The Ice / Lightning Arch Mage is one of the strongest mobbing classes in pre-Big Bang MapleStory. Strong in 2nd job with Thunder Bolt, a slower 3rd job with Ice Strike, then absolute dominance in 4th job with Blizzard hitting the entire map.

Overview

Strengths

• Teleport - Teleport gives Magicians unmatched mobility
• Blizzard - Blizzard hits 15 targets across the entire map with no cooldown
• Strong 2nd job - Thunder Bolt is one of the best multi-target skills early on
• Freeze - Ice skills freeze enemies, reducing potion consumption

Weaknesses

• Low HP - Squishy, though Magic Guard effectively adds MP as HP
• Potion-heavy early - 1st job requires many MP pots before Improved MP Recovery is maxed
• Weak bossing - Single-target DPS is low, no party support like Bishop

AP Build

Aim for 4/4/4/13 at creation (need 20 INT at level 8). Standard: +4 INT / +1 LUK. Lukless (+5 INT) is viable on private servers with funded gear.

1st Job - Magician (Level 8-29)

	Skill	Max Lv
	Improved MP Recovery	16
	Improved MaxMP Increase	10
	Magic Guard	20
	Magic Armor	20
	Energy Bolt	20
	Magic Claw	20

Skill Build

Level	SP Allocation
8	Energy Bolt +1
9-10	Improved MP Recovery to 5 (unlock MaxMP Increase)
10-13	Improved MaxMP Increase to 10 (MAX) - permanent MP per level, critical
14-16	Improved MP Recovery to 16 (MAX)
17-23	Magic Claw to 20 (MAX)
24-30	Magic Guard to 20 (MAX)

Explanation

Energy Bolt +1 to attack early mobs. Rush Improved MaxMP Increase - it gives bonus MP every level-up, missing early levels means permanently lost MP. Then sustain with Improved MP Recovery, main attack Magic Claw, and fill with Magic Guard. Skip Magic Armor.

2nd Job - I/L Wizard (Level 30-69)

	Skill	Max Lv
	MP Eater	20
	Meditation	20
	Teleport	20
	Slow	20
	Cold Beam	30
	Thunder Bolt	30

Skill Build

Level	SP Allocation
30	Teleport +1 (essential mobility)
31-40	Thunder Bolt to 30 (MAX) - hits 6 mobs, primary grinding skill
41-47	MP Eater to 20 (MAX) - MP recovery on kills
48-54	Meditation to 20 (MAX) - flat magic attack buff
55-61	Teleport to 20 (MAX)
62-70	Cold Beam to 28+

Explanation

Thunder Bolt first - it hits 6 mobs and is your bread-and-butter grinding skill. Damage per target is lower than Cold Beam but multi-target makes it far more efficient. Slow is useless - 1 leftover point at most.

3rd Job - I/L Mage (Level 70-119)

	Skill	Max Lv
	Partial Resistance	20
	Element Amplification	30
	Ice Strike	30
	Thunder Spear	30
	Seal	20
	Spell Booster	20
	Element Composition	30

Skill Build

Level	SP Allocation
70	Element Amplification +1 (instant +100% magic attack)
71-80	Ice Strike to 30 (MAX) - hits 6 mobs + freeze
81-87	Spell Booster to 20 (MAX) - casting speed
88-97	Element Amplification to 30 (MAX) - damage amplifier
98-107	Element Composition to 30 (MAX)
108-114	Partial Resistance to 20 (MAX)
115-120	Seal to 18

Explanation

Element Amplification +1 on job advance for instant +100% damage. Ice Strike is your main training skill - freezes mobs in place. Thunder Spear can be left at 1 since Chain Lightning replaces it in 4th job.

4th Job - I/L Arch Mage (Level 120-200)

	Skill	Max Lv
	Maple Warrior	30
	Mana Reflection	10
	Ice Demon	30
	Infinity	30
	Ifrit	30
	Chain Lightning	10
	Blizzard	30
	Hero's Will	5

Skill Build

Level	SP Allocation
120-130	Blizzard to 30 (MAX) - full-map attack, no cooldown
131-140	Maple Warrior to 30 (book dependent)
141-147	Chain Lightning to 10 (MAX) - single-target bossing
148-157	Ifrit to 30 (MAX) - fire summon
158-167	Infinity to 30 (MAX) - removes MP cost temporarily
168-177	Ice Demon to 30 (MAX) - ice AoE
178-187	Mana Reflection to 30 (MAX) - reflects magic damage
188+	Remaining into Hero's Will

Explanation

Blizzard is legendary - hits 15 targets across the entire map with no cooldown. Max it ASAP. Chain Lightning bounces between up to 6 mobs for bossing. Ifrit summons a fire elemental. Infinity periodically removes MP cost for free casting.