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Where to find monsters in the low level 23X range?

MawgMawg
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edited March 2019 in General Chat
I am an I/L mage, level 212. Grinding is taking far to long at the far end of the ScrapYard - Black Heaven Maze 7, where the monsters are only level 217.

I can't pass beyond Chu Chu island until I am level 220.

Question: Is there anywhere with level 23X monsters that I can grind for EXP?

Comments

  • AggraphineAggraphine
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    edited March 2019
    In short, no.

    Arcane river is really your best bet. The exp per kill is, quite simply, unmatched by scrapyard or dark world tree mobs. And beyond a certain point it's your only option. If you don't have enough arcane power to kill quickly in chuchu, go down to vanishing journey. I'm not sure why you're concerned about passing chuchu until you're 220 when you're only 212 and, by the sound of things, not even grinding in arcane river or, presumably, doing your dailies for symbols. If you aren't doing your dailies, it's going to come back to bite you in a big way once you do hit 220, because you'll be doing absolute garbage damage to even the lowest-level lachelein mobs.

    If your problem is that all the chuchu maps suck ass, then you're not wrong. My recommendation is bitty-bobble forest 1 as well as slurpy forest depths, both highlighted here:
    HO9AZ83.png
    Skywhale mountain is not somewhere you should ever go. It's hot garbage.

    You do not need 23x mobs to grind effectively, especially because you actually gain less exp per kill the farther away you are from the mobs' levels. Exp over time > exp per kill
    Mawg
  • AKradianAKradian
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    edited March 2019
    Your best map for exp is probably Chu Chu's Slurpy Forest Depths.
    There are no mobs over level 219 outside Arcane River.
    MawgInvulgo
  • MawgMawg
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    edited March 2019
    Thanks, guys. I guess that I will go to Chu Chu.and grind. I just *hate* those flying thingies F2 and, for some reason, I can't solo the quest there - but at least I can grind.

  • AggraphineAggraphine
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    edited March 2019
    Well it's not a party quest for nothing. Depending on your server you can more than likely get carried.
  • MawgMawg
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    edited March 2019
    Aggraphine wrote: »
    You do not need 23x mobs to grind effectively, especially because you actually gain less exp per kill the farther away you are from the mobs' levels. Exp over time > exp per kill

    Interesting. I knew that mobs more than 20 levels away give less experience, but had just always assumed that those 19 levels above me would give more exp than those at my exact level.

    Hmm, if so, why not just stay at scrapyard. Do Chu Chu monsters give more EXP than scrapyard monsters at the same level?
  • AggraphineAggraphine
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    edited March 2019
    Mawg wrote: »
    Aggraphine wrote: »
    You do not need 23x mobs to grind effectively, especially because you actually gain less exp per kill the farther away you are from the mobs' levels. Exp over time > exp per kill

    Interesting. I knew that mobs more than 20 levels away give less experience, but had just always assumed that those 19 levels above me would give more exp than those at my exact level.

    Hmm, if so, why not just stay at scrapyard. Do Chu Chu monsters give more EXP than scrapyard monsters at the same level?

    Alloy Xenoroid DX

    Flyon

    Yes. They also have more hp, but that's offset by your arcane power. I'm not sure on the exact formula, but once you cross a certain threshold of arcane power above what a map requires, you start dealing bonus damage as well as taking less damage from the mobs.
    Mawg
  • MawgMawg
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    edited March 2019
    That's for that. With a bit of digging around I found this spreadsheet (viewable online) of damage accordion to arcane force - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sJSM7iZDP9e4GRfhGvhfpnGWYVwh2AaeywUIhi4F4Ec/edit#gid=708289897

    I got 1% in 4 minutes at Slurpy Forest Depths, so hoping for 15% an hour (approx), plus I might buy a 2x EXP, since they seem to have stopped the weekend 2X
  • MiraMira
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    edited March 2019
    Aggraphine wrote: »
    Yes. They also have more hp, but that's offset by your arcane power. I'm not sure on the exact formula, but once you cross a certain threshold of arcane power above what a map requires, you start dealing bonus damage as well as taking less damage from the mobs.

    If your AF = the AF of the map, that means 0% damage reduction, regular damage dealt/received.
    If your AF = 1.5x the AF of the map, that means you take 1 damage from mobs and deal ~1.5-2x more damage to mobs (I forget the exact amount). So Flyons, which is a 100 AF map, would require 150 AF in order to take 1 damage/deal more damage.

    If you're not already doing so, you need to start doing Chuchu PQ. That is your fastest growing symbol out of all 6 areas, and will help you propel your AF really quickly to be able to meet those early AF requirements.
    Mawg
  • MawgMawg
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    edited March 2019
    Mira wrote: »
    If you're not already doing so, you need to start doing Chuchu PQ. That is your fastest growing symbol out of all 6 areas, and will help you propel your AF really quickly to be able to meet those early AF requirements.

    I have never PQed - I always solo. I currently have 230 AF, so worries, I just need to grind to get to level 220 & unlock the next area.

    There is a lot of info online that says that even failing the Chu Chu PQ on easy level will give one symbol, but it must be out of date as that does not happen.
  • FuhreakFuhreak
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    edited March 2019
    Since it was mentioned a few times, here's the formula for arcane force.
    https://strategywiki.org/wiki/MapleStory/Formulas#Arcane_Force_Maps

    Also be sure to look at this section as well.
    https://strategywiki.org/wiki/MapleStory/Formulas#Experience
    If you kill mobs within 9 levels of yourself, you actually gain bonus exp.
    This bonus EXP is base, so it stacks extremely well with other EXP multipliers.
    Mawg
  • MawgMawg
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    edited March 2019
    That was a great link! Thank you!

    So, obviously, I want to stay within 4 level,, plus minus, of the mobs, to gain an extra 10% EXP. Thanks again! F2