And I decided to write this guide to provide a couple of tips based on my experience for anyone interested in following the path of the Physical Hyper Novice *-*
This guide will be focused on the Melee branch of the Hyper Novice
Double Bowling Bash and Mega Sonic Blow builds.
Hopefully it'll be helpful.
Stats and Traits
First of all, let's go over the basics, Stats, Traits and their benefits.
Stats and Traits
Stat / Trait
Recommended
Notes
Str
100-120
Primary damage stat, Increases Atk with Melee weapons, also increases weight limit.
Agi
90-100+
Increases Attack Speed, Flee and SoftDef, and enhances the effect of Attack Speed potions (100 total Agi grants Sleep status immunity).
Vit
90-100+
Increases MaxHP, SoftDef, SoftMdef and HP Recovery, and enhances the effect of HP Recovery consumables (100 total Vit grants Stun status immunity).
Int
50-90
Increases MaxSP, SoftMdef and SP Recovery, and enhances the effect of SP Recovery consumables (100 total Int grants Silence status immunity).
Dex
60-100
Increases Hit and SoftMdef, and reduces Variable Cast Time, and slightly increases Atk and Attack Speed.
Luk
60-90-120+
Increases Critical Rate, primary stat for critical builds, and slightly increases Atk, Hit, Flee and Perfect Dodge (100 total Luk grants Curse status immunity).
Pow
110
Primary damage trait, Increases Atk, P.Atk and the base damage scaling of our skills.
Sta
0-75+
Increases Res, Optional, get some points if you want to be more resistant to Physical Attacks (close it preferably in multiples of 3).
Wis
0-75+
Increases Mres, Optional, get some points if you want to be more resistant to Magical Attacks (close it preferably in multiples of 3).
Spl
0
Increases Matk and S.Matk, not needed for physical damage dealers.
Con
0-75-110
Increases Hit, Flee and P.Atk, second best trait for no-critical builds (close it preferably in multiples of 5).
Crt
0-75-110
Increases C.Rate, second best trait for critical builds (close it preferably in multiples of 3).
Skills
Having such a wide variety of 1st and 2nd class skills, Hyper Novices can be built in many different ways, here i will just mention some of the skills that I personally consider useful and that you may want to keep in mind, but feel free to experiment and pick the ones that fit you best.
Skills
Super Novice
Blessing
10
Increases Str, Int and Dex by 10 for 4 minutes.
Increase Agility
10
Increases Agi by 12 and Attack Speed by 10% for 4 minutes.
Improve Concentration
10
Increases Agi and Dex by 12% for 4 minutes.
Warp Portal
4
Allows you to memorize up to 3 different locations (use /memo) and create portals to reach them quickly.
Teleport
2
Basically an Infinite Fly Wing (12887) put level 1 in your skill bar to avoid the window pop-up.
Magnum Break
1
Damages and knocks back enemies in a 5x5 AoE around you and increases your damage for a short period after use.
Enlarge Weight Limit
10
Increases Weight Limit by 2000.
Discount
10
Buy items from Npcs for 24% less zeny.
Overcharge
10
Sell items to Npcs for 24% more zeny.
Pushcart
10
Enables using a pushcart with 8000 weight capacity.
Expanded Super Novice
Faith
10
Increases MaxHP by 2000 and Holy element resistance by 50%.
Auto Guard
10
Enables a 30% chance to block physical attacks.
Impositio Manus
5
Increases Atk and Matk by 25 for you and your party members for 2 minutes.
Aspersio
5
Enchants your weapon with Holy element, Holy deals increased damage against Shadow and Undead (and will do better than Neutral against Ghost) elements.
Enchant Poison
5
Enchants your weapon with Poison element, Poison deals increased damage against Fire, Water, Wind and Earth elements.
Breakthrough
5
Increases Atk by 100, MaxHP by 2000, MaxSP by 200 and Healing received by 10%.
Transcendence
5
Increases Matk by 100, MaxHP by 2000, MaxSP by 200 and Healing received by 15%.
Angel, Help me!
1
Restores for you and your party members within an area of 15x15 cells around you 1000 HP and 350 SP per second for 20 seconds.
Hyper Novice
Self Study Tactics
10
Increases P.Atk and the base damage scaling of our skills.
Double Bowling Bash
10
Primary offensive skill, deals damage in a 9x9 AoE around the target and increases its damage with the number of enemies within the AoE.
Mega Sonic Blow
10
Primary offensive skill, single target, can Crit and its damage gets doubled when the target's HP is below 50%.
Shield Chain Rush
7-10
Secondary offensive skill, ranged, deals damage in a 9x9 AoE around the target, can be used to get rid of low HP enemies or for basic farming.
Breaking Limit
1
AP Buff, massively increases our skills final damage (+100% Mega Sonic Blow | +120% Double Bowling Bash and Shield Chain Rush) for 5 minutes.
Overcoming Crisis
5
AP Buff, increases our MaxHP by 75000 and P.Atk by 15 for 5 minutes.
Gear Progression - Double Bowling Bash
Skill Notes: We're going to need at least 30% After Cast Delay reduction to get the max spam rate of DBB, Attack Speed doesn't need to be very high since it has a long cooldown, however higher numbers would help with with animation delay and cast delay of other skills/buffs.
Drain Life and Drain Soul Modules can be replaced with Automatic Modification Module (Fatal) (1000117) if you'd like to use them also for Mega Sonic Blow build
Just slightly weaker than Fire Rune Manteau [1] (480230) in terms of damage (Not counting the Varmundt's Crystal enchantment) while providing a higher defense and being possibly far cheaper
Note that these boots only surpass the damage of the Illusion Sprint Shoes [1] (470066) from the previous step when the Over Power enchantments proc, if you don't want damage inconsistencies or don't need the extra HP and SP you can skip these.
Just slightly weaker than Fire Rune Boots [1] (470173) in terms of damage (Not counting the Varmundt's Crystal enchantment) while providing a higher defense and being possibly far cheaper
Skill Notes: We're going to need at least 30% After Cast Delay reduction and 183 Attack Speed to get the max spam rate of MSB, however higher numbers would help with with animation delay and cast delay of other skills/buffs, also we need around 150 to 160+ Critical Rate to always hit crit on any monster in general content, for newer content such as Varmundt's Depth and Garden of Time will be needed 200+ Critical Rate.
With proper enchantment and refinement it can deal a higher damage and provide a better Critical Rate than Boitata Hat but it'll be only usable for Novices while Boitata can be used for Any class
Compared to Pirate Captain's Coat [1] (480174) Fire Manteau only becomes stronger when fighting specific elemental monsters based on Varmundt's Crystal Enchantment
Provides a better general damage than Fire Rune Manteau [1] (480230) and a more manageable Critical Rate and After Cast Delay reduction, additionally it can be used for any other critical class either ranged or melee
Note that these boots only surpass the damage of the Illusion Sprint Shoes [1] (470066) from the previous step when the Over Power enchantments proc, if you don't want damage inconsistencies or don't need the extra HP and SP you can skip these.
On its own provide a damage boost especially against Boss Class monsters, not so remarkable since the Max Level / Trait expansion which boosts Nebula enchantments
Flame Earth armor provides a slightly higher general damage than Corruption Poison but reduces Critical Rate
Optional Shield, actually weaker in terms of damage than Illusion / Glacier Guards but provides great utility in Attack Speed, After Cast Delay, Critical Rate Etc
Choose the enchantment depending on your need or preference
Str +10, Vit +15, Luk -25, Dmg taken from All Sizes -20%, Def +20 and RES +5 per refine, if Shield is +7 Dmg vs Water, Wind, Earth and Fire +25%, if Shield is +10 Melee Dmg +10%
Note: This is mostly a reference of a viable leveling path that I tried myself with a brand new Novice using only the free equipment provided by the Eden Group.
Leveling a Super Novice can be tedious, if by any chance you have better equipment, leveling will be smoother and you could even try harder dungeons with better Experience rewards.
When refined to +11 or higher Enables the use of Bowling Bash based on learned level of Sword Mastery.
Lv 1~10 - Starter Quest
Follow the MuhRO starter quest through Prontera field and the Main Office until you reach the Eden Group and get your Starting Gear from Lothaire and Shadow Gear from Lucy.
Once geared, pause the starter quest for a while and use the Warper to Anthell Dungeon and kill some Ant Egg, Andre, Deniro and Piere until you reach the Base level 45 required to change jobs, make sure to use your Novice Battle Manual (7803) before you reach level 40.
Super Novice Priority Skills
Bash - As main attack skill.
Blessing - Stat Booster, increases Str/Dex/Int.
Increase Agility - Stat Booster, increases Agi/Aspd.
Improve Concentration - Stat Booster, increases Agi/Dex.
Heal - Self support, HP recovery.
Sword Mastery - Increases the damage dealt with Swords and Daggers.
Teleport - Mobility.
Lv 45~90 - Poring Village
Once reached level 45 return to the Main Office, change job to Super Novice, head back to Eden and get a Paradise Super Novice Sword (500035) from Labraham, then continue with the starter quest, talk to Lunos to be taken to the Poring Village Instance and complete it.
Alternative: Level up in Orc Dungeon F1 killing Orc Zombies and Skeletons, and later on in Glast Heim Monastery with Evil Druids and Wraiths.
Lv 90~110 - Stapo Hunt
Get the Stapo hunt quest from the Lv 90 Eden Board, repeat this quest until reaching the level required for the next job change, Stapos are located one map south of Veins Town.
Lv 99 Stat distribution example
Str: 90
Agi: 90
Vit: 10
Int: 1
Dex: 50
Luk: 1
Once you reach 99/99 return to the Main Office and change jobs to Expanded Super Novice.
At this point you must get the Advanced Paradise Equipment Set from Louis and Labraham in Eden.
15x Old Pick (7318) - Obtained from Pitmen in Einbech Dungeon.
15x Elastic Band (7200) - Obtained from Wootan Shooters, located two maps south of Umbala Town.
3x Blue Hair (1034) - Obtained from Kobolds, located two maps north of Lighthalzen Town.
You should also get a Novice Shield [1] (2113) from the Lighthalzen Weapon Store, this will provide some resistances and allow you to use Auto Guard.
Expanded Super Novice Priority Skills
Back Stab - As next main damage skill. Alternative: Raid (Sightless Mind).
Breakthrough - Passive Atk and MaxHP/SP increase.
Transcendence - Passive MaxHP/SP increase.
Angel, Help me! - Self Support, HP and SP recovery.
Auto Guard - Defensive buff, blocks enemy attacks.
Lv 110~150 - Illusion of Moonlight
Illusion Dungeon hunt quests give a great amount of Experience, and this one is especially easy.
Tip: Avoid the Wizard of Veritas mob, they have a larger HP pool and cast harmful magic spells.
Lv 130 Stat distribution example
Str: 100
Agi: 100
Vit: 80
Int: 10
Dex: 60
Luk: 10
Lv 150~170 - Illusion of Vampire
Get ready with some Holy Water (523) and Aspersio in your repertoire of skills, this will be of great help since almost all the monsters in this dungeon have Shadow and Undead elements, be careful when hitting the Black Mushrooms, they can cast Self Destruction which will surely insta-kill you if you are near.
Tip: Avoid the Sweet Nightmare mob, their Ghost element will make you deal less damage on them and their Soul Drain will be rather annoying.
Lv 170 Stat distribution example
Str: 110
Agi: 110
Vit: 100
Int: 60
Dex: 70
Luk: 60
Lv 170~180 - Recon Robot Hunt
Get the Recon Robot hunt quest from the Lv130~190 Eden Board (this quest is unlocked at Lv160), Recon Robots are located one map through the tunnel southeast of Verus Town.
Lv 180~200 - Thanatos Fragments
At this point, leveling may get slower, I highly recommend using the Thanatos Fragments hunt quests from the Main Officeboard, try buying the following items from the market (@ws ItemID).
And turn them in at the Main Office board, these quests reward you with a great amount of Experience but can only taken once a day, combine delivering these fragments with the hunting quest from the previous step until you finally reach Lv 200.
Lv 200 Stat distribution example
Str: 120
Agi: 110
Vit: 100
Int: 89
Dex: 89
Luk: 89
Final Notes
Hey, you've reached the end~
That's all for now, If you have any question or suggestion, just let me know, send a dm or ping me in discord or ingame as Jetago