Builds/Arch Mage

Arch Mage is the 4th job of the Warlock (Wizard → Warlock → Arch Mage). It is a pure magic damage dealer with large area spells of every element, built around a two-handed staff.

These builds are advice, based on how skills are calculated on WeeklyRO. They are a good starting point, not the only way to play. Skill formulas can change with server updates. Stat and skill resets are cheap at the Reset Girl, so feel free to experiment.

At a glance

Role	Area magic damage, solo and party leveling
Weapons	Two-handed staff (Two Hand Staff Mastery only works with one)
Main stats (3rd job)	INT, DEX, VIT
Main traits (4th job)	SPL, then STA / WIS
Difficulty	Medium

Key 4th-job skills

All numbers are for the skill's max level and are multiplied by your base level / 100.

Skill	Type	What it's for	Scales with
Soul Vulcan Strike	Magic, Ghost	Spammable area spell (11×11 at level 5, 0.7 s cooldown). Hits 7 times for 1,700% each	SPL (+3% per SPL per hit), base level
Rock Down	Magic, Earth	7×7 area, 0.3 s cooldown, gives 2 AP. 7,750%	SPL (+5% per SPL), base level; +1,500% while Climax is on
Frozen Slash	Magic, Water	13×13 area around you, gives 2 AP. 5,200%	SPL (+5% per SPL), base level; +1,900% while Climax is on
Storm Cannon / Crimson Arrow	Magic, Wind / Fire	Line attack / single hit plus explosion, both give 2 AP	SPL, base level; Climax boosts both
Mystery Illusion	Magic, Dark	Ground area (13×13) that keeps hitting, gives 5 AP	SPL, base level
Astral Strike	Magic, Neutral	Big hit (26,700%) plus a damaging area for 6 s. Costs 15 AP	SPL (+10% per SPL), base level; +1,500% vs Undead and Dragon race
Destructive Hurricane / Crystal Impact	Magic, Wind / Water	Large areas around you; Climax changes how they work	SPL (+10% per SPL), base level
Climax	Self buff	5-minute buff (costs 125 AP) that powers up your other spells	–
Two Hand Staff Mastery	Passive	With a two-handed staff: +2 S.MATK and +1% magic damage per level	–
Energy Conversion	Self	Spends a little AP to restore SP (1,200 SP at level 5, 3 s cooldown)	–

Your quick spells (Rock Down, Storm Cannon, Crimson Arrow, Frozen Slash) each give 2 AP, and Mystery Illusion gives 5. Spend that AP on Climax and Astral Strike. While Climax is active at any level, Rock Down, Storm Cannon and Frozen Slash deal more damage and Crimson Arrow's explosion hits twice. Climax level 3 is the plain damage boost: +150% Destructive Hurricane, +200% Violent Quake, +300% All Bloom and +50% Crystal Impact. Other Climax levels change the shape of those spells instead (for example level 5 makes Destructive Hurricane cover 19×19 but deal 20% less).

You get one skill point per job level (59 by job level 60), so you cannot learn everything. Important prerequisites: Soul Vulcan Strike needs Two Hand Staff Mastery 3 and Soul Expansion 5; Climax needs Two Hand Staff Mastery 3 and Tetra Vortex 5; Astral Strike needs Comet 5, Mystery Illusion 3 and Deadly Projection 3. Rock Down needs Strantum Tremor 1 (which needs Sienna Execrate 3), and Frozen Slash needs Rain of Crystal 1 (which needs Frosty Misty 3).

Build: Soul Vulcan Strike (leveling)

For solo and party leveling from base 200 onward.

Stats: INT 130, DEX 120–130, VIT 80–100, the rest in AGI or LUK. Variable cast time reaches zero when DEX × 2 + INT (with bonuses) reaches 530; the 1–1.5 s fixed cast on most spells stays.
Traits: First ~45 points (base 210): all SPL. Every 3 SPL is +1% magic damage, and every SPL adds 3–10% to each spell's ratio. Next ~40 (base 220): SPL to about 80, then STA and WIS so you survive mobs. Later: SPL to 110, then STA/WIS. Your job level also gives free traits (+14 SPL, +9 CON, +8 STA, +8 WIS at max job level).
Skills to max first: Two Hand Staff Mastery 10, Soul Vulcan Strike 5, Strantum Tremor 1 → Rock Down 5, Rain of Crystal 1 → Frozen Slash 5, Climax 5, Mystery Illusion 3, Deadly Projection 3, Astral Strike 10. Spend the last points on Tornado Storm 3 → Destructive Hurricane, or Energy Conversion for SP.
Playing it: Gather a group and cast Soul Vulcan Strike. It is Ghost element, which only does 70% to Neutral 2 and 50% to Neutral 3 monsters, so on those maps switch to Rock Down or Frozen Slash with the right element. Keep Climax up (level 3) and drop Astral Strike on big packs or bosses when you have 15 AP.

Build: Climax burst (party and bosses)

The same stats and traits, but the skill points go into the big spells for party play and MVPs.

Skills to max first: Two Hand Staff Mastery 10, Climax 5, Astral Strike 10 (with its prerequisites), Tornado Storm 3 → Destructive Hurricane 5, Rain of Crystal 3 → Crystal Impact 5, Rock Down 5 for AP.
Playing it: Build AP with Rock Down, cast Climax level 3, then alternate Destructive Hurricane (16,850%) and Crystal Impact (7,400% plus an aftershock of the same size). Astral Strike is your strongest single cast. Deadly Projection (14,000%, Undead element) is a single-target option.

Before 4th job (base 99–200)

As a Warlock, level with:

Jack Frost (Water, 11×11 at level 5): 2,500%, or 4,200% on targets already hit by Frosty Misty.
Crimson Rock (Fire, 7×7): 3,700%. Earth Strain (Earth, a line in front of you): 4,000%.
Soul Expansion (Ghost, 5×5): 2,000% + 1% per INT, no cooldown.
Comet (Neutral, 13×13): 6,000%, but a 20 s cooldown.

All of these scale with base level. Go INT 130 and DEX as high as you can, then VIT. Keep the Warlock skills the 4th-job skills need (Soul Expansion 5, Tetra Vortex 5, Comet 5, Hell Inferno 3, Frosty Misty 3, Sienna Execrate 3, Chain Lightning 3, Crimson Rock 3).

Tips

Match elements. In Lost Farm Valley, use Frozen Slash (Water) on Red Pitaya (Fire), Rock Down (Earth) on Yellow Pitaya (Wind) and Storm Cannon (Wind) on Blue Pitaya (Water). See the Leveling Guide for monster elements.
The Power Plants have many Ghost monsters. Soul Vulcan Strike does 125–175% damage to Ghost 1–3 monsters, while Neutral spells like Astral Strike only do 50–90% to them.
Tartaros Storage and Rudus have many Neutral 2–3 monsters: use Rock Down, Frozen Slash or Crimson Arrow, not Soul Vulcan Strike.
Arch Mage spells cost 70–190 SP each. Carry SP potions or learn Energy Conversion.
Stat and skill resets at the Reset Girl cost only 5,000 Zeny each, so try both builds.