MapleStory Marksman Skill Build Guide

MapleStory Archer Marksman Archer can advanced as a Bow Master or Marksman. This specific job route is determined when you reach Level 30. For this job, you will undergo as Crossbowman (2nd Job Advancement), Sniper (3rd Job Advancement) and Marksman (4th Job Advancement).

Marksman Overview

CLASS: Adventurer/Explorer
EQUIPMENT TYPE: Archer
PRIMARY WEAPON: Crossbow, Crossbow Arrow
SECONDARY WEAPON: Bow Thimble
PRIMARY STAT: Dexterity (DEX)
LINK SKILL: None
MAPLE UNION EFFECT: Critical Rate +1/2/3/4/5%
BEST INNER ABILITY: Attack Speed +1, Attack +30
JOB SKILLS: I: ArcherII: CrossbowmanIII: SniperIV: MarksmanHyper SkillsV: Marksman

Marksman Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Sharp eye (crit damage +15% and Critical Rate +20%) is an awesome party buff!
  • High base Critical rate and critical damage
  • 3rd job Aggressive resistance reduces damage from regular attacks by 60%, meaning you will seldom die while training.
  • Has both a flash jump, and a vertical double jump.
  • Has very adequate %ignore defense, no need to cube specifically for it.
  • Bullseye shot hyper skill synergizes nicely with 5th job buff Perfect Shot
  • Very high skill % damage, meaning you will almost always out damage your friends with similar range.
  • Has 12 second invincibility skill, and a 3rd job hero’s will.
  • High % skills allowing you to farm in Twilight Perion early with Pierce arrow.
  • Overall best archer for mobbing and best bossing mid-ranged funding.
  • Mastering Double Jump would help you to pick up how much you should move your character by, which helps you in control for bossing.
  • Using Hookshot after you jump makes you feel like Spiderman when you slide across the map.
  • During the movement of Hookshot, you are invincible for that few milliseconds!
  • Mastering the judgement of knowing how far you are from your monsters can maximise your damage alot. A bonus of making you a true archer which shoots from afar.
  • Skills have stable percentages of occurring, unlike Bowmasters’ quiver changes
  • 5th Job Split Arrow makes you a very powerful mobber.

Cons

  • Attacking hyper skill is near useless for bosses, deals less damage than snipe.
  • Most area of effect skills are horrifyingly linear, making mobbing pre 5th job a chore.
  • Attack speed is sluggish when you only have booster.
  • Low attack range in stat window means soul summon damage is significantly worse than other classes.
  • Relies on weak 3rd job skill to mob vertically in some situations.
  • Damage is heavily influenced by distance away from mob.
  • Going up in range is extremely hard due to lack of Attack% buff skills.
  • Frostprey is not a good skill for Marksman. Its attacking range does not extend to monsters that are further away.
  • Double Jump is difficult to control and hard to predict how high you will go.
  • Awkward movement speed of 130 and jump still remaining at base 100.
  • Hookshot sometimes does not bring you across the map despite it already hooking onto a monster.
  • Difficult to gauge your distance from monsters.
  • Mobbing is terrible despite having Piercing Arrow.

Archer 1st Job Skills

Please refer to Archer 1st Job Skill Build Guide as it is shared by Bow Master and Marksman.

Crossbowman – Archer 2nd Job Skills (GMS | MSEA)

Iron Arrow (Active)
Fires a steel arrow that can penetrate enemy defenses.
Level 1: MP Cost: 11, Damage: 279%, Max Enemies Hit: 6
Level 20: MP Cost: 15, Damage: 450%, Max Enemies Hit: 6

Rangefinder | Distancing Sense (Passive)
When attacking nearby enemies, increases your Ignore Defense Rate. When attacking far away enemies, increases your total damage.
Level 1: Based on distance 200, when closer than 18 the Ignore Defense Rate increases by 3% up to a max of 20%. The farther the distance, damage increases by 4% up to a max of 30%

Net Toss | Net Throwing (Active)
Throws a net on enemies, limiting their movements and inflicting damage.
Level 1: MP Cost: 12, Attack up to 8 enemies with 161% damage 2 times. 100% chance to stop enemies for 6 sec. For bosses, it lasts for half as long and their movement speed is reduced by 50%. Cooldown: 5 sec
Level 10: MP Cost: 21, Attack up to 8 enemies with 215% damage 2 times. 100% chance to stop enemies for 10 sec. For bosses, it lasts for half as long and their movement speed is reduced by 50%. Cooldown: 5 sec

Crossbow Booster (Supportive)
Required Skill: Crossbow Mastery (5)
Uses MP to temporarily increase the attack speed of your Crossbow by 2 levels.
Level 1: MP Cost: 29, Duration: ??? sec.
Level 10: MP Cost: 11, Duration: 300 sec.

Soul Arrow: Crossbow (Supportive)
Increases Attack Power and allows you to use a Crossbow without using arrows for a short time.
Level 1: MP Cost: 13, Attack Power: +11, Duration: ??? sec, able to attack without using arrows.
Level 20: MP Cost: 22, Attack Power: +30, Duration: 300 sec, able to attack without using arrows.

Crossbow Mastery (Passive)
Increases crossbow weapon mastery and accuracy.
Level 1: Crossbow Mastery: +14%, Accuracy: +12
Level 10: Crossbow Mastery: +50%, Accuracy: +120

Final Attack: Crossbow (Passive)
Required Skill: Crossbow Mastery (3)
Grants a chance to deal additional damage after an attack. Must have a crossbow equipped.
Level 1: Proc Rate: 2%, Damage: 100%
Level 20: Proc Rate: 40%, Damage: 150%

Physical Training (Passive)
Improves STR and DEX permanently through physical training.
Level 1: Permanently increase STR by 6 and DEX by 6.
Level 5: Permanently increase STR by 30 and DEX by 30.

Crossbowman – Archer 2nd Job Skill Build (GMS): Everything maxed except Iron Arrow.
0. Rangefinder is auto-maxed.
1. Iron Arrow, Soul Arrow: Crossbow (1)
2. Crossbow Mastery (MAX)
3. Crossbow Booster (3)
4. Soul Arrow: Crossbow (MAX)
5. Physical Training (MAX)
6. Iron Arrow (19/20)
7. Crossbow Booster (MAX)
8. Final Attack: Crossbow (MAX)
9. Net Toss (MAX)

Crossbowman – Archer 2nd Job Skill Build (MSEA): Everything maxed except Iron Arrow.
0. Distancing Sense is auto-maxed.
1. Iron Arrow, Soul Arrow: Crossbow (1)
2. Crossbow Mastery (MAX)
3. Crossbow Booster (3)
4. Soul Arrow: Crossbow (MAX)
5. Physical Training (MAX)
6. Iron Arrow (19/20)
7. Crossbow Booster (MAX)
8. Final Attack: Crossbow (MAX)
9. Net Throwing (MAX)

Sniper – Archer 3rd Job Skills (GMS | MSEA)

Explosive Bolt | Bolt Rupture
Fires an arrow that sends multiple bolts in all directions on impact. The enemy struck by the initial arrow takes additional damage.
Level 1: MP Cost: 12, attack up to 8 enemies with 548% damage. 143% additional damage to the first target.
Level 20: MP Cost: 18, attack up to 8 enemies with 700% damage. 200% additional damage to the first target.

Dragon’s Breath
Draws upon the spirit of the dragon to fire an arrow of tremendous force that pushes enemies away. Its effect increases with each enemy it pierces. Note: Pierce effect is 1.2x per monster, identical to Pierce.
Level 1: MP Cost: 20, Max Enemies Hit: 9, Damage: 453%
Level 10: MP Cost: 28, Max Enemies Hit: 9, Damage: 525%

Freezer | Frostprey (Element: Ice)
Temporarily summons Freezer to deal Ice damage to up to 4 monsters. Permanently increases weapon and magic defense.
Level 1: MP Cost: 43, Duration: 76 sec, Damage: 228%, Max Enemies Hit: 4, Freeze Duration: 1 sec, Passive Effect – Weapon and Magic Defense: +3%
Level 10: MP Cost: 70, Duration: 220 sec, Damage: 390%, Max Enemies Hit: 4, Freeze Duration: 3 sec, Passive Effect – Weapon and Magic Defense: +30%

Reckless Hunt: Crossbow | Extreme Archery: Crossbow (Toggle On/Off)
[Toggle Skill] Reduce your weapon and magic avoid to increase your critical hit rate and critical damage.
Level 1: Weapon and Magic Avoid: -5%, Maximum Critical Damage: +7%
Level 10: Weapon and Magic Avoid: -50%, Maximum Critical Damage: +25%

Pain Killer
Consume herbs collected from your travels to escape status effects. Permanently improves your status effect and elemental resistances.
Level 1: MP Cost: 31, Status Effect Cancel, Duration: 1 sec, Status Effect Immunity – Cooldown Time: 642 sec, Passive Effect – Status Effect and Elemental Resistance: +1%
Level 20: MP Cost: 50, Status Effect Cancel, Duration: 1 sec, Status Effect Immunity – Cooldown Time: 300 sec, Passive Effect – Status Effect and Elemental Resistance: +20%

Hookshot | Schutike Eisen (Active)
Fire a hook at the furthest enemy within range, dealing damage and pulling yourself behind it. While moving, you cannot take touch damage. Permanently increases your max HP.
Level 1: MP Cost: 12, Damage: 116%, Passive Effect – Max HP: +4%
Level 10: MP Cost: 21, Damage: 170%, Passive Effect – Max HP: +40%

Evasion Boost (Passive)
Improves your chances to dodge enemy attacks. When you succeed, your attacks for the next 1 second will be Critical Hits.
Note: Evasion Rate is the rate at which a character avoids damage by its Avoidability stat, i.e. 50% chance to Avoid from stat with 20% Evasion Rate = 50 * 1.2 = 60% chance to Avoid
Level 1: Evasion Rate: +12%, Avoid success, all attacks for 1 sec will be Critical Hits
Level 10: Evasion Rate: +30%, Avoid success, all attacks for 1 sec will be Critical Hits

Marksmanship (Passive)
When attacking, ignore some of the monster’s defense. Permanently increases accuracy and damage.
Level 1: Defense Ignored: 6%, Accuracy: +6%, Total Damage: +5%
Level 20: Defense Ignored: 25%, Accuracy: +25%, Total Damage: +15%

Mortal Blow (Passive)
Has a chance of dealing powerful damage, and recovering HP & MP.
Level 1: Grants a 1% chance when attacking to deal 2% increased damage to an enemy. 1% Max HP & MP recovered when triggered.
Level 10: Grants a 10% chance when attacking to deal 20% increased damage to an enemy. 1% Max HP & MP recovered when triggered.

Aggressive Resistance | Damage Reversing (Passive)
Absorb some of the damage you deal, temporarily creating a barrier that will block damage taken. Rather than stacking the effect, each attack will renew the barrier.
Level 1: Every 8 sec, 2% of damage done converted into a shield, absorbing 6% damage taken – Maximum HP Absorbed: 11%
Level 10: Every 8 sec, 20% of damage done converted into a shield, absorbing 60% damage taken – Maximum HP Absorbed: 65%

Sniper – Archer 3rd Job Skill Build (GMS): Everything maxed except Explosive Bolt.
1. Hookshot, Dragon’s Breath, Explosive Bolt (1)
2. Freezer (1)
3. Reckless Hunt: Crossbow (MAX)
4. Marksmanship (MAX)
5. Explosive Bolt (14/20)
6. Freezer (MAX)
7. Hookshot (MAX)
8. Mortal Blow (MAX)
9. Aggressive Resistance (MAX)
10. Evasion Boost (MAX)
11. Pain Killer (MAX)
12. Dragon’s Breath (MAX)

Sniper – Archer 3rd Job Skill Build (MSEA): Everything maxed except Bolt Rupture.
1. Schutike Eisen, Dragon’s Breath, Bolt Rupture (1)
2. Frostprey (1)
3. Extreme Archery: Crossbow (MAX)
4. Marksmanship (MAX)
5. Bolt Rupture (14/20)
6. Frostprey (MAX)
7. Schutike Eisen (MAX)
8. Mortal Blow (MAX)
9. Damage Reversing (MAX)
10. Evasion Boost (MAX)
11. Pain Killer (MAX)
12. Dragon’s Breath (MAX)

Marksman – Archer 4th Job Skills (GMS | MSEA)

Last Man Standing
Attacks against a lone target do much more damage.
Level 1: When the skill hits a single target, if there are no monsters within 80 units of the enemy’s left and right, final damage increases by 2%
Level 10: When the skill hits a single target, if there are no monsters within 80 units of the enemy’s left and right, final damage increases by 20%

Bolt Surplus
Increases the number of attacks for all multi-hit skills. Also increases Rangefinder’s Ignore Defense Rate and maximum damage increase.
Level 1: Increases the number of attacks for all multi-hit skills by 1. Rangefinder’s Max Ignore DEF increases by 21%. Final Damage Boost increases by 31%
Level 10: Increases the number of attacks for all multi-hit skills by 1. Rangefinder’s Max Ignore DEF increases by 30%. Final Damage Boost increases by 40%

Piercing Arrow
Fires an arrow. Its effect increases with each enemy it hits.
Level 1: MP Cost: 24, Damage: 205%, Max Enemies Penetrated: 6, Number of Attacks: 4, final damage increases by 20% at every pierce and damage is doubled.
Level 30: MP Cost: 42, Damage: 350%, Max Enemies Penetrated: 6, Number of Attacks: 4, final damage increases by 20% at every pierce and damage is doubled.

Vital Hunter
The further you are from your enemy, the lower their defenses will be.
Level 1: 1% Defense ignored at minimum distance. Increases by 1% per 40 distance. Able to ignore up to 31%
Level 20: 10% Defense ignored at minimum distance. Increases by 4% per 40 distance. Able to ignore up to 50%

Crossbow Expert
Pre-requisite: Level 10 Crossbow Mastery
Increases Crossbow Mastery, Weapon Attack, and Maximum Critical Damage.
Level 1: Crossbow Mastery: 56%, Weapon ATT: +1, Maximum Critical Damage: +1%
Level 30: Crossbow Mastery: 70%, Weapon ATT: +30, Maximum Critical Damage: +15%

Arrow Illusion
Summons an arrow illusion for a short time to draw enemies in and damage them. If you get hit during the skill, you will launch a powerful counterattack. Not affected by attack reflection.
Level 1: MP Cost: 30, summon Arrow Illusion with 27500 HP for 30 sec. Deal 113% to surrounding enemies. After pulling in, Stun at 12% chance for 1 sec. When damage is taken, reflect 330% of damage. Cooldown: 20 sec.
Level 30: MP Cost: 70, summon Arrow Illusion with 100000 HP for 30 sec. Deal 200% to surrounding enemies. After pulling in, Stun at 70% chance for 4 sec. When damage is taken, reflect 1200% of damage. Cooldown: 20 sec.

Hero’s Will
By focusing your mind, you can ignore some abnormal status effects. However, this will not work on all abnormal status effects.
Level 1: MP Cost: 30, Cooldown: 600 sec.
Level 5: MP Cost: 30, Cooldown: 360 sec.

Snipe
Fires a carefully aimed shot to deal severe damage.
Level 1: MP Cost: 340, Damage: 861%. Number of Attacks: 2, Enemy DEF Ignored: 2%, Bonus Critical Rate: 100%, Cooldown: 20 sec
Level 30: MP Cost: 50, Damage: 1470%. Number of Attacks: 2, Enemy DEF Ignored: 20%, Bonus Critical Rate: 100%, Cooldown: 5 sec

Illusion Step
Temporarily increases DEX and Evade significantly. Also permanently reduces damage received.
Level 1: Consume MP 20, for 68 sec agility 11 increased, 1% chance of additional evasion. Ppassive effect: received damage 2% reduced
Level 30: Consume MP 35, for 300 sec agility 40 increased, 30% chance of additional evasion. Passive effect: received damage 20% reduced

Sharp Eyes
Temporarily grants party members the ability to locate an enemy’s weak spot to deal fatal damage to that enemy.
Level 1: MP Cost: 30, Critical Rate: +6%, Max Critical Damage: +1%, Duration: 10 sec.
Level 30: MP Cost: 45, Critical Rate: +20%, Max Critical Damage: +15%, Duration: 300 sec.

Maple Warrior
Temporarily increases the stats of all party members.
Level 1: MP Cost: 10, All Stats: +1%, Duration: 30 sec.
Level 30: MP Cost: 70, All Stats: +15%, Duration: 900 sec.

Marksman – Archer 4th Job Skill Build: Everything maxed.
1. Piercing Arrow, Snipe, Bolt Surplus, Vital Hunter, Arrow Illusion (1)
2. Bolt Surplus (MAX)
3. Crossbow Expert (MAX)
4. Piercing Arrow (MAX)
5. Sharp Eyes (MAX)
6. Illusion Step (MAX)
7. Snipe (MAX)
8. Arrow Illusion (MAX)
9. Last Man Standing (MAX)
10. Vital Hunter (MAX)
11. Maple Warrior (MAX)
12. Hero Will (MAX)

Marksman Hyper Skills (GMS | MSEA)

Snipe – Cooldown Cutter
Required Level: 143
Snipe’s Cooldown Time -100%

Snipe – Boss Rush
Required Level: 195
Increases damage when attacking Boss Monsters with Snipe. Damage Against Bosses: +10%

Snipe – Reinforce
Required Level: 195
Snipe Damage +20%

Piercing Arrow – Extra Strike
Required Level: 149
Piercing Arrow Number of Hits +1

Piercing Arrow – Reinforce
Required Level: 168
Piercing Arrow Damage +20%

Piercing Arrow – Spread
Required Level: 189
Piercing Arrow Max Enemies Hit +2

Sharp Eyes – Persist
Required Level: 143
Sharp Eyes Duration +30 sec

Sharp Eyes – Guardbreak
Required Level: 162
Sharp Eyes Ignore Enemy Defense +5%

Sharp Eyes – Critical Chance
Required Level: 183
Sharp Eyes Critical Hit Rate +5%

Bullseye Shot
Required Level: 150
Hone in on the enemy’s weak spot for a devastating shot.
Level 1: MP Cost: 200, Duration: 30 sec, Critical Rate: +20%, Max Critical Damage: +20%, Monster DEF Ignored: +20%, Damage: +20%
Cooldown: 90 sec

High Speed Shot
Required Level: 170
Fires off a focused shot that pierces all enemies within range.
Level 1: MP Cost: 300, Damage: 1350%, Number of Attacks: 2, Enemies Hit: 12, Cooldown: 15 sec

Epic Adventure
Required Level: 200
Call upon the bravery deep within to increase damage output and max damage.
Level 1: MP Cost: 100, Duration: 60 sec, Damage: +10%, Max Damage: +10%, Cooldown: 120 sec. Applies to any Explorer class within the party.

Marksman Hyper Skill Build
1. Piercing Arrow – Reinforce (MAX)
2. Piercing Arrow – Extra Strike (MAX)
3. Snipe – Limit Break (MAX)
4. Snipe – Cooldown Cutter (MAX)
5. Snipe – Reinforce (MAX)
6. Bullseye Shot (MAX)
7. High Speed Shot (MAX)
8. Epic Adventure (MAX)

Explanation:
Check this Hyper Stats Guide for more details!

Marksman 5th Job Skills (GMS | MSEA)

Please refer to MapleStory 5th Job Skills Guide for more details on Skill Cores, Special Cores and Enhancement Cores!

Marksman Skill Cores

True Sniping
Accurately snipe enemies in your sights. Use your left mouse click to attack and right-click to cancel the skill.
Level 1: Consumes 1000 MP. Fire up to 6 arrows dealing 1248% damage 9 times on up to 12 enemies with an additional 100% critical rate and 100% defense ignore. Enemies closer to the centre of the scope will take increased damage, from 15% up to 100% based on the distance. You can aim for up to 12 seconds, during which you are invincible. You will also be invincible for 2 seconds after the skill ends. Cooldown: 180 seconds.
Level 25: Consumes 1000 MP. Fire up to 7 arrows dealing 2400% damage 9 times on up to 12 enemies with an additional 100% critical rate and 100% defense ignore. Enemies closer to the centre of the scope will take increased damage, from 15% up to 100% based on the distance. You can aim for up to 12 seconds, during which you are invincible. You will also be invincible for 2 seconds after the skill ends. Cooldown: 180 seconds.

Split Arrow
Infuse your arrows with a mysterious aura, causing them to split into multiple arrows when they hit an enemy.
Level 1: Consumes 800 MP. For 60 seconds, when Piercing or Sniping hits an enemy, the arrow will split, dealing 624% damage 5 times on up to 10 enemies. Cooldown: 120 seconds.
Level 25: Consumes 800 MP. For 60 seconds, when Piercing or Sniping hits an enemy, the arrow will split, dealing 1200% damage 5 times on up to 10 enemies. Cooldown: 112 seconds.

Marksman Enhancement Cores

  • Final Attack: Crossbow (4% per level)
  • Iron Arrow (4% per level)
  • Net Throwing (4% per level)
  • Freezer (3% per level)
  • Dragon Pulse (3% per level)
  • Bolt Rupture (3% per level)
  • Steig Eisen (3% per level)
  • Piercing (2% per level)
  • Sniping (2% per level) [does not receive +1 monsters hit]
  • Long Range Trueshot (2% per level)

Marksman V-Matrix Skills Guide

Main V Skill: True Sniping
Trio #1: Snipe / Piercing Arrow / High Speed Shot
Trio #2: Bolt Rupture
Trio #3: Final Attack / Freezer
Note: Bolded = essential skill | Non-bolded = non-essential skill.

MapleStory Old to New Official Skill Names

Bishop 5th Job Skills (GMS | MSEA)

  • True Sniping → Perfect Shot | True Sniping
  • Split Arrow → ???

Additional Information

Marksman Changelog

[listx tags=”gms+marksman” title=”

GMS

“]
[listx tags=”msea+marksman” title=”

MSEA

“]

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98 thoughts on “MapleStory Marksman Skill Build Guide

  1. TheXbowM

    I’m so upset they removed Hookshot from our skills :'(

  2. Krit

    Hi I want to know why Final Attack is not an essential skill. how does it work

  3. Ayumilove Post author

    @Lucas: Thanks for the info! I have removed the cons “Most crossbows cover up your beautiful face. Need good cash shop weapons.”

  4. Lucas

    Hi Ayumi! Just wanted to let you know that the crossbow is not held by the player, it is placed on your back, so players’ faces will not be blocked anymore

  5. Ayumilove Post author

    @all: MapleStory MSEA v179 Updates:

    Illusion Step (Before)
    Level 1: MP Cost: 20, Duration: 66 sec, Dexterity: +11, Dodge Rate: +1%, Damage Taken: -2%
    Level 30: MP Cost: 35, Duration: 300 sec, Dexterity: +40, Dodge Rate: +30%, Damage Taken: -20%

    Illusion Step (After)
    Level 1: Consume MP 20, for 68 sec agility 11 increased, 1% chance of additional evasion. Ppassive effect: received damage 2% reduced
    Level 30: Consume MP 35, for 300 sec agility 40 increased, 30% chance of additional evasion. Passive effect: received damage 20% reduced

  6. Ayumilove Post author

    @Christian: Sorry for the late reply! I have updated Mortal Blow skill description.

  7. Ayumilove Post author

    @1kcris: Thanks for the update on the Marksman pros and cons! I have updated the section with your notes 🙂

  8. 1kcris

    Hi Ayumi. This guide is looking great, though there are a few things that seem to be outdated in the pros/cons list, here are some suggestions from a marksman main!

    PROS:

    REPLACE
    Sharp eye (Max crit damage +30% and Critical Rate +20%) is an awesome party buff!
    (Just fixing the old text with the current 15% crit damage)
    3rd job Aggressive resistance prevents one-hit-KO as it removes 60% damage intake.
    (True while training, but most bosses that do %HP ignore this)
    Excellent mobility with double jump and awesome hookshot macro.

    WITH
    Sharp eye (crit damage +15% and Critical Rate +20%) is an awesome party buff!
    High base Critical rate and critical damage
    3rd job Aggressive resistance reduces damage from regular attacks by 60%, meaning you will seldom die while training.
    Has both a flash jump, and a vertical double jump.

    ADDITIONAL PROS:
    Has very adequate %ignore defense, no need to cube specifically for it.
    Bullseye shot hyper skill synergizes nicely with 5th job buff Perfect Shot
    Very high skill % damage, meaning you will almost always out damage your friends with similar range.
    Has 12 second invincibility skill, and a 3rd job hero’s will.

    CONS:

    REPLACE
    Worst hyper in the game. Buff is useless, and attack is weaker than all 3rd job skills.
    (It may have been true when the cap was still 50 million, but since then it has been buffed significantly in cooldown, vertical range and attack speed. A very decent skill to use when training. bullseye shot is a very good skill now.)

    Skills’ area of effect are horrifyingly linear. They mostly hit only in a straight line (Iron Arrow, Dragon’s Breath, Piercing Arrow, Snipe) which makes mobbing in multi-story platform maps a nightmare. The only exceptions are Arrow Blow and Explosive Bolt/Bolt Rupture. Snipe’s arrow is only able to deviate very slightly from a straight line, but it is difficult to pull it off.
    Mobbing is terrible despite having Piercing Arrow
    (Can be condensed into fewer words)

    WITH
    Attacking hyper skill is near useless for bosses, deals less damage than snipe.

    Most skills area of effect are horrifyingly linear, making mobbing pre 5th job a chore.

    ADDITIONAL CONS:
    Attack speed is sluggish when you only have booster.
    Low attack range in stat window means soul summon damage is significantly worse than other classes.
    Relies on weak 3rd job skill to mob vertically in some situations.

    Marksman V-Matrix Skills Guide
    The second trio is definitely not essential, I’d even argue that high speed shot could be unbolded, and bolt rupture should be added to the trio #2

  9. Christian

    Hey Ayumi! Looks like they changed Mortal Blow a bit. Max skilled is:

    Grants a 10% chance when attacking to deal 20% increased damage to an enemy. 1% Max HP & MP recovered when triggered.

    Not sure about level 1, but it doesn’t have instant kill chance anymore.

  10. Ayumilove Post author

    @BreakBlitz: Thanks for sharing the pros and cons for Marksman! I’ll be adding them into the guide above. I have also updated the Marksman Soul Arrow skill icon. Regarding the Bolt Rupture aka Explosive Bolt, since I’m able to 1 hit KO all mobs at my level, its not necessary to push them with Dragon’s Breath. Also, it would be more efficient in leveling if you can defeat monsters within 1~2 hits with the main skill for fast EXP. That’s the reason why Dragon’s Breath is not maxed in the first place. At higher levels such as 4th Job training, Dragon’s Breath is not used at all since the same applies for Piercing Arrow (1~2 hits mob) for fast leveling.

  11. BreakBlitz

    Cons:
    Frostprey is not a good skill for Marksman. Its attacking range does not extend to monsters that are further away.

  12. BreakBlitz

    Soul Arrow: Crossbow (Supportive)
    Level 1 Duration: 110s
    The logo has been changed as well

    Also, just to refer to your debate with @Just an Archer
    I tried both ways and I got to say that my conclusion is that both Dragon Pulse and Mortal Blow are good.

    I cleared mobs on average alot faster when I use 2 Dragon Pulse first before Piercing Arrow. On the contrary, what I think should not be maxed is actually Explosive Bolt/Bolt Rupture (on MSEA). Once you get Piercing Arrow, it is almost never used already. I got through my 3rd Job pretty quickly with just level 14 Bolt Rupture.
    So what I would do is
    Dragon’s Breath (10/10)
    Bolt Rupture (14/20)
    Mortal Blow (10/10)

    If by chance Bolt Rupture is not ‘strong’ enough, then 1~4 sps could be sacrificed from either Dragon’s Breath and/or Mortal Blow to be added into Bolt Rupture.

    Cons:
    Skills’ area of effect are horrifyingly linear. They mostly hit only in a straight line (Iron Arrow, Dragon’s Breath, Piercing Arrow, Snipe) which makes mobbing in multi-story platform maps a nightmare. The only exceptions are Arrow Blow and Explosive Bolt/Bolt Rupture. Snipe’s arrow is only able to deviate very slightly from a straight line, but it is difficult to pull it off.
    Double Jump is difficult to control and hard to predict how high you will go.
    Awkward movement speed of 130 and jump still remaining at base 100.
    Hookshot sometimes does not bring you across the map despite it already hooking onto a monster.
    Difficult to gauge your distance from monsters.
    Mobbing is terrible despite having Piercing Arrow.

    Pros:
    Mastering Double Jump would help you to pick up how much you should move your character by, which helps you in control for bossing.
    Using Hookshot after you jump makes you feel like Spiderman when you slide across the map.
    During the movement of Hookshot, you are invincible for that few milliseconds!
    Mastering the judgement of knowing how far you are from your monsters can maximise your damage alot. A bonus of making you a true archer which shoots from afar.
    Skills have stable percentages of occurring, unlike Bowmasters’ quiver changes
    5th Job Split Arrow makes you a very powerful mobber.

    Some might be repeats from what people has written, but I’m just placing it here.

  13. please read

    If you read the description of Bolt Surplus carefully, you’ll know if snipe is a 2 hits or 3 hits.

  14. Ayumilove Post author

    @xBolt: Thanks for checking out the Snipe skill. I’ll revert the changes in the Snipe description 🙂

  15. xBolt

    Snipe actually hits only two times. The third hit comes from bolt surplus not from snipe itself. So the description was correct.

  16. Ayumilove Post author

    @Frozzem: Thanks for the feedback. I have updated the Snipe skill description from 2 attacks to 3 attacks.

  17. Frozzem

    Hey Ayumi, snipe actually hits 3 times, the descrition states 2 hits but in fact its 3. Here is a Screenshot of it http://imgur.com/a/2aSMW

  18. Keahzir

    Hello,

    I just wanted do ask something. What do you guys think about the change that has been made to snipe, is it better or weaker than it was before? And why is the lvl 150 hyper skill buff is that useless? It seem pretty good to me.

  19. serene

    Hi,

    I just started playing my sniper after a very long time. Im at lvl 115 and yet to do the 4th job advancement. All my SP was reset and I maxed out everything except for dragon’s breath, which only has 1 SP to it. Your guide has 4/10, so I’m missing 3 SP here. Am I missing something?

  20. Ayumilove Post author

    @Dean: It’s a great idea, but unfortunately I do not have much time in getting that done since my hands is full with updating MapleStory skills. MapleStory do tend to change item drops from monsters and it would be much of a hassle to identify and update few hundred monsters, unless you know an efficient way of doing it 🙂

  21. Ayumilove Post author

    @Michael: Sorry for the late reply. I have updated the Marksman skills for “Snipe – Limit Break”, High Speed Shot, “Snipe – Boss Slayer”, Sharp Eyes.

  22. Ayumilove Post author

    @Randomcity2: Thanks for your correction! I’ll be updating the Marksman guide above.

    Snipe
    (Old) Level 1: MP Cost: 340, Damage: 2583%. Ignored Mob Defense Rate: 2%, Bonus Critical Rate: 100%, Maximum Damage: 400000000. Cooldown: 20 sec.
    (Old) Level 30: MP Cost: 50, Damage: 4410%. Ignored Mob Defense Rate: 20%, Bonus Critical Rate: 100%, Maximum Damage: 400000000. Cooldown: 5 sec.
    (New) Level 1: MP Cost: 340, Damage: 861%. Number of Attacks: 2, Enemy DEF Ignored: 2%, Bonus Critical Rate: 100%, Cooldown: 20 sec
    (New) Level 30: MP Cost: 50, Damage: 1470%. Number of Attacks: 2, Enemy DEF Ignored: 20%, Bonus Critical Rate: 100%, Cooldown: 5 sec

    (Removed) Snipe – Limit Break
    (Removed) Required Level: 195 | Increases Snipe’s maximum damage. Maximum Damage: 500,000,000

    (Added) Snipe – Boss Rush
    (Added) Required Level: 195 | Increases damage when attacking Boss Monsters with Snipe. | Damage Against Bosses: +10%

    Sharp Eyes
    (Old) Level 30: MP Cost: 45, Critical Rate: +20%, Max Critical Damage: +30%, Duration: 300 sec.
    (New) Level 30: MP Cost: 45, Critical Rate: +20%, Max Critical Damage: +15%, Duration: 300 sec.

    High Speed Shot
    (Old) Level 1: MP Cost: 300, Max Enemies Hit: 12, Damage: 4000%, Max Damage: 500000000. Cooldown: 15 sec.
    (New) Level 1: MP Cost: 300, Damage: 1350%, Number of Attacks: 2, Enemies Hit: 12, Cooldown: 15 sec

  23. Ayumilove Post author

    @Scott: Welcome back to MapleStory. Leveling is much easier compared 4 years ago where grinding takes forever to reach Level 100 🙂 ~ Reboot Server offers similar experiences like the olden days, difficult monsters but rewards better EXP.

  24. Scott

    Just recently getting back into maple after 4 years. So many changes but your guides are helping so much!
    Thanks Ayumilove

  25. Randomcity2

    Snipe: 1 hit of 4410% damage ===> 2 hits of 1470% damage
    Snipe Limit Break – Removed
    Snipe Boss Slayer – New : +10% boss damage [Req. Lv. 195]
    High Speed Shot: 1 Hit of 4000% ===> 2 hits of 1350% damage
    Sharp Eyes: +30% Max Critical Damage ===> 15% Critical Damage

    fix it.

  26. Michael

    Hey Ayumi, the days have been crazy busy, but the changes are on their way, promise!!

  27. player0987

    wow. you have so much time to do all this? and your own website has just about everything thats necessary. thanks alot ayumilove8. your website is sooooo my online guide book.

  28. Michael

    Oh, and Snipe – Limit Break has been changed due to the removed damage cap as off V on gms. I’ll post a full-rework on all changes before Xmas in a comment

  29. Michael

    Hey Ayumi, great guide as usual! I’m seeing some major errors though. Snipe has a 2x 2250% damage setup (approx, I’ll check the actual numbers tomorrow), and High Speed Shot has a 2x 1350% damage setup (checkig numbers tomorrow as well). Also they no longer OHKO things by default. Just gigh damage. Atleast these are in effect on GMS. This has been for quite some time, I’ll get back to you within 24 hrs of posting this comment!

  30. Dean

    Awesome! glad i could help! I love your site and i use it for everything Maple related :D! As a suggestion something id like to see since we have the new potentials transfer system is a page for weapon and armor levels and the monsters they drop from. For example like “XXX Monster drops the level 70 One handed Sword and XXX monster drops the level 80 one handed sword” that way players can know where to go to hunt for that much needed weapon to transfer those great potentials! just a suggestion and i know it would take alot more to do then just saying it haha but just something i think would greatly help with the way the new system works ^^

  31. Ayumilove Post author

    @Dean: No worries! Thanks for the new update. I have changed Snipe Cooldown Cutter Required Level from 155 to 143. 🙂

  32. Dean

    Hey Ayumi sorry to be wrong before but i have just hit 140 on my Marksman, Snipe Cooldown cutter is at 143, and BOTH the other 2 snipe hypers are at 195!

  33. Ayumilove Post author

    @Dean: Thanks for the info, I have updated Snipe Cooldown Cutter Level requirement to 155.

  34. Dean

    pretty sure snipe-Cooldown Cutter is at 155 for GMS

  35. JOHNNY CHEAN

    HI. Bowman. Me from MapleSea. Correct Ayumilove say 255 SP max but my character got only 225 SP. some of the skill cant max it. Skill book all in. Maybe they didnt add SP for New Skill Job like Vital Hunter and Last Man Standing or Bolt Surplus. Thank you for reply…

  36. B0WM4N

    @JOHNNY CHEAN
    Are we talking about MapleSEA here? As Ayumilove said, 255 SP is the max SP you can get for the 4th job. Maybe you used a mastery skill book.

  37. JOHNNY CHEAN

    Hi Ayumilove. why my MM.skill point stuck at 225 point .Short of 30 point. MY MM lvl.173. Any ideal where goes wrong. THANK.

  38. Ayumilove Post author

    @EdwinTeo12: MapleSEA has issues with SP (Skill Points) distribution. The max SP you can gain from 4th job is 255. As you can see from the guide above, the total SP for all Marksman 4th Job Skills is 255 as well. So you should be able to max all skills using the latest SP system distribution.

  39. EdwinTeo12

    Hello AyumiLove,
    Just to ask, my xbm has reached level 140 but i didnt manage to max the Snipe. I have used SP reset as well but still Snipe is not maxed. Is there any error that every 4th job skill will be maxed?
    Thanks

  40. Ayumilove Post author

    @jwoo2000: That is correct.

  41. jwoo2000

    MM would benefit from Attack Speed correct? Since they have no hurricane and their snipe animation can be sped up

  42. Ayumilove Post author

    @Steve: Thanks for the feedback! I’ll update the Hyper Skill Snipe Limit Break info.

  43. Ayumilove Post author

    @jwoo2000: I would recommend you to use the mastery books based on the priority as shown in the 4th job skill build guide. For Marksman 4th job skill, that would be “Crossbow Expert”. “Bolt Surplus” skill has a max level cap of 10, therefore it does not require Mastery Book 20 nor Mastery Book 30. 🙂

  44. jwoo2000

    Which skills should i use mastery books on first?

  45. Steve

    Hey Ayumi,

    The level 197 Hyper skill Snipe – Limit Break actually increases Maximum Damage to 500,000,000.

    Great guides as always 😀

  46. minhtin

    Should I play Maskman ???

  47. Travis

    Illusion Step (Level 1):

    MP cost: 20
    Duration: 68 seconds
    DEX +11
    Avoidability +1%
    (passive) – Damage Taken -2%

  48. Ayumilove Post author

    @all: If anyone has the details for Crossbow Booster, Soul Arrow Crossbow and Illusion Step Level 1 details for Reboot (need the cooldown timing), please post it here so I can update the guide above!

  49. Ayumilove Post author

    @MM: Thanks for your feedback. I have corrected Marksman’s Snipe Hyper Skill:
    Sniping – Limit Break (Level 195) = 177 → 195
    Sniping – Cooldown Cutter (Level 177) = 195 → 177
    Sniping – Reinforce (Level 195) = remain same
    Kinda awkward though since its missing Level 155 step.

  50. MM

    Some of the hyper skills listed are incorrect. Snipe cooldown unlocks at 177, not 155 and both the other snipe skills unlock at 195.

    Otherwise nice guide.

  51. Ayumilove Post author

    @Aslal: Thanks for your feedback on the different hyper skill build!

  52. Aslal

    Ayumi, I’d like to say that the hyper skills vary entirely on what you plan on doing and how funded you are. If you’re not hitting 300m (soon to be 400m because of buff in KMS) with Snipe consistently, you shouldn’t be using Snipe: Limit Canceler, and Pierce: Spread would be a better option for training. I’m guessing that this guide would be for most people in that range.

    If you are hitting 300m (400m in KMS) guaranteed, then it depends if you boss regularly: bossing regularly but still training from time to time, I’d suggest using all three hyper skills for Snipe along with Pierce: Spread and Pierce: Extra Strike; not training at all would probably warrant Sharp Eyes: Guardbreak and Sharp Eyes: Critical Chance instead of piercing hyper skills.

    I can put a range later if needed, but I’d have to do some math on it.

    TL;DR: Don’t use Snipe: Limit Canceller

  53. Jonathan

    Sorry Ayumi, The level is based on current MapleSEA update.

  54. Jonathan

    Ayumi, the hyper skill level you got it wrongly… The Sniping – Cooldown Reduction level required is 195. While the Sniping – Reinforce is 155

  55. Ayumilove Post author

    @David Nguyen: Sorry for the late reply. I have made some changes to Marksman Hyper Skill Build to cater for Snipe Limit Break in exchange for Piercing Arrow Spread.

  56. Ayumilove Post author

    @Neko: Thanks for your feedback! I’ll update Marksman Hyper Skill Build to swap Piercing Arrow Spread with Snipe Limit Break.

  57. Neko

    Ayumi wouldn’t it be better if you max Snipe-Limit Break instead of Piercing Arrow-Spread because snipe can easily hit damage cap and its also your main bossing skill as a Marksman

  58. victor

    i quited my marksman after that update, so sad see archer like that =/

  59. SGLORDSxMM (Cass)

    playing xbow in maplesea is like harcore mode.
    snipe cd lv 195. impossible to solo boss wif pierce dmg wif unfunded
    snipe dmg is like 2x or 2.5x of piercing dmg ….

  60. David Nguyen

    Why not put a point in Hyper skill Snipe Limit Break

  61. Adam99

    Hey ayumi, wouls you mind share your idea of Bowmaster/ Marksman with the comparison and the differ base on your experience.

  62. Ayumilove Post author

    @Henk: Thanks for your feedback. It depends on player’s playstyle, some may find Arrow Illusion useful in certain situations where they need to distract monsters attention away from you, so you won’t get hit/knockback and can spam your attacks safely. However, if the boss monster always perform AOE attacks, that certainly isn’t useful but it still perform damage reflect against enemies who attack the Puppet.

  63. Henk

    Hey Ayumi, why do you prefer to max arrow illusion after snipe? I noticed that i barely use the skill. Is it really worth putting 30 points in it? Putting those points into maxing last man standing and vital hunter seems more useful.

  64. Megumi

    I started playing again few days ago and I still can’t figure my skills. What happened to Strafe? What skill should I use on 1v1?

  65. Ayumilove Post author

    @Lyrris: Not sure whether MapleSEA will follow GMS or KMS that has the Snipe Cooldown Cutter at Level 155 (which makes it more fun when you can spam it instead of waiting for 5 seconds).

  66. Ayumilove Post author

    @Fatewinds: It’s listed in the Hyper Skills but not in the Hyper Skill Build. If you find yourself hitting max cap damage and frequently perform boss raid, you can swap that skill with Piercing Arrow Hyper Skill.

  67. Fatewinds

    Hey Ayumilove. Why didn’t you include Snipe: Limit Break in your list of Hyper Skills?

  68. Lyrris

    Hello, I have a question with the snipe skill. The require lv for the snipe — cooldown cutter in maplesea is lv195. Would Maplesea revamp and unlock the snipe — cooldown cutter at lv155 ?

  69. Ayumilove Post author

    @Itzonno: Marksman is kinda rare as most players choose Bow Master for its super speedy attacks. When comparing their skills side by side, they are kinda similar with Headshots aka Brain Scrambler. If you are into Boss Raids, Corsair is better as they have AOE Battle Ship attacks.

  70. Itzonno

    Hi ayumi, i was just wondering what your opinion was on a corsair compared to marksman in terms of entertainment, damage and rarity. Thx for the guides!

  71. Ayumilove Post author

    @Marksman Player: Hi, GMS has done some revamp on their Hyper Skills before RED patch, so the skill levels here differ to MSEA. I can include the ones from MSEA if you could kindly provide them 🙂

  72. Marksman Player

    Ayumi, why in maplesea marksman hyper cool down cutter of sniping at 195 lvl?

  73. Kyo

    is snipe cooldown cutter really at level 155 ? or 195 ?

  74. Ayumilove Post author

    @Tenshi: Thanks for spotting the missing skill in 3rd Job Skill Build. I will rectify it now 🙂 You can place Evasion Boost before Aggressive Resistance.
    Example:
    8. Aggressive Resistance (MAX)
    9. Evasion Boost (MAX)
    10. Pain Killer (MAX)
    11. Dragon’s Breath (Dump)

  75. Tenshi

    Hey ayumi for the 3rd job advancement skill point distribution where do we put points into evasive boost?

  76. Ayumilove Post author

    @Shawn Jun: Both have their pros and cons. Play the one that suits your style 😀

  77. Ayumilove Post author

    @Paulfx29: I have not used net throwing at all when bossing. But you can max Net Throwing instead of Iron Arrows should you find it more helpful in the long run. I’ll update the skill build guide based on your feedback. Thanks!

  78. Ayumilove Post author

    @buffybot: Sorry for the late reply. I’ll take a look into Marksman Hyper Skill and fix it. I found out that the hyper skill level is changed before RED patch which is in GMS v.137 Unleashed, but in GMS v.143 RED, it did not overwrite them 🙂

  79. buffybot

    Hi, first want to say thanks for all the efforts you put into your guides. Just wanted to let you know that the cooldown cutter for snipe is no longer at level 195 and is now at 155. Reinforce for snipe is now at level 195 instead.

  80. Paulfx29

    Hi Ayumi! First of all, love your guides <3 Here's the question: Wouldn't be better to max net throwing instead of Iron arrow? I think in the long term it will be far more useful

  81. Shawn Jun

    Crossbow master or Bow Master is better ? If Marksman is better , why ? If Bowmaster is better , why ? And how do I fund ignore ?

  82. LWZ

    P.S. Wild Hunter’s max. critical damage is in Maplewikia, but not at your site. I think they only change Marksman. But still can someone please explain? Thanks. =)

  83. LWZ

    Just asking, since when Crossbow Expert for Marksman the effect of min. critical damage changed to max. critical damage? Because before RED and even after Big Bang patch, BM and MM both the effect are min. critical damage. But I checked Maplewikia and your site after RED patch and found out that it is changed to max. critical damage for Marksman. Same applies to Wild Hunter. Can someone clarify this?

  84. Bob

    Well forget to add obviously long range true shotis not for spamming but once in a while heavy damage to multiple mobs

  85. Bob

    Well forget to add obviously long range is not f

  86. Bob

    To eh, yes it’s 4000% and 4410% for long range true shot and snipe respectively , long range is for multiple mobs while snipe is for bossing , eg long range on all 8 Zakum arms while snipe for the body.

  87. Eh.

    I was just wondering if I got this right… Long Range True Shot is 1 atk of 4000% but Snipe is 1 hit of 4410%….?

  88. Cake

    I can’t say that I know for sure since I can’t play KMS to test it out; and if I could, it would be difficult to test for a 20% damage increase, since your range is always changing with each hit. But I would believe that Last Man Standing wouldn’t activate, because, to me, a mob is any enemy that can be attacked. So the arms above, below, left to, or right to, should be considered mobs. Also, on orangemushroom’s blog, he wrote that its within 80 range of either side. So I if it’s based on left and right only, it could activate, if and only if Zakum’s arms were 80+ range apart. And I don’t know what exactly range is in maplestory, so I couldn’t test/verify as to whether or not they are 80 range apart. Hope this helps.

  89. Bob

    Thanks cake, a question regarding last man standing , will it activate when I fight Zakum when it has the arms on still, because unlike hillia, I can do multiple hits on Zakum ( eg, pierce ) and it hits more than one target, are he arms considered ” other mobs” or do I still get the 20% damage when I hit all the arms ?

  90. Cake

    Hi Bob, I know that you didn’t ask me, but I thought I’d give you my opinion. Piercing Arrow wasn’t nerfed because additional bolt makes it 5 hits, and charge makes you attack much faster. So I’m pretty sure it was buffed.
    As for Snipe, it was nerfed. Consider that you can do max damage (50m). With one snipe, max damage that is possible is 400m. But with max you could do 500m (450m w/o hyper) Also, if you didn’t do that much damage, it’s still nerfed (considering you have all hyper skills for snipe used).
    The damage difference is either 670% or 588% depending on how the 20% hyper skill works.
    Hyper skill ADDS 20% damage to each attack:
    Old Snipe: 10(490%+20%)=5100%
    New Snipe: 1(4410%+20%)=4430%
    Hyper skill MULTIPLIES 20% to each attack:
    Old Snipe: 10(4.90×0.2)=10(5.88)=5880%
    New Snipe: 1(44.1×0.2)=5292%
    So, in conclusion, Piercing arrow buffed, Snipe nerfed.
    But I heard that snipe is the strongest skill when spammable. And even more so since (as far as I know) it’s affected by weapon speed, crossbow booster and speed illusion.
    Hope this helps.

  91. Bob

    Hi, Ayumi, what’s your view on marksman in the RED patch? Did piercing get a nerf? because of reduced damage, or a buff because of the removal of charging time, im clueless about the damage calculations, and how about sniping? from 10 hits to 1 hit ( 10 hits including the old hyper skill ) , damage reduction overall, and the defense ignore, would it affect the bossing ability greatly?

  92. Ayumilove Post author

    Hi Peter Park, Marksman and Bow Master seems fun to play where they can swing around like spiderman. In my opinion, that skill should be the pirate’s one since it uses somewhat anchor item or grappling hook to rail into enemies. Somehow I felt it does not fit for archer. Or perhaps for Ninja/Assassin new movement skill along with their Flash Jump. I really like the have change the Piercing Shot (Pierce) where it can fire multiple times similarly to Hurricane.

  93. Peter Park

    Hi. Right now my main is a Marksman, and I was wondering after the Red patch which class would be the best to play. I’ve been playing Marksman for quite a while, and was planning on probably changing it when Red comes. Which Explorer Class would be the best after Red?

  94. Ayumilove Post author

    Hi Just an Archer, primary skill does more damage than Dragon Pulse. For me, I don’t spam Dragon Pulse to kill enemies but push them once to keep them away at a far distance and fire away with a more powerful skill that deals more hits per enemy. If enemy can be killed in 1-2 hits with primary skill, the benefits does not get to apply their magic for both Mortal Blow and Dragon Pulse.

    Monsters only take more damage if you have them at the very end (away from you) after the 1st hit from Dragon Pulse. So if the monsters are already close to you, you use Dragon Pulse. If they are far from you, you can start triggering your primary skill.

    And if the target is not dead after the push, you can use this as an opportunity to rail into them to meet more monsters ahead.

  95. Just an Archer

    Yes, I know how the skill is used,but the fact is that it is used and it does do damage. Mortal Blow is a terrible skill because it requires a specific set of conditions (i.e. to see it trigger consistently you’d have to be killing mobs with 7 hits which is not really feasible since mobs usually die in no more than three) to trigger for a lackluster effect (The HP restoration is meager and the instant kill effect doesn’t affect training speed in any sort of important way). This is even more true post RED since it is no longer a pre-requisite for Arrow Eruption.

    You described the main use of Dragon Pulse and that alone is enough to justify maxing it. This becomes even more apparent when you take into account Distancing Sense’s damage boost (i.e. by pushing monsters away you will do more damage to them, which is more important than the boost to crit rate that you get up close because additional damage is a more consistent boost and because Marksmen have a very high crit rate to begin with).

    The only reason I could imagine one wanting to leave Dragon Pulse unmaxed is so it’s less likely to kill targets you want to catch with Steig Eisen but that doesn’t really make any sense.

  96. Ayumilove Post author

    Hi Just an Archer, I do play Marksman and based from my experience, I find myself using it less often for defeating enemies but as a skill to knockback multiple enemies into a tight corner and later finish them with Marksman primary skill. The skill build guide above acts as a reference guide but not strictly required to be follow. I’m all ears on optimizing jobs skill build 🙂

  97. Just an Archer

    Not maxing Dragon Pulse is stupid, Marksmen increase their damage by increasing the distance between themselves and their targets which is exactly what Dragon Pulse does. I don’t think you’ve ever played a Marksman if you would foolishly suggest that one max Mortal Blow of all things at the expense of a skill that is not only useful, but will be key well into a player’s 200s.

  98. Cake

    Thank you for posting the bowman revamps. 😀 And is Snipe’s Cooldown Cutter still Lv. 195 in KMS, even though it’s Lv. 155 in GMS? And does Epic Adventurer increase the damage I do by 5m or does it make my max range increase by 5m?