General

Pure bird bt or bust <3

[quote=Star909]They actually don't have a link 3[/quote]

Hoping they soon will...

[quote=Chongo55]Kanna has a great link skill that increases damage by 5/10/15% at levels 70/120/210.[/quote]

They actually don't have a link 3

Pretty sure it's Evan and F/P w/o funding o.o

Battle Mage?

Honestly i think beast tamers are pretty strong. Yes, the dps is on the low end but mobbing is pretty decent. and in bear mode, with a 200k range i hit 2-3m on normal mobs and 5-6 on bosses so it's not to bad. the only problem i see is RNG because my real range is like around 160ish but when i get red/gold card it goes up to 200+k

luminous might be the best for you it is easy and friendly
if u want unfunded strenght evan and f/p are pretty good like everyone says but imo blaze wizard is pretty strong unfunded too and has an easier leveling life than both evan and f/p so i recommend it way more, i dont find explorer mages and evans as beginner friendly as newer mages

While I haven't played MapleStory in a while this question varies a bit and that depends on your terms of "strongest". Each Mage in this game has it's own unique traits it provides in a party or solo training. For example a Luminous is great in solo training and has quite a bit of bossing capabilities too, while a Blaze Wizard also has great mobbing capabilities but lack a bit in 1v1. Try each class out and see which one you like.

[quote=Dexter981]Why would people want Kanna in their party?[/quote]

They have a buff that reduces spawn delay on mobs. So they basically increase the number of mobs on screen or that you can kill in a given time period. One way to think about is as HS, but instead of giving you an EXP buff, it gives you more "bags" of experience.

I realize Priest may be pretty boring as you enter 3rd job, and if it is for you you may want to swap to Lumi or Kanna for a more damage-oriented class. Support just may not be the role for you.

Lumis are best mobbers for sure, but some cases like Stronghold Blaze wizards are good as well. I feel like kanna would be better than bishop - IMO. They have good supporting skills both in bossing and training. And I tell you what, they have that skill in 4th job that raises your range like crazy despite their low %dmg skills. They can really outshine a few mages if that JMS patch comes where kannas can move while using vanq. They look cute with haku <3

F/P are probably best bossers for unfunded people as well as good bossers for funded ones.

Goodluck

I'd like to point out I typically play solo and I'm also interested in playing with a friend's Mercedes. I currently quite like my lvl 65 Priest, but it's not very strong so
Why would people want Kanna in their party?

WALL OF TEXT INCOMING:

Kanna is a great class to start back with because it's fairly simple, doesn't use MP Potions, and has a skill that makes it just as desirable as a Bishop with Holy Symbol. kanna is also fairly tanky in terms of health for a mage, and has some great buffs that come from it's companion (Haku), as well as a heal that Haku can perform intermittently which really reduces HP potion usage. Kanna has a great link skill that increases damage by 5/10/15% at levels 70/120/210.

Lumi is pretty great as a mage, though I don't personally enjoy it. It's a pretty strong all around class but not as supportive in groups as Kanna. That being said, it has stupid good DPS is shorter fighter, but gets out-classes by other mages as the fight goes on. They have a really good link skill if you're into that sort of thing.

Bishop is pretty common nowadays since you can just HS leech your way to 250. You probably know everything there is to know about them - they have heals and buffs and don't really do AWESOME damage unless funded, like other classes. That being said a minimally funded bishop could easily solo a few bosses a day for some money, bu you'll easily get into group for harded bosses because of your utility. This is one advantage Bishop has over Kanna, because Kanna is a lot more useful for grinding lots of mobs, whereas bishop has the supportive ability to help on huge bosses (Res, Heal, Bless, etc.)

The ArchMages are both fairly good. I/L is a much better mobber and requires more funding than F/P to boss effectively, but if you fund it highly it's tear through bosses like HT and Zakum easily since its so great at hitting multiple target quickly. F/P is a much better bosser without funding as it has access to so many damage boosting skills and DoTs that you can tear through most bosses with ease (HT is a little difficult because one of your primary damage skills doesn't place a poison mist where it really should be.)

Blaze Wizard is one of the best unfunded mages BY FAR alongside F/P. This is because it has really great damage potential and mobbing ability innately, making leveling a breeze. You could probably solo an RnJ map and get 5-7 levels if a party let you. And even if they didn't you could do it anyway because you have SO MUCH MOBBING. Blaze Wizard is actually in a really good spot right now, along with most of the Cygnus Knights.

Battlemage is something I haven't spent a lot of time with personally. The highest I got one was third job, and I didn't enjoy being very squishy and very mana dependent. This was about 4 years ago though and I know they've received some changes that make them very good at DPSing. I'm not sure how they fair unfunded, but I'd imagine you could slowly work your way to good gear with them as easily as you might with another mage that works well unfunded.

Evan is apparently the masterrace right now. They do pretty good damage, even at 50k range with a lot of their skills, and the mastery books don't require cash shop spending anymore, they're 100k each at the Henesys potion store.

The last mage (I think) would be the Beast Tamer. I think nexon confirmed fairly recently that they'd be coming back for this summer. I've heard good things about unfunded bear tamers, and the videos I've seen show some pretty good damage. I'll know about them when they come out again, since I actually only just go back into this game as well, and I haven't played since Lumi came out (3 or so years).

So, in order, here are my suggestions for unfunded and low-to-medium skill level:

1: Bishop (low funding for good effectiveness in support role)
2: Kanna (everyone wants one in their party for grinding)
3(tie): Blaze wizard (mobbing tho)
3(tie): Fire-Poison (I only put this lower than the above three because it takes a while to get used to)
5: Beast Tamer (from what I've heard).

If you're just making it for a link skill/boss mule I'd probably go with Lumi or BT.

Luminous are best mobbers
FP are better for bossing
Bishops make more friends than Kannas

i think lumi is the strongest cause of the op skill that attacks whole map
butttt u will make more friends as a kanna and friendship is more powerfull then anything