This article introduces some of Witch and Wizard’s most popular skills and gears, and its core interest is efficiency. Only the most popular and widely discussed pre-Awakening skills are introduced here, and individual opinion about certain skills may vary. The gear guide is for those that are trying to balance the budget until they farm bigger amounts of silver in the future. Please refer to our separate Awakened Witch guide and Awakened Wizard guide for further information.

Author's note

- This guide was created thanks to our Korean BDO community's 은빛이도(Eunbityeedo) and 장의상(Jangeuisang).
- This guide is a reference rather than the ultimate solution.
- Some names, terms, and details may not fully match with current version of NA/EU client.

Witch and Wizard's core strength in PvE is consistency. Their two healing skills give them increased survivability while their attack skills boast relatively large AoE along with solid CC. The drawbacks, however, come from their lack of mobility and slow casting speed. A lot of their skills also cannot be canceled while being cast, which can result in a devastating situation in tough grinds and PvP. Witch and Wizard’s strong AoE and low mobility result in a densely populated area being their favorable grinding spot. Roaming from one spot to another like other characters such as Maehwa is not a good idea for Witch and Wizard. Instead of constantly looking for new spots, set a radius big enough for you to clear a wave and then another until the dead monsters respawn. Make the monsters come to you instead of approaching them yourself.

Recommended pre-Awakening attack skills

Each skill is rated by the total of 3 stars, and PvE is the main element in judging the skills’ functionality. Recommended skill add-ons are focused heavily on PvE. Pre-Awakening attack skills are generally weaker than Awakening attack skills, and they are usually reverted except for a skill or two. However, do keep in mind that pre-Awakening utility skills are still useful after Awakening.

The typical PvE combo for a pre-Awakened Witch and Wizard goes as follows:

1. Cast Magic Lighthouse in a populated area.
2. Deal damage with Residual Lightning, Fireball Explosion, Lightning Storm, and Blizzard.
3. Finish the remaining monsters with Multiple Magic Arrows.

Lightning + Residual Lightning ★★★
Recommended add-on: [Lightning] +20 damage to monsters / +7% casting speed

This is among the most frequently used combos thanks to its high DPS and broad AoE. Lightning gives you a minimal guard, and is automatically enhanced when the Black Spirit meter is at 100%. You can use mouse cursor to change the direction Lightning is cast towards.

Lightning Chain + Lightning Storm ★★★
Recommended add-on: [Lightning Storm] +20 damage to monsters / +10% critical hit rate / 20 HP recovery

Because Lightning Chain does not have much favorable skill specialization for itself, it is better to specialize in Lightning Storm. This skill matches with Residual Lightning as the Witch’s main attack skill. Cluttering the enemies right in front of you ends up hitting only those in front of you, but twist the angle slightly and you can pop it in the middle, resulting in more targets hit. Lightning Chain that precedes this skill is effective early-game with CC, but has a relatively small damage output as you climb higher. Lightning Chain is more effective with more targets.

Meteor Shower ★★☆
Recommended add-on: +5 PvP damage / 10 HP recovery per target hit

The long casting time can be eliminated with Sage's Memory. Strong CC and wide AoE make this a favorable skill in node wars. You can guard attacks coming from forward and gain Super Armor while you are using this skill.

Fireball + Fireball Explosion ★★☆
Recommended add-on: [Fireball] +25 damage to monsters / +10% casting speed / +5% accuracy

Fireball Explosion may not be everyone’s favorite because it knocks the enemies over while some that are immune to CC stand still, resulting in scattered monsters and less efficient AoE. The damage output is good, so you may want to just use this skill and finish the remaining ones with Residual Lightning and Multiple Magic Arrows. Fireball, the skill that precedes this one, is not worth upgrading as it does not do much besides initiating Fireball Explosion. Fireball is used mainly to obtain the buff.

Earth's Response ★★☆
Recommended add-on: +20 damage to monsters / +10% critical hit rate

Although its damage is not great, Earth's Response allows you to dodge and attack at the same time. There is significant post-delay after the skill is cast, which can be canceled by casting Magical Evasion right after. Magical Evasion and Earth's Response together allow you to move a significant distance while evading incoming attacks at the same time.

Multiple Magic Arrows ★★★
Recommended add-on: +20 damage to monsters / +4% casting speed.

You can learn Multiple Magic Arrows after mastering Magic Arrow to level V. This is also a popular skill that can inflict a large amount of damage in a short amount of time. The only drawback is that the skill drains the weapons’ durability very quickly if you keep firing the Arrows away. Spamming Multiple Magic Arrows results in reduced damage, but it still gives you high DPS while also reaching cooldown at the same time. This skill comes in handy especially in boss fights or against monsters that are closely packed. If you are on a raid of world bosses like Kzarka, spamming Multiple Magic Arrows usually results in the highest DPS. The skill also comes in handy when you are finishing off the remaining monsters after larger AoE skills such as Residual Lightning, Lightning Storm, and Fireball Explosion. The skill, however, comes with -10% accuracy debuff.

Blizzard ★★★
Recommended skill specialization: +10% critical hit rate / 6 HP recovery / 10 MP recovery.

Use this skill against a wave of monsters after placing Magic Lighthouse and monsters will kneel in front of you. Blizzard is a powerful AoE attack skill many players max out. Ultimate: Blizzard allows you to prolong the attack, but at the cost of significant Mana absorption. You can guard attacks coming from forward until you drop the Blizzard. 

Recommended pre-Awakening utility skills

Keep in mind that you will still be using these skills even after Awakening.

Healing Aura ★★★

This is arguably the most important skill along with Healing Lighthouse. Max out this skill and you will be able to heal you and your allies’ HP and MP by 20% every 10 seconds. Allies cannot receive the buff when they are in Super Armor or in Evasion.

Healing Lighthouse ★★★

Seek after the light whenever you are in trouble. Master this skill and you can recover 90% of your entire HP every 30 seconds. Use this skill when your screen is glowing bloody red, then dive right back into combat. Having allies nearby receiving the effect increases the amount of your Mana restored.

Sage’s Memory ★★☆

Despite its extremely long cooldown of 3 minutes and 30 seconds, Sage’s Memory comes in handy when you are in a rush either to survive or to melt the enemies. Remember that this skill is not applicable to Sphera and Black Spirit skills.

Spellbound Heart ★★☆

Spellbound Heart does not always stay with you like your actual heart does. You have to be standing still to receive the Mana regeneration buff, and it is quite hard to expect your Mana to be replenished when you are constantly moving around groups of monsters. However, it is still important to max out this skill because it increases your movement speed by 10%. Mastering this skill results in a 10-minute movement speed buff with a 10-minute cooldown, so it means your movement speed is constantly buffed by 10%. Witch and Wizard lack mobility compared to other classes, and this skill helps them move around faster.

Magical Lighthouse ★★★

Lure the monsters and stay away from the aggro. Instead of hitting your vulnerable self while casting spells, they hit the Lighthouse without noticing that their magical defense is being reduced. All you have to do is to hit the enemies from behind when they are obsessed with the pretty light. The skill’s duration and cooldown evens out once you master the skill, so you can constantly distract the monsters. This is used more often in upper level grind spots where you have to fight for a longer period of time. However, do keep in mind that the Lighthouse is not always successful in taking the aggro.

Mana Absorption ★★☆

It is hard for a pre-Awakened Witch to supply Mana only with Staff Attacks. When Healing Aura and Healing Lighthouse cannot catch up with the amount of Mana being spent, which is likely to happen, Mana Absorption is there to help you. Mastering this skill fills your MP right away just with one tick. Once your MP is full, you can use Magical Evasion to cancel the animation. You can revert this skill once you Awaken because low Mana is hardly a problem after Awakening.

Mind Training ★☆☆

This skill does make difference, but whether the difference is significant or not is questionable. Have a look at the video clips below to see for yourself how big of a difference it makes. There are also side-by-side comparison videos of Aad Sphera [Mind Training maxed out on top and reverted to 0 on bottom] and Godr Sphera. [Mind Training maxed out on the right, reverted to zero on the left]

Magical Shield ★★☆

Magical Shield is quite effective in PvE, but when it comes to PvP, the enemy’s high DPS tends to eat through the mana very quickly. The skill, however, is still worth mastering as it is used both in PvP and PvE.

Protected Area ★★☆

Protected Area provides solid protection for you and your allies. It has been reported multiple times in Korean community that the skill is vulnerable to casting speed debuffs, and is sometimes even completely cancelled by the enemy. If this is a bug or as intended still needs clarification. However, even with the known issues, Protected Area significantly reduces the threat level and is useful both in PvP and PvE.

Speed Spell ★★☆

This is an effective utility skill that increases you and your allies’ attack, casting, and movement speed. However, relatively long casting animation makes it not favorable to cast every time the cooldown is reset. This skill is more favorable when you or your party are expecting a huge wave or a strong boss rather than with casual PvE farming. This is a good skill, but not used as frequently. Spare your SP if you don’t feel like you would be constantly reminding yourself to use Speed Spell every 50 seconds.

Teleport ★★☆

While Teleport is the Witch’s only mobility skill, the cooldown when you master this skill is still pretty long at 7 seconds. Ultimate: Teleport further enhances this skill with a second teleport, yet with a long cooldown of 10 seconds. 10% increase in movement speed is certainly a plus, and although Teleport is weak in comparison to other classes’ mobility skills, it is still a must to the Witch and Wizard. Max out this skill because you will find yourself using this skill a lot despite its relatively long cooldown for a mobility skill.

Recommended pre-Awakening gears

Note that individual preference may vary. These recommended gears are based on their popularity in Korean BDO community.

Main Weapon: Baris, Yuria, and Rosar Staff

Bares Staff and Yuria Staff are recommended before switching to Liverto Staff or Kzarka Staff. Bares Staff has lower pure damage than Yuria Staff, but comes with additional damage to all species. Cheap price makes Bares a good alternative for those that are saving up for later phase of the game. Yuria Staff, although slightly more expensive than Bares Staff, comes with additional damage to humans and higher pure damage. Yuria’s additional damage to humans comes in handy in certain grind spots including Sausan, Wandering Rogue Den, and Gahaz Bandit’s Lair. Additional damage to humans also means more damage in PvP. Rosar Staff is also a good alternative with its two crystal sockets and increased damage and accuracy along with enhancement.

Secondary Weapon: Bronze and Steel Dagger

There are roughly two options for budget-priced daggers: Steel Dagger for more damage and Bronze Dagger for more accuracy. Steel Dagger’s extra damage increases as you enhance the item, and is the most widely used alternative before switching to Nouver Dagger. Bronze Dagger covers up accuracy, but it is hard to actually feel that you are stronger unless you enhance the item multiple times.

Armor: Taritas and Grunil

Each part of Taritas set gives you enhanced accuracy, evasion, HP, and MP. Equipping two parts of Taritas gives you 100 extra MP, and equipping three gives you 5 extra accuracy. Taritas armor set gives you decent buff in general, but has only one crystal socket for each item. Grunil set, on the other hand, comes with two crystal sockets per item. Equipping Grunil Helmet with Grunil Gloves gives you 5 extra damage, and Equipping Grunil Armor with Grunil Shoes gives you 150 extra HP. Equipping all four Grunil items also gives you 2 extra damage, so equipping only Grunil gives you total 7 extra damage and 150 HP. Grunil set is highly recommended also for other classes thanks to its AP buff and 2 crystal sockets per item. Witch and Wizard should prioritize critical hit and casting speed for crystals.

Accessories: Bares and beyond

Bares accessories provide decent AP increase for those that do not have as much silver. You can stick to Bares until you are able to farm upper level accessories such as Witch’s Earrings and Mark of Shadow, or go for more a more affordable option of Blue Coral accessories. Belt of Shultz the Gladiator is also an affordable option for those that are looking for decent performance. Note that Tri (III) Bares Necklace gives you the same +10 AP as vanilla Ogre’s Ring but at about half the price.