Magician [Guide] Krythan's Beginner Mage Washing Guide | Job Advancing Late for Additional HP

A “beginner mage” is when you level your mage as a beginner for additional levels in order to create more HP.

Intro

Each class has a different formula for how much HP or MP they gain on Level Up, and from each wash. Since beginners gain more HP than mages do, the more levels we Level Up as a Beginner, the more HP we can create.

By leveling a beginner to level 29, MP Washing, and Stale HP Washing before job advancing, we can create a mage with an additional +1,000 HP at the cost of 800k NX and 60 SP. This, combined with an earlier level to start MP Washing allows players to create mages that are theoretically capable of reaching over 13,000 HP.

This character requires preparation and resources to make. Before beginning this process, it's recommended to have at least 2.5m of NX already saved on this character's account. Unlike a traditionally washed mage, much of this NX cost is front-loaded.

This process is purely for those who want to optimize their end-game character, and have the willingness and NX to do so. This extra HP is not required in order to participate in any end-game content.

"Should you make a beginner mage?" This path only makes sense if you're planning to, and willing to, push this character to it's limits. Specifically, unless you already plan to grind out a T10 Monster Book Ring and start MP Washing at at least level 30, it's likely that the time, energy, and NX is better spent elsewhere.

This process was initially documented by fartsy , our local free market evangelist, in their Beginner Mage Guide. However, as of February 2023, it's now only possible to do this process up through level 29.

Table of Contents

1. What is Washing?
2. How It Works
3. The Chart
4. Step by Step
   
5. The Options
6. The Skills
7. The Equip(s)
8. FAQ
9. Conclusion

1. What is Washing?

Washing is the process of using AP Resets from the NX Cash Shop to create more HP and and/or MP. Washing is not an exploit, but rather a feature (or perhaps, a side effect) of the mechanics introduced by the original developers of the game.

If you're just getting familiar with washing, I recommend reading section "6. Washing" in the Getting Started Guide, followed by Krythan’s Mage Washing Guide.

2. How It Works

Each class has a different formula for how much HP/MP they gain when washing. When a beginner does a Stale HP Wash they gain 8 HP at the cost of -8 MP (1:1 Ratio). Compare this to when a mage does a Stale HP Wash, they gain 6 HP at the cost of -30 MP (5:1 Ratio).

Mages gain more MP each level. However, each MP on a beginner is worth significantly more due to the favorable conversion ratio to HP. Thus, the more levels we can have as a beginner, the more total HP we're able to create.

Source: Nise's HP Washing Formula Compilation

As of February 2023, there are some trade-offs to advancing from beginner to a mage at a later level:

1. Level 14 is the LAST LEVEL you’ll be able job advance from a beginner to a mage without losing 1st job SP.
2. Level 29 is the LAST LEVEL you’ll be able job advance from a beginner to a mage. Once you reach level 30 as a beginner, you will be unable to advance to a mage.

Read More: Guide to Late Job Advancements

3. The Chart

How much HP can a beginner mage create? How much NX will this cost?

Based on which level you chose to advance from a beginner to a mage, you'll be able to make more or less HP. This chart shows...

Based on advancing from beginner to mage at [ adv. level ], you'll be able to create around [ HP ] at the cost of [ NX ]. However, advancing at this level results in the loss of [ SP ] 1st job SP.

Adv. Level	HP	NX	SP
Level 8	+25 HP	10k NX	N/A
Level 11	+90 HP	90k NX	N/A
Level 14	+180 HP	180k NX	N/A
Level 17	+300 HP	280k NX	-24 SP
Level 20	+450 HP	400k NX	-33 SP
Level 23	+630 HP	520k NX	-42 SP
Level 26	+840 HP	660k NX	-51 SP
Level 29	+1,070 HP	800k NX	-60 SP

4. Step by Step

How to wash your beginner mage:

Step #1: Beginner (Levels 1-9)

• Roll for 10+ INT.
• Use AP Resets to reset STR/DEX/LUK to INT.
• Each level, put Fresh AP into INT

Bonus Tip: You'll be able to do a few (Fresh) HP Washes before level 10 to get a few extra bonus HP. An HP Wash is AP to +HP, AP Reset -MP to +INT

Step #2: MP Washing (Levels 10 to 29)

• Each level, do 5 MP Washes: MP Wash: AP to +MP, AP Reset -MP to +INT

Leave a single point of AP in MP. You'll need a single point in either HP or MP in order to Stale HP Wash in the next step.

Warning: Level 14 is the LAST LEVEL you’ll be able Job Adv. from a beginner to a mage without losing 1st job SP. Read More: Guide to Late Job Advancements

Note: It's your decision which level you wish to finish MP Washing, do Stale HP Washes, and then Job Advance. You may wish to do so at an earlier level than 29, see the above chart to compare the +HP gains with the SP losses that you get from advancing later.

Step #3: Stale HP Washing (Level 29)

We use Stale HP Washes to convert MP to HP. Repeat this process until you are unable to take another point out of MP.

• Stale HP Wash: AP Reset -MP to +HP

Note: You must have at least 1 AP in either HP or MP in order to do a Stale HP Wash.

Step #4: Job Advancement (Level 29)

Once we've done as many Stale HP Washes as possible, we'll do the Job Advancement in order to advance from a beginner to a mage.

Warning: Level 29 is the LAST LEVEL you’ll be able Job Adv. from a beginner to a mage. Once you reach level 30 as a beginner, you will be unable to Adv. to a mage. Read More: Guide to Late Job Advancements

Step #5: Standard Mage Washing (Levels 30 to 200)

After advancing to a mage, you want to make sure to max the MaxMP Increase skill (requires 10 SP) before you put any AP into MP going forward.

From here, we follow traditional Mage Washing instructions.

Read More: Krythan's Mage Washing Guide

Note: When you advance to a mage, you will be well under the Minimum MP of a mage. This will prevent you from taking points out of MP until you've created more. Just keep putting points into MP, until you've created enough MP that you can once again take points out.

Note: For this build, it does not make sense to start MP Washing your mage later than level 30. For example, if you were to start MP Washing your mage at level 70, then it would have been more NX:HP efficient to MP Wash earlier than it would be to do a beginner mage wash.

5. The Options

There's a few variations on this build:

A. Advance to Mage Earlier
B. Delay MP Washing
C. Use Fresh HP Washes​

A. Advance to Mage Earlier

The above plan shows you how to Job Advance at level 29. However, we know that advancing after level 14 results in the loss of 1st job SP. If you wanted to reduce the amount of 1st job SP you lost, you could choose an earlier level at which you would Stale HP Wash, then advance to mage. You’d generate less overall HP, but you would lose less 1st job SP.

B. Delay MP Washing

The above plan shows you how to start MP Washing at level 10 as a Beginner. Since the more INT you have, the more effective each MP Wash is, starting to MP Wash at a later level generates less overall HP, but is more NX efficient.

C. Use Fresh HP Washes

The above plan shows you how to MP Wash to create extra MP, then Stale HP Wash to convert that MP to HP. If you wanted to reduce the NX cost, you could forgo Stale HP Washing, in favor of combining MP Washing and HP Washing. You’d generate less overall HP, but from an NX:HP perspective, it would be much more efficient.

6. The Skills

The biggest trade-off a beginner mage is going to make is SP loss. If you advance by level 14, you'll receive all your 1st job SP. If you advance at level 15 or later, you lose 3 SP for each level you advanced past level 8 (source). To compensate, we'll end up using SP from 2nd, 3rd, and 4th job to fill in the 1st job skills that you need.
[ Coming soon-ish… ]

7. The Equip(s)

When Stale HP Washing a Beginner, we’re converting MP to HP at a 1:1. This makes wearing INT equip(s) during these initial levels even more valuable. Each point of MP you can create, gets converted to a point of HP. For example: +10 INT over the course of levels 10 to 29 would directly correlate to +29 HP.

Knowing this, how can we optimize?

Invest in Equip(s) - Make sure that we’re investing in, and wearing INT equip(s). The better the equip(s), the more HP you'll be able to Stale Wash. This is especially true for low level equip(s), the more levels you can get out of an equip the better.

Leave the Island - Leave Maple Island as early as level 7, so you can benefit from more levels on Victoria island where you’re able receive Maple Warrior 20, and wear your INT equip(s).

Wait for Events - Seasonal events often provide valuable equip(s). While these equip(s) often expire, they can provide significant bonuses to your base stats like INT. For example, in Spring of 2024, players were able to wear the 8-Blessings Ring and Green Christmas socks for an additional +12 INT.

8. FAQ

Q: Don't mages create more MP than beginners?

Yes. Mages will create more MP each level. Especially once you factor in the MaxMP skill. However, thanks to the 1:1 conversion ratio of a beginner, each point of MP on a beginner is worth 5x that on a mage. As such, we compensate for MP loss with a favorable conversion ratio to HP.

The above estimates take into account the MP lost by having fewer levels as a mage.

Q: What level should we start MP Washing as a Mage?

If you’re utilizing the “beginner mage” strategy, you should start MP Washing as a mage as soon as level 30. Oftentimes, it's more a more efficient use of NX to MP Wash at an earlier level than it would be to do a beginner mage wash. So if you're going to do a beginner mage wash, you should also ensure to be MP Washing as a mage as soon as you can.

Q: When will I reach 30k MP as a Mage?

Because you'll create less MP during levels 9-30, you'll reach your target of 30k MP at a later level that if you had not done a beginner mage wash. While this is compensated by the additional HP created, you will have to adjust your projection as necessary.

Q: What about the HP Challenges?

While the HP Challenges offer an alternative to washing, they're unable to reach the levels of optimization that a proper wash is able to.

9. Conclusion

Special thanks to fartsy and akashsky for pioneering this concept, as well as OmbReanrd the locale accuracy expert, for their help. Thanks to dodo for helping calculate SP loss.

 

Reserved #1

 

Reserved #2

 

This is awesome! Thank you. Love to see the chart!

I believe that +1 SP in question is awarded upon Job Advancement. So whether you advance at 8, or 29, that +1 SP is independent of the +3 SP you'd get each Level Up.

 

This is a great tip! Talk about forward thinking.

Also a really great suggestion. Nise's formulas actually under-estimates the gain from the Increase MaxMP skill. So in practice, there's an even greater benefit to do this than Nise's formulas suggest.

 

Bonus Tip! Nightz and DaveDS brought this up. If you really, really want to optimize for some additional HP gain, you can test your RNG luck, and re-roll the first few levels to squeeze out a few extra HP from some good Level Up and HP Wash rolls.

 

February 13th, 2025 - Updated introduction, and chart. Original post should now better reflect how much SP is lost per-level of late advancement. Thanks to dodo for writing about this in their journal, as we'd originally under-estimated the amount of SP that's lost by late advancing! We've also updated the Guide to Late Job Advancements to be more clear.