Cleric vs Fire/Poison vs Ice/Lightning: Which Magician Path to Pick in MapleStory Classic World

Short version: pick Fire/Poison if you want the strongest solo grinder, Ice/Lightning if you want cheaper casting and more control, and Cleric if you want to be the party's lifeline and don't mind slower solo damage. All three are fine; the choice is permanent, so pick the playstyle you'll enjoy at level 50 with no 3rd job in sight.

Our recommendation: Solo grinder → F/P. Budget-conscious or bossing-minded solo → I/L. Plays with friends or a guild, wants to be wanted → Cleric. Can't decide → F/P, since it leads the Magicians on both single-target and mobbing damage in community benchmarks.

Assumptions behind this page

This is an opinion piece. Our picks rest on these assumptions, and they change if the assumptions do:

Classic World launch build only. Values come from launch data where sources disagree (for example Holy Arrow being single-target at launch). Nothing here applies to old GMS, modern MapleStory or private servers.
Victoria Island only, no 3rd job. Third job, El Nath and Ossyria aren't in Classic World yet, so your 2nd job is your endgame for now. Forgotten Hollow isn't open at Grand Launch (Nexon says it opens in November).
Damage numbers are a community DPS benchmark at level 70, using popular community builds. Every hit lands, the target has no defense and never moves, and MP never runs out. Much of that gear isn't available until Ossyria opens. Real numbers will be lower, but the ranking between the three is what we're using.
No measured EXP/hr from our team yet. Map comparisons use a community training calculator's estimates.
Mesos are tight. We weigh MP cost per cast, because most new Classic characters are potion-limited.

The three paths at a glance

	Fire/Poison Wizard	Ice/Lightning Wizard	Cleric
Main attacks	Fire Arrow (1 target), Poison Breath (explosion on nearby mobs)	Cold Beam (1 target), Thunder Bolt (up to 6 around you)	Holy Arrow (1 target at launch), Heal vs undead
Party skill	Meditation, +25 party Magic Attack	Meditation, +25 party Magic Attack	Heal, Bless (party takes 15% less damage at max)
Lv 70 single-target (community DPM benchmark)	159,952 (8th of 10 jobs)	151,062 (9th)	131,599 (10th)
Lv 70 mobbing at 6 targets	615,199 (4th of 8)	373,233 (7th of 8)	Not ranked: Holy Arrow hits one mob
Single-target damage per MP	78.1	92.8	72.2
Main attack MP at max	Fire Arrow 28, Poison Breath 40	Cold Beam 22, Thunder Bolt 40	Holy Arrow 28, Heal 27
Survivability	Low HP, relies on Magic Guard	Low HP, slows and stuns help	Community benchmark: #2 physical EHP, #1 magical EHP at Lv 70

Fire/Poison: the damage pick

Why we'd take it: it's the best Magician at both jobs a solo player cares about. Fire Arrow tops the three on single targets in the community benchmark, and Poison Breath's explosion makes F/P the best Magician mobber by a wide margin. One community guide says Fire Arrow "has plenty of weak targets on Victoria Island": Ligators, Jr. Wraiths and Crocos are all fire-weak.

The catch: Poison Breath costs 40 MP at max, Fire Arrow loses damage on the fire-resistant mobs (Fire Boars, Drakes), and the poison side has few good targets: the launch monster data has only three poison-weak monsters (the fairy variants) against six that resist poison and three that are immune (Green Mushroom, Commander Skeleton, Jr. Balrog). The explosion reaches up to six nearby mobs in the launch skill data; ignore the older pre-launch description that said four.

Read the F/P guide and F/P training spots.

Ice/Lightning: the efficient pick

Why we'd take it: Cold Beam is the cheapest 2nd job attack in the branch at 22 MP, and I/L gets the most single-target damage per MP of the three. Cold Beam briefly freezes (slows) what it hits, Thunder Bolt has a chance to stun (25% at max), and Cold Beam reportedly hits through terrain. The Burnt Land and Dangerous Valley are full of ice-weak Fire Boars and Copper Drakes, and Thunder Bolt hits up to six mobs.

The catch: Thunder Bolt does much less mobbing damage than Poison Breath in the community benchmark (373,233 vs 615,199 per minute at six targets), and it still costs 40 MP. Element coverage is narrow: the launch monster data has five ice-weak monsters (Fire Boar, Copper Drake, Red Drake and the two Tauros) against six that resist ice, and six lightning-weak (Slime, Octopus, Bubbling, Lorang, Clang, Iron Hog) against six that resist lightning.

Read the I/L guide and I/L training spots.

Cleric: the party pick

Why we'd take it: every party wants one. Heal keeps people alive and damages undead, Bless cuts the damage the whole party takes, and the Cleric is by far the tankiest Magician in the community benchmark. On undead maps (Zombie Mushrooms, Jr. Wraiths, Zombie Lupins, Wraiths) Heal doubles as an attack and replaces most of your HP potions. One community test reportedly put Heal 2 at about 12 mesos' worth of MP for roughly the HP of 55 mesos of potions.

The catch: Classic's launch build made Holy Arrow single-target (it hit 3 in the test build, per launch skill-change logs), and the Cleric is last of all ten 2nd jobs on single-target damage at level 70. Away from undead maps, solo leveling is slow. One community common-mistakes list for the Cleric leads with expecting to do lots of damage.

Read the Cleric guide and Cleric training spots.

Our picks by player type

You are…	Our pick	Why
A solo grinder who wants levels fast	F/P	Best Magician damage on one target and on groups
Solo on a tight potion budget	I/L	Cheapest main attack, best damage per MP
Mostly playing with friends, a guild or KPQ regulars	Cleric	Heal and Bless make the whole group safer
Planning to tank-and-spank bosses	I/L or Cleric	I/L for cheap sustained casting and slows; Cleric for staying alive and keeping others alive
Unsure and want the safest all-rounder	F/P	Strong in both modes, with no glaring weakness besides MP cost

None of these is wrong. All three use the same 1st job build, the same wands and the same INT-heavy AP, so the decision is purely about playstyle. Whatever you choose, community plans keep Energy Bolt in use for the first few levels after 30, until the new main attack has enough skill levels to beat it.

Before you advance

The choice is permanent: a job advancement is permanent.
Finish your 1st job SP first. 2nd job SP can't go into 1st job skills. See the Magician 1–30 guide.
The advancement itself is at Lv 30 with Grendel the Really Old in Ellinia (Nexon). The class overview is at /classes/magician.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Magician 2nd job in MapleStory Classic World?

For solo grinding, Fire/Poison: it leads the three Magician paths on both single-target and mobbing damage in a community level 70 benchmark. For parties, Cleric. For cheap, efficient casting, Ice/Lightning.

Is Cleric worth it in Classic World?

Yes if you party. Heal and Bless are the best support in the branch and the Cleric is the tankiest Magician. Solo, it's the slowest unless you stick to undead maps.

F/P or I/L for solo leveling?

F/P has more damage, especially on groups. I/L is cheaper on MP and has better damage per MP. If potions are your bottleneck, I/L; otherwise F/P.

Can I change my Magician 2nd job later?

No. Job advancements are permanent, so pick carefully.

Does Holy Arrow still hit 3 monsters?

Not in the Classic launch build, according to launch skill-change logs. It now hits one target with higher magic attack.

Which Magician is best for bossing?

On community benchmark numbers, F/P does the most single-target damage, I/L the most damage per MP, and Cleric survives best. Bosses at launch are Victoria Island bosses like Mushmom and Jr. Balrog.

Sources: Nexon [1] · Game data v1.0.0 · NiaMeowDB [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] · MapleClassic Wiki [1] [2] [3]. Names and game content © Nexon, used for informational purposes. The explanations on this page are our own.