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MapleStory Phantom Skill Build Guide

February 19, 2024

Phantom is a MapleStory class that has a unique mechanic allowing it to steal skills from other classes. Phantom is one of the most popular classes in MapleStory and is a part of the Heroes characters released. With Phantom's ability to steal skills, it allows them to be very versatile characters and can change their loadout depending on what's needed.

Phantom Overview

Phantom was released in MapleStory Patch Renegades: Phantom V112 patch in 2012. Phantom is the only class that has the unique ability to steal skills from Explorer Jobs in MapleStory. The steal ability allows Phantom to copy a skill into their loadout, with the ability to store multiple skills for each job advancement. Phantom needs to find an Explorer job in the map, use their Skill Swipe skill and right click on the character they wish to steal skill from.

Phantom is part of the MapleStory Heroes classes, which include: Aran, Evan, Mercedes, Phantom, Luminous and Shade.

This allows Phantom to steal useful skills like Holy Symbol for extra EXP, the best mobbing skills and other buff skills to increase their damage. Playing Phantom is extremely fun and is only let down by it's low base damage. They can customize their loadout so that their skills complement the map they are training on; one of Phantom's best skills to steal is the Cannon Bazooka that is great for horizontal maps.

Phantoms that get to end-game need a lot of funding to deal the damage required to solo some of the toughest bosses in the game compared to other classes. They do have lots of useful bossing skills though; with 3 different i-frame skills their survivability is second-to-none. They have great mobility to help dodge attacks too, with their dark sight they can steal from explorer Thieves, Shroud Walk and Penombre.

  • Weapon: Cane
  • Job: Thief
  • Class: Hero
  • Shared Cash Shop Inventory: Heroes: Luminous, Phantom, Aran, Shade, Mercedes
  • Legion Block: Mesos Obtained (1%/2%/3%/4%/5%)
  • Link Skill: Phantom Instinct (+20% Critical Rate)
  • Primary Stat: LUK
  • Inner Ability: 20% Boss Damage

Phantom First Job Skill Build

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

  • Double Entendre (+1), Phantom Swiftness (+2)
  • Phantom Swiftness (10)
  • Double Entendre (MAX)
  • Phantom Swiftness (MAX)
  • Impeccable Memory I (MAX)
  • Feather Foot (MAX)

First Job steal skills: Haste, Dark Sight, Cardinal Deluge

First job Phantom's main attacking skill is Double Entendre. It's not the best mobbing skill so you might find it quite slow leveling up to 30. You want to max Phantom Swiftness as early as possible for that better mobility to get around maps faster. Impeccable Memory I allows you to steal skills from 1st job explorers, the best skill is probably Haste/Dark Sight buff from Thieves. If you can find a Pathfinder, you may find using Cardinal Deluge in 1st job is a better mobbing skill.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Double Entendre Double Entendre Quickly strikes an enemy twice. Main Attack Skill
Phantom Swiftness Phantom Swiftness Permanently increases Speed, Max Speed, and Jump. If used while jumping, double jumps a long distance twice in a row. Increasing the Skill Level will increase Jump distance. Can also be used with the jump key. Double Jump Skill
Impeccable Memory I Impeccable Memory I Lets you use 1st job skills stolen from Explorers.Passive effects from skills will not work.Equip stolen skills using the Beginner Skill Loadout. Stolen Skill
Feather Foot Feather Foot Permanently increases Avoidability. Passive Buff

Phantom Second Job Skill Build

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

  • Calling Card (+1), Cane Mastery (+2)
  • Cane Mastery (5)
  • Cane Booster (6)
  • Calling Card (MAX)
  • Cane Mastery (MAX)
  • Carte Blanche (MAX)
  • Devil's Luck (MAX)
  • Impeccable Memory II (MAX)
  • Cane Booster (MAX)
  • Mille Cartes (MAX)

Second Job steal skills: Rage, Heal

Second job Phantom's get a new mobbing skill called Calling Card. You also get access to Carte Blanche, which triggers an additional card to attack enemies to help with DPS. You want to get your Cane Booster up to a decent level as soon as possible to increase attack speed. You can also use Green Attack Potions from Monster Park. Mille Cartes is a secondary attack skill which is rather useless. Second Job Phantom's should try to steal the skill Rage from Warriors. Heal is another alternative but this isn't very useful until you get to bossing.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Calling Card Calling Card Launches enchanted cards at enemies. Main Attack Skill
Mille Cartes Mille Cartes Launches a torrent of cards that knocks back enemies. Can be resisted by some monsters. Secondary Attack Skill
Impeccable Memory II Impeccable Memory II Lets you use 2nd job skills stolen from Explorers.Passive effects from skills will not work.Equip stolen skills using the Beginner Skill Loadout. Stolen Skill
Devil's Luck Devil's Luck Permanently increases LUK. Passive Buff
Carte Blanche Carte Blanche Each critical attack has a chance to produce a card that attacks nearby enemies automatically. This card is added to your deck. Passive Buff
Cane Mastery Cane Mastery Increases Cane Mastery. Passive Buff
Cane Booster Cane Booster Uses MP to temporarily increase the attack speed of your canes by 2 levels. Attack Speed Skill

Phantom Third Job Skill Build

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

  • Blason (MAX)
  • Impeccable Memory III (MAX)
  • Piercing Vision (MAX)
  • Lune (MAX)
  • Mist Mask (MAX)
  • Bad Luck Ward (MAX)
  • Final Feint (MAX)
  • Rapier Wit (MAX)

Third Job steal skills: Cross Surge, Holy Symbol, Arrow Platter

Blason is your new mobbing skill. With Carte Blanche and a high critical rate, Blason is actually a decent mobbing skill for clearing maps. Phantom in third job gets access to some useful skills; Final Feint is basically a second-life skill that when you die auto-revives you. Mist Ward will increase your avoidability so that you will barely get hit by low-level mobs. Rapier Wit is pretty useless, unless you like rush-type skills. Third Job Phantoms should look to steal Cross Surge from Dark Knight Explorers (warriors), as this skill will greatly increase final damage. If your damage is high, you can also steal Holy Symbol from a Bishop for extra EXP.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Blason Blason Marks enemies with Phantom's coat of arms before slicing them to bits. Main Attack Skill
Rapier Wit Rapier Wit Forms a giant sword with cards, then charges and performs multiple attacks.Link with Mille Cartes to reduce post-attack downtime. Permanently increases Mille Cartes's damage. Secondary Attack Skill
Piercing Vision Piercing Vision Permanently increases Critical Rate and Final Damage. Passive Buff
Mist Mask Mist Mask Permanently increases Avoidability chance. Passive Buff
Lune Lune Calls upon the clear evening moonlight to increase Attack Power. Passive Buff
Impeccable Memory III Impeccable Memory III Lets you use 3rd job skills stolen from Explorers.Passive effects from skills will not work.Equip stolen skills using the Beginner Skill Loadout. Stolen Skill
Final Feint Final Feint Using this skill will increase your preparedness for all enemy attacks, reviving you instantly with some HP if you get KO'd. This skill also increases LUK permanently.Not affected by cooldown reset. Buff
Bad Luck Ward Bad Luck Ward Casts a sigil to ward off bad luck. Increases HP, MP, Elemental Resistance, and Status Resistance. Buff

Phantom Fourth Job Skill Build

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

  • Mille Aiguilles (10)
  • Impeccable Memory IV (MAX)
  • Carte Noir (MAX)
  • Cane Expert (MAX)
  • Priere D'Aria (MAX)
  • Maple Warrior (MAX)
  • Miles Aiguilles (MAX)
  • Tempest (MAX)
  • Penombre (MAX)
  • Vol D'Ame (MAX)
  • Hero's Will (MAX)

Fourth Job steal skills: Cannon Bazooka, Final Cut, Showdown

Mille Aiguilles is your new attacking skill. This skill has gone through many nerfs and upgrades, with a new upgrade coming in a job balancing patch in 2021. That being said, for mobbing, your best using Impeccable Memory IV and stealing Cannon Bazooka from Cannon Master. Alternatives are Showdown from Night Lord, as that gives increased EXP and Drop rate. Final Cut is great for bossing, as it gives a massive damage boost. Vol D'ame is very useful against bosses that weapon cancel and help speed up boss fights.

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Mille Aiguilles Mille Aiguilles Fly into a stabbing frenzy, jabbing your enemies with blinding speed. This attack can be executed repeatedly. Main Attack Skill
Vol D'Ame Vol D'Ame Steals buffs from nearby monsters. If you steal more than one buff, the most powerful will be applied. This skill only works on monsters that have been buffed. Buff
Tempest Tempest Creates an expanding tornado of cards to blast through enemies. Always does critical hits, and allows you to move while using the skill, but Speed decreases as the tornado of cards increases in size. Secondary Attack Skill
Priere D'aria Priere D'aria Powerful memories of Aria significantly increase damage and allow you to ignore some enemy DEF. Buff
Penombre Penombre Leaps back and throws a powerful card that ignores the weapon defense rate of the enemy for a short time. Link with Rapier Wit to reduce cooldown. Permanently increases Rapier Wit's damage. Secondary Attack Skill
Maple Warrior 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
Impeccable Memory IV Impeccable Memory IV Lets you use 4th job skills stolen from Explorers.Passive effects from skills will not work.Equip stolen skills using the Beginner Skill Loadout. Stolen Skill
Hero's Will Hero's Will Hones your resolve to ignore certain abnormal status effects. Immune to Abnormal Status for 3 sec after use. Buff
Carte Noir Carte Noir Each critical attack directly from Phantom has a chance to produce a card that attacks nearby enemies automatically. This card is added to your deck. Also permanently increases Avoidability chance. Passive Buff
Cane Expert Cane Expert Increases Cane Mastery, Attack Power, Critical Damage, and Final Damage. Passive Buff

Phantom 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.

  • Tempest - Reinforce
  • Tempest - Cooldown Cutter
  • Mille Aiguilles - Reinforce
  • Mille Aiguilles - Extra Target
  • Mille Aiguilles - Guardbreak
  • Carte Rose Finale
  • Heroic Memories
  • Impeccable Memory V

Impeccable Memory V allows you to steal a Hyper Skill from another Explorer Class. Recommend Hyper Skills to steal are: Bullseye Shot, Sacrosancity

Phantom 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.

Phantom's Nodes should include:

  • Luck Of The Draw
  • Ace In The Hole
  • Phantom's Mark
  • Rift Break
  • Trinode: Mille Aiguilles, Tempest, Carte Blanc
  • Trinode: Impeccable Memory IV, Impeccable Memory III, Impeccable Memory II
  • Trinode: Rose Carte, Impeccable Memory I, Penombre

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

  • Decent Holy Symbol
  • Decent Sharp Eyes
  • Decent Speed Infusion
  • Erda Nova
  • Rope Lift
  • Weapon Aura
  • Freud's Wisdom
  • Last Resort
  • Impenetrable Skin
  • Maple World Goddess Blessing

Skill Description & Overview

Icon Skill Description Type
Luck Of The Draw Luck Of The Draw Throws a flurry of cards, stopping to reveal the last one. Will luck be on your side? Burst Skill
Ace In The Hole Ace In The Hole Throws a razor-sharp card infused with incredible power that ricochets dangerously. Projectile Attack Skill
Phantom's Mark Phantom's Mark Brand the enemy with the Phantom's Mark. Can be used if there is an enemy marked as the Phantom's target or all of the Master Thief marks collected. Cooldown Attack Skill
Rift Break Rift Break Instantly cleave through the enemy's weak points and destroy them. Using it pours every attack on the spot, and using it with the down key will teleport you several times to the farthest enemy within range to attack. If you press the directional key when you attack as you teleport, you will move to the enemy in the relevant direction first. If you use the skill again after moving, you will either stop in that place and the cooldown is reduced as much as the remaining teleports or you need to attack at least once to stop. Skill is unaffected by attack reflection. Cooldown Attack Skill

Phantom Skills To Steal

Phantom can steal skills from Explorer classes only. Phantom can only use one skill for each job advancement available and one hyper skill. They are able to store multiple job skills in their skill loadout for easy switching.

First Job

  • Haste
  • Dark Sight
  • Cardinal Deluge

Second Job

  • Rage
  • Heal
  • Cardinal Blast

Third Job

  • Cross Surge
  • Holy Symbol
  • Arrow Platter

Fourth Job

  • Final Cut
  • Cannon Bazooka
  • Showdown

Hyper Skill

  • Sacrosancity
  • Bullseye Shot

Changelog

01/03/2021 - First update

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