Instant-casting self-help guide
- When you're farming Ark ether or EXP and you're using a T3 spell (i.e. Shining Zok) to sweep all enemies in one go.
- When you're facing really hard content and a time-stop spell is the difference between losing and winning.
- When you want to show off. (Like your support unit.)
- In certain dragged out stages. For example, take Popoi's non-timestop spells and equip Magic Aura passive (+50% mp cost for +75% increased magic damage).
If a Magic Aura Popoi is let loose with instant casting onto HP-bloated enemies, Popoi can and will use MP like opening a fire hose (imagine 100mp used in 5 real-time seconds). Even with Popoi's Glutton talent recovering MP per kill, Popoi can sometimes hit 0mp by the 5th wave.
The same can happen to any other mage with Magic aura equipped (I saw it happen to my Saintly Theria).
MP management is important! - Mages are SC restricted once they've accounted for element criticals, stat passives, archangel blessing, and magic aura. (Lily doesn't count. Lily is special.) You will want to save SC where you can, and an accessory can help.
- Or you have 2 casters in the party, and you need to split your instant cast between both units. Like in Tower/Arena (4-man teams).
Yes and no.
The story stages are not balanced around instant-cast magic. You can cheese most story stage bosses with instant-cast T3 spells.
The tower floors are not balanced around instant-cast magic but the higher Tower floors are arguably balanced around general Ark ether equipment.
You will definitely find it hard to proceed without time-stop instant-cast spells if you lack important Ark ether equipment or Ark skills/passives. Nothing is impossible, but why make life hard for yourself?
Instant-cast equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shrine of Heresy (SR) |
Cultist's Pendant (5* Accessory) |
INT: 42 MND: -27 |
When using Dark magic, Damage +15% Attack magic casting speed +30% |
Affects all attack magic. Required for instant casting. |
Radmoon Ruins (R) |
Radmoon Stone (4* Accessory) |
MP: 30 FireRes: 5 IceRes: 5 ThunderRes: 5 DarkRes: -20 |
Magic casting speed +20% | Affects all magic, including support spells. Required for instant casting. |
General equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Light of Science (SSR) |
Kingdom of Science Flag (6* Staff) |
MP: 45 INT: 205 MND: 142 |
Element: None The higher the magic power, the more powerful physical attacks will be Science magic damage +50% |
Best staff for Senku, and an excellent stat stick for anyone else. |
Great Temple Maja (SSR) |
Maja's Wand (6* Staff) |
MP: 40 STR: 65 INT: 182 MND: 167 |
Element: Light Light magic attack damage +30% |
Best staff for light element mages (Saintly Theria, Lilah, Lily) |
March of the Saints (SSR) |
Godly Staff, Apocalypse (6* Staff) |
MP: 25 STR: 71 INT: 200 MND: 120 |
Element: Light Criticals will occur when using healing magic |
Stat stick. |
Divine Beast, Loug Mekia (SSR) |
Heaven's Cry (6* Staff) |
MP: 50 STR: 102 INT: 216 |
Element: None Increase Attack magic critical damage by 30% |
Stat stick with crit damage buff. Best in slot for Crit mages (Sea Princess Lilah) |
Bell Tower of Guidance (SSR) |
Holy Robe Sol Finne (6* Robe) |
MP: 20 DEF: 58 INT: 106 MND: 172 LightRes: 5 DarkRes: 5 StunRes: 1 |
Permanent HP/MP regeneration effect. (Slowly restore HP and MP) | Passive HP and MP regen, increases base MP, and has the highest INT stat of any robe in the game. Worth pairing with Robe High Boost for any mage not using Dual Wield. |
Vell=De=Org (SSR) |
The Divine Law of Caltia Roun (6* Robe) |
MP: 30 DEF: 84 MND: 215 LightRes: 10 |
Continuous MP regeneration effect (Gradual MP recovery) | Passive MP regen (2% every 6sec). Also increases base MP. |
Ghost of Zeluen (SR) |
Robe of Zeluen (5* Clothes) |
MP: 20 DEF: 43 INT: 80 MND: 148 Silence: 1 LightRes: 10 |
Stat stick. Silence resist is important for future content. | |
White Laboratory (R) |
Researcher's Attire (4* Clothes) |
DEF: 80 FireRes: 5 IceRes: 5 EarthRes: 5 ThunderRes: 5 DarkRes: 10 SilenceRes: Nil IllnessRes: Nil |
Nullifies Silence. | |
Altar of the Forbidden Book (SR) |
Magic Tome, Veladoma |
INT: 35 MND: -15 IllnessRes: 1 |
Criticals occur when using fire magic | Saves 6 SC for Fire Critical for fire mages |
Thunderstone Luster (R) |
Lightning Stone, Zel Logion |
INT: 27 ThunderRes: 10 |
Thunder magic damage +15% | Boosts Thunder magic damage for Thunder mages (i.e. a mage Phal) |
Grand Bargain (SR) |
The Spoon of the God of Feasts |
Restore MP when crushing an inedible enemy | Covers Popoi's other half of their talent. Recommended if Popoi isn't using instant cast. | |
Militia of the Departed (SSR) |
Abyssal Silver (6* Accessory) |
MP: 20 INT: 72 CurseRes: 1 |
Use MP to make magic attacks Dark element if an enemy's resistance to Dark is lower than resistance to the original attribute | An accessory that has the same effect as Dyne's Dark element switching talent. Since Dark element weaknesses are uncommon, this accessory should only be pursued by players who don't already have a Dark mage built (i.e. players without Lily). |
Recommended equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Archangel Smile (SSR) | Wings of the Archangel (6* Accessory) | MND: 50 DarkRes: 10 | SCT speed +10% After defeating a wave, recover some SCT | Crucial to a SCT build for a unit that isn't Sevia. |
Aldana Colosseum (SR) | Warlord's Halberd (5* Axe) | STR: 157 | SCT speed +10% | The weapon that guaranteed Arena wins pre-rework. Still best in slot for a SCT build or with Axe High Boost. |
Stone World (SR) | Stone Statue of a Bird (5* Accessory) | STR: 25 DEF: 40 ThunderRes: 10 | Unable to faint from enemy attacks | Equip this accessory on your main DPS to make them immune to half of Arena's meta (the other half is Stun resist). The alternative is equipping Ogre Shield + Ancient Armor for 80% Faint resistance or level 10 Bell Tower SSR ark. Not very useful outside Arena. |
Kaldina the Great (SSR) | Covert Gun Trishula (6* Machine) | STR: 156 | If skill damage is originally reduced due to enemy's attribute resistance, ignore attribute resistance (Does not work on attribute Immune enemies) | Ignores element resists, and if Weak succeeds, can turn 100 resist (100% resist = 1dmg) into a killable enemy. Game-breaking for element meta. |
General equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Phoenix Blow (SSR) | Fire Claw, Ligulono Magna (6* Claw) | STR: 158 | Skill damage +15% | Boosts physical skill damage. Useful for all PDPS. |
Skyship Lonvalion (SSR) | Magic Rifle Lapsis (6* Machine) | MP: 20 STR: 143 | When using attacks of an attribute an enemy is weak against, damage +10% | Synergises with Covert Gun Trishula. Otherwise skip. |
Heaven's Bow Star-Lord (SSR) | Star Road, the Heavenly Bow (6* Bow) | STR: 149 MND: 88 | When using Earth or Light skills, Critical rate +10% | Best in slot for Light or Earth PDPS (e.g. Maddine) |
Terror of the Grana Seas (SSR) | Lapis Axe Jilven (6* Axe) | STR: 211 | Greatly increased Counter strength | Stat stick that also boosts Counter damage by 100%. Best in slot for dual wielding Axe users (Davan, DMelza) or Counter units (Doura). |
The Spring of Sulfuric Acid (SSR) | Silver-Tipped Spear (6* Spear) | STR: 185 DEF: 67 MND: 43 PoisonRes: 1 StunRes: 1 IllnessRes: 1 | Excellent no-element weapon that provides Stun resist (important in Arena/certain Tower stages) | |
The Final Oath (SSR) | Earthly Javelin Refia (6* Spear) | STR: 155 DEF: 54 INT: 85 | Earth attack damage +20% | Best in slot for Maddine |
Icy Guardian (SSR) | Briskblade Zestina (6* Sword) | STR: 192 DEF: 30 MND: 30 | Defeat an enemy and recover SCT | Best in slot for Ice-element PDPS (Seilios) or units looking for a SCT boost. The passive stacks with Pose of Glory. Might also work with attack magic, unlike Pose of Glory – this needs testing. |
Treasured Sword Eliud (SR) | Treasured Sword Eliud (5* Sword) | STR: 129 | Critical rate +3% Regular attacks have a chance to inflict DEF -25% | Good for dual-wielding Ice-element PDPS (Seilios) |
Foreign Land Megrona (SSR) | Kikuichimoji (6* Sword) | STR: 171 | First hit of regular attack deals +50% damage | Best in slot for Neutral element PDPS with 1-hit or 2-hit auto attack. |
Secret of Mana (SSR) | Mana Sword (6* Sword) | HP: 300 STR: 185 | Physical attacks +30% damage against God-type boss monsters | Best in slot for Neutral element PDPS (Randi, Sevia, Shin...). Stat stick. |
Divine Beast Hunter (SSR) | The Sword of Kusanagi (6* Sword) | STR: 179 | Neutral element stat stick. | |
God of the Dead (SSR) | Dark Sickle Maurius (6* Axe) | STR: 199 | Dark element stat stick. Best in slot for Phantom Robin and Dark Melza | |
Moonlit Murder (R) | Ninja Apparel (4* Clothes) | DEF: 78 MND: 43 DarkRes: 10 PoisonRes: 1 BlindRes: 1 | Boosts movement speed. A probability of avoiding physical attacks | Put this on whoever needs a movement speed boost. |
Geist Training Mountain (R) | Gaiest Training Armor (4* Armor) | DEF: 55 | Damage dealt by full-stock attack skills +25% | Decent budget armor for SCT units without Dual Wield |
Dragon Treasure Raynicle (SSR) | Reynicle, Dragon's Treasure | HP: 200 STR: 45 INT: 30 FireRes: 10 IceRes: 5 | Stat stick. | |
FINAL FANTASY Adventure (SSR) | Mana Pendant | HP: 250 DEF: 50 MND: 50 FireRes: 5 IceRes: 5 EarthRes: 5 ThunderRes: 5 LightRes: 5 DarkRes: 5 | Automatically deploys Speed, Protection, Magic Barrier and Regenerate one time when you are close to death | Recommended for Units that have talents dependent on low HP. |
Wishes on a Holy Night (SSR) | Wreath of Wishes | MP: 20 INT: 24 MND: 24 DarkRes: 5 BlindRes: 1 SilenceRes: 1 CurseRes: 1 | Near Death: Recover HP greatly. Effect can only be triggered once | Saves 9SC on Awaken, but lacks its buffs. |
Holy Flag of Norlean (SR) | Norlean Flag | DEF: 31 MND: 31 StunRes: 1 | Damage dealt to enemies that have Fainted or are in break +25% | Solid DPS accessory. |
Maiden's Prayer (SR) | The Hairpiece of Greatness | MND: 30 | Women Only: Continuous regeneration effect (Gradual HP recovery) | HP Regen for female Units |
Giant Tree (R) | Ring of Life | EarthRes: 5 | Continuous regeneration effect (Gradual HP recovery) | HP Regen without gender restriction |
Recommended equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Golem Core (SSR) |  Shield of Aigis (6* Accessory) | DEF: 55 MND: 55 | When Automatic Guard activates, damage taken -25% | Synergises with Guard passive to provide unprecedented damage reduction. However, some players don't like Guard's low proc (<30%). |
General equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hidden Pokkle Plains (SR) |  Pokkle Clover (5* Hammer) | STR: 95 MND: 95 | Constantly regenerate HP | HP Regen on a weapon (frees up Accessory slot) |
 Gorde War (SSR) |  Gold Armor (6* Armor) | DEF: 213 MND: 164 BlindRes: 1 | More likely to be targeted by enemies Physical damage taken -10% | An excellent armor with Allure stacking. Highly recommended. |
 Abandoned City of the Sea (SSR) |  Sea King Armor (6* Armor) | HP: 200 DEF: 192 MND: 146 FireRes: 15 IceRes: 10 ThunderRes: -10 CurseRes: 1 StunRes: -1 IllnessRes: 1 | Add Fish type to user | Stat stick. |
 Mirror Armor of Mizel (SR) |  Mirror Armor of Mizel (5* Armor) | DEF: 134 MND: 127 | Nullify magic criticals you receive | Best in slot for any tank against magic-heavy stages. However, not many enemies have crit-heavy magic, so think of it as future investment. |
 Ancient Weapon Lougahn (SSR) |
 Alt Defenser (6* Accessory) |
DEF: 70 MND: 70 |
Activates automatic guard On boss waves, DEF +10% |
Stat stick with increased DEF. Automatic Guard only saves 1 SC for not needing to equip Guard, so the main value is in its stats. |
 Maiden's Prayer (SR) |  The Hairpiece of Greatness | MND: 30 | Women Only: Continuous regeneration effect (Gradual HP recovery) | HP Regen for female Units |
 Giant Tree (R) |  Ring of Life | EarthRes: 5 | Continuous regeneration effect (Gradual HP recovery) | HP Regen without gender restriction |
 Wishes on a Holy Night (SSR) |  Wreath of Wishes | MP: 20 INT: 24 MND: 24 DarkRes: 5 BlindRes: 1 SilenceRes: 1 CurseRes: 1 | Near Death: Recover HP greatly. Effect can only be triggered once | Saves 9SC on Awaken, but lacks its buffs. |
Key items
| Ark | Equipment | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Granada Wharf (R) |  Granada Membership Card | Unlocks 2 decent equipment in Granada Port shop | Not worth Ether farming for, but nice to have. |
General equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Birth of the Rivazard (R) |  Rivazard Halberd (4* Spear) | STR: 90 INT: 90 | While equipped, Vazards become Rivazards in battle and have raised abilities (+20% to all stats) | Best weapon for Vazard. Useless for anyone else. |
 White Knight's Vacation (SR) |  Melza's Swimsuit | DEF: 5 MND: 85 IceRes: 20 ThunderRes: -10 CurseRes: Nil | Unique equipment for White Knight Melza | No judging. |
 Pirate Ship Legnis (SSR) |  Bangle of a Master Thief | STR: 20 DEF: 20 | Chance to obtain an item upon defeating an enemy | Best in slot for a Mage build Master Thief Robin. Only affects Steal on kill. |
 Manmade Ether (R) |  Manmade Ether | MP: 30 DarkRes: 10 | Increase the damage of Soul Spark | Best in slot for any unit trying a Soul Spark build (Gorm is recommended) |
Casting speed reduction
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Radmoon Ruins (R) | Radmoon Stone (4* Accessory) | MP: 30 FireRes: 5 IceRes: 5 ThunderRes: 5 DarkRes: -20 | Magic casting speed +20% | Required for instant casting. |
General equipment
| Ark | Equipment | Stats | Passives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
March of the Saints (SSR) | Godly Staff, Apocalypse (6* Staff) | MP: 25 STR: 71 INT: 200 MND: 120 | Element: Light Criticals will occur when using healing magic | Healing Critical for healers that lack it (Leena has it as a talent). |
Bell Tower of Guidance (SSR) |
Holy Robe Sol Finne (6* Robe) |
MP: 20 DEF: 58 INT: 106 MND: 172 LightRes: 5 DarkRes: 5 StunRes: 1 |
Permanent HP/MP regeneration effect. (Slowly restore HP and MP) | Passive HP and MP regen, and has incredibly high MND. Best robe in the game – but should be reserved for a mage, if you have one in party. |
Vell=De=Org (SSR) | The Divine Law of Caltia Roun (6* Robe) | MP: 30 DEF: 84 MND: 215 LightRes: 10 | Continuous MP regeneration effect (Gradual MP recovery) | Passive MP regen (2% every 6sec). Also increases base MP. |
Ghost of Zeluen (SR) | Robe of Zeluen (5* Clothes) | MP: 20 DEF: 43 INT: 80 MND: 148 Silence: 1 LightRes: 10 | Stat stick. Silence resist is important for future content. | |
White Laboratory (R) | Researcher's Attire (4* Clothes) | DEF: 80 FireRes: 5 IceRes: 5 EarthRes: 5 ThunderRes: 5 DarkRes: 10 SilenceRes: Nil IllnessRes: Nil | Nullifies Silence. | |
Sandwyrm (SSR) | Crown of the Sun | HP: 300 MP: 40 DEF: 40 INT: 40 MND: 40 | MP Stat stick. The best of its kind. | |
Wishes on a Holy Night (SSR) | Wreath of Wishes | MP: 20 INT: 24 MND: 24 DarkRes: 5 BlindRes: 1 SilenceRes: 1 CurseRes: 1 | Near Death: Recover HP greatly. Effect can only be triggered once | Saves 9SC on Awaken, but lacks its buffs. Good for support units that don't use STR/INT. |
Cavern Ale (SR) | Blessed Ale of Rigul | MP: 30 STR: 35 DarkRes: 10 | Upon winning a battle, restores HP and MP +10% | Maximises MP recovery at end of wave |
Magic Mirror Pomram (SR) | Magic Mirror Pomram | INT: 28 MND: 28 | Duration of buffs activated by you +15% | Increases buff duration. Required for a support Primm. |
Ark ether farming guide
"Ether farming" is when a player repeatedly runs a stage in the shortest time possible to maximise the number of runs done.
The goal is to clear the stage and "lap" around the menu to "Battle Start" in <1 minute. Your time depends on the performance of your device/emulator as well as party optimisation.
How many runs do I need?
Each stage clear has a 10% chance of increasing ark ether on an Ark by 0.1%. The statistical average is 10,000 runs per 100% ether.
If you no-life or auto-repeat (auto-run), you can max 3 arks in 10-14 days with 8-12h playtime per day.
Basic strategies
- Build a mage
-
Having a built mage (with instant cast accessories for T3 spells) will solve a lot of problems. Like not owning Randi.
If you don't know what kind of mage you want, build a Light mage first because Shining Zok has the highest damage multiplier, there's a ton of Light-weak mobs, and you can farm Imperial Guard Commander 3.
Recommended light mages:
- Lily (Semi-limited unit)
- Saintly Theria (Seasonal/Limited unit)
- Sea Princess Lilah (needs Light Critical + Shining Zok + Light High Boost, Seasonal/Limited unit)
- Princess Lilah (needs Light High Boost and as many INT buffs you can fit on her)
- Stack damage boosts
-
Recommended skills to cheese most Unit story stages and harder Story stages:
- Magic Aura (Skyship Lonvalion Lv10) for mages
- Sharp Eyes (Megrona Lv10) for physical DPS
- Pirate's Feast (Pirate Ship Legnis Lv10) for physical DPS
- Etherion usage
-
Etherion priority:
- Limited/Collab > Permanent
- Red orb > BlueToRed > Blue
- SSR arks > SR > R
- Maximum Ark level for farming
-
(Soon to be deprecated) LV4 for R arks, LV3 for SR and SSR arks.
1-wave story stages
- Gragia Mountains – Imperial Guard Commander 3
-
Drops green/blue crystals, green/blue clusters, EXP pots and skill books.
-
Strategies:
-
1. (Recommended) Mage with 2,000+ HP, Shining Zok(T3) or Abyss Gate(T3), instant-cast accessories and Magic Aura.
The mobs are weak to Dark and Thunder. You can use T2 spells like Galaxy if you are confident you can 1-shot with a single cast (requires a fully built mage or Maja Wand).
Avoid using Dark Matter.2. Three mage setup with Holy Bolt + Poison Cloud (both non-timestop spells) and High Level Magic Chant equipped.
3. Physical DPS setup, preferably with AoE units like Randi. Avoid healers, tanks, and single target melee AI (i.e. Sevia).
If you cannot clear Imperial Guard Commander 3 consistently, do the other Imperial Guard Commander stages. They're all 1 wave stages with slightly worse drop rates.
-
- Port Lidel – Assault on the Populace
-
Drops purple crystals.
The enemy is 3 Loug Mez, which has no element attribute weakness (until you cast Weak).
-
Strategies:
-
1. (Recommended) Physical DPS setup, preferably with Randi and/or other units with God Slayer equipped.
2. Any mage with Weak debuff equipped. The AI will usually cast Weak first, but there are times when Weak takes 20 seconds to cast.
In either case, the mage will dally and spend time doing regular attacks instead of casting a sure-kill spell.
-
- White Laboratory – Laboratory Depths (Boss stage, Normal only)
-
Drops skill books and magic books.
Lanceveil has annoying lightning spells that can flinch-lock your units, so equip High Level Magic Chant and use time-stop T2 spells (i.e. Galaxy, Blizzard, Dark Matter) for instant-cast magic.
Multi-wave story stages
See the Loot table by map page.
Unit story stages
Why unit story stages?
Most story unit stages are good for ether farming, because they are all 1-wave and have specific element weaknesses that can be exploited by mage AI.
Below are a sample of several unit story stages I farmed.
Most unit story stages have easy opponents, so go for stages that drop unit souls you need.
- Sevia – Plans
-
Use a mage with Dark and Fire spells equipped.
For example, Popoi with Poison Cloud + Burst, or Dyne with Crimson Flare.Drops blue, green and red crystals.
- Dyne – The Sage's Grimoire
-
Use a mage with any T2 or T3 Dark spell equipped.
For example, Dyne with Poison Cloud or Dark Matter. - Shin – Changes
-
Use a mage with any T3 Dark spell equipped. Enemy Lukiel has no damage ultimate, and does very little damage. Can be 1HKO'd with an unbuffed Abyss Gate or Evil Gate.