MapleStory Classic Class Tier List - Best classes to play!

This MapleStory Classic Class Tier List will rank all the old-school MapleStory jobs based on which class is best to play. So if you're struggling to choose a class to play when MapleStory Classic is released, check out this Tier List!

• Best Classic MapleStory Classes
• Your Best Class?

MapleStory Classic was announced back in April 2025, showcasing a brand new server based on the older version of MapleStory, complete with all the old-school MapleStory classes.

Old School MapleStory was very different to current modern MapleStory, with many of the classes having advantages over others. If you've never played old-school MapleStory (it was released over 20 years ago!), then this guide will give you a good idea of what to expect when playing the original classes.

We don't yet know whether MapleStory Classic will contain any job balancing or skill changes, so this guide is based off their original versions.

Don't want to wait for MapleStory Classic to be released? Check out our Old-School MapleStory Server List!

Best Classic MapleStory Classes

Old-School MapleStory had job advancements all the way up to 4th job before the Big Bang update was released. We'll rank each class based off the job advancement tiers.

1st Job Classes

1st Job consisted of the following classes: Warrior, Magician, Archer, Rogue, Pirate

In first job the differences between the MapleStory classes are not too noticeable.

Warriors

Warrior gets top pick for getting a multi-hit attack(Slash Blast), low-mp consumption and a hefty single-target attack (Power Strike). It's a class you can level fast because you put your AP into STR, allowing you to one-shot most enemies on Maple Island and progress fast towards 2nd job.

Magicians

Magicians on the other hand Job Advance at Level 8, however, because all their points get put into INT and LUK, their basic attack damage is really low, making getting off Maple Island a grind. Magicians do pick up the pace when they get to around Level 20-22 and are able to one-shot most enemies with their Magic Claw attack.

Magicians also get the super-useful Magic Guard, which basically turns their MP into HP, allowing them to survive stronger monsters.

Rogue

Rogue is the first job advancement of the thief class but they only get a single-target attack all the way up until they reach 3rd Job Advancement. Lucky Seven is still a great skill with top-tier range and damage for a 1st job skill though.

They can be considered squishy, as they have low HP but most of the monsters at low level don't deal significant damage anyways.

Archer

Similar to Rogues, this range class only have a single-target attack (double-shot) during first job, low HP and have to buy arrows from vendors to fire. They do get Critical Shot early on, allowing them to deal Critical Damage at a higher % chance than any other class.

Pirate

Pirate first job can have a choice of either Sommersault Kick or Double Shot depending on which job branch they later want to follow. Sommersault Kick is the better of the attacks, allowing it to hit up to 3 enemies at once at max level.

They do have some increased mobility with the Dash skill.

2nd Job Classes

Second Job begins at Level 30 in Classic MapleStory. The following jobs are available: Fighter, Page, Spearman, Cleric, Ice/Lightning Wizard, Fire/Poison Wizard, Assassin, Bandit, Hunter, Crossbowman, Brawler, Gunslinger.

Moving into second job, we start to see gaps appearing between the classic jobs.

Cleric

Hands down one of the best second-job classes. Clerics are the best class for making mesos and they are so far ahead that they even make more meso than some 3rd job classes.

Clerics have Heal, which means they use no HP pots. What's more, they also have MP Eater, which allows them to basically use no MP pots either. So all the mesos you earn do not need to be spent on potions like other classes.

Cleric's main attacking skill is also Heal. It can hit up to 6 mobs at a time, making it one of the best mobbing skills in the game. The only downside is Cleric's are limited to undead monsters; on Victoria Island that basically means training on Jr. Wraiths, Zombie Lupins and Wraiths. 

Once Orbis and El Nath are released, Clerics really shine and start making millions of mesos per hour whilst farming at Zombies.

Hunter

Hunter being S-Tier may shock many of you, since it has some average skills and not too many benefits compared to Cleric, however.

Hunter's best mobbing skill is Arrow Bomb. This skill has a huge area-of-effect attack and can hit up to 6 enemies at once. Not to mention, Hunter's are not limited to undead monsters like Cleric, so they can train on higher level mobs earlier depending on what areas are available.

Ice / Lightning Wizard

Many players remember Ice / Lightning Wizard as the best mobber in early-MapleStory due to it's excellent mobbing skill: Thunderbolt. It is a great mobbing skill and allows them to power-level to 3rd job faster than most classes.

But Ice / Lightning Wizard also gets Teleport for great mobility, MP Eater for saving on MP Pots and it's own attack buff in Meditation.

Assassin

Assassin's are very popular classes but in terms of EXP rates, it still quite slow. They only have a single-target hitting attack with Lucky 7 and they'll want to be training on monsters they can 1-hit to maximize EXP.

They do get the very important Haste skill, which is used all the way through to end-game. They are also very much sort after for Party Quests like Ludibrium PQ.

Bandit

Bandit's have one of the best single-target damage skills, and many people love playing this class for the Savage Blow skill. It still is a single-target attack, so training can be slow, but it has a fast animation speed and you don't need to wait for a mob to die before you can cast it again.

They too also get Haste, which is viable for party quests.

Crossbowman

Crossbowman use the Iron Arrow skill as their main mobbing skill. It's good in the right maps, but it's not as good as Hunter's Arrow Bomb.

They do get Soul Arrow, which removes the need for buying Arrows from NPC shops.

Fire / Poison Wizard

Whilst their attacking skills are pretty average, they still get all of the Mage skills like Teleport, MP Eater and Meditation which make it a decent mid-tier class.

Fire / Poison Wizards's Poison Brace isn't really worth investing in, since by the time you hit 3rd job it will be completely useless.

Brawler

In 2nd job, Brawler's will use a combination of Backspin Blow, Corkscrew Blow and their 1st job skill Sommersault.

They do have the annoying Imporve HP Recovery skill that needs to be maxed early on for efficiency, so it won't be until around level 35 you start getting to use your new skills.

Gunslinger

Gunslinger adds some rather B-Tier moves to it's arsenal: Invisible Shot, Recoil Shot and Grenade. None of these skills are really stand-outish but they do OK for getting you through the early 2nd Job levels.

Fighter

Many MapleStory players chose Fighter as one of the first classes they play but they soon realize how underwhelming the class is. 

It does offer a party attack buff called Rage (+12 Weapon Attack) but apart from that, this class plays pretty much like 1st job Warriors.

Spearman

Likewise with Spearman, they continue to use Slash Blast and Power Strike from 1st Job until they reach 3rd job.

They do get the useful skill Hyper Body, which gives +40% HP to everyone in the party.

Page

Page is the worst second-job class in MapleStory. It still uses Slash Blast and Power Strike from 1st job, but they also don't get anything useful for parties in 2nd job.

If you like to suffer, play Page!

3nd Job Classes

Third job begins at Level 70 in Classic MapleStory. The following jobs are available: Crusader, White Knight, Dragon Knight, Priest, Fire / Poison Mage, Ice / Lightning Mage, Hermit, Chief Bandit, Ranger, Sniper, Marauder, Outlaw

Suddenly the meta changes in 3rd job, with many classes getting some excellent skills to boost them up the rankings.

Priest

Priest's still use Heal as their main attacking skill in 3rd job, but they can also throw in Shining Ray to deal increased mob damage. 

But what they're really known for is their Holy Symbol skill. This party skill gives +50% EXP to all members of the party, making Priests the most in-demand class of the game.

They also get useful skills like Dispel that remove Cursed status from Zakum, and Magic Door for allowing players to get back to training maps faster.

Hermit

Hermit's are the best bossing class in 3rd job and although there were only 3 bosses released during the 3rd job era, they still were one of the most popular classes to play.

Hermit's single-target damage gets increased massively with Shadow Partner, making them always sought after for bossing parties.

They also get a new skill called Flash Jump, making them now the best class in the game regarding mobility. The skill is so good, that in Modern MapleStory every class now has Flash Jump by default.

They also get some great skills for training with such as Mesos Up (+50% mesos obtained), Alchemist (turns Onyx Apples into a 15 minute buff) and Avenger as a new mobbing skill.

Dragon Knight

Dragon Knight is probably the coolest class in the whole of 3rd job and is the stand-out Warrior class to play. It comes with two dragon-themed skills: Crusher and Fury. Both skills are great at mobbing and deal top-tier damage, making Dragon Knight's a must have class for bossing.

Along with their 2nd job skill Hyper Body, they also get the only full-map attacking skill Dragon Roar. It's not super useful in 3rd job because of it's low damage, but it's great for farming event items that drop from low-level mobs.

Fire / Poison Mage

Fire / Poison Mage were not so popular back when they were first released in 2005. However, players have now figured out their huge potential with spamming Poison Mist and combining it with Explosion to have full-map coverage.

They are hands-down the best trainers in 3rd job; they'll gain EXP faster than any class in the game. 

They do suck at bossing, but when it comes to farming and grinding (which is what MapleStory is really all about), they are the best.

Chief Bandit

Chief Bandit's have one skill that makes them push into A Tier: Meso Explosion. 

This skill allows Chief Bandit's to get into bossing parties at around Level 80 (whereas every other class needs to be Level 105+). Meso Explosion allows Chief Bandits to blow up their own Mesos to deal the best damage in the game. It makes them essential for killing Zakum and Papulatus in a quick-turnaround.

And by being in bossing parties very often, they can earn a decent amount of Mesos from selling drops and services.

Outside of Bossing, it has a very B-Tier set of skills for training.

Ranger

Ranger get's to upgrade their mobbing skill Arrow Bomb with Arrow Rain. Arrow Rain has a much better Area-Of-Attack, allowing Rangers to train faster than most classes. They really excel in Aqua Roar maps, where they can kill of Goby mobs instantly.

They also have a good single-target attack in Strafe. Whilst not as good as Hermit's Lucky Seven, it's still decent enough to get them into bossing parties.

Sniper

Sniper finally gets a good mobbing skill with Arrow Eruption, which works very similar to Arrow Rain. 

They also get Strafe and a Puppet, which allows them to draw attention of mobs away from them. They are very similar to Ranger class at this point.

Ice / Lightning Mage

Ice Strike will replace Thunderbolt from 2nd job and allow you to freeze enemies as you damage them. It allows for safe training, since mobs cannot attack you and if you find a big enough party, means you barely have to move whilst training.

Ice / Lignting Mage aren't very good at bossing 3rd job, but they do get their damage upped with Elemental Amplification and Spell Booster.

Crusader

Crusader makes up the start of the B-Tier 3rd job classes. 

Combo Attack + Panic allow them to deal some of the highest single-target damage in old-school MapleStory. Plus the Combo Orb skill looks really cool for added effect!

Apart from that they are still stuck with Slash Blast as their main mobbing skill and don't get any new buffs to help with partying.

Outlaw

Outlaw's get an upgraded single-target skill with Burst Fire (Triple Shot). They also get a summon they can place (something Modern MapleStory adds to every class) in a map to attack monsters, although damage is low.

Damage for Outlaw's is still relatively low, so they don't get pushed into A-Tier.

Marauder

Marauder unfortunately is another underwhelming 3rd job class. They get some new skills, but they become useless in 4th job to the point that most people do not even touch them.

Marauder's get Energy Charge and Energy Blast, which require charging up by using 2nd job skills. Shockwave is a cool skill but it gets replaced in 4th job so we abandon it.

White Knight

Unfortunately, White Knight remains at the bottom of the tier list as they are still using 1st job skills in 3rd job.

They do get several elemental attacks, but that means having to choose specific mobs to train on in order to deal damage. Depending on what content is out at the time, White Knights can be very limited. 

4th Job Classes

Fourth job begins at Level 120 in Classic MapleStory. The following jobs are available: Hero, Paladin, Dark Knight, Bishop, Fire / Poison ArchMage, Ice / Lightning ArchMage, Night Lord, Shadower, Bowmaster, Marksman, Buccaneer, Corsair

The final job advancement that was available in MapleStory Classic before the Big Bang update was 4th job. It introduced insanely overpowered skills and broke any previous metas that had been established.

Many feel that 4th job was the start of MapleStory turning into a completely different game.

Bishop

The best class in the game, hands-down.

Genesis is Bishop's ultimate skill that allows them to full-map attack every monster. They literally have to just stand in one place and press a button over and over again.

Combine this with Skelegons being weak to Holy Damage, Bishops were the best class to train in 4th job in the race to 200.

They also get some more useful support skills, with Resurrection being key in Horntail boss fights.

Fire Poison ArchMage & Ice / Lighting Archmage

There isn't much difference between the other two Archmage classes in 4th job. Both get an Ultimate skill similar to Genesis, allowing them to excel at training more than any other class.

The only downside to these ultimates is that they have specific weaknesses that meant they had to train on lower-end mobs compared to Bishop.

They also get an upgraded summon, but still not the best bossing classes in the game.

Night Lord

Night Lord gets relegated to A tier in 4th job because their mobbing skills don't get improved. You'll be single-target hitting every mob during training, occasionally casting Avenger to group up mobs.

Night Lords excel at bossing and when in a party with a 4th job Archer, their damage is unmatched. They get Triple Throw, which is an upgrade on Lucky Seven, allowing them to deal the best single-target damage in the game.

They get a few other improvements, such as Shadow Stars, allowing them to no longer consume stars in their inventory.

Hero

Hero finally starts to sing as the best Warrior class in 4th job, gaining the best mobbing skill Brandish. Brandish also works as a bossing skill, so Hero's become very versatile and upgraded into A Tier.

They get some small upgrades in Power Stance, Advanced Combo Attack and Achilles.

Shadower

Shadower continues to be a must-have in bossing parties thanks to it's new skill Smokescreen. This skill allows all party members to become immune to any attacks whilst inside the Smokescreen cloud.

They get upgraded mobbing abilities, with Boomerang Step being a much needed improvement on Band Of Thieves.

Dark Knight

This class would be A tier if it wasn't for the changes made to Beserk.

In order to deal max damage, Dark Knights have to have their HP below 40%. This mechanic meant relegating them to a B-Tier class, because Beserk is still a great bossing and mobbing skill. 

They get some other skills that arn't particular useful, such as Hex of the Beholder and Monster Magnet.

Bowmaster

Bowmaster's start to become a top-tier bossing character in 4th job. They get their powerful single-target damage skill with Hurricane added, and also the must-have party-wide buff Sharp Eyes, boosting everyone's Critical Hit Chance and damage.

However, they don't have great mobbing skills and can be stuck using 3rd job skills.

Corsair

A top-tier damage dealing class, Corsair finally starts to be the stand-out Pirate class. They get the cool Battleship Cannon skill that transforms you into riding a Battleship, and then their single-target skill gets upgraded with Rapid Fire.

Rapid Fire is similar to Hurricane, but they also get bring along Speed Infusion to bossing parties to make them more viable.

Marksman

Marksman are another great bossing class, with Snipe + Sharp Eyes providing top-tier damage support for bossing parties.

But unfortunately, they are still stuck using 3rd job skills when it comes to mobbing.

Buccaneer

Pirates finally start to become required party members in 4th job with the addition of Speed Infusion, which is a party-wide buff skill that increases everyone's attack speed.

Buccaneer also get a decent mobbing skill with Dragon Strike and Barage is great for bossing.

Time Leap is also a useful party-bossing skill, but not required.

Paladin

Paladin's do get some improvement heading into 4th job, finally replacing their 1st job skills with new skills: Advanced Charge, Blast and Heaven's Hammer.

The skills are not top-tier however, with Heaven's Hammer reducing monsters to 1 HP means you still have two-shot most of them.

They do get Power Stance, Achilles and Rush to help improve the class also.

Your Best Class?

Let us know which class you think is the best in the poll below and in the comments section!