MapleStory Zen is an Explorer Pirate Class. This class is special because its MapleSEA version of TMS (Taiwan MapleStory 蒼龍俠客) of Dragon Warrior (Explorer Pirate Class). In this revamped version, the ZEN uses a Gun as his main weapon, and a Martial Fist as his secondary weapon. His primary stat is Dexterity. Although he is an Explorer, his Cash Wardrobe cannot be shared with other Explorers or characters. The character’s journey starts at Level 1, and like all other Explorers, goes through a series of Job Advancements, the first one being at Level 10, second advancement at Level 30, third advancement at Level 60 and fourth advancement at Level 100. Zen is formerly an exclusive TaiwanMS / ChinaMS job released in Justice. It is part of the Pirate Branch and is has mixture of skills similar to Buccaneer and Gunslinger.
Zen Overview
CLASS: Explorer (special)
EQUIPMENT TYPE: Pirate
PRIMARY WEAPON: Gun (2-handed weapon)
SECONDARY WEAPON: Martial Fist
PRIMARY STAT: Dexterity (DEX)
LINK SKILL: Core Aura (Random Stat)
MAPLE UNION EFFECT: Critical Damage +1/2/3/5/6%
BEST INNER ABILITY: Attack Speed +1, Attack +30
JOB SKILLS: I: Zen → II: Zen → III: Zen → IV: Zen → Hyper Skills → V: Zen
Shared Skills
Please refer to Shared Skill Build Guide for more details as it is shared among all jobs in MapleStory.
Zen Beginner Skills
Retro Rockets (Passive)
Permanently increases Movement Speed, Max Movement Speed, and Jump. Max Level is 1.
Level 1: Passive Effects – Movement Speed +50, Max Movement Speed +30, Jump +20
Zen 1st Job Skills
Hongwu 1st Art: Shadowless Strike (Active)
Attacks the enemies in front of you with a 3 hit combo. After learning the other Arts, this skill will trigger them in order, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Art. Can be triggered with individual Arts key. On key down, combos are not affected by skill intervals.
Level 1: Damage: 106%, Number of Attacks: 3, Max Enemies Hit: 8.
Level 20: Damage: 125%, Number of Attacks: 3, Max Enemies Hit: 8.
Accelerated Shot (Active)
Fires a bullet towards the front. Holding down the skill button will allow for continual firing. You will be able to move when you hold down the skill button.
Level 1: MP Cost: 3, Damage: 102%, Number of Attacks: 1, Maximum Range: 300
Level 10: MP Cost: 8, Damage: 120%, Number of Attacks: 1, Maximum Range: 300
Somersault (Active)
Press a direction key while jumping to activate a somersault. Pressing another direction key while somersaulting will result in a second somersault in the direction that was pressed.
Level 1: Movement distance increase as the skill level increases. Upon activation, pressing the jump key with another direction key to perform a second somersault.
Level 5: Movement distance increase as the skill level increases. Upon activation, pressing the jump key with another direction key to perform a second somersault.
Dragon Blitz (Active)
Instantly charge towards the enemy and release your stored energy with a violent attack. If there is no monsters near you, you will charge forward. When linking with other skills, you will not be affected by skill intervals.
Level 1: MP Cost: 3, Damage: 180%, Number of Attacks: 1, Max Enemies Hit: 4
Level 5: MP Cost: 15, Damage: 200%, Number of Attacks: 1, Max Enemies Hit: 4
Way of the Chivalrous (Passive)
Mastering all the basics, your Range, Movement Speed and Maximum Movement Speed.
Level 1: Range: +8, Movement Speed: +2, Max Move Speed: +146
Level 10: Range: +80, Movement Speed: +20, Max Move Speed: +155
Shadow Speed (Supportive)
Unleashes your hidden energy to increase your attack speed.
Level 1: MP Cost: 21, Increase Attack Speed by 2 Stages for 40 sec
Level 15: MP Cost: 35, Increase Attack Speed by 2 Stages for 180 sec
Zen 1st Job Skill Build (65 SP): Everything maxed.
1. Hongwu 1st Art, Dragon Blitz (1)
2. Shadow Speed (3)
3. Way of the Chivalrous (MAX)
4. Shadow Speed (8)
5. Hongwu 1st Art (MAX)
6. Shadow Speed (MAX)
7. Somersault (MAX)
8. Accelerated Shot (MAX)
9. Dragon Blitz (MAX)
Explanation:
Zen’s primary attacking skill is both Hongwu 1st Art and Dragon Blitz. They will need to be used in combo to gain best training result and fastest attacking method. The reason not to use Accelerated Shot is because the MP usage is quite costly. Start off with adding 1 SP (Skill Point) into unlocking Hongwu 1st Art and Dragon Blitz. Next, add 3 SP into Shadow Speed to get at least 60 second buff duration for attack speed boost. Always buff yourself up with Shadow Speed to reduce the delay between combo-ing the 2 skills above. When its done right, you will be invincible and monsters can’t deal any bump damage towards you. Then, max Way of the Chivalrous to gain additional walking speed which is useful for traveling long distance (back and forth of quest area, towns for repotting, and swapping training grounds). Add 5 more SP into Shadow Speed so it now gives you 120 seconds buff duration. Max Hongwu 1st Art to increase your primary attacking skill damage, very useful for unfunded characters. Once that is done, max Shadow Speed for longer buff duration, followed by Somersault. Somersault here is pretty weak. It could not jump as far compared to most jobs that has Flash Jump Technique, more like half the distance. That’s the reason why its max latter. Finally, Accelerated Shot is maxed. Dragon Blitz is capped at Level 4 (minus 1 SP from this skill) because Accelerated Shot is dependent by a 2nd job skill called Advanced Accelerated Shot. Do not cap Dragon Blitz early game because higher level only increases the damage little but the MP consumption raised by a big margin.
Zen 2nd Job Skills
Hongwu 2nd Art: Double Dragon (Active)
Required Skill: Hongwu 1st Art: Shadowless Strike (MAX)
Infuse your Qi into the gun and push back enemies while dealing damage. Mobs that are pushed back has a chance to be stunned. After learning the other Arts, this skill will trigger them in order, 3rd, 4th Art. Can be triggered with individual Arts key.
Level 1: MP Cost: 16, Damage: 125%, 5% chance to stun for 1 sec.
Level 20: MP Cost: 35, Damage: 220%, 5% chance to stun for 1 sec.
Panda Earthquake (Active)
Summon a panda to slam the ground, causing a shockwave that hits multiple enemies and knock them into the air.
Level 1: MP Cost: 5, Damage: 205%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Knocks Enemies into the air
Level 10: MP Cost: 14, Damage: 250%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Knocks Enemies into the air
Extreme Shadow (Active)
With extreme speed rushes pass the enemies and attacks them at the same time. After using Panda Earthquake or pressing the up button when using this skill, you will be able to move upwards.
Level 1: MP Cost: 21, Damage: 103%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 1
Level 10: MP Cost: 30,Damage: 130%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 1
Qi Circulation (Supportive + Passive)
Condenses your Qi to your limbs to increase attack.
Level 1: [Supportive] MP Cost: 29, Critical Rate +1%, Total Damage +1%. [Passive] STR +1, DEX +1.
Level 20: [Supportive] MP Cost: 10, Critical Rate +20%, Total Damage +20%. [Passive] STR +20, DEX +20.
Advanced Accelerated Shot (Passive)
Required Skill: Accelerated Shot (MAX)
Gathers power from nature to increase the power of Accelerated Shot.
Level 1: Increase Accelerated Shot Damage by 125%
Level 5: Increase Accelerated Shot Damage by 145%
Gun Expert (Passive)
Increases mastery of guns.
Level 1: Mastery of Guns: +14%
Level 15: Mastery of Guns: +70%
Secret Training (Passive)
Permanently increases Strength, Dex, Maximum HP, Maximum MP and Dodge Chance.
Level 1: STR +3, DEX +3, Max HP +3%, Max MP +2%, Dodge Chance +6%
Level 15: STR +45, DEX +45, Max HP +45%, Max MP +30%, Dodge Chance +20%
Zen 2nd Job Skill Build (94 SP): Everything maxed except Panda Earthquake.
1. Advanced Accelerated Shot, Extreme Shadow (1)
2. Gun Expert (MAX)
3. Advanced Accelerated Shot (MAX)
4. Qi Circulation (MAX)
5. Secret Training (MAX)
6. Hongwu 2nd Art (MAX)
7. Extreme Shadow (MAX)
8. Panda Earthquake (9/10)
Explanation:
Zen’s primary attacking skill at 2nd job will still rely on 1st job combo skills which are Hongwu 1st Art and Dragon Blitz on earlier levels because Zen’s 2nd job skills is very ineffective in terms of range, casting delay and damage. Panda Earthquake has a huge casting delay, making it difficult to attack while moving around at fast speed. Hongwu 2nd Art has slight casting delay and has a shorter shooting distance compared to Accelerated Shot. Extreme Shadow lacks damage and can’t be used for killing enemies except for moving around. Therefore, use the 1st job skill until Level 40 where monsters at that range drops lots of mesos (approximately 100 meso and above), then you can switch to using Accelerated Shot where you will spam tons of Blue Potions. Purchase these Blue Potions in bulk, 1 inventory slot can hold 300 Blue Potions, so it will take 3 slots for 900 Blue Potions. These MP potions gives the best MP to Meso Ratio but the disadvantage is you need to drink the potion often to replenish your MP bar. While holding down the Accelerated Shot key, you can tap on the quickslot shortcut key to replenish MP (I allocate Blue Potions on SHIFT button). This method is useful for killing enemies quickly at flat maps where spawns are abundant.
Zen 3rd Job Skills
Hongwu 3rd Art: Dragon Surge (Active)
Required Skill: Hong Wu 2nd Art: Double Dragon (MAX)
Instantly push forward and deal damage to many enemies. After learning the other Arts, this skill will automatically trigger the 4th Art. Can be triggered with individual Arts key.
Level 1: MP Cost: 18, Damage: 222%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 3
Level 20: MP Cost: 75, Damage: 260%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 3
Dragon’s Raid (Active)
Leaps into the air and fires flaming bullets at the enemies. Holding down this key will allow you to continuously attack for a period of time.
Level 1: MP Cost: 6, Damage: 103%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 1, Cooldown: 3 seconds.
Level 20: MP Cost: 25, Damage: 160%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 1, Cooldown: 3 seconds.
Dragon Destroyer (Summon)
Summons a dragon cannon to attack all nearby enemies. Attacks 2 times per second.
Level 1: MP Cost: 7, Damage: 155%, Cooldown: 28 seconds.
Level 10: MP Cost: 25, Damage: 200%, Cooldown: 22 seconds.
Lightning Ambush (Active)
With great force, attacks the enemies behind you teleports them to the front.
Level 1: MP Cost: 7, Damage 82%, Max Enemies Hit: 10, Number of Attacks: 1
Level 20: MP Cost: 25, Damage 100%, Max Enemies Hit: 10, Number of Attacks: 1
One with Nature (Supportive)
Absorbs the essence of nature and become one with it, giving you the power to use all of nature’s energy.
Level 1: MP Cost: 44, Duration: 55 sec, DEX: +2%
Level 20: MP Cost: 68, Duration: 150 sec, DEX: +8%
Void Steps to Advanced Extreme Shadow (Passive)
Mastering the art of flying, you are able to launch another Extreme Shadow against enemies while you are in the air.
Level 1: MP Cost: 27, Damage: 133%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 2
Level 10: MP Cost: 32, Damage: 160%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Attacks: 2
Hongwu Secret Manual (Passive)
The hidden manual of Hongwu, imparts techniques to handle guns and knuckles. Greatly increases damage and critical rate.
Level 1: Damage: +10%, Critical Rate: +5%
Level 20: Damage: +20%, Critical Rate: +15%
All Seeing Eye (Passive)
Trains your eyes to spot enemies weakness and the ability to predict their attacks.
Level 1: Defense Ignored: 6%, Damage: +5%
Level 20: Defense Ignored: 25%, Damage: +15%
Zen 3rd Job Skill Build (124 SP): Everything maxed.
1. Hongwu 3rd Art, Dragon’s Raid, Lightning Ambush, Dragon Destroyer (1)
2. Hongwu Secret Manual (MAX)
3. All Seeing Eye (MAX)
4. One with Nature (MAX)
5. Hongwu 3rd Art (MAX)
6. Dragon Destroyer (MAX)
7. Lightning Ambush (MAX)
8. Void Steps to Advanced Extreme Shadow (MAX)
9. Dragon’s Raid (MAX)
Explanation:
Zen’s 3rd job primary attacking skill will be Hongwu 3rd Art aided by Lightning Ambush. Lightning Ambush is used to vacuum monsters behind you regardless their platform location and relocate them in front of you but at the lowest platform. This skill is very useful for both training and party quest (Ludibrium PQ, Orbis PQ) as you can vacuum monsters located at the top without climbing the ladder. Dragon’s Raid seems buggy as it will DC (disconnect you from the game), so avoid using in PQ as it might waste your PQ entry attempts. Dragon Destroyer summon is useful for bossing especially when the boss casts critical armor where it only absorbs critical damage from your attacks. Dragon Destroyer bypasses that buff the boss puts on. The Void Steps to advanced Extreme Shadow basically upgrades the Extreme Shadow damage and doubles the hit rate.
Zen 4th Job Skills
Hongwu 4th Art: Dragon Drive (Active)
Required Skill: Hongwu 3rd Art: Dragon Surge (MAX)
Attacks and push back enemies.
Level 1: MP Cost: 19, Damage, 205%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Hits: 3
Level 20: MP Cost: 95, Damage, 300%, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Number of Hits: 3
Dragon Volition (Active)
Required Skill: Advanced Accelerated Shot (MAX)
Fires the gun at supersonic speeds.
Level 1: MP Cost: 15, Damage: 183%
Level 30: MP Cost: 18, Damage: 270%
Dance of the Dragon (Active)
Summon your father’s power, unleashing a storm of punches while moving. Holding down this key will allow you to continously fire and by using the movement keys you will be able to move left and right. At skill level 20, the skill interval will be removed and you will be able to continuously attack.
Level 1: MP Cost: 3, Damage: 84%, Max Enemies Hit 8, Number of Attacks: 2
Level 30: MP Cost: 9, Damage: 200%, Max Enemies Hit 8, Number of Attacks: 2
Exploding Fist (Active)
Gathers all your Qi and ignites them instantly to deal damage to monsters in front.
Level 1: MP Cost: 20, Damage: 710%, Number of Enemies Hit: 10, Number of Attacks: 3, Cooldown: 9 seconds
Level 10: MP Cost: 26, Damage: 800%, Number of Enemies Hit: 10, Number of Attacks: 3, Cooldown: 5 seconds
Dragon Immolation (Active)
Summons a Dragon to fill the entire map in a sea of flames.
Level 1: MP Cost: 360, Damage: 550%, Max Enemies Hits: 15, Number of Attacks: 3, Cooldown: 87 seconds.
Level 10: MP Cost: 450, Damage: 820%, Max Enemies Hits: 15, Number of Attacks: 3, Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Maple Warrior (Supportive)
Increases the stats of all party members.
Level 1: MP Cost: 10, All Stats: +1%, Duration: 30 seconds.
Level 30: MP Cost: 70, All Stats: +15%, Duration: 900 seconds.
Immovable (Supportive)
Strengthens your lower body to increase various stats including Boss Damage.
Level 1: MP Cost: 78, Duration: 85 sec, All Stats: +1, Critical Rate: +1%, Stance: +12% Damage, Damage against Bosses: +1%
Level 20: MP Cost: 40, Duration: 180 sec, All Stats: +20, Critical Rate: +20%, Stance: +50% Damage, Damage against Bosses: +20%
Advanced Dragon Volition (Passive)
Zen’s Specialty Skill. When attacking continously with Dragon Volition, an additional attack will be triggered at every 100 second interval. This skill has master level of 1.
Death Strike (Passive)
Training hard in the handling of weapons, increase Mastery, Minimum Critical Damage and Maximum Critical Damage.
Level 1: Mastery: +61%, Critical Damage: +11%
Level 20: Mastery: +70%, Critical Damage: +30%
Invulnerable (Passive)
Expens your Qi to strengthen your body.
Level 1: Increase Damage: +1%, HP: +11%, Weapon and Magic Defense: +1%, Abnormal Status and Elemental Resistance: +1%
Level 20: Increase Damage: +11%, HP: +30%, Weapon and Magic Defense: +20%, Abnormal Status and Elemental Resistance: +20%
Zen 4th Job Skill Build Guide (255 SP): Everything maxed.
1. Hongwu 4th Art, Dance of the Dragon, Exploding Fist (1)
2. Dragon Volition, Advanced Dragon Volition, Dragon Immolation (1)
3. Death Strike (MAX)
4. Immovable (MAX)
5. Invulnerable (MAX)
6. Dance of the Dragon (MAX)
7. Maple Warrior (MAX)
8. Hongwu 4th Art (MAX)
9. Dragon Volition (MAX)
10. Exploding Fist (MAX)
11. Dragon Immolation (MAX)
Explanation:
Zen’s 4th Job primary attacking skill will be either Dance of the Dragon or Dragon Volition depending on your opponent. Dragon Volition is usually used for 1 vs 1 such as bosses whereas Dance of the Dragon is utilized for mobbing which is very useful when there are many monsters around such as Dimension Invasion, Nett Pyramid and Evolution Lab. Dragon Volition is recommended for bossing because it deals extra damage with the aid of Advanced Dragon Volition passive skill. First, add 1 SP (Skill Point) to unlock the active skills which are Hongwu 4th Art, Dance of the Dragon, Exploding Fist, Dragon Volition and Dragon Immolation. Also add 1SP to Advanced Dragon Volition to allow Dragon Volition to have a chance to deal super high damage which does slightly boost your boss damage. Second, max Death Strike to decrease the damage gap between your min and max base damage and also boost up both min and max Critical Damage. Third, max Immovable to gain Stance ability which prevents monsters from knockbacking you. This is very convenient for bossing where you can continuously attack without stopping and avoid getting bumped out from a high platform (e.g. Zakum platform). Plus, Immovable improves your bossing damage tremendously while improving the success rate of dealing a critical strike. Fourth, max Invulnerable to boost your overall damage and improve Zen’s survivability with an increase of max HP, weapon defense and magic defense. This helps in reducing HP potion cost too in terms of Elixir consumption and reduce damage intake! Fifth, max Dance of the Dragon to improve the primary attacking skill. You can swap this with Dragon Volition if you are planning on bossing early or regularly with party. Sixth, max Maple Warrior to boost your base stat, as a result, boosting your base damage and improving all of your attacking skills. Seventh, max Exploding Fist for some serious instant damage which is regularly combo-ed with Aura Burst for bossing. Exploding Fist can be used hand-in-hand with Lightning Ambush for training purposes. Finally, max Dragon Immolation and Hongwu 4th Art. The reason to max Hongwu 4th Art near to the end is it does not improve your Hongwu 3rd Art damage plus the MP consumption is quite costly.
Zen Hyper Skills
Dragon Dance – Bonus Attack
Required Level: 143
Dance of the Dragon’s Number of Attacks: +1
Dragon Dance – Extra Target
Required Level: 162
Dance of the Dragon’s Monsters Hit: +1
Dragon Dance – Reinforce
Required Level: 183
Dance of the Dragon’s Damage: +20%
Exploding Fist – Bonus Attack
Required Level: 149
Exploding Fist’s Number of Attacks: +1
Exploding Fist – Critical Rate
Required Level: 168
Exploding Fist’s Critical Rate: +20%
Exploding Fist – Guard Break
Required Level: 189
Exploding Fist’s Ignore Defense: +20%
Dragon Volition – Boss Killer
Required Level: 155
Damage Volition’s Boss Damage: +20%
Dragon Volition – Add Range
Required Level: 177
Damage Volition’s Range: +20%
Dragon Volition – Reinforce
Required Level: 195
Damage Volition’s Damage: +20%
Bamboo Armor
Required Level: 150
Maximizes Zen defenses.
MP Cost: 300, Duration: 180 seconds, Max HP: +40%, Status/Elemental Resistance: +15%, Damaged Reduction: +15%, Cooldown: 90 seconds
Aura Burst
Required Level: 170
Gathers all your Qi and ignites them to cause an explosion, damages monsters in front and pushes them to the back.
MP Cost: 300, Damage, 800%, Max Enemies Hit: 1, Number of Attacks: 15, After a successful hit, continue the attack by hitting up to 10 enemies behind 1 time for 400% damage.
Epic Adventure
Required Level: 200
Call upon the bravery deep within to increase damage output and max damage.
MP Cost: 100, Duration: 60 seconds, Damage: +10%, Max Damage: +5000000, Cooldown: 120 seconds. Skill only applies to Explorer Classes within the party.
Zen Hyper Skill Build Guide:
1. Dragon Dance – Reinforce (MAX)
2. Dragon Dance – Bonus Attack (MAX)
3. Exploding Fist – Extra Strike (MAX)
4. Dragon Volition – Reinforce (MAX)
5. Dragon Volition – Boss Killer (MAX)
6. Bamboo Armor (MAX)
7. Aura Burst (MAX)
8. Epic Adventure (MAX)
Explanation:
Check this Hyper Stats Guide for more details!
Zen 4th Job Advancement Guide
Once you reach level 100, you will receive a quest for Aide. Accept that quest and head to the Nautilus. Then, find and talk to Aide. Aide will tell you to go to Magatia to get 2 Weird Clue from Homunscullo, loot the green powder it drops. Once you collected everything, head back to Nautilus and find Aide. Next, you will be told to head to Mu Lung to find 10 Memory Clues. Get them from Sage Cat, loot the purple powder it drops. Find Aide again when you’re done. After that, Aide will ask you to go to Leafre to find 10 Imporant Clues. You can hunt them from Black Kentaurus. The drop rates are quite low for this one. The quest item is white powder. Return to Nautilus and talk to Aide when you’re finish collecting them. This time, Aide needs you to go to Mu Lung again. But this time she give you an item, use this at the map Entrance to Sky Forest (First map at the left of Mu Lung, map filled with Chipmunks). Then, you will be teleported to another map with a boss in it. Kill it and return to Nautilus.
Zen 5th Job Skills
Please refer to MapleStory 5th Job Skills Guide for more details on Skill Cores, Special Cores and Enhancement Cores!
Zen Skill Cores
Fiery Dragon Storm
A fiery storm imbued with the power of a dragon pulls enemies into its center. The dragon’s power, when released, attacks a broad area, inflicting damage that increases in proportion to the storm’s cumulative damage. Fiery Dragon Storm does not affect enemies in the Damage Reflection status.
Level 1: MP Cost: 1000. Creates a fiery storm that pulls and Stuns up to 8 enemies and periodically inflicts 500% damage on them. Storm Duration: 10. Let the storm expire naturally, or use this skill again to release the dragon’s power, attacking a broad area at 660% Damage. This area-effective damage increases by up to 20400% in proportion to the damage that your allies have inflicted on the enemies within the storm’s range. Cooldown: 120 sec.
Level 25: MP Cost: 1000. Creates a fiery storm that pulls and Stuns up to 8 enemies and periodically inflicts 1460% damage on them. Storm Duration: 10. Let the storm expire naturally, or use this skill again to release the dragon’s power, attacking a broad area at 1980% Damage. This area-effective damage increases by up to 30000% in proportion to the damage that your allies have inflicted on the enemies within the storm’s range. Cooldown: 120 sec.
Flame Tiger Miasma
Controls miasma sustained by the power of the Flame Tiger. Pressing the skill button after casting the skill changes its mode. This skill is not affected by enemies in Damage Reflection mode.
Level 1: Consumes 1000 and summons a miasma that can be scattered or concentrated for 42 seconds. There is a 3-second cooldown for switching between the miasma modes. This skill attacks the enemy with the highest HP within its range first.
Scatter: Moves to 4 targets in its range and periodically attacks up to 8 enemies below them at 210% Damage 4 times.
Concentrate: Move to 1 target in its range and periodically attacks up to 10 enemies below it at 355% Damage 5 times.
Cooldown: 180 sec.
Level 25: Consumes 1000 and summons a miasma that can be scattered or concentrated for 90 seconds. There is a 3-second cooldown for switching between the miasma modes. This skill attacks the enemy with the highest HP within its range first.
Scatter: Moves to 4 targets in its range and periodically attacks up to 8 enemies below them at 450% Damage 4 times.
Concentrate: Move to 1 target in its range and periodically attacks up to 10 enemies below it at 715% Damage 5 times.
Cooldown: 180 sec.
Zen Enhancement Cores
- Hongwu Art (+7% per level)
- Accelerated Shot (+7% per level)
- Dragon Blitz (+7% per level)
- Panda Earthquake (+5% per level)
- Extreme Shadow (+5% per level)
- Dragon’s Raid (+3% per level)
- Dragon Destroyer (+3% per level)
- Lightning Ambush (+3% per level)
- Dragon Volition (+3% per level)
- Dance of the Dragon (+2% per level)
- Exploding Fist (+2% per level)
- Aura Burst (+2% per level)
Zen V-Matrix Skills Guide
Main V Skill: Fiery Dragon Storm
Trio #1: Hongwu Art / Dragon Volition / Aura Burst
Note: Bolded = essential skill | Non-bolded = non-essential skill.
Additional Information
Zen Storyline
ZEN is the child of Zhi Jun, the Commander of the Hongwu Troupe. Having great expertise in the martial arts, Commander Zhi Jun was responsible for protecting the safety of the Sunyao Emperor. The story begins from an ordinary training day for ZEN. ZEN was training very hard, hoping that one day he would be as powerful as his father. Zhi Jun assigned his trusty assistant, Suha, to train ZEN.
After a long period of training, ZEN returned home thinking that his skills had improved significantly. However, he could not find any signs of Suha nor the Commander at home. At that instant moment of his panic, Suha appeared with serious injuries. Suha did not tell ZEN what had happened but asked him to hide immediately, but all ZEN could think about was his father and rushed out to look for him. Once outside, he discovered that the Palace was in total chaos. Suddenly, he heard sounds of a huge fight in the distance, and ran toward the source, thinking that his father would be there.
Upon reaching the scene of combat, ZEN saw his father fighting a figure that looked like the Emperor. The Emperor seemed like he was being controlled by an unknown dark force. Realizing that Commander Zhi Jun was too powerful for him, the Emperor thought that ZEN would be a better target instead. Seeing that his son’s life was in danger, Zhi Jun used himself to shield ZEN from the Emperor’s attack. Commander Zhi Jun was severely injured from the attack and could not continue with the battle. Sensing that his son was in a grave situation, Zhi Jun ordered Suha to escape with ZEN. Knowing that ZEN was unwilling to leave without his father, Suha had to lie to ZEN saying that the Commander will join them later.
image
When they reached the boat, Suha confessed to ZEN that his father had died during the battle and tasked her to give a chest to ZEN. Suha said that within the chest, ZEN will be able to obtain the power needed for revenge and that it was up to him to keep it safe. As the boat sailed away, they encountered a horrible storm in the sea and the boat almost sunk. Luckily, they ran into Kyrin and she rescued ZEN and Suha. Surviving the fate of death on the sea, ZEN’s journey to avenge his father’s death begins…
Zen Notes
- With the launch of the ZEN class, a new core system have been implemented which is relatively unique to them. The Core System allow ZEN character to share the ability with any other character similar to the Mercedes “Elven Blessing” but what make it special is that these core system of ZEN can be modified.
- The core stats can be modified and share to another character. List of Core Stats are Magic Attack, Weapon Attack, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Luck,
- 4 New Cash Items which will only be visible in the ZEN Cash Shop: Stellar Cosmic Dust Solidifier, Supernova Dust, Condensed Supernova Dust and Cosmic Dust Shifter.
Stellar Cosmic Dust Solidifier
- The ability to freeze the current core stats for 30days upon each consume.
- The core stats can only be freeze for a max of 365 Days.
- The core system will be unlocked upon any usage of “Supernova Dust” and “Condensed Supernova Dust”.
- No reimbursement will be made for any accidental modification to the core stats which cause the “Stellar Cosmic Dust Solidifier” to lose it effect on the core systems.
Supernova Dust
- The ability to re-config the core stats and have a chance to increase it tier.
- The max stats tier is capped at 35 per stats.
- Although Supernova Dust have the ability to increase a stats tier, it also have the ability to drop the stats tier back to the basic (This effect will happen randomly).
- The core stats will be reset to default once the timer is up, please ensure that you have use “Stellar Cosmic Dust Solidifier” to freeze the stats.
- No reimbursement will be made for failure to freeze the stats and resulted in the lost of the core stats.
- Only a “Completed Core” (Level 120 Core) will have a chance to have its tier increased.
Condensed Supernova Dust
- The ability to re-config the core stats without affect the core tier.
- Mainly used for after the highest tier, so as to re-config the stats without affecting the core tier.
- The core stats will be reset to default once the timer is up, please ensure that you have use “Stellar Cosmic Dust Solidifier” to freeze the stats.
- No reimbursement will be made for failure to freeze the stats and resulted in the lost of the core stats.
Cosmic Dust Shifter
- The ability to turn the core stats in the clock-wise direction once.
Zen Changelog
[listx tags=”msea+zen” title=”
MSEA
“]
For those who don’t know about this, Zen is removed at Feb 2021 at TMS and CMS, MSEA will be removing this boi at 6 April sadge.
rip, Zen is getting removed in April 2021
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this fantastic blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this site with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
dragon blitz is no longer in zen’s first job skills list
zen 3rd job not enough sp to max all.
Third job skill cant maxed all. Please check
@Styx
Do you have a link? I main a ZEN and it is rellu time for an upgrade
@Brian Lim: I have checked the skill on my Zen in MapleSEA and the skill does not have cooldown of 0 seconds at max level. It has a max level of 10 with max cooldown of 60 seconds as of now.
@JIII oh I see thank you very much for your answer (≧▽≦)
@Brian lim seems like the skill in TMS is not a glitch, in maplesea i dun know yet
but the skill in TMS have master lvl 30, 0 sec cooldown but cost a lot of MP.
Can I ask how to let Zen 4th job Map Skill cooldown 0 sec ? Cause I at YouTube saw the TMS can made it for 0 sec and farm lvl ? Is it real ?
Why am I unable to max my 3rd job skills?
@Johnny: Probably would need to delete the character and restart all over again. The other method is to raise this concern to MapleSEA official via ibox whereby this quest is unable to be forfeited and must be fixed so you and others will not get impacted again not only just this quest but other quest in other jobs as well.
Apparently Zen got a revamp In Cmst. Will you be updating this page anytime soon?
Hi. Ayumilove the quest cannot be forfeit. I ty many times. Any other way 2 do it.
@Johnny: You could forfeit the quest in the Quest Window and try to start the quest again.
Hi. Ayumilove my Zen charater cant do 4th job advancement due 2 lost of Bottle of Evil Tiding. Any information or remedy 2 redo the quest. Hope u can help here. TQ u..
will the core get affect by the lvl of zen?
@Mr. Mouse: Have you reported this issue to MapleSEA for them to fix?
@Marqiouz: Thanks for your feedback! Zen 2nd Job Skill Build guide has been updated.
@Moosh: Yeah, Panda Earthquake is least important, so 1 SP can be deducted from there. I have updated Zen 2nd Job Skill Build Guide.
You can’t max out the skills in 2nd Job… there is 1 skill point missing.
Which skill should you not max out? I believe it’s Panda Earthquake but I’m not certain.
Maplesea here.. for 2nd job u can’t max out everything.. 1 sp difference
ZEN still has the glitch on Max MP. Does not seem to increase after each level up.
@DINO: Thanks for the Zen updates! I have updated the skill build guide to reflect the new SP allocation changes.
@Ahrie9tails: Thanks for the notice! I have updated Zen skill build guide 🙂
Just want to share something about the ZEN in MapleSEA. I noticed that you would have maxed all the 4th job skills by the time you are level 133 with extra SP. So from there onward till 140, you would have surplus SP. Is it something normal?
On a side note, the ZEN finally gets the same skill allocation after so long time (almost 1 year or so)! 😀
After Reboot Patch Zen can max out all skills
Hi Ayumi, this is Darryl Poh here’s another beginner skill for zen x jett but the skill is in chinese, i hope you can translate it. I post the link icon for the skill.
http://i.imgur.com/TlY8vge.png
Where is the treasure box for the trigram? I can’t find mine.(I just reach 2nd Job)
1. Some of the Zen’s skill can be chained, like 2nd job’s Panda earthquake and Extreme Shadow, making the skill casting faster and move faster
2. Zen’s Hongwu art series can be triggered using the Attack Key (Default: C)
1. Zen’s hongwu secret arts can be trigger by spamming the normal attack key
2. Some of Zen’s attacking skill can be chained, for example 2nd job’s Panda earthquake and Extreme Shadow
3. You might want to try chain 1st job’s Dragon blitz with your other skills
excuse me..i wanna ask why my zen MP stuck at 800++ and it doesn’t rise anymore?
@Meeee: Yeah I agree. I tested my Zen character in MapleSEA in hopes that they had fixed those bugs in MapleStory Shinning Patch but unfortunately they have not fix it after a very long period 🙁
MapleSEA Zen is quite broken. On top of that, currently it does not gain SP according to the new lv 140 model. Though when you level the description states you gain extra SP but you only get 3SP.
Dance of Dragon Max Lv still can’t ……. That skill so broken, MSEA so broken.
Dance of Dragon at Lv 20 didn’t Interval Remove. I Guessing need Max Lv.
@wildheartless The hyper has an unstated cool down. I did do a count and it seems like it’s a 3 second cool down.
please tell me that 170 hyper has a cooldown or is just a ridicously slow attack… 800 dmg x 15 hits 0_o… btw is there a video out with hyper skills?
It’s seems that When Execute the Zen Art’s Combo, It doesn’t cost Mp.
When you use the Art’s Solo, by putting the Art’s on the Keyboard it cost Mp.
When you Press “Attack” Key, Execute Full Art’s Combo doesn’t use Mp.
I wonder is it mean to like that.
It seems, that the Art Combo didn’t say how to execute the combo.
Well I Bet most of you people already know but I gonna say it anyway.
To Execute Zen Art1,2,3,4 Combo, Press the “Attack” Key Button,
You will need to Timed the key pressing to Chain the 2,3,4 combo Art.
@Roza: Which job tier are you referring to? (e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th job) I’ll add my recommendation in the explanation below in each skill build guide.
@2pau: Thanks for your feedback! I have done some experiment on my Zen and 2pau’s analysis is accurate.
Hey Ayumi, just wondering what skills do u recommend to use?
I KNEW IT! Thanks for verifying. Okay one more skill though. What about Advanced Dragon Violation? It activates back to back sometimes even though it says it only activates once every 100 seconds. So is that one bugged?
Msea translated from tms anyway so theres bound to me mistranslated skill descriptions
Not bugged just skill description not accurate enough. The highest skill % of whichever art acquired is applied to all lower arts. 3rd art 260% 1st to 3rd art all deal 260% per line. That being said when the 4th art is lower level, the skill % is lower than 260%(3rd art) hence, it only applies to 4th art, once the % surpasses 3rd art u will see all 4 arts dealing same dmg per line.
So it’s bugged then? I assume. Because the damage I’m dealing for the first art is the same as the 2nd, and 3rd. The 4th one deals less than the first 3 even though it’s supposed to deal 300% damage for 3 hits, strangely enough.
@CADEN: The description is from the official site. I believe the damage is contained within that skill itself instead of expanding. This means the 125% is for 1st Art (since it hits 3 times), whereas the 2nd Art deals 220% damage which seems alot (but hits 1 time per enemy).
@PikaZenn: Thanks for the notice! I have fixed Panda Earthquake max SP.
Hi Ayumi, could you verify the damage thing with the arts? I’m a little confused. The first art says it does 125%, 2nd art does 220%, 3rd art does 260% and the 4th art says 300%. However, after unlocking and maxing the respective arts, I noticed that your 1st art skill damage increases exponentially. So did the skill’s description actually mean that the damage is not only for the art exclusively but your overall damage of all the other arts as well?
Lol…the panda earthquake only can add 10 sp only,correctly is 9/10 right?
@zenner: Sorry about that, missed out some skills! Hongwu Secret Manual is maxed first in 3rd job which is after adding 1 SP into unlocking the skills. For the Dragon Destroyer (summon), its maxed before the Lightning Ambush.
what happened to dragon destroyer and hongwu secret manual?what do u add for them?
@2Pau: Thanks for the note! I’ll need help in determining the Hyper Skill unlock levels too since its not mentioned in the official site 🙂
@PikaZenn: Currently updating the skill build with the latest skills released in MSEA 😀
I’d like to add that for 2nd job the “qi circulation” skill description is wrong also.
It adds 20% total damage nt 20% critical damage.
@areef, there are a few ways u can use the hongwu techniques
a) place the skill on a hot key and use the techniques individually
b) hold down attack hot key which will spam 1st technique release to continue with 2,3,4
Or c) spam the attack hot key like a kaiser to unleash 4 different attacks( 1st thru 4th techniques) continuously
Waiting ur zen revamped skill build(already training before),very excited for the new skills!
About the new revamped Zen, i dont quite know how to combo the skills together. The text states that the skill will auto trigger once you learn the other arts, but not in my case. Any tips?
Link to red revamp zen skills http://maple.asiasoftsea.com/updates/view/post_r.e.d._patch_notes_rezeneration/#.U9qw7xAZ5iI
1st job everything maxed except dragon blitz (4/5) just add 1 1st for dashing effect similar to striker skill
2nd job everything maxed except extreme shadow same reason, add 1 sp to extreme shadow 1st for an effect similar to xenon’s diagonal
3rd job everything max except void steps to extreme shadow, add 1 to dash twice with extreme shadow
@Pau: Thanks for the notice! I’ll update them soon 🙂
Zen has been revamped.. any updates on the skill build?
Hi, there is a revamp on msea for zen, all skill change.
@Ayumilove:: Then you can try with this site:
http://www.southperry.net/showthread.php?t=73450
IDK if those are all the new skills, but it’s all what its says.
@Anonymus: Thanks. The images they shown seems like a gif file. I could translate the skill names, but there isn’t any skill details mention there.
@Ayumilove: Here is the link to TMST main page, it shows some of the new revamped ZEN (Dragon Warrior)s skills. =3
http://tw.beanfun.com/maplestory/
It looks like they also revamped the Hyper skills and changed the secondary weapon.
Hi Ayumilove, does Zen need any skill book?
BTW, I LOVE your guide! I always refer to your site whenever I wanna create a new character. Thank you very much.
@helpmepls: Hmm, I could not get much source on this. No icons and the details. If you know any Chinese sites that describes the skills in detail from the TMST version, I could perform the translation.
STMST 061 – Dragon Warrior/Zen 1st – 4th Job Skill…: http://youtu.be/KBI0Fgk_9wU
Its a YouTube video. I hope the link works 🙂
@helpmepls: I’ve been to TMS site at http://tw.beanfun.com/maplestory/, but it does not say anything about Zen skills revamp. Could you post a direct link to the page that has the info?
Pls make the revamped zen. Its out on TMS.
Hey helpmepls,
U cannot walk using dartle
Hope u enjoy playing maple :D.
Can i walk while using dartle?
@Mastel: Thanks for the note. I realized that this job has a special skill that replenishes both HP and MP in percentage every 5 seconds. I’ll amend the Hyper Skill Build Guide. You can swap Hyper Mana for Hyper Strength for extra damage boost (but not that significant).
Hi Ayumi, In MapleSea the Zen seems to have some skill Change, so far I noticed, that Double Down Max LV is 10, with 100% Actived. And May I ask is Hyper Mana really needed? I hardly see my Zen use my Mp more than 20 % since it can recover quick.
@Ominousmoon: I have encountered this issue before. Maybe some jobs does not have link to it. Still, you can train at Gold Richie area. The mobs there provides good EXP.
My zen character did not recieve the Gold Richie quest..is there a job quest that is linked to it?
Whats the diff btw lvl 2 link skill and lvl 1 for ZEN? Isiz significant?
Hi TF, Zen is similar to Jett, it has high damage (much higher than Mercedes base damage). Once you fund it, it will become super strong (just below Phantom) since Phantom can steal other player skills to buff himself up.
excuse me ayumi. may i know that if i play zen as unfunded. will it still can deal high dmg?
I think the 3rd job for ZEN requires some edits. Apparently you don’t get a free SP, and one of the skills for 3rd job must not max. Total : 124 SP
Hi Caden, I’m waiting for MSEA to officially released their version of Hyper Skills 🙂
Hi Kule, Level 120 upgrades to Level 2 Link Skill. Level 70 allows Zen to link his/her Level 1 Link Skill to another character within the same server of your account.
Thanks CrimsonClaw for the link! I have updated the Zen Hyper Skill section 🙂
http://maple.asiasoftsea.com/updates/view/return_of_the_zen/
you should update link skill, it is said zen now have core aura according to MSEA official
and the character description should stated that zen is based on GMS jett
Is Zen worth getting for the link skill? And if yes, lvling the char to 70 and 120 makes whats diff?
Could we have an updated guide on Zen? Currently there’s a hyper skills that was released for the class and I would like to know what hypers we should max to build our character to it’s fullest potential.
@Daity Well, Zen and Dragon Warrior have ore skills than Jett, but some Jett’s skills a are stronger…
Ayumi, can you show zen’s guns like you did for jett? Also, why did they put more skills in zen than jett?
@Yi heng: mind if u share the source? i dont think i heard zen having any hyperskill, like what Weww said
hmmm the zen skill was been changed and if can i would like to see the hyper skill cuz i haven see the hyper skill yet.
Opps, they created as Dragon Warrior. MSEA was the one that named them as Zen
The history of Zen: Zen was created from TMS first, then GMS copied them and re skinned to Jett, then Maplesea Copied as Dragon Warrior. Essentially, they are all the same juz different names, skill animation and maybe a little difference in skills. Abt hyper skill, i think that they will not receive any hyper skill as they are not an original class released by KMS (means not an official maplestory character)
what is his, link skill? or beginner skill? looks alot like Jett, but looks awesome fun to play 🙂 i wonder if we are getting Zen, and how is he a explorer? did MapleSea say hes a explorer??? interesting to read. oh and is Dragon warrior a warrior class or pirate class also?
Does Zen have Hyper Skills?
Hi Zex, Jett, Zens and Dragon Warrior are more or less the same. They are just rebranded version of their MapleStory region 🙂
Akumi, is it just me or does Zens play style resemble Jetts play style was too much…
i think this is similar to jett in gms, just different skill names and animations
It seems Zen first job skill “somersault” have been nerf to mastery lvl 5 only.
Hi Kalo, Violent Impact should not be maxed. I have corrected the skill build description to avoid confusion 🙂
Dragon Wing and Violent Impact..should be max or capped??
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/442/maple0001x.jpg/
hi ayumi, regarding zen’s card skill, here is the SS
Hi Russel Lau, I think its more towards the ranking? S Rank gains 4% critical damage. Kindly correct me if I mistaken 🙂
Then what’s the new skill build for zen?
Zen character card description is 1/2/3/4% crit dmg everytime your char gains a lvl..so if I have a lvl200 zen, and I train my new char from lvl 1 to 200, in theory I will get 800% crit dmg?seems too imba to me..
Please refer to this =)
http://maple.asiasoftsea.com/news/view/Bonus_Additional_Potential_Guide/#.UXfh1xoeQks
Hi S5Duh &S1Phantom, what kind of potential are you referring to? Is it the one for the items? I thought MapleSEA has it long time ago (I’m playing GMS so I don’t follow SEA much since it updates so slow). The Potential Guide can be found at http://ayumilove.net/maplestory-potential-system-guide/
Maplesea updated the addition potential system.. Ayumi can u make a guide or a explanation abt it .. i kinda confuse.. and Does Zen get hyper skill cuz i had lv 104 Zen and 140 Phantom(Post~Justice) and i heard they change the exp from lv 65~75 and 100 to lv 125 does this means i will lv up or lv dwn cuz they change the exp??
@haha I would say the zen, since it has the the skills of the 2 types of pirate.
Are u going to reply ?
Hi vinyx TEO, although the skill description and stats are not updated yet, the skill build guide remains the same: Tempest only reduces the level advancement cap which also means they will need to reduce some of the skills max level too and this balances out everything.
Is this skill build applies to Tempest patch?
Hi izenzation, it seems that MapleSEA will be catching up with GMS with their next extremely big update which includes Hyper skills, Monster park revamp, Item reorganization and Increased drop rates. Check this video out by playparksea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS1nwVFv5rA&feature=youtu.be The video might missed out displaying Zen’s Hyper Skill or maybe only some are included. But since Zen is exclusively for MapleSEA, its most probably we need to wait for MapleSEA to create the HyperSkills for Zen, unless they copy over from Jett.
Is zen or corsair stronger?
hi ayumi , should i stick with my lvl150 zen ? im very worried that there is no hyper skills for zen 🙁
is the posibility of hyper skills for zen since theres is no hyperskils for jett
Hi Haha, of course these classes will be unlocked to attract Maplers to return to their server to create this exclusive job. Just hope that they are unlocked once MapleSEA has released a big patch along with it. 🙂
Hi Tudjshshdusuidddd, have you tried Zen?
Zen is noob!!!!!!
So zen will confirm return?
Hi haha, I’m not sure since MSEA has begin to slow down termendously in their upload patch updates. Whenever there is a big patch going on or certain big events, there is a high chance they unlock the locked classes for a short duration before locking them again, or when they released a new job.
When will Zen return for MapleSea?(singapore)
Hi Haha, Gun Mastery is used to decrease the gap between the min and max damage, therefore dealing stabler damage.
What is Gun Mastery for?
Hi LinkBane, its more of a reskin of Jett (a mix of Corsair).
Isn’t this kind of like a reskinned Corsair? =(
What if I had boomed my opened treasure box (special shield) at level 110, how can I get a new one? Will I get a new 1 at 4th job advancement? *cry*
Hi Muhammad Zulhusni, I think it’s only once whereas other job is kinda special such as Xenon who can double Flash Jump aka double Somersault.
Hi B1, Panda Earthquake should have 19/20 SP in it. Therefore not maxed.
is Somersault can activate many time after activate it?
I messed up == how many SP should I put at Panda Earthquake agn?
Hi Hjx, there should be Zen Hyper Skills if MSEA provides 🙂
is there any hyper skills for zen?