Well...this is my first Guide, I hope it can help people who wants to become Sorcerer.
My English is not very good, so if there's a few / some grammar mistakes, ignore them :D
1. So, what is a Sorcerer?
A Sorcerer is your typical mage, in the sense that they are high damage dealers, but they also possess support skills. If you have played RO, this class is somewhat similar to Sages.
2. Why be a Sorcerer?
If dealing high damage while being able to heal decently enough aren’t enough reasons to be one, I don’t know what is.
3. I’m considering being a Sorcerer. What are the disadvantages?
Well, like any magician classes in any MMO, you deal tons of damage while taking tons of damage yourself. Plus, while being a support class, you’re not the main healer, even if you are full support. That’s the Priest’s job. You just dish out damage (if not a full support) and heal when necessary. Also, I have a personal problem with mages in general…THEY MISS SO MUCH D: I’ve seriously missed up to 8 spells in a row. Don’t know if this will apply to you…who knows?
4. What’s the same about Sorcerers in RO2 compared to RO? Any differences?
Sorcerers are still your support mage. They did steal a few Wizard skills though. Plus, the skills they did keep are modified to fit the combat mechanics here. For example, Deluge in RO provided bonuses to Water element related stuff, but increases Max HP and heals over time in RO2.
5. Stat Builds
First, let’s go in-depth as to what each stat does.
STR – Increases Physical attack power and Parry Rate. This stat does absolutely nothing for Sorcerers, no matter how much points you put in it.
AGI – Increases Critical and Dodge Rate. Many classes put in points to this, including Sorcerers. Some even go as far as to get more AGI than INT.
INT – Increases Magical attack power and Parry Rate. In RO2, there are STR and INT based classes. Sorcerers are INT-based, so put points into this.
WIS – Increases Max SP. No one ever puts points into this. I don’t either, and so should you.
VIT – Increases Max HP. Unlike WIS, people actually put points into this. In RO, you would put points into this to ensure that you can survive. This is the same for RO2.
When you open your character window by pressing “C”, there are other stats that you can’t directly put points into. I’ll go over those too.
Parry Rate – The chance that the damage you take is reduced. Upon success, it indicates itself by playing a sound effect similar to having a shield being hit, and also a shield-like animation on your character.
Critical Rate – The chance that your attacks deal more damage.
Attack Speed – How many normal attacks you do per second. So, 2 attack speed means 1 hit per 2 seconds. Not important to Sorcerers.
Dodge Rate – The chance that your opponent’s attack misses you.
Haste Rate – Reduces casting time by the percentage listed. Example: Fire Bolt’s cast time is 1 second. Having 30% haste reduces that 1 second by 30 percent or 0.30 seconds. (Please correct me if this is wrong)
Vigor Rate – Reduces skill cooldowns by the percentage listed. Same concept as Haste Rate.
Hit Rate – Exactly the same as Hit in RO, only as a percentage.
Common builds for Sorcerers include…in the order of AGI/INT/VIT and what they look like at Lv 50:
41/41/0 – A balanced build, really. This is the build I chose, since VIT is very easy to gain through cards and such.
27/51/3 – Emphasizes raw damage without much reliance to Critical hits.
51/27/3 – More AGI than INT, which means insane Critical Rate. Some people argue that INT is easier to gain through equipment and cards, which is why this build may be a good plan. I personally think Magicians in general already have a high Critical Rate.
40/40/8 – Sacrifice 1 INT and AGI for VIT. It’s a good tradeoff.
6. Skill Builds
Of course, in order to actually do anything, you need skills! I’ll go through each skill in a certain order. Players like to categorize a set of each skills as a “tree”. For Magicians, it would be like “Fire Tree”, “Water Tree”, etc.
Cold Bolt: Inflicts damage with a 26-38% of magic power with a 100% chance to slow movement speed by 40% for 6 seconds. You start with this skill at Lv1, and you may choose to leave it at Lv1 or increase it or even max it at 5. The choice is up to you, and it mostly depends if Seal of Wind/Jupitel Thunder Mastery procs enough for you. Unlike in RO, this skill and all bolt skills do not do multiple hits.
Cast Time: 0.5 seconds
Cooldown: None
SP Cost: 3/4/5/6/7 depending on skill level
Frost Diver: Inflicts Frozen state on a single target for 2/4/6 seconds. Like RO, frozen enemies take more lightning damage, but the difference is that frozen state is not cancelled upon taking damage. I highly recommend maxing this skill at Lv3 as it helps tremendously with leveling. Enemies hit with this skill also get a Strong Will buff for a certain amount of time, where Frost Diver and Ankle Snare’s duration is reduced.
Cast Time: 1.5 seconds
Cooldown: 5 seconds
SP Cost: 3/4/5
Seal of Water: For 30 minutes, reduces damage taken by 2/4/6/8/10% and heals 1/2/3/4/5% HP and SP every 10 seconds. Only one Seal-type buff can be active at a time. Most players leave this at Lv1. I personally think it’s a nice compliment to healing yourself since HP and SP doesn’t naturally recover in battle, but whatever.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 3 seconds
SP Cost: 3/4/5/6/7
Beyond here in the Water Tree are Sorcerer skills, so you need to be Lv 25.
Summon Aqua: Summons a Water Spirit to assist you in battle. Attacks the enemy every 2 seconds with magic power of 26/29/32/35/38%. I haven’t seen a build that even has this skill at Lv 2, even though it’s pretty similar to the Ranger’s Falcon.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 120 seconds/2 minutes
SP Cost: 3/4/5/6/7
Healing Wave: Heals a single target for 12/13/14/16/17% of magic power. (Pre-Sorc Nerf 23/26/29/31/34) You could max this if you’re a full support.
Cast Time: 0.5 seconds
Cooldown: None
SP Cost: 2/2/3/3/5
Soul Cleanse: Removes debuffs on 1/2/3/4/5 ally/allies within a target area. There’s no need to max this, as most debuffs are already gone by the time you use this.
Cast Time: 1 second
Cooldown: 10 seconds
SP Cost: None
Meditation: A passive that increases critical healing effect by 340/380/420/460/500% exceeding 95% Hit Rate. In simpler words, it increases critical healing effects. Most players do not max this, but some do.
Deluge: Creates water in an area that increases your party’s Max HP by 4/8/12/16/20% and recovers HP by 26/29/32/35/39% of magic power every 2 seconds. (Pre-Sorc Nerf: 52/59/65/71/77%) Lasts 10 seconds. Ugly cooldown, and ugly SP cost, but good to use when a difficult boss is about to throw a mean AoE at you.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 2 minutes
SP Cost: 30//45/60/75/90
The Fire Tree will not be discussed here because no Sorcerer needs that tree. Do not ever level up anything there. Ever.
Every offensive skill here has doubled damage when used after Frost Diver or a Wizard’s Frost Nova, or when Seal of Wind’s 20 second buff activates.
Lightning Bolt: Inflicts lightning damage with magic power of 15/17/18/20/22%. This skill is weak by itself, but has no casting time. Leave this at Lv 1, as Jupitel Thunder will replace this in the long run.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: None
SP Cost: 3/4/5/6/7
Thunderstorm: Inflicts damage with magic power of 14/17/19% to a maximum of 3 enemies in a selected area. Just about everyone has this at Lv 1.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 3 seconds
SP Cost: 5/6/7
Seal of Wind: For 30 minutes, increases Haste Rate by 4/8/12/16/20%. When Cold Bolt hits, a buff that doubles lightning damage for the next two lightning skills appears for 20 seconds at a 6/12/18/24/30% chance. This obviously helps a lot in general. Max this. The 20 second buff does not stack with the Freezing bonus though.
Cast Time: Instant:
Cooldown: 3 seconds
SP Cost: 3/4/5/6/7
The skills beyond here in the Wind Tree are Sorcerer skills.
Jupitel Thunder: Inflicts lightning damage with magic power of 47/56/64%. Like I said, this replaces Lightning Bolt for damage. My Sorcerer in the SEA server can currently deal up to 1.7k with critical and Freezing/Seal of Wind bonus. <- That one-hit k.o’s any normal field monsters like Horongs in Payon. Powerful in RO. Just as powerful in RO2.
Cast Time: 2 seconds
Cooldown: 3 seconds
SP Cost: 6/9/12
Jupitel Thunder Mastery: A passive skill that compliments Jupitel Thunder. When Cold Bolt hits, a 7/13/15% chance that in 10 seconds, the next Jupitel Thunder casts instantly. I’d max this if you’re at least a DPS-oriented hybrid build, if not a full DPS.
Foresight: For 20 seconds, instantly cast the next 3 skills. Most players do not max this because of the ugly cooldown. Somewhat better than the RO version, lol.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 240/210/180/150/120 seconds
SP Cost: 7/10/13/16/19
Lord of Vermillion: Literally summons storm clouds to deal lightning damage of 24/28/32% magic power. Effect increases with 3 or more enemies in range but decreases with 6 or more enemies. An AoE lightning bolt, basically…and you don’t even need to select an area to use it, so it’s spammable. A good amount of players argue that maxing this is not worth the damage increase. Leave it at Lv 1. It beats Lightning Bolt either way.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: None
SP Cost: 20/23/26
Varetyr Spear: Every class has an ultimate damage skill. This is yours. Throw a lighting spear towards an enemy to inflict damage of 54/61/67/74/80% magic power. Stuns for 3 seconds. Unless you’re a full support, you must max this.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 30 seconds
SP Cost: 13/16/19/22/25
Upon job change, Sorcerers gain a new Earth Tree. Which consists purely of support skills.
Seal of Earth: For 30 minutes, increases healing effects by 20/40/60/80/100%. (Pre-Sorc Nerf: 2/4/6/8/10%) When a heal crits, a heal over time is applied for 6 seconds, which recovers HP equal to 20/23/25/28/30% of magic power. Max this IF and only if the Sorcerer nerf is applied here.
Cast Time: None
Cooldown: 3 seconds
SP Cost: 7/10/13/16/19
Soul Bind: Revives a fallen ally. The Sorcerer’s version of Ressurection. It’s not worth maxing this if the Sorcerer nerf is applied.
Cast Time: 0.5 seconds
Cooldown: 50/40/30 minutes (Pre-Sorc Nerf: 5/4/3 minutes)
SP Cost: 10/13/16
Rejuvenation: Instantly heals an ally for 18/21/23/25/27% of magic power. (Pre-Sorc Nerf: 37/41/45/50/54%) Despite that this skill has no cast time, there’s still an animation delay. I wouldn’t max this.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 8 seconds
SP Cost: 10/11/12/13/14
Earth Shield: Every class has a 30 minute party buff. This is yours. Increases party’s Defense by 4/8/12/16/20%. I don’t care what build you are. Everyone will love you if you max this.
Cast Time: Instant
Cooldown: 3 seconds
SP Cost: 10/13/16/19/22
Land of Recovery: Makes the ground heal allies within a 10m radius for 10 seconds. Recovers HP equal to 7/8/9/10/11% of magic power every 2 seconds. (Pre-Sorc Nerf: 15/16/18/20/22%) Some argue that maxing this is not worth the increase. I’d max it anyway.
Cast Time: 1 second
Cooldown: 10 seconds
SP Cost: 9/10/11/12/13
Because Sorcerers can be both support and DPS, there is much room for different kinds of builds. Full Supports, DPS, Hybrids…you name it. Here’s my personal preferences for each of these builds.
- Hybrid build
Explanation: This, in my opinion, is a good mix of healing and dishing out tons of damage. You can put the two extra points whereever you wish. Seal of Earth is maxed only if the nerf is applied. Otherwise, 4 more free points.
- Hybrid Build with emphasis on DPS
Explanation: You’re still healing with Land of Recovery (that’s your main healing skill). I didn’t get much in the Water Tree because Deluge isn’t worth the points, in my opinion. Do what you wish with the 4 points. Seal of Earth is maxed only if the nerf is applied. Otherwise, 4 more free points.
- Hybrid Build with emphasis on Support
Explanation: Jupitel Thunder itself is all you need to grind those levels. While Land of Recovery is in effect, you can give an extra boost to healing via Healing Wave. Soul Binding is maxed regardless of the nerf or not. That cooldown reduction may be a life-saver. Again, do what you will with the 4 points. Seal of Earth is maxed only if the nerf is applied. Otherwise, 4 more free points.
- Full DPS
Explanation: Here’s a build if you want to do crazy amounts of damage. Almost everything in the Wind Tree is maxed here, including Foresight because you want to deal damage, and you want to do it FAST. (It’s also for those cases where JT Mastery doesn’t activate) I might suggest putting 5 of the 9 extra points into Summon Aqua, just for more damage output. Or you could turn hybrid and put them into Seal of Earth and Land of Recovery, since people will dislike you if you can’t heal. Also, you could take 2 points off of Lord of Vermillion since maxing it is not really worth it. You won’t be mobbing much, if at all.
- Full Support
Explanation: You won’t be as weak as a FS Priest if you decide to put the extra 9 points into Jupitel Thunder or max Cold Bolt and Lightning Bolt. Otherwise, you can have Frost Diver at Lv 1 if you so desire (remember that it immobilizes an enemy) and go really wonky with this build and max Rejuvenation or Seal of Water or something.
7. I’ve planned out my build. How do I play as a Sorcerer?
Starting out as a Magician, use Fire Bolt for now until you max Frost Diver. If you don’t plan to max it, I’d assume you’re an FS build with no intention of dealing damage at all. In that case, you could maybe solo your way with whatever you have until South Plains. In that case, have a partner around and help you get to Lv 25. Otherwise, a typical Sorcerer fights somewhat like this…
For Magicians: 1. Frost Diver -> 2. Lightning Bolt as much as you can -> 3. spam Cold bolt until Seal of Wind buff activates -> 4. Lightning Bolt x2 -> rinse and repeat from start. If the monster still has the Strong Will buff, keep doing steps 3 and 4 until it’s gone.
For Sorcerers: 1. Frost Diver -> 2. Jupitel Thunder -> 3. spam Cold bolt until Seal of Wind buff activates -> 4. Jupitel Thunder x2-> rinse and repeat from start. It all depends if the monster has the Strong Will buff or not. Frost Diver and Jupitel Thunder when the buff is gone.
For Sorcerers with Varetyr Spear: 1. Frost Diver -> 2. Varetyr Spear -> 3. Jupitel Thunder (if you can…is it possible? I don’t have Varetyr Spear yet, so I don’t know) -> 4. spam Cold Bolt until Seal of Wind buff activates -> 5. Jupitel Thunder x2 -> rinse and repeat.
Really, all you’re doing is taking every single opportunity to double your lightning damage via Frost Diver or Seal of Wind. When the monster has Strong Will, (that would mean you or someone else immobilized it recently) Cold Bolt till Seal of Wind, then use your best lightning skill.
Dungeons are a different story. This is where you fight mobs but heal when necessary. If you have Lord of Vermillion, a Wizard with Frost Nova, and a tank, the tank could gather a nice mob, the Wizard uses Frost Nova, and you could wipe the floor clean with LoV. (Warning: I don’t know if this is efficient, but it sure sounds like it does) At bosses, I’d recommend maintaining Land of Recovery on those who are far away from the boss (that would be you, the Priests, the Wizards, and the Rangers) so the Priest can concentrate on the tank and any melee DPS. Deluge when the boss is about to throw a mean AoE or potential one-hit K.O. With your nasty damage, you could generate a lot of threat unless your tank is doing his job.
Also, when leveling, do every single quest from NPCs (including the Daily Quests at least once) to level. DO NOT SKIP ANY OF THEM OR YOU WILL FALL BEHIND. This is also true for Khara quests that give you EXP. Never, ever skip a quest that gives you EXP, and try not to do them with a party unless it involves a dungeon. You could get behind this way too.
