The Basic Academic Guide

[Impression]

Basic Academic Guide
By Impression
Edited by Regdren

Guide's Video: Will be placed here soon. This video will demonstrate on HOW to use this guide. This guide is a bit different than other guides after all (one whole page of reserves ololol).

Description:
Academic is the newest class to come to Dragon Nest and she packs quite a powerful punch! And by punches…I mean bombs and robots. And by that I mean she’s broken.

Academic class is probably the most fun class from my experience. Not only does she have a little of every single class (robots can tank like a paladin, summons, black hole, stun, etc.), her damage and mob control is enormous. She’s a little girl with guns and robots and bombs…what more can you want? Oh, did I mention she’s a little girl?

Academic is not even a glass cannon. She would be if she didn’t have her robots but with them around, she’s basically a Paladin dishing out Elemental Lord damage. She is soon coming to Chinese Dragon Nest and because of my guide (link is in my signature), many NA and SEA players have jumped over Chinese Dragon Nest. I highly recommend you play her and use my guide for reference.

About The Author:
I am Impression, a well-known forum user on Dragon Nest Source. I tend to help out a lot of people when it comes to questions or advice. Many of you know me through my guides and my Youtube videos. Please check out my channel sometime.

TheImpressify's Channel - YouTube

I have OCD so whatever guide I want to create, I would like to know everything about that particular subject before doing so. That’s also one of the reasons why you don’t see me posting many guides but the few I do post have gotten pretty popular among members and non-members alike.

Motivation:
I decided to create this guide through the support of my wonderful guild Union. They encouraged me to create this guide and do what I like to do best. Because of them, playing Dragon Nest has become much more enjoyable and I just wanted to give them a tiny shout out here.

About This Guide:
This guide will only enlighten users on the basics of Academic gameplay and skills. Once Academics are nerfed so that actual skill is required, there will be guides created by me that include more detail and more precise information in regards to play-styles, precise gameplay, and technique primarily concentrating on the PvP aspect of Academic gameplay. As of right now, anyone can play an Academic if you have the right build and knowledge and that’s what this guide will bring to you: a working knowledge of how to build an Academic and use her to the most efficient degree.

[Impression]

Academic Gameplay Videos

Spoiler: Expand This For Videos 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNAEIWKA2_Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNAEIWKA2_Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTfJSFte4wg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTfJSFte4wg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1bAJA-v8R4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1bAJA-v8R4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqihFnuUU0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqihFnuUU0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mba9C1Sk1u8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mba9C1Sk1u8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amxjzS32-J8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amxjzS32-J8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGZVU6xY6NY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGZVU6xY6NY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTVN_isa50Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTVN_isa50Q

Those are all my videos of my Academic. Feel free to watch any of them for an idea of what playing an Academic is like.

[Impression]

Academic Active Skills

This part of the guide will list all the available skills, the damages, and the recommended level for an Academic’s skill.

Academic Skills:

**Note: These translations are done by me and the skill descriptions are all by me since there is no good translation patch regarding the skills. If you notice something wrong here in translation (which shouldn’t be the case), just drop me a message in this thread. I’ll look into it.**

Spoiler: Active Skills 

--Active Skills--

Quick Shoot: Shoots three consecutive bullets at an opponent. Range isn’t that long so you need to shoot pretty close in order to hit the opponent. Great combo starter but I would not recommend maxing this.

Recommended level: Up 5 for prerequisite to unlock other skills.

Level 1 - +23 Attack and 62.2% Physical Damage
Level 5 - +67 Attack and 63.6% Physical Damage
Max (Level 17) - +963 Attack and 69.9% Physical Damage

Air Shot: This will launch the enemy into the air. You need to be point blank to the enemy to launch them and if the enemy has a shield, this usually breaks it. Use it for utility and as a combo filler, there’s no need to max it.

Recommended level: Up 5 for prerequisite to unlock other skills.

Level 1 – Physical Attack +21 and 100.2%
Level 5 – Physical Attack +66 and 102%
Max (Level 17) – Physical Attack +930 and 109.2%

Napalm: Throws a grenade that explodes and does fire damage on the enemy. From what I’ve noticed, it also throws back the enemy and hit stuns them three times in a row. It’s a great “BACK OFF” skill that you can use in combos.

Recommended level: Either max Napalm for the damage or leave at lv3 for Stun Grenade.

Level 1 – Physical Attack +58 and 146.9%
Level 3 – Physical Attack +101 and 148%
Max (Level 16) – Physical Attack +1540 and 159.9%

Stun Grenade: Throws a grenade that stuns the enemies and does a good amount of physical damage too. It’s a great combo starter and an awesome skill overall.

Recommended level: This one can vary. The stun chance is 70% no matter how high the level so if you are looking for a higher stun chance, then don’t bother to level this skill. Only level it for the extra physical damage.

Level 1 – Physical Damage +220 and 138% and 70% Stun Chance
Max (Level 14) – Physical Damage +4104 and 172.3% (Broken FTW)

Bubble Bubble: Shoots a bubble at an enemy or friend. When shooting an enemy, it stops their movement. While shooting an Ally it allows them to gain extra protection. Also does some damage to the enemy.

Recommended level: Max this definitely if you are going PvE. If you are going PvP, you can either max or leave at lv1 to use it as utility. This skill is too epic to NOT max in my honest opinion.

Level 1 – Shield Durability 340, lasts 15 seconds, absorbs +114 damage, and dishes out 173.6% damage. Also binds the opponent for 2.5 seconds.
Max (Level 14) – Shield durability 8540, lasts 15 seconds, absorbs +2225 damage, and dishes out 202.3% damage. Also binds the opponent for 2.5 seconds.

Force-out: Sets a spatial distortion in front of the enemy by a certain distance. Does tremendous damage as well.

Recommended level: 0, 1, or Max. I personally never use this skill because of the difficulty in hitting an opponent with it.

Level 1 – Magic Attack 222% and +66.
Max (Level 15) – Magic Attack 242.2% and +1518.

Alfredo: Summons an epic robot to assist you in your endeavors.

Recommended level: Max definitely. You’d be crazy to not max this. An Engineer has an entire tree dedicated to Alfredo’s attacks. Alfredo is your main tanker so you want him to be around you at all times. Not only that, he also aggros the opponents.

Alfredo Recall: Instantly calls Alfredo to your side.

Recommended level: Max this. You can only put 1 point in it anyway but you should get this skill because Alfredo might get stuck somewhere and you want him a different position and this is the skill that’ll allow you to do that.

Wax: Smothers the ground with jelly and allows you to increase your speed like a boss while on it.

Recommended level: Get lv1 of this for utility. Increasing the level just lowers the CD by 4 seconds and that SP could be better spent elsewhere. The speed stays the same no matter what the level increase so there’s really no point in maxing this.

Level 1 – Move 37% faster for 5 seconds out of the Wax but the entire duration of the skill while on it, Cool Down 20 seconds. Also a chance of enemies slipping is 10%
Max (Level 9) – Move 53% faster for 5 seconds out of the Wax but the entire duration of the skill while on it, Cool Down 16 seconds. Also a chance of enemies slipping is 25%

Vending Machine: This is a pretty funny skill that you get at lv35. It spits out food for 30 seconds but the cool down for the skill is 250 (as of the 9/25 patch) seconds so use it wisely.

Recommended level: Get this skill. It costs 0 SP so you have nothing to lose.
Notes: Stuff it randomly produces on a 5 second interval.
Meat: 10%/20%/30% HP
Buff food: Milk 15%/Cheese 30% attack, chilli 50% movespeed

[Impression]

Academic Passive Skills

Spoiler: Passive Skills 

Wrench Smasher: This passive allows you to wield a Wrench as your right click.

Recommended level: You already have it.

Magnifying Glass: Right click on an opponent on the floor and you will shock them with a magnifying glass.

Recommended level: You already have it.

Mega Hammer: Uses your wrench as a hammer and hits the opponent in front of you.

Recommended level: Don’t get it. It’s not worth it since you shouldn’t be getting in front of an opponent in the first place.

Air Bomb: Shoots a bomb directly down while you are in the air.

Recommended level: Get this skill if you are going PvP. Really useful since you can jump up, shoot down a bomb and run away. It’s almost like another evasion skill. If you are going PvE, you don’t necessarily need this skill.

Dodge: Using your hat’s propellers, you dodge the opponent.

Recommended level: Max this. You lower the cool down and that’s essential. For PvP, you want this because dodging can save your life. Even in PvE I recommend it but it’s not essential so if you really want points in other skills, you don’t need to max this. But for PvP, IT IS A MUST MAX.

Night Circle: You get up more quickly by using this skill if you were knocked down. It also damages the opponents near you as well.

Recommended level: Get this skill.

Aerial Evasion: Escape from being juggled.

Max if you are going PvP. It lowers the cool down and that becomes essential end game when you want to escape from infinite combos. As for PvE, 1 point is enough though I’d max it anyway.

Physical Mastery: Increases your hit points.

Recommended level: Max for casual PvP. You don’t need to max this for PvE or ladder since your gear can carry you. Max this if you have leftover points though.

Mental Mastery: Increases your overall Mana.

Recommended level: Max for casual PvP. You don’t need to max this for PvE or ladder since your gear can carry you. However, I max this even in PvE builds if I have left over SP.

Mental Training: Increasing your Mana recovery.

Recommended level: Max for casual PvP. Put points into it if you have extra points if you are a PvE build or play ladder exclusively.

[Impression]

Engineer Skills

Engineer is the first job change that an Academic has available right now. The 2nd 1st job change class has not been released so the rest of the guide will focus on Engineers. Engineers use CANONs btw, if people didn't realize this yet.

Refer to the image above while reading the rest of the information below.

--Active Skills--

Spoiler: Demolition Skills 

Demolition Tree Skills

Ping Pong Bomb: Throws a ball that bounces off nearby opponents and does insane amounts of damage as well.

Recommended level: Max this skill if you are going down the Demolition Ultimate tree. It is like the Fireball Elemental Lords use but with a bounce effect and multi-target. In other words, this skill is so damn broken. If you are going down the Skyline Ultimate tree, just put a point in it for utility.

Level 1 – 203.4% Physical Damage and +138 Attack for EACH hit. There are 8 possible hits. For each subsequent hit, the damage goes down by 10%. BROKEN. SO AMAZINGLY SO.
Max (Level 12) – 225.3% Physical Damage and +1520 Attack. Same properties as the level 1 but higher damage.

Mine Thrower: This shoots mortar rounds into the air, effectively causing an explosion in the air and ten shots are poured down from it.

Recommended level: You should get lv3 of this to unlock the next skill tree if you are going to get the demolition ultimate tree. Don’t bother maxing this because the range is quite ineffective and hard to aim with. It also has a long cool down and doesn’t do as much damage as your other skills do.

Level 3 – 31.8% Physical Damage and +81 Attack per round.
Max (Level 10) – 32.7% Physical Damage and +300 Attack per round.

Chemical Missile: Shoots a huge missile to the earth and does incredible AoE damage. Not only that, this missile attacks the enemies at a biological level lowering all their resistance by 10%.

Recommended level: Max this baby! This skill is probably one of the most broken skills in the game. A huge AoE, does tremendous damage, and lowers resistance! My god, it is awesome. And only get this skill if you are going down the Demolition Ultimate tree.

Level 1 – 422.9% Physical Damage and +1020 Attack. All resistances are lowered by 10% and lasts for 20 seconds.
Max (Level 8) – 455.1% Physical Damage and +5955 Attack. All resistances are lowered by 10% and lasts for 20 seconds.

As of 9/25 patch, Chemical Missile also gives a 50% critical resist reduction on enemies within the 20 seconds.

Alfredo Stomp: Gives Alfredo the ability to jump up and STOMP the opponents. Does a good amount of AoE damage and does tremendous damage in general .

Recommended level: Either get this to lv2 or max it. Max it if you like the AoE damage Alfredo does with this skill or get lv2 to have Alfredo use it as utility so you can pour the SP into other skills. The damage increase per level is good and it’s a great skill in general.

Level 2 – 200.9% Physical Damage and +232 Attack. Provokes (Aggros) opponents for 10 seconds as well.
Max (Level 12) – 217.4% Physical Damage and +2102 Attack. Provokes (Aggros) opponents for 10 seconds as well.

Alfredo BERSERKER: Yes, you must pronounce BERSERKER in all caps rage because this is the only time when it’s appropriate to do so. This skill is great, it increases Alfredo’s speed, damage, and action rate (which translates to lower cool downs for his other skills) for 12 seconds.

Recommended level: Either get lv2 of this skill or max it. Depends on your play style. If you want Alfredo to spam his skills, then go ahead and max it. I recommend just keeping it at lv2 however since the increase isn’t that noticeable from lv2 and lv6.

Level 2 – Action Rate increased by 20%, movement speed increased by 20%, and damage is increased by 20%. Lasts for 12 seconds.
Max (Level 6) – Action Rate increased by 35%, movement speed increased by 35%, and damage is increased by 27.5%. Lasts for 12 seconds.

Alfredo Damage Transition: Transitions damage from your Academic to Alfredo. So you get a defense buff but Alfredo will get more damage the more you get hit while this buff is up.

Recommended level: Just get lv2 of this skill. I wouldn’t max it since it’s not that useful. You can put points into better skills.

Level 2 – 34.6% damage reduction for 35 seconds continuously.
Max (Level 5) – 48.4% damage reduction for 35 seconds continuously.

Alfredo Whirlwind: This skill is one of the most epic skills in the entire game. No matter what your reason is or your build, you must get this skill. It allows Alfredo to spin his arm in a mach speed level and deliver incredible amounts of damage to his opponent.

Recommended Level: Max this. Do it or die. This skill, in my opinion, is the most epic skill in the entire game.

Level 1 – Why the hell do you want to know this? Fine. Just for your curiosity, I’ll tell you.
666.1% Physical Damage and +729 Attack.
Max (Level 7) – 686% Physical Damage and +3483 Attack.

Demolition: Your ultimate skill in the Demolition tree. This skill allows you to summon cannons and shoot repeatedly until you fucking blow the opponent’s head off.

Recommended level: It’s an ultimate so you can only put one point in it to begin with.

Level 1/Max – 1336% Physical Damage, continues for 7.5 seconds.

[Impression]

Engineer Skills Part Two

Spoiler: Skyline Skills 

Skyline Tree Skills

Gatling Tower: This is a great skill. It summons a duck that shoots a machine gun at the opponent.

Recommended Level: Either get lv4 or max this. You should max this if you are going down the Skyline tree but lv4 if you are going through the Demolition tree.

Level 1 – 256.5% Physical Damage and +380 attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.
Level 4 – 263.5% Physical Damage and +656 attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.
Max (Level 12) – 289.7% Physical Damage and +4220 attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.

Canon Tower: This is also an epic skill. It summons a duck that uses a cannon to shoot down opponents.

Recommended level: Get lv3 of this skill for prerequisite or max for damage.

Level 1 – 269.7% Physical Damage and +171 Attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.
Level 3 – 271.8% Physical Damage and +230 Attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.
Max (Level 9) – 280.2% Physical Damage and +1118 Attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.

Ice Pump Tower: Pumps ice out of this single tower. Does tremendous damage and slows down opponents. Great AoE range as well.

Recommended level: Max this skill. It increases the damage by a lot. And by a lot, I mean brokenly. It’s almost 10k more damage from lv1 to lv7.

Level 1 – 383.7% Physical Damage and +1939 Attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.
Max (Level 7) – 414.7% Physical Damage and +9567 Attack. Can only summon three regardless of type and lasts for 12 seconds.

Duck Shot: Shoots a mechanical duck that does decent damage to the opponent.

Recommended level: If you are going the Skyline tree, then max this skill to get your EX skill later on. As for the Demolition tree builds, just get lv2 of this to get the next skill in the tree.

Level 1 – 265.5% Physical Damage and +110 Attack. Can only summon up to three at a time.
Max (Level 12) – 275.4% Physical Damage and +1167 Attack. Can only summon up to three at a time.

Shock Mecha: Gives a skill to mechanical ducks. It allows mechanical ducks the ability to shoot thunder everywhere.

Recommended level: Get lv1 if you are going down the Demolition skill for utility or get lv2 to unlock the rest of the tree for the Skyline ultimate. You might want to max this since the electrocution damage is quite awesome.

Level 1 – 20% chance of electrocution that lasts for 6 seconds. 246.4% Physical Damage and +309 Attack.
Max (Level 11) – 20% chance of electrocution that lasts for 6 seconds. 268.3% Physical Damage and +2842 Attack.

Siren Mecha: Removes buffs from enemies. A good PvE skill to have. It also aggros nearby enemies.

Recommended level: Just get lv2 if you are going Skyline Ultimate. Don’t get it if you aren’t.

Level 1 – 220.6% Physical Damage and +412 Attack. Removes any buffs on enemies. Lasts for 5 seconds.
Max (Level 10) – 243.8% Physical Damage and +3237 Attack. Removes any buffs on enemies. Lasts for 5 seconds.

Bomber Mecha: Makes your ducks kamikaze into nearby opponents. Great burst damage and basically makes your ducks into bombs. Poor ducks!

Recommended level: Get lv4 this if you are getting the Skyline Ultimate. If not, don’t bother with it. Maxing it isn’t really recommended since it blows up your ducks and although it does tremendous damage, you are destroying your ducks in the process when you could use them for electric shock.

Level 1 – 283.3% Physical Damage and +816 Attack.
Max (Level 8) – 311.1% Physical Damage and +4541 Attack.

As of 9/25, Bomber Mecha also gives 40% damage decrease on enemies upon explosion. Does not stack with other class damage debuffs (like Mercenary's howls).

Skyline: This is your other ultimate as an Academic. Allows you to spawn robots from the air in spaceships and attack in a concentrated area.

Level 1/Max – 1863.6% Physical Damage

[Impression]

Engineer Skills Part Three

Spoiler: Non-Tree Skills 

Non-Tree Skills
Gravity Grenade: You throw this grenade and it summons a mini black hole. Quite a nice skill and has a good suction effect.

Recommended level: Get lv1 for utility. The more points you put into it, the more damage you get but it’s better to use it for the suction and then use your bigger skills to destroy the opponent.

Level 1 – 333.7% Physical Damage and +178 Attack.
Max (Level 10) – 347.2% Physical Damage and +1291 Attack.

Rocket Jump: This allows you to propel yourself backward and does damage to opponents near you when you launch yourself. It can be used on its own or as a way to extend a dodge. Depending on your aim and awareness you can use this to get around the map quickly without burning your dodge.

Recommended level: Get lv1 for utility. You can right-click and use this skill to propel yourself forward or you can place this skill in your hotkey bar and use it to propel yourself backwards. It’s an interesting skill and one of your good evasion skills.

Level 1 – 195.3% Physical Damage and +484 Attack.
Max (Level 12) – 198.1% Physical Damage and +2538 Attack.

Spoiler: Passive Engineer Skills 

--Passive Engineer Skills--

Fake Night: Similar to Rocket Jump, but can only be used while dodging. It shoots a rocket while dodging and propels you in the direction of the dodge.

Recommended level: If you find yourself using Rocket Jump on its own rather than attached to dodges, 1 point for utility may not be a bad idea for PvP. More mobility is always helpful.

Flash Grenade: Shoots a flash grenade point blank and confuses the enemy.

Recommended level: Put 1 or 0 points into it. Either use it for utility or don’t use it at all. It’s a good skill if you think you’ll be near the enemy most of the time. Depends on how you play.

Spoiler: Third Class Skills 

Third Class Skills

Gear Master – Skyline Tree Ultimate

Big Mecha Bomber: Shoot a giant Mecha Duck. It grows in size slowly and it explodes. The damage dealt is enormous.

Chain Saw Tower: Another tower similar to Gatling and Canon Tower. You summon a Duck that shoots Chain Saws at the enemies. Yes…chain saws. And it does MASSIVE damage.

Mecha Duck EX: Increases Mecha Duck’s HP and offensive power. Increases the range of all Mecha Duck’s skills.

Shooting Star – Demolition Tree Ultimate

Alfredo Beam: Allows Alfredo to shoot a cross beam in four directions and deals massive damage.

Ping Pong Bomb EX: Makes Ping Pong Bomb even more broken. Now the damage is increased by 30% (correct me if I’m wrong) and it bounces faster as well.

Star Splash: Quickly fires five shells in every direction and it deals insane damage.

[Impression]

Suggested Academic Builds

Spoiler: Build 1 - Demolition PvE Build 

Description: The idea of this build is to max out all your high DPS skills like Ice Pump, Alfredo Whirl, and Atomic Bomb. This build is highly recommended for high DPS PvE’rs. It’s a great solo build and works well with parties too. If you need to spend SP in other places, you might want to decrease Stun Grenade’s level.

Spoiler: Build 2 - Skyline PvE Build 

Description: This build is for high DPS and using the Skyline tree features to its maximum benefit. The ducks provide quite a bit of mob support and in parties, you have probably the best mob control with this build. If you need to spend SP in other places, you might want to decrease Stun Grenade’s level.

Spoiler: Build 3 - Demolition PvP Build 

Description: As you can tell if you compare Demolition PvE to this build, there are some significant changes in the build structure. This time we aren’t solely going for DPS but rather increasing the damage of skills we use the most often. This means Gatling Tower and Cannon Tower should be near maxed since those are probably two of the most frequently used PvP skills of an Academic because of their relatively short cool downs. As for Ping Pong Night, you should max that because that’s an incredible DPS skill with a short cool down. If you need to spend SP in other places, you might want to decrease Stun Grenade’s level.

Spoiler: Build 4 - Skyline PvP Build 

Description: Similar to the Demolition PvP build, you want to max the towers if you can. However, since we don’t really have enough SP for them, we’ll have to resort to maxing only one of them. If you need to spend SP in other places, you might want to decrease Stun Grenade’s level.

These are just example/base builds of what I would do when creating my Academic. You can change them to whatever fits your needs and even make a different one entire. Here's the site but be warned, it's in Korean so you'll need to use my guide if you want the description of what each skill does:

Remember to have 45 SP remaining free unlike these builds. In other words, take out points from Stun Grenade to level up your 2nd job skills. I forgot to mention this / wasn't clear enough but since a User pointed it out, please make sure you have 45 SP free in your build.

Engineer Skill Builder

[Impression]

Recommended Skill Heraldry/Crest:

Demolition Builds:

Ping Pong Bomb Epic Heraldry/Crest Damage Increase 20%
Chemical Bomb Heraldry/Crest Damage Increase 20%
Dodge Heraldry/Crest Cool Down Decrease 20%

Skyline Builds:

Ping Pong Night Epic Heraldry/Crest Damage Increase 20%
Dodge Heraldry/Crest Cool Down Decrease 20%
Skyline Heraldy/Crest Damage Increase 20%

As for the fourth heraldry/crest, I am not entire sure yet. For Skyline, you might want a Mechanical Duck Heraldry/Crest damage increase or something similar.

This section will be more detailed later on.

DOWNLOAD:

The Academic Guide.rar

This download even has all the skills in video! And the guide! And all the pictures too! Woot!

The skill videos are in bad quality because I extracted those from the actual game. The actual game has terrible quality videos for the skills. Just watch them if you want to have an idea of how a specific skill looks.

Credits:
I'd like to thank Ryde for giving me some important updates regarding the Academic skills as of 9/25.

[Rhythm]

Wow a page full of reserves.