MapleStory Cannoneer Skill Build Guide

Posted on 16th November 2020

Cannoneer is an Explorer pirate that was released in the MapleStory Legends update in 2011. Cannoneer doesn't follow typical pirate job advancements, instead the class must be created directly from the character creation window. If you like a Pirate that has great mobbing, fires explosions from it's cannon and calls upon the aid of monkeys, this class might just be for you.

Cannoneer Overview
Pirate First Job Skill Build
Cannoneer Second Job Skill Build
Cannon Trooper Third Job Skill Build
Cannon Master Fourth Job Skill Build
Cannoneer Hyper Skill Build
Cannoneer Fifth Job Skill Build
Changelog

Cannoneer Overview

The legends update come out in 2011 and with it they introduced the Cannoneer class. Their hometown of Nautilus Harbor is the same as other Pirate Explorers, however they don't follow the same job advancement process. Instead, Cannoneers are a special type of explorer where they follow a fixed linear job advancement path.

Cannoneer have some of the best mobbing skills in the game. Their Cannon Bazooka skill is great for horizontal maps, as it's able to blast mobs from each end of the screen. The skill is sort after by Phantoms, as it's a great mobbing skill to steal. The skill is also quite fast in GMS due to being able to hit the attack speed cap of 0. Their party buffs can be hit and miss, as their is an element of randomness to them. They have a couple of summon skills that can help also for map control.

Cannoneer's are decent bossers too. They great mobility, so good for dodging attacks that for some classes they just have to tank. Their DPS sits in the middle of MapleStory classes and they can do serious damage if they hit max damage cap as they lots of damage lines for their skills. 5th Job add some nice skills such as super stance and iframe to help dodge boss attacks.

Weapon: Hand Cannon
Job: Pirate
Class: Explorer
Shared Cash Shop Inventory: Explorer Jobs
Legion Block: +STR (10/20/40/80/100)
Link Skill: Pirate Blessing (max level: Str+70, Dex+70, Int+70, Luk+70, MaxHP +1225, MaxMP +1225, Damage Taken: -15%)
Primary Stat: STR
Inner Ability: +1 Attack Speed

Did you know?

MapleStory Explorer Classes can switch between jobs once they are level 101+. For example, a Dark Knight can job change to a Paladin. They can only job change to characters within their class branch (i.e. archers to archers, thiefs to thiefs etc). You cannot job change a Dark Knight to a Bishop.

To do job change, you can either pay mesos or use a Job Advancement Coin (which is usually given out during events). Speak to your 4th job advancement NPC in Leafre to job change.

Pirate First Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in first job. Follow this build:

Cannon Blaster (1), Monkey Push (2)
Monkey Push (MAX)
Cannon Blaster (MAX)
Cannon Boost (MAX)
Blast Back (MAX)
Cannon Strike (MAX)

Cannon Blaster is your main mobbing skill. Max Monkey Push as soon as possible for mobility as it will help speed up training a lot. Cannon Strike is a secondary attack skill and not really worth using. Blast Back can be useful in Bossing later on, so keep an eye on using this skill.

Skill Description & Overview

Skill	Description	Type
Cannon Blaster	Shoots a flame bomb that attacks multiple enemies.	Main Attack Skill
Monkey Push	Use while in the middle of a jump to jump even further. The jumping distance increases as the skill level increases.	Double Jump
Cannon Strike	Fires Cannon Strike at a nearby enemy.	Secondary Attack Skill
Cannon Boost	Improves the cannon to permanently increase ATT and DEF.	Passive Buff
Blast Back	Fires the cannon while quickly moving backwards. Can decrease the speed of target for a fixed period of time.	Secondary Attack Skill

Cannoneer Second Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in second job. Follow this build:

Scatter Shot (1), Cannon Mastery (2)
Cannon Mastery (5)
Cannon Booster (6)
Scatter Shot (MAX)
Cannon Mastery (MAX)
Pirate Training (MAX)
Critical Fire (MAX)
Monkey Magic (MAX)
Barrel Bomb (MAX)

Your new main attacking skill is Scatter Shot, which has decent range and can hit up to four enemies. You'll want to get your Cannon Booster attack speed skill as soon as possible as a lot of your attacking skills will be really slow with it. You can also get a Green Attack Potion from Monster Park to help with this. Monkey Magic is a decent party buff skill, whilst Barrel Bomb is another useless secondary attack skill.

Skill Description & Overview

Skill	Description	Type
Scatter Shot	Attack multiple enemies at once by firing a multitude of small bombs.	Main Attack Skill
Pirate Training	Increases STR and DEX through secret Pirate training.	Passive Buff
Monkey Magic	Uses the magic of your monkey buddy to increase the HP, MP, all stats, Speed, and Jump of all nearby party members for a short time. Can be stacked with other buffs.	Buff
Critical Fire	Permanently increases Critical Rate and Critical Damage.	Passive Buff
Cannon Mastery	Increases Cannon Mastery.	Passive Buff
Cannon Booster	Uses MP to increase the attack speed of your cannon by 2 levels for a short time.	Attack Speed Buff
Barrel Bomb	Rolls out an Oak Barrel full of bombs. The Oak Barrel will travel a short distance, knocking back enemies in its path, before exploding. Can be resisted by some monsters.	Secondary Attack Skill

Cannon Trooper Third Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in third job. Follow this build:

Cannon Spike (1), Reinforced Cannon (1), Cannon Jump (1)
Cannon Spike (MAX)
Reinforced Cannon (MAX)
Cannon Jump (MAX)
Monkey Wave (MAX)
Roll Of The Dice (MAX)
Barrel Roulette (MAX)
Counter Crush (MAX)
Monkey Fury (MAX)
Pirate Rush (MAX)

Cannon Spike is a great mobbing skill for third job. Cannon Jump also adds some more vertical mobility to help dodge attacks and get out of tricky situations. Roll of The Dice and Barrel Roulette are both RNG buffs that give you a random one each time you use them. They're still pretty good as most of the buffs are decent. Monkey Wave also gives you a buff for critical rate when used, so adding this skill into your rotation is good for damage upkeep.

Skill Description & Overview

Skill	Description	Type
Cannon Spike	Summons a cannon that shoots a large number of shells at multiple enemies.	Main Attack Skill
Roll Of The Dice	Increases STR and DEX through secret Pirate training.	Buff
Reinforced Cannon	Permanently increases Attack Power and Attack Speed by strengthening the cannon.	Passive Buff
Pirate Rush	Permanently increases HP, DEF, and Abnormal Status Resistance.	Passive Buff
Monkey Wave	Allows you to immediately cast Monkey Wave with the maximum effect.	Secondary Attack Skill / Buff
Counter Crush	Uses MP to increase the attack speed of your cannon by 2 levels for a short time.	Buff
Cannon Jump	Fires the cannon at the ground, and uses the recoil to jump high into the air. As you jump up into the air, nearby enemies will take damage. You can use it mid-air with the Up key + jump key, and it can be used up to two times.	Jump
Barrel Roulette	Explodes an Oak Barrel to receive a random buff. When the buff is active, attacking an enemy has a fixed chance of causing abnormal status on them.	Buff
Monkey Fury	Fires a special elastic cannonball that coats all enemies ahead of you with gunpowder to deal damage over time. Greatly enhances Cannoneer's attack effects.	Secondary Attack Skill

Cannon Master Fourth Job Skill Build

You can max all of your skills in fourth job. Follow this build:

Cannon Bazooka (1), Double Down (1), Cannon Overload (1)
Cannon Bazooka (10)
Cannon Overload (10)
Double Down (MAX)
Mega Monkey Magic (10)
Monkey Militia (10)
Cannon Bazooka (MAX)
Cannon Overload (MAX)
Mega Monkey Magic MAX)
Monkey Militia (MAX)
Maple Warrior (MAX)
Anchors Aweigh (MAX)
Nautilus Strike (MAX)
Pirate's Spirit (MAX)
Hero's Will (MAX)
Cannon Barrage (MAX)

Your main mobbing skill is Cannon Bazooka- and it's amazing. Enjoy clearing out maps really fast and seeing lots of damage lines. Your Hyper Skills improve this skill further- don't forget to boost your Attack Speed as much as possible with this skill as it can be quite slot without them. You get many improvements to your other skills in 4th job. Anchors Aweigh is good for pulling mobs towards you and Nautilus Strike will help with cutting the cooldown on your Roll The Dice skill. Cannon Barrage is your main bossing skill, but you won't be using that until later on, so best to max that last.

Skill Description & Overview

Skill	Description	Type
Cannon Bazooka	Fires a powerful cannon full of compressed gunpowder to burn enemies ahead of you to the ground.	Main Attack Skill
Cannon Barrage	Fires multiple cannonballs at once, focusing on one enemy ahead of you. Grants bonus to Critical Rate and Enemy DEF Ignored.	Single Target Attack Skill
Pirates Spirit	Permanently increase the chance of a successful counterattack, and allows you resist being knocked back for a short time.	Passive Buff
Nautilus Strike	Orders the Nautilus to attack multiple enemies at once. Nautilus is unaffected by attack reflection.Decreases Cooldown of Barrel Roulette and Roll of the Dice at a set rate.	FMA Attack
Monkey Militia	Summons the Artillery Monkey Twins to aid you in battle. This skill is unaffected by enemy attack reflection skills.	Summon
Mega Monkey Magic	Upgrade your monkey's magic to temporarily increase the HP, MP, all stats, Speed, and Jump of all nearby party members. Can be stacked with other buffs.	Buff
Maple Warrior	Temporarily increases the stats of all party members. Does not stack with Maple Warrior, Call of Cygnus, Nova Warrior, Hero of the Flora, President's Orders, Anima Warrior, or Rhinne's Protection.	Buff
Heros Will	Hones your resolve to ignore certain abnormal status effects. Immune to Abnormal Status for 3 sec after use.	Buff
Double Down	Try your luck! Roll two dice, and if both have the same number, you'll receive a very powerful buff:	Buff
Cannon Overload	Pushes your cannon to the limit. Increases Cannon Mastery and Attack Speed, and ignores a portion of enemy DEF.	Passive Buff
Anchors Aweigh	Places an anchor that creates a strong magnetic field. The magnetic field pulls enemies toward it. When the anchor disappears, it explodes, dealing critical damage to all nearby enemies. This skill is unaffected by enemy damage reflection skills.	Summon

Cannoneer Hyper Skill Build

Hyper skills are available at level 140. You get Hyper Skill Points as you level towards 200, but not enough to max all the skills, so choose wisely. These skills mostly help increase the damage of your current skills.

Cannon Bazooka - Reinforce
Cannon Bazooka - Spread
Cannon Bazooka - Extra Strike
Cannon Barrage - Reinforce
Cannon Barrage - Extra Strike
Rolling Rainbow
Epic Adventure
Buckshot

Cannoneer Fifth Job Skill Build

Upon reaching level 200, you will now have access to the V Matrix, which acts as your new fifth job skills. Each class gets their own skills to use, along with boosting nodes to increase the damage of existing skills. To obtain new skills, you open up items called Nodestones, which drop from every mob in Arcane River. You have limited number of slots in your V Matrix, so you want to obtain perfect nodes for maximize your character's damage.

Marksman's Nodes should include:

Cannon Of Mass Destruction
The Nuclear Option
Monkey Business
Poolmaker
Trinode: Cannon Barrage, Rolling Rainbow, Monkey Miltia
Trinode: Cannon Bazooka, Monkey Fury, Nautilus Strike

All 5th Job classes should try to also obtain these:

Decent Holy Symbol
Decent Sharp Eyes
Decent Speed Infusion
Erda Nova
Rope Lift
Loaded Dice

Skill Description & Overview

Skill	Description	Type
Cannon Of Mass Destruction	Fires a gigantic rocket from your cannon. Unaffected by attack reflection.	Attack Skill
The Nuclear Option	Shoots a ballistic missile along a curved trajectory to obliterate enemies in a wide range. While holding the skill key, press the Up or Down arrows to control the angle of fire. Release the key to fire. The missile does not strike enemies directly but deals sustained damage with it hits the ground and explodes. Immune to knockback while aiming, and you'll be invincible while prepping the skill and right after it ends.	Burst Attack
Monkey Business	Summon the special Champion Monkey Platoon that will help you in battle. The platoon is comprised of 3 members and is unaffected by attack reflection.	Summon Attack
Poolmaker	Bombard the earth with meteoric strikes. After a short delay, those strikes fall on enemies near the Cannoneer, prioritizing boss monsters, enemies with the highest HP, and enemies that have survived a previous strike, in that order. If you move maps while there are still strikes in reserve, or if the cooldown is reset, the skill will end. Strikes are unaffected by attack reflection.	Buff Skill / Attack Cooldown skill