MapleStory/Thief

Thieves are a very popular but expensive class. They have their likenesses with archers and warriors. Though probably being the most expensive to handle, they gain the most money in the process after magicians. They excel at killing enemies quickly, and thus gaining lots of mesos in the process. The downside is that the Thief class demands precision when allocating stats, as they can be screwed up very easily.

There are 2 types of thieves - Assassins and Bandits. Assassins are quick ranged attackers. They are quite Meso efficient and have good damage potential, but cost a heck of a lot more than bandits. Bandits are quick melee attackers and are quite powerful among the 2nd jobs. They aren't as Meso efficient as Assassins and do not have the benefit of ranged attack but make up for it in much greater raw power (after around level 90, there is no way that any assassin can catch up with Bandits' damage), although dagger scrolls have a potential to cost quite a bit.


 * Pros:
 * Both bandits and assassins get some cool and useful skills such as Savage Blow, Haste, Assaulter, Triple Throw and Flash Jump.
 * They have the second highest avoidability and accuracy after archers.
 * Assassins can take out mobs efficiently with Avenger.
 * Assassins are extremely mobile and have good range.
 * Both are good at bossing at 4th job.
 * "DEXless" assassins can easily hit the highest damage of all classes between levels 20-70.
 * Because of their damage, Thieves are popular choices in Party Quests.
 * Cons:
 * Average HP and MP, getting 2-hit-killed by monsters at high levels.
 * Assassins (especially "DEXless" ones) are comparatively unpopular due to their stereotyped KSing.
 * Very unstable damage until mastery in 2nd job.
 * Good stars and armours are extremely expensive. Claw and Dagger ATT scrolls are some of the most expensive in the game.

If you are new to MapleStory or starting on a new server, you should consider skipping armor every five or so levels. Thief items are pricey, so save for future armor. Dexless thieves, Hybrid sins, and STR bandits cost more for scrolls, weapon, etc. Becoming one of these as your first character will be challenging to keep up with buying armor and weapons on your own. If you like a challenge, definitely choose one of these paths.
 * Equipment

Beginner
Thieves were once a complicated class to set up stats-wise at the beginning, but you no longer need to worry about your AP as a Beginner. Feel free to apply your AP to make you an effective fighter as a Beginner or use it to build up your mana reserves. When you complete your first job training, all of your AP will be reset.

Dagger Rogue (Pre-Bandits)
LUK bandits have more LUK than STR bandits, because STR Bandits have to have several points into STR to equip their weapons. Since they have more LUK, LUK Bandits typically do more damage than STR Bandits, due to LUK having much more substantial effect in their damage equation. However, LUK daggers generally cost a bit more than STR Daggers.

The first few STR daggers have a speed of "faster" compared to most LUK dagger's speed of "fast." However this distinction is very minor as the only difference between "faster" and "fast" daggers is that without Dagger Booster, "faster" daggers perform normal swings faster. With Dagger Booster, there is no difference between a "fast" and "faster" dagger. They have the exact same speed properties for normal attacks and skills.

LUK daggers also seem to be far more common, and this greatly helps when it comes to that all important time of having to re-equip. STR daggers on the other hand; when it comes 70+; have a suddenly enormous shift in price and zoom right up along there with Fairfrozen and Kage. Overall most people say going the way of LUK is a more rewarding (if not harder in the early stages) path.

Claw Rogue (Pre-Assassin)
Thieves that use claws are called "Assassins" (the second job title, also known as "'sins"), and are long ranged attackers. They are widely regarded as one of the most powerful classes in the game.

It should be noted once more that Assassins tend to be very expensive. Tremendous amounts of Mesos are required to maintain a strong Assassin. The price of stars, scrolls, claws, potions, as well as other random items and equipment can be daunting. Sins do not have the MP regeneration of a mage, and as such burn MP Potions constantly. Also, unlike Bowmen, Assassins can barely knock back monsters, giving them a wider range to throw stars.
 * Equipment

Assassins are a very common class on GMS (Global MapleStory), and prices for their equipment are inflated. Claws and Scrolls cost upwards of millions of Mesos, and the highest attack stars, Crystal Ilbis, can now sell for up to 90 million Mesos. However, due to constant changing economies, prices of stars differ. The price an Assassin pays to have decent equipment is basically offset by their large amounts of speed. With Haste maxed, an Assassin can travel across an entire map quite quickly, killing monsters along the way.

However, money concerns are not unique to Assassins. Archers depend primarily on Double Shot, which uses the same amount of MP as Lucky Seven. Magicians equipment is sometimes as much or more than Assassins, though Sins must cover the cost of stars. Furthermore, it could be argued that Bandits cost far more to maintain than Assassins. The Bandit skill Savage Blow does more damage compared to regular attacks, but costs 27 MP per cast opposed to Lucky Seven's 16 MP. Bandits also spend much, much more money on HP potions for two reasons: One, their melee attacking style naturally forces them to take more damage from monsters and two, they lack the Assassin skill Drain, which is a tremendous money saver.
 * Funding

If you are unfunded but still want to do crazy butt-kicking damage and blast through levels, "Pure Luck 'Sins" can do this easily: their high damage makes training fast and they can make some quick money. But equipment is highly limited; the bathrobe is a must have. You may want to keep it or change to the sauna bathrobe at level 30. But it is better to sell it off for a high price.

Tip: To save money as an assassin, especially in the earlier levels, recharge your stars more often instead of buying new stacks. To do this, go to the pots shop and click on the use tab on your side of the window. Next to the stars there will be an orange button with 'Rech.' on it. Simply click this button and you will have a full stack of stars again. The price to recharge is right next to the price to sell them.

First Job
When you reach level 10, head to Kerning city. Find the jazz lounge next to Mong (about two thirds of the way across the map from the left) and head to the basement to find Dark Lord hanging upside down. Speak with him and become a Rogue. After doing so, speak with him again to get the "Beginner Thief's First Training Session" quest. You'll now have a direction to go, and some new equipment to help you level. Dark Lord will have given you both a Beginner Thief's Wrist Guard (claw weapon that throws stars) and a Beginner Thief's short sword (a dagger). Both items are Thief only and unable to be traded.

Now that you've become a Rogue, your skill choices are very important, so be careful. First you want to pick your offensive skill, so you probably want to test out the two weapons to get a feel for them. Claws only throw stars from a distance, and at this stage you'll have minimal range which makes things a little annoying. Although the short sword acts the same as before, your damage will be increased significantly. For both weapons, imagine them attacking twice as fast (or faster in the future) with the help of one of the skills you can invest in (Double Stab or Lucky Seven).

Get the weapons from the shop and train at the locations suggested below. When you hit 15, head to Kerning and begin Nella's quests. She gives you a Bronze Mischief (level 20 glove) that you can upgrade with an opal and some mesos (they give you a LUK bonus and a +2 Weapon Def. bonus after you do that). Up until this time, you might want to try making or buying new claws at 15 (4,000 Mesos for Steel Titans), and maybe upgrading them as well (i.e. titan to mithril titan, or gold titan if you can afford it). Then purchase Meba (60,000 Mesos) and scroll it to +7. If you're a bandit-thief (Sindit) then stay with the most up-to-date weapons (try to get above average if cheap).
 * Assassin's buyers guide

If you are a DEXless sin (which requires a lot of money), you should start by getting a +7 Garnier and use it until level 35. At that time, try to acquire a Maple Claw, then Maple Kandayo at level 43, and Shinobi Bracer at 55. At level 64 try and get a good Maple Skanda if your Shinobi Bracer is not scrolled. Also, try to get a high LUK sauna robe (22+ LUK).

Training locations for Dagger Rogues

 * Level 10-15: The best place to train at these levels is the Slime Tree (not tree dungeon). Which is located 2 portals west of Ellinia, and it’s the farthest tree on the west side. Spamming Double Stab is not suggested here since it won't be necessary, unless you have enough mesos for it (from a funded character, for example). Henesys Party Quest is also a good option.


 * Level 16-19: All funded bandits can now quickly kill pigs now, so go do so at Pig Beach. While unfunded bandits can also train there, they won't make much profit, so stay at slimes. Mushroom Garden is also a very good training area.You can also train at HPQ which gives 1.6k exp per game(try getting someone who can lure(take all the monsters and move them away from the bunny) for an easier time.


 * Level 20-24: Now, all bandits, rich or poor, can train at Pig Beach and can start party questing at kerning, but it is suggested not to start that until around level 24. Double Stab spamming bandits will find their 1 hit KO rate much higher with a better weapon. Poorer bandits will have to rely on what they find for a while. If you want to KPQ (Kerning Party Quest) then you should go around level 25 if you want some good damage or a little earlier if you’re funded. Also, if you can 2 hit KO a Horny Mushroom, training in the dungeon will be fast exp if you can find an unpopulated area.


 * Level 25-29: At this point, all bandits should have maxed Double Stab. If you want you can start party questing in kerning, as you are level 24 which is a good level for party quest in kerning. Or if you have enough money, go train on green mushrooms with Double Stab (and perhaps some follow up normal attacks), and hope a pan lid drops. If you lack a lot of mesos, either go normal Green Mushrooms, or make some mesos at Jr Sentinels (which drop 60-90 mesos per kill!), which will surely supply you with additional money. If want to burn potions go to the mini-dungeon in Ant Tunnel II where you will find the exp is great.

Training locations for Claw Rogues

 * Level 10-13: you don't have your extended range yet, too bad. To save money, you probably want to switch between the Wrist Guard and the short sword depending on what enemies you are fighting (for more powerful enemies you'll want the Wrist Guard). Go to Henesys Hunting Ground and kill some snails for now. If you are feeling adventurous, go to the slime tree, and start de-sliming. Now that you have lucky seven, killing slimes are extremely easy. If you are funded (if you have an additional, higher level character), you can take some money and buy a better claw (10 attack versus 9) or throwing stars and go de-sliming more easily in Ellinia. Fear the power of Assassins!


 * Another option for levels 10-14/16 is to kill orange mushrooms, they give more experience than slimes and can generally be killed in 3-4 hits. If you put your level 10 skill point on lucky 7, regular pigs can be killed using only 3 stars. Henesys Party Quest is a good option.


 * Level 14-16: Go up the levels of Henesys Hunting Grounds. HHG 3 is generally the best open empty spot. Since it is very difficult to find pigs in numbers without the ribbon pig alongside it go and travel across all towns except for Perion and kill everything killable. Another good leveling location is the map East of Kerning City, where you can easily kill Octopus and Green Mushroom, giving you quick EXP, although be sure to stock up on potions! Leveling should be extremely fast if you're funded with kumbis or better.


 * Level 17-19: Pig Beach. Your level 10 lucky seven is enough to kill pigs in one hit and ribbon pigs in two, and while it's not extremely profitable, you won't lose money, and will gain some from the occasional drops. And yes, nobody can ks you, not even a mage. WARNING: The very irritating Iron Hog will spawn in Pig Beach occasionally. So watch out! If you managed to aggro it, cast Disorder if you have it.


 * The party quest is a great place to level from levels 21-30. By doing this with either nice people or friends you can not only save money but also gain precious ores that you will need to make weapons later on. If not, continue to follow the guide.


 * Level 20-24: If you're going for the poor build, continue at Pig Beach. Training is going to get slower now, but bear it for now. If you're maxing Lucky Seven early, then go ahead and kill Green Mushrooms, and hope that the ever-elusive pan lid drops.A Better alternative is the Bubling monster in Kerning subway Line 1 they give the same EXP as green mushrooms but with relatively NO KSers.


 * Level 25-30: Green Mushrooms, or Horned Mushrooms at ant Tunnel. The former is more profitable, the latter is quicker, although you will lose money. You could also try Jr Sentinels, but it is not recommended. Zombie Mushrooms are also an alternative if you have Kumbi or better, as you can easily 2HKO them with Lucky 7. If not, stick with Horny Mushrooms. Wild Boars can be an option too if you seriously think you have enough money to burn on potions, and boars move quite quickly, which is more challenging. If you are not funded, then kill octopi near Kerning City.


 * Note: It is best to avoid Orbis until at least level 30. This is because Jr. Sentinels have 600 hp.

Second Job
Go see Dark Lord in Kerning City at Level 30. He will say that you look much stronger and ready for 2nd job, and will ask you to go look for Thief Job Instructor at the Construction Site North of Kerning City. The Instructor will bring you to a secret area, where you have to defeat monsters and collect 30 Dark Marbles. The monsters you'll have to face are weakened Cold Eyes and strengthened Blue Mushroom. They don't give any experience or drops except the Dark Marble. After you are done, climb back up and talk to the Instructor again, and he will give you Proof of a Hero and send you back to the real world. Take the Proof of a Hero back to Dark Lord and he will ask you to choose between 2 jobs, Bandit or Assassin.

Training locations
Carnival Party Quest is fast and has good experience for levels 30-51. Bandits around level 30-35 don’t get into CPQs as fast as other classes due to low level Savage Blow and low damage. The time spent trying to get into a CPQ may not be worth the rewards. If you can't get into a CPQ, you should do LPQ.


 * level 30-34: Ant Tunnel. One double stab should kill Horned Mushroom and sometimes Zombie Mushroom in one hit. Training will be a bit slow, but bear it for now. Carnival Party Quest is also a great option, though getting a party may be a little tough, it is the best experience for the levels up to about 45.


 * Level 35-39: Land of Wild Boar I. By this point you should be able to semi-consistently 1HKO boars with a decent weapon. However, if you're going for SB first, you will have to wait until level 37, when you can 6 hit with SB. Another good alternative is doing Ludibrium Party Quest, but it may be a bit harder.


 * Level 40-42: You should start with Cave of Evil Eyes as both SB bandits and Mastery bandits should be able to off Evil Eye in 1 hit semi-consistently. For the rich, try to go for paper lantern ghosts and dark cloud foxes at zipangu.


 * Level 43-45: Fire Boars/Leatties/Jr Cats (Jrs Grupin, Lioner, and Cellion)/Dark Leatties. All of them share about the same HP, and you should be able to 1HKO them most of the time. MCPQ Also (Room 5,6) Because You can kill rombots fast


 * Level 46-49: Star Pixie and Lunar Pixie. They're easy enough to kill (1-2HKO star, 3HKO lunar), and they give very good drops. Your very powerful attack speed should be able to kill them before they attack you. Jr Pepes are not a bad idea as well, same with Monkey Forest I. Also at this time you should be able to hunt Copper Drakes. They're located at Dangerous Valley I. Monster Carnival Party Quest (Room 5,6) because you can kill rombots fast. In the new patch you can go to the Ellin Forest PQ where you can get 52,000 exp per PQ.


 * Level 50-54: At this point, Jr Yeti should be fair games, and you will make quite a profit. Drake's Meal Table is also a fine choice, although you probably won't net a lot of profits. Another alternative is Luster Pixies: you will find a lot of Dark Crystal ores and Gold ores there, although the drops aren't stellar. On another point, Copper Drakes at Dangerous Valley now becomes a lucrative choice. Also, a wise choice would be to start Ludi Maze PQ right now (In 7 levels I made 38 million mesos); if you plan to do this be prepared to take down Tauromacis. Zombie Lupins are also a good training spots as they spawn fast and drop a decent amount of mesos.


 * Level 55-60: Zombies are the second best leveling spot. Go slaughter them left to right, then back to left again. Alternatives include Drake's Meal Table, Cargo's Area, and the Crown Flyer. If you haven't started Ludi Maze PQ, I strongly suggest you attempt it now. Averaging in about 10,000exp each run (each run should take you about 1-2min.), Ludi Maze PQ is THE best leveling spot.


 * Level 60+: Forest Of Golem is a very good choice for the funded. The spawn is excellent, and everything is close, making for fast leveling. By this level with a decent weapon you should be able to 2-HKO the dark golems and 2-3HKO the Mixed golems with Savage Blow. Along with that they drop Gold and Black ores, 60% Glove Attack scroll, tobis, and Dark Crystal ores. Zombies can also be a strong alternative, however they are spaced out unlike FoG which can be troublesome for bandits. Ludi Maze PQ is an excellent choice, even if some players can attack you due to a rare glitch.

Training locations

 * Level 30-34: Ant Tunnel. With Meba+7 or Mithril/Adamantium Guards+7 and warrior potions, you should be able to 1HKO Zombie Mushroom semi-consistently. If you DON'T have the +7 scrolled claws...bring MP pots to keep replenishing your MP while you use Lucky Seven. If you're funded and have Kumbi or better, skip ahead to boars. The Jr. Kitties are an option if you're a Dexless/Pure Luck Sin (your DEX is 25 forever), since you can 1HKO them 100% with L7.


 * Level 35-40: Land of Wild Boar I. You should still keep that Meba (which, combined with Booster, will make you shoot at an unholy rate), and you will be able to 1HKO boars at least 90% of the time with a decent star. You should start CPQing since it gives great exp in little time. If you get lucky you can also get a Spiegalmann Necklace, which gives +0-2 for every main stat. CPQing is also great because it saves you many HP/MP Pots because you can only use the ones provided in the party quest dropped by monsters.


 * Level 40-42: Cave of Evil Eye. At this point Boars will probably become too slow and you won't be able to 1HKO Fire Boars consistently yet, so stick with Evil Eyes for a bit. Funded sins should go for Chirpies. CPQ is still great.

The Horn Flute, Protecting Nero, and "Lightening" Orbis
 * Level 43-49: Your options are open. Straw Target Dummies (STDs) Very Good Exp/Mesos/Drops (Worth a lot), Dark Leatties, Leatties, Jr Kitties, Fire Boars, Jr Wraiths, Monkey Forest I, and eventually Cloud Park IV are all decent choices. Copper Drakes, if you can consistently 2-hit KO them, are decent as well. A new alternative is the new Ludi PQ that like the kerning PQ gives good prizes and can be less boring than normal training. Try not to get bored, as a character tends to do so in their high 40s. (addon) Consider killing the new chronos family of monsters as they can drop tobis, kumbis and the platoon ones drop glove atk scrolls 60% and the esther shield. Also Jr. Grupins give Kumbis and are easier to kill than the Platoon or Master Chronos which drop Kumbis as well. Consider doing these three quests at the same time when killing Jr. Kitties. You just have to keep on CPQing. Also, once you are lvl 49-50, and if you don't absolutely need to level, you can start coin farming, in which you purposely spawn weak monsters to try to get as many coins as possible. The best money to coin ratio is 150k:7 coins


 * Level 50-59: You should stick with STDs, Monkey Forest I or Cloud Park IV, maybe go borebreaking in Cloud Park VI once in a while. You probably still can't 3HKO zombies consistently, but if you can, by all means start massacring zombies, and killing them. You can also kill Stone Golems or if you're daring, Dark Stone Golems. If you have a pet with looting abilities, Fly-eyes in the cave before Pianus is also an option. Try not to get eaten by sharks! LMPQ is great exp and great money as well. It is also recommended to do the Orbis Party Quest, though it is slower, and if you need money go to the Phantom Forest in the Creeping Evil map and stay there until lvl 55. You should make quite a bit of mone and you might even get a couple of Steely sets.


 * Level 60-70: Voodoo and Hooodos. There's nothing like them, and KSing people out of rooms can be quite easy, so try to avoid that. Work for your room and wait for it, and don't be a jerk about it. STDs are good to train on until level 70 or 75, all depending on your attack. You can make good money from them too, if you can 1-2 hit ko. Zombies can still work, though. You can also try a variety of places including Hectors, Jr Yeti, Grupins, Cold Field (Level 60), Icy Valley I (Level 60), Crown Flyer (Level 60), Golems (Forest of Golems) (both types), Luster Pixies. You can still LMPQ here, it's still good money.

For MapleSea These maps ARE Wonderful. However, don't expect to train for a VERY long time without KS wars and Map Raiders. The EXP given there is GREAT. There are lots of Sniping spots around and the monsters' HP are low enough for you to train on quickly.
 * Level 60-70: Train at the Singapore maps such as Mp2 (slow), Mp3, Ghost Ship 2 and Ghost Ship 3.

Training locations
Level 31-33: Training will not be too slow compared to pure bandits since SinDits use Lucky 7 to attack. Equip a Meba+7 or you can just scroll it yourself with some good scrolls. Train at Ant Tunnel 1 and pray to the Maple Gods that a Nakanami drop. Or if your wallet isn't angry with you, you can train on Green Mushrooms and pray to the Maple Gods that a pan lid will drop.

Level 34-37: Since your Savage Blow is completely weak until level 37 stay at wild boars and bear it for a while. It’s still a fine training plan because it has nice drops and exp until level 37. Don't go for the Ludi party quest yet.

Level 38-50: Now you can equip your daggers and better "armor", and go to Ludi Party quest where all sindits are needed for their range and atk. PQ will be extremely slow about at level 41 until 50 still you have good items.

Level 50-70: From this point on you can train on a lot of things, almost everything on Victoria island is as clay in your hands, although you might have some problem with some monsters in the deepest parts of the dungeon, but don't worry too much about it.

General Equipment and items

 * level 1-10: Stick with your newbie clothing. Don't buy anything that will be of no use. Don't even touch potions because you are still a beginner and you will not lose exp even if you die. Keep your sword/axe/club until you do Bigg's quest (the guy at a high platform at Southperry.)


 * level 11-20: When you first become a thief, you will be given a Beginner's claw (which is really an untradeable Garnier), an untradeable Fruit Knife, and 3 sets of non-rechargeable Beginner's Subi throwing stars.


 * level 20-25: Buy the armor and get a Meba+7(w/ 100%s, 23 atk) for 60-80K and if you don't have at least Mokbis right now, get some. At level 25, get the brown bamboo hat instead of the level 25 hat, 3 luk>3 def, it's a reward from the maya's medicine quest and sometimes from the PQ. You might want to start using orange or white pots now as reds are plain annoying to use, even if they might save you 10-20 mesos. Do the Nella's Kerning City request to get your level 20 glove if you're unfunded or don't have the money for an attack work glove.


 * level 30: Now you're an official assassin. Congrats! Start buying mana elixirs as a replacement of blue pots (don't use pure water until your maxMP is above 1000). Also, by doing a quest that requires you to kill 99 Evil Eyes gives you 100 free mana elixirs. Use them when needed. Stick with white pots for now. Train, and get mesos. If you have Mokbis, which you should, sell them off and buy Kumbis/Icicles or Tobis if you have the money. You should have at least 2400-2500 total stars, which is 3-5 sets of whatever star you choose. Also, get all of the level 30 gear and do the Nella Kerning City's request 2 to get your level 30 shoes.


 * level 30-35: After some time of training, you should have quite the amount of mesos. Get a lot of mana elixers and white pots. Buy the knucklevest set. Now that you probably know a lot about the stuff you need, get the stars you wish. Make sure to keep the strength arrangement as I told you before. Get any hat as you wish, consider the burglar because this will take sometime to level. Play your cards right, don’t waste mesos. You'll be needing more mesos to spend later. Try to keep up to around 500,000 mesos or higher. If you have the money, buy +7 guards, they will help you out.


 * level 36-40: You might want to buy the avarice at this stage or just keep the meba if its +7, and you may be able to afford some tobis. If not, continue to buy more kumbis unless you’ve had a stroke of luck in quests that your able to fund yourself with scrolls, in which case try to buy a set of tobis. The order that stars should be in your inventory is strongest to weakest, and here are all of the stars in that order: Crystal Ilbi, Ilbi=Hwabi, Steely, Tobi, Icy=, Kumbi, Tops=, Mokbi, Wolbi=, Snowballs, Subi. Ilbi and Hwabi have the same attack power and capacity, but Ilbi are far more common.


 * level 41-50: Go to Ludi pq you can get some nice juicy exp and great items there. If you constantly do it and end up with a lot of money try to scroll your lvl 50 weapon (Slain) also try to upgrade slain to dark. If you do that and scroll it you can keep it until 70.


 * level 51-60: if your looking for money go sakura massacring at midnight (otherwise it’s too crowded) for some very decent lvl 50 drops and about 350 mesos each. (just 2 sakura cellies will give you enough for a mana pot.) If you’re somewhat rich or funded buy your lvl 70 stuff ahead. Why not the 60 armor? Simple, the lvl 55 quest "Pia's request" will give you a free lvl 60 top and bottom. Stick to Tobis and try to buy another set. Also, you get the level 60 hat from the "Cleaning up the streets" quest in New Leaf City.


 * level 61-70: Okay now its time to get rich in stars. Go at lvl 60-63 or so and fight red drakes, even though their exp to health ratio isn’t the best they drop something almost every sin craves: Steelys. At lvl 64 if you're armed with steelys go zombie hunting for quick exp and money. Grab the lvl 70 stuff now if you didn't before. Try to save up for a much needed Scarab in the next few levels.

Third Job
Go to El Nath, and head to the house on the big hill (Chief Residence). Head to Arec, and talk with him. After a chat, head back to Victoria, and head to Dark Lord in Kerning City. Talk to him to get knowledge on where you have to go next. Head to Monkey Swamp II, and go to the Door Of Dimension. It will be marked as a NPC on the minimap. Head inside, and power up and put on your best gear. Fight the Dark Lord's evil side, and head out with the Black Charm.

The next step is simple. Go back to the Dark Lord, and exchange the Black Charm for a Necklace of Strength. Give this item to Arec, and then head to Sharp Cliff II, and go inside the door at the top-right corner. Talk to the big rock, and answer the 5 questions. (Note: You need a Dark Crystal). Once you answer the 5 questions, you get a Necklace Of Wisdom. Head back to Arec and give him this item.

Hermit Armor/Weapon Guide

 * Level 71-80: At this point you should have illbis or atleast 5 sets of steelie. At this lvl you should have or get a 6+ atk Wg. Stay with your Dark/White Identity and get a 40+ atk Scarab and scroll it. After all that go and train at Wind Raiders to make some fast leveling and good exp. Try not to buy any other equips at this point, because you will need it for future claws, which are very expensive.
 * Level 81-90: If you got your 90 stuff before, great, if not... well go buy full red osfa (best bonus) including the hat. Stay with the Scarab, its' luck bonus will do wonders while Black Mamba and Casters are overpriced plus Zakum exclusive.


 * Level 91-100: Stick with the 90 stuff, the 100 gear is only available from Pianus and at this level he'll be way too hard to fight. Start saving up for the Criven and prepare to sell your Scarab. Keep your money high around these levels, you can go broke fast. At level 91~92, if you have the money it's definitely worth buying some Casters with a weapon attack of 52+, especially if your scarab is below 50 weapon attack. A 10 attack glove is a must at this level, otherwise you'd be out damaged by hermits 5 levels, maybe even 10 levels below you.


 * Level 101-110: Now go get the 100 armor. Don't bother getting the Dragon Geshuda for its bonus of dex. Get the Garina stuff or stick with osfa just don't use the katinas but you can use the level 100 gloves and boots if you can find them.


 * Level 111-120: Use Garina and take the purple dragon sleeve. Congratulations on becoming a Night Lord!

Alternative Assassin armor/weapon guide
This guide is for a funded assassin or one who has a lot of money by level 25-30 please note that this version is much more offensive so stationary bosses with area affect skills (zakum, pianus) with probably be to hard to take on until level 100. Overall this path is quicker to level with. (By the time you start here you should have tobis)


 * level 30-34: Buy all luck bonus armor and get the gloves fully upgraded or stick with dark wolfskin. Buy snowshoes and scroll it 7 times with jump 100% scrolls.


 * level 35-39: Buy the green knucklevest and blue pants get the arbion from john's present quest. Ludi pq all the way until 40.


 * level 40-49: Buy 5 luk cleave and dark shadow and buy 2 luk pants get an avarice that has at least 23 atk and 3 luk. Get a dark or red pilfer that gives +3 luk if you have bought all the other stuff.


 * level 50-59: Buy a maximum powered dark slain and a +4 luk sonata buy pants that give at least +3 luk then you have to save save save! (Buy steelies during this time period if you have enough).


 * level 60-69: Buy a 6 luk Identity that’s probably all you have money for now anyways. (get steelies if affordable).

Hermit training guide

 * Level 71-80: Stay on STD's or Zombies and even H/Voodoos Would be great! Maybe team up on Werewolfs (WARNING: Do not use Avenger on Werewolves, being swarmed with attacks that do up to 20% of your HP is least thing you would want), until you max out avenger don't go for anything stronger than you are. At level 77~78ish you can head to Death Teddies if you have been only putting points into Shadow Partner (or if your shadow partner is level 21+, since at that point it will last for 3 minutes), which are godly exp but deal over 1000 damage physical and around 1400 damage with their magic attack.


 * Level 81-90: This period of time is known as Assassin hell due to the fact that at these levels monsters are hard to train on for the experience they give, and the fact that you will be spending millions for just a couple levels. Try to team up with a Fighter and take on Lycanthropes (that’s what I did but you might have your own idea so follow this guide at your own risk/will), or head over to Death Teddies (Go to Ludi, enter toy factory, keep going down until you reach a map called, then go in the portal on the right. Go through 2 maps, the first filled with soul teddies and master soul teddies and the second filled with clocks and dark clocks, then you'll be at my personal favorite map for Death Teddies (DTs)).


 * Level 91-100: Finally break the link of hardness and go mad at the ludi clock tower on vikings and pirates. Dark yeti-pepe isn’t a bad idea either, along with heading to aqua road to murder squids. Zakum pq wouldn't be to harsh if you can take on Bains, but Zakum itself not recommended until level 110+ due to low health levels. Alternatively: train at HH (Headless Horsman). If you have good Magicians and a +8 att Work Glove you should be good.


 * Level 101-119+: It’s whatever you want from here on out. Although I suggest Balrogs and Pianus, Balrogs if you want some quick money especially, though generally bossing for training isn't the best idea. You can stick with squids until level 108~110 (recommended), or you can head over to the mushroom shrine for Dreamy Ghosts. At level 110 these are absolutely amazing with 3200 exp per kill. You can also go to Jr. Newties and use the famous sniping spot to train but finding a spot is not easy.


 * Level 120+: The best places to train is at Jr. Newtie and Nest Golems (Newties hit about 2k, and Nest Golems hit about 2.8-3k). If you feel like it, you can also go to Skelegons and try training there (you will need over 3.2k-3.4k hp depending on your defense to survive a hit from them). Easy money at these levels are Pap and Zak, you can easily survive a hit from any of them with hyper body.

Chief Bandit Armor/Weapon Guide

 * Level 70: Definitely keep your Silver or Dark Identity, as both have the same or more luk than the Bloodfox respectively. Get the Dark armor set, as they give the maximum amount of luk, and get a decent level 70 weapon, with at least 3 luk and 83 weapon attack, or if you have a low meso amount, stick with your deadly fin, although training will be slower, and there will be a big difference in attack.


 * Level 80: If you have a Dark Pirate Hat with more than 4 luk, then switch hats. If you don't, stick with your Dark Identity. Change your entire armor set, and consider getting a 10-15 attack work glove if your wallet is full. Scroll your level 80 weapon to +4 or more (93 weapon attack and 4 luk).

Note:
 * If you have less than 20 million, you could get a workglove and scroll it with 100%s.
 * If you have 20 million to 50 million, I wouldn't recommend one, as unless you use your entire budget, you could probably get a 6-8 attack one.
 * If you have 50 million to 100 million, buy a couple of 60% glove attacks, make a work glove and scroll it yourself, although it will slice a clean cut off your budget.
 * If you have 100 million+, then get a workglove with at least 12 attack.


 * Level 90: Get the Dark Set again, and get the level 90 dagger (+ 4). You should have a workglove by now, and scrolled capes and shoes. If you don't want to spend your mesos on the top and bottom, at least get 100% scrolls or cheap 60% scrolls and scroll your armor, unless you're planning to sell the level 90 armor off.


 * Level 100+: By this level, you will probably know what armor and weapons you need to get next.

Chief Bandit Training Guide
There are also the Gobies in Deep Sea Gorge II. If you have a lot of money and at least level 1 Meso Explosion, it is great here because it can give about 20% - 40% per hour. Meso Guard is HIGHLY recommended! If your first explosion doesn't kill the Goby House, it will use a lethal magic attack - 2000+ damage. With level 1 Meso Explosion, I would recommend dropping a FEW bags of 4444 mesos, since 4444 deals the most efficient damage when bombing.
 * Level 70-79 - Train at Forest of Golems or Zombies. Those two maps have by far the best spawns. The Forest of Golems is very good with Savage Blow and Band of Thieves. Since the golems are big, they can get hit easily with a jump + savage blow. Also there are compressed or concentrated mobs of Golems, so Band of Thieves or Meso Explosion would do wonders here. As for Zombies, Band of Thieves isn't really used much, but the good thing is the platform is big, and once you kill from left to right, you can go back with the same amount of zombies. Forest of Golems' drops are usually crappy, dropping things such as Blood Snowboards, their most common drop, which only sell for about 50k - 100k. However, they do drop Scroll for Glove for ATT 60%, but it is a rare occurrence. Training in these levels depends on your playing style, although Forest of Golem does seem to give more experience.

A new alternative is at New Leaf City, if you maxed band of thieves first, then wolf spider swarms will give godly exp from heavy grinding with all of your main skills. Plus, if you're a steal bandit you might luck out and get ilbis or a blue screamer. Alternatively you can choose to go to Lower Ascent. On this map there are tons of windraiders. These monsters spawn in large groups making them very efficient to use BoT on. They each give 800 exp and have 16,000 HP. The average chief bandit can kill them in about three hits.

The best place to train at these levels are either Yeti&Pepes or staying at Zombies/Forest of Golems. Yeti and Pepes give nice experience, but if you don't maneuver well, you'll get punished with 1000-damage dealing ground pounds and 700 touch damage. That would be about a few hundred mesos deducted each touch/groundpound. An alternative is Lucidas, and although they have an unavoidable magic attack, they still are decent experience. Gobis here is still faster, but more expensive now.
 * Level 80-85 - If you got meso guard already, then great! Now you can train at Yeti and Pepes and stronger monsters at Ludibrium with almost no risk of dying, although this will be very expensive to maintain.

Gobis are less expensive if you can use assaulter to stun it each time. If that's possible then you can forget about the 11111 mesos used to blow up the house. They’re still good experience
 * Level 85-90 - You should definitely have Meso Guard by now. Go to Phantom Watches or Vikings, and fight there if you can (they might be too strong). Dual Vikings are a good choice too. However, those locations sap A LOT of mesos. You can still stay at Zombies or Forest of Golems, but it will be very slow leveling. Lucidas are a good choice too, but they will use up mesos, unless you can maneuver well and not use meso guard.

If you think your damage is still too low, Gobies are still very effective.
 * Level 90-100 - Train at Vikings/Phantom Watches all the way. Gigantic ones give more experience, but take more hits to kill. Phantom watches give more experience, but drops less money. Experiment on where you want to train. Perhaps Bains or something else gives more experience. It's all up to you.

Zakum, Pianus, gobies or Guild PQ bosses will be ideal for leveling.
 * Level 100+ - You should have a vague idea of where to train. You can stay at Gigantic Vikings or Grim Phantom Watches, or you can try something else.