# MapleStory Classic second job guide: prepare for level 30

HTML source: https://maplefieldnotes.com/guides/second-job
Canonical HTML: https://maplefieldnotes.com/guides/second-job

Choose your next rhythm before you choose your next weapon.

Editorial review: 2026-10-23. Official release announcements take precedence. Community sources can lag the live client. Source review is not in-game testing. Class tiers, build priorities and planning methods are editorial advice, not measured optimal builds or guaranteed leveling rates.

## At a glance

- **Reference level:** 30

- **Start with:** Your first instructor

- **Before confirming:** Read live requirements

- **Budget for:** One usable routine

## Decide what you want the next session to feel like

Level 30 is a useful checkpoint, but the decision is about more than a new job name. Choose the kind of play you want to repeat: close combat, ranged positioning, elemental attacks or a support-oriented party role. A powerful-looking skill in a video may rely on ranks or equipment you will not have immediately.

Write down your usual session length, whether you normally play alone, and what frustrates you about your current route. Compare each branch against those three facts. If a path only sounds attractive in a coordinated group, check whether that group is actually available at your usual play time.

## The launch reference branch map

Current class references place second advancement at level 30. Return to the first instructor and follow the live quest directions. We do not invent a universal examination item count or a test-map route from a different version of MapleStory. Read the actual objective before leaving town.

The six build guides here cover the four first jobs plus Cleric and Ice/Lightning. Other second-job branches are listed for orientation; they do not yet have dedicated, verified skill-priority pages on this site.

| First job | Second-job choices | First instructor / town |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Warrior | Fighter, Page, Spearman | Dances with Balrog / Perion |
| Magician | Fire/Poison Wizard, Ice/Lightning Wizard, Cleric | Grendel the Really Old / Ellinia |
| Bowman | Hunter, Crossbowman | Athena Pierce / Henesys |
| Thief | Assassin, Bandit | Dark Lord / Kerning City |

- [MapleClassic Wiki: Warrior](https://mapleclassic.wiki/wiki/Warrior): Community skill table labelled pre-launch. Check the live skill window before spending points.

- [MapleClassic Wiki: Magician](https://mapleclassic.wiki/wiki/Magician): Community class table; first job at level 10. Some older general SP pages still say level 8.

- [MapleClassic Wiki: Bowman](https://mapleclassic.wiki/wiki/Bowman): Community class and skill prerequisites, labelled pre-launch.

- [MapleClassic Wiki: Thief](https://mapleclassic.wiki/wiki/Thief): Community class and skill prerequisites, labelled pre-launch.

## Make a before-and-after record

A screenshot or short handwritten record gives you a reliable baseline. Avoid spending the last points just to match a legacy guide with a different advancement level. Our AP and SP guide explains the conflict between older Magician examples and current first-job references.

If the client gives an instruction that conflicts with a community table, verify the current rule before confirming an irreversible choice. A launch-date label alone does not establish that every number in a guide has been retested.

- Note your permanent attributes and the bonuses supplied by equipped items.

- Record unused points and your current skill ranks.

- Check any point-spending restriction shown by the advancement dialogue.

- Read the prerequisite for the first new skill you plan to use.

- Do not assume an old-job point can buy a new-job skill.

## Budget the transition, not just the weapon

Keep enough liquid mesos for a normal recovery-and-travel session before shopping. A new weapon can change your ammunition, range, attack timing or attribute requirements. Compare the complete cost of using it with the route you can currently sustain.

For a branch that changes your routine, start with serviceable equipment. First establish whether the new attack, positioning and recovery pattern work for you. Spending the whole reserve before that test makes it harder to distinguish a build problem from an equipment problem.

| Question | Evidence to gather |
| --- | --- |
| Can I equip it? | Read the live job, level and attribute requirements. |
| Can I keep using it? | Count ammunition and recovery costs in one ordinary session. |
| Does it solve my problem? | Compare clear time, misses, travel and safety before and after. |
| What do I give up? | Account for the bonuses on the item being replaced. |

## Run a small, comparable first session

Start on a map you already understand. Keep the test length and route similar to your previous session, then record EXP gained, total elapsed time and recovery consumed. Include town trips and waiting. The EXP comparison tool can show whether a higher attack rate survives those extra costs.

Change one thing at a time. If you change your weapon, map, party and skill rotation together, an improvement will be difficult to explain. Repeat a promising result during another ordinary session before treating it as your new baseline.

- For a new support role, establish party expectations before a difficult pull.

- For a new ranged routine, check distance and platform spacing before gathering monsters.

- For elemental attacks, compare actual results against the target instead of assuming every monster has the same response.

- For close combat, measure incoming damage and recovery as well as kills.

## Keep the plan short enough to change

Choose a next investment and a reason for it, then review after a few levels or a relevant patch. A useful plan can say what would make you change course: an unlock becoming available, a party changing, a route becoming crowded or a recovery cost becoming unsustainable.

This page is a preparation worksheet, not a claim that every branch has equal damage or identical progression. Follow the linked build for the branch we cover, use current item and skill tooltips for exact requirements, and retain your baseline so the next decision has evidence behind it.

## Session checklist

- [ ] Compare the branches available to my first job.

- [ ] Record my AP, SP and equipment before changing jobs.

- [ ] Reserve recovery and travel money.

- [ ] Read the current advancement instructions in the client.

- [ ] Test one new routine before buying more gear.

## Related reading

- [MapleStory Classic class tier list: launch jobs ranked](https://maplefieldnotes.com/guides/class-tier-list)

- [MapleStory Classic AP & SP guide: avoid old-build mistakes](https://maplefieldnotes.com/guides/ap-sp)

- [Class builds](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds)

- [MapleStory Classic EXP guide: leveling routes & calculator](https://maplefieldnotes.com/guides/leveling)

- [MapleStory Classic mesos guide: budget, loot & upgrades](https://maplefieldnotes.com/guides/mesos-economy)

- [MapleStory Classic Warrior build: AP, SP & training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/warrior)

- [MapleStory Classic Magician build: skills, AP & MP](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/magician)

- [MapleStory Classic Bowman build: AP, SP & positioning](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/bowman)

- [MapleStory Classic Thief build: claw, dagger, AP & SP](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/thief)

- [MapleStory Classic Cleric build: Heal, party & mesos](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/cleric)

- [MapleStory Classic Ice Lightning build: skills & maps](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/ice-lightning)

- [MapleStory Classic Fighter build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/fighter)

- [MapleStory Classic Page build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/page)

- [MapleStory Classic Spearman build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/spearman)

- [MapleStory Classic Fire/Poison Wizard build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/fire-poison)

- [MapleStory Classic Hunter build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/hunter)

- [MapleStory Classic Crossbowman build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/crossbowman)

- [MapleStory Classic Assassin build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/assassin)

- [MapleStory Classic Bandit build: skills and training](https://maplefieldnotes.com/builds/bandit)

Original editorial guide text is offered under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Attributed community material retains its applicable terms. This does not relicense Nexon assets or the underlying ShipAny code.