Battle Mage is one of the best supports in the game. Not only will they provide a lot of damage, shielding, and debuffs to the party, they also deal a ton of damage on their own. A great choice for a main since you’ll be really sought after in party bossing.
BaM really excels when it comes to mobility and party support but it is not lacking in the DPS and Mobbing categories either. Not a very simple class since there are a lot of toggles that all do different things but trust me, it is well worth the effort to learn.
Early on, pre 200, you’ll have short range attacks and mobbing will feel bad but don’t worry it gets much better with your 5th job skills.
| Best in Slot | Main |
| BiS Weapon |  Genesis Staff |
| BiS Secondary |  Deimos Sage Shield |
| Class | Magician |
| Shared Cash Shop | All Resistance |
| Legion Effect | INT +10/20/40/80/100 |
| Link Skill |  Spirit of Freedom – Longer invincible timer when respawning |
| Primary Stat | INT |
| Secondary Stat | LUK |
| BiS Inner Ability Top Line | Boss Damage +20% |
| Does it benefit from max Attack speed | Yes |
| 2 min or 3 min burst type? | 3 min |
You’ll be able to reach max Attack Speed with Decent Speed Infusion and Green Pot so no need for the Attack Speed Inner Ability.
If you’re making a boss mule you can settle for Abso/Arcane, Princess No’s Accursed Marble, 15-20% boss damage, and unique 2 lined gear. (depending on how far you want to take it)
Battle Mage 1st Job Skill Build
- Triple Blow (+1), Combat Teleport (+1), Hasty Aura (+1)
- Combat Teleport (MAX)
- Staff Artist (MAX)
- Hasty Aura (MAX)
- Triple Blow (MAX)
Battle Mage 1st Job Skill Explanation
BaM notable skills in the 1st job are Combat Teleport and Hasty Aura.
Combat Teleport is considered the best teleport in the game because of its ability to be used in the air and from the ground to air. Unlike Flash Jumps where you can get hit in between, Teleport lets you completely dodge attacks.
Hasty Aura is one of many auras that Battle Mage has. It gives you and your party Speed and Attack Speed. It is best used while mobbing since it will give you more mobility and Attack Speed.
You’ll want to keep your auras somewhat reachable on your keyboard so that you can change between them easily. Generally, Hasty Aura or Dark Aura for mobbing and Weakening and Dark Aura for bossing.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Triple Blow | MP Cost: 20, Damage: 170%, Max Enemies Hit: 5, Number of Attacks: 3 [Passive Effect – Condemnation Damage: +60% points] | 1st Job Mobbing Skill |
 Combat Teleport | MP Cost: 20, Horizontal range: 210, Vertical range: 290 Blink Jump: Consume 25 MP to jump up a certain distance Can be linked with Teleport 1 time(s) before landing, reduces the delay between Teleports when linking with Teleport consecutively after Blink Jump | Teleport Skill (can also be used mid air) |
 Hasty Aura | Passive Effect: Speed: 30, Max Speed: 20, Jump: 20, Attack Speed +2 levels, Avoidability: +15% | Toggle Skill (mainly used while mobbing) |
 Condemnation | After defeating 10 enemies, inflicts damage to up to 7 enemies on your next attack. Damage: 185%, Number of Attacks: 7 Attacking a boss 2 times will count as defeating 1 enemy Once activated, it cannot activate again until 9 sec have passed | Toggle On Skill (make sure to have on while doing anything) |
 Staff Artist | Magic ATT: +20, Critical Rate: +15%, DEF: +150 | Passive Buff |
Battle Mage 2nd Job Skill Build
- Quad Blow (+1), Draining Aura (+1), Dark Chain (+1)
- Staff Mastery (+5)
- Staff Boost (MAX)
- Staff Mastery (MAX)
- Quad Blow (MAX)
- Dark Chain (MAX)
- High Wisdom (MAX)
- Draining Aura (MAX)
- Ordinary Conversion (MAX)
Battle Mage 2nd Job Skill Explanation
BaM notable skills in 2nd job are Dark Chain and Draining Aura.
Dark Chain is a skill mainly used for mobbing that will pull mobs towards you. Helpful during mobbing since Battle Mage has really short attack range early on.
Draining Aura is an Aura that gives you and your party lifesteal. (only your damage heals your party members) Mainly useful in bossing but once you get comfortable in a boss you’ll want to use an Aura that gives more damage instead.
You’ll be using Quad Blow instead of Triple Blow as your new mobbing skill until 3rd job.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Quad Blow | MP Cost: 30, Max Enemies Hit: 5, Damage: 220%, Number of Attacks: 4 [Passive Effect – Grim Contract Damage: +80% points, does not stack with the passive effect of Triple Blow] | 2nd Job Mobbing Skill |
 Dark Chain | MP Cost: 45, Damage: 600%, Max Monsters Hit: 8, Knock Down Duration: 8 sec | Mobbing Skill that pulls mobs towards you |
 Draining Aura | MP Cost per sec: 28, Recovers HP for 1% of damage dealt Cannot recover again for 5 sec after a recovery takes place Damage dealt by Battle Mage also recovers the HP of any party members within the range of Draining Aura Cooldown: 3 sec [Passive Effect: Max HP recovery every 4 sec: 2% + 1000, Max HP recovery every time you eliminate an enemy: 1%] | Toggle Skill (grants you and your party life steal, mainly for bossing) |
 Staff Boost | MP Cost: 40, Attack Speed increased for 200 sec | Active Buff for Attack Speed |
 Staff Mastery | Staff Mastery: +50%, Magic ATT: +30, Critical Hit Rate: +20% | Passive Buff |
 High Wisdom | Permanently increase INT by 40 | Passive Buff |
 Ordinary Conversion | Max HP: +150%MP Absorb Chance: 20%, Amount Absorbed: 5% of Max MP Amount Absorbed: 3% of the boss’s Max MP | Passive Buff |
 Grim Contract | After defeating 8 enemies, inflicts damage to up to 8 enemies on your next attack Damage: 245%, Number of Attacks: 8 Once activated, it cannot activate again until 8 sec have passed | Passive Skill |
Advanced Black Magic 3rd Job Skill Build
- Quintuple Blow (+1), Dark Shock (+1), Battle Burst (+1)
- Quintuple Blow (MAX)
- Power Stance (MAX)
- Dark Shock (MAX)
- Battle Mastery (MAX)
- Dark Conditioning (MAX)
- Battle Burst (MAX)
- Blue Aura (MAX)
Advanced Black Magic 3rd Job Skill Build Explanation
For BaM 3rd job you’ll want to understand skills like Dark Shock, Battle Burst, and Blue Aura.
Battle Burst is like the inverse of Dark Chain and will drag you towards the mobs.
Dark Shock is a toggle skill that buffs your teleport into one that can deal damage. It will leave a streak of black lighting in between the teleports and can damage enemies. Enemies hit by Dark Shock will also have Dark Brand applied to them. When Bossing you want to make sure Dark Brand is always applied.
Blue Aura is a defensive aura that gives you and your party status resistance and less damage taken. Generally not used but if you were to use it, it would be in bossing.
You’ll be using Quintuple Blow instead of Quad Blow as your new mobbing skill until 4th job.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Quintuple Blow | MP Cost: 42, Max Enemies Hit: 6, Damage: 235%, Number of Attacks: 5 [Passive Effect – Grim Contract II Damage: +100% points, does not stack with the passive effect of Triple Blow and Quad Blow] | 3rd Job Mobbing Skill |
 Battle Burst | MP Cost: 25, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Damage: 900% [Passive Effect: Dark Chain’s Damage: +50%] | Mobbing Skill that pulls you towards enemies |
 Blue Aura | MP Cost: 12 per sec, Abnormal Status Resistance: +20, Damage Taken: -15% Cooldown: 3 sec [Passive Effects – Abnormal Status Resistance: +30, Elemental Resistance: +30%, DEF: +150%, Damage Taken: -25%] | Toggle Skill (can be useful in bossing when combined with hyper skill) |
 Dark Shock | Increases the MP Cost of Combat Teleport by 15 Teleporting creates a streak of black lightning between your start and end positions [Black Lightning] Max Enemies Hit: 8, Damage: 100%, Number of Attacks: 4, Damage Against Normal Enemies: +150% Afflicts enemies with Dark Brand for 15 sec. If you attack enemies with Dark Brand, the brand activates and deals an additional 400% damage 4 number of times Brand activated attacks deal 20% bonus damage against bosses. Brand is consumed upon attacking 15 times. | Toggle On Skill (enemies hit by the lighting will get a Dark Brand debuff which is important for dealing maximum damage) |
 Teleport Boost | MP Cost: 20, Combat Teleport Horizontal Range: +65, Combat Teleport Vertical Range +30 | Toggle On Skill (extra range on teleport) |
 Battle Mastery | Final Damage: +25%, Critical Damage: +15% | Passive Buff |
 Power Stance | Knockback Resistance: +100% | Passive Buff |
 Dark Conditioning | Avoidability: 25%, Speed: 30, Max Speed: 10 | Passive Buff |
 Grim Contract II | After defeating 6 enemies, inflicts damage to up to 8 enemies on your next attack Damage: 325%, Number of Attacks: 10 Once activated, it cannot activate again until 6 sec have passed. | Passive Buff |
Super Advanced Black Magic 4th Job Skill Build
- Finishing Blow (+1), Dark Genesis (+1), Dark Aura (+1), Weakening Aura (+1)
- Finishing Blow (MAX)
- Dark Aura (MAX)
- Staff Expert (MAX)
- Spell Boost (MAX)
- Maple Warrior (MAX)
- Weakening Aura (MAX)
- Battle Rage (MAX)
- Dark Genesis (MAX)
- Party Shield (MAX)
- Hero’s Will (MAX)
Super Advanced Black Magic 4th Job Skill Explanation
4th job for BaM is where you’ll get your most important Auras and skills like Dark Aura, Weakening Aura, Party Shield, Battle Rage, and Dark Genesis.
Dark Aura is your damage dealing aura for you and your party in bossing. Can also be used while mobbing if struggling to one shot the mobs.
Weakening Aura is another bossing aura where it applies a debuff on the target. When bossing you’ll want to start with Weakening Aura and once it’s applied you switch to Dark Aura. Make sure to reapply the debuff whenever it runs out.
Party Shield is great for bossing since it negates contact damage (similar to untouchable debuff) and decreases damage from attacks that deal fixed HP damage.
Battle Rage decreases the amount of max enemies you can hit but greatly increases your damage. Make sure it is off while Mobbing and on while Bossing.
Dark Genesis is a FMA skill great for clearing mobs and helping you mob. Since it has a bit of a long animation it is considered a damage loss while bossing so don’t use it in a boss unless it is a bit far away.
You’ll be using Finishing Blow as your new mobbing and bossing skill forever.
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Finishing Blow | MP Cost: 60, Damage: 330%, Max Enemies Hit: 6, Number of Attacks: 6, Crit Rate: +25%, Bonus Ignore DEF: 20% | Main Mobbing and Bossing Skill |
 Dark Genesis | MP Cost: 200, Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 520%, Number of Attacks: 8, Stun Duration: 4 sec [Passive Effects: [Final Attack Skills] Your attack skills have a 60% chance to hit a single enemy with lightning, dealing 220% damage, and +60% damage on Dark Chain, Battle Burst, and Dark Shock] | Mobbing FMA Skill (full map attack for mobbing and rarely bossing) |
 Dark Aura | MP Cost per sec: 16, Damage: +10%Cooldown: 3 sec [Passive Effect – Magic ATT: +15%] | Toggle Skill (damage to you and your party) |
 Weakening Aura | MP Cost per sec: 26, Enemy DEF: -20% Requires 2 sec to apply, but will be in effect 60 sec after aura deactivation Cooldown: 3 sec | Toggle Skill (Make sure the debuff is always applied on the boss before switching Auras) |
 Battle Rage | MP Cost: 50, Damage: +25%, Critical Rate: +20%, Critical Damage: +10% Reduces the Max Enemies Hit for all skills (except some summons) to ⅓ For skills that target multiple enemies, Max Enemies Hit won’t be reduced below 2 Excludes Condemnation, Ambassador Scythe when enhanced by Aura Scythe, Altar of Annihilation, Grim Harvest, and Crimson Pact from max enemies hit reduction [Passive Effects: Max HP +30%, Max MP +30%] | Toggle Skill (Bossing only since it reduces the amount of mobs you can hit but gives you a ton of damage) |
 Party Shield | MP Cost: 150, Duration 40 sec, -10% damage when hit with an attack that inflicts damage of a certain proportion of Max HP Cooldown: 180 sec | Active Skill (bossing only and can help save you and your party in a pinch) |
 Maple Warrior | MP Cost: 70, Increases all stats assigned APs by 15% for 900 sec | Active Buff for stats |
 Hero’s Will | MP Cost: 30, Cooldown: 300 sec | Active Skill that clears status effects |
 Staff Expert | Staff Mastery: +70%. Magic ATT: +30, Critical Damage: +20% | Passive Buff |
 Spell Boost | Final Damage: +5%, Magic ATT: +10%, Damage: +10%, Ignore Defense: +30% | Passive Buff |
 Grim Contract III | After defeating 6 enemies, inflicts damage to up to 10 enemies on your next attack. Damage: 500%, Number of Attacks: 12 Once activated, it cannot activate again until 5 sec have passed | Passive Buff |
Battle Mage Hyper Skill Build
BaM hypers are interesting because 2 of them are very important (Dark and Weakening Aura) and should always be taken while the other 3 can be whatever you think is useful and suits you.
Passive Skills – Must Have
Dark Aura – Boss Rush- Weakening Aura – Elemental Decrease
Dark Aura – Boss Rush
Weakening Aura – Elemental DecreaseMobbing Focus Passives
- Dark Genesis – Cooldown Cutter
- Dark Genesis – Reinforce
- Dark Genesis – Additional Reinforce
Dark Genesis – Cooldown Cutter
Dark Genesis – Reinforce
Dark Genesis – Additional ReinforceBossing Focus Passives
- Blue Aura – Dispel Magic
- Party Shield – Cooldown Cutter
- Party Shield – Persist
Blue Aura – Dispel Magic
Party Shield – Cooldown Cutter
Party Shield – PersistActive Skills
- Sweeping Staff
- For Liberty
- Master of Death
Sweeping Staff
For Liberty
Master of DeathIf you’re making a bossing mule I would suggest a mix like Dark Genesis Cooldown Cutter, Blue Aura Dispel Magic, and Party Shield Cooldown Cutter for the other 3 passives. That way you can be even more useful when joining harder bosses.
Sweeping Staff is a short cooldown attack used in both mobbing and bossing. Great to weave in whenever you can.
For Liberty is an active buff mainly used for bursting.
Master of Death is an important active buff mainly used for bursting.
Battle Mage 5th Job Skills
When you reach level 200 you’ll get access to your V Matrix and new 5th job skills. The best way to level them up is through Nodestones and Experience nodes. Battle Mage V Skills in order of importance are, Aura Scythe, Altar of Annihilation, Abyssal Lightning, and Grim Harvest.
Battle Mage 5th Job Skill Explanation
| Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
 Aura Scythe | MP Cost: 100 per sec, Duration: 40 sec, grants the effect of all your auras Additional Magic ATT increase by 60 for the self The Aura Scythe enhances your Blow skills. MP Cost: 75, Max Enemies Hit: 10, Damage: 300%, Number of Attacks: 12 Additional Critical Rate: +50%, Enemy DEF Ignored: +50% Cooldown: 90 sec | Bossing Buff Skill (gives you all auras and additional attack) (duration goes up as you level it) |
 Altar of Annihilation | MP Cost: 500, Altar Duration: 40 sec, Max Enemies Hit: 10, Damage: 1675%, Number of Attacks: 4 The orb takes 0.8 sec to move to the next altar. After 2 altars, the number of attacks increases by 2 for every additional altar A new altar can be summoned every 20 sec, up to 4 altars Enemies hit gain Dark Brand Cooldown: 0.5 sec | Summon Skill (placeable summons that great for mobbing and bossing) (use down arrow and skill key together to summon 2 at once) (great for applying Dark Brand) |
 Grim Harvest | MP Cost: 1000. Summon the Grim Harvest, which attacks for 30 sec every 4 sec Max Enemies Hit: 12, Damage: 1760%, Number of Attacks: 12 Use the skill again to re-summon near you. Can be used once every 10 sec If the Grim Harvest defeats an enemy, its duration increases by 0.2 sec per enemy If it hits a boss, its duration increases by 2 secDuration increased to up to 3 sec for each attack Attack interval becomes 50% with the Master of Death applied, but attacks do not increase the skill’s duration in that case Cooldown: 90 sec | Large Summon Skill (huge summon that helps you mob and boss) |
 Abyssal Lightning | MP Cost: 1000, Invincible during casting and disarmament Duration: 40 sec, Normal Monster Damage: +30% Periodically creates 2 netherworld passages. The passages remain for 15 sec., and up to 6 can exist in the map Dark Brand attacks must be activated 30 times to consume the brand Netherworld Lightning: Max Enemies Hit: 8, Damage: 1760%, Number of Attacks: 6, Additional Critical Rate: +100%, Ignores additional 20% Enemy DEF, Cooldown: 0.6 sec Cooldown: 180 sec | I-Frame and Burst Skill |
Battle Mage Perfect Trio Nodes
In the V Matrix you’ll also have Boost Nodes. They are there to level up your 1st – 4th job skills past their initial cap. You’ll want to level up the most useful skills for your class and those will form your perfect trios.
For Battle Mage these are the perfect nodes you’ll want to look for,
| Primary Node | Secondary Node |
 Finishing Blow |  Dark Genesis |
 Dark Shock |  Sweeping Staff |
 Condemnation |  Battle Burst |
If you’re maining Battle Mage you’ll want both the Primary and Secondary trios. If you’re making a boss mule and want to save on slots and nodes you’ll only need the primary trio.
An explanation of perfect trios and full list of all classes and their perfect trio nodes here.
All Useful 5th Job Skills for Battle Mage
These are all the skills you’ll need to get the most out of Battle Mage. Any other skills are not useful and can be disassembled.
Do not level up your Decent skills past level 1 unless you’re at the end game and min/maxing to get an extra 5 stat at max level. At level 1 all your decent skills have 100% uptime since the duration will be longer than the cooldown. Holy Symbol is the only exception since you’ll get more exp and drop rate as you level it.
 Decent Sharp Eyes |
 Decent Combat Orders |
 Decent Speed Infusion |
 Mana Overload |
 Maple World Goddess’s Blessing |
 Resistance Infantry |
 Erda Nova |
 Decent Holy Symbol |
 Blink |
 Decent Advanced Blessing |
 Will Of Erda |
 Erda Shower |
 Ethereal Form |
 Rope Lift |
 True Arachnid Reflection (Obtained from Will boss) |
 Solar Crest (Obtained from Seren boss) |
The ones that are underlined and bolded are not necessary if making a boss mule.
Battle Mage 5th Job V Matrix Node Slot Priority
This is the order of what skills you should equip and level first,
- Primary Trio Node
- Aura Scythe
- Altar of Annihilation
- Abyssal Lightning
- Grim Harvest
- Level 1 Decent Sharp Eyes, Decent Combat Orders, Decent Speed Infusion (Erda Shower if mobbing)
- Decent Holy Symbol
- Mana Overload
- Resistance Infantry, Maple World Goddess’ Blessing
- Erda Nova
Maxing the skills in this order (except decents) is ideal for bossing but if you want to get better training rates I would suggest putting more focus on Boost Nodes, Decent Holy Symbol, Altar of Annihilation, and Erda Shower.
Battle Mage 6th Job HEXA Skills
The HEXA matrix is split up into Skill Node (6th job Origin skill), Mastery Node (enhances 4th job skills), Boost Node (5th job enhancement), and Common Node (Job specific skills)
You’ll get your 1st Origin skill for free once you finish the quest line and the rest you’ll have to unlock yourself. Link to a Guide for HEXA Matrix so that you’ll have the best start possible.
| Node Type | Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
| Skill Node |  Crimson Pact | MP Cost: 1500, invincible during casting The dark spirit releases its true power, Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 9000%, Number of Attacks: 8, Chase Cuts: 13 The dark spirit reveals its true appearance after the pact is complete and devours all life, Damage: 12600%, Number of Attacks: 14, Chase Cuts: 5 Cooldown: 360 sec | Big Bind and Burst Skill (This is your Origin skill which binds the boss and gives a big buff to your skills for a duration) (This bind is different than a regular bind (erda nova) which means you can use your regular bind right after your Origin bind |
| Mastery Node |  HEXA Condemnation | The dark spirit appears with the next attack after defeating 6 enemies, Max Enemies Hit: 10, Damage: 930%, Number of Attacks: 12 Attacking a boss 2 times will count as defeating 1 enemy Collect 1 soul upon defeating 4 enemies with Condemnation or attacking a boss Collect 1 soul upon defeating 12 enemies with Ambassador Scythe or attacking a boss 3 times The power of the dark spirit is enhanced when Condemnation activates while having 4 souls, Max Enemies Hit: 12, Damage: 1475%, Number of Attacks: 14 Once the dark spirit’s final attack activates, it cannot activate again until 4 sec have passed | Passive Boost to Skill (Further strengthens your Condemnation skill) |
| Boost Node |  Aura Scythe | Ambassador Scythe Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
| Boost Node |  Altar of Annihilation | Altar of Annihilation Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
| Boost Node |  Grim Harvest | Grim Harvest Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
| Boost Node |  Abyssal Lightning | Abyssal Lightning Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
6th Job Battle Mage HEXA Skill Priority
When starting your HEXA Matrix you’ll want to unlock everything then start putting focus on depending on if you’re a solo progression player or a party player.
If you’re a party player you’ll want to focus on your burst and getting that as high as possible. Especially important in late/end game bosses. For Battle Mage you’ll prio Crimson Pact, and HEXA Condemnation.
If you’re a solo progression player there are infographics online and in the Battle Mage discord that you can follow.
6th Job Battle Mage HEXA Stat Priority
For Battle Mage, your 1st HEXA stat node, you’ll want
- Main Stat: Attack
- Additional Stat: STAT
- Additional Stat: Critical Damage
HEXA stat is an RNG type system and it doesn’t matter what you get in the beginning since it is not worth it to reroll until your entire 6th job is maxed. Once it gets to level 20 leave it there and no matter what you got it would still be at least a 2-3% FD gain.
Ideally, you want 10/10/0 but that is very costly and you shouldn’t try to go for unless you have an excess of fragments or everything is done.