Ragnarok Online True Acolyte Guide
Version 2.1
by Heiko-Jiro
Philippine Ragnarok Online
Copyright 2004
Version History:
*******************************************************************************
v2.1 - Made a minor update about the ME priest. Also changed some sections.
v2.0 - Long months have passed and lots of patches have come to pRO. I have
completely abandoned the Chaos server in lieu of the Iris server. I took
the time to look back at my builds and study whether my builds are
at optimum efficiency (???). Anyway, I'm back after so long and I made
updates in lieu of the War of Emperium. Added strategies for MvP and
PvP too.
v1.4 - AAAAAARRGH!!! My computer is on the fritz and I can't play RO at ALL!!!
Hahaha! Oh well! It'll give me more time fix my guides and all.
Added some new sites on the allowed sites list and fixed the skill
builds. Also fixed the recommended equipment section to make it
applicable to pRO.
v1.3 - I can't seem to make up my mind lately. I just updated yesterday and
here I am updating again... Anyway, made a few changes in the skills
build.
v1.2 - Hey! It's been weeks since I last updated. Just found out about ano-
ther middle headgear that has a slot. Check that one out at the re-
commended Equipment Section. Also I changed the skill builds for all
the Acolyte Builds.
V1.1 - Added the quest to get Holy Light. I just found out the other day that
there is actually a headgear equipable in the Middle Part that has a
slot! Bet you a lot of people don't know that. Wanna know what it is?
See the recommended equipment section. Oh, and I fixed some spelling
errors too...
V1.0 - Created this FAQ! Ok, this is my 2nd FAQ for Ragnarok Online. Kinda
shows how much of an addict I am, don't you think? =) Made this kinda
impromptu, and there might be some errors I haven't noticed :P
*******************************************************************************
Contents:
I. Introduction
II. Getting Started
III. Acolyte Basics
IV. Skills
V. Acolyte Builds
VI. Recommended Equipment
VII. Strategies
VIII. Legal Stuff, Credits and Contact Information
Acolytes are basically God's Servants. They use their knowledge of the
magical arts in order to do God's Will. In Ragnarok Online, Acolytes are a
character class that specializes in healing and making others stronger via
support spells. Typically, they are not known for being excellent in battle,
except when confronted with hordes of the undead, which they dispose of much
quicker than other character classes.
The Acolyte class is the first class that I've played in Ragnarok Online,
since I began playing it in June of 2003 (back when pRO was still free =).
From my humble beginnings as a lowly acolyte, to my current standing as our
guild priest, I have studied the way of the acolyte for so long that I believe
I know how to play an acolyte better than any other class. Hence, I write
this FAQ. Nowadays, battle acolytes and pre-monk builds are becoming more
popular. This is bad, since it shows that most people prefer now to become
individuals instead of social persons. This is also another reason why I
made this guide. Anyway, enough with this useless yapping...
What exactly is a true acolyte? An Acolyte is meant to be either a support
character, or an anti-undead character - this is the true essence of an
acolyte. Most of the time, they are meant to party with people - and they
do that very well. Of course, it doesn't mean that they can't go solo -
which they can also do pretty well. Still, being in a party helps out a lot
for both the acolyte and the party.
So you've decided to become an acolyte. Before you do, let's make a few
things clear:
1. Next to GM's, Acolytes are the characters that get harassed by other
people most often because of their healing and support abilities.
2. Acolytes are basically looked down upon since most people think they can
only handle undead monsters.
3. Everyone wants to party with acolytes, and most just invite them without
asking first, which brings up that annoying invitation window... a lot!
4. Priests are called the nastiest of names when they fail to please the
wrong people at the wrong time.
Got that? If you have the patience of a ticking time bomb, then look away
from the path of the acolyte. Being an acolyte requires patience - LOTS of
patience. Apart from that, an acolyte must be a people-person, which means
you'll have to deal with all sorts of people, both nice people and jerks,
during your time as an acolyte. If you fit these qualifications, then by all
means, let's get down to becoming an acolyte.
INTELLIGENCE - The most important stat of the acolyte. This determines your
maximum SP and SP recovery rate. It also determines how power-
ful your spells (Heal, Magnus Exorcismus, etc.) are.
DEXTERITY - This determines your Hit Percentage and your Casting Speed. De-
pending on your skill build, this can be nearly as important as
Intelligence when building an acolyte.
AGILITY - This determines Attack Speed and Dodge rate. This, or Vitality, is
the defensive stat of the acolyte. More Agility means you get hit
less.
VITALITY - The other defensive stat of the acolyte. This determines maximum
HP and HP recovery rate, as well as your defense. More Vitality
means more HP and less damage from hits.
These other stats are not that important, except in specialized builds.
STRENGTH - Determines Weight Limit and Attack Damage. Only Battle Acolytes
use this.
LUCK - Determines Critical Attack Rate, Dodge Rate and other factors. Only
Pre-monks and Turn Undead Priests use this.
All Acolytes that will rely on their spells need INT and DEX. For their de-
fensive stat, Acolytes can take either AGI or VIT, depending on their
preference. Let's make a comparison of the two.
Agility:
+ You take less hits
+ Less hits mean that your spells don't get interrupted often
- Low HP and DEF
- Difficult to handle mobs, since dodge rate decreases per monster
Vitality:
+ You survive longer because of higher HP
+ Hits hurt less
- You get hit more
- Not too good if you rely on spells that can get interrupted
All in all, it's up to you. My preference is if you're an FS priest, go for
VIT. If you go solo most of the time, having lots of AGI will be very
important.
Okay, now you know what stats you need. Now for the skills.
***************
Acolyte Skills:
***************
Heal(10)
Effect: Heal a certain amount of HP. Effect increases per skill level.
Damages Undead.
Comments: The most important skill of the Acolyte. Max this.
Divine Protection(10)
Effect: Reduces damage taken from undead. Passive.
Comments: Not that useful, IMO, since level 10 only takes away 30 damage
per hit. Get only level 5 as a pre-requisite.
Demonbane(10)
Requires: Lvl 3 Divine Protection
Effect: Increases physical damage to undead. Passive.
Comments: True Acolytes don't use their fists a lot against the undead, so
skip it. This is necessary for monk skills though.
Signum Crucis(10)
Requires: Lvl 3 Demonbane
Effect: Decreases defense of evil enemies within line of sight.
Comments: Most undead/demon/ghost opponents have low defense anyway. IMO,
skill points are better spent elsewhere.
Angelus(10)
Requires: Lvl 3 Divine Protection
Effect: Increases party's VIT by percentages for a duration. Additional
points increase duration and effect.
Comments: Useful for characters with VIT builds. If your party is composed
mainly of knights and battlesmiths, max it. If not, just get it
for pre-requisites.
Blessing(10)
Requires: Lvl 5 Divine Protection
Effect: Increases target's STR, INT and DEX for a duration. Curses undead.
Comments: One of the most useful support spells in the game. Max this.
Increase Agility(10)
Requires: Lvl 3 Heal
Effect: Increases target's Agility and walking speed for a duration.
Comment: Not as important as Blessing, but useful nonetheless. A few points
here and there are crucial, if only for the walking speed bonus.
Decrease Agility(10)
Requires: Lvl 1 Increase Agility
Effect: Decreases target's Agility and walking speed for a duration. Skill
can fail.
Comment: Nice when handling bosses or people in PvP, but not worth the skill
points, IMO. But if you have points to spare, this would be an
interesting place to put it.
Cure(1)
Requires: Lvl 2 Heal
Effect: Heals certain status ailments. Causes Chaos on undead.
Comments: Back then, Cure was useless since no statuses have been implemented
yet. Now, it is indispensible especially when your party gets
poisoned a lot. Get it if you can.
Ruwach(1)
Effect: Reveals hidden opponents. Does damage to hidden opponents.
Comments: Since Comodo, a lot of monsters have the ability to hide now. You
can now play the role of a detector as well as a healer. Get it as
a pre-requisite.
Teleport(2)
Requires: Lvl 1 Ruwach
Effect: Teleports to random area(Lvl 1) or to save point(Lvl 2).
Comments: Very useful. Makes wings obsolete. Max it.
Warp Portal(4)
Requires: Level 2 Teleport
Effect: Opens a portal to save point or memo point. Memo points are
made by typing /memo in the chat window to save the current
position. Uses 1 Blue Gemstone.
Comments: You can make a few zenies this way, plus it makes traveling around
a lot easier. Put a few points here, or max it for Pneuma.
Pneuma(1)
Requires: Lvl 4 Warp Portal
Effect: Creates a barrier which neutralizes all ranged attacks.
Comments: With War of Emperium and the ranged enemies that came out in Comodo
this skill became a necessity for all acolytes/priests in pRO. Get
it.
Aqua Benedicta(1)
Effect: Creates 1 Holy Water from an empty bottle. Holy Water cures Curse
status. Need to stand in water for skill to work.
Comments: You can either use this skill to get more zeny out of selling empty
bottles (Holy Water sells for 10z, compared to 2z), or as a pre-
requisite to Aspersio.
************
Quest Skill:
************
Holy Light
Requirements: Job level 30, 1 Rosary, 1 Opal, 1 Crystal Blue
Effect: Deals holy damage to target opponent.
Quest: Talk to a priest in Prontera Church with the requirements
Comments: It doesn't use any skill points, so you have nothing to lose by
getting it. Besides, you won't be forced to level on undead
monsters this way.
**************
Priest Skills:
**************
SP Recovery(10)
Effect: Increase SP Recovery while sitting down or standing. Same as Mage
skill. Passive.
Comments: Before Comodo, this was a skill that acolytes could not wait to
get their hands on. Now, seeing as SP recovery rate is affected
by INT, this skill is now only a shadow of its former glory.
Just get enough for pre-requisites.
Mace Mastery(10)
Effect: Increase damage dealt with Mace class weapons. Passive.
Comments: 10 skill points is a lot. Although it does make you stronger if
you use maces, remember that eventually you'll be using your
spells to deal most of your damage, so don't bother.
Impositio Manus(5)
Effect: Increases target's ATK for 40 seconds.
Comments: Very nice for very little SP. Too bad the duration sucks. Get
this as high as possible.
Suffragium(3)
Requires: Lvl 2 Impositio Manus
Effect: Reduces Casting Duration for target.
Comments: Important if you party with a lot of mages, especially in a party
with good communication between members. Spammed Storm Gust,
anyone?
Aspersio(5)
Requires: Lvl 3 Impositio Manus
Effect: Change's target's weapon to Holy attribute. Damages Undead. Uses
1 holy water.
Comments: A second use for Holy Water! Very nice, since you and your party
won't need to get elemental weapons for enemies immune to physical
now. Get this as high as possible.
Sanctuary(10)
Requires: Lvl 1 Heal
Effect: Creates an area which heals people in it. Caster cannot move for
spell's duration. Damages and knocks back undead. Uses 1 Blue
Gemstone.
Comments: What I really hate about this spell is that people swarm around
the area even if you meant to heal only your party. This kind of
abuse is very annoying! But anyway, having the patience of a brick
wall prepares you for stuff like that. Otherwise, this skill is
pretty useful as it is the only skill that can heal your Agit's
Emperium during a guild siege. Get it if you can.
Status Recovery(1)
Effect: Recover from statuses that Cure cannot be used with. Cannot recover
statuses that Cure can recover. Turns monster passive, or changes its
target.
Comments: Useful as a supplement to Cure. Also useful when monsters start
attacking you intead of your party. Get it for Resurrection.
Slow Poison(4)
Requires: Lvl 1 Status Recovery
Effect: Slows the effects of poison.
Comments: Why slow, when you can use a green herb to cure? Skip it.
Resurrection(4)
Requires: Lvl 4 SP Recovery, Lvl 1 Status Recovery
Effect: Raises dead player or monster back to life. Uses 1 Blue Gemstone.
Comments: Very Important. Additional points reduce casting delay and HP
restored. When maxed, this instantly revives a player without
delay. Get at least 1, which will make Yggdrasil Leaves obsolete.
Safety Wall(10)
Requires: Lvl 4 Aspersio, Lvl 3 Sanctuary
Effect: Creates a barrier on a chosen spot which prevents all physical
damage. Same as Mage Skill. Uses 1 Blue Gemstone.
Comments: Somewhat useful. I would just get it for the pre-requisite.
Kyrie Eleison(10)
Requires: Lvl 2 Angelus
Effect: Protects target from attacks for a certain duration and amount of
damage.
Comments: Think of this skill as giving additional HP temporarily. Get it
if you can.
Magnificat(5)
Effect: Doubles HP and SP recovery rate for all party members.
Comments: Very useful, even if you don't party. Lvl 3 is a long enough
duration for some people. It's up to you if you need more or
less points.
Gloria(5)
Requires: Lvl 4 Kyrie Eleison, Lvl 3 Magnificat
Effect: Raises party's LUK stat by 30 points.
Comments: Assassins, Forgers, Hunters, and pretty much all your party
members will love you for this. Especially important if you use
TU.
B.S. Sacramenti(5)
Requires: Lvl 5 Aspersio, Lvl 3 Gloria
Effect: Imbues Holy Property to characters standing in a 3x3 area.
Requires two or more acolytes/priests near the caster.
Comments: It's up to you if you want it, but it is difficult to have a
party with more than 1 priest. Using this in combination with
Aspersio (ie. casting it, then casting Aspersio on enemies)
should make you invulnerable in PvP and during guild siege.
Lex Divina(10)
Requires: Lvl 1 Ruwach
Effect: Causes Silence on target for a duration.
Comments: Useful for PvP, although I'm not sure in other cases. Get this
as a pre-requisite.
Turn Undead(10)
Requires: Lvl 1 Resurrection, Lvl 3 Lex Divina
Effect: Chance for One-Hit kill on target. Deals Holy damage if failed.
Undead targets only. Cannot be used against MvP monsters (to be
confirmed).
Comments: One of the two offensive spells of the Priest. Higher LUK would
increase the chance of a successful One-Hit kill. Max either this
or ME.
Lex Aeterna(1)
Requires: Lvl 5 Lex Divina
Effect: Doubles damage dealt to target for one hit.
Comments: Very useful, especially when dealing with high HP opponents.
It takes timing to use this effectively, though. Get this if you
can.
Magnus Exorcismus(10)
Requires: Lvl 1 Safety Wall, Lvl 3 Turn Undead, Lvl 1 Lex Aeterna
Effect: Creates an area which damages all evil monsters in it for
extreme amounts. Uses 1 Blue Gemstone.
Comments: The other offensive spell for the Priest. This is probably the
best way to MVP evil monsters such as Baphomet. Max either this
or TU.
This build relies on getting Magnus Exorcismus to deal with large groups of
evil enemies. This build is the best to MvP certain monsters like Doppelganger,
and Drake. Use the extra skill points to get either Safety Wall or Kyrie
Eleison, or the other buffs, but I'd prefer Safety Wall. As an Acolyte you may
choose to change jobs at job level 45, so you can get Pneuma.
This build relies on Turn Undead to kill undead monsters. The spells used are
pretty fast, which eliminates the need for high DEX. Gloria is there to help
TU perform a One-Hit kill. This build is suited to those who like to solo a
lot without resorting to building a battle priest. As an acolyte, you may
choose to change jobs at job level 47 to max Increase Agility and get Pneuma.
This build relies on making party members really, really strong. You'll be
loved by everyone in your party, but don't expect to be able to kill enemies
alone(except undead monsters with Heal). This kind of priest is the most
sought after by every guild. This build has the highest VIT of all priests
(and possibly, even all characters). Coupled with Heal, his makes you one
tough momma (or poppa). Of all the builds, this is the only build that
**NEEDS** to reach Job level 50 so as to get all the buffs.
Weapon - Bone Wand, 2-Slot Arc Wand/4-Slot Rod w/ Drops Cards
Helm(Upper) - Slotted Biretta w/ Elder Willow, Mistress or Marduk Card
Helm(Mid) - Slotted Sunglasses/Glasses w/ above cards (if it exists)
Helm(Lower) - Any, or None
Armor - Slotted Saint's Robe/Slotted Silk Robe w/ Steel Chonchon, Desert Wolf
Puppy Marc, Rocker or PecoPeco Card
Shield - Slotted Buckler w/ Ambernite Card or specific species Card
Garment - Slotted Muffler w/ Raydric Card
Footgear - Slotted Shoes w/ Sohee or Verit Card
Accesories - Earrings, Celebrant's Mittens, Gloves, Slotted Clip/Earrings/
Gloves w/ Smokie or Phen Card
The Equipment of choice for ME priests are equips that either make ME casting
faster, or making ME more devastating. So focus on either INT or DEX,
depending on your preference and availability of items.
***
TU:
***
Weapon - 4-slot Rod w/ Lunatic Cards
Helm(Upper) - Bunny Band, Angel Wing, Angel Helm
Helm(Mid) - Any, or None
Helm(Lower) - Any, or None
Armor - Slotted Saint's Robe w/ Poring or Marc Card
Shield - Slotted Buckler w/ Ambernite Card or specific species Card
Garment - Slotted Muffler w/ Whisper or Raydric Card
Footgear - Crystal Pumps(for Females), Slotted Shoes w/ Sohee or Verit Card
Accesories - Rosaries, Slotted Rosaries w/ Smokie Card
TU priests need lots of luck, and their equipments are specially suited for
such. The good thing is, LUK equips are relatively easy to find.
*************
Pure Support:
*************
Weapon - 4-Slot Rob w/ Fabre Card
Helm(Upper) - Slotted Biretta w/ Mistress or Marduk Card
Helm(Mid) - Slotted Sunglasses/Glasses w/ above cards (if exists)
Helm(Lower) - Any, or None
Armor - Slotted Saint's Robe/Silk Robe w/ Savage, Steel Chonchon or Marc
Card
Shield - Slotted Buckler w/ Ambernite Card or specific species Card
Garment - Slotted Muffler w/ Raydric Card, Ragamuffin Manteau
Footgear - Slotted Shoes w/ Sohee or Verit Card, Crystal Pumps
Accessories - Necklaces, Slotted Necklaces w/ Smokie or Phen Card, Rosaries
Pure Support priests need lots of DEF and MDEF, and their equipments focus
on either VIT or MDEF. Get the proper balance of VIT and MDEF in order to
make your priest as tough as possible.
************************
Monk and Battle Acolyte:
************************
Don't bother... you're a true acolyte!
*************Note on Shields and Garments*************
Cards that protect from certain species and attributes are also acceptable.
Just switch between equipment with such cards on different monsters.
***********Note on Slotted Middle Headgear************
Slotted Sunglasses and Slotted Glasses can be only acquired via an Old Blue
Box, and possibly via an Old Violet Box or a Gift Box. Both are slotted
like upper helms, and the Sunglasses also give protection from the Blind
Status. When you get your hands on one, be sure not to mistake it for a re-
gular one and sell it. Currently, it exists in pRO as a promo item, but in
the future patches, it will be available for everyone's use.
Ok this is a completely new section on my FAQ. Basically what I'm going to
discuss here is the different strategies that the different builds could
follow when MVP-ing or PvP-ing.
***************
MVP Strategies:
***************
The ME Priest is best suited for Drake, Osiris and Doppelganger. Several well-
placed ME's are going to make short work of these monsters. Of course, killing
them is one thing, and staying alive is another. Of course you can always just:
1. Party with a/several VIT knight/s, who will Brandish/Spear Stab the mobs
2. Party with FS (Full Support) Priest/s
3. Time the MVP monster, since they respawn exactly one hour after they die.
This is best suited for MVP-ing Drake, since it spawns in only one place in
Sunken Ship
or
4. Party with other ME priests and have all of you spam ME on the monster and
hope for the best.
FS priests play a big role when MVP-ing monsters. All you have to do is
Keep the party alive and be sure that one of them becomes the MVP via buffs.
TU priests are typically the most useless when MVP-ing, since their specialty
cannot be used against MVP monsters. Of course, they can still heal spam the
party, but they don't last as long as FS priests in MVP parties since they
have lower VIT, and they typically have less buffs than they do.
Based on experience, an FS priest is the HARDEST character to kill in PvP. In
fact, FS priests have the highest potential defense of any character class in
the game. Why? Because 99 VIT would give you 99 DEF and 99 INT would give
you 99 MDEF, which means that you reduce significant amounts of damage from
ANYTHING that can hit you in PvP. Add your healing abilities to the picture
and you have a character that even the most powerful wizards have trouble
killing.
Basically, all the priest has to do in PvP/WoE is keep the party alive and
never stop buffing them. The FS priest is most suited in this case since he
has all of the buffs and lives longer than the other priests. The ME and TU
priests should supplement the FS priests by heal-spamming or providing some of
the buffs that they can (TU priests can focus on giving Gloria to the party
while ME priests focuses on kyrie/safety wall).
Pneuma is probably the cheapest skill in the arsenal of a priest. It is the
only skill that would completely shut down not an attack, not a skill, but a
COMPLETE CLASS (ie. Archer/Hunter). If your party is under the Pneuma there
is nothing the archer/hunter can do to you except trap you to death, if it
was even possible.
Remember that in any PvP run/Guild Siege, having the priest die is tantamount
to having the party die. So don't forget to take care of yourself and your
fellow priests, while taking care of the party at the same time. Be sure that
you don't get silenced and frozen as well. You can remedy this by having
Marduk and Marc Cards.
Another approach for priests in this case is via the BSS/Aspersio Combo. What
the priests do is cast BSS on the party and Aspersio on the enemies. This
makes the damage received by the party reduced to 0. Of course, this can be
remedied by switching weapons, but that takes several seconds, and sometimes,
seconds are all you need to win in PvP.
For solo priests in PvP, Decrease Agility will be the weapon of choice. Cast
it on enemies and cast Increase Agility on yourself and your opponent will
never reach you, at which point you kill him via the Lex Aeterna/Holy Light
Combo, which can deal up to 1000 damage in one hit. Of course, if you have to
solo in PvP, then there must be something wrong with your attitude as a
priest....
VIII. Legal Stuff and Credits (aka. Stuff People Don't Read)
This FAQ was submitted on www.gamefaqs.com and you can always find this there,
every updated version will likewise also be posted there first. While it's OK
to post this FAQ anywhere else, it is advised that you credit the original
author of this FAQ as with the other reference materials that you may have
possibly used and please tell me before doing so. There is also one thing
I hate, please do not sell this FAQ for personal profit OR post it in those
websites that have those BOTS and HACKS and the other stuff that just makes
the game SO unfair. Please also tell me if you plan to post this FAQ, I
would appreciate it very much! Any infraction of the afore-mentioned stuff
will prompt me to pursue legal action.
^_^. Thanks for reading this FAQ by the way! I'd appreciate any comments you
would give me!
Thanks to Mark Tee for giving insight about the
ME priest and Suffragium.
Thanks to jm_Magarro@yahoo.com (I hope I got the address right) for providing
some info I used on the current update.
Thanks to anthwerp@pldtdsl.net for providing info about WoE and PvP.
No thanks to all the people who made my life as a priest a living hell. This
is probably the first and last time I'm going to say anything about these
%&^*^&%&^!!!
Thanks to H0BGOBLIN, for making his Acolyte guide, which is my big
inspiration. Keep up the good work!
A Big big thank You to gameFAQs for accepting and posting this FAQ!
You can contact Heiko-Jiro: i_am_johnsay@yahoo.com. Make sure to indicate
the subject as "Your Acolyte Guide on GameFAQs", or something. You can also
contact me via Yahoo! Messenger.
