The Best Solo Classes of Ragnarok Online for Farming
The original Ragnarok Online (2002) was developed and published by Gravity. In Ragnarok Online, as veteran players have already learned, it is quite important to amass amounts of zeny (the Ragnarok Online currency), valuable items and equipment. Many classes in Ragnarok Online require significant investment of zeny and require certain equipment to reach their full potential. Moreover, having more zeny in Ragnarok Online allows the player character to purchase better equipment and healing potions, which can make much difference during the adventures in Ragnarok Online.
Due to the importance of acquiring more items, equipment and zeny, many players in Ragnarok Online search ways of farming more zeny. Farming, in Ragnarok Online, refers to the practice of hunting monsters in order to accumulate items and zeny, and this can be done in many locations of Ragnarok Online, including dungeons and instances. While farming can theoretically be done with characters of any class, some classes excel at farming due to their unique abilities.
What Are the Best of Ragnarok Online for Farming?
In Ragnarok Online, the best classes for farming, including farming solo, are Blacksmith, Assassin, Knight, Hunter and Rogue, because characters of these classes are able to deal high amounts of damage, and generally do not require many healing items or the help of support classes. For these reasons, characters of these classes are able to fight in many different locations and dungeons of Ragnarok Online and obtain much loot, and these are some of the the reasons why these classes are excellent for farming in this game.
5 - Blacksmith
The Blacksmith, later Mastersmith, which is a class available to Merchant characters in Ragnarok Online, is a class which can be quite useful for farming when combined with a battle build. While there are many possible battle builds for a Blacksmith, a basic one would be STR, AGI, VIT and DEX. The Blacksmith can be used either to defeat single enemies or to defeat multiple enemies with their AoE (area of effect) skill Cart Revolution, which deals damage proportionate to the amount of weight that the cart carries.
The strongest reason for including the Blacksmith in my top 5 list of best solo classes for farming in Ragnarok Online was not due to how strong Blacksmith characters can be when fighting monsters, but due to a unique skill available to Blacksmith and Mastersmith characters, which is the Greed. Perhaps one of the most important skills of all for a farming character in Ragnarok Online, the Greed skill allows the player to pick up multiple items on the ground at the same time. While this skill may sound simple, if you consider that farming characters often spend hours defeating enemies and picking items on the ground, and especially when fighting and defeating multiple enemies at the same time, the Greed skill can save a lot of time and even avoid that items on the ground be picked up by thief monsters, such as the Zenorc in Orc Dungeon, which can be quite fast at picking up items on the ground.
While the Blacksmith can be a formidable warrior in battle, they are ranked 5 in my list because quite often a Blacksmith character requires a significant zeny investment, and many Ragnarok Online players who are looking for farming methods have a lack of zeny, and not an abundance of zeny, a reason why I didn't choose to give the Blacksmith a higher position in my list.
4 - Assassin
The Assassin, later Assassin Cross, is a useful solo farming class in Ragnarok Online as Assassin characters can be quite strong and efficient at defeating single enemies. One of the downsides of this class is that it lacks powerful AoE abilities, at least as an Assassin. The only AoE skill an Assassin character has is Grimtooth, which can only be used while using the Hiding skill. Assassin Cross characters have the Rolling Cutter skill which is an AoE ability which can be used for farming and defeating multiple enemies. Assassin characters, however, have to defeat enemies one by one.
Despite Assassin character not having AoE skills with as much convenience as other classes, the Assassin class is quite useful for beginners as it does not require significant investment of zeny, making an excellent choice for starting in the game. Assassin Cross characters are also a very good choice for solo farming in dungeons and instances, which are locations which usually provide higher amounts of zeny and valuable items and equipment.
3 - Knight
The Knight, later Lord Knight, is a great choice for beginners in Ragnarok Online as it is a class that does not require significant amounts of zeny investment and its gameplay generally easy to learn. Knight characters are generally quite strong, being formidable warriors, and Knight characters also have AoE skills which can be used to defeat multiple enemies. To be more specific, Knight characters can use the Swordsman class AoE skill Magnum Break and can also use the Knight class skill Bowling Bash.
In general, Knight characters have high amounts of health points and are able to deal considerable amounts of damage, while also having AoE skills. Considering the fact that Knight characters also have a gameplay that is beginner-friendly, Knight characters are an excellent choice for farming as a beginner player in Ragnarok Online or as someone who is starting out.
2 - Hunter
The Hunter, later Ranger, is a beginner-friendly class in Ragnarok Online that can deal a lot of damage either to single enemies or to groups of enemies, with their AoE Skill Arrow Shower (later Arrow Storm as Ranger). This skill enables Hunter characters to defeat multiple enemies, which is quite useful for farming strategies.
The downside of playing as Hunter characters is that the player character must constantly acquire arrows, which requires zeny investment, and that Hunter characters are often fragile if monsters are able to get closer. On the other hand, Ranger characters are often able to solo dungeons and instances in Ragnarok Online. Dungeons and instances in Ragnarok Online are often used to farm for higher amounts of zeny, and more valuable items and equipment.
Due to the constant need of purchasing arrows and due to their relative fragility without better equipment, I chose to rank the Hunter class number 2 and not number 1 in my top 5 list of best solo classes for farming in Ragnarok Online. However, it is definitely one of the best classes for farming in in Ragnarok Online. The Ranger is best viewed as a late game farmer, while the Rogue and Stalker are effective middle game farmers. For players who are just starting out, the Rogue class can be a better choice. After players already have a considerable amount of zeny and resources, they can consider playing as a Hunter, later Ranger, to farm in dungeons and instances.
1 - Rogue
The Rogue, later Stalker, while sometimes considered more exotic than traditional choices such as a Knight or an Assassin, is one of the most adequate classes for farming. Rogue characters have unique skills that are extremely useful for farming, such as the Thief skill Steal, which allows to obtain an additional item from the monster (it is additional because it doesn't affect the items which the monster will drop), the Mug skill, which steals zeny from monsters, and the Gank skills, which enables Rogue characters to use the Steal skill passively, without spending spell points.
Due to the unique skills of the Rogue, I consider the Rogue to be one of the best classes for solo farming in Ragnarok Online. As stated, Rogue characters have skills that enable them to farm additional items from monsters, and also to steal zeny from monsters, effectively enabling them to farm more items than other classes, and to also produce zeny while fighting monsters. Nonetheless all of these advantages for farming, Rogue characters are also beginner-friendly as they can have simple builds such as STR, AGI and DEX and do not require significant amounts of investment of zeny. While not all players enjoy playing as Rogue, I consider the Rogue class to be the best solo class for farming in Ragnarok Online.
What Are the Best Builds for Solo Farming Classes in Ragnarok Online?
What Is a Good Assassin Farming Build of Ragnarok Online?
In general, for most players looking for an efficient solo farming build for Assassin characters, the best build in Ragnarok Online for solo farming with characters of this class would be STR, AGI, DEX, and an optional LUK, depending on the build, and these words mean Strength, Agility, Dexterity and Luck.
The reason why some Assassin characters in Ragnarok Online could benefit also from LUK, which means Luck, is because quite often the Assassin characters in Ragnarok Online are characters that use the katar weapon. This is a weapon able to deal a high amount of damage. While the katar is able to deal high amounts of damage in the game, it does not feature the typical Double Attack skill effect seen when Thief characters use dagger weapons. Although the Double Attack Thief skill does not give the additional attack bonus traditionally seen in Ragnarok Online, when used with katars, this Thief passive skill confers additional damage to the offhand attack of the Assassin character that is using a katar. In this sense, since there is a decrease in the additional attack when using katars, some Assassin characters benefit from increasing their LUK attribute because this attribute increases the chance of dealing critical hits, which are hits with an increased amount of damage. However, it is also possible to play with Assassin characters with double daggers, which benefit directly from the traditional effect of the Double Attack passive skill.
What Is a Good Knight Farming Build of Ragnarok Online?
In general, for most players looking for an efficient solo farming build for Knight characters, the best build in Ragnarok Online for solo farming with characters of this class would be STR, VIT and DEX, which mean Strength, Vitality and Dexterity. Some characters could benefit from AGI as well, which means Agility, although this depends on the specific build and on which weapons the character is going to use.
In general, Knight characters that are going to focus on AoE (area of effect) skills will benefit most from STR, VIT and DEX, and do not require high amounts of AGI. On the other hand, Knight characters that are going to focus on defeating one enemy at a time with a high DPS (damage-per-second), in other words, dealing high amounts of damage along with high attack speed, would benefit more from STR, AGI, VIT and DEX.
What Is a Good Hunter Farming Build of Ragnarok Online?
In general, for most players looking for an efficient solo farming build for Hunter characters, the best build in Ragnarok Online for solo farming with characters of this class would be AGI and DEX, which mean Agility and Dexterity. Although the Agility and Dexterity are efficient for all Hunter characters, some characters will also benefit from INT, while others will benefit more from LUK, which mean Intelligence and Luck, and this depends on the choice of gameplay.
Hunter characters that will focus on AoE (area of effect) skills will benefit most from INT, as this attribute allows them to use their skills with more frequency. On the other hand, Hunter characters that will focus on using their falcon will benefit most from LUK, as this attribute increases the frequency in which their falcon attacks their enemies. This AGI, DEX and LUK build, which is the build which enables Hunter characters' falcons to attack more frequently, is a build that allows these characters to use less potions than Hunter characters that are more focused on using AoE skills. For this reason, this AGI, DEX and LUK build is a good choice in terms of low zeny investment.
What Is a Good Rogue Farming Build of Ragnarok Online?
In Ragnarok Online, the Rogue class is one of the best and most efficient classes for solo farming, due to the unique skills available to Rogue characters, as well as to the fact that this class does not require a high zeny investment to be viable.
In general, for most players looking for an efficient solo farming build, the best build for Rogue characters in Ragnarok Online focuses on STR, AGI and DEX, which mean Strength, Agility and Dexterity. This build is very efficient at defeating monsters in the game and does not require a high zeny investment.
Some players in Ragnarok Online enjoy playing with Rogue characters with bows instead of daggers. While this gameplay style is possible, I do not recommend new players to play in this style, as Rogue characters that use bow are not able to use as many of the Rogue and Thief skills. For solo farming, I suggest Rogue characters to use daggers, because in this way these characters will be able to use most Rogue and Thief skills available in the game.
An Analysis of the Best Solo Classes for Farming in Ragnarok Online
Players that plan on the best ways and strategies to farm in an MMORPG are players looking for the most effective ways of defeating as many monsters in the game as possible in the shortest time, while also acquiring the dropped items of these monsters in order to accumulate in-game currency as well as better equipment. This is the overall purpose of farming in most MMORPGs.
Considering this aim of efficient ways of accumulating in-game currency as well as items and equipment, it is natural that some methods will be more efficient than others. Indeed, while each class in Ragnarok Online has different advantages and disadvantages, some are more efficient than others in regards to farming. In general, the most efficient classes for farming in Ragnarok Online are the classes that are able to quickly defeat many monsters, while at the same time require little zeny investment. Considering this perspective, it should come as no surprise that the classes I wrote for my list of best solo classes for farming in Ragnarok Online include the Assassin, the Knight, the Hunter and the Rogue, which are some of the classes in Ragnarok Online that require the least amount of zeny investment, while also being able to quickly defeat monsters in the game. It was also taken into account how easy it is to learn the gameplay of these classes, considering that, in many cases, players looking for farming strategies are players that are starting in the game. Indeed, the Assassin, the Knight, the Hunter and the Rogue are all easy-to-learn classes in Ragnarok Online.
There are some classes which I did not chose for my list, such as the Wizard, the Priest, the Monk, among others. For example, the Wizard is able to indeed deal high amounts of damage. At the same time, Wizard characters often require many potions due to their low defense, and often require a high zeny investment. The Priest, on the other hand, is a class that features both a support build as well as a battle build. In Ragnarok Online, in most cases, Priest characters are support characters, and for this reason these would not be the most efficient characters for farming in the game. The Monk character, while certainly a formidable warrior in battle, is not a class as easy to learn as the ones I presented in my list of best solo classes for farming in Ragnarok Online, because a Monk character in Ragnarok Online is often used at the same time as a healer and as a warrior, and this could be difficult for new players. For this reason, I did not include the Monk as one of the best solo classes for farming in Ragnarok Online.