so Mobby ;_;
- Will probably burn through your SP very quickly.
Comments: Good to level with ME Priest here. Otherwise, it sucks.
Niffleheim, level 2- *****
Pros:
-Monsters give very good exp
-Monsters give good loot
-There is a Kafra RIGHT ON THE NEXT MAP SO YOU CAN RESTOCK!!!
Cons:
-Monsters have lots of HP, can be an SP drainer
-Lolis need 225 flee to 95% dodge and deal 1.7 k damage to non-vit chars... wtf...
-GC Saders. End of Story.
Comments: THIS IS THE BEST MAP TO LEVEL WITH A PRIEST. The SP problem can be overcome with the mere fact that it is usually decently crowded in Niffleheim, so while you are walking across the map with a Mag on your head you will be recovering your SP in no time (in fact, running out of SP is a good indicator that Niff is not too crowded that day!). Furthermore, with a priest you have no worries even if that damn Loli DOES hit you for a huge amount of damage, since the loli has low aspd and the priest can usually heal... GC saders can be a problem, though, since they bring large mobs and make large mobs suddenly spawn. And AGI bards + mobs = bad.
Grand Pecos/ Geographer map (Up, left, Up of Alde)- ****
Pros:
-Geographers stand still!!
-Other monsters are nonaggressive!
-EXP is not too bad
Cons:
-EXP is not bad, but not too good either...
-Not a high rate of monster spawns
Comments: I think its an excellent place to level low level archer characters. Grand Pecos are a good way of getting Wind of Vendure for higher level characters.
Goats, w/ aggressive monsters map (Left of geo map)- ***
Comments: A decent map to solo on, Goats give good exp, but they take quite a few DSes to kill. The other monsters on the map will keep you busy, saving you from boredom. Loot absolutely sucks though. S> Goat Card, email/PM/IM me offers.
Goats w/nonaggressive monsters map (Left of Goats w/ aggressive map)- ***
Comments: Good as a resting place. Goat spawn is too low to keep it fun though. Again, all the items suck on this map.
Seals Map (Right, Right, Down of Comodo): ****
Comments: This is actually a superb map to level just with your instrument (Electric Guitar). However, the Seal's water bash attack HURTS. I've been told to get Swordfish armor. However, I don't feel like buying it and would rather hunt for it instead. So, I probably will not get any swordfish armor anytime soon. :p
Byalan, 4th level- ***
Comments: Come here for the loot, not the exp. Only need the instrument (Electric Guitar), once again. Save all that weight for the good loot you pick up and steal: Gills (makes 150 crystal arrows), Sharp Scale (BSes use them?), Mystic Frozen, Detonator, ANY card dropped there.
Byalan, 5th level- *
Comments: Penomenas suck.
Kunlun, in general- **
Comments: Nobody levels on the baby leopards map. The Peach Tree map seems decent enough to level on, but I think the long range monsters kill the flee and make it hard to level on. The Evil Nymph map would be awesome it weren't for two things: 1. Evil Snake Lord coming along and pwning you every 2 minutes, and 2. Taoist Hermit is not only large and neutral, like an Alarm, but has long range attacks too!
Amatsu, Kapha Map- ***
Comments: The EXP here is not that great, but its like the Seals map, where you can just sit back and bash things with your instrument to level on. They drop low-weight healing items so you don't need to waste your SP with your healclip. Plus, I hear they now drop Lonely Guitar. Looks like I'm staying in Amatsu for a while when I get back.
Amatsu Dungeon, in general- *
Comments: You're a bard, not an aco.
Loyang Dungeon, in general- ***
Comments: Loyang is actually pretty fun. EXP isn't great, but you go there to steal stuff and you can find some nifty items. Like Boots!! And I hear the Green Maiden lurks there, so I'm probably going to want to explore it out later.
Ayototha Dungeon, level 2- ****
Comments: This place is actually a good place to level. The EXP is good, the monsters are not hard to kill, and all you need are silver arrows to level there. And if you collect enough tassels you can get a sherlock holmes hat!!! :x Everywhere else in Ayo is not worth mentioning.
Coal Mines- ***
Comments: Hey! Hey! I had good luck with finding cards here, so :P!!!!
GH Prison- **
Pros:
-some monsters are slow, give adequate EXP, and are not hard to kill
Cons:
-Pretty crowded there
-some monsters are pesky fast attackers (Hunterflies)
-some monsters are... large and neutral (DAMMIT)
Comments: Tank your priests here. (WTF what bard tanks priests in prison?!?)
GH Chivalry- **
Comments: Good loot, but monsters are generally difficult to kill (Freakin Abysmal Knight...) Similar to Byalan, you come here for the loot, but obviously you need a priest to help you out (thus split the loot with...)
Minotaurs (and Pasanas too?)- N/A
Comments: I have a hunch that this place might not be so bad if I have a quad vadon bow. I think I would be able to kill of minos easily and pasanas would give good exp. So, I'll have to try that out some time.
Lava Dungeon- N/A
Comments: Same reason as above. Though I doubt I'm going to take on Lave Golems.
Biolab- N/A
Comments: I have mixed feelings about this place. On one hand, I hear about the 3-4 mil exp/hour at level 3... have to get to level 95 just to see that... on the other, Some people say that the first two levels of biolab are also good, but judging from how much arrow switching I would need to do and the damage the monsters there deal to you, I'm not sure how well biolab will work for me.
Geffenia- ***
Comments: Consequently, if you know how to work it it will be a good place. First off, it would probably be best to do the geffenia quest so you don't have to wait for others to open the portal for you... /swt... Then, get a priest, and some bwings. Use the bwings like fwings, in a sense. One person goes in, bwings until they find a safe place. The other goes in, bwings until they find that person. Then, it'll be all easy from there. This isn't a particularly great levelling spot, however, it's probably good for getting some items *coughVIOLINScough* of use.
Guild Dungeon- ****
Comments: Can be particularly rewarding with a priest (High priest) and wizard (High wizard)!!!
There might be other places (of significance, I'm going to write an analysis on poring land) out there that I miss. If I do miss, or I happen to go try out the places that say N/A right now, I'll probably edit. Then again, I'll probably not.
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