Phoenix leveling guide - general training spots [updated Jan 2022]

[mangos]

[Jan 2022 update] - This guide was quite old, from a pre-Zipangu update. With the addition of Mushroom Shrine, Mu Lung, Herb Town, Ariant, Showa, New Leaf City, Leafre, and revamped Vic-Island and various Ossyria maps, I have added extra options to share what I know about these new maps. If I forgot or missed any, please let me know. They are usually much better than the old options. Their text will be the same color as this text.

Recommended training spots on Phoenix for leveling and their brief explanations. These spots have become the most popular on Phoenix, original GMS, and many other servers over the years due to their efficiency in experience rate, potion usage, meso gain, and consistency.

I assume you are building your character properly and will be able to handle these maps well. If you're not sure how to build your character, look up skill guides for your character.

If you're hunting for a specific item, and you know you can handle the mobs that drop it, the exp should be just fine in those maps.

I will not include specific elemental weakness mobs, for wizard and cleric training spots. Sorry mages.

 

From lvl 10-30, you generally want to stick to mobs that you can kill in one skill use. The goal is to hunt mobs that give the most amount of exp per skill usage, to get the most out of your MP and potions, so that you sustain meso, or at least come close.

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Lvl 1~8/10

Stay on Maple Island until you are ready for 1st job. I hope you know what you are doing on Maple Island. Finishing your beginner levels on Victoria is a pain in the butt.

If I'm making a mage or thief, I like to stay at the first green snail map right after the tutorial, all the way to lvl 6/7 for mage, and lvl 8/9 for thief, then go to Amherst for the town quests, then to Vic.

Talk to Olaf in Lith, and go get your 1st job.

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Lvl 10 ~ Slimes

Ellinia Tree dungeon (South I) . There are many more slime maps but I like this one because it is easy to get to, and it being a vertical map means your noobie movement speed and range don't matter as much. You can stay here until you know you can kill Pigs and Ribbon Pigs, or OCTOPUS in one attack.

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Lvl 15 ~ Pig  /  Ribbon Pig  /  Octopus

Pig Beach or the Henesys Pig map. There aren't many maps that have only Pigs or Orange Mushrooms, which are usually the best mobs for this level range. If you accidentally hit the Iron Hog at Pig Beach, just change channel or enter cash shop. You can also just stay at Slimes all the way to lvl 20 if you want.

Some people like Mushroom Garden, but I have personally never trained here.

NEW - Octopus - [Caution Falling Down] Very easy 2-platform map with Octopus and Blue Mushrooms. You get to it by going left from Kerning City. Hopefully the Blue Mushrooms aren't too hard for your character. If this map is too hard for your class, stick to pigs and orange mushrooms for now.

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Lvl 20 ~ Green Mushroom  /  Bubbling  /  KPQ (Lvl 21)  /  Octopus  /  Desert Rabbits

Green Mushroom - For Green Mushrooms, try Ellinia Tree dungeons (South II) (South III) (North VI). I usually just go to the South III one because it is easy to walk to. You can also just go straight to one of the tree dungeons that have Horny Mushrooms in them (if you can handle them).

Bubbling - Either the first Kerning Subway map, or the map at the end of Shumi's first jump quest, "B1". These maps have really good spawn, but Bubblings have pretty high weapon defense and magic defense for this level range (40 w.def and 50 m.def), which will reduce your base range by about 20 weapon damage. If your minimum damage range is less than 20 or so, you will hit single-digit damages a lot of the time. If you are using Lucky 7 or are a mage, this shouldn't be a problem. Bubblings are conveniently close to KPQ.

Octopus - [Caution Falling Down] Explained earlier.

NEW - Desert Rabbits - Right outside Ariant, you'll find the Desert Rabbit maps. They are simple, flat maps, filled with easy-to-kill mobs. Downside is that they're in Ariant (Apparently there's a quest from Manji that warps you to Ariant as long as you're below lvl 29? Thanks NixMar). The rabbits have 350 and 400 HP, but the maps are so efficient that it's probably worth coming here if you want to have minimal movement while training.

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Lvl 25 ~ Horny Mushroom (tree dungeons or ant tunnel I)  /  Stirges  /  KPQ  /  Desert Rabbits

Horny Mushroom - Some nice Horny Mushroom tree dungeons include: South IV, North II, etc. There are more but just pick whichever you like. If you're confident enough, you can just go straight to Ant Tunnel I. Just keep in mind, you still want to train on mobs that you kill in one attack, and you most likely won't be able to kill a Zombie Mushroom consistently in one attack, but it doesn't matter as much here.

Stirge - For throwing star users and mages, I recommend trying Subway Transfer Area. Stirges have 300 hp and give 33 exp, basically the same as a Horny Mushroom, but I like the spawn and layout of the Stirge map for assassins and mages. You can just sit near the middle of the top and bottom areas and shoot everything around you. You just have to switch from the top area and the bottom area once in a while, if you are solo. They drop a lot of potions, and are conveniently close to KPQ.

Desert Rabbits - If you're already in Ariant, you can just stay here 'til you need to get 2nd job. There's some NPC guy on a flying carpet a few maps right of Ariant, who warps you back to Vic. There are more decent Ariant maps, but the Desert Rabbit map is the only useful map that I know of, as the old options for this level range were kinda janky if you weren't a thief or mage. The maps in Ariant are small and flat with slow-moving mobs, making these maps worth trying out, even after level 30.

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Lvl 30s ~ Ant Tunnel I  /  Teddies  /  Ratz  /  Black Ratz  /  CPQ/LPQ  /  Monkey Forest II? (Explained in lvl40 section)

Here is the starting level range where it's ok to 2-3 hit mobs, as higher lvl mobs drop much more mesos and higher lvl items which sell to NPCs for much more than sub-lvl30 items. If you still want to 1-hit mobs, stay at Ant Tunnel I for a while and party with people. Wild Boars are also a solid choice if you want to stay on Victoria Island for questing or something.

Teddies - Good maps for Brown Teddy and Pink Teddy are Terrace Hall and Sky Terrace <1>. I personally prefer the Sky Terrace map, as it feels more compact and consistent. You should be able to kill these in 2-3 attacks, but ideally you want to kill them in 2 most of the time.

Ratz - [Eos Tower 100th Floor] - Compact map, with easy mobs and great spawn rates. Especially good for warriors.

Black Ratz - One of the most popular maps on the server is Eos Tower 94th Floor, due to the spawn behavior in the middle area of the map, where you don't have to move much and can just keep killing in the middle platform area. This map has mostly Black Ratz and a few Trixters. Trixters are on-par with Zombie Mushrooms in terms of HP and exp.

LPQ at lvl 35 is also a nice option if you don't want to grind, and also a good reason to stay at Ludi once you're lvl 35.

Monster Carnival PQ - On Phoenix, people sometimes form CPQ groups, where you just get the bare minimum score inside, then afk for the rest of the time limit. It is nerfed for Phoenix, where mobs inside do not give exp. Try it out if you're really lazy for exp.

You can try other maps depending on your class, just keep in mind that you probably want to be killing mobs that have around 500-1200 HP.

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Lvl 40s ~ LPQ  /  Monkey Forest II  /  Master Chronos  /  Lantern Ghost  /  Leprechaun $$$  /  STDs

By now, you should be able to 1-shot Black Ratz easily, unless you are a mage. Even without 1-shotting, Eos 94th floor is still arguably the best map.

Retz - If you are still 2-shotting Black Ratz, try the Retz map, Helios 99th Floor. If you can 2-shot Retz, train here. If you can 1-shot Black Ratz, train there until you can 1-shot Retz. Retz have 1400 HP vs Black Ratz' 1150 HP, and also have more defense. The spawn behavior in this map is similar to Eos 94, where you can mostly just sit in the middle and keep killing, but you do have to kill the other mobs in the map occasionally. Even fire and lightning mages train here often. This map is also closer to town for convenience. Some classes can just stay here to mid lvl 60s

I have heard good things about Eos 8th Floor, which contains Block Golem and King Block Golem, with similar spawn behavior for minimal movement. I have never trained there because it feels too far away from town and LPQ. Warriors love this map apparently.

There are many options for this level range, but you generally want to be killing mobs that have around 1000-2500 HP. If you are a warrior, you don't have many good options unfortunately... maybe just stick to the Eos tower maps above.

NEW - [Monkey Forest II] (MF2) - This map is notoriously good for a lot of classes. It contains a ton of Lupin and Zombie Lupin. Ranged classes can just stand on the left and shoot the mobs. Ice/Lightning mages, Bandits, and even warriors (if you have enough accuracy), can kill by being in the middle of the platforms. There are teleporters to bring you up to the top fast. Downside is that you have to kill the bottom floor once in a while. Thieves and Bowmen can come here earlier. Ice/Lightning mages will love this map.

NEW - Master Chronos - [Path of time 4] - Map layout itself is kind of ass, but it has very high mob-density, and on Phoenix, they drop Helm DEX 60% scrolls (VERY VALUABLE). They also drop Tobis. The Platoon Chronos map [Path of Time 1] is also decent, if you want to find Glove ATK 60% scrolls. Maybe I should've put this in the lvl 50 section, as Master Chronos might be too tough for a lvl 4X character... their magic attack is annoying.

NEW - Lantern Ghost / Dark Cloud Fox - [Night in the Forest] - Long, flat map. Not the greatest, but I think it deserves to be mentioned, as it is a new interesting option. It's kind of annoying how there's nowhere to afk in the map or any adjacent maps. The etc drops can be exchanged in Showa for some extra goodies.

NEW - Leprechaun (NERFED?) - Namely, Creeping Evil map outside New Leaf City, in Phantom Forest. Tricky and dangerous to get to, as you might have to pass by very strong monsters. Look up a guide on how to traverse Phantom Forest to get to the map. Once you get here however, you just kill mobs that stand still and don't attack, and always spawn in the same spots... You can't get an easier map than this, and any job can hunt here. They are not the best for exp, but certainly the best for making Mesos (not only do they drop a lot of raw mesos, they can drop Steelies and other rare high-level equips). Hopefully someone has killed the Headless Horseman in the map ;). If you still want to hunt Leps but don't want to deal with getting to Creeping Evil, I have heard that Swamp Bog and maybe Bent Tree work, but they are not worth training in, imo.

NEW - Straw Target Dummy (STDs) - Go to the first map to the right of Mu Lung, and you will find a small, flat map with these easy-to-kill mobs, for good exp.

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Lvl 50s ~  MF2  /  Straw Target Dummy  /  Jr. Yeti  /  Hector  /  Book Ghosts  /  Grizzly  /  Forest of Golem  /  Lvl 40s areas

Flyeye - means the map right before Pianus. I'd recommend only trying out this map if you are a ranged class or bandit, can consistently kill these in 1 attack, and know what you're doing to get to this map safely. Flyeyes have 1600 HP and give 95 exp, amazing ratio. Flyeyes have high avoidability, which is bad for warriors, and as their name implies, they are a flying mob which might be extra annoying for bowmen. In this map, you typically just stand on the ledge on the right side of the map and let the mobs come to you to their death. Monkey Forest II is most likely better, explained earlier.

Zombie Lupins - these also have one of the best HP/exp ratios in the game, with 1800 HP for 90 exp per kill. A popular map for these mobs is Monkey Forest Tree Dungeon I. They also contain Curse Eyes, which means you can simultaneously work on the "Kill 999 Curse Eye" daily quest. Monkey Forest II is better, explained earlier.

NEW - Straw Target Dummy (STDs) - Go to the first map to the right of Mu Lung, and you will find a small, flat map with these easy-to-kill mobs, for good exp.

Jr. Yeti - Jr. Yetis have one of the worst HP/exp ratios in the game for this level range, with 3700 HP and 135 exp. Despite this, Icy Path I still nets decent exp for many classes and they have a chance at dropping Glove Attack 60% scrolls. The map has good spawn and layout. Just be careful of the rare transforming Yeti ; )

Hector - If you want to try Hectors, you can try Icy Path II, which has both Jr. Yetis and Hectors, or Cold Field I, which has only Hectors and a tiny bit of White Fangs. Cold Field has a really bad layout, but the main reason to actually grind here is for the drops. Hectors themselves can drop Cape DEX 60%, and exchanging their tails in Orbis has a chance to give you Overall DEX 10% scrolls, both of which are highly desired on every non-mage class on the server. Don't expect amazing exp here.

NEW - Cold Field II - Contains Hectors and White Fangs.. a lot of them. There was some update on Phoenix that made this map have a ton of mobs. Maybe give it a try.

NEW - Foggy Forest - Contains Book Ghosts and a bit of Reindeer. Map layout is alright and exp gains are ok. Like the Master Chronos map, the main reason to come here is because, on Phoenix, Book Ghosts drop Earring DEX 60% scrolls (VERY VALUABLE), and Reindeer mobs can drop Glove ATK 60% scrolls. The Book Ghosts don't have a magic attack and move slow, making them nice and easy for melee jobs.

NEW - Grizzly bears - Very unique map layout with great mob density. A lot of jobs can kill the bears from the safe platforms, and the bears can't hit you back with their special melee attack. You can also easily jump on the platforms with some jump/haste. I trained here as Ice/Lightning mage, and then as Assassin, and it felt very good. Gunslingers can invis shot the bears from safety as well. Try this map out and see how it feels for your job.

Forest of Golem - Starting at lvl 54, you can get party exp at Forest of Golem's Mixed Golems. In my opinion, it is sub-optimal to come here before you are around lvl 60, as Mixed Golems have 6000 HP, but many warriors come here this early and do just fine. Expect a lot of pot-burn if you come here early. You might make up for it with some lucky drops, as mobs in FoG can drop Glove Attack 60% and Tobi throwing stars, which sell really well, as well as some equips that sell to NPC for over 100k.

Master Chronos and Monkey Forest II are still okay for this level range.

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Lvl 60s ~ Forest of Golem  /  Coolie Zombies  /  Panda  /  Lvl 50s areas

FoG - By now, you should be able to 3-4hit Mixed Golems, or if you are really strong and depending on your class, 2hit them. You can basically stay here all the way to your lvl 80s or 90s, so get comfy.

Coolie Zombies - Alternatively, you can always train at good ol' Coolies. Zombie maps are a loooong walk away from town.

NEW - Pandas [Territory of Wandering Bear] - On Phoenix, this map is filled with Panda mobs. Map is fairly small and easy, with 2 main floors. They can drop Steely stars. Only reason I found out about this map is because I was training at the Grizzly map, and kept seeing Assassins heading to this Panda map. 

Lvl 50 areas are still good for this level range. Monsters from lvl 60-75 have horrible exp/hp ratios, so they're generally not worth training on for good exp. Most people just train at lvl 50-60 areas all the way to lvl 80

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Lvl 70s and beyond ~ Lvl 50-60s areas  /  Windraider  /  Pirate Den 2  /  Leafre

 The fun now is finding what works best for your job.

Here are some recent additions to consider while you're in the lvl 70 or 80 range:

NEW - Windraiders [Lower Ascent] - I highly encourage anyone to learn how to get to this map, and learn how to use this map well. These mobs are broken for exp. If your job and gear are very strong, you can come here earlier, as the mobs themselves aren't very dangerous if you attack from range. What I do to train in this map: teleport up to the top with the teleporter (the statue at the bottom Windraider platform), and kill the packs while going down the map. Kill Windraider pack on the left side, teleport up, kill Windraider packs on the right side (the small platforms), teleport up, repeat. You can train here until you're ready to go to Deep Ludi, Leafre, Gobies, or whatever else you want to try for your job.

NEW - [Pirate Den 2] - I should mention this map, as it was extremely popular back in GMS, and a lot of other servers, with the addition of Herb Town. It has a ton of mobs and the map is very compact. A lot of 3rd jobs can hit both platforms at once, making it very braindead to train in. It contains mobs Kru and Captain. They have trash exp/hp ratios, but the map is so easy to use that people still come here.

NEW - Leafre - a big reason to train in Leafre on Phoenix is for the "Rock buff", a GM blessing buff from the big rock at the top in Dragon Forest II, Giving you 20 ATK, 50 M.ATK, and a lot of other good stats for 1 hour, but it only works while in the Leafre region (ask around exactly how it works). The most noteable early maps in Leafre in my experience, are the Kentaurus maps, and Birks (Dual Birks drop Ilbis). Give these a try once you are lvl 80+ or 90+. A lot of them have elemental weaknesses.

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by mangos
new maps

[Choji]

The only addition I would make is to add KPQ solo ligator farm at 21. If you can get a track, usually off peak hours, by yourself at lvl 21 at ligators either using alts or friends to get you into the PQ, the exp per hour is nuts. You must be the party leader, the alts or friends will either leave the instance or the party at the beginning. I was training a lukless mage starting at 21 and with 2 hours I had gained 3 levels. It was roughly 55k exp per hour. Now, it is not against the rules to spend the 30 minutes inside, grinding alone, however it is frowned upon. I would suggest running the dungeon with other players if there are enough. Though, the solo exp is god tier +.

[Wannister]

All of these spots are awesome. Good guide 😋

[WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW]

1-7 beginner island
7-10 HHG1 (leech yourself w ur main)
10-21 orbis exchange
21-31 KPQ
31-72 Eos 94 Black Ratz
72-95 Forest of Golem
95-160 bonefish - farm scarab ////  vikings - farm ilbi  ////  grims - farm cfa10
160-200 zakum

Edited May 4, 2020 by WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[techno1004]

On 1/29/2020 at 2:52 PM, WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW said:

For SINS:

1-30 HHG
30-70 Eos 94
70-95 FOG
95-200 Vikings

    idiot

[katazu]

Good guide 👍

[mangos]

updated with new maps

[NixMar]

nice guide! i would recommend 1-10 maple island quests no matter what job. may's training is easy and u get the lv5 dagger.
PQ lv10 - ~18 (if you cant find a pt make 2 more mules and just enter by yourself. Tip1 make warrior with slash blast to aggro the mobs.
once you hit ~15 go into the bonus stage and kill pig there.

there is a quest from manji (in perion) for under lvl29 that warps you to Araint. 20-40 Araint is prob the best

[twerp]

Level 50s~ Primitive Boars in Ellin Forest are a great place for exp! Small flat map with excellent spawn, great for ranged classes.

Edited July 11, 2023 by twerp