Thanks to Avyn & all the contributors to his thread for skill comments. As with my other skill guides I've borrowed heavily from previous guides, just updated with new skills & skill levels.

Again, any mistakes or omissions, please let me know.

Passive

Backpack Upgrade
Get at least 2 levels. More backpack space can be very useful at times. Level 3 can be skipped if you are short of points.
Lv1 - Passive ability that raises the number of backpack pages to 3. (available at lvl 12) costs 1 skill point
Lv2 - Passive ability that raises the number of backpack pages to 4. (available at lvl 26) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Passive ability that raises the number of backpack pages to 5. (available at lvl 46) costs 2 skill points



Dagger Weapon Power Up
Name bug - this is currently called Dagger Mastery.
This skill is usefull for nukers that use daggers, as attack power is useless for healers. If you use staff you can safely skip this.
Lv1 - Passive ability that raises the players attack power by 5 when a dagger is equipped (available at lvl 12) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Passive ability that raises the players attack power by 10 when a dagger is equipped (available at lvl 23) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Passive ability that raises the players attack power by 18 when a dagger is equipped (available at lvl 34) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Passive ability that raises the players attack power by 32 when a dagger is equipped (available at lvl 45) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Passive ability that raises the players attack power by 44 when a dagger is equipped (available at lvl 56) costs 4 skill points
Lv6 - Passive ability that raises the players attack power by 60 when a dagger is equipped (available at lvl 67) costs 4 skill points
Lv7 - Passive ability that raises the players attack power by 84 when a dagger is equipped (available at lvl 71) costs 4 skill points



Interpretation
If you're PvPing in D-water or 20-30, or have friends in these areas max it. Otherwise skip. Its useless otherwise, and practically useless at L1.
Lv1 - Allows the player to understand about 30% of what an opponent says. (available at lvl 13) costs 1 skill point
Lv2 - Allows the player to understand about 60% of what an opponent says. (available at lvl 22) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Allows the player to understand 100% of what an opponent says. (available at lvl 51) costs 2 skill points



Staff Power Up
Beware, there is a name bug - this is called Staff Mastery (the same as the real Staff Mastery)
If you use staffs, then take this skill. Others skip it.
Lv1 - Increases attack power by 5 when a staff is equipped. (available at lvl 5) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Increases attack power by 17 when a staff is equipped. (available at lvl 16) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Increases attack power by 34 when a staff is equipped. (available at lvl 27) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - Increases attack power by 49 when a staff is equipped. (available at lvl 38 ) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Increases attack power by 66 when a staff is equipped. (available at lvl 49) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Increases attack power by 80 when a staff is equipped. (available at lvl 60) costs 3 skill points
Lv7 - Increases attack power by 94 when a staff is equipped. (available at lvl 71) costs 3 skill points



Tranquility
As for Relax Body, it's convenient to have, but note that it only works when you're resting. Depending on your party or situation, that may be almost never, especially with favorable bless. You need to decide if you really want to invest points into a skill that you will gain limited use from. Are the skill points worth having to sit for a few less seconds to you? Take Relax Body at your own discretion.
Lv1 - Regenerates HP,MP, and SP by 10% each for 3 seconds while sitting. Also increases bless healing slightly. (available at lvl 6) costs 1 skill point
Lv2 - Regenerates HP,MP, and SP by 15% each for 3 seconds while sitting. Also increases bless healing slightly. (available at lvl 18 ) costs 1 skill point
Lv3 - Regenerates HP,MP, and SP by 20% each for 3 seconds while sitting. Also increases bless healing slightly. (available at lvl 30) costs 1 skill point
Lv4 - Regenerates HP,MP, and SP by 25% each for 3 seconds while sitting. Also increases bless healing slightly. (available at lvl 42) costs 1 skill point
Lv5 - Regenerates HP,MP, and SP by 30% each for 3 seconds while sitting. Also increases bless healing slightly. (available at lvl 54) costs 1 skill point
Lv6 - Regenerates HP,MP, and SP by 35% each for 3 seconds while sitting. Also increases bless healing slightly. (available at lvl 66) costs 1 skill point



Staff Mastery
If you use staffs, then take this skill. Others skip it.
Lv1 - Increases attack speed by one level when wielding a staff. (available at lvl 25) costs 6 skill points



Vitality INT Training
The skill description says it adds HP based on your TOTAL int (implying lapis too), but it's actually only based on your BASE int. If you are a full int build you can get 3200 HP from this skill, which may be worthwhile. Any other builds it's up to your judgement.
Lv1 - Increases HP by 2 times your total int (available at lvl 71) costs 1 skill point
Lv2 - Increases HP by 3 times your total int (available at lvl 76) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Increases HP by 4 times your total int (available at lvl 79) costs 2 skill points

Basic

Town Portal
A free skill that lets you move to the nearest town faster than /town. Why wouldn't you get it?
Lv1 - Transports to the nearest town after 10 seconds. You can use it when stuck in the map or too far from town. (available at lvl 1) costs 0 skill points
Lv2 - Transports to the nearest town after 9 seconds. You can use it when stuck in the map or too far from town. (available at lvl 20) costs 0 skill points
Lv3 - Transports to the nearest town after 8 seconds. You can use it when stuck in the map or too far from town. (available at lvl 40) costs 0 skill points
Lv4 - Transports to the nearest town after 7 seconds. You can use it when stuck in the map or too far from town. (available at lvl 60) costs 0 skill points



Magic Arrow
Magic Arrow is your only instant cast/recharge damage spell. It goes without saying that you need to get it. It's basically your auto-attack. However, there are certain considerations. It may not be in your best interest to max it as soon as possible. Once you get to Lv60+, you'll have plenty of MP and the cost of the skill will not be important, but for Lv1-60 grinding, you may find the skill to be rather MP intensive. It's used much more often in PvP than PvE anyway, so you can safely leave it at a lower level for most of your grinding. Feel free to max it when you reach or near your endgame (whether your endgame be 1-15, 20-30, or 1-70).
Lv1 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 39 damage. (available at lvl 1) costs 1 skill point
Lv2 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 95 damage. (available at lvl 9) costs 1 skill point
Lv3 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 161 damage. (available at lvl 17) costs 1 skill point
Lv4 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 217 damage. (available at lvl 25) costs 2 skill points
Lv5 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 269 damage. (available at lvl 33) costs 2 skill points
Lv6 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 322 damage. (available at lvl 41) costs 2 skill points
Lv7 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 387 damage. (available at lvl 49) costs 3 skill points
Lv8 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 422 damage. (available at lvl 57) costs 3 skill points
Lv9 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 498 damage. (available at lvl 65) costs 3 skill points
Lv10 - Magic that shoots a non-elemental Magic Missile with the player's magic attack power plus 576 damage. (available at lvl 77) costs 4 skill points



Magic Roots
Magic Roots is a great skill to have for absolutely any build and any focus. However, the main selling point of it is its pause effect, not its damage. You'll notice that it receives its full pause effect at Lv1, so a good way to save on skill points is to leave it there. However, also important is that when maxed the range is 32m, making it the longest range spell available. If you want a more competitive edge, feel free to max it once you get to PvP, but there should be no reason to move it past Lv1 for PvE purposes.
Lv1 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 42 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 3) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 80 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 12) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 175 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 21) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 292 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 29) costs 2 skill points
Lv5 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 251 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 37) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 724 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 45) costs 3 skill points
Lv7 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 1030 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 53) costs 3 skill points
Lv8 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 1402 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 61) costs 3 skill points
Lv9 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 1724 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 69) costs 4 skill points
Lv10 - The basic earth magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 2046 damage and freezes it for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 77) costs 4 skill points



Fire Ball
Fire Ball has incredible base damage. Its cast time limits its overall damage output, but for a first strike, this skill can be one of your hardest hitters on a single target. It's also a good skill for players who have limited or no access to elemental weapons. The reason that I consider it optional is that its effectiveness drops off considerably after the first hit. Once you are targeted by either mob or player, cast times drag you down and you're better off switching to Magic Arrow. It costs 24 skill points to max, so consider whether or not you find that worthwhile for a skill that you won't use nearly as often as Magic Arrow before you invest any points into it.
Lv1 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 64 damage. (available at lvl 3) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 122 damage. (available at lvl 12) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 276 damage. (available at lvl 21) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 438 damage. (available at lvl 29) costs 2 skill points
Lv5 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 754 damage. (available at lvl 37) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 1088 damage. (available at lvl 46) costs 3 skill points
Lv7 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 1587 damage. (available at lvl 53) costs 3 skill points
Lv8 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 2105 damage. (available at lvl 61) costs 3 skill points
Lv9 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 2587 damage. (available at lvl 69) costs 4 skill points
Lv10 - The basic fire magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 3067 damage. (available at lvl 77) costs 4 skill points



Protective Aura
Super awesome buff. Everyone needs it as it incredibly boosts up your defense.
Lv1 - Raises physical defense by 12 and an additional 2% evasion increase. (available at lvl 2) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Raises physical defense by 24 and an additional 4% evasion increase. (available at lvl 12) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Raises physical defense by 47 and an additional 6% evasion increase. (available at lvl 22) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Raises physical defense by 70 and an additional 6% evasion increase. (available at lvl 32) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Raises physical defense by 93 and an additional 10% evasion increase. (available at lvl 42) costs 4 skill points
Lv6 - Raises physical defense by 116 and an additional 10% evasion increase. (available at lvl 52) costs 4 skill points
Lv7 - Raises physical defense by 139 and an additional 10% evasion increase. (available at lvl 62) costs 4 skill points
Lv8 - Raises physical defense by 162 and an additional 10% evasion increase. (available at lvl 72) costs 4 skill points



Sonic Bolt
Sonic Bolt is a useless skill, plain and simple. Its damage is weak and it being instant cast doesn't make up for that. Magic Arrow is instant cast too. Get that instead.
Lv1 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 21 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 3) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 40 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 12) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 92 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 21) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 146 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 29) costs 2 skill points
Lv5 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 251 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 37) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 362 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 45) costs 3 skill points
Lv7 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 515 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 53) costs 3 skill points
Lv8 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 701 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 61) costs 3 skill points
Lv9 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 862 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 69) costs 4 skill points
Lv10 - The basic wind magic that wounds target for players magic attack power plus 1023 damage with no casting time. (available at lvl 77) costs 4 skill points

Combat

Nemesis
Consider this. In just thirty seconds, a single Mage or Pagan is capable of inflicting about 60-70,000 damage against an endgame boss, regardless of that boss's resist or the caster's magic attack. While on Potential Motive, spamming this skill is truly devastating on high resist enemies. For those who PvP or kill bosses, this skill is highly recommended. However, it will not be very useful in all other areas of PvE.
Lv1 - Non-elemental magic that deals the player's magic attack power plus 277. The attack has an 85% success rate. (available at lvl 11) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Non-elemental magic that deals the player's magic attack power plus 866. The attack has an 85% success rate. (available at lvl 25) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Non-elemental magic that deals the player's magic attack power plus 1543. The attack has an 85% success rate. (available at lvl 39) costs 5 skill points
Lv4 - Non-elemental magic that deals the player's magic attack power plus 2180. The attack has an 85% success rate. (available at lvl 53) costs 5 skill points
Lv5 - Non-elemental magic that deals the player's magic attack power plus 2954. The attack has an 85% success rate. (available at lvl 67) costs 6 skill points



Mana Leech
If you're a Rec-heavy build, you may find use for Mana Slug. It never misses, so it is guaranteed MP every 30 seconds and more than any regular potion bought from an NPC. As with anything though, consider whether or not you can picture yourself in scenarios in which you'll use it before investing into it. If you're a pure damage build, you'll rarely have an opportunity to use it.
Lv1 - Drains 700 MP from target & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 13) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Drains 1500 MP from target & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 26) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Drains 2500 MP from target & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 39) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Drains 3800 MP from target & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 52) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Drains 4600 MP from target & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 65) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Drains 5400 MP from target & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 78 ) costs 3 skill points



Stamina Leech
Stamina Slug is useless. Spending MP to gain SP is a step backwards. You're a caster.
Lv1 - Drains 474 SP from an opponent. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 13) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Drains 785 SP from an opponent & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 26) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Drains 1100 SP from an opponent & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 39) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Drains 1555 SP from an opponent & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 52) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Drains 1970 SP from an opponent & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 65) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Drains 3785 SP from an opponent & transfers it to you. Only useable with melee attacks. (available at lvl 78 ) costs 3 skill points



Earthquake
Meteor Strike, Earthquake, and Chain Lightning are your first ranged AoEs. One of the first things that I look for when considering a skill is the cast time. In my opinion, anything with more than a 1.5sec cast time isn't effective in any scenario, especially PvP. This makes Meteor Strike an ineffective skill. It takes too long to cast. If you cycle your AoEs, you will not have need for this one anyway. If you really want it, I strongly recommend to leave it at Lv3, just to max the AoE radius of it. You may actually prefer to keep the other two at Lv3 as well for the same reason. These skills are costly in MP and skill points and you have a lot of other AoEs to consider. Earthquake is your only AoE stun and Chain Lightning is one of your two fastest cooldowns on ranged AoE. Both of these skills are recommended. Take them to Lv3 for a conservative skill build and max them if you have extra points.
Lv1 - Earth magic that stuns for 3 seconds and deals the player's magic attack power plus 70. It affects 5 meters around target. Some mobs have immunity. (available at lvl 16) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Earth magic that stuns for 3 seconds and deals the player's magic attack power plus 150. It affects 6 meters around target. Some mobs have immunity. (available at lvl 28 ) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Earth magic that stuns for 3 seconds and deals the player's magic attack power plus 384. It affects 7 meters around target. Some mobs have immunity. (available at lvl 36) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Earth magic that stuns for 3 seconds and deals the player's magic attack power plus 574. It affects 7 meters around target. Some mobs have immunity. (available at lvl 46) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Earth magic that stuns for 3 seconds and deals the player's magic attack power plus 738. It affects 7 meters around target. Some mobs have immunity. (available at lvl 56) costs 4 skill points
Lv6 - Earth magic that stuns for 3 seconds and deals the player's magic attack power plus 1318. It affects 7 meters around target. Some mobs have immunity. (available at lvl 66) costs 4 skill points



Chain Lightning
Meteor Strike, Earthquake, and Chain Lightning are your first ranged AoEs. One of the first things that I look for when considering a skill is the cast time. In my opinion, anything with more than a 1.5sec cast time isn't effective in any scenario, especially PvP. This makes Meteor Strike an ineffective skill. It takes too long to cast. If you cycle your AoEs, you will not have need for this one anyway. If you really want it, I strongly recommend to leave it at Lv3, just to max the AoE radius of it. You may actually prefer to keep the other two at Lv3 as well for the same reason. These skills are costly in MP and skill points and you have a lot of other AoEs to consider. Earthquake is your only AoE stun and Chain Lightning is one of your two fastest cooldowns on ranged AoE. Both of these skills are recommended. Take them to Lv3 for a conservative skill build and max them if you have extra points.
Lv1 - Wind magic that creates Lightning and deals the player's magic attack power plus 35. It affects 5 meters around target and slows target's attack speed by 1 level for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 16) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Wind magic that creates Lightning and deals the player's magic attack power plus 75. It affects 6 meters around target and slows target's attack speed by 1 level for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 26) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Wind magic that creates Lightning and deals the player's magic attack power plus 192. It affects 7 meters around target and slows target's attack speed by 2 levels for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 36) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Wind magic that creates Lightning and deals the player's magic attack power plus 287. It affects 7 meters around target and slows target's attack speed by 2 levels for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 46) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Wind magic that creates Lightning and deals the player's magic attack power plus 369. It affects 7 meters around target and slows target's attack speed by 3 levels for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 56) costs 4 skill points
Lv6 - Wind magic that creates Lightning and deals the player's magic attack power plus 659. It affects 7 meters around target and slows target's attack speed by 3 levels for 5 seconds. (available at lvl 66) costs 4 skill points



Meteor Strike
Meteor Strike, Earthquake, and Chain Lightning are your first ranged AoEs. One of the first things that I look for when considering a skill is the cast time. In my opinion, anything with more than a 1.5sec cast time isn't effective in any scenario, especially PvP. This makes Meteor Strike an ineffective skill. It takes too long to cast. If you cycle your AoEs, you will not have need for this one anyway. If you really want it, I strongly recommend to leave it at Lv3, just to max the AoE radius of it. You may actually prefer to keep the other two at Lv3 as well for the same reason. These skills are costly in MP and skill points and you have a lot of other AoEs to consider. Earthquake is your only AoE stun and Chain Lightning is one of your two fastest cooldowns on ranged AoE. Both of these skills are recommended. Take them to Lv3 for a conservative skill build and max them if you have extra points.
Lv1 - Fire Magic that crashes Meteors 5 meters around the target. It deals the players magic attack power plus 105 damage and an extra 46 damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 16) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Fire Magic that crashes Meteors 6 meters around the target. It deals the players magic attack power plus 225 damage and an extra 75 damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 26) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Fire Magic that crashes Meteors 7 meters around the target. It deals the players magic attack power plus 575 damage and an extra 114 damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 36) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Fire Magic that crashes Meteors 7 meters around the target. It deals the players magic attack power plus 861 damage and an extra 207 damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 46) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Fire Magic that crashes Meteors 7 meters around the target. It deals the players magic attack power plus 1108 damage and an extra 315 damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 56) costs 4 skill points
Lv6 - Fire Magic that crashes Meteors 7 meters around the target. It deals the players magic attack power plus 1977 damage and an extra 453 damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 66) costs 4 skill points



Impending Doom

Lv1 - Powerfull Magic that gradually wounds the target for 180 damage every 3 seconds for 18 seconds (total 1080). (available at lvl 19) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Powerfull Magic that gradually wounds the target for 270 damage every 3 seconds for 18 seconds (total 1620). (available at lvl 31) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Powerfull Magic that gradually wounds the target for 401 damage every 3 seconds for 18 seconds (total 2406). (available at lvl 43) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Powerfull Magic that gradually wounds the target for 555 damage every 3 seconds for 18 seconds (total 3330). (available at lvl 55) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Powerfull Magic that gradually wounds the target for 724 damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds (total 5824). (available at lvl 67) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Powerfull Magic that gradually wounds the target for 893 damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds (total 7144). (available at lvl 79) costs 3 skill points



Fire Wall
Fire Wall, Storm, and Earth Strike have no range, again making them ideal for tanks and PvPers. If you are a PvE int build, skip all of these skills without thought. Tanks can feel free to get Lv1 of all of them for increased aggro capability, or higher levels if they wish to deal more damage. Just be sure to measure in MP and skill point cost before recklessly learning higher levels of the skills. Also note the cast times. While Storm appears to be the weakest, it will actually inflict the most damage of all three of the skills in a one minute cycle, making it the most useful of the skills over time, while Fire Wall remains the most effective in bursts. Also consider how effective these skills can be on Potential Motive.
Lv1 - Instant cast non-targetted fire attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 44 fire damage. (available at lvl 8 ) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Instant cast non-targetted fire attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 173 fire damage. (available at lvl 19) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Instant cast non-targetted fire attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 310 fire damage. (available at lvl 30) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - Instant cast non-targetted fire attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 661 fire damage. (available at lvl 41) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Instant cast non-targetted fire attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 992 fire damage. (available at lvl 52) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Instant cast non-targetted fire attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 1610 fire damage. (available at lvl 63) costs 3 skill points



Earth Strike
Fire Wall, Storm, and Earth Strike have no range, again making them ideal for tanks and PvPers. If you are a PvE int build, skip all of these skills without thought. Tanks can feel free to get Lv1 of all of them for increased aggro capability, or higher levels if they wish to deal more damage. Just be sure to measure in MP and skill point cost before recklessly learning higher levels of the skills. Also note the cast times. While Storm appears to be the weakest, it will actually inflict the most damage of all three of the skills in a one minute cycle, making it the most useful of the skills over time, while Fire Wall remains the most effective in bursts. Also consider how effective these skills can be on Potential Motive.
Lv1 - Instant cast non-targetted earth attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 28 earth damage. (available at lvl 8 ) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Instant cast non-targetted earth attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 128 earth damage. (available at lvl 19) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Instant cast non-targetted earth attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 232 earth damage. (available at lvl 30) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - Instant cast non-targetted earth attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 506 earth damage. (available at lvl 41) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Instant cast non-targetted earth attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 720 earth damage. (available at lvl 52) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Instant cast non-targetted earth attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 1206 earth damage. (available at lvl 63) costs 3 skill points



Storm
Fire Wall, Storm, and Earth Strike have no range, again making them ideal for tanks and PvPers. If you are a PvE int build, skip all of these skills without thought. Tanks can feel free to get Lv1 of all of them for increased aggro capability, or higher levels if they wish to deal more damage. Just be sure to measure in MP and skill point cost before recklessly learning higher levels of the skills. Also note the cast times. While Storm appears to be the weakest, it will actually inflict the most damage of all three of the skills in a one minute cycle, making it the most useful of the skills over time, while Fire Wall remains the most effective in bursts. Also consider how effective these skills can be on Potential Motive.
Lv1 - Instant cast non-targetted wind attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 14 wind damage. (available at lvl 8 ) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Instant cast non-targetted wind attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 64 wind damage. (available at lvl 19) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Instant cast non-targetted wind attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 116 wind damage. (available at lvl 30) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - Instant cast non-targetted wind attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 253 wind damage. (available at lvl 41) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Instant cast non-targetted wind attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 360 wind damage. (available at lvl 52) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Instant cast non-targetted wind attack with a range of 5m around the caster. Hits for base damage plus an additional 603 wind damage. (available at lvl 63) costs 3 skill points



Fire Thorn
This skill is mostly useful for tanks and PvPers only. If you are a PvE Int build, this skill can even harm you by picking up accidental stray aggro. Note that this skill also does not have an abnormal condition, meaning that it works on all bosses, making it a super magnet for boss aggro for caster tanks. Definitely max this if you're tanking and consider it if you PvP often. You never know. It could pop a Ranger or an Assassin out of Stealth 0.1 seconds before they're able to use their devastating Stealth skills.
Lv1 - Buff that protects with Fire thorns for 15 minutes and wounds any enemy aproaching within 4 meters of the player for 80 dmg per hit. Hits once every 3 seconds. However will aggravate monsters further. (available at lvl 4) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Buff that protects with Fire thorns for 15 minutes and wounds any enemy aproaching within 4 meters of the player for 250 dmg per hit. Hits once every 3 seconds. However will aggravate monsters further. (available at lvl 24) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Buff that protects with Fire thorns for 15 minutes and wounds any enemy aproaching within 4 meters of the player for 450 dmg per hit. Hits once every 3 seconds. However will aggravate monsters further. (available at lvl 44) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - Buff that protects with Fire thorns for 15 minutes and wounds any enemy aproaching within 4 meters of the player for 650 dmg per hit. Hits once every 3 seconds. However will aggravate monsters further. (available at lvl 64) costs 2 skill points



Missile Salvo
As for Missile Salvo, it's a quick casting AoE, but note that it is non elemental and therefore may do considerably less damage than other skills. To save skill points, I would recommend to skip this skill until you have access to elemental weapons. At that point, take it to Lv3 for max AoE range or max it for the extra damage if you have spare points.
Lv1 - Non elemental targetted AoE. Deals magic attack damage +304 to all enemies within 5m of target. (available at lvl 28 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Non elemental targetted AoE. Deals magic attack damage +587 to all enemies within 6m of target. (available at lvl 37) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Non elemental targetted AoE. Deals magic attack damage +811 to all enemies within 7m of target. (available at lvl 46) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Non elemental targetted AoE. Deals magic attack damage +1175 to all enemies within 7m of target. (available at lvl 55) costs 5 skill points
Lv5 - Non elemental targetted AoE. Deals magic attack damage +1874 to all enemies within 7m of target. (available at lvl 64) costs 5 skill points
Lv6 - Non elemental targetted AoE. Deals magic attack damage +2573 to all enemies within 7m of target. (available at lvl 73) costs 5 skill points



Earth Shock
From my experience, Potential Motive most often activates when a Fighter or Warrior uses Stinger to quickly get within melee range of you. These Shocks are all totally devastating on Potential Motive, with Earth Shock's stun being life saving. Get the Earth one if nothing else, but also consider both of the other ones for stacking debuffs and damage. All of these are instant and more powerful than Magic Arrow. Also note that Flame Shock has no abnormal condition, making the strong damage over time effect work on bosses.
Lv1 - Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +265 and stuns for 2 seconds (available at lvl 32) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +685 and stuns for 3 seconds (available at lvl 42) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +922 and stuns for 4 seconds (available at lvl 52) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1277 and stuns for 5 seconds (available at lvl 62) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1632 and stuns for 6 seconds (available at lvl 72) costs 4 skill points



Tempest Shock
From my experience, Potential Motive most often activates when a Fighter or Warrior uses Stinger to quickly get within melee range of you. These Shocks are all totally devastating on Potential Motive, with Earth Shock's stun being life saving. Get the Earth one if nothing else, but also consider both of the other ones for stacking debuffs and damage. All of these are instant and more powerful than Magic Arrow. Also note that Flame Shock has no abnormal condition, making the strong damage over time effect work on bosses.
Lv1 - Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +250 and slows for 15 seconds (available at lvl 32) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +354 and slows for 20 seconds (available at lvl 42) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +554 and slows for 25 seconds (available at lvl 52) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +828 and slows for 30 seconds (available at lvl 62) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +1102 and slows for 30 seconds (available at lvl 72) costs 4 skill points



Flame Shock
From my experience, Potential Motive most often activates when a Fighter or Warrior uses Stinger to quickly get within melee range of you. These Shocks are all totally devastating on Potential Motive, with Earth Shock's stun being life saving. Get the Earth one if nothing else, but also consider both of the other ones for stacking debuffs and damage. All of these are instant and more powerful than Magic Arrow. Also note that Flame Shock has no abnormal condition, making the strong damage over time effect work on bosses.
Lv1 - Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +684 and 255 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds (available at lvl 32) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +950 and 405 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds (available at lvl 42) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +1225 and 521 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds (available at lvl 52) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +1508 and 670 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds (available at lvl 62) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +1791 and 819 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds (available at lvl 72) costs 4 skill points



Earth Chant
The selling point of the Choirs is that they are Ele II. If you have Ele II weapons, don't even bother. Even if you don't, I would still recommend to skip all three of these skills as they are very costly in both MP and skill points and won't do much more damage than Magic Arrow in the same time frame. The only one that I would consider is Storm Choir, due to being instant cast, but even then, I would only take it if I really had nothing else to spend the points on.
Lv1 - Deals earth II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +455 (available at lvl 38 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Deals earth II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +700. (available at lvl 48 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Deals earth II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +1170. (available at lvl 58 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Deals earth II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +1550. (available at lvl 68 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Deals earth II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +1930. (available at lvl 78 ) costs 4 skill points



Tempest Howl
The selling point of the Choirs is that they are Ele II. If you have Ele II weapons, don't even bother. Even if you don't, I would still recommend to skip all three of these skills as they are very costly in both MP and skill points and won't do much more damage than Magic Arrow in the same time frame. The only one that I would consider is Storm Choir, due to being instant cast, but even then, I would only take it if I really had nothing else to spend the points on.
Lv1 - Deals wind II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +240 (available at lvl 38 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Deals wind II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +320 (available at lvl 48 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Deals wind II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +490 (available at lvl 58 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Deals wind II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +810 (available at lvl 68 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Deals wind II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +1130 (available at lvl 78 ) costs 4 skill points



Flame Choir
The selling point of the Choirs is that they are Ele II. If you have Ele II weapons, don't even bother. Even if you don't, I would still recommend to skip all three of these skills as they are very costly in both MP and skill points and won't do much more damage than Magic Arrow in the same time frame. The only one that I would consider is Storm Choir, due to being instant cast, but even then, I would only take it if I really had nothing else to spend the points on.
Lv1 - Deals fire II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +600 (available at lvl 38 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Deals fire II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +950 (available at lvl 48 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Deals fire II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +1850 (available at lvl 58 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Deals fire II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +2205 (available at lvl 68 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv5 - Deals fire II elemental damage to a single target for magic attack +2560 (available at lvl 78 ) costs 4 skill points



Arcane Protector
I need to do a bit more experimentation to see whether this skill behaves the same way that Impact Shield does. I'll update this description later.
Lv1 - Increases magic defence by 30% for 10 minutes (available at lvl 74) costs 2 skill points
Lv2 - Increases magic defence by 40% for 10 minutes (available at lvl 77) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Increases union's magic defence by 50% for 10 minutes (available at lvl 80) costs 6 skill points

Special

Will of the Wind
This is the elven race buff. It costs no skill points so there's no reason to not get it. We don't really understand evasion mechanics so it's hard to say what exactly it will do to your evasion rate. Last time I tested it, it performed poorly and others said the same. I don't know if it is or was bugged or not. I do not know if they fixed this in EP5 or not.
Lv1 - Buff that raises chance for evasion of physical and shooting attacks by 90% for 10 seconds. (available at lvl 1) costs 0 skill points
Lv2 - Buff that raises chance for evasion of physical and shooting attacks by 180% for 20 seconds. (available at lvl 20) costs 0 skill points
Lv3 - Buff that raises chance for evasion of physical and shooting attacks by 240% for 30 seconds. (available at lvl 40) costs 0 skill points



Enfeeble
Since a large number of your skills have a pre-determined element, being able to remove the elemental defense of your opponent is a key factor in both PvE and PvP. It may not look like Lv3 grants much of an advantage over Lv2, but it is more likely to save you MP due to having 100% accuracy. It's not too many skill points out of your reserve, so you have little to lose by maxing it, yet much to gain.
Lv1 - Ability that will remove the target's elemental defence for 1 minute with a 60% success rate. (available at lvl 10) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Ability that will remove elemental defence of all enemies within 5m of the target for 1 minute with a 80% success rate. (available at lvl 39) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Ability that will remove elemental defence of all enemies within 5m of the target for 1 minute with a 100% success rate. (available at lvl 68 ) costs 5 skill points



Emergency Recharge
The possibilities of this skill is endless. Pick any one of your instant cast spells that normally have a cooldown (self target AoEs, Shocks, Storm Choir, Nemesis, etc...) and just imagine how much destructive power you can get out by spamming them for 30 seconds straight. This skill is what makes casters one of the best classes for endgame boss damage and one of the most dangerous classes to wound in PvP. Max this skill and start thinking of insane combos to use with it.
Lv1 - When Health falls below 10%, skills with a recharge timer under 500sec are unlimited use with no cooldown as long as this skill is active, recharges after 3 minutes (available at lvl 17) costs 1 skill point
Lv2 - When Health falls below 17%, skills with a recharge timer under 500sec are unlimited use with no cooldown as long as this skill is active, recharges after 3 minutes (available at lvl 29) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - When Health falls below 25%, skills with a recharge timer under 500sec are unlimited use with no cooldown as long as this skill is active, recharges after 3 minutes (available at lvl 50) costs 3 skill points



Conversion
There is a combo involving these two skills and Potential Motive that allows casters to constantly heal themselves for 30 seconds. By using Health Assist, your MP essentially becomes your health and on Potential Motive, you can spam Diversion so long as you have at enough SP (Continuous Stamina Potions are cheap). The problem is that this combo is unreliable in that it can only be done once every three minutes and it requires you to take Diversion, which is otherwise a fairly useless skill (Mana Potions are even cheaper).

However, I do recommend taking Health Assist Lv2. It will save you in emergencies. The reason why it should not be maxed is because your SP is precious and should not be given away freely. Many of your survival tactics rely on you having SP.
Lv1 - Skill that Diverts some SP to refill 815 MP. (available at lvl 18 ) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Skill that Diverts some SP to refill 1819 MP. (available at lvl 29) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Skill that Diverts some SP to refill 2782 MP. (available at lvl 40) costs 3 skill points
Lv4 - Skill that Diverts some SP to refill 3945 MP. (available at lvl 51) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Skill that Diverts some SP to refill 5508 MP. (available at lvl 62) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Skill that Diverts some SP to refill 7071 MP. (available at lvl 73) costs 3 skill points



Health Pact
There is a combo involving these two skills and Potential Motive that allows casters to constantly heal themselves for 30 seconds. By using Health Assist, your MP essentially becomes your health and on Potential Motive, you can spam Diversion so long as you have at enough SP (Continuous Stamina Potions are cheap). The problem is that this combo is unreliable in that it can only be done once every three minutes and it requires you to take Diversion, which is otherwise a fairly useless skill (Mana Potions are even cheaper).

However, I do recommend taking Health Assist Lv2. It will save you in emergencies. The reason why it should not be maxed is because your SP is precious and should not be given away freely. Many of your survival tactics rely on you having SP.
Lv1 - When activated, damage will drain your SP first before hurting your Health for 1 minute. (available at lvl 18 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - When activated, damage will drain your Mana first before hurting your Health for 1 minute. (available at lvl 29) costs 5 skill points
Lv3 - When activated, damage will drain your Mana and then SP first before hurting your Health for 1 minute. (available at lvl 47) costs 6 skill points



Cosmic Kinesis
This should be maxed without question. Even for non magic classes in your party, the extra MP helps a lot. Even physical classes have skills that use MP. Of course for yourself, the extra damage and MP are both extremely helpful to you. This is one of the few skills that you can safely max as soon as possible without worry.
Lv1 - Increases party's magic damage by 15 and max MP by 150 for 15 minutes (available at lvl 7) costs 1 skill point
Lv2 - Increases party's magic damage by 40 and max MP by 310 for 15 minutes (available at lvl 19) costs 2 skill points
Lv3 - Increases party's magic damage by 80 and max MP by 650 for 15 minutes (available at lvl 31) costs 2 skill points
Lv4 - Increases party's magic damage by 150 and max MP by 1080 for 15 minutes (available at lvl 43) costs 3 skill points
Lv5 - Increases party's magic damage by 205 and max MP by 1200 for 15 minutes (available at lvl 55) costs 3 skill points
Lv6 - Increases party's magic damage by 250 and max MP by 1500 for 15 minutes (available at lvl 67) costs 3 skill points



Earth Spikes
These three AoEs are, generally speaking, your strongest and quickest casting ranged AoEs. All three of them are great to have. The problem with them is that they cost an enormous amount of skill points to max. I do recommend taking all three so that you can cycle AoEs more effectively and use elements according to a situation, but I would suggest leaving them at Lv3 unless you're absolutely certain that you will have enough skill points left over. Lv3 maxes their AoE range. That is enough for a conservative skill build.
Lv1 - Earth magic that raises spikes from under the ground 5 meters around the target. It deals the player's basic magic attack power plus 250. (available at lvl 28 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Earth magic that raises spikes from under the ground 6 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 450. (available at lvl 37) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Earth magic that raises spikes from under the ground 7 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 662. (available at lvl 46) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Earth magic that raises spikes from under the ground 7 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 950. (available at lvl 55) costs 5 skill points
Lv5 - Earth magic that raises spikes from under the ground 7 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 1522. (available at lvl 64) costs 5 skill points



Turbulence
These three AoEs are, generally speaking, your strongest and quickest casting ranged AoEs. All three of them are great to have. The problem with them is that they cost an enormous amount of skill points to max. I do recommend taking all three so that you can cycle AoEs more effectively and use elements according to a situation, but I would suggest leaving them at Lv3 unless you're absolutely certain that you will have enough skill points left over. Lv3 maxes their AoE range. That is enough for a conservative skill build.
Lv1 - Wind magic that creates Turbulence 5 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 125 points of damage. (available at lvl 28 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Wind magic that creates Turbulence 6 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 225 points of damage. (available at lvl 37) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Wind magic that creates Turbolence 7 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 331 points of damage. (available at lvl 46) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Wind magic that creates Turbolence 7 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 475 points of damage. (available at lvl 55) costs 5 skill points
Lv5 - Wind magic that creates Turbolence 7 meters around the target. It deals the players basic magic attack power plus 761 points of damage. (available at lvl 64) costs 5 skill points



Skyfire
These three AoEs are, generally speaking, your strongest and quickest casting ranged AoEs. All three of them are great to have. The problem with them is that they cost an enormous amount of skill points to max. I do recommend taking all three so that you can cycle AoEs more effectively and use elements according to a situation, but I would suggest leaving them at Lv3 unless you're absolutely certain that you will have enough skill points left over. Lv3 maxes their AoE range. That is enough for a conservative skill build.
Lv1 - Fire magic that attacks all opponents within 5 metres of the target with the player's magic attack power plus 388 extra damage. (available at lvl 28 ) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - Fire magic that attacks all opponents within 6 metres of the target with the player's magic attack power plus 669 extra damage. (available at lvl 37) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - Fire magic that attacks all opponents within 7 metres of the target with the player's magic attack power plus 950 extra damage. (available at lvl 46) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Fire magic that attacks all opponents within 7 metres of the target with the player's magic attack power plus 1392 extra damage. (available at lvl 55) costs 5 skill points
Lv5 - Fire magic that attacks all opponents within 7 metres of the target with the player's magic attack power plus 2221 extra damage. (available at lvl 64) costs 5 skill points



Flame Skin
Not recommended for PvP use at all. The buff is visible in your opponent's UI, making any advantage gained from elemental defense completely nullified (or worse - countered). Tank builds should consider taking two of them for PvE purposes if they do not have elemental armor, but no other build or gameplay aspect will make use of them. Since Lv1 has 300sec duration and cooldown and it is thus possible to be constantly buffed, Lv2-3 isn't even necessary for PvE tank builds. In other words, no caster should ever need more than 6 skill points invested into all four of these skills combined.
Lv1 - Gives the defense of Fire elemental for 5 minutes (available at lvl 31) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Gives the defense of Fire elemental for 10 minutes (available at lvl 47) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Gives the defense of Fire elemental for 15 minutes (available at lvl 63) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Gives the defense of Fire elemental for 1000 seconds (available at lvl 79) costs 4 skill points



Earth Skin
Not recommended for PvP use at all. The buff is visible in your opponent's UI, making any advantage gained from elemental defense completely nullified (or worse - countered). Tank builds should consider taking two of them for PvE purposes if they do not have elemental armor, but no other build or gameplay aspect will make use of them. Since Lv1 has 300sec duration and cooldown and it is thus possible to be constantly buffed, Lv2-3 isn't even necessary for PvE tank builds. In other words, no caster should ever need more than 6 skill points invested into all four of these skills combined.
Lv1 - Gives the defense of Earth elemental for 5 minutes (available at lvl 31) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Gives the defense of Earth elemental for 10 minutes (available at lvl 47) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Gives the defense of Earth elemental for 15 minutes (available at lvl 63) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Gives the defense of Earth elemental for 1000 seconds (available at lvl 79) costs 4 skill points



Tempest Skin
Not recommended for PvP use at all. The buff is visible in your opponent's UI, making any advantage gained from elemental defense completely nullified (or worse - countered). Tank builds should consider taking two of them for PvE purposes if they do not have elemental armor, but no other build or gameplay aspect will make use of them. Since Lv1 has 300sec duration and cooldown and it is thus possible to be constantly buffed, Lv2-3 isn't even necessary for PvE tank builds. In other words, no caster should ever need more than 6 skill points invested into all four of these skills combined.
Lv1 - Gives the defense of Wind elemental for 5 minutes (available at lvl 31) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Gives the defense of Wind elemental for 10 minutes (available at lvl 47) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Gives the defense of Wind elemental for 15 minutes (available at lvl 63) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Gives the defense of Wind elemental for 1000 seconds (available at lvl 79) costs 4 skill points



Hydraulic Skin
Not recommended for PvP use at all. The buff is visible in your opponent's UI, making any advantage gained from elemental defense completely nullified (or worse - countered). Tank builds should consider taking two of them for PvE purposes if they do not have elemental armor, but no other build or gameplay aspect will make use of them. Since Lv1 has 300sec duration and cooldown and it is thus possible to be constantly buffed, Lv2-3 isn't even necessary for PvE tank builds. In other words, no caster should ever need more than 6 skill points invested into all four of these skills combined.
Lv1 - Gives the defense of water elemental for 5 minutes (available at lvl 31) costs 3 skill points
Lv2 - Gives the defense of water elemental for 10 minutes (available at lvl 47) costs 3 skill points
Lv3 - Gives the defense of water elemental for 15 minutes (available at lvl 63) costs 4 skill points
Lv4 - Gives the defense of Water elemental for 1000 seconds (available at lvl 79) costs 4 skill points



Confusion

Lv1 - Non-elemental magic that puts an area within 6 meters of the player in confusion and attacks with basic magic attack power plus 305 damage. REC, DEX, WIS of the affected targets will decrease by 150 points for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 36) costs 6 skill points
Lv2 - Non-elemental magic that puts an area within 7 meters of the player in confusion and attacks with basic magic attack power plus 546 damage. REC, DEX, WIS of the affected targets will decrease by 200 points for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 45) costs 6 skill points
Lv3 - Non-elemental magic that puts an area within 8 meters of the player in confusion and attacks with basic magic attack power plus 735 damage. REC, DEX, WIS of the affected targets will decrease by 250 points for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 54) costs 7 skill points
Lv4 - Non-elemental magic that puts an area within 9 meters of the player in confusion and attacks with basic magic attack power plus 1012 damage. REC, DEX, WIS of the affected targets will decrease by 300 points for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 63) costs 7 skill points
Lv5 - Non-elemental magic that puts an area within 9 meters of the player in confusion and attacks with basic magic attack power plus 1289 damage. REC, DEX, WIS of the affected targets will decrease by 350 points for 12 seconds. (available at lvl 72) costs 7 skill points



Death Touch
Can be dispelled by a healer or with a potion. That makes the purpose of this skill completely unfulfilled. If you manage to actually kill an opponent with this in PvP, screen shot it and show me. I like being surprised.
Lv1 - Kills target after 5 minutes (available at lvl 36) costs 5 skill points
Lv2 - Kills target after 3 minutes (available at lvl 47) costs 6 skill points
Lv3 - Kills target after 1 minute (available at lvl 57) costs 6 skill points



Equivalent Exchange
Equivalent exchange has a brutally long cast time. So long, in fact, that spamming Magic Arrow will do comparable damage in the same time frame. The skill also spends your entire MP reserve and takes forever to recharge. The skill points that this skill demands are also extremely steep for the severely limited use that anyone would get out of this skill. I recommend to skip all levels of it for all casters. It is quite possibly the most useless damage skill in the entire game.
Lv1 - An attack that consumes all of the player's MP to attack the target with damage equivalent to 3 times the player's magic attack power. Its effect is limited to some monsters. (available at lvl 49) costs 7 skill points
Lv2 - An attack that consumes all of the player's MP to attack the target with damage equivalent to 4 times the player's magic attack power. Its effect is limited to some monsters. (available at lvl 59) costs 8 skill points
Lv3 - An attack that consumes all of the player's MP to attack the target with damage equivalent to 5 times the player's magic attack power. Its effect is limited to some monsters. (available at lvl 69) costs 9 skill points
Lv4 - An attack that consumes all of the player's MP to attack the target with damage equivalent to 6 times the player's magic attack power. Its effect is limited to some monsters. (available at lvl 79) costs 9 skill points



Mass Ambush

Lv1 - Renders all party members except caster within 15m invisible for 60s. Any movement or action taken will cancel the buff for that individual. Mass Ambush will also override any current status of the character, such as mounted, sitting, or in Stealth mode for Rangers/Assassins. (available at lvl 60) costs 6 skill points



Kamain Breath
However, Kamain's Breath is a nightmarish skill (for your opponents). Depending on your magic attack, this skill is capable of dealing the max damage cap (30,000 damage) to every single opponent within 15m of your target. This is the single most devastating damage skill in the game. Even HMs, who can only get Lv1, the +4000 damage is still insane. I would recommend this skill to anyone. However, keep in mind that most high level PvE mobs are immune to this. If you never PvP, you don't really have a need for this (even though it's still fun to have).
Lv1 - Deals your base damage plus an additional 4000 damage to all enemies within 8m of your target. (available at lvl 60) costs 7 skill points
Lv2 - Deals your base damage plus an additional 8140 damage to all enemies within 15m of your target. (available at lvl 60) costs 8 skill points
Lv3 - Deals your base damage plus an additional 9950 damage to all enemies within 15m of your target. (available at lvl 70) costs 9 skill points
Lv4 - Deals your base damage plus an additional 11760 damage to all enemies within 15m of your target. (available at lvl 80) costs 9 skill points



Frenzied Focus
Another skill that is interesting rather than a game breaker.
It's a large skill cost - 23 points over 9 levels, and the top skill is an attack speed increase of 2 levels & extra attack of 325. I'd say it's probably not worth the cost unless you have a large skill point pool available to you - which is highly unlikely.
Lv1 - HP decreases by 10% every 3 seconds, but attack speed increases by 1 and int increases by 100 (available at lvl 72) costs 4 skill points
Lv2 - HP decreases by 10% every 3 seconds, but attack speed increases by 1 and int increases by 130 (available at lvl 74) costs 4 skill points
Lv3 - HP decreases by 9% every 3 seconds, but attack speed increases by 1 and int increases by 160 (available at lvl 76) costs 5 skill points
Lv4 - HP decreases by 9% every 3 seconds, but attack speed increases by 1 and int increases by 190 (available at lvl 78 ) costs 5 skill points
Lv5 - HP decreases by 8% every 3 seconds, but attack speed increases by 2 and int increases by 250 (available at lvl 80) costs 5 skill points

From what i have seen on my Orc/Pag toons, the staff and dagger powerup skills are total fails. Seem to only increase your physical attack power and not magic attack. So not worth the points.

As an edit, they seem to have fixed this so take it if you want and have the points.

Awesome, thanks. I'll link this in the sticky in case this gets lost down the page.

Avyn wrote:

Awesome, thanks. I'll link this in the sticky in case this gets lost down the page.

I've sent a request for all 4 of the new guides to be stickied

Heres my experiences/opinions on mage/pagan skills.

PVE - max firewall and earthstrike and keep storm at lv1 at most. I've seen 80 P/M try and help a friend level at PR and not be able to kill mobs with 2 instant cast aoes only. Helping friends plvl is one of the fun things to do in this game and having all 3 of these instant aoes are essential for that even for new map.

Skyfire/Missile Salvo max, these 2 skills are the most powerful in damage and will help you kill mobs while your instant aoes are on cooldown.

PVP/PVE - Chain Lightning / Earthquake - I'd get these both at lv3 atleast for the distance inscrease which makes it more usefull in pvp or lv5 for chain lightning. I'f I'm needed to tank I find these skills very usefull, if mobs are stunned even for couple seconds I cast chain lightning to slow their attack enough for me to cast Skyfire and Missile Salvo to kill them off. Earthquake I find usefull for aiding a tank or for when I need someone to stun them for me so I can cast chain lightning. I also use it in pvp when Magic Roots is on cooldown.

Confusion is a waste of Skill Points imo, the duration of the debuff is shet and to wait 5min for it again to debuff the person again for only few seconds isn't worth it.

Equivalent Exchange - I pass on this skill for the cast time and recharge. If it was instant cast I would of taken it.

Death Touch - please max this skill, in PR lights would come solo kill often and I would use this to kick them out. If another appeared while it was recharging we would ask another Pagan with this skill to use. Keep in mind you need to use Untouchable for this skill some of the time.

Sustain Doom - I love this skill, I remember casting it on a grinder who was attempting to get out of range and stealthing while the Plvler was attacking me. This DoT alone managed to kill the grinder and keep him out of stealth while I DTed the fighter that was raping my HP. Even having this skill at lv1 is a combat tactic for Rangers, I love nerfing stealth.

*also posted on Avyn's Mage/Pagan skill guide*

In my experience Equivalent Exchange is one of the most valuable pvp skills as a mage. Using a Christmas I Candy I have done over 45k dmg many times on Guards and Warriors, killing them instantly without leaving them time to pot. I have a screenshot of doing 59700 damage earlier today on an uber fully geared maxed warrior. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SKILL for any mage with a decent attack power, max it out and use it as a finishing skill only! (otherwise one etain pot renders your once in 15 minute skill useless). Even without a Christmas I Candy you can still achieve near that damage, my build and links leave me with about 500 - 800 less attack power then some mages i know, if you are full int build and have around 6500 - 7000 attack power you should achieve these results with EE even without the candy. Good Luck!