Warlock Leveling Guide

Learning the Way of the Warlock


Welcome to the Warlock Leveling Guide!

Warlocks are next in-line in the high wizard job tree, with better single-target damage skills, larger AoEs and stronger defensive maneuvers than their predecessors.

Before you can efficiently level a Warlock, it’s essential to understand the basics of the class. This includes knowing the pros and cons, recommended stats, key skills, skill trees/builds, and available item builds.

To get you started on the right foot, check out my comprehensive Warlock Guide linked below:

I highly recommend reading the Warlock Guide in full before continuing forward.

Reaching Warlock


If you’re reading this Warlock leveling guide, it’s assumed that you have already job changed into a Warlock. If you’re still a High wizard or Wizard and need guidance on leveling up, please refer to our comprehensive Wizard/High-Wizard Leveling Guide first, linked below:

Early Equipment Build


As you may have read in the Warlock Guide, it is difficult to set a fixed build for warlocks. Gearing up will always depend on budget and build. But, if we have to force a starting point, new warlocks can aim for: Skull Cap, Thorn Staff of Darkness (with Malangdo Enchants), Fallen Angel Wing (with Spell enchants), Magic Intensifier Ring (with MATK/VCT enchants), mavka/headless mule cards, Temporal Dex Boots (with 120 dex), then garment costume with fixed cast time stone (you can start with a 0.3 stone and work towards a 0.5 FCT stone).

A full list of available equipment to choose from is in the Warlock Guide.

Notable Skills for Leveling


Warlocks possess a diverse range of skills, but certain ones are particularly notable for leveling up efficiently. Here are some key skills to focus on:

SkillDescriptionComments
2230.png ReleaseYou can toggle between Levels 1 & 2 for this skill.

Using any level of the skill casts the most recently stored spell through the Reading Spell Book skill without any cast time.

If there are no spells stored, casting the Lvl 1 of this skill will release one of the elemental balls summoned using the Summon X Ball skill/s. The magical damage will follow the element of the balls summoned.

The Lvl 2 version releases all balls summoned using the Summon X Ball skill/s. It will deal magic damage following the element of the balls summoned.
This is one of the key spells of a Warlock.

Releasing a stored lets warlocks completely bypass the cast time (both VCT and FCT) of the stored warlock/high wizard/mage skills.

Apart from bypassing the cast time, the Reading Spell Book and Release combo also bypasses the skill’s cooldown. This is especially significant for high cooldown skills like Comet. With this skill, you can cast succeeding Comets by storing multiple comets and releasing them in succession.

Note that the after-cast delay of the stored skills are not bypassed. Released skills follow the ACD of the stored skills.

Note further that “Releasing” a stored ground spell transforms it to a Target-based spell, i.e., you cannot cast a Released Earth Strain to the ground unlike a normal-cast Earth Strain.

You will mostly use this skill to release stored skills. The damage of this skill to release elemental balls is subpar compared to your other Warlock skills. However, you will need Lvl 2 as it is a pre-requisite for Recognized Spell, which you will definitely get.
2231.png Reading Spell BookThis skill is used in conjunction with Release. It allows a Warlock to memorize or store an offensive damaging skill/spell by reading that skill’s specific spell book. Thus, to successfully memorize a skill, you need to have the spell book of the specific skill in your inventory, and you need to have leveled that skill already.

The number of spells that you can store with Reading Spell Book depends on several factors, such as your INT stat, Base Level, Freezing Spell level (as will be discussed below), and the kind of spells you are storing. This can be observed from the formula below. The full formula is said to be as follows:

Mind Slots = (FreezingSpell_Lv × 8) + Floor (BaseLv ÷ 10) + Floor (INT ÷ 10)

As to what skills you can store, here’s a complete list, arranged according to how much mind slots they will take:

7 Slots
Fire Bolt
Cold Bolt
Lightning Bolt
Earth Spike

8 Slots
Drain Life

9 Slots
Thuderstorm
Jupitel Thunder
Water Ball
Heaven’s Drive

10 Slots
Lord of Vermilion
Meteor Storm
Storm Gust

12 Slots
Jack Frost
Earth Strain
Crimson Rock
Chain Lightning

22 Slots
Comet
Tetra Vortex
This is one of the key spells of a Warlock.

If you are new to the class, to visualize the skill combo, you cast Reading Spell Book first to memorize a skill. This opens a prompt for you to choose which skill you want to memorize (remember to have the spell book in your inventory + the skill leveled up). You recast Reading Spell Book as much as you can until your memory is full (your chat box will prompt you that your memory slots are full).

Generally, the more powerful the spell, the more it fills up your “memory”. The less powerful the spell, the more of it and its kind you can store.

Then, when you find your target, you use Release to release the stored spell to a specific target. You recast Release until your memory is empty again. You then repeat the process as necessary. This method lets warlocks skip the cast time and cooldown of spells.

Usual spells stored are those with high cast time and high cooldowns. For leveling these are Crimson Rock and Earth Strain. If you are a Comet-build Warlock, Comet is also very high up on the commonly stored spells as it has a long cooldown if otherwise casted normally.

Important: the greatest downside to using the Reading Spell Book+Release Combo is that Amplify Magic does not affect the released skill. This matters because Amplify Magic gives a whopping 50% MATK increase for the spell it affects.

Note: Storing the spell uses up the SP required for that skill and needs the normal catalyst for that spell. If you plan on being a Comet-Release build please note that apart from needing the repeated red gemstones per cast, you will also need sp-healing potions.

You can buy the spell-books in the Mage Guild in Geffen. They are available in /navi geffen_in 174/112 from Lea. Please note that the Spell Books for the Ultimates are locked by a quest that needs a base level 140 warlock to complete. You may start the quest by asking Lea about it. If you are under leveled you may buy them from players as they are tradable.
2232.png Freezing SpellEach level in Freezing Spell increases the mind slots of a Warlock.

Please refer to Reading Spell Book and Release Section for a more detailed explanation.
Note that Freezing Spell is not a requirement for the Reading Spellbook and Release combo. If you are a high-leveled Warlock, spec’d with INT, you will likely be able to memorize about 1 ultimate and 1 non-ultimate even without any skill point to Freezing Spell.

For a Lvl 175 Warlock with 120 INT, you approximately need to allot at least Lvl 4 to Freezing Spell to memorize two Ultimates.
2203.png Frost MistyDeals water damage around the Warlock with a chance to inflict the Frost/Freezing Status for 10 seconds to the target. Higher levels mean higher damage and higher chance to freeze (50% chance at lvl 5).

Frosted targets will have reduced movement speed by 30%, reduced ASPD by 30%, reduced Hard DEF, and increased FCT by 50%. Most importantly, will take significantly increased damage from Jack Frost.
This skill is combos with Jack Frost.

As a rule of thumb, always cast this skill first before spamming Jack Frost. If the freezing status will kick in, Jack Frost’s damage will tremendously increase (about 80k increase for some mobs). The freezing status also slows mobs down. To top it all off, it also deals some damage (slightly weaker than Jack Frost). It is helpful in every scenario.
2204.png Jack FrostDeals water property damage around the caster, with a very large AOE of 19×19 cells.

It inflicts the Frozen Status on enemies.

Damage is greatly increased if the target is suffering from the Frost/Freezing Status (from Frost Misty or some other source).
One of the signature spells of a Warlock.

The large AoE of this skill plus its spammability make the Warlock one of the best AoE farmers in the game. Please note, however, that because of its relatively lower damage (compared to other skills), it is best for lower-level mobs.

The damage potential of this skill is unlocked by the Freezing Status from Frost Misty.

Please note that Freezing/Frost is not the same as Frozen status. For the effects of Freezing/Frost status, see Frost Misty Section.

The Frozen status that this skill gives immobilizes the mob and forces its element to be Water 1. This means wind spells, such as Chain Lightning, are good to combo with this skill.
2210.png Drain LifeDeal neautral magic damage to a single target, with a high chance to absorb or leech health based on the damage dealth.

Higher levels mean higher damage, higher chance to leech (95% at lvl 5), and higher damage leeched (40% of dmg at lvl 5).
This skill is good for solo warlocks as it heals is significant (it heals almost full health if maxed) and thus effectively reduces the need to pump health potions. Your SP use can be covered by Soul Drain (High-Wizard skill).

Another notable thing about this skill is it is neutral element. This means it is okay for Shadow and Holy mobs. Its damage is not that high though. Best used for the HP leech only.
2211.png Crimson RockDeals good fire property magic damage around the target area (7×7 AoE).

Enemies hit will also be knocked back.
This is the best leveling skill for Warlocks inasmuch as (1) it deals good damage; (2) many enemies are weak to Fire (earth mobs, undead mobs); (3) fire magic is cheap to increase (Alchemist Glove, Mora Crimson Set); (4) it is AoE, albeit small; (5) it does not take too much mind slots to store.

The usual method this skill is used is through the Reading Spell Book + Release combo. 1-3 succeeding Crimson Rocks should be able to kill most mobs when leveling.
2214.png Chain LightningDeals wind property magic damage to a target that chains to nearby enemies near the suggested target.

If there’s one target only, the chain will hit the target 4 times.

If the target has other enemies beside it, the chain will bounce between them about 5 to 9 times depending on how they near they are with each other.
One of the signature spells of a Warlock.

This is one of your best single-target DPS skills. It deals good damage, it bounces, and it has no skill cooldown. Meaning, it deals pretty devastating damage when you’re at zero after-cast delay (ACD).

For Boss Hunts with a party, this should be your main spell to spam, especially if Intense Telekinesis is down for the Soul Expansion + Intense Telekinesis combo.
2216.png Earth StrainDeals earth-property AoE (15×9 AoE at Lvl 5) damage in the direction you will target.

In PvP, it has a chance to strip/divest the affected targets of their Helm, Armor, Shield, Accessories (50% chance at Lvl 5)
Note that this skill has a unique AoE mechanic. It can only travel North, East, West and South (not diagonally). The animation and damage will be in one wave. It deals good earth damage, especially if paired with Iron Staff.

You skip the animation of this skill once you achieve instant cast.

Note the divest effect of this skill. This is very helpful in PvP. It’s an AoE divest, with good damage.
2213.png CometDeals considerable neutral property magical damage area in a selected 19×19 AoE. Enemies closer to the targetted center area are damaged more than the ones farther (3500% vs. 5000% damage).

Inflicts Burning Status on all affected targets at 100% chance.

Consumes 2 red gemstones. If a warlock stands beside you, the need for the gemstones is removed.
One of the ultimate skills of a Warlock.

Positives: Very big AoE; okay damage; neutral element (thus good against holy and shadow mobs); useful for Old Glast Heim instance; storable via Reading Spell Book to skip cooldown.

Negatives: needs a catalyst to cast; heavy SP consumption as it needs 800 SP to use or store; not spammable as it has a one-minute cooldown (if not through Release); damage is not that amazing.
2206.png Recognized SpellA self-buff that makes the Warlock use the highest possible MATK variance when casting skills. You will deal the maximum magical damage you can for every skill cast during the buff duration.

The downside is that it increases the SP consumption of all skills (by 25%).
This is a must-have buffing skill.

Note that magic damage greatly differs in damage because of the variance formula, which in turn is based on weapon refinement (see Variance Formula in the MATK Section above).

Note that the damage will not be entirely fixed at max damage when this buff is up. There is still minor variance in damage.

Leave this at Lvl 1 because higher levels mean higher cooldowns (with the same damage increase) and the cooldown does not refresh upon death. The duration of Lvl 1 ends almost exactly with its cooldown.
2208.png RadiusIncreases the cast range and decreases the FCT of Warlock Skills. At Lvl 3, it gives +3 range and less 20% FCT.I recommend maxing this, not for the FCT reduction (which is easily outclassed by other FCT skills), but for the added range. The added range helps with kiting MvPs/mobs better. +3 is a lot. See my solo ET run in the Videos Section below for a demo on kiting bosses with Radius Lvl 3.

Tip: note that this skill gives WLs 20% FCT. As FCT% does not stack, any gear below 20% FCT is useless to you if you have this skill maxed.
Gravitational Field.png Gravitational Field (from Hwiz Tree)Inflicts Neutral property magic damage  in a 5×5 AoEThis skill had a very substantial damage bump in the recent skill rework/balance patch. You will use this as a Neutral DPS even as a warlock (with better damage than Comet). This should be maxed out from your High Wiz days.
Soul Drain.png Soul Drain (from the Hwiz Tree)Allows to absorb SP from monsters when they’re killed with single target spells. This skill also enhances Max SP.If you use single target spells, this will be helpful. Crimson Rock and Chain Lightning work with this skill.

Tip: when you are an AoE damage dealer in a party, you can quickly replenish some SP with this passive skill by inserting a few single target spells here and there.

Note: Max this if you will use the High Wizard/Warlock Shadow Stone set. Every level of Soul Drain lowers FCT with the Warlock Garment Stone on.

For a quick summary in case you’re too lazy to read the blocks of text above (with additional tips):

  • Jack Frost is a good leveling skill. I recommend to get it at Lvl 5. It has a huge AoE and spammable once your Cast Time is manageable and After Cast Delay is high enough.
  • If you have trouble with cast times and cooldowns (like in Crimson Rock and Comet builds), buy Spellbooks (either through the quest or buy from players) and use the Store and Release Method (see Warlock Guide). This build bypasses skill cooldown.
  • Use Drain Life to save on pots. Drain Life at high level should give you full HP.
  • If low on SP:
    • Kill a random mob with a low-sp targetted skill so Soul Drain from your high wizard skill tree will trigger. Soul Drain will not work for ground spells like Jack Frost.
    • Do not use Energy Coat. At low levels and in mobby leveling maps, this will drain your SP.
    • If still having SP problems, you can stock up on craftable blue potions in Alberta using Blue Herbs and Empty Bottles (both buyable from NPC vendors).
  • Use Quagmire (to slow down enemies) and Safety Wall (block physical attacks) for protection.
  • I do not recommend using Comet as your main build in leveling. It requires a catalyst and requires far too much SP to spam. Use Gravitational Field instead if you want neutral magic.
  • Recommended builds for newbies: Jack Frost + Chain Lightning or Crimson Rock + Earth Strain.

If you want the full list of Warlock skills with more notes, read futher on my Warlock Guide here.

Experience Gain Penalties

Since this is a leveling guide, it’s worth discussing that you get bonus and penalties on experience gained from killing mobs depending on your base level gap with that mob. While the rates vary per tier, just note two main things: (1) it is not efficient to kill mobs that are 16 levels above your base level and (2) exp gains are most efficient when you kill mobs 10 levels above your base level.

Note: Experience penalty does not affect experience gained from quests.

Here is the full chart posted by ROGGH:

Learn more about these systems in the guide below:

World Bounty System

With the arrival of the Episode 16.1 Patch, we got the World Bounty System. The World Bounty System provides specific maps where you have to kill a specified number of monsters. Once you turn-in or talk to the World Bounty Board after killing the required number of mobs, you get lots of EXP. The reason why we have to take advantage of this system is that the kill quests are repeatable infinitely, making leveling a lot faster compared to grinding in non-world bounty maps.

To learn the mechanics of this system, read this link in full:

For ease in reference, reposting the maps with the level requirements below as well:

Warlock Leveling Maps

As discussed above, we’re using the World Bounty Quest System for efficiency’s sake. You can teleport directly to the World Bounty maps by talking to Magical Boy (found in most towns) using Boong Boong Drinks, which you can also buy from him.

Stock up on Boong Boong Drinks before you warp because you need to pour Boong Boong Drinks on the World Bounty Quest Boards each time you turn in and reset the kill quests. Again, these kill quests are repeatable. Refresh the kill quests again and again until you reach the base level requirement for the next tier of kill/World Bounty quests.

Once you reach the map, make sure to find the World Bounty Quest Board first. It is a star on your mini map. If you do not see the star indicator, it means you are too under leveled for this World Bounty Quest (these quests are locked to a specific level). Go to lower-level maps in that case.

Level 99-100

Two options here:

  • Juno Noggroad Floor 2 / mag_dun02
    • Suggested skills: Jack Frost, Frost Misty, Storm Gust
    • Use MDEF Piercing for Demon or Dragon Race.
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
100Gig6,9261,3871,316BruteFire 2Small10
101Blazer9,5031,5451,467DemonFire 2Medium20
104Diabolic11,4851,6051,527DemonDark 2Small15
105Deleter9,8511,6251,547DragonFire 2Medium40
107Nightmare Terror17,0791,8451,759DemonDark 3Large46
107Furious Nightmare Terror85,3959,22526,385DemonDark 3Large2
  • Veins Field 7 / ve_fild07
    • Suggested skills: Crimson Rock, Frost Misty, Jack Frost
    • Use MDEF Pierce for Formless Race
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
95Stapo6,9841,3561,221FormlessEarth 2Small128
95Stapo Ringleader34,9206,78018,315FormlessEarth 2Small2
101Drosera11,1791,6221,467PlantEarth 1Medium64
105Muscipular11,5891,7061,547PlantEarth 1Medium38

Level 100-110

  • Audumbla Grassland 5 / ra_fild05
    • Suggested skills: Jack Frost, Frost Misty, Storm Gust
    • Use MDEF Pierce for Human/Demi-Human Race
    • Tip: Mob the kobolds before casting Jack Frost to save on SP.
    • Anoter tip: You can memo on this map. Get an alt priest/AB to warp you straight to the bounty board.
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
95Anopheles6,6171,2921,221InsectWind 3Small11
101Kobold9,5031,5451,467HumanFire 2Medium81
102Kobold11,2801,5651,487HumanPoison 2Medium81
107Kobold13,5221,8451,759HumanWind 2Medium81
107Solid Kobold135,2209,22526,385HumanWind 2Medium3

Level 110-120

  • Splendide Field 2/ spl_fild02
  • Suggested skills: Crimson Rock, Jack Frost, Gravitational Field
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
105Pinguicula12,7471,7061,547PlantEarth 3Medium135
105Pinguicula Ringleader63,7358,53023,205PlantEarth 3Medium2
109Luciola Vespa13,0041,8871,801InsectWind 1Medium27

Level 120-130

  • Scaraba Hole / dic_dun02
    • Suggested skill: Crimson Rock, Gravitational Field
    • Use MDEF Pierce for Insect Race.
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
127Antler Scaraba Egg69,0002,6001,980InsectNeutral 1Small15
128Rake Horn Scaraba Egg72,0002,6001,980InsectNeutral 1Small15
136Antler Scaraba62,6003,1653,467InsectEarth 2Medium50
136Elusive Antler Scaraba313,00015,82552,008InsectEarth 2Medium2
139Rake Scaraba67,7003,4953,955InsectEarth 2Medium45
140Queen Scaraba2,441,600266,643116,710InsectEarth 3Large1

Level 130-160

  • Nameless Island Monastery Basement Floor 1 / abbey02
    • Suggested skills: Jack Frost, Frost Misty, Crimson Rock, Storm Gust, Jupitel Thunder
    • Use MDEF Pierce for Undead Race.
    • Note: There’s a new world bounty quest map unlocked for level 140, but the mobs there (1) hit hard, (2) vary in element and race, and (3) the Kill Quest there require double the number of mobs to kill. Consumable wise, it may not be the most efficient for most people. If you want some additional fun, however, you may level there (see ecl_tdun01 and ecl_tdun02).
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
121Flame Skull20,1502,7433,076DemonGhost 3Small21
123Ragged Zombie34,8333,4042,818UndeadUndead 3Medium70
124Zombie Slaughter34,9813,4302,841UndeadUndead 3Medium210
124Swift Zombie Slaughter174,90517,15042,615UndeadUndead 3Medium3
133Necromancer91,3042,9903,289UndeadUndead 4Medium7
138Falling Bishop5,655,0001,755,0001,039,500DemonDark 2Medium1

Level 160-175

Two options here:

  • Nightmare Clock Tower / Clock Tower of Twisted Time Floor 3 / c_tower3_
    • To go to Nightmare Clock Tower manually: Proceed to Aldebaran Clock Tower 1st floor (c_tower 234/221) and look for Belljamin Button. He will ask you to pay 10,000 Zeny to enter. Choose the 3rd Floor option.
    • Suggested skills: Crimson Rock, Chain Lightning, Earth Strain, Gravitational Field
    • Use MDEF Pierce for Formless Race.
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
143Cursed Box24,9581,3841,294FormlessNeutral 3Medium9
146Cursed Book103,2205,2508,712FormlessNeutral 3Small8
163Big Bell166,86015,02616,915FormlessNeutral 3Medium109
165Timekeeper256,00015,79617,738FormlessNeutral 4Large2
168Owl Viscount295,24018,17223,619DemonNeutral 3Large3
170Owl Marquis630,00043,49427,612DemonNeutral 3Large3
170Time Holder25,000,0004,582,5003,877,500DemonNeutral 4Large1
  • Bio Lab Basement Floor 3 / lhz_dun03
    • Suggested skills: Jack Frost + Chain Lightning (for Frozen mobs), Soul Expansion (for Ghost Mobs), Gravitational Field, Crimson Rock
    • Suggested equipment: Khalitzburg Knight Card carded Shield (or Thara Frog Card)
    • Use MDEF Pierce for Demi-Human/Demon Race.
    • Tip: These mobs are normal protocol, meaning it is a viable tactic to freeze, stone curse, or lock them in White Imprison.
LEVELNAMEHEALTHEXPJOB EXPRACEELEMENTSIZEAMOUNT
140Eremes Guile220,52516,71417,717DemonPoison 4Medium42
140Margaretha Sorin250,80015,43215,457HumanHoly 3Medium42
141Cecil Damon200,25516,56718,199HumanWind 3Medium81
141Kathryne Keyron209,78013,48417,756HumanGhost 3Medium57
141Solid Cecil Damon2,002,55082,835272,992HumanWind 3Medium3
142Seyren Windsor204,96217,75119,661DemonFire 3Medium42
142Howard Alt-Eisen378,10017,05517,978HumanWater 4Medium42

Navigation

In case you are a the-world-is-my-oyster kind of guy/girl and prefer an adventure over repeatable world bounty quests, you can use the in-game navigation pane (a Flag Icon in your drop-down bar below your character details in the upper left portion of your screen) to look for mobs around your level. Just note the exp penalty details discussed in the appropriate section above. Check out the GIF below for a quick tutorial on how to search a specific level range.

As you can see, the Navigation Pane also shows you the mob’s level, race, size, element and how plenty they are in a certain map. (No need to open an external website!)

In the in-game navigation pane you can also (1) get directions or (2) even directly warp to such map using World Teleport Tickets.

Check out this Navigation System Guide to learn more:

Videos

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