What class(es) would you recommend for a brand new account?

What you're leaning towards is pretty much the standard "optimal path to success" i've been hearing about on MapleLegends. Even though I joined the server to specifically play a mage, I know grinding will get very boring by 150-200. So I probably will also eventually follow this path when I've made a decent amount of mesos to fund a proper "attacker", the way you described with INT equips, HP washing, and good funding.

That being said, this route is definitely a bigger time investment than simply rolling as the 'class you want to play' and going from there, but, there's no doubt that your class of choice will likely be much better off in the long run.

 

Play whatever you enjoy.

When you played maplestory back in the days, were you grinding and questing to level up or were you exploring maple world/hanging out at henesys like a hoe? If you did not hp wash or played a mage to earn messos, why do you have a sudden need to do so? Why can't you just replicate your old maple experience and have the same levels of enjoyment as you did in the past?

I am going to assume you already have existing knowledge of maplestory. If you enjoy leveling and playing a NL/any attacker, just make one. Why torment yourself to level a mage when you seem reluctant to do so? Personally I made a mage because I thought it was the most fun class to play as AOE one shots are fun to me and I hate hitting mobs one by one just to level up. If you can't get the same level of enjoyment that I have playing a mage, why put yourself through the struggle? No matter what, you're going to level your first character without funds. Even if you made a mage, you won't have funds early on to get int gear since they're expensive due to being highly sought after. Leveling your first character is going to be a painfully slow process and a straight up grind and there is no escaping that.

In my personal opinion, mages have an easier time due to generally not having to care about accuracy and having AOE abilities. Another benefit of leveling a mage is that you can share your int gear later on with your attacker if you plan to make one to HP wash. But even if you leveled a mage to lvl120 and gained the legendary skills of genesis/meteor/blizzard, you're up for a treat as now you have the reason you made your mage in the first place. Earning messos. Are you willing to commit hours upon hours of your life to sell leech or hunt items/scrolls with your 4th job AOE ability? I can tell you for certain that int gear for HP washing does not come cheap. The best way of putting it is, are you willing to sell an hour of your life for 7mil per hour?

Do note that making a mage is not the only way to make messos. Merching, participating in events, gaching and begging^/s are also great methods of earning messos.

So let me ask you iSam, what is your definition of fun? Being the strongest as you have good equips? Being able to tank bosses because you HP wash to 30k hp?
Personally, my definition of fun is the process of leveling and making friends along the way.

Now, if you're a competitive player and your definition of fun is to be the strongest/boss. Then go and make a mage since it is probably a great way to earn messos to fund your future attacker.

All in all, I do not find it worth the effort to play a class you don't find fun just to fund your character. And don't forget the time consideration of how long it'll take you to HP wash as gaining NX has a time constraint.

If you read the sentence I wrote at the beginning, sorry for giving an 'overhyped' response.

 

It's not really "overhype" to play a class your going to actually enjoy lol. Theres no point in getting a class to 120+ you dont even like. You also don't need to wash, and even if you were just pump 20-30 Int from the get go and you'll be fine.
Every class is easy even without funding just read guides for shortcuts and how to progress quicker.

 

Yes! This! I feel like everyone forgets that we still had fun in old school maple without worrying about HP washing and having a mule character for every party buff. You can be a high-STR unwashed Marksman just like when you played 10 years ago and have as much fun as a 200 base INT Nightlord with a Bishop mule.

Also, you can definitely boss as a F/P. Maybe some of the er, unfriendly/"pro" guilds may be snobbish about who they let join them on boss runs, but that doesn't mean you can't make your own friends and do your own runs.

This may be unpopular advice but I think that trying to make a Statless character as your first char may be a poor choice. I started off as a base 50 LUK mage, saved a lot of money by not buying the expensive LUKless mage gear, then as I upgraded my monster book ring and got other equips in the game, I slowly reset my LUK back to INT. I feel like I lost out on nothing in the end and saved a lot of mesos that I can use to fund whatever char I make next. Not to mention it was more fun upgrading my equips every few levels with the classic nostalgic magician gear, instead of wearing a bathrobe and Squishy slime shoes the whole game.

I wouldn't change a single thing if I were to start over.

 

mages are the best dpm in the game for zak arms and ht (^: you can also survive dark wyverns with t10 mastery ring (1k additional hp to a mage is worth way more than 1k hp to a NL)

If you start out as a mage, you don't really need good equips as your damage doesn't really scale that well. I used a wooden wand until lv50 when I switched to a nocturnal staff. I also used a +6 dex bathrobe that I bought in the FM for like 15k mesos until 4th job or so. If you go strictly the poison route (poison brace, poison mist), your damage is fixed so there's really no point in getting better equips.

MP washing is also pretty simple since by the time you're ~190 you can add at least 500 mp permanently per level just by mp washing. You can probably start washing after 150 and still make it to 30k ezpz

 

Just want to point out as well. Mages CAN BOSS, IT IS POSSIBLE. People just prefer not to have mages on runs because its faster to have "attackers". Some people will let you run zak/ht on ur I/L and F/P, just gotta find the right people. Tbh, their cleaving damage (hitting multiple targets) really makes a big difference. So dont feel discouraged that you wont be able to boss on your mage if you decide to. just like isaactsai said. MP washing is the way to go, to tank more boss hits.

even if u want, add some HP in the end-game future.
Tier10 monster book ring gives 1k HP/500 mp and +10 all stats. thats prob the best thing for a mage. the HP scaling is beautiful... Bonzai is an I/L and she runs HT all the time and enjoys it. she's our "BattleMage"

 

Hero. No washing required. High DPM. Wanted for bossing.

Bonzai is the fucking truth tho.

 

Why are you narrating my life?

 

I find the idea of not making a mage because they aren't able to boss and because they end up becoming "leech slaves" a bit taboo.
1. They are able to boss and if anyone says otherwise send them over to me and ill take care of them
2. Leech, in my opinion, is the most optimal way to make money in the economy now. It is something that will always be in demand and prices don't fluctuate as much as other money making methods ex. HT books

Also even if u do start off making a mage and end up looking for something more or different in game, u have a mage to leech said character
A mage may not necessarily be the character u play forever, but making one has many benefits

 

Bishop and MM imo are prob at the top of the range when it comes to classes that do well without any prior funding. Changes to MM allow them to deal decent dpm during the early/mid levels of end game bossing regardless of gear, also wanted in most boss parties due to SE but obvs u will still need to consider hp washing if you want to do certain bosses by certain levels, but with the monster book and elin ring it is much much muuuuuuuch easier to hit the "meta hp requirements". Bishop is self explanatory.....meso, mage leecher, needed in any sort of boss/grind due to HS unlike other mage classes that find it difficult getting into boss parties/having to make hs mules to self leech/grind etc.

I think heroes/pallys/drks follow up next as attackers, hp washing is optional and they both have decent dmg with half decent gear but they are usually not staples in bossing parties; filling in on the optional attacker roles. Washing is usually highly recommended for drks due to zerk mechanics; however it does not take much to actually hit max hp with hb and they are a staple in most boss parties/mage grind buddies will love you for hb.

The reason why i ranked MM over Drk is simply because of the gear prices, MM gear is dirt cheap and you become somewhat relevant regardless of gear making it much cheaper in general to fund compared to Drks who notoriously spend billions for a decent/non perfect end game sky ski.

 

I think buccs, any warrior class, and shadowers make for great no-thought-required classes. Don't need to think about HP washing or any of that jazz for the most part (though once you're established, it's a good thing to start considering).

Mages are a great choice even if you don't plan to create an "attacker" class. They're wonderful at destroying Zak Arms and can really speed up Zak runs with the right composition! Plus, for some people, the game isn't necessarily just about bossing! Accomplishments, levels, and grind-ability of classes should be considered.

Either way, you can totally play a BM/MM/NL/Corsair without insane INT equip investments. You definitely don't need a mage or bishop to play other classes.
I made an entire breakdown for this specific reason: https://forum.maplelegends.com/index.php?threads/comprehensive-hp-washing-breakdown.22948/