Pathfinder is one of the best archers to play if you’re looking for something simple and easy to use. It has great mobility, party support, good mobbing, and a short condensed burst.
Best in Slot | Main |
BiS Weapon | Genesis Ancient Bow |
BiS Secondary | Princess No’s Immortal Relic |
Class | Bowman |
Shared Cash Shop | All Explorers |
Legion Effect | DEX +10/20/40/80/100 |
Link Skill | Adventurer’s Curiosity – Monster Collection + Critical Rate |
Primary Stat | DEX |
Secondary Stat | STR |
BiS Inner Ability Top Line | 20% Boss Damage |
Does it benefit from max Attack speed | No |
2 min or 3 min burst type? | 2 min |
Pathfinder uses a macro of 2 skills (Cardinal Deluge + Cardinal Burst) which makes Attack Speed not important. You can still use Green Pot and Speed Infusion if you want faster animations on certain skills but overall, it’s not any damage gain.
If you’re making a PF boss mule you’ll be good with Abso/Arcane Ancient Bow, 15-20% Boss Damage, and only the Primary node.
The Archer’s 1st Job Skill Build
- Cardinal Deluge (+1)
- Double Jump (MAX)
- Forceful Shot (MAX)
- Archery Mastery (MAX)
- Cardinal Deluge (MAX)
The Archer’s 1st Job Skill Explanation
The most notable skill is Cardinal Deluge. It will be a mobbing skill you use forever when combined with 2nd job Cardinal Burst.
Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
Curse Dampening I | Activated when attacking with a Cardinal Force skill Accumulates up to level 10, with a Critical Rate increase of 2% for each level Can only be activated when the curse is reducing your Critical Rate | Passive Skill |
Cardinal Deluge | MP Cost: 10, Max Enemies Hit: 4 Blasts an arrow that deals 90% damage 4 times | Mobbing Skill |
Double Jump | MP Cost: 10, allows you to jump a greater distance | Flash Jump Mobility Skill (right click to change how you up jump) |
Archery Mastery | Range: +120, Movement Speed: +30, Attack Speed: +1 Max Movement Speed Increased to 160 | Passive Buff |
Forceful Shot | Critical Rate: +40% | Passive Buff |
The Ancient Power and the Dark Curse 2nd Job Skill Build
- Cardinal Burst (+1)
- Ancient Bow Mastery (+5), Agile Ancient Bows (+1)
- Cardinal Deluge Amplification (MAX)
- Bountiful Deluge (MAX)
- Cardinal Burst (MAX)
- Swarm Shot (MAX)
- Ancient Bow Mastery (MAX)
- Physical Training (MAX)
- Agile Ancient Bows (MAX)
The Ancient Power and the Dark Curse 2nd Job Skill Explanation
Pathfinder 2nd job is where you’ll get introduced to the main identity of the class, the Macro and the Relic Gauge. The Relic Gauge has 3 forms, Deluge, Burst, and Torrent. Using certain skills is what changes your gauges form and the nature of some attacks. Explained more in the later jobs.
Notable skills are Cardinal Burst, Swarm Shot, and Bountiful Deluge.
Cardinal Burst is the other half to your main mobbing and bossing skill. You’ll want to go to skills, macro, and set it up. Refer to image below.
Swarm Shot is a helpful mobbing tool that has good horizontal range and makes arrows fly out and hit mobs. Useful in bossing when you have to kill mobs around the boss, like in Gollux.
Bountiful Deluge is one of the main reasons you want to use macro. Extra arrows come out when you use Cardinal Burst while your gauge shows Deluge. The macro makes it so that you’re constantly switching back and forth without you having to press 2 separate keys.
The macro of Cardinal Burst and Cardinal Deluge will be your mobbing and bossing skill forever.
Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
Relic Charge I | Relic Gauge Maximum Charge: 1000 Attacking an enemy with a Cardinal Force skill charges the relic gauge by 10, and by 5 for every guided arrow of Cardinal Deluge that hits an enemy If a different Cardinal Force skill is used next, the cooldown for all Ancient Force skills will be reduced by 0.5, except for the 5th Job Advancement skills | Passive Gauge Skill (the gauge has 3 forms and is needed to use Ancient Force skills) |
Curse Dampening II | Activated when attacking with a Cardinal Force skill Accumulates up to level 10, with a Defense increase of 2% for each level Can only be activated when the curse is reducing your Defense | Passive Buff |
Cardinal Deluge Amplification | MP Cost: 15. Fires an arrow that deals 200% damage to up to 5 enemies 4 times If a boss is within the attack’s range, fires 1 additional arrows The additional arrows target the boss with the highest HP first | Passive Buff |
Cardinal Burst | MP Cost: 15, Max Enemies: 5, Damage: 200%, Attack Count: 4, when the arrow explodes | Main Mobbing and Bossing Skill together with Cardinal Deluge |
Swarm Shot | Relic Gauge Cost: 50, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Damage: 200%, Attack Count: 4 Creates 2 magical arrows that deal 100% damage 4 times each time this attack pierces an enemy Cooldown: 10 sec | Mobbing Skill (costs relic gauge to use) |
Agile Ancient Bows | Attack Speed: +2, DEX: +20 | Passive Buff |
Bountiful Deluge | When using Cardinal Burst while the relic displays the Deluge emblem, there is a 40% chance to create 3 magical arrows These magical arrows will chase and attack nearby enemies for 2 sec, dealing 100% damage 3 times | Passive Skill |
Ancient Bow Mastery | Ancient Bow Mastery: +50%, Attack Power +30 | Passive Buff |
Physical Training | Permanently increase STR by 30 and DEX by 30 | Passive Buff |
Soulchaser Strategies 3rd Job Skill Build
- Cardinal Torrent (+1), Triple Impact (+1), Shadow Raven (+1)
- Cardinal Burst Boost (MAX)
- Bountiful Burst (MAX)
- Archer’s Essence (MAX)
- Guidance Of The Ancients (MAX)
- Shadow Raven (MAX)
- Cardinal Torrent (MAX)
- Evasion Boost (MAX)
- Triple Impact (MAX)
- Cursebound Endurance (MAX)
Soulchaser Strategies 3rd Job Skill Build Explanation
This is where you will have access to all 3 forms of the Relic Gauge. They are differentiated by color and image, Burst is Purple, Deluge is Blue, and Torrent is Yellow. You can switch forms by using the skill it’s attached to.
Most notable skills for Pathfinder 3rd job are Cardinal Torrent, Triple Impact, Shadow Raven and Guardian of the Ancients.
Cardinal Torrent is basically a teleport that you can use left, right, or up. Works just like a teleport too so you can dodge attacks or debris. It cannot be spammed since you get a maximum of 5 charges which recover over time. Using it will also put you in the Torrent Relic Gauge.
Triple Impact is a useful skill not for the damage but for its air stall and super knockback resistance. Great in bossing and proper use of the skill makes you look like an expert.
Shadow Raven on its own is a lackluster skill that slightly helps mobbing and bossing but, when combined with a 5th job skill it really shines.
Guardian of the Ancients gives you a big buff when you fill up your gauge. Timing this is really important while bossing.
Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
Curse Dampening III | Activated when attacking with a Cardinal Force skill Accumulates up to level 10, with a Status Resistance increase of 2% for each level Can only be activated when the curse is reducing your Status Resistance | Passive Buff |
Cardinal Burst Boost | MP Cost: 20, Max Enemies: 6, Damage: 420%, Attack Count: 4, when the arrow explodes | Passive Buff |
Cardinal Torrent | MP Cost: 20, Consumes 1 Swiftstrike Charge Deals 400% damage 5 times to up to 6 nearby enemies You gain 1 Swiftstrike Charge every 7 sec, and can store up to a maximum of 5 | Teleport Mobility Skill |
Triple Impact | Relic Gauge Cost: 50, Explosions deal 265% damage 5 times to up to 4 enemies Cooldown: 10 sec [Passive Effect – Swarm Shot Normal Enemy Damage: +120% points] | Active Skill for Air Stall and Knockback Resistance |
Shadow Raven | MP Cost: 70, summon a Raven for 220 sec Deals 390% damage to up to 4 enemies at once [Passive Effect: Increases your Defense by 30%] | Summon Skill |
Cursebound Endurance | MP Cost: 58, increases Status Resistance by 30 for 300 sec If afflicted by an abnormal status while this skill, Status Resistance will be increased by 20, and can be stacked up to 5 times [Passive Effect: Increases Status Resistance by 30 and all Elemental Resistances by 30%] | Active Buff (no cooldown buff that helps you get out of stuns or status ailments quicker) |
Guidance of the Ancients | Each time the Relic Gauge has been filled up by 500, your Final Damage is increased by 8% for 40 sec Restores HP & MP by 8% when activated [Passive Effect: Increases Max HP by 50% and Final Damage by 20%] | Passive Buff (easy to get full FD buff when doing a proper burst) |
Bountiful Burst | When using Cardinal Deluge while the relic displays the Burst emblem, there is a 40% chance to create 2 magical arrows These magical arrows will chase nearby enemies for 2 sec and explode on contact, dealing 150% damage to up to 4 enemies 3 times | Passive Buff (inverse of bountiful deluge meaning you should always be spawning arrows if using the macro) |
Evasion Boost | Dodge Chance: 30%, all attacks following a successful dodge for 1 sec will be critical hits, Knockback Resistance: +40% | Passive Buff |
Archer’s Essence | Critical Rate: +10%, Damage: +10%, Ignore Defense: +30% | Passive Buff |
Master of the Ancient Bow 4th Job Skill Build
- Advanced Cardinal Force (+1), Combo Assault (+1), Glyph Of Impalement (+1)
- Advanced Cardinal Force (MAX)
- Illusion Step (MAX)
- Ancient Archery (MAX)
- Sharp Eyes (MAX)
- Ancient Bow Expertise (MAX)
- Glyph Of Impalement (MAX)
- Combo Assault (MAX)
- Bountiful Torrent (MAX)
- Maple Warrior (MAX)
- Hero’s Will (MAX)
Master of the Ancient Bow 4th Job Skill Explanation
Notable skills are Curse Enchant Force, Glyph of Impalement, Combo Assault, and Curseweaver.
Curse Enchant Force is a skill you use to lock your Relic Gauge to 1 curse. It is important to lock Burst for bossing so you don’t have to press extra keys trying to switch over to the right curse. While mobbing you can turn it off or keep it in Torrent.
Glyph of Impalement is a short cooldown attack that hits around you. While bossing you want to use it whenever it is up and it also helps you mob by hitting all around you while you flash jump.
Combo Assault is similar to Glyph while mobbing but for bossing it is considered a damage loss to use.
Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
Relic Charge II | The Relic Gauge is charged by 20 when attacking an enemy with a Cardinal Force skill, and by 10 per hit from Cardinal Deluge’s guided arrows The Shadow Raven will charge the Relic Gauge by 10 for each enemy hit by its attacks When you use another Cardinal Force skill, all Ancient Force and Enchant Force skills will have their cooldowns reduced by 1 sec, except for 5th Job Advancement skills | Passive Buff |
Curseweaver | Using certain skills will inflict enemies with the Ancient Curse debuff, which lasts for 30 sec and can be stacked up to 5 times Skills that utilize the Ancient Bow deal an increased 4% Critical Damage to enemies for each stack of the curse debuff currently afflicting them | Passive Buff |
Curse Enchant Force | MP Cost: 80, Select a curse to inscribe on Enchant Force Cooldown: 1 sec | Toggle Skill (lets you choose and lock your Relic Gauge to a specific curse) |
Advanced Cardinal Force | When using Cardinal Force skills, MP Cost: 30 Cardinal Deluge – Fires an arrow that deals 300% damage to up to 6 enemies 5 times Fires 1 additional arrow if a boss is within range. The additional arrow targets the boss with the highest HP first. Bountiful Deluge Normal Enemy Damage: +100% Cardinal Burst – An exploding arrow deals 600% damage to up to 7 enemies 5 times Bountiful Burst Normal Enemy Damage: +100% Cardinal Torrent – Consumes 1 Swiftstrike Charge. Deals 540% damage 5 times to up to 7 nearby enemies You gain 1 Swiftstrike Charge every 7 sec up to a maximum of 5 You cannot be pushed back while casting, and each enemy hit will receive 1 stack of the Ancient Curse debuff | Passive Buff |
Glyph of Impalement | Relic Gauge Cost: 100, Max Enemies Hit: 8, Damage: 880%, Attack Count: 6 Final Damage increased by 10% per stack of the Ancient Curse debuff Cooldown: 15 sec | Active Skill (really good to weave in while mobbing or bossing) |
Combo Assault | Relic Gauge Cost: 100 Bow attack deals 500% damage to up to 4 enemies 7 times, inflicting 1 stack(s) of the Ancient Curse debuff Arrow attack deals 550% damage to up to 10 enemies 5 times.Cooldown: 20 sec [Enchant Force]Attack nearby enemies with your bow, then let loose a magical arrow to attack enemies in a wider range Deluge Enhancement – Increases the magical arrow’s effectiverange Burst Enhancement – The bow attack will deal a powerful strike to a single enemy Torrent Enhancement – The bow attack inflicts additional stacks of the Ancient Curse debuff on enemies | Mobbing Skill (changes based on your relic gauge and is good for mobbing and applying curse debuff on targets) |
Sharp Eyes | MP Cost: 45, Critical Rate: +20%, Critical Damage: +15%, Duration: 300 sec | Active Buff (critical rate and critical damage for you and your party) |
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 |
Bountiful Torrent | When using Cardinal Force and Enchant Force skills with the Deluge or Burst emblems, your attack has a 40% chance to apply 1 stack of the Ancient Curse debuff Permanently increases your Attack Power by 20% | Passive Skill (applies debuff while you use the macro that makes you deal more damage) |
Ancient Archery | Bountiful Deluge Damage: +65%, Bountiful Burst Damage: +70% Swarm Shot First Arrow Damage: +350%, Additional Magical Arrows’ Damage: +200% Final Damage of Ancient Force and Enchant Force Skills: +10%, Boss Damage: +50% | Passive Buff |
Ancient Bow Expertise | Ancient Bow Mastery: +70%. Attack Power: +60, Critical Damage: +10% | Passive Buff |
Illusion Step | DEX: +80, Bonus Avoidability Chance: 30%, Damage Taken: -20%, Knockback Resistance: +60% | Passive Buff |
Pathfinder Hyper Skill Build
Pathfinders hypers are straightforward and this build can be used whether you’re making a main or a boss mule.
Passive
- Cardinal Force – Reinforce
- Cardinal Force – Bountiful Enhance
- Cardinal Force – Extra Strike
- Ancient Force – Boss Rush
- Ancient Force – Guardbreak
Active
- Ancient Astra
- Epic Adventure
- Awakened Relic
Ancient Astra is a defensive skill that also deals a bit of damage. It is a skill you can hold down and while the skill is active you take reduced damage. Useful when the boss does one hit ko moves since you can use this skill and live through it. Also has 3 forms depending on the Relic Gauge but it shouldn’t matter since you should only be using this as a defensive skill.
Epic Adventure is an active buff mainly used for bursting.
Awakened Relic instantly fills up your Relic Gauge to maximum which is great to set up for bossing bursts (procs Guidance of the Ancients). Also, your Torrent charges come up faster and you spawn more arrows for a short duration.
Pathfinder 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. Pathfinder V Skills in order of importance are, Raven Tempest, Nova Blast, Obsidian Barrier, and Relic Unbound.
Pathfinder 5th Job Skill Explanation
To get the most damage out of Nova Blast you want to use Awakened Relic first. It should be the final part of your burst and where you’ll deal a lot of damage.
Raven Tempest direction can be controlled by pressing the skill again to change it. It has another form if used with Fury of the Wild skill. It makes the tornado have a shorter duration but it deals more damage during so it is ideal for bossing.
Obsidian Barrier is Pathfinders party support skill. It gives the party Critical Damage when attacking an enemy with the Curse Debuff as long as they are within the barrier. It has 3 forms but best to just stick with Burst while bossing since it is the largest and deals the most damage.
Skill Name | Max Lvl Description | Purpose |
Nova Blast | Relic Gauge Cost: 200 or more required to use the skill Consumes all energy built up in the Relic Gauge to activate an explosion 6 times that deals 1000% damage 15 times to up to 15 enemies Invulnerable while casting If the consumed Relic Gauge exceeds certain thresholds (25%/50%/75%/100%), Final Damage will be increased by 25%/50%/75%/100%, respectively. Ignore Def +100% Cooldown: 120 sec | Big Burst and I-Frame Skill (stronger the more gauge you have and it consumes) |
Raven Tempest | Relic Gauge Cost: 300 Raven Tempest: Duration: 27 sec, Max Enemies Hit: 12, Damage: 1000%, Number of Attacks: 5 Fury of the Wild Tempest: Duration: 10 sec, Max Enemies Hit: 12, Damage: 1000%, Number of Attacks: 6 Charges the Relic Gauge by 20 when attacking Direction Change Cooldown: 2 sec, Cooldown: 120 sec | Summon Skill (must have Shadow Raven out to use) (use the Fury of the Wild Tempest for bossing) |
Obsidian Barrier | Relic Gauge Cost: 300, Duration: 12 sec, decreases damage taken from attacks that deal a fixed percent of damage by -20% The shield will deal 760% damage 4 times to up to 8 enemies within its radius Cooldown: 120 sec | Summon Bossing Skill (allies get a crit damage buff when inside of the barrier) (also decreases damage taken while up) |
Relic Unbound | Relic Gauge Cost: 250 Deluge Enhancement: rapidly shoot arrows that periodically deal 1100% damage for 22 sec Burst Enhancement: shoot arrows that explode 4 times periodically dealing 1375% damage up to 10 enemies 8 times for 10 sec, can shoot up to 4 arrows Torrent Enhancement: sets up to 3 Relics that periodically attacks up to 6 enemies with 1540% damage 5 times for 40 sec Cooldown: 120 sec | Summon Skill (Use Burst while bossing and Torrent while mobbing for extra help) |
Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder these are the perfect nodes you’ll want to look for,
Primary Node | Secondary Mobbing Node | Secondary Bossing Node |
Cardinal Deluge and Bountiful Deluge | Cardinal Torrent | Shadow Raven |
Cardinal Burst and Bountiful Burst | Swarm Shot | Triple Impact |
Glyph of Impalement | Combo Assault | Ancient Astra |
For Pathfinder you’ll want to boost all your skills if you’re making a main. If you’re making a boss mule you just want the Primary Node.
An explanation of perfect trios and full list of all classes and their perfect trio nodes here.
All Useful 5th Job Skills for Pathfinder
These are all the skills you’ll need to get the most out of Pathfinder. 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 Combat Orders |
Vicious Shot |
Guided Arrow |
Fury of the Wild |
Maple World Goddess’s Blessing |
Erda Nova |
Decent Holy Symbol |
Blink |
Decent Advanced Blessing |
Will Of Erda |
Erda Shower |
Decent Speed Infusion |
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. For Pathfinder you do not need Decent Speed Infusion at all but I like it since it does make PF feel a tiny bit smoother.
Pathfinder 5th Job V Matrix Node Slot Priority
This is the order of what skills you should equip first,
- Raven Tempest, Nova Blast, Relic Unbound, Vicious Shot/Erda Shower, Primary Boost Node, Erda Nova/Holy Symbol
- Fury of the Wild
- Obsidian Barrier, Guided Arrow
- Maple World Goddess’ Blessing
- Level 1 Decent Combat Orders, Decent Advanced Blessing
- True Arachnid Reflection
If you want to get better training rates I would suggest putting more focus on Boost Nodes, Decent Holy Symbol, Raven Tempest, Relic Unbound and Erda Shower.
If you want to know what skills to put EXP Node priority on, it would be, in order, Raven Tempest, Nova Blast, Relic Unbound, Vicious Shot, and Maple Goddess’s Blessing.
Pathfinder 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 | Forsaken Relic | MP Cost: 1500, invincible during casting Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 8400%, Number of Attacks: 8, Number of Shockwaves: 5, then Max Enemies Hit: 15, Damage: 9900%, Number of Attacks: 13, Number of Explosions: 5 Relic Liberation Duration: 30 sec Relic Liberation – Ancient Force and Enchant Force Skill Final Damage: +15% Using another Cardinal Force skill gives 100% chance to create 1 magical arrows that deal 2700% damage to up to 4 enemies 3 times When direct skill attacks hit, Ancient Wrath is activated Ancient Wrath: [Ancient Force] Max Enemies Hit: 10, Damage: 2400%, Number of Attacks: 8, Cursed Explosion Activations: 3, Cooldown: 10 sec 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 Cardinal Burst / Bountiful Burst | MP Cost: 45, Max Enemies: 8, Damage: 990%, Attack Count: 5, when the arrow explodes | Passive Boost to Skill |
Boost Node | Nova Blast | Nova Blast Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
Boost Node | Raven Tempest / Fury of the Wild Tempest | Raven Tempest and Fury of the Wild Tempest Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
Boost Node | Obsidian Barrier | Obsidian Barrier Final Damage: +60%, Duration: 20 sec, Damage Reduction: -30%, increases damage reduction by 55% when enhanced by emblem | Passive Damage and Duration Boost to Skill |
Boost Node | Relic Unbound | Relic Unbound Final Damage: +60% | Passive Damage Boost to Skill |
6th Job Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder you’ll want to prio HEXA Cardinal Burst, Forsaken Relic, Nova Blast, and Obsidian Barrier.
If you’re a solo progression player there are infographics online and in the Pathfinder discord that you can follow.
6th Job Pathfinder HEXA Stat Priority
For Pathfinder, your 1st HEXA stat node, you’ll want
- Main Stat: Attack
- Additional Stat: STAT
- Additional Stat: Boss 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.