General

@Singaporean: Not sure if they renewed the system or not, but only 100+ shields can get 30% while 100- can only go up to 20% boss per line iirc.
EDIT: My bad, just looked over bleve's response.

@Green4EVER: Oh wow. I was not aware of this.

[quote=Singaporean]3rd uwg are lv 87 which is tier 3. Books are 100(or 120 forgot) which is also tier 3. VIP and last uwg are 127 and 107 which is also tier 3. There is no boss % limit. Each line can be 20-30% boss on unique and greater on legendary.[/quote]

There is a boss limit, actually. A lvl 71-99 shield can't get the 35-40% lines, whereas a lvl 100+ shield can. All the other lines are still obtainable, though.

@Cuniculus: 3rd uwg are lv 87 which is tier 3. Books are 100(or 120 forgot) which is also tier 3. VIP and last uwg are 127 and 107 which is also tier 3. There is no boss % limit. Each line can be 20-30% boss on unique and greater on legendary.

The 130 shield and 127 VIP shield both have the same amount of slots and int (VIP is tradeable even after it is equipped though). Also, I'd aim for % magic attack more than % boss (I train more than I boss)

[quote=putnamehere]Shields have weapon pot so %boss ideally.[/quote]
No i meant the specific shield. Ie: panlid, esther shield, etc

Whats the best end game mage shield? So maximum %Int pot + stats (Scrolled)

[quote=Jorty]Okay, thanks guys~
so I guess I'll just have to look for VIP shields then..
I've never seen one this whole year[/quote]

You can settle for a Last Unwelcome Guest shield too. It's level 107 and can get the max %boss possible while always remaining tradeable.

Okay, thanks guys~
so I guess I'll just have to look for VIP shields then..
I've never seen one this whole year

[quote=Singaporean]3rd UWG shields are/were abundant and should be relatively cheap, like below 50m.[/quote]
... though a 3rd UWG shield is not recommended due to the % boss limit.
Though 100+ shields are quite cheap too. I got a clean below average VIP shield for 70m as a reference @ TS. ^ ^

Most posts are wrong. You can search fm for shield magic atts. Dedicate like maybe 400m to those scrolls. Buy 7 and yolo scroll. Even that will be better than secondary book. Shields have defense and magic defense and more int. Even with 3/7 scrolls working(though 4 seems like a more accurate number) that's still 6 matk which is 3 more than the standard book and 1 more than the evo book. With 4 scrolls, that turns to 8 matk or 10 matk with 5 scrolls. It's honestly the best thing to get. 3rd UWG shields are/were abundant and should be relatively cheap, like below 50m.

for the unfunded - the book would be the better choice, comeing with already-great stats, and being pot-able.
For the funded - Shields are the better choice, being able to get potentials, and having slots to get scrolls, and nebs.

[url=http://www.basilmarket.com/MapleStory-Mage-Shield-items.html]We still have shields, yes. [/url]
And you can only equip either a shield or a book, but not both. I'd go with shield since you can buy shield magic attack scrolls, and the books can't be scrolled.