Mage 80–89: Crit and Penetration Builds
Author: Жора · Read: 13
What a Mage at level 80–89 should wear, learn and slot. Two play styles — Attack + Crit and Attack + Penetration — and three modes: Abyss, League Expedition and Secret Realm. Numbers come from the game data as of 23.09.2026; names are the ones used in the English version of the game.
Key points
- No more than two identical emblems per pet, even if they are different colours.
- Set: Final Hope. It boosts Dragonbreath, just like the staff and gauntlets, so the whole kit works for one skill.
- In the Abyss, take Strength Through Reserve. It makes a fully charged specialization missile a third stronger.
- Magic stones need a Star and a Moon. Without stones of these shapes the combination bonus does not turn on.
- In Flame of Paradise, put the core into the Chain Lightning node if you play the Abyss or League Expedition.
- A Penetration gem does not fit into the weapon. Weapons only take Attack, Hit Rating and Crit gems.
- Rapid Field and Pause Field cancel each other out. Together they do not move the first trigger of Vengeance Domain.
- The passive rows and the 4th and 5th inscription slots are unlocked by class promotion. T4, T5 and T6 need a Total Inscription Rating of 1000, 2500 and 7000.
Equipment
There are no level 89 items in the game. Each slot has its own item levels, and at 89 you wear the best that exists: from level 80 to 88 (the number next to the slot in the tables below).
Staff and gauntlets
- Red Dragon Staff (Lv. 86): Dragonbreath hits one target three times in a row and explodes in an area. Dragonbreath cooldown is 15% shorter.
- Burning Frost Gauntlets (Lv. 86): after a lightning skill (Chain Lightning in the Abyss and League Expedition, Paralyzing Lightning in the Secret Realm) the next Dragonbreath deals 180% more damage.
Set: cloak, shoulders, chest, legs
Wear Final Hope. It adds +120% damage to Dragonbreath — the same skill the staff and gauntlets boost. That way the whole kit works for one skill.
Why not Dragon Slayer. Dragon Slayer adds +110% damage to lightning skills and leaves Dragonbreath without a boost. By our calculation, skills deal about one and a half times more damage with Final Hope (calculated).
2-piece set effect:
- Final Hope — +2.5% Combat Penetration Boost, Dragonbreath cooldown 15% shorter;
- Dragon Slayer — +1.5% Combat Crit Boost, lightning cooldown 15% shorter.
For a crit build Dragon Slayer gives a little more crit, but that is small next to the 1.5× difference; the calculation does not include this effect, so in combat the gap may be slightly smaller. For a penetration build Final Hope is better in every way: both the set and its 2-piece effect work for your build.
Accessories
- ring: Shimmering Vision
- necklace: Elven Artificer
- bracers: Pack Leader
- mark: Swordplay Master
The ring gives +3% damage plus +0.5% for each socketed gem of level 8 or higher, up to +8%.
Attack + Crit: gems, special effects, refinement
| Slot | Gem | Special effects (left = more important) | Refinement (3 lines) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon, 86 | Crit | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Accuracy, Unyielding | Attack, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus |
| Gloves, 86 | Crit | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Luck | Crit Bonus, Crit, Hit Bonus |
| Cloak, 80 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Penetration, Stable Victory | Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus, Penetration |
| Shoulders, 80 | Attack | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Penetration | Damage Bonus, Attack Bonus, Penetration |
| Chest, 82 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Luck, Unyielding | Crit, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus |
| Legs, 82 | HP | Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Luck, Penetration, Unyielding | Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus, Crit |
| Ring, 84 | Crit | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Penetration, Stable Victory | Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus, Penetration |
| Necklace, 84 | Crit | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Accuracy, Unyielding | Attack, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus |
| Bracers, 88 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Penetration | Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus, Attack Bonus |
| Mark, 88 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Luck, Unyielding | Crit, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus |
Attack + Penetration: gems, special effects, refinement
| Slot | Gem | Special effects (left = more important) | Refinement (3 lines) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon, 86 | Crit or Attack (Penetration does not fit into the weapon) | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Accuracy, Unyielding | Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack |
| Gloves, 86 | Penetration | Courage Blessing, Sharpness | Crit Bonus, Hit Rating, Crit |
| Cloak, 80 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Penetration, Stable Victory | Penetration, Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus |
| Shoulders, 80 | Attack | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Penetration | Penetration, Damage Bonus, Attack Bonus |
| Chest, 82 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Unyielding | Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack |
| Legs, 82 | HP | Penetration, Unyielding | Penetration, Damage Bonus, Crit |
| Ring, 84 | Penetration | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Penetration, Stable Victory | Penetration, Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus |
| Necklace, 84 | Penetration | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Accuracy, Unyielding | Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack |
| Bracers, 88 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Penetration | Attack Bonus, Penetration, Damage Bonus |
| Mark, 88 | Evasion | Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Unyielding | Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack |
- "Attack" is a flat amount, "Attack Bonus" is a percentage. The same goes for Crit, Penetration and Hit Rating. "Damage Bonus" increases all damage.
- Everything in the Refinement column can roll when you refine that slot. At 80–89 gems go up to level 8 at most.
- Four special effects only appear on Golden Flashing items. A regular Mythic item has two or three, so pick them from left to right. On bracers, aim for Boom Boom Boom Boom!, not the weaker Boom Boom!.
Skills and passives
Max out each of the four branches: the skill, Mage Skill Enhancement and the bottom node. That is 40 points. Another 9 go into the three passive rows (Class Core Passive and two Core Passive rows) and 1 into Mage Stat 2. 50 out of 50 in total.
| Slot | Abyss and League Expedition | Secret Realm | Bottom node |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Lightning Lash | Frostbolt | Major Upgrade |
| Core | Dragonbreath | Dragonbreath | Medium Upgrade |
| Tactical | Chain Lightning | Paralyzing Lightning | Medium Upgrade |
| Ultimate | Missilestorm | Missilestorm | Medium Upgrade |
Passives: Class Core Passive and Core Passive
These are the three bottom rows in Talent. In each row you pick one node, left or right. The rows are unlocked by class promotion, not by level.
| Row | Unlocks at | Attack + Crit | Attack + Penetration |
|---|---|---|---|
| T4, Class Core Passive | Inscription Rating 1000 | right: +11.7% Combat Crit Boost | left: +10.5% Combat Penetration Boost |
| T5, Core Passive | rating 2500 | left: after Dragonbreath, +11.25% Penetration Bonus and +6.75% Crit Bonus for 10 s, at most once every 15 s | left, the same |
| T6, Core Passive | rating 7000 | right: +7.8% Combat Crit Boost | left: +7% Combat Penetration Boost |
Until you reach T6, put the spare points into Mage Stat 2 (+1.5% Crit Bonus per point) for a crit build, or into Mage Stat 1 (+1% Penetration Bonus per point) for a penetration build.
Inscriptions
At first you have the main inscription and two support ones. The 4th slot unlocks at T4 (Total Inscription Rating 1000), the 5th at T5 (2500). The main inscription is listed first.
Abyss
Sin Domain or Arcane Domain + Stasis Field, Pause Field, Mirror Device, Winterless Art.
In a long fight both domains give about the same, around 15–16% damage. The game's own Balance preset suggests Arcane Domain. These domains do not wait for a cooldown, so Stasis Field and Pause Field, which lengthen it, do not hurt them.
League Expedition
- Crit, option 1: Sin Domain + Stasis Field, Pause Field, Mirror Device, Daybreak Art.
- Crit, option 2: Vengeance Domain + Dreamforge Art, Dawnflower Art, Lone Lamp Art, Daybreak Art. There are no fields here that speed up Vengeance, so it triggers at the 30th second of the fight.
- Penetration: Sin Domain + Stasis Field, Pause Field, Mirror Device, Winterless Art.
Secret Realm
- Normal floors: Vengeance Domain + Quick Field, Rapid Field, Daybreak Art, Lone Lamp Art. With these fields Vengeance Domain triggers as early as the 6th second. The game's own Extreme Speed preset suggests the same set.
- Hard floors: Vengeance is delayed so it triggers closer to the boss.
- Vengeance at the 21st second: Vengeance Domain + Quick Field, Dreamforge Art, Dawnflower Art, Flowfire Art.
- Vengeance at the 16th second: Vengeance Domain + Quick Field, Speed Field, Dreamforge Art, Dawnflower Art.
When Vengeance Domain triggers
Without fields, Vengeance Domain first triggers at the 30th second of the fight. Fields move this time: percentages add up, and Speed Field subtracts 5 seconds.
| Fields | Triggers at |
|---|---|
| no fields | 30 s |
| Quick Field (−30%) | 21 s |
| Rapid Field (−50%) + Mirror Device (+10%) | 18 s |
| Quick Field + Speed Field (−5 s) | 16 s |
| Quick Field + Rapid Field | 6 s |
| Rapid Field (−50%) + Pause Field (+50%) — they cancel each other out | 30 s |
Specialization: Concentrated Exploding Star
When the Mage stands still for 2 seconds, a special missile appears. While the Mage does not move, the missile gets stronger every second, up to five times. It fires when the Mage moves, or by itself 8 seconds after reaching full charge. Specialization nodes make the missile stronger. There are 20 points in total; each new point takes 12 hours to create.
| Node | Max | Abyss | League Expedition | Secret Realm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concentrated Exploding Star | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Missile Enhancement | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Precision Explosion | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Chain Explosion | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Energy Accumulation Timing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Strength Through Reserve | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Arcane Echo | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Rapid Energy Recharge | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Charged Explosion | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Blazing Missile | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Total points | 20 | 20 | 20 |
How missile damage is calculated
- The missile hits with a 200% damage rate; each charge adds 300%: a full charge is 1700%.
- Missile Enhancement 5/5 adds +200% per charge: +1000% at full charge.
- Strength Through Reserve 3/3 adds +300% to a missile with four charges and +900% to a full charge. The in-game tooltip says +600%, but the data says +900%.
- With both nodes a full charge hits at 3600% — a third stronger than without Strength Through Reserve (2700%).
Why it differs by mode
- Abyss. You stand at the boss and have time to charge the missile fully. Charged Explosion only works from weak shots and resets after a strong one, so here Strength Through Reserve and Blazing Missile take its place.
- League Expedition. Energy Accumulation Timing only speeds up the automatic shot, down to 2 seconds, so its points are better spent on Strength Through Reserve and Blazing Missile. If you have to move a lot, you can keep one point in Energy Accumulation Timing.
- Secret Realm. You keep running through the floor, and the missile fires weak, not fully charged. Charged Explosion rewards exactly these shots, so here it replaces Strength Through Reserve.
Magic stones
Stone slots unlock when the specialization has 20 points. If the five slots hold stones of five different shapes — round shield, triangle, tower shield, star and moon — the combination bonus turns on. Only the shape of the stone matters.
Set with the Chain Explosion bonus: ● Swiftstrike Round Shield, ▲ Howler Triangle, ⬢ Strategist Tower Shield, ★ any Star, ☾ any Moon. The Chain Explosion combination bonus makes the missile explode a second time more often: +20% chance, 50% together with the Chain Explosion node.
Wound Control set (not verified). If you take all five stones for Wound Control (pet damage), there will be no Star and no Moon among them, and the combination bonus will not turn on. It is also unknown whether Wound Control works at all: the game client does not use it when calculating damage. Only measuring damage in combat can tell.
Potentials:
- Specialization Empowerment raises missile damage at every stage, and therefore its second explosion too: it is the same shot. It does not change the chance of the second explosion.
- Specialization Resonance only boosts Arcane Echo for the Mage.
Artifacts
Each artifact has nodes for different skills. Cores go into the nodes of the skills you actually hit with.
| Artifact | Abyss and League Expedition | Secret Realm |
|---|---|---|
| Eye of the Fallen Titan (Lv. 64, basic skills) | Frostbolt and Lightning Lash | same |
| Pipe of Insight (Lv. 70, core skills) | Dragonbreath (Frostfocus can be the second); fill both defensive slots | same |
| Flame of Paradise (Lv. 74, tactical skills) | Chain Lightning — a must, the second node is up to you; fill both defensive slots | Paralyzing Lightning and Snowstorm; fill both defensive slots |
| Destiny Tome (Lv. 80, ultimate) | Missilestorm; fill all three defensive slots | same |
Cores: Attack + Crit
- Corrupted Will - Decay — skills have a chance to apply burn, bleed or slow and follow up with an extra hit. The more different debuffs on the target, the stronger the hit.
- Insight Oak - Perception — the basic skill and Dragonbreath hit harder on a wounded target: +3% for every 15% of health it has lost.
- Heaven Core - Burning — if the target has three or more different debuffs, there is a 15% chance to cast Missilestorm instantly.
Cores: Attack + Penetration
- Corrupted Will - Spread — after Dragonbreath or a lightning skill, there is a 30–35% chance to cast the basic skill as well.
- Insight Oak - Perception — same as for crit.
- Heaven Core - Ascension — each basic attack boosts the next Missilestorm by 2%.
Fourth core — by mode
- Abyss — Fate Secret - Omen. Damage grows during the fight: every 12 skills cast give +0.8%, up to +12.8%. For long boss fights.
- League Expedition — Fate Secret - Constant. If you stand still for more than 3 seconds, damage +8%. The bonus disappears when you move.
- Secret Realm — Fate Secret - Fading. Attacks apply a bleed, and the target takes extra damage while it moves.
Numbers are for top-quality cores. Decay and Spread go into the same slot of the Eye, so you pick one of the two.
Nodes
- Fill the defensive slots: they have their own limit and do not take anything away from attack.
- Power Nexus boosts Lightning Lash, Frostbolt and Dragonbreath; Strong Nexus boosts lightning skills and Missilestorm. Which is better depends on the fight (not verified).
Pet emblems
Each of the three pets in the team has its own slot shape: the first has triangles (△), the second hexagons (⬡), the third diamonds (◇). The fifth slot opens at level 80. No more than two identical emblems per pet. An emblem marked Unique can be worn only once per team. Numbers are for top-rank emblems.
Attack + Crit
- △ First pet: Rotfang Archer, Hellwyrm, Wrath Tyrannosaur, Frenzied Blackdragon, Fel Hydra — five different Unique emblems.
- ⬡ Second pet: Wind Sprite ×2, Tyrannosaur ×2, Primal Tyrannosaur. In total +115% Crit Bonus, 2100 Evasion and 400 Penetration.
- With a lizard: Wind Sprite ×2, Tyrannosaur ×2, Wrath Thunderlizard — +95% Crit Bonus.
- Crit and attack: Wind Sprite ×2, Waterkin ×2, Fel Thunderlizard — +57% Crit Bonus, 1950 Crit and +11% Attack Bonus.
- ◇ Third pet: Ice Bear ×2, Bio Giant ×2, Lava Giant. In total 800 Crit, 1300 Penetration, 650 Attack and +95% Evasion Bonus.
- More attack: Ice Bear ×2, Lava Giant ×2, Obsidian Statue — 800 Crit and 1700 Attack. There are no other diamond emblems with crit up to level 80.
Attack + Penetration
- △ First pet: Skullmock Archer, Hellwyrm, Wrath Tyrannosaur, Frenzied Blackdragon, Fel Hydra — five different Unique emblems.
- ⬡ Second pet: Firekin ×2, Frenzied Tyrannosaur, Wildsoul ×2. In total +93% Penetration Bonus, 2100 Evasion and 650 Attack.
- Via Bounty Quest: Firekin ×2, Frenzied Tyrannosaur, Rotfang Mage, Flesh Burrower — the same +93% Penetration Bonus and 420 Hit Rating.
- ◇ Third pet: Bio Giant ×2, Deceit Imp ×2, Mocking Imp. In total 2400 Penetration and +57% Evasion Bonus. The imps come from Bounty Quest and are cheap.
- Penetration and attack: Bio Giant ×2, Deceit Imp ×2, Lava Giant — 2140 Penetration and 650 Attack.
Wind Sprite, Bio Giant, Lava Giant, Fel Hydra and Rotfang Archer only appear on day 55 after the server opens.
Pets
- Abyss and League Expedition: Meteor (crit) or Dancer (penetration), Light Howl, Flame Demon. Flame Demon hits an 8 m area ten times in a row and pulls enemies to the centre. If you do not have the Demon, take Brightwing or Hornbash.
- Secret Realm, normal floors: Soulclaw, Light Howl, Meteor or Dancer. Soulclaw pulls monsters within 25 m to itself.
- Secret Realm, hard floors: Flame Demon, Light Howl, Meteor or Dancer.
Meteor strikes again on a crit, so it is for crit builds. Dancer weakens the target on non-critical hits, so it is for penetration builds. Night Shadow Leopard is not in our version of the game yet.
Badges
- Crit: Companion Along the Way, Midnight Run, Free Rider.
- Penetration: Long Journey, Midnight Run, Free Rider.
Set bonuses turn on at levels 3, 6, 9 and 10. The set level equals the lowest badge level in it, so level your badges evenly.
Towards level 90
- The Oracle opens at 90: save up Badge Lottery and Inscription Lottery tickets.
- Raise your Total Inscription Rating to 7000: this unlocks T6 and the T6 passive row.
- Level 9 gems only become available at 90.
(calculated) — computed from game data, not tested in combat. (not verified) — the rule lives on the server and cannot be confirmed from the data.
Not tested: actual damage in combat, whether Rapid Strike and Wound Control work, and which special effects can roll on which slot.