Generation 1 Tips (Part One) - The Stoned Goddess

Now that you've had (over) 7 days worth of classes it's probably time to start the first main story arc: Generation 1! In the next few posts I'll give some quick tips to get through the "dangerous" parts of Generation 1! I am assuming you've been through the beginner battle class board sessions prior to doing this.


Grave of the Snowman
Any time you need to go into the snowy region North of Tir Chonail (which will be a lot) be wary of the coyotes. They have wolf AI but can tear a low level player up quickly if you don't fight well. My suggestion is avoid them and jog past them, preferably NOT in combat mode as it makes them aggro faster.

Alby RP (fastest to solo as Ruairi)
Nothing here should pose a threat to your character, so certainly nothing will be a problem for the overpowered Ruairi. Drink up the ultra speed potion and crush the spiders and bats into oblivion. Remember, all the spiders and bats you encounter in all of G1 only know defense and have single aggro. The bats will also never attack first.

Barri Black Wizard (fastest with help)
May want to bring help here if you are still new to the game as you'll probably be meeting new types of opponents for the first time.

Gremlins (various)
Dangerous hard hitting bastards. Ideally magnum shot them from the adjoining room or hallway since they have low HP. Ice bolts work well too. If you have to melee them avoid using defense and instead use counter/wm and normal attacks. When they fly around like spastic idiots don't chase them as they'll usually get first hit in - instead load up a windmill.

Flying Sword
If you don't use magic on them, they aren't that bad and will only attack one at a time. If you can't slay them in one combo, defend often to block their strikes or lightning bolts.
Wisp - harder to read than the average monster (may pay to study their language) and hits moderately hard. Lure them if required to deal with them one at a time.

Black Wizard
Can be a big danger for low-mid level players. If you are opting to have ranged combat you'd better make sure your shots hit (hope you brought a longbow too). If he fully charges firebolt it's around 500 damage if it connects (I know from experience! :P). Otherwise close in and tear him up as fast as you can to prevent him chain firebolting you, but don't do that if his wisps are nearby - lure them first.

In Mabinogi, all black wizards are evil.

Rabbie RP (solo as Tarlach)
Featuring possibly your first encounter with skeletons in enclosed spaces, Tarlach is not so good at melee though and is not the guy to practice fighting skelies with. Fastest and safest way to clear this is to use the ultra speed potion and make use of 3221 icebolt on everything. If you don't know what that is, it is a good time to learn: Charge 5 ice bolts, fire 3 at baddie, charge one, fire two, charge one, fire two, charge one, fire one. If the situation allows though, always charge back up to five.

Math RP (fastest to solo as Mores - twice)
The most fun RP dungeon in this story arc. Fastest way to clear everything is again the ultra speed potion and this time because Mores has chain casting, use lightning bolt on everything. More fun if they are standing clustered together.

Ciar (as of this post bugged and must be run solo - don't forget to touch the end statue to finish this quest section)
Since you're going in alone I suggest you bring a good stock of healing pots, bandages, a shield and if you aren't a giant - a longbow, arrows and 5 pieces of firewood. Just to cover what's in here if you haven't tried the dungeon prior to this quest:

Goblins and Goblin archers
You'll encounter mixed aggro here with them, try to prioritise the archers first and if your windmill is good enough, use that to clear them out quick. If you have a pet, don't forget you can use it to help. You can out bow them if you're carrying a long bow and have an empty corner to work with as their aggro range does not cover the entire room.

Skeletons
They can hit hard as you may have seen in Tarlach's RP earlier, and this bunch also carry bows. However given that the boss room door is open (giving you space to flee) you can just magnum shot them to death - they only run as fast as you and if you go far enough, they get bored and return to idling. Alternatively you can just melee them too as they have no armor. Don't wake up the golem while doing this though! If a skelie is not moving you may as well load up counter or windmill. Usually they run around like idiots though so you can catch them with normal attacks. You probably will want a good shield (kite or better) if you are going to attempt defense to parry them though.

Golem
This is the second weakest golem in the game but can still cause problems with its windmill and stomp attacks. It is unwise to fight it while fighting skeletons so lure it or its buddies to fight them one at a time. This big boy can easily outrun you though, even an elf so don't try to escape unless you've got a fast steed. If you are opting to shoot it to death I recommend using a camp fire to gain fire arrows (x2 damage). Otherwise if you are going to be upclose, bring a shield and fight well as he can KO you really quickly. Don't panic too much, if you die you can always respawn at the goddess statue and try again. You'll be facing a slightly stronger variant in Fiodh soon.

Teaching an old dog new Tricks

My fourth Mabinogi lesson! To find what other classes are available please see the binding post. :)

The combat system in Mabi is quite different from most other MMORPGs. Certainly from the ones I've played anyway, and thats a pretty big list. After doing your newbie quests (Giant / Elf / Iria Human) or taking classes at the School (Uladh Human) its probably a good idea to go and nail down some good combat technique with the Beginner Battle Class board that you can find at Tir Chonail, Vales, or Filia. Outside of that, the immediate areas around those towns (and Qilla too) also provide good opponents to practice basics on. Some extra notes on these before we continue that I don't feel the game teaches too well:

Combat Mode:
Try to always be on combat mode (space bar by default) when going into battle. If you don't I've found your first combo into a second skill to be more delayed than usual, which can cost you a few HPs if the enemy capitalizes on it.

Normal Attack:
If your fight method involves simply clicking like mad, they you are doing it wrong. This can get you past maybe some foxes and racoons, but wolves and up will eat you for breakfast. You have a set number of swings you can do based on your weapon and each click should be a concious action. To chain another skill at the end of the combo, you should activate it while you character performs the last attack in his or her chain. With practice you can also add an extra hit to weapons that are 2-hit or more. It's just timing and delay.

While the normal attack is the standard "defense" against Smash, don't forget you can use it while your opponent is preparing another skill. Regardless of what it is, if you reach it in time, you should be able to strike before the skill loads. This goes for you as well: When you are -preparing- a move you are technically open for attack!

Smash:
Sometimes, when executing this you will run up to your target and just stand around/lag like a buffoon - especially when the targeted foe is distant. To combat this, when you load up smash run up beside your intended victim first and only click on them when you are a step away.

Windmill:
Is perhaps the most important skill in the game, as it is your best and often your only multi-aggro handler in close quarters. This along, with refining (trust me it's hard to rank later on), should be your number one priority in ranking up first regardless of what you ultimately want to be. Remember you want -all- the skills. Windmill also ignores protection which means it does a ton of damage even against targets on defense, but if you don't kill them they will have free hits on you. When the skeletons at Rabbie do this to you, you'll see what I mean. :P

Magnum Shot:
For humans especially this should be your staple opening bow attack at the beginning for luring things when you have space to use it (elves may opt to use mirage missile depending on the situation). Stuck in a room full of monsters is probably not the ideal spot but out in the fields or in rooms that allow you to run back through hallways you should have no reason to *not* use this (well unless your targets all have natural shield). With it, you can kill off many baddies and avoid getting into multi-aggro spots. Later on you will be following this up with arrow revolver (humans) which will all but ensure your target doesn't reach you. Later on you will probably switch it out for Crash Shot which does more damage in crowded rooms but for a newbie that will be far yet. Giants will not have this ability and will probably have to resort to bolt magic for ranged lures.

Time to Train - One on One melee:
One of the best critters to train up your combat ability (as a player) on are wolves. They are very readable in combat and move fast enough to catch you if you do something wrong. I suggest finding the correct type that you can take some hits from AND can take a few hits from you. If the battle is too one sided then you will not be learning much! There are quite a few types around Tir Chonail and you can find them East of Vales as well. Mongeese use similar AI outside Qilla and North East of Filia but you may have to travel far to find the correct type to practice on.

Alternatively for more EXP make the trek to Taillteann and take the mission "Defeat the Shadow Warrior" (basic) from a Shadow Mission Bulletin board and head to the Stonehenge to enter the mission. You will be locked in with small groups of enemies but they will only fight you one at a time. Except for the archers, you'll need to be on your toes and kill them quick. :P As a general rule of thumb, while you are free to attack anything it is the enemies that have the "!!" mark that are actively seeking to kill you.

Good sparring partners for new players.

Another Soul in the Stream

The first of my Mabinogi lesson! To find what other classes are available please see the binding post. :)

Mabi follows the free to play (but you get more stuff if you pay) schematic, and if this is your first time logging into the game I strongly suggest going with the free human character card they give you first - even if you ultimately want to play as an elf or a giant. You then need to pick what server you will play on - this is very important as you cannot switch around later on. If you are trying to join friends be sure to pick the same one they are on (duh), otherwise the choice is yours:

Mari is the oldest and has the highest population and probably the highest level players all around. Alexina is the newest, and most probably has the lowest population and lowest number of "high level" dudes. Tarlach and Ruairi are in between those two. If you want to personally say hi to me in-game, you can find me at Ruairi. :)

Next you actually create how your character looks like. Since it's a free card you are using, you will be limited from majority of the facial expressions and hairstyles but you can fix that later (if you really want to spend money on it) so again, don't worry too much. Your name however, cannot be changed later so pick one you are happy with.

Age is not so much an issue in the game as you will want to constantly cycle back (you'll understand why as you play). To keep it simple pick your age based on how often you can / will play. If you are going to be very active start at age 17 which I think is the oldest you can pick. If you only play once a week start at age 10. I'll explain why in a later post.

All that is left is to select your start point: I recommend Uladh / Tir Chonail if you want to play as a human. If you are really dying to play a giant or elf straight away start at Iria / Qilla. Once you are happy with everything go ahead and finish the creation process.

Hello Boobs.. I mean... World!

After talking to Mabinogi's resident guardian angel you will be asked what destiny you wish to follow. I suggest Warrior (not Fighter) first but you can pick whatever takes your fancy. Afterwards you will soon be dropped into your selected starting spot and beset by owls dropping tons of stuff on your head. Don't worry - it's natural here. If you are in Uladh then you can begin talking to townspeople and doing various little quests here and there. If you started in Uladh, I strongly recommend going to the School and taking classes from both Ranald and Lassar (she's inside) as they provide a lot of information on the battle mechanics of the game. You should also ask about "skills" from everyone you talk to because really - you will want them all.

Why you ask? Skills, more than anything else, determine your stats and each of them have around 16 ranks of effectiveness. As an example, if there are 2 archers using the same bow - the one with Rank 1 ranged mastery will not do as much damage as the one with Rank 1 ranged mastery and Rank 1 refining. At first glance, refining has nothing to do with archery at all - until you realize that each rank gives a lot of dexterity, and every 4 points of dex increases ranged damage. It is due to little quirks like this that you should work on your "main" character for everything (fighting, magic, crafting, etc.) and use mules or alts purely for storage space.