Training Grounds - Manual Accessories

Overview:
Ragnarok Online welcomes adventurers on a place called Training Grounds. It is where all players starts up as a Novice Class. The contents of the training grounds has been upgraded to accommodate newbies and to help players have a little taste on what's store for them in Midgard. The training grounds will let you learn the basics of playing Ragnarok Online.

The map where it all started

When you reach the practical exam, you are task to slay monsters on the area. There are two maps to choose from and they are either easy map or difficult map. Either way you can stay on the area to gain experience until you had enought.

Training Grounds practical exam area

But wait while busy slaying some monsters there are NPCs on the right side of Brade who can let you have a feeling of first job classes. Approach them and talk to them and they will give you an overview on what the class is for. Aside from a brief description, they will hand you over a manual which can be equipped as an accessory. The manual will grant you skills for the specific job class that you have chosen. In addition it adds +100 SP to give you more SP pool to test the skills granted by this manuals.

Manual Accessories:

The manual accessories are provided by the Job class NPCs. Once you have received one manual you can equip it to gain the granted skills. You can only have 1 manual at a time which means if you want to switch manuals you have to return the one you are currently using. If you have returned the manual then you will lose your SP. Talk to Brade to heal it back for you.

Swordsman Class:

Talk to the swordsman NPC in order to have an overview of the Swordsman class. The Swordsman class are blessed with high HP pool. As they progress they will choose to be either a Knight class or Crusader class. Both classes has the skill to ride a Peco peco for their increased mobility.

Swordsman Manual

She will also hand over a Swordsman Manual. The manual will grant you the skills Bash 1, Provoke 1 and Magnum Break 1. Bash is a skill which concentrate your attack in one blow. Provoke is a skill which lures monsters to attack you and in effect their attack will increase but their defense will decrease. Lastly, Magnum Break is an attack which damages monsters around you.

You can use Bash 1 to one shot monsters or use Magnum Break when mobbed.

Skills granted by Swordsman Manual

Thief Class:

Talk to the Thief NPC in order to have an overview of the Thief class. The Thief class leans more on being agile and outwitting the enemies. As they progress they choose to be either an Assassin class or Rouge class. Both classes has the distinct capability of being hidden and launch surprise attacks.

Thief Manual

He will also hand over a Thief Manual. The manual will grant you the skills Double Attack 3, Steal 1, Hide 1 and Envenom 1. Double Attack is a passive skill which has a chance to do a double hit on a target. Steal is a skill which steals items from a target. Hide is concealing yourself underground to avoid attacks but it's not effective against insect and demon monsters. Lastly Envenom 1 is a poison element attack which has a chance to poison a target.

To be honest the only useful skill that you can use here is Envenom 1. Double Attack seems promising but the proc rate is so low to be noticeable.

Skills granted by Thief Manual

Archer Manual:

Talk to the Archer NPC in order to have an overview of the Archer class. The Archer class uses their range as an advantage. As they progress they will choose to be either a Hunter class, a Bard class for male or a Dancer class for female.  Both still have the range advantage but they have an added feature of using traps for Hunter class and performances from Bard class and Dancer Class.

Archer Manual

She will also hand over an Archer Manual. The manual will grant you the skills Owl's Eye 1 and Improve Concentration 1. Owl's Eye provides Dex stat. Improve Concentration increases your DEX and AGI by a small amount.

Because novice class cannot equip bows so these skills are the only Archer skills which are useful for them. This manual is not that good and overpowered by the other available manuals.

Skills granted by Archer Manual

Mage Manual:

Talk to the Mage class NPC in order to have an overview of the Mage class. The Mage class uses magic at its finest even if they lack high HP pool. As they progress they will choose to be either a Wizard class or Sage class.  Both are magic weilders but Wizards focuses more on offensive magic and Sages focuses more on defensive magic.

Mage Manual

She will also hand over a Mage Manual. The manual will grant you the skills Increase SP Recovery 1, Cold Bolt 1, Fire Wall 1 and Fire Bolt 1. Increase SP recovery is a passive skill which gives you SP over time when staying still or sitting. Cold Bolt is a single target water element magic. Fire Wall creates a wall of fire which hinders monsters from advancing while taking fire damage. Lastly Fire Bolt is a single target fire element magic.

This manual if very helpful to players who starts out with high INT. With the help of Novice Cutter weapon they can one shot all the monsters on the grounds only using Fire Bolt 1 and Cold Bolt 1. SP is not an issue because Brade can always offer a free HP and SP healing.

Skills granted by Mage Manual

Acolyte Manual:

Talk to the Acolyte Class NPC in order to have an overview of the Acolyte class. The Acolyte class has the advantage of using supportive skills and healing. As they progress they will choose to be either a Priest class or Monk class. Both classes still has the advantage of supportive skills however Priests leans more on support role while Monks leans more on the offensive role.

Acolyte Manual

He will also hand over an Acolyte Manual. The manual will grant you the skills Heal 1, Increase AGI 1 and Blessing 1. Heal recovers your health. Increase AGI gives +3 AGI and increases movement speed. Blesssing gives +1 to STR, INT and DEX.

The manual seems ok but I think manual is also overpowered by the other manuals. The healing from Brade outshines the skill Heal 1. The other buffs can be replaced by the free Food Buffs given to you. The only advantage I can see is the increase movement speed from Increase AGI 1. But to be frank, use the Mage Manual instead.

Skills granted by Acolyte Manual

Merchant Manual:

Talk to the Merchant Class NPC in order to have an overview of the Merchant class. The Merchant class leans more on the market advantage. As they progress they will choose to be either a Blacksmith class or Alchemist class. Both classes still has the market advantage but now they have the ability to be able to produce their own products from raw materials. However making this class with an offensive role proves to be more expensive to maintain that is why most of their skills are more on acquiring more money.

Merchant Manual

He will also hand over a Merchant Manual. The manual will grant you the skills Discount 1, Overcharge 10, Item Appraisal 1 and Mammonite 1. Discount is a passive skill which lowers the prices of NPC goods by a certain percent. Overcharge is a passive skill which lets you sell your goods to NPCs at a higher price. Item Appraisal lets you identify newly dropped loots. Mammonite is a single target attack which uses zeny for each strike on a target.

The manual is only advantageous when you want to sell your goods to the NPC because as you can see Overcharge is max out. Because of this you'll get more money from the loots that you have gathered. Other than that use the Swordsman Manual or Thief Manual for leveling up.

Skills granted by Merchant Manual

Summary:

Just to give you a note, The job manuals are being taken away once you decided to leave the training grounds vicinity through the job class NPCs or Kafra services. However if you leave the training grounds via other means the job class manuals stays on your inventory. Example of which is purchasing Siege Fly wing or Colored Butterfly Wing on the mini hypermart to escape the area. But remember these manuals are only usuable by Novice class. Once you job change these manuals will be useless.

If your build leans more on STR I recommend that you use either the swordsman manual or thief manual. Both manual has offensive skills which will be helpful in fast pace killing. If your build leans more on INT which is the usual case for acolyte class and mage class then I recommend that you use the mage manual. The Novice cutter provides decent mATK which helps in one shotting monsters using the spells on the mage manual. Use the Merchant Manual if you are goig to sell your items to the NPC. You can change back to the offensive manuals once you are done selling. You don't have to worry about regaining HP and SP because Brade is always there to give you free HP and SP healing. You can stay on the training grounds as long as you are still comfortable with the experience given.