A Beginner's Review : Cleric Training Spots

Hi, I'm new to ML (maple in general) and I love it so far
Started right at the beginning of the Summer 2020 events and have been hooked ever since
Looking at guides for training spots and levelling locations was helpful but I felt some details were missing

So here is a review based on my personal experience of the different training/grinding spots as a brand new first character on ML
I hope to help other beginner clerics and mages starting out some deeper insight from another beginner's POV
Im only reviewing the spots where I personally have trained at
Other suggestions would be included below

Disclaimer:
This is more for fresh beginners starting out rather than for veterans that can just leech their way to 150 anyway
I wont be mentioning PQs here, this review would focus more on levelling spots outside of PQ
Im no expert, these are just some personal experiences that I would love to share to a past version of me and hopefully some of you can benefit

Lvl 30 ~ 35
After crawling out of the swamps of KPQ, you now walk around with your new squishy shoes
But only to be stuck in limbo, between KPQ and LPQ
You feel the need to rush to 35 ASAP! but how? and what are the alternatives?

1. Ariant Quest Line (lvl 30 to 34)

Spoiler: Ariant Quest Line (lvl 30 to 34)

Execution: Theres a great guide by MrBronkz
https://forum.maplelegends.com/index.php?threads/ariant-quest-guide.6479/
Takes you step by step through the questline. There are other guides but theyre difficult to follow
In general, I would not have been able to crack some of the puzzles without the help of this guide
My recommendation, get a friend or two to tag along. It makes the whole journey more enjoyable

Difficulty: Hard
This questline is unfortunately not as straight forward as the usual grinding
Missing a Lidium ore is a common mistake and there are many quests for you to accept so missing one might cost you as you would have to go back and re-farm certain maps
Following the guide reallly helps but a pepega like me still found it confusing, thank God for my friend who came along the quests with me to help. GET A FRIEND <3

Drops: 4/10
Card drops here are somewhat alright to farm, you could easily complete 3 to 5 sets during your time here
Some of the dust rabbits drop good low level equips that you can use especially the mage shield, which you can use later on
The mobs drop pots and enough meso to fund your level 1 tele abuse while questing
but nothing spectacular dropped from these guys; you could sell extra Lidium ores on FM

Fun: 9/10
Trying not to spoil as much as possible but the story (if bother to read the npc dialogue) was pretty interesting and it made it feel like a real adventure
Getting to explore the Nihal Desert was fun and a great break from the mukky swamps of Kerning

Exp rate: 8/10
Smooth sailing if you nail every quest down and farm things efficiently with careful planning
Jumped from 30 to 34 in no time at all

Overall: 8.5/10
Highly recommended especially if you have never done it before, it gives some meaning to an otherwise deserted area of the Maple world

2. Teddies at Ludibrium (lvl 30 to 42)

Spoiler: Teddies (lvl 30 to 42)

Execution: Magic claw spam your way through the terrace
The spawn rate here is AMAZING!
I recommend taking the left side of the terrace if youre sharing the map in a pt
Only because we hit single target so the flatter ground suits us clerics better whilst we leave the slightly better right side to slightly better mobbers
Theres plenty of teddies to claw, you wont find yourself a dull moment here at all

Difficulty: Easy
With the spawn density so high, you wouldnt have to climb up and down the ladders much
You could just traverse left and right on the floor
Starting out at early 30s might be abit tough as you cant 1 shot them yet but it gets better in time

Drops: 4/10
Cards come easy here but you would only get a brown and pink teddy set at most
Meso wise, its alright I guess, it get abit annoying if they land on a box so I suggest not to worry about looting every coin, get a pet to do it for you
They sometimes drop equips that can be npc-ed and two handed sword manuals that go for 10k each which is plenty to fund the pots

Exp rate: 7/10
You could stay here well into your 40s if you dont mind magic clawing your way all day
or just want a break from LPQ
Unfortunately this place is slightly overshadowed by chronos but it is a much simpler place to nail down for reliable exp rates

Overall: 5/10
Solid alternative to LPQ and Chronos especially during the down times 2am to 7am EST
Many other classes go there so you can pt with them

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Spoiler: Other options

Other recommended alternatives:
Genins (lvl 20 to 40) @ Outside Ninja Castle
Ive only personally seen a sin mule train here but there's a great spawn rate and space to leech other characters
Only downside personally is that it takes a while to get used to the platforms

Lvl 35 ~ 48
Here is where the gates of heaven open up and holy light shines down upon thee!
Well almost, you kinda have heal, you kinda have mp eater
Now you can ghost bust your way through 2nd job

1. Chronos (lvl 35 to 39) and Platoon Chronos (lvl 40 to 48)

Spoiler: 1. Chronos (lvl 35 to 39) and Platoon Chronos (lvl 40 to 48)

Execution: This is a tough one, its clearly overshadowed by Jr. Wraiths and Wraiths back in Kerning but if you dont want to a make the trip back and if youre just grinding for an hour its decent.
There are several maps where chronos spawn The Path of time 2 or 3 which you can take your pick depending on the pathing you like.
Platoon Chronos only spawn at Path of time 1 towards the left

Difficulty: 8/10
Fairly difficult to nail down the right pathing for the fastest exp rate. The spawns are somewhat unreliable too and theres a lot of climbing up ladders

Drops: 5/10
They drop a couple of cheap scrolls and stars which you could sell off 5 to 10k each easily
but you should keep the DEX ores as you would need them later in your priest life
With mp eater, you dont use pots here which is meso saving
Platoon chronos however drop GFA which can be currently sold at 350k to 400k (21 Oct 2020)

Exp rate: 4/10
If you get your pathing and a rhythm going, its actually decent
but its really not as good or as simple as Jr. Wraiths

Fun: 7/10
Kinda fun actually because of the movement you do and its your first introduction to mobbing
Trapped with magic claw otherwise, healing mobs and dealing dmg to them feels refreshing and a good change of pace

Overall 4/10
Ok as an alternative to LPQ, its very pot saving as you dont use any at all. Definitely a more chill alternative if youre watching anime on the side

2. Jr. Wraiths (Lvl 35 to 42) and Wraiths (lvl 40 to 48)

Spoiler: 2. Jr Wraiths (lvl 35 to 42) and Wraiths (lvl 40 to 50)

Execution: Head down to Line 2 on the Kerning Subway and you'll find a map with jr. wraiths and jr. neckis. Theres a safe-ish standing spot here compared to the one in line 1.
For Wraiths, the maps on both Line 1 and Line 2 are fine
Great thing about wraiths is that depending on your dmg output, you can adjust where you train
Some of the maps have a mix of Jr. wraiths and Wraiths together so you can adjust the transition smoothly depending on your progression

Difficulty: 3/10
Fairly easy considering you heal yourself all the time
Becomes incredibly pot efficient once you have enough points on MP eater
It takes some getting used to moving about the platforms and the ladders sometimes get you stuck
You could turn off magic guard here once youre comfortable with the map
They also dont do a magic attack which is convenient as they naturally come closer to you for you to hit

Drops: 4/10
These guys don't drop any fancy scrolls or equips like platoon chronos do but their spawn rate and etc drops make up for it
You can easily farm decent mesos here
They also drop Power crystal ores which could go around 20k each and they drop them often!
I still personally reccomend keeping all the ores you have as you would need them for boss prequests in your priest/bishop life

Exp rate: 7/10
Really good exp here, theres nothing quite like it considering the massive spawn rate and size of the map
Never a dull moment here, youre always bound to be damaging atleast 4 mobs at any given moment

Fun: 7/10
You can go at your own pace here and choose a map that suits your current lvl

Overall: 7/10
A solid spot, great spawn, pot saving and plenty of map options
Only downside is that its not next to LPQ

Lvl 48 ~ 70
Wait HOLDUP 48 to 70?? Yup you basically only have 1 place to go and stick to for the rest of your cleric life (well there are other options too such as EPQ and PPQ but we wont be discussing those in this guide)
YOKOSO! to the GHOST SHIPPU!

Inspired by lost sailors and soldiers lost during WW2, the ghost ship areas create the perfect environment for Clerics to ghost bust on simple flights of stairs
Now everyone just says go Ghost ship from 40 and just stop there but here, we are going to discuss a few key details and share some personal experiences having grinded here for so long

I would personally recommend starting at GS1 from Lvl 53 so that you can party up more easily and leech exp
Its super quick to get from 45 to 53 with EPQ, its kinda broken exp there.
You can get your earrings and lvl up your tele so you can hit the ground running when you start at GS
but some ppl go at 40..... I dont understand, you would be missing half the time lmao

We would discuss GS on per map basis this time

1. MP3 (lvl 55 to 70)

Spoiler: Mysterious Path 3

Mysterious Path 3
Execution: This map is only viable in a party in my opinion
You would need some one on the top two lanes and someone at bottom to make sure the spawns are consistent. Im not exactly sure how spawn mechanics work but in general if you kill the mobs at the bottom, the map would spawn new mobs somewhere else on the map aka the top and vice versa.
Teamwork is important here to get a good spawn rhythm going. Would be nice if some experienced mapler here could explain spawn mechanics in the comments thanks!

Difficulty: 3/10
You could just stand on the bus and heal away no damage taken or get down and dirty to lure them

Drops: 3/10
Slimys would occasionally drop Wand for MA 60% but they only sell for about 300k now and they rarely drop. GS2 would be better for drops

Exp rate: 6/10
Good with a solid party, bad solo

Fun: 5/10
Definitely more interactive compared to inside ghost ship maps

Overall: 5/10
Recommended lvls here would be from 55 on wards so that you can pt up with people easily
If youre any lower, you gotta find pt members within the same lvl range under 55

2. GS1 GS2 GS5 (lvl 53 to 70)

Spoiler: GS1 GS2 GS5

GS1, GS2, GS5
Execution: Either sit on the middle flight of stairs and spam heal or get out of your comfy spot to lure them
Both methods work, it depends on what you prefer. I reccomend checking your EPM by typing @epm o the chatbox so you can compare different methods
Personally I reccomend luring in GS1 where you can start from the top and cycle your way counter clockwise so you can tele back up onto the safe spot on the stairs
When youre tele is near maxed, you can tele straight up to the safe spot
For GS2 you can use the teleporting doors to help you maneuver your luring better but generally a duo here of top and bottom lanes is best
For GS5 the steps are somewhat closer to the middle so I actually find that staying on the steps is slightly faster than luring

Difficulty: 1/10
Doesnt get any easier than spamming heal on a flight of stairs

Drops: 3/10
GS2 has better drops cause of Wand for MA 60%

Exp rate 8/10 for GS1 and GS5, 9/10 for GS2
Slimys give slightly more exp compared to Selkies and PacPinkys
If youre under lvl 50, I would reccomend GS1
Once you hit 50+ you could move onto GS2 and GS5
Ideally GS2 is the best but its always crowded there especially with leechers

Fun: 1/10
Without a party, its a dull affair
Party up and chat about life
That makes maple so much more enriching

Overall: 8/10
There is a reason why this is called cleric heaven, we dont need pots here and its consistent spawn rate makes these places the most popular option for many maplers
I even stayed here well into my 70s
Some downsides are that it gets crowded especially at GS2 and its far from EPQ and PPQ

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Spoiler: Other options

Other options that I have tried but I can't reccomend unless youre bored of GS
Master chronos @ Ludibrium 5/10
Actually not bad exp, just lots of climbing up and down ladders
Some good drops here and with a pt its pretty good but I only managed to get some friends to pt up once or twice

Coolie Zombies @ Elnath Deadmine 4/10
Tough to get there and back, not worth the travel especially with all those scary high level mobs in between
Good for farming their Zombie's Lost Tooth which you can use to do the Orbis exchange quests to level your mules quickly
Other than that I dont see a point with this spot

Nightghosts @ Mushshrine 3/10
Mixed with Coolie zombies, this place is more of a meso grinding spot
Nightghosts drop really good 30% scrolls such as Claw for Attack which can sell up to around 4m on FM
If youre feeling lucky and tied for cash, you can come here
The exp isnt great but its decent enough for it to make sense coming here to farm mesos
After your 3rd job, Cds seem to be the better option for meso grinding IMO

GS6 2/10
Mr Anchors are kinda thicc but your heal hits two levels at once
Generally I wouldnt reccomend as theres no safe spot to stand and its fairly slow unless you have really high magic
You could find a black book thats used for a Bishop skill quest. That you might decide to keep or sell

At the end of the day, its your adventure, your story
Enjoy Maple the way you like it
Your personaly journey is always different from others so take things step by step and enjoy the little things
Wishing you the best in your adventure!

Im usually in game as " saltyboba " or " spicyboba "

Last up date 20 October 2020