Sage/Scholar Leveling Guide

I. Introduction and Guide Scope

The Sage is one of the possible 2nd job advancements for the Magician class. Hungry for their pursuit of knowledge, they sit down with their books and take time to study the potentials of magic in Rune Midgard. Their learnings are then practiced in the field as they use their honed powers to attack, support or disable their targets. If you wish to take the arcane path as a Sage, this leveling guide will be a great supplement to give you an idea on how to begin your journey as one!

This guide will contain the basics of what you need to know about leveling a Sage – which stats to invest in, what monsters to target, what loot to look out for and some possible tips and tricks that you may find useful. Do note that this guide is not in absolution and is not required to follow by the letter. You as a young Sage have free range on how to traverse and explore the ups and downs of your characters, and may this guide at least provide you some options that you may deem beneficial with that.

II. Stat Breakdown

• STR: Boosts ATK and increases max weight limit; one of the offensive stats of a physical battle Sages
• AGI: Provides FLEE and ASPD; a notable stat for physical or autocast battle Sages
• VIT: Boosts HP, HP RECOVERY, DEF, resistance to STAT AILMENTS and increases healing amount of HP POTIONS
• INT:  Boosts MATK, Sage’s main DPS stat; also boosts SP, SP RECOVERY, MDEF and increases healing amount of SP POTIONS
• DEX:  Decreases VARIABLE CAST TIME (not to be confused with FIXED Cast Time), allowing Sages to release spells faster; also slightly increases MATK
• LUK: Increases CRIT, and slightly increases MATK and PERFECT DODGE

III. Possible Sage Stat Builds

A. Standard Caster Sage

High INT and DEX, mid to low VIT

Sticking to one’s spellcasting roots, this Sage variant focuses on using the same offensive spells from the Mage tree, plus the new Earth-element spells from the Sage tree, in grinding levels. Grabbing high amounts of INT and DEX as soon as possible is advised to assure fast casting of spells that hit hard. Some points in VIT are optional to aid in survivability.

B. Battle/Auto cast Sage 

High AGI, moderately high STR or INT, mid to low DEX and/or LUK

Unlike normal spellcasters who stay at the backline when fighting, Battle Sages are known to go right upfront against enemies and dish out damage to them. Paired with high amounts of AGI for Flee/ASPD and some STR for ATK, they equip Daggers or Books and engage in close combat with foes. Some even invest points in INT for MATK and use the buff Hindsight, allowing them to autocast some Mage spells while dealing physical melee attacks. Some points in DEX or LUK are advised in order to have substantial HIT or CRIT for normal attacks to land.

C. Support (Alt Character) Sage 

High DEX and VIT, mid INT

For those who prefer having other characters dealing the actual damage when leveling, this Sage build serves more of a supportive role in parties. Whether it be providing elemental endows on party mates, setting down ground spells like Deluge for other classes or disabling monsters, this variant excels in aiding allies (or your main DPS character if this is an alt). DEX and VIT are added for variable cast time reduction and Max HP/stat ailment resistance. Some points in INT can help for SP and a bit of variable cast time reduction.

High: 99-80	Moderately High: 79-61
Mid: 60-31	Low: 30-1

IV. Gear and KP Preparation (+F2P Options)

Before proceeding with your Magician, one may opt to have some items prepared to help ease with leveling. These items are not required, but getting the best amount of EXP possible will definitely be worth the investment. Below is a list of sample gear and consumables that you may consider acquiring beforehand to ease up the leveling process:

• Beginner (LV1-49), Rookie (Lv50-99) Shadow Sets and Experience Shadow Shield to increase EXP gained from defeating monsters

• Class-specific Shadow Equipment (preferably Magician Shadow Earring for decreased variable cast time of Bolt-spells and Sage Shadow Set for bonuses linked to Heaven’s Drive and Hindsight)

• Equipment which provides +% EXP such as Kafra Uniform/Kafra Staff Headband set, Blue Rear Ribbon, Marin Balloon, EXP Rings from Cash Shop, Footgear with EXP-Race Cards

• Premium Buff Box (Increased EXP/Drop Rate and Kafra Storage space for 30 days) + Battle Manual Box (10pcs)

• World Teleport Ticket Box (allows easy access to fields and dungeons without having to traverse long walks or teleports from town; done via World Map or Navigation System, and must be used outside a building)

• HP/SP Sustain Equipment such as Asgard Blessing and Catherina von Blood

• Equipment which provides Lv1 Greed such as Bravery Bag, Greed Shadow Weapon or Greed Amistr Bag

• Garments which increase MATK such as upgraded Violet Halo (MATK+20, additional +20 per 3 refine) and Bravery Bag (with Base 90 INT, increases MATK by either 30 or 50 if refined to +7 or +9 respectively)

• Shields which increase MATK such as Mad Bunny (MATK +5%, additional MATK at +7 and +9) and Cursed Knight’s Shield (MATK +3% with chance to restore HP when dealing magic damage, additional MATK at +7, can be enchanted with additional stats)

• Pecopeco Hairband for Movement Speed (movement speed bonus stacks while mounted)

• Phen Effect Gear (grants uninterruptible cast time to the player)

• Over-upgraded crimson weapons like Crimson Staff/Rod (Caster) or Crimson Dagger/Bible (Battle)

• Staves, Books or Daggers with Malangdo Enchants

• Equipment to help reduce aftercast delay such as Sitting Pope, Applause Sandals or Sprint Set

• Magical Ring, Magic Intensifier Ring, Angel Egg or any accessory which increases offensive stats (INT/MATK for Casters/Autocast Battle, STR/ATK for Physical Battle) or provides utility skills (ex. Heal from Archpriest Glove or Hide from Gyges Ring)

• Cards which increase either INT, MATK, elemental magic damage, specific Mage or Sage Skills, or reduces cast time

• Equipment which allows autocasting spells (whether offensive or defensive)

• Garment Costumes with Casting Stone or Minor Casting Stone enchants (to reduce Fixed Cast Time for spells)

If you are a new player though with limited resources or just want to take the free-to-play (F2P) route, you may go for these viable options:

• New User Box (free potions/consumables)

• Time Keeper Equipment and Metal Weapons (also included in the Time Keeper Box from New User Box) which are enough to carry you in the early to mid-game

• Eden Equipment Quest (preferably those done within Lv50-59, LV70-79 or Lv80-89 range for easy kill quests)
• Alice Mercenary Scrolls (via New User Box) summon an Alice companion to fight alongside you. She can use AoE skills such as Brandish Spear and Magnum Break that can kill multiple monsters at once, making early leveling effective. If you wish for Alice to automatically attack and use skills, consider downloading and setting up AzzyAI in the AI>USER_AI Folder.

• 5x [NFS] Battle Manuals via Jellopy Quest in Prontera; basically need to bring Jellopy to an NPC located at /navi prontera 204/53 (click to copy the command and enter in game chat)

• Event consumables such as [NFS] Small Mana Potion, [NFS] Infinity Drink and [NFS] World Teleport Tickets (depending on which ones are available in the current patch)

• Account-bound event equipment like Predator Accessories

V. Leveling Guide (Magician)

[Lv1 – 10]

Criatura Academy Quest (until receiving Eden Group Mark), Prontera Field (Rocker, Fabre, Lunatic, Hornet)

Loot Priority: Grasshopper’s Leg, Fluff, Bee Sting, Honey

[Lv10 – 25]

Ambernite, Pecopeco, Muka, Scorpion, Payon Field (Spore, Boa, Wormtail), Payon Dungeon 1F

Loot Priority: Snail Shell, Crystal Blue, Bill of Bird, Cactus Needle, Scorpion Tail, Red Blood, Strawberry, Venom Canine

[Lv25 – 40]

Bigfoot, Elder Willow, Thara Frog, Ant Hell 1F, Payon Dungeon 2F

Loot Priority: Bear’s Footskin, Honey, Poopoo Hat, Elder Branch, Dead Branch, Red Blood, Resin, Jellopy, Iron Ore, Sticky Webfoot

[Lv40 – 55]

Wolf, Argos, Orc Village, Orc Dungeon 1F, Comodo Field (Grove, Flora, Alligator), Greatest General, Pyramids B1F, Magnolia, Metaller

Loot Priority: Strawberry, Bug Leg, Cobweb, Orcish Voucher, Emperium, Maneater Blossom, Stem, Aloe Leaflet, Anolian Skin, Yggdrasil Seed, Trunk, Brigan, Authoritative Badge, Immortal Heart, Rotten Bandage, Beef Head, Rough Oridecon

VI. Sage Job Change

Mages with Job levels between 40 to 50 can proceed to change into a Sage. It is highly recommended (especially to new players) to level up to Job 50 to waive the entire quest requirement and instantly change your job. Once you’ve decided to change job, proceed to the Sage’s Castle located in the city of Juno and speak to the Academy President over at /navi yuno_in02 38/61.

VII. Sage Spells and Catalyst Management

Compared to their Wizard counterparts who use their knowledge of the arcane to deal hard-hitting offensive spells on their foes, Sages spend their time studying the elements of the world around them, and thus are able to use spells which lean more towards either supporting their allies or disabling their opponents. Though casting a good number of their skills require various catalysts, there are fortunately some NPCs available to help alleviate the time of farming these items by simply purchasing or exchanging them with what you already have.

Colored Gemstone Exchange c/o Jade at /navi payon 173/238

Crystal Blue and Red Blood c/o Eden Group Waitress at /navi moc_para01 179/40

Blank Scroll c/o Scroll Merchant at /navi yuno_in03 176/22

Keep in mind that, depending on which build your Sage will be following, you only need to carry some of these catalysts for the spells you will be using. Some of these, such as the elemental ground spells Volcano, Deluge and Whirlwind, only require one Yellow Gemstone to cast, and will not consume additional gemstones while their buff icon is active, thus saving you up some extra inventory space and weight for other items.

Learn and understand the different mechanics of your spells in order to fully utilize them during your grind. Additionally, if you wish to know more about the potential of the Sage tree once reaching the 3rd job advancement Sorcerer, you may access Wargy’s Sorcerer Guide through the link below and use it alongside this leveling guide as you explore more about the class:

Wargy’s Wandering Sorcerer Guide

VIII. Leveling Guide (Sage)

[Lv55 – 70]

Orc Dungeon 1F/2F, Byalan Dungeon 4F/5F, Pyramids 4F, Sphinx 3F, Mantis, Geographer, Sidewinder, Leaf Cat

Loot Priority: Zenorc’s Fang, Orc Archer Bow, Shining Stone, Rough Elunium, Rough Oridecon, Gill, Mystic Frozen, Panacea, Rotten Bandage, Memento, Scale Shell, 3carat Diamond, Pantie, Undershirt, Iron Ore, Old Blue Box, Flame Heart, Maneater Blossom, Maneater Root, Venom Canine, White Herb, Yggdrasil Seed

[Lv70 – 85]

Juno Field (Goat, Grand Peco, Sleeper), Petites, Einbroch Field (Metaling, Porcellio, Noxious, Pitman), Stem Worm, Glast Heim St. Abbey (Wraith, Evil Druid)

Loot Priority: Antelope Skin, Peco Peco Feather, Wind of Verdure, Mastela Fruit, Gold, Great Nature, Sand Clump, Grit, Rough Oridecon, Elunium, Dragon Tail, Dragon Scale, Dragon Canine, Petti’s Tail, Crimson Mace, Iron Ore, Iron, Insect Feeler, Lantern, Steel, Coal, Used Iron Plate, Grit, Tattered Clothes, Rough Elunium, Old Blue Box, Yggdrasil Seed, Maneater Root, Witch Starsand, White Herb, Old Broom, Fabric, Red Gemstone, 2carat Diamond

[Lv85 – 95]

Stapo (preferably in hitters party), Glast Heim Underground Prison, Magma Dungeon 1F, Rachel Maps

Loot Priority: Jellopy, Green Live, Maneater Blossom, Maneater Root, Stem, Mandragora Flowerpot, Drosera Tentacle, Elunium, Oridecon, Rotten Bandage, Red Gemstone, Steel, Brigan, Cyfar, Izidor, White Herb, Lava, Mastela Fruit, Burning Heart, Glacial Heart, Ice Cubic, Crystal Blue, Wind of Verdure, Venom Canine, Scale Shell, Rough Oridecon, Harpy Feather, Harpy Talon

[Lv95 – 99]

Magmaring, Muscipular, Kobold, Magma Dungeon 2F (via party), Nifflheim Fields

Loot Priority: Burning Heart, Maneater Blossom, Maneater Root, Mandragora Flowerpot, Stem, Blue Hair, Burning Horseshoe, Dragon Tail, Dragon Scale, Dragon Canine, Dragon Skin, Little Evil Horn, Dead Branch, Elder Branch, Dullahan Armor Piece, Tangled Chains, Honey, Rough Elunium, Rough Oridecon

IX. The World Bounty Repeatable Quests and Boong Boong Drinks

Introduced in the Sept 2023 patch, World Bounty is a set of repeatable quests the player can accept, turn-in and reset in order to speed up the leveling process than just normally grinding monsters or doing Eden’s Daily Mission Board Quests. In various cities and towns, the NPC Magical Boy will teleport you to maps with bounty boards available, depending on your current location, at the cost of Boong Boong Drinks. These can be bought at the fixed cost of 100z from the Boong Boong V. Machine nearby. It is advised to bring a couple of them if you wish to grind for a good amount of time in bounty maps (around 500-1000), or have them in your storage which you can access via Kafra Card or Kafra Bell.

These drinks can also be used to reset the quest cooldown of bounty boards when you have finished turning in your quests. Depending on the bounty, simply talk to the board and bring the correct number of Boong Boong Drinks to refresh the cooldown. Afterwards, you may accept the bounty quest and kill monsters once again. More details about the World Bounty System may be viewed through the link below:

World Bounty System

X. Rebirth / Transcending via Escaped Book Quest

Once you have reached Base Lv99 and Job Lv50, proceed to Juno where you can rebirth or transcend into a High Novice. Make your way to the Sage’s castle /navi yuno 87/321 (click to copy the command and enter in game chat) and find Metheus Sylphe.

He will give you an option to either donate some Zeny or do a simple monster-hunting quest (Escaped Book) in order to transcend. More information may be viewed via the Free Transcending Guide:

Free Transcending/Rebirthing

Once finished, he will direct you to walk north towards the Book of Ymir which will teleport you to Valhalla.

Before speaking to the Valkyrie NPC who will change you into a High Novice, make sure that you are below 500 weight, have no remaining skill points and not on a mount via Boarding Halter. Once you have transcended, it’s all a matter of following the leveling guide once again until you max out as a Scholar.

XI. Possible Scholar Stat Builds

A. Caster Scholar

High INT and DEX, mid VIT

This variant of Scholar pretty much follows the leveling progression of the previous Caster Sage, with the addition of the transcended class’ new spells to help out (Foresight for faster casting, Double Bolt for higher DPS and Indulge for SP replenishing to name a few). The same high amounts of INT and DEX are recommended for overall damage output, and having more stat points as a Scholar means you will have higher VIT investment for the extra HP.

B. Auto cast Battle Scholar

High INT and AGI, mid to low VIT and DEX

Scholars who enjoy the frontline fighting style of Hindsight autocasting are recommended to take this route. Unlike Physical Battle Sages however, this variant fully focuses on MATK-related damage (possible pre-Spell Fist Sorcerer build), speccing most points into INT and AGI for higher bolt damage and autocast procs. A suitable amount of VIT and DEX will be needed for survivability, HIT rate and slight variable cast time reduction for some spells.

C. Pre-Temporal DEX Boots Scholar

High DEX (Base 99), mid to low INT (Base <= 57)

Fixed Cast Time is one of the mechanics introduced in Renewal, and skills from 1st Job to 3rd Job all contain a certain amount of it. This stat progression for Scholar allows you to reach a total of Base 120 DEX by the time you change into a Sorcerer; this is only possible by getting Max DEX as a Scholar, getting some points in INT for some MATK and saving bulk of your remaining stat points for when you can increase you DEX above 99. This path is recommended only to those who actually have Temporal DEX Boots to use, as well as other gear to compensate on the lower MATK and HP compared to other variants, but will be worth the sacrifice especially during early level grinds as a new Sorcerer.

XII. Dual Client Partymates (Optional)

You may encounter days being in a party which helps you speed up your level grinding, but other times you might end up having to level up solo when one is not available. With Ragnarok GGH’s multi-client feature, you are given the opportunity to login another character who can either support or deal the damage for you. Here are some optional classes to have in an alternate account should you decide to help boost your Sage or Scholar’s leveling experience:

• Priest (for heals, buffs and warps; most preferably Archbishop for Sacrament, a buff which reduces Fixed Cast Time by as much as 50%)
• Bard and/or Dancer (for Magic Strings (Bragi) and Gypsy’s Kiss (SFY))
• Alchemist (for higher SP recovered via Potion Pitcher)
• Any DPS character (for leeching or carrying your Support-type Sage or Scholar; preferably physical classes like Rune Knights, Royal Guards, Rangers, Guillotine Crosses or Shadow Chasers who can utilize Elemental Endows)
• Soul Linker Spouse (for Sage Spirit benefits of max level bolts from Hindsight, also potentially have unlimited HP/SP via Kaahi/Indulge combo)

XIII. Additional Tips and Tricks

1. Autocast Battle Sages and Scholars do not need their melee attacks to successfully hit a target for their Hindsight buff to trigger the set auto spell, but will still need to have a significant amount of HIT or CRIT for their melee attacks to land if they wish to utilize equipment which give a chance to autocast spells.
2. Keep a lookout for some important loot that you can sell at a fair price to players looking for them (refer to the items listed at the different leveling brackets above). These are either used by other classes as catalysts for their skills, requirements for specific quests, items for Eden Supply Manager’s turn-ins or even catalysts for your own spells.

3. The elemental endow buff instantly disappears from a player when the weapon they are wearing when the skill was casted is removed (whether it be broken, swapped with another weapon or simply unequipped). Have your party mates and yourself have this in mind when using endows heavily while leveling.
4. Before transcending your Sage into a High Novice, hoard and do one run of Eden Mission Board Quests Lv70 to 90, and turn the quests in once you reach Lv70 as Scholar. Unlike Word Bounty Repeatable Quests, you can interact with Eden Mission Board Quests at a much lower level requirement. Doing so will give you an insane amount of EXP (especially when increased with Battle Manuals and server’s EXP Boosts), raising your level to around Lv80+ and making you skip a whole lot of grinding.

5. Though usually used offensively on enemies, Dispel can also be cast on allies when the situation arises, such as when the target is suffering from specific status ailments which cannot be cured by anyone else in the party, or if a Monk or Lord Knight needs to get rid of their Mental Strength or Frenzy buff respectively. Simply hold Shift on your keyboard before casting it on an ally, and all possible buffs/debuffs will be removed.

XIV. Epilogue

Success isn’t always achieved through rising yourself among the rest. Oftentimes, it is through lifting others and seeing each others’ progress where you truly experience it. We hope this guide has become informative to you, and that you have become more knowledgeable on how to effectively progress with leveling your Sage or Scholar. Should you have any questions, please leave a comment below or visit us over at the GGH Discord. Best wishes and happy leveling!

Special thanks to Wargy from RO GGH Discord for sharing his knowledge on the class and making this guide possible.

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#Leveling Guide #Professor #Sage