When starting a new character, or just starting over in Maplestory, many people have a hard time deciding which character is “the best”. The truth is that this is a very subjective decision. What might be “best” to one person may seem awkward or “worst” to another. A person’s opinion can very well change as they become more familiar with the game or new content is released. This article was written to help others choose which class is best for them.
There are currently 3 main groups to choose from. This article will focus primarily on the Knights of Cygnus. Other articles will be written for the other classes.
Here is a simple explanation and some of the pros and cons of each general class.
The Knights of Cygnus, also known as Kocs, are a set of special class characters with a unique story built around them in Maplestory. Each of the 5 KoC subclasses represents one of the main job classes of adventurers. The story around these special classes involves an ancient “terror” known as the black magician. With the same level and equipment, Knights of Cygnus are stronger than their adventurer counterparts due to gaining additional ap (skill points) at each level during the early levels. The biggest drawback to this set of classes, in general, is the level cap of 120.
There is an added bonus to making a Knight of Cygnus. That’s the Spirit’s Blessing skill. In many versions of Maplestory where KoCs are available, each KoC is linked to an adventuring parent character on the same account. Both the KoC and his Father affect the level of this ability of the other. every 10 levels one character gets the other gets 1 point added to the skill. Note: In some versions of Maplestory, the blessing ability comes from the highest character on the account that is not the character being used.
All KoCs, with the exception of Noblesse/Nobless, also gain a summon ability to use during the first job, which can make training easier early on. Each class mentioned here also shows 2 names as these are the 2 most common names used for each class and depend on the version of Maplestory being played.
Noblesse/Nobless is the beginner’s version of KoC, just like the beginner, they get cheaper trips around Maple Island and don’t lose experience when dying.
Nobility/Nobility:
Advantage:
-Cheap to get around Victoria Island
-No experience loss on death
-Decent challenge to reach high levels (for those who like challenges)
Cons:
-No flashy skills (only 4 main skills in total and 2 of which can be maxed)
-Low survivability
-No desirable party skills
-Decent challenge to reach high levels (for those who don’t like challenges)
-close range attacks
-Poor damage
Blaze Wizards/Flame Wizards They are the KoC wizard class. The subclass they most closely resemble are the adventurers’ fire/poison mages, though all of their attacks are based solely on fire. Like all mages, they have some good mob abilities later in their profession and are quite mobile.
Flame Sorcerers/Flame Sorcerers:
Advantage:
-Due to attack calculations, the strongest low-level summon later
-Fast leveling (especially in the third work advance)
-Good group attack skills from the second job promotion.
-High survivability. (thanks to magic guard skill)
-High maneuverability in flat areas
-Striking skills
-Fire based skills
Cons:
-Poor single target damage over time
-Rarely sought after for major hits
-Little to no party skills desired
-Good equipment is marginally expensive
Thunder Breakers/Strikers are the pirate class of KoC. The subclass they most closely resemble is the fighter. Unlike brawlers, thunder breakers gain a lightning charge ability on the second job advancement, potentially meaning a huge additional damage bonus for weak lightning monsters.
Thunder Breakers/Strikers
Advantage:
-HP above average
-Attack speed booster group skill in the third job
-Good at mobbing
-Hits hard in one attack
– Lightning charge
-Invincibility frames
-Critical during the third job
Cons:
-Evil in one vs. a
-Delay after certain moves, must alternate attacks
-Low accuracy at first
Dawn Warriors/Soul Masters are the KoC warrior class. Unlike most other KoC classes, Dawn warriors don’t resemble just one of the class type’s subclasses, but instead resemble multiple classes. they are kind of a mix of hero, paladin with a touch of night lord. For some, the biggest advantage they have over adventuring warriors is a ranged attack on the second job advance.
Dawn Warriors/Soul Masters
professionals:
-High natural hit points in the game, which means high survivability.
-High damage with good gear and stat allocation for single and multiple targets
-Starting level multi-target attacks
-Soul jump skill (similar to a bandit’s lightning jump)
-Unique warrior with a spammable ranged attack
-Quick Skill (Used to “push” monsters and group them together)
Cons:
-Low natural accuracy and avoidability. some potential damage may need to be sacrificed to compensate
-You still have to “chase your prey”, like running after it
-No electrical protection
-Lower hit points than other warriors
The Night Walkers are KoC’s thief class. They resemble the assassin subclass route. The damage formula for nightwalkers is the same as assassins, meaning they have good single target damage. A really good ability Night Walkers get is Vampire. With no minimum distance range, multi-target damage, and hp absorption, this is an awesome ability for the class.
night walkers:
Advantage:
-High single target damage
-Increased maneuverability of the KoCs
-Vampire skill is excellent for mob training.
-Great for commanding if you have the hit points to survive
-Highly desired where single target damage is needed
-Long range ranged attacks
Cons:
-Low survivability (Vampires help a lot, but they can’t save you if they can kill you with one hit)
-No shadow stars, which means shorter training before having to go to town
-Few flashy abilities (most of which aren’t usually useful)
Wind Archers/Wind Breakers are KoC’s archer class. They have a mix of the marksman and archer skills, as well as their own special abilities. Like the adventurer equivalent, they have good single-target damage, but don’t get the most desired archer group ability, which is sharp eyes.
Wind Archers/Windbreakers
Advantage:
-Attack from a distance (for those who do not like to chase their prey)
-Stable damage, even more so after the third job.
-Critical attack
-Gains machine gun, hurricane, and puppet skills from both classes of archer adventurers.
-Very high single target damage
-High accuracy
cons:
-Minimum attack distance (no attack skills other than knockback skills if they are too close to a monster)
-Low maneuverability (almost on par with warriors in speed)
-No sharp eyes
-Low survivability. hp similar to thieves with much less avoid
-Few flashy skills
If you choose to make a Cygnus Knight, hopefully this will help you decide which one is right for you.
