Basic HnR Ringmaster Guide

Introduction

Are you a Ringmaster but don’t enjoy face tanking or supporting other players? If so, the Hit-and-Run Ringmaster playstyle might be exactly what you’re looking for. In this guide, we’ll cover how to excel as a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster, assuming you have minimal resources—no high-level upgrades, consumables, or the help of a secondary Ringmaster. Additionally, this guide assumes that you’ve already reached Level 60.

If you need help with the Assist class, we have this HnR Moon Beam Assist guide to assist you.

Stat Points: "H"

For stats as a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster, you should focus on going full INT. The big advantage of this setup is its versatility—whether you’re supporting, dungeon raiding, or solo leveling, full INT will serve you well. This build allows you to switch to other Ringmaster roles effortlessly, providing excellent buffs and contributing to any party without needing to reset your stats.

Skill Points: "K"

Now, let’s talk about the important skills. While buffs are essential, they will be covered separately. For now, focus on the skills necessary for this playstyle:

Moon Beam (Assist Skill): This is a crucial skill that should be maxed out. It reduces cooldown significantly, allowing you to deal consistent damage while keeping distance from enemies.
Prevention: This skill serves as a safety net. If you make a mistake, like overpulling or experiencing a teleport bug, Prevention can give you a second chance by restoring your health. It won’t save you from major errors, but it’s a strong safeguard in challenging situations.
Merkaba Hanzelrusha (Merkaba): This is your main AoE damage skill and the core of the Hit-and-Run strategy. It’s the only AoE skill that works with a stick, making it essential for clearing mobs.
Barrier of Life: Barrier is another crucial tool (You get invincible for 2 seconds). If you’re not dealing enough damage, you should occasionally run through your pull with Barrier activated. On the other hand, if your damage is high enough that mobs die from a single AoE, then Stonehand becomes useful, as stunned mobs will die within the AoE.

Essential Buffs for a Ringmaster

Buffs are a cornerstone of the Ringmaster class, and as a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster, certain buffs are vital:

Mental Sign: This buff should be cast twice before anything else to increase your buff boost by 1-2, providing a significant advantage.it gives you more attack.
Quick Step: This increases your movement speed, allowing you to pull mobs faster and escape from danger more easily.
Haste: Although typically a melee buff, Haste is essential for quicker casting and smoother combat flow, reducing time spent standing still.

Other buffs like Patience, Heap Up, and Cats Reflex can be useful for survivability, especially when mobs manage to hit you. However, these are secondary to your main buffs.

For damage buffs, Spirit Fortune (SF) is crucial for boosting your damage output, while Protect is less important. Geburah Tiphreth (GT) is extremely valuable as it increases both your casting time and attack, making it the most critical buff for Hit-and-Run play.

Skills like Holyguard and Holycross don’t offer much benefit since you’ll be avoiding hits and not relying on healing. Focus on maximizing your damage and efficiency in combat.

Cloak

When selecting a cloak, you want to prioritize INT and damage. The Cloak of Wisdom, which gives INT+8, is the best option. You can ignore other cloaks as they don’t provide meaningful benefits for a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster.

Pet

The ideal pet for this build is a Fox, as it boosts your INT, which in turn increases your buff boost and damage. Even a medium-tier Fox that grants around +20-30 INT will provide a noticeable improvement in both buff effectiveness and damage output. While Foxes are expensive, they are worth the investment if you can afford one. Though the benefits aren’t game-changing, a Fox can boost your buffs to the next additional boost stage, enhancing your overall performance.

Jewelry for Maximum Damage or Handling Incoming Damage During Pulls

Your accessories should focus on maximizing damage:

INT Rings: Two Intire+1 rings at level 60 will enhance both your damage and buff boost. If you can afford better rings, upgrade accordingly.
MP Necklace: This will help manage your MP consumption and restore MP with each monster killed.
Earrings: Use Mighteer+1 earrings at level 60 for extra damage. If you can afford higher-grade accessories, they’ll increase your overall damage output.

When upgrading, prioritize INT rings over damage earrings. INT not only boosts your damage but also enhances your buffs, which is more beneficial in the long run. You’ll reach maximum buff effectiveness at 500 INT, which is easier to achieve by focusing on INT-enhancing jewelry. While upgrading damage earrings can boost your damage, the increase is minimal compared to the benefits gained from enhancing your INT.

If you’re having trouble managing the incoming damage while pulling, we recommend opting for DEF earrings Penzeru+1 and STA rings (Stam Ring). This is especially important in the D3 desert, where your HP could drop dangerously low very quickly.

Weapons, Skill Damage, and Socketing

Weapon Elements and Upgrades

When it comes to weapon upgrades for a Ringmaster, the element on the weapon doesn’t matter—it’s purely cosmetic. So, don’t stress about adding an element; it won’t affect your performance. However, adding an INT bonus to your weapon with a Scroll of Intelligence can be beneficial. While higher INT bonuses are great, a +2 INT is usually sufficient, so there’s no need to overspend for minimal gains.

Regarding weapon upgrades, something like a Legendary Golden Stick +10 isn’t crucial for Ringmasters. Upgrading to +6 with a Scroll of SProtects (Low) can help increase your damage slightly, but higher upgrades like +7, +8, or +10 won’t significantly impact your damage output like they would for other classes, such as Blades. Instead of obsessing over reaching +10, focus on other aspects like skill damage and socketing.

Socketing for Ringmasters

For socketing, the priority is either INT or Skill Damage. Since your goal is to maximize damage and improve your buff boost, INT is the better choice overall. INT not only increases your DPS (more effectively than skill damage), but it also enhances your buffs. Although INT is more expensive, the dual benefits it provides make it worth the investment.

Start socketing when you have a Legendary Golden Stick, as this is when it truly becomes beneficial to invest in expensive socket cards, like INT cards (Water Card). These will increase both your damage and buff effectiveness, making them a worthwhile investment.

Skill Damage

As for skill damage(with Scroll of Weapon Bonus), Merkaba Hanzelrusha (Merkaba) should be your focus. Prioritize getting Merkaba skill damage on your weapon, aiming for 20%+. Since a stick can only carry three different stats (Moon Beam, Healing, and Merkaba damage), it’s relatively easy to roll high Merkaba damage on your weapon. Although some may debate the exact percentage to aim for, anything over 20% Merkaba damage is excellent and highly desirable.

Set Upgrades and Socketing

Low-Level Set Upgrades

At low levels, your set doesn’t need to be heavily upgraded. For Hit-and-Run classes, a +5 or +6 set is sufficient. Since you’ll be avoiding damage through mobility, heavy upgrades are less critical compared to other classes. If possible, aim for 3 sockets with Attack Power (Lightning Card 4%) cards. However, if you can’t afford sockets or find a suitable set, it’s not a big deal—Hit-and-Run classes can manage without them early on.

Buying vs. Upgrading

When it comes to acquiring gear, it’s almost always cheaper to buy equipment rather than upgrading it yourself. While upgrading a set to +5 or +6 can be done easily, investing in better equipment should be done through the marketplace. For high-level gear, buying pre-upgraded gear is generally more cost-effective.

High-Level Set Upgrades

Once you reach level 105, it becomes worthwhile to switch to sets with 16% ATK and consider upgrading your set to +8. While this isn’t strictly necessary, it can significantly boost your damage output, making it easier to progress.

Choosing the Right Equipment

Until you obtain the Pact/Paxt set, it’s better to use the CW Level 50-53 Rashadain/Yuandain Set or 60 Shurand/Shuran set because you’ll take a significant amount of damage while pulling (with auto attack. Unfortunately, this is not comparable to the experience of a Mage or Ranger class. If you want to pull effectively without always waiting for Moon Beam, you need to be able to withstand some damage.

With the introduction of the Switch EQ feature, things have become much more manageable. You should have separate sets for buffs and damage. At lower levels, it’s best to use a combination of gear that maximizes your INT.

Shurand/Shuran Set (Level 60)

The Level 60 Shurand/Shuran Set, while offering +15% HP rate bonuses, +5 INT, and +8% Casting Speed, is suitable for Hit-and-Run Ringmasters. It’s focused on tanking but you still need it because you pull with auto-attacks, so the increased HP rate benefits you much.

Pact/Paxt Set (Level 75+)

The Pact/Paxt Set is where things get interesting. You get a bit more casting time (set gives +10%), and you gain additionally a valuable 10% skill damage boost. While the lack of additional INT is unfortunate, the 10% skill damage is more than compensates for it, making this set the best option as you progress beyond level 75.

Shupon/Shrian Set (Support Set for Level 90+)

The Shupon/Shurian Set is more of a support-oriented set. It offers bonuses to healing, cast time, and INT, which makes it excellent for supporting roles, but not for a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster. Since the set focuses more on buffing and healing, it’s better suited for those who prefer to play a support role in parties, rather than dishing out damage.

Navil/Neclus Set (Level 105+)

At level 105, the Navil/Neclus Set improves upon the Shupon/Shrian Set with even higher bonuses to healing, INT, and cast time. However, it’s still designed for support players, not for maximizing damage. While it is a solid set for support, it doesn’t offer the damage boost needed for Hit-and-Run strategies, so it’s not recommended unless you switch to a full support role.

Revenio/Revenis Set (Level 120+)

The Revenio/Revenis Set becomes a major milestone for Hit-and-Run Ringmasters. At this point, you get a significant damage boost, which is crucial because the monsters at level 120+ have much higher health pools. This set provides:

+20% PvE Damage: Allows you to deal with higher-level monsters more effectively.
+10% Block: You get way less damage.
+15% PvE Damage Reduction: You get way less damage.
+25% HP: You can tank more mobs.
+10% Healing

At this level, Hit-and-Run play becomes less efficient due to the sheer toughness of the monsters. It’s worth considering switching to a face-tank build, especially if you’re struggling to kill monsters quickly enough before they run away.

Reine/Rayne Set (Level 150+)

At level 150, the Reine/Rayne Set mirrors the bonuses of the Revenio/Revenis Set, with an emphasis on pure damage. This set provides:

+25% PvE Damage: The damage boost from this set makes it the best choice for end-game content.
+10% Block: You get way less damage.
+20% PvE Damage Reduction: You get way less damage.
+30% HP: You can tank more mobs.
+15% Healing
Critical Resistance +10%: You get way less damage

High Casting Time: While the 200% cast time might seem appealing, it’s not as impactful for a Hit-and-Run build since you won’t be spamming skills as frequently as other classes.

Ultimately, this set is designed to give you a powerful boost in damage, which is key for clearing higher-level content efficiently. Pure damage is the focus, and this set delivers exactly that.

Weapons

Overview

When it comes to choosing weapons for a Ringmaster, the focus boils down to two key elements: Skill Damage and the weapon itself. The goal is to maximize your damage output while ensuring that the weapon complements your playstyle, especially as a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster. Let’s dive into the weapons you should consider and what makes them effective for your role.

Importance of Skill Damage

The most crucial stat (with Scroll of Weapon Bonus) for any weapon is Skill Damage, particularly focused on Merkaba. If you can get Merkaba-specific awakenings on your weapon, that’s ideal. The weapon itself should also contribute to your damage output or offer stats that benefit your build, such as INT and Attack Power.

However, many early-game rare sticks, such as the Guardian Stick, don’t provide significant bonuses like casting time. Even though the Guardian Stick offers +7 INT and a high ATK value, it lacks casting time, making it less ideal for a Hit-and-Run strategy. Nevertheless, the Guardian Stick is still the best early option due to its solid base stats and because it can awaken with Merkaba.

If you can’t afford a Guardian Stick, even a basic NPC Stick will suffice as long as it has Skill Damage awakenings. The key point is to focus on Skill Damage, regardless of the specific stick you’re using.

Early Game: Stick of Ibilis

The first weapon that truly stands out is the Level 60 Stick of Iblis. It offers:

+10% Skill Damage
+10% Healing

While the healing bonus is less important for a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster, the 10% Skill Damage makes it a great choice for maximizing your damage. Unfortunately, the stick doesn’t provide casting time, but the trade-off for higher damage is worth it. The Stick of Iblis can also awaken with Merkaba, making it an even better option. You can tolerate the lack of casting time as long as you’re gaining a significant damage boost.

Mid-Game: Bloody Stick

The Level Bloody Stick is another solid option as you progress. While it doesn’t provide Skill Damage, it offers:

+10% Attack
+25% Casting Time
+1% HP Steal

Although Skill Damage is generally better than Attack, the Bloody Stick makes up for it with a high base Attack and the HP Steal ability. This HP steal is a great quality-of-life improvement, allowing you to recover health when hit by multiple monsters during pulls. The 25% Casting Time reduction also makes it easier to execute skills quickly, improving your overall performance. While the Bloody Stick doesn’t push your damage as much as the Stick of Iblis, it provides a balanced set of bonuses, including a boost to survivability.

Late Game: Song of Sirens

Finally, the Song of Sirens (Hernes Stick) is the ultimate weapon for Ringmasters, offering a powerful combination of stats:

+10~15% Attack
+10~15% Healing
+26~30% Casting time
4~9% Skill Chance for Water Bomb

This stick functions similarly to the Bloody Stick, with the major difference being the Water Bomb skill. When triggered, Water Bomb deals additional AoE damage, making it ideal for increasing your DPS in group encounters. Though you lose the HP Steal from the Bloody Stick, the Water Bomb effect adds significant extra damage that compensates for this loss.

If maximizing your damage output is the priority—and it should be for a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster—this stick is your best choice. The added AoE damage from Water Bomb increases your efficiency in dealing with multiple mobs, making it superior in terms of raw DPS potential.

Ringmaster playstyle Tips

Essential Buffs and Skills

When playing as a Ringmaster, several buffs are vital:

GT (Geburah Tiphreth): Available from Level 75, this buff is crucial for increasing your damage output and should always be active.
Stonehand: This buff is essential for stunning enemies and keeping them locked in your damage field. Note: Only when you make enough damage to kill them within one stun timer.
Prevention: While not as essential as GT, this can save your life in critical moments, so don’t overlook them.

Ensure that all your buffs are active before starting any encounter. Buffing up fully will significantly increase your effectiveness in battle.

Pulling Methods

There are three main methods for pulling mobs as a Ringmaster:

Auto-Attack Pull: This is the simplest method, where you auto-attack a mob to draw its attention. Place the auto-attack command on a hotkey, such as F1, or double-click to start the pull.
Moon Beam Pull: Use Moon Beam from a distance to pull enemies. Moon Beam has a 3-second cooldown but also applies damage over time (DoT), making it effective for softening up mobs before they reach you.
Merkaba Hanzelrusha Pull: This method involves using Merkaba to pull large groups of mobs. However, this is risky for H&R Ringmasters because the monsters will likely hit you all at once. It’s best to use this pull method only when you’re confident you can survive the initial hits or when mobs are spaced out.

Stonehand Buff: To Use or Not to Use? an

As an HNR (Hit-and-Run) player, if you find yourself dealing insufficient damage, it’s generally better to avoid using the Stone Hand buff. Would tend to run in circles around your AoE. However, when mobs are stunned, they become unpredictable, and you can’t keep circling them for long because the stun will eventually wear off.

But when you make enough damage to kill them within one stun timer. you could definitely use Stonehand

Maximizing Merkaba Efficiency

The challenge with Merkaba is its long cooldown. To maximize its effectiveness:

Try to position as many mobs as possible within the Merkaba AoE field.
“Dance” around the Merkaba field, pulling additional mobs into the area of effect without leaving yourself vulnerable.
Use Stonehand to stun mobs inside the field, keeping them locked in place to absorb maximum damage. Only when you make enough damage to kill them within one stun timer.

This strategy is similar to the Elementor’s Burningfield technique, where you trap enemies in an AoE damage zone and prevent them from escaping. The key is to pull efficiently and make the most of Merkaba’s damage potential while keeping yourself safe.

Secondary Damage: Moon Beam

While Merkaba is on cooldown, use Moon Beam to deal consistent damage to individual mobs. Although Moon Beam doesn’t have the AoE potential of Merkaba, it helps chip away at enemies and speeds up the process of taking them down. Always keep an eye on the H&R Timer to ensure that you’re dealing damage efficiently.

Hit-and-Run Timers

When playing Hit-and-Run, you must be aware of the timers that govern how long mobs will stay engaged before they flee:

Up to 3 mobs: You have 3 minutes to kill them.
4 to 7 mobs: You have 80 seconds to kill them.
8 to 13 mobs: You have 50 seconds.
14 or more mobs: You only have 28 seconds before they start to run away.

These timers force you to be strategic about how many mobs you pull at once. Pull too many, and you may not be able to kill them in time, causing them to flee and disrupting your flow.

Barrier of Life is another crucial tool. If you’re not dealing enough damage, you should occasionally run through your pull with Barrier activated (you are invincible for 2 seconds). So restart the 28-second counter

Late Game Considerations

Up to Level 120, the H&R playstyle works relatively well, but as you reach higher levels, it becomes less effective. This is because Merkaba’s damage scaling doesn’t keep pace with the increasing health of high-level monsters, and Ringmaster gear generally lacks strong offensive stats.

As you progress, consider switching to a facetank playstyle using gear like the Revenio/Revenis Set and Bloody Stick. While H&R remains viable at high levels, it becomes much more difficult to execute effectively.

Conclusion

Playing as a Hit-and-Run Ringmaster requires careful planning, precise execution, and a keen awareness of your surroundings. Buff management, efficient pulling, and maximizing Merkaba’s damage are key to your success. Always be mindful of how many mobs you’re pulling and their timers, and adapt your strategy as you progress through the game. With practice, this playstyle can be highly rewarding, though it may require adjustments in the late game.

Source: The Guide was originally explained by Spielestyler in his YouTube video in German.