Leveling Guide
Where to level at every stage, how to make money on the way, and the habits that save the most time.
Leveling Guide
At 5x base and job, the climb to 99 is brisk without being a formality. This is the classic route with the things this server adds folded in.
There is no single correct spot at any level. Pre-Renewal levelling is about matching your damage type to the right monsters, and the right monsters depend on your element, your size modifier and what your class does well. @mobinfo <name> tells you everything about a monster including exact drop rates, and it is the most useful command in the game for planning a session.
The route at a glance#
| Stage | Levels | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Novice | 1 to 10 | Fields around Prontera |
| First class | to job 10 | The same fields |
| Early second class | 25 to 50 | Payon Cave, Orc Village, Coal Mine, Ant Hell |
| Mid game | 50 to 75 | Glast Heim, Pyramids, Clock Tower, Sphinx |
| Late game | 75 to 99 | Magma Dungeon, Turtle Island, Niflheim, deep Glast Heim |
Stage by stage#
Novice and first class#
Walk out of Prontera rather than warping. This is worth saying explicitly because it is the one habit that pays off for the entire rest of the account. Every map you cross on foot unlocks in your Warper and counts towards World Explorer, permanently, for every character you will ever make.
Kill anything soft. 
Porings, 
Lunatics, 
Fabres, 
Chonchons. It goes quickly.
At job 10 the Job Master at changes your class on the spot with no quest to run.
Collect the Welcome Package at if you have not. The Battle Manual in it is worth saving for a proper session rather than burning on the walk to your first dungeon.
Early second class, roughly 25 to 50#
The classic spots still work. Payon Cave for undead, which is where Acolytes and anyone with holy damage do disproportionately well. Orc Village, Coal Mine and Ant Hell for everyone else.
The Hunting Board is open from level 15 and shows the six hunts for your own range. Run them daily. Each one pays 16 percent of the level you are on up to level 69, so all six come to nearly a full level, and they drag you through maps you would not have picked, which fills in your Warper list on the side.
Mid game, roughly 50 to 75#
Glast Heim in all its wings, plus Pyramids, Clock Tower and Sphinx. Pick by what your class is strong against rather than by what looks impressive.
This is where partying starts to win outright. The party share bonus is 15 percent per extra member, so a full party out-earns the same people soloing by a wide margin. A tank, someone with area damage and a Priest covers most content in the game.
Board hunts still pay a share of your own level here, though the share starts dropping at 70. Keep clearing all six.
Late game, 75 to 99#
Magma Dungeon, which wants fire resistance and punishes you for not bringing it. Turtle Island, Niflheim, and the deeper parts of Glast Heim.
MVP hunting becomes realistic somewhere in here, and it feeds the MVP Hunters board. Remember that MVP cards are 1x on this server, so hunt them for the fight and the exclusive drops rather than for the card.
The last ten levels are a marathon on any server. Mixing board missions, events and grinding is the difference between finishing and getting bored at 94.
Past 99#
Transcend and do it again with Transcendent power, which is faster than the first climb was.
Then Custom Rebirth adds up to five more cycles, each one worth a permanent +2x EXP and 12 stat points. At full prestige your personal rate is 15x and you are carrying 60 stat points nobody else has.
Habits worth forming early#
Set your preferences once#
The Settings Assistant at remembers auto-loot and kill steal protection so you never type them again.
Turn on @showexp#
Knowing what a spot pays per kill beats guessing, and it is how you notice that the map you have been grinding for an hour is worse than the one next door.
Heal for free#
The Soul Priestess is in every town and costs nothing. Sitting also regenerates faster here than in stock Pre-Renewal.
Do events#
They are short, they break up the grind, and almost every one of them pays Poring Coins on top of its own prize.
Do not buy levelling gear#
At 5x drops, equipment falls out of the world faster than you can use it. Early zeny is better spent on consumables.
Making money on the way#
Loot everything at first#
@autoloot 100 while you are low level, then tighten it once carrying junk starts costing you trips.
Check before you sell#
@whosell <item> searches every player shop on the server. Plenty of things NPCs buy for pocket change are worth real money to another player, and you only find out by asking.
Steady sellables#
Coal Mine, Ant Hell and Payon Cave drop them reliably, and at 5x the card drops add up faster than they used to.
A daily zeny floor#
Your board missions pay regardless of how the hunting goes.
Poring Coins on the side#
Poring Coins accumulate purely from volume, which means a long grinding session partially pays for its own consumables.
Time to 99 varies enormously by class and by how you play, and that is intended. If you are looking for a shortcut this server will feel slow. If you are here for the climb, 5x is the rate where it still feels like one.