Mage 90–99: Crit and Penetration Builds

What a Mage at level 90–99 should wear, learn and slot. Two play styles — Attack + Crit and Attack + Penetration — and three modes: Abyss, League Trial and Secret Realm. Numbers come from the game data as checked on 13.10.2026; names are the ones used in the English version of the game.

Key points

• At 90–99 the Mage plays on ice. The core skill is Frostfocus, the set is Dark Gate. By the portal's calculation, without artifact nodes, this kit hits with the core skill 18% harder than the fire kit with Dragonbreath; the Dragonbreath node in the artifact adds to the fire kit a hit that does not grow with the number of targets (see "Artifacts") (calculated).
• The Ice Howl Staff and Deep Cold Gauntlets work for the same skill. The set, staff and gauntlets all boost one Frostfocus — so in the talent tree your Core skill must be Frostorb, not Flamehand.
• The staff and gauntlets only work when the node of their skill is learned. If you stay on the fire tree, the ice items give stats only.
• Frostspread is weaker than Frostfocus by about a factor of 1.5 by calculation (calculated).
• No more than two identical emblems per pet, even if they are different colours.
• Magic stones need a Star and a Moon. Without stones of these shapes the combination bonus does not turn on.
• A Penetration gem does not fit into the weapon. Weapons only take Attack, Hit Rating and Crit gems. At 90–99 gems go up to level 9.
• Passive rows IV–VI and the 4th and 5th inscription slots are unlocked by class promotion: Inscription Rating 1000, 2500 and 7000.
• The Oracle opens at level 90 — start saving materials in advance.

Equipment

There are no level 99 items in the game. Items come in steps, and by the end of the range you wear the best that exists:

Slot	Weapon	Gloves	Cloak	Shoulders	Chest	Legs	Ring	Necklace	Bracers	Mark
Item level	96	96	90	90	92	92	94	94	98	98

Staff and gauntlets

• Ice Howl Staff (Lv. 96): Frostfocus damage +46.8%; a monster can be instantly crushed by an ice orb with a chance (the lower its health, the higher the chance); Core skill cooldown −15%.
• Deep Cold Gauntlets (Lv. 96): after a Tactical skill, the next Frostfocus deals 180% more damage.

Set: cloak, shoulders, chest, legs

Wear Dark Gate. It boosts the same Frostfocus as the staff and gauntlets.

Cloak · Shoulders · Chest · Legs

• 2 pieces — +2.5% Combat Penetration Boost, Core skill cooldown −15%;
• 4 pieces — Frostspread and Frostfocus: damage +120%.

Cloak · Shoulders · Chest · Legs

Why not Death Wish. Death Wish boosts Snowstorm and Slowing Blizzard by 110% — Tactical skills. But you use a Tactical skill three times less often than the Core one: in the Abyss, 31 casts in 400 seconds against 94. So in the Abyss, by the portal's calculation, Dark Gate with the ice staff and gauntlets is stronger (calculated). In the League Trial and in the Secret Realm the Tactical skill is Snowstorm, and its total over a fight is comparable to the Core skill's (on one target over 300 seconds, without gear: 641 against 455 "shares"), so the advantage of Dark Gate there is not proven ❔.

Accessories

Each slot has two effects to choose from. Which is better depends on your build.

Slot	Main choice	Replacement
Ring, 94	Shimmering Vision: +3% damage bonus and another +0.5% for each socketed gem of level 9 or higher, up to +8%	Demon Hunter: damage to mobs and bosses +5%
Necklace, 94	Elven Artificer: +3% damage bonus and another +1% for each Soul Forging level on this item	Step into Eternal Night: after the Ultimate skill, damage +10% for 10 s
Bracers, 98	Pack Leader: after a pet skill, 8% of the energy spent is returned	Thunder Curse Domain: when a basic attack hits, 30% chance of a lightning strike (damage rate 400%)
Mark, 98	Swordplay Master: while health is above 30%, +6% damage bonus	—

The ring's threshold is level 9 gems: change the ring together with the gems. If you have fewer than five level 9 gems, Demon Hunter may be better (3% + 5 × 0.5% = 5.5% is already above 5%) ❔: the two kinds of bonus cannot be compared by the game's formula.

Attack + Crit: gems, special effects, refinement

Slot	Gem	Special effects (calculated order, best on the left)	Refinement (3 lines)
Weapon, 96	Crit	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Accuracy	Attack, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus
Gloves, 96	Crit	Courage Blessing, Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Sharpness, Luck	Crit Bonus, Crit, Hit Bonus
Cloak, 90	Evasion	Stable Victory, Courage Blessing, Penetration, Sharpness	Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus, Penetration
Shoulders, 90	Attack	Courage Blessing, Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Penetration, Sharpness	Damage Bonus, Attack Bonus, Penetration
Chest, 92	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Luck	Crit, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus
Legs, 92	HP	Unyielding, Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Penetration, Luck	Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus, Penetration
Ring, 94	Crit	Stable Victory, Courage Blessing, Penetration, Sharpness	Attack Bonus, Hit Bonus, Damage Bonus
Necklace, 94	Crit	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Accuracy	Attack, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus
Bracers, 98	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Boom Boom Boom Boom!, Penetration, Sharpness	Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus, Attack Bonus
Mark, 98	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Unyielding, Sharpness, Luck	Crit, Attack Bonus, Penetration Bonus

Attack + Penetration: gems, special effects, refinement

Slot	Gem	Special effects (calculated order, best on the left)	Refinement (3 lines)
Weapon, 96	Crit or Attack (Penetration does not fit into the weapon)	Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Accuracy, Unyielding	Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack
Gloves, 96	Penetration	Courage Blessing, Sharpness	Crit, Hit Bonus, Crit Bonus
Cloak, 90	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Stable Victory, Penetration, Sharpness	Penetration, Attack Bonus, Damage Bonus
Shoulders, 90	Attack	Courage Blessing, Penetration, Sharpness	Penetration, Damage Bonus, Attack Bonus
Chest, 92	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Unyielding	Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack
Legs, 92	HP	Penetration, Unyielding	Penetration, Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus
Ring, 94	Penetration	Courage Blessing, Stable Victory, Penetration, Sharpness	Attack Bonus, Hit Bonus, Damage Bonus
Necklace, 94	Penetration	Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Accuracy, Unyielding	Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack
Bracers, 98	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Penetration, Sharpness	Attack Bonus, Crit Bonus, Damage Bonus
Mark, 98	Evasion	Courage Blessing, Sharpness, Unyielding	Penetration Bonus, Attack Bonus, Attack

• "Attack" is a flat amount, "Attack Bonus" is a percentage. The same goes for Crit, Penetration and Hit Rating. " Damage Bonus" increases all damage.
• The set of Refinement lines for each slot is stored in the game data, and every line in the table is in its slot's set. The game has two such sets, old and new; the server decides which one is active ❔ (the table fits the new set completely, while 26 of its 60 lines do not fit the old one (calculated)). What a given roll produces is not in the data: the table shows the target three lines.
• Why the Crit build has Penetration and the Penetration build sometimes has Crit. It is not advice to level the other stat, it is a limit of the slot's line set. Weapon, cloak, pauldrons, ring and necklace have neither Crit nor Crit Bonus, so the Crit build takes Penetration and Attack there; gloves have neither Penetration nor Attack, so the Penetration build takes Crit there. Where a slot does offer its own stat, the build takes it. By the client's damage formula the difference between these options is small (calculated; not tested in combat).
• Four special effects only appear on Golden Flashing items. A regular Mythic item has two or three, so pick them from left to right. On bracers, aim for Boom Boom Boom Boom!, not the weaker Boom Boom!: on items 90–98 it gives +17% Crit against +6.8% for Boom Boom!.

How it was calculated: refinement, special effects and gems (calculated)

The mage's refinement lines, special effects and gems are recalculated with the game's formulas (the client's CalCulatePhysDamage, tools/theorycraft.py in the portal) on the data of 13.10.2026; the game is rebalanced weekly, so the numbers may shift (calculated). The base is the "live mage" from the portal tests (Attack 29,480, Crit 14,123.5, Hit Rating 7,882.1, Penetration 12,936, Damage Bonus 108.8%) with every stat shifted by ±50%; the target is a monster with its own Damage Reduction, like monsters from about level 45 up (median over the monster table): weaker ones have none, and against them a Damage Bonus above +100% adds nothing because the multiplier of this channel is capped at ×2. In the Penetration build three Crit gems (gloves, ring, necklace) are swapped for Penetration gems: a Penetration gem does not fit into the weapon. A line is taken at its expected roll value (normal stone 35/40/20/5% at levels 9–12, advanced 30/50/20% at 11–13); the player chooses which line to replace, so target triples are compared, not what dropped.

• Why percentage lines are weaker than they look. A stat's total = base × (1 + the sum of percentages of one pool), so a "… Bonus" line gives its value times the share F = 1/(1 + S), where S is the percentages already in the pool. By the game data the same pool receives the percentages of items (+17.9% for every stat), stars and souls, special effects, part of the talents and pet emblems (the "Total" column of these guides); the "combat" pool (sets, part of the talents) multiplies separately and does not change F. Where emblems have filled the pool of their stat, a percentage line is almost equal to the flat one (calculated):

Stat	F, Crit	F, Penetration	Percentage = flat at F
Attack	0.35–0.53	0.37–0.53	0.26
Penetration	0.36–0.52	0.25–0.32	0.29
Crit	0.21–0.30	0.46–0.55	0.20
Hit Rating	0.39–0.54	0.39–0.54	0.24

• Ring and "Hit Bonus". The line pays off while Hit Rating is below 25% of the sum of Attack, Penetration and Crit (about 14% for the calculation base; with twice the Hit Rating the line gives 0). If the character screen already shows 0% miss, take Penetration. The game rounds miss to 0.01% (the client rule of 23.09.2026), so rounding changes the gain of the ring by about 0.01 pp or less (calculated). The game itself does not list Hit Rating as valuable for the mage (logic).
• Penetration build: "Crit Bonus" instead of flat Crit (Legs, Bracers, Gloves). The Penetration build's emblems fill the Penetration pool (F = 0.25–0.32) while the Crit pool is free (F = 0.46–0.55), so "Crit Bonus" is stronger than flat Crit there: +1.27 pp at the typical base. If your Crit is small (near the crit_on threshold = 13.3% of Attack + Penetration for a typical monster; about 33% for the typical base), "Crit Bonus" loses weight together with the Crit base, and on Legs and Bracers the gap falls to +0.24 pp (at Crit 7,000) — then keep the flat lines (calculated; not tested in combat).
• Stability. Shifting any single stat by ±50%, the triple that is best at the shifted point is better than the table's by no more than 0.49 pp (calculated).
• Special effects. The "Special effects" column is in the calculated order (best on the left). Flat Sharpness, Accuracy, Luck and Penetration give 0.87% damage per effect. Crit build: Courage Blessing 1.41%, Stable Victory 1.41%, Unyielding 1.14%, but Boom Boom Boom Boom! only 0.95% — the Crit pool is filled by emblems. Penetration build: Unyielding 0.80% is BELOW the flat ones, the Penetration pool is filled by emblems; that is why it stands last in that column. Which effects can roll on a slot is not in the data ❔, so "the best ones overall" are not recommended (calculated).
• Gems. The table's choices are all allowed for their slots. The four offensive gems (Attack, Penetration, Hit Rating, Crit) are worth the same: +0.42% damage per gem inside the band of thresholds (Crit from 13% to 127% of Attack + Penetration, Hit Rating not above 25% of the other three, Penetration not above 200% of Attack); the model adds the gem to the final number on the sheet and does not tell apart the percentage bonuses of different stats ❔. On the 210 bases checked Attack was never worse, and the others lose no more than 0.8 pp, and only outside the band or on its edge. Cloak, chest, legs, bracers and mark accept only defensive gems, which do not change damage (calculated).
• Not verified. The server decides which of the two line sets is active ❔; the miss-rounding rule (0.01% steps, 75% cap) is taken from the game client of 23.09.2026 and was not checked against a newer client ❔; the model was not tested in combat; each slot is calculated separately from the other nine (not verified).

Skills and passives

Which skills to take

Max out each of the four branches: the skill, Mage Skill Enhancement and the bottom node (Major Upgrade for the Basic skill, Medium Upgrade for the others). That is 40 points. Another 9 go into the three passive rows and 1 into Mage Stat 2. 50 out of 50 in total.

Slot	Abyss	Secret Realm	League Trial
Basic	Lightning Lash	Frostbolt	Lightning Lash
Core	Frostfocus	Frostfocus	Frostfocus
Tactical	Slowing Blizzard	Snowstorm	Snowstorm or Slowing Blizzard
Ultimate	Missilestorm	Missilestorm	Missilestorm

• Core skill — Frostorb → Frostfocus. The same branch has Frostspread, but by calculation it is weaker by about a factor of 1.5 (calculated). The number of targets does not change that: in the League Trial up to 13 mobs can be around the boss, and Frostspread still loses at any number of targets from 1 to 26. This has not been measured in a League Trial fight itself ❔: if you have measured a gain from Frostspread there yourself, keep it — the Glacier Staff and Freeze Gauntlets boost exactly that skill.
• Flamehand (fire) and Frostorb are mutually exclusive branches: choosing one closes the other.

Which Tactical skill

The portal calculates a skill's "share" in a fight: for the skills after the "medium enhancement" (as a player who maxed the branch has them), without gear and without artifact nodes, on the data of 13.10.2026 (higher is better; compare only within a column) (calculated):

Tactical skill	Abyss (26 targets)	Secret Realm (5 targets)	League Trial: boss only	League Trial: boss and mobs, k = 0.5 (assumption)
Slowing Blizzard	314	87	17.5	79
Chain Lightning	278	77	15.5	70
Paralyzing Lightning	255	71	14.2	64
Snowstorm	173	107	26.7	94

• In the Abyss — Slowing Blizzard: it is ahead of Chain Lightning by 13%, so Chain Lightning is also fine. In the Secret Realm (5 targets in the calculation) Snowstorm leads, 22% above Slowing Blizzard; Slowing Blizzard overtakes it from about 10 targets in the area.
• In the League Trial the only target you have to kill is the boss; the waves of small monsters around it need not be killed. How fast you kill the boss is shown by the "boss only" column: Snowstorm is ahead there (by 53%). Mobs only take side damage and add to your personal points; the last column shows that: it assumes half of the mobs stand inside the skill's area (k = 0.5; the game data do not give the real share ❔). Snowstorm leads there too (by 19%); if all mobs are in the area (k = 1), the figures are 143 / 127 / 116 / 129 and Slowing Blizzard is ahead (by 11%). Choose by goal: Snowstorm to kill the boss; Slowing Blizzard for personal points when almost all mobs stand inside the skill's area.
• Paralyzing Lightning comes last in the calculation in every column except the Abyss (there Snowstorm is last), but it paralyzes the target: if control matters to you, count that as a plus ❔.
• Deep Cold Gauntlets boost Frostfocus after any Tactical skill, so the choice does not depend on the gauntlets.

Passives: Class Core Passive and Core Passive

These are the three bottom rows in Talent. In each row you pick one node, left or right. The rows are unlocked by class promotion, not by level.

Row	Unlocks at	Attack + Crit	Attack + Penetration
T4, Class Core Passive	Inscription Rating 1000	right: +11.7% Combat Crit Boost	left: +10.5% Combat Penetration Boost
T5, Core Passive	rating 2500	left: after the Core skill, +11.25% Penetration Bonus and +6.75% Crit Bonus for 10 s, at most once every 15 s	left, the same
T6, Core Passive	rating 7000	right: +7.8% Combat Crit Boost	left: +7% Combat Penetration Boost

• In row T5 the right node gives the same bonuses, but after a Tactical skill. You use the Core skill three times more often (and its cooldown is shorter with the staff and set), so take the left one.
• Until you reach T6, put the spare points into Mage Stat 2 (+1.5% Crit Bonus per point) for a crit build, or into Mage Stat 1 (+1% Penetration Bonus per point) for a penetration build.

Inscriptions

At first you have the main inscription and two support ones. The 4th slot unlocks at T4 (Total Inscription Rating 1000), the 5th at T5 (2500). The main inscription is listed first.

Abyss

Option	Main	Aux 1	Aux 2	Aux 3	Aux 4
Option 1	Sin Domain	Stasis Field	Pause Field	Mirror Device	Winterless Art
Option 2	Arcane Domain	Stasis Field	Pause Field	Mirror Device	Winterless Art

In a long fight both domains give about the same, around 15–16% damage. The game's own Balance preset suggests the Arcane Domain. These domains do not wait for a cooldown, so the Stasis and Pause Fields, which lengthen it, do not hurt them.

League Trial

Option	Main	Aux 1	Aux 2	Aux 3	Aux 4
Crit, option 1	Sin Domain	Stasis Field	Pause Field	Mirror Device	Daybreak Art
Crit, option 2	Vengeance Domain	Dreamforge Art	Dawnflower Art	Lone Lamp Art	Daybreak Art
Penetration	Sin Domain	Stasis Field	Pause Field	Mirror Device	Winterless Art

Option 2 has no fields that speed up Vengeance, so it triggers at the 30th second of the fight.

Secret Realm

Option	Main	Aux 1	Aux 2	Aux 3	Aux 4
Normal floors	Vengeance Domain	Quick Field	Rapid Field	Daybreak Art	Lone Lamp Art
Hard floors, Vengeance at 21 s	Vengeance Domain	Quick Field	Dreamforge Art	Dawnflower Art	Flowfire Art
Hard floors, Vengeance at 16 s	Vengeance Domain	Quick Field	Speed Field	Dreamforge Art	Dawnflower Art

On normal floors with these fields the Vengeance Domain triggers as early as the 6th second; the game's own Extreme Speed preset suggests the same set. On hard floors Vengeance is delayed so it triggers closer to the boss.

When Vengeance Domain triggers

Without fields, Vengeance Domain first triggers at the 30th second of the fight. Fields move this time: percentages add up, and Speed Field subtracts 5 seconds.

Fields	Triggers at
no fields	30 s
Quick Field (−30%)	21 s
Rapid Field (−50%) + Mirror Device (+10%)	18 s
Quick Field + Speed Field (−5 s)	16 s
Quick Field + Rapid Field	6 s
Rapid Field (−50%) + Pause Field (+50%) — they cancel each other out	30 s

Specialization: Concentrated Exploding Star

When the Mage stands still for 2 seconds, a special missile appears. While the Mage does not move, the missile gets stronger every second, up to five times. It fires when the Mage moves, or by itself 8 seconds after reaching full charge. Specialization nodes make the missile stronger. There are 20 points in total; each new point takes 12 hours to create.

Node	Max	Abyss, packs on the run	Abyss, boss	League Trial	Secret Realm
Concentrated Exploding Star	1	1	1	1	1
Missile Enhancement	5	5	5	5	5
Precision Explosion	1	1	0	0	1
Chain Explosion	3	3	3	3	3
Energy Accumulation Timing	4	0	2	2	0
Strength Through Reserve	3	0	3	3	0
Arcane Echo	3	3	3	3	3
Rapid Energy Recharge	3	3	3	3	3
Charged Explosion	4	4	0	0	4
Blazing Missile	4	0	0	0	0
Total points		20	20	20	20

How missile damage is calculated

• The missile hits with a 200% damage rate; each charge adds 300%: a full charge is 1700%.
• Missile Enhancement 5/5 adds +200% per charge: +1000% at full charge.
• Strength Through Reserve 3/3 adds +300% to a missile with four charges and +900% to a full charge. The in-game tooltip says +600%, but the data says +900%.
• With both nodes a full charge hits at 3600% — a third stronger than without Strength Through Reserve (2700%).

Why it differs by mode

The calculation is simple (calculated): a static fight cycle is 2 s to the missile, 5 charges one second apart, 8 s to the automatic shot (15 s). A removed point costs: Arcane Echo −10%, Strength Through Reserve −8%, Chain Explosion −6.5%, Missile Enhancement −5.5%, Rapid Energy Recharge −3.5%; an extra point of Energy Accumulation Timing gives +3.8%, of Blazing Missile from 0 to +4% (depends on how long the target stands in the fire).

In the League Trial the only target you have to kill is the boss. Small monsters (slimes and murlocs) appear around it in waves, the first at second 16 and then every 73 seconds, and need not be killed (game data). They take side damage from area skills, piercing and pets and add to your personal points, but they do not change how fast the boss dies; what share of them falls inside your skills' area is not in the data ❔.

• Abyss is a dungeon: you run and hit packs of monsters on the way to the boss, and stand at the boss. On the run the missile is weak, and Charged Explosion rewards it (the "packs on the run" column); at the boss it charges fully, and Strength Through Reserve and Energy Accumulation Timing work (the "boss" column). Precision Explosion is needed on the run so the missile does not miss moving packs.
• League Trial. The calculation assumes the Mage stands still ❔. The missile's explosion and the burn hit an area, so mobs inside it add side damage and personal points, not the speed of killing the boss. The first point of Blazing Missile (+4.0%) is slightly better than the first point of Energy Accumulation Timing (+3.8%), the second is already worse (+3.8% against +4.0%), and only while the boss and the mobs stand in the fire for all 5 seconds; if they leave the fire, Energy Accumulation Timing is better. So the two spare points in the League Trial column are better spent on Energy Accumulation Timing: by the calculation that is no worse than Blazing Missile in any of the checked scenarios (0 to +7%) (calculated). Checked for mob shares in the area k = 0, 0.5, 1 and fights of 300–1740 seconds (k, fight length and mob behavior in the fire are assumptions).
• Secret Realm. A tank holds the monsters; you can stand or move. The column is for play with movement; if you stand almost all the time, take the "Abyss, boss" column; if the mobs move, put Precision Explosion instead of one point of Energy Accumulation Timing — on a motionless target that costs about 4% damage (calculated), and it pays off only if the missile stops flying past moving mobs (logic). Extra-explosion chance: Chain Explosion 30% + stones 20% + Charged Explosion 3/4 50% = 100%; the fourth point is needed without the stone combination.

Magic stones

Stone slots unlock when the specialization has 20 points. If the five slots hold stones of five different shapes — round shield, triangle, tower shield, star and moon — the combination bonus turns on. Only the shape of the stone matters.

Set with the Chain Explosion bonus: Swiftstrike Round Shield, Howler Triangle, Strategist Tower Shield, any Star, any Moon. The Chain Explosion combination bonus makes the missile explode a second time more often: +20% chance, 50% together with the Chain Explosion node.

Wound Control set (not verified). If you take all five stones for Wound Control (pet damage), there will be no Star and no Moon among them, and the combination bonus will not turn on. It is also unknown whether Wound Control works at all: the game client does not use it when calculating damage. Only measuring damage in combat can tell.

Potentials:

• Specialization Empowerment raises missile damage at every stage, and therefore its second explosion too: it is the same shot. It does not change the chance of the second explosion.
• Specialization Resonance only boosts Arcane Echo for the Mage.

Artifacts

Each artifact has nodes for different skills. Cores go into the nodes of the skills you actually hit with.

Artifact	What to slot
Eye of the Fallen Titan (Lv. 64, basic skills)	Frostbolt and Lightning Lash
Pipe of Insight (Lv. 70, core skills)	Frostfocus (extra damage that grows with the number of debuff types on the target); Frostspread can be the second; fill both defensive slots
Flame of Paradise (Lv. 74, tactical skills)	The node of your Tactical skill: Slowing Blizzard (+5 extra hits) or Snowstorm (extra area damage at the end); fill both defensive slots
Destiny Tome (Lv. 80, ultimate)	Missilestorm (+20 missiles); fill all three defensive slots

If you play Chain Lightning or Paralyzing Lightning, Flame of Paradise has nodes for them too: Chain Lightning — a chance of a second explosion and a bonus for each Basic skill use; Paralyzing Lightning — extra damage for each type of debuff.

Nodes with a total hit. The Mage has four such nodes: Frostbolt (Eye of the Fallen Titan), Dragonbreath (Pipe of Insight), Snowstorm (Flame of Paradise) and Doomarrow (Destiny Tome). Each adds a separate hit to every cast of the skill, and the coefficient of that hit is divided once among all the enemies it touches: at node level 1…6 it is 0.82…4.10; 2.30…11.50; 3.56…17.80; 7.30…36.50 of Attack. So the gain does not grow with the number of targets: it is noticeable on a boss and small in packs. The client does not apply the "no more than half for one target" ceiling from the node description in combat; if the game does enforce it, the gain on one target is half as large, and on two or more targets it is the same ❔. What this changes (calculated from the action tables, without gear): Frostbolt with its node is ahead of Lightning Lash (without the node they are equal, 2.6 per target per cast; the Lightning Lash node is not counted); Snowstorm with a level-6 node leads Slowing Blizzard by 42% in the Secret Realm and by a factor of 2.5 in the League Trial boss-only column (the Slowing Blizzard node is not in the calculation); in the Abyss Slowing Blizzard stays ahead.

Cores: Attack + Crit

• Corrupted Will - Decay — when any skill is used, 20% chance to apply burn, bleed, slow or paralysis to the target for 5 seconds and deal an extra hit. The more different debuffs on the target, the stronger the hit.
• Insight Oak - Perception — the Basic and Core skills hit harder on a wounded target: +3% for every 15% of health it has lost.
• Heaven Core - Burning — when the target has three or more different debuffs, there is a 15% chance to cast Missilestorm instantly; afterwards all debuffs are removed.

Cores: Attack + Penetration

• Corrupted Will - Spread — after the Core and Tactical skills, there is a 30–35% chance to cast the Basic skill as well.
• Insight Oak - Perception — same as for crit.
• Heaven Core - Ascension — each Basic skill use boosts the next Missilestorm by 2%.

Fourth core (Destiny Tome) — by mode

• Abyss — Fate Secret - Omen. Damage grows during the fight: every 12 skills cast give +0.8%, up to +12.8%. For long boss fights.
• League Trial — Fate Secret - Constant. If you stand still for more than 3 seconds, damage +8%. The bonus disappears when you move.
• Secret Realm — Fate Secret - Fading. Attacks apply a bleed, and the target takes extra damage while it moves.

Numbers are for top-quality cores. Decay and Spread go into the same slot of the Eye, so you pick one of the two. Fill the defensive slots: they have their own limit and do not take anything away from attack. Power Nexus and Strong Nexus boost different skills, and which is better depends on the fight (not verified).

Pet emblems

Each of the three pets in the team has its own slot shape: the first has triangles (△), the second hexagons (⬡), the third diamonds (◇). The fifth slot is already open. No more than two identical emblems per pet. "Unique" means only one per team. Numbers are for top-rank emblems.

Level 90 emblems appear on the server in waves: the first wave from day 83, the second from day 139. There are no level 100 emblems — level 110 comes right after 90. The main setups are for a server older than 139 days; if your server is younger, take the replacements from the "before day 139" rows.

Attack + Crit

Pet	Emblem 1	Emblem 2	Emblem 3	Emblem 4	Emblem 5	Total
First (all Unique)	Rampaging Hydra	Hellwyrm	Wrath Tyrannosaur	Frenzied Blackdragon	Fel Hydra	Attack 2150, Penetration 1050, Damage Bonus 64.1%
after day 139	Rampaging Hydra	Hellwyrm	Nightshade Blackdragon	Frenzied Blackdragon	Fel Hydra	Attack 2150, Penetration 1750, Damage Bonus 68.3%
Second	Rampaging Greendragon (Unique)	Phantom Lavagiant ×2	Wind Sprite ×2			Crit Bonus 184.7%, Penetration 1100, Evasion 3500
before day 139	Rampaging Greendragon (Unique)	Tyrannosaur ×2	Wind Sprite ×2			Crit Bonus 137.9%
after day 139, with Attack Bonus	Rampaging Greendragon	Nightshade Tyrannosaur (Unique)	Phantom Lavagiant ×2	Wind Sprite		Crit Bonus 156.1%, Crit 1100, Attack Bonus 15.9%
Third	Ice Bear ×2	Bio Giant ×2	Phantom Statue			Crit 800, Penetration 1300, Attack 1100, Evasion Bonus 95.4%
before day 139	Ice Bear ×2	Bio Giant ×2	Lava Giant			the same, Attack 650

Attack + Penetration

Pet	Emblem 1	Emblem 2	Emblem 3	Emblem 4	Emblem 5	Total
First (same as for crit)	Rampaging Hydra	Hellwyrm	Wrath Tyrannosaur	Frenzied Blackdragon	Fel Hydra	Attack 2150, Penetration 1050–1750, Damage Bonus 64–68%
Second	Shadow Broodmother ×2	Firekin ×2	Frenzied Tyrannosaur (Unique)			Penetration Bonus 128.3%, Attack 650, Evasion 3500
Third	Bio Giant ×2	Spider ×2	Phantom Statue			Penetration 2620, Attack 1100, Defense Bonus 38.2%, Evasion Bonus 57.2%
before day 139	Bio Giant ×2	Spider ×2	Lava Giant			the same, Attack 650
after day 139, more attack	Phantom Statue ×2	Bio Giant ×2	Spider			Attack 2200, Penetration 1960

Spider, like the imps in the previous range, is given for Bounty Quests and sold in the alliance contribution shop. League Trial emblems (Orc Archer, Troll Shaman and others) are hidden in the data, so I did not use them as replacements.

Pets

• Abyss and League Trial: Meteor (crit) or Dancer (penetration), Light Howl, Flame Demon. If you do not have the Demon, take Brightwing or Hornbash.
• Secret Realm, normal floors: Soulclaw, Light Howl, Meteor or Dancer.
• Secret Realm, hard floors: Flame Demon, Light Howl, Meteor or Dancer.

Meteor strikes again on a crit, so it is for crit builds. Dancer weakens the target on non-critical hits, so it is for penetration builds. Night Shadow Leopard is not in our version of the game yet.

Badges

Badges come in sets; different sets suit crit and penetration.

Set	Badge 1	Badge 2	Badge 3	Badge 4	Badge 5
Companion Along the Way (crit)	Gravity	Bladestorm	Elven Legacy	Ruling Sword	Twin-tailed Comet
Midnight Run (crit and penetration)	Royalty	Shadow Blades	Troll Empire	Twilight Eye	Darktide Surge
Free Rider (crit and penetration)	Meteor	Eternal Vigil	Blooming Future	Earth Ring	Destiny Tome
Long Journey (penetration)	Death Knell	Broken Barricade	Forest Ranger	Perfect Storm	Blazing Extremity

Set bonuses turn on at levels 3, 6, 9 and 10. The set level equals the lowest badge level in it, so level your badges evenly.

Oracle

The Oracle opens at level 90. It has five stages: War Oracle, Wisdom Oracle, Future Oracle, Wealth Oracle and Mind Oracle. A prayer in a stage gives permanent and random stats for 168 hours.

How it works. Points accumulate in each stage separately. When the threshold is reached you can pray: the prayer spends its cost, and the bonus lasts 168 hours. Re-rolling the random stats costs 100 points. A stage opens when all the previous ones are open.

Stage	Threshold, points	Prayer cost
1. War Oracle	25,000	8,000
2. Wisdom Oracle	25,000	8,000
3. Future Oracle	40,000	8,000
4. Wealth Oracle	40,000	8,000
5. Mind Oracle	50,000	10,000

What earns points (the same for every stage):

Material	Points each
Statue Offerings	100 (from the Inscription Prayer and the Badge Lottery)
Inscription Core	2 (from wild map exploration, Hard Raid floors and the resource shop)
Inscription Essence	2 (from converting surplus inscription shards)
Moonlight Cloth	5
Demon Cloth	10
Frostwoven Cloth	20
Silk Thread	1
Magic Pattern Thread	10
Rune Thread	100

What it gives. The values depend on the World Level of the server, not on your character level. Below are World Levels 90 and 100; the numbers grow as the World Level rises (at 120 the Penetration of the highest of the seven grades is already 1830).

Stage	Permanent (World 90 / World 100)	Random from 7 grades (World 90 / World 100)
1. War	Attack 411 / 867, HP 176,874 / 372,997	Crit 55–275 / 116–579; Defense 82–412 / 174–869
2. Wisdom	the same	Penetration 82–412 / 174–869; Evasion 55–275 / 116–579
3. Future	Penetration and Defense 167 / 353 each	Attack 75–377 / 159–796; Crit RES 62–309 / 130–651
4. Wealth	Crit and Evasion 167 / 353 each	Hit Rating 62–309 / 131–655; HP 32,250–162,110 / 68,800–344,000
5. Mind	All Stats +1% / +1.8%	All Stats +0.3–1.3% / +0.5–2.4%

The chances of the seven grades are 20 / 20 / 20 / 17 / 16 / 5 / 2%: the top two are rare, and the 100-point re-roll exists to hunt for them.

Towards level 100

• At 100 items of level 100–108 and level 10 gems become available. The next ring step counts only level 10 gems and up, so change it together with your gems.
• At 100 the fire set Outland Echo (it boosts Dragonbreath) is available again, and at 110 the ice set Eternal Imprisonment. What is better at 100–109 depends on whether you stay on ice: the staff and gauntlets effects are tied to the node of the chosen Core skill.
• Inscription Rating 7000 means T6 and the T6 passive row. If you have not reached it yet, start now.

Items of level 100–106 from the game cards

• Outland Echo (fire): Cloak · Shoulders · Chest · Legs. 2 pieces — +2.5% Combat Penetration Boost, Core skill cooldown −15%; 4 pieces — Shadowflame and Dragonbreath: damage +120%.
• Blood Paladin (Tactical lightning skills, like Death Wish at 90 for the blizzards): Cloak · Shoulders · Chest · Legs. 2 pieces — +1.5% Combat Crit Boost, Tactical skill cooldown −15%; 4 pieces — Paralyzing Lightning and Chain Lightning: damage +110%.
• Eternal Imprisonment (ice, Lv. 110): Cloak · Shoulders · Chest · Legs. 2 pieces — +2.5% Combat Penetration Boost, Core skill cooldown −15%; 4 pieces — Frostspread and Frostfocus: damage +120%.

Item (Lv. 106)	Effect
Red Dragon Staff	Dragonbreath hits the target 3 times and explodes over an area (coefficient 80.07%); Core skill cooldown −15%
Black Dragon Staff	Shadowflame applies burning (coefficient 7%); Core skill cooldown −15%
Deep Cold Staff	Chain Lightning: each attack has a chance to deal extra damage (coefficient 266%); Tactical skill cooldown −15%
Freeze Staff	Paralyzing Lightning: after 4 consecutive paralyses it deals damage (coefficient 288%); Tactical skill cooldown −15%
Frostfire Gauntlets	after a Tactical skill the next Shadowflame deals 180% more damage
Burning Frost Gauntlets	after a Tactical skill the next Dragonbreath deals 180% more damage
Deathcold Gauntlets	after a Core skill the next Paralyzing Lightning deals 55% more damage, recovery 4.5 s
Bitter Cold Gauntlets	after a Core skill the next Chain Lightning deals 55% more damage, recovery 4.5 s

---

(calculated) — computed from game data, not tested in combat. (not verified) and ❔ — the rule lives on the server and cannot be confirmed from the data.

Not tested: actual damage in combat, whether Rapid Strike and Wound Control work, which special effects can roll on which slot, which Core skill is better in the League Trial, how many Statue Offerings the lottery gives, where the League Trial mobs stand relative to the boss and the Mage, what share of them falls into a skill's area, how much the boss's Weakness raises damage to mobs, whether the boss stands still.