This guide is meant to be a guide only, nothing is absolute. Feel free to experiment. My hopes are that it will stop people from making the most fundamental mistakes, and to help people get an idea on how to build a mage character. My experience comes from playing Shaiya China, and of course, closed beta. This guide is pretty long, so use the overview and skip to the section you want to read

Note: There is no difference between mages and pagans, except that one’s elf and the other is vail.

Overview of Contents:
Stats
Builds
Int-mage
Rec-mage
Luck-mage
Leveling
Skills
Skill Recommendations
Items
Mobs
PvP Strategies

Stats in Shaiya Gold

Strength(str) - phys. atk [useless for mages]
Rec. Defense(rec) - phys. defense, ranged defense, every rec pt adds 5 hp <— the red bar
Intelligence(int) - mag. atk
Wisdom(wis) - mag. defense, mag. hit rate, every wis pt adds 5 mp <— the blue bar
Dexterity(dex) - evasion, hit rate, every dex pt adds 5 stamina point <— the yellow bar
Luck(luck) - range atk, crit rate, max crit dmg

easy mode (max lvl 30), every lvl = 3 skill pts, 5 stat pts
normal mode, every lvl = 3 skill pts, 5 stat pts
difficult mode, every lvl = 4 skill pts, 7 stat pts
ultimate mode, every lvl = 5 skill pts, 9 stat pts
lvl 50 normal char is required to unlock difficult mode, lvl 60 difficult char required to unlock ultimate mode

for every lvl a mage gains, 1 int is automatically added

Builds:

Remember, builds are not absolute. It’s all about playing the character most suitable to your style. Also, characters don’t have to be pure. If you accidentally put a few points into dex, luck, or whatever, the character is not ruined! Just no points into str =P. Sometimes, mixed stats work out to be the best. The two recommended types of mages for NORMAL mode are the int-mage and rec-mage. Types for difficult mode: int, rec, hybrid. The types recommended for ultimate modes are int, luck, hybrid.

The point of normal mode is to get a character to lvl 50. Int mage most efficiently serves this purpose, particularly w/ defender. Rec mages lvl fast too, and it’s better for soloing. Shaiya Gold only truly begins in difficult mode =)