Introduction
Class guides are a rough explanation of the class, designed to give you an idea of the class and what you should be aiming for. You should really adapt the guide and follow your own instincts to match your play style!
I highly recommend looking at as many different sources as possible. The class discords are a great place to start, most have their own guides and resources as well as plenty of skilled players willing to help with questions.
The Musa class uses a Blade as their primary weapon and Horn Bow as their secondary weapon. At level 56, Musa unlocks their awakening weapon which is a Crescent Blade. The class is the male counterpart of the Maehwa class, which almost has the same pre-awakening skill set and has a different awakening. The class is fast paced, with high burst.
Musa is a “gotta-go-fast” dash class that can pick their fights and when to engage. Higher skilled players will learn when enemies have openings in their skills and learn to react to their opponents to make use of this in a fight. Musa is also well known for struggling against shield classes such as Warrior and Valkyrie due to Musa not having a grab, since Musa’s chip damage and burst can struggle to break their block.
Awakening VS Succession
Musa Succession and Awakening can be unlocked after level 56 after speaking to the Black Spirit and completing the Awakening and Succession quests under the suggestions tab.
- The Awakening will unlock a completely new skill tree, which will be your primary skills from now on. The skills in the pre-awakening are mostly utility skills, and your main damage dealers will be your Awakening skills.
- The Succession skill kit enhances your blade skills instead and only has a few awakening skills.
Your awakening weapon still affects your succession damage and vice versa. For example, if you are using the Succession kit, then 30% of your Awakening AP is still applied to the damage of Succession skills, as well as the additional item stats on the awakening weapon, such as Human/Species Damage and Accuracy.
For PVE, Succession performs slightly better. However, Awakening is generally the preferred choice for PVP, especially in large scale because they have lots of protected damage. They are also really good for Flex groups or Scouts in node wars because of their fast and protected mobility. I recommend trying out both specs and deciding which is best for you.
Skill Builds
Since the skill point update in late 2022, you can obtain all skills for approximately 1,000 skill points. Focus on your main skills first, then level the passives. The Weight Training skill should be leveled last since it only gives you weight limit increase.
Protected Skills
It is important to read through your skills to understand which skills have protection and crowd control effects. Read through your skills carefully to get familiar with what each skill does. You can also filter the different effects in the Skill Window (K).
Super armor (SA)
- This means you cannot be crowd controlled while this effect is active (except grab/grapple), but you will still take damage from any attacks
Forward guard (FG)
- This means you will block damage and crowd control effects coming from the front direction of your character. The block can be broken if you take enough damage and you will see a blue shield with a number, indicating the % left of the block.
- Some classes have an “S block”. This means you will automatically use Forward Guard when moving backward with “S”.
Invincible (I-frame)
- This means that you will not take damage and cannot be crowd controlled from any direction for the duration of the effect
PVE Iframe
Evasion and 
Chase are also “PVE Iframes”, which means these skills have a 1-second invincibility effect against monsters only, even if you spam the skill repeatedly.
Locked Skills
To lock a skill, press the lock icon on the top of each skill icon in the skill window (K).
These are the skills I recommend locking to help prevent messing up combos during PVP.
Evasion
Whirlwind Cut
Backstep Slash (Awakening only)
Divider (Awakening only)
Hotbar Skills
These are the minimum skills I recommend putting on your hotbar.
You may also want to put more skills on your hotbar and cooldown slots to keep track of them. For more information about how to do this, check out our Edit UI and Settings Guide.
Awakening:
Storm Slash, Musa’s Soul, Fiery Angel, Flow: Dash Slash, Tiger Blade
Succession:
Storm Slash, Prime: Eye of the Storm, Tiger Blade
Core Skills
Core skills are a way of upgrading 1 skill from your awakening skill kit.
Core skills are usually down to preference but most players choose Searing Slam.
Core: Spinner: Forward Guard during the skill.
Core: Searing Slam: Super Armor during the skill.
Core: Crosscut: Floating on good 2nd hit.
Core: Projection: Super Armor during the skill.
Core: Crust Crusher: Knockdown on good hits
Core: Below the Belt: Bound on good hits
Skill Enhancement (Rabam) Skills
Skill Enhancement skills can be obtained in the Skill Window (K) under the “Skill Enhancement” tab at the top. At levels 56, 57, and 58, you will have 2 different options to choose between. These skills have no skill points cost, but you have to have other skills leveled up to be able to take them.
Level 56 – [SHIFT + X]
Ultimate: Musa Spirit – Requires [Musa Spirit III] and [Blind Thrust III]
- (Preferred Choice)
Steel Gale – Requires [Musa Spirit III] and [Rising Storm III]
Ultimate: Musa Spirit has a good heal on the skill (HP Recover +450) and also a Magic DP +15 and Critical Hit Rate +20% buff for 10 sec.
Level 57 – [SHIFT] + [Z]
Pouncing Dragon – Requires [Rising Storm III] and [Dragon Bite III]
Quick Slot – Requires [Rising Storm III] and [Stub Arrow II]
- (Preferred Choice)
Quick Slot Rabam skill should be used from your hot bar. It gives an instant switch to pre-awakening and has a movement speed -10% debuff as well as stiffness CC. The skill also deals a lot of damage and is ranged, while Pouncing Dragon is a melee skill.
Level 58 – [Quickslot Only]
- Storm Slash – Requires [Cyclone Slash II] and [Rising Storm III]
- (Preferred Choice)
Slanted Slash – Requires [Cyclone Slash II] and [Gale V]
The recommended choice is Storm Slash because it flows well into other skills (such as canceling the animation of Mountain Divide). However, it is unprotected.
Skill Add-ons
Below are some examples of PVE skill add-ons you can take.
If you would like example skill add-ons for other scenarios, please refer to the Class Discord and its resources.
I recommend experimenting with your add-ons and figuring out what is best for you because it really depends on your personal preference and how you play your class. If you’re simply not sure what to take then you can blindly follow the examples below and they will still be effective.
You can also check our Skill Add-on guide for a complete list of Skill Add-ons.
| Awakening PVE Add-ons (Credit: ShakyBay) |
|
|---|---|
| All DP +10 for 7 sec | |
| Succession PVE Add-ons (Credit: ShakyBay) |
|
|---|---|
|
All Accuracy Rate +4% for 7 sec
|
|
Weapons
Armor
For your armor, you will make a choice between Damage Reduction or Evasion gear. I recommend reading our guide about the two different DP stats if you want to learn what the two different stats do.
Generally, you are recommended to build Damage Reduction on Musa. Evasion is a viable option if you are high gearscore but it usually not recommended.
Accessories
There are various different accessories in the game. At first, just focus on using the accessories that give you the highest AP in each slot.
There are also “free” accessories that all new players should get:
Tuvala Accessories
Common Starter PVE accessories:
- TET Black Distortion Earrings
- TET Basilisk’s Belt (or PEN Capotia Belt)
- TET Ring of Crescent Guardian
- TET Ogre Ring/Laytenn’s Necklace (or PEN Capotia Necklace).
PEN Tuvala Necklace
PEN Capotia Necklace
PEN Tungrad Necklace
PEN Ogre Ring
PEN Laytenn’s Necklace
PEN Capotia Ring
PEN Ring of Crescent Guardian
PEN Tungrad Ring
PEN Eye of the Ruins Ring
PEN Tuvala Belt
PEN Capotia Belt
PEN Basilisk Belt
PEN Valtarra Eclipsed Belt
PEN Tungrad Belt
PEN Tuvala Earring
PEN Capotia Earring
TET Black Distortion EarringCrystals
Below is an example starter Crystal build for PVE. Some of the crystals are expensive. You can obtain the Rebellious Crystal by completing the main story questline. For more example crystal builds, including an end-game PVE crystal build, and PVP Crystal builds, check our Crystal Preset Guide.
Ah’krad Crystal x2
Rebellious Spirit Crystal x2
Red Battlefield Crystal: Adamantine x2
Ancient Magic Crystal of Crimson Flame – Power x2
Dark Red Fang Crystal – Valor x2
Corrupted Magic Crystal x2
- Max HP +350
- All AP +34
- All Accuracy +6
- Extra Damage to Monsters +20
- Hidden Damage Reduction -4
- Knockdown/Bound Resistance +50%
- Stun/Stiffness/Freezing Resistance +10%
- Critical Hit Level +4
- Critical Hit Damage +22%
- Skill EXP +10%
This is an example PVP Build for Musas using Damage Reduction Armors and going full Human Damage (glass cannon). For more example crystal builds, check our Crystal Preset Guide or the Class Discord.
-
Glorious Crystal of Gallantry – Olucas x2
Red Spirit Crystal x2
Crystal of Elkarr x2- Corrupted Magic Crystal x2
JIN: Magic Crystal – Viper x2
Red Battlefield Crystal: Viper x2
Red Battlefield Crystal: Carmae x2
Ancient Spirit’s Crystal – Swiftness x1
- All accuracy +70
- Ignore All Resistance +20%
- Max HP +200
- All AP +14
- Extra Damage to Humans +56
- All Damage Reduction -4
- Critical Hit Damage +22%
- Attack, Casting Speed +2%
- Attack Speed +6
- Casting Speed +4
- Critical Hit +2
- Movement Speed +2
Artifacts and Lightstones
There are few different viable choices for both Artifacts and Lightstone combos. Musa is the “Melee Damage” type so you want to go for Melee Accuracy and Melee Damage for offensive artifacts.
For PVE Lighstones there are a few different options to min-max. For certain spots, you may want to use Species damage combos (eg. The Wild: Demihumans, The Wild: Kamaslyvia, The Wild: Humans). Species damage combos perform better if you are reaching the monster AP caps at a certain zone.
A more generic PVE combo is listed below that is recommended for your class and will work at any spot.
You can also find more information about Artifacts and Lightstones, and how to obtain them, in our guide. We also have a list of Best in slot Artifacts and Lightstones.
Artifacts for PVE:
Marsh’s Artifact – Extra AP Against Monsters
- (Extra Damage to Monsters +6)
Lesha’s Artifact – Monster Damage Reduction
- (Monster Damage Reduction +9)
Artifacts for PVP:
Marsh’s Artifact – Melee AP
- (Melee AP +4)
Marsh’s Artifact – Melee Accuracy
- (Melee Accuracy +8)
| PVE Lightstone Combo | |
|---|---|
[Vicious Shadows] Fire: PredationFire: PredationFire: Shadows Fire: Strike |
Total Combo Effects: Monster AP +13 Back Attack Damage +6% Critical Damage +3% |
| PVP Lightstone Combo | |
|---|---|
[Target Openings]Fire: RageFire: Marked Wind: Lungs Fire: Strike |
Total Combo Effects: All AP +10 All Accuracy +16 Maximum Stamina +100 Critical Damage +6% |
Useful Links/Credits
I highly recommend checking out the Musa Class Discord for resources about your class. The class discords always have the most up-to-date information and tons of experienced players that can help with questions or gearing advice. I would like to give a shoutout to the Mods and Helpers roles in the Musa discord for all their hard work gathering resources. You can find some of their own guides below. I honestly cannot recommend enough to join the discord.
Useful links to check out:
- Official Musa Forums
- Awakening Musa Text Guide by Unchiu
- Succession Musa Text Guide by Unchiu and Skilletzorz
- Musa Guide by ShakyBay
- Awakending Musa PVE Guide by Lord Squidius
- Succession Musa PVE Guide by Tholwaldor
- Succession Musa PVE Guide by Ahzure
PVP Montage Videos:
Credits Disclaimer: Since there are now 26 BDO classes, it is impossible for me to keep class guides fully maintained. My main class is Ranger and I don’t claim to be the best in any class. Therefore, I use resources and recommendations from the Class discords since (as all other players would agree) this is the best source. I also ask for advice from friends who are more experienced in the class. Where possible, I credit specific players for information such as Add-ons, and combos. However, sometimes there is no player mentioned as the original sharer. If there are any issues with credit or you would like certain information removed/changed, please reach out to me!
Could this get updated, at least on the accessories part ?
Hi @Oldum 🙂
This guide should be updated next/soon ™. If you need help with accessories in particular, I would advise looking at the Ranger Guide for now because the accessories you use should be quite similar and it may give you some guidance. Alternatively, you can send a BDOPlanner link to me and I’ll take a look at your gear for you 🙂
Pls, update this guide. Doesn’t even have awakening skill tree………
I know there is a meta in this game, but if you made a guide, just keep on with it.
Grunil Helmet, Taritas Chest, Grunil Gloves and Taritas Shoes and also Black Horn Bow/ Yuria should I make them all +15?
I think it’s better to have 2x (+2 Att Spd Crystals) on grunil gloves and 1x (+1Crit +1 Att spd) and 1x (+1 crit) on Liverto weapon which gives +3 crit already
so it’s +5 Att Spd and +5 crit
2x weapon crytal carmae is just waste of money and stats becasue it will be overextended to +5 crit cap
I actually have:
-Ogre ring (AP +10)
-2 x Mark of shadow (AP +5)
-2 x Witch’s earring (AP +5)
-Kalis Belt DUO (Accuracy +4)
-Weapon: Liverto Blade +15 (Do you know how good is the Accuracy compared to a Yuria one ?)
Off hand, i plan to have both: Black Horn Bow (for PvP) & White Horn Bow (for PvE), I actually have the White horn +7
-Ultimate Steel Taritas armor +5 (not yet upgraded) & Grunil armor +15 (WP/MP/SP +25 x2)
-Ultimate Gunil Helmet +13 (HP +50 x2)
-Grunil Shoes +14 (Stamina +100 x2)
-Ultimate grunil gloves (Attack speed +2 & Attack speed +1) For those gems is there any better gems to replace the Attack speed +1 (attack speed +2 is useless in my case because with my actuall stuff I have 5 in ATK speed & Critical).
Actually it gives me:
123 AP (+5/7 with grunil) & 151 AP
=======
Is there any place to farm: Magic Crystal of Infinity – Intimidation ?
I actually have 2 Harphia for my Helmet (HP +50)x2
What about 3 Taritas & 1 Grunil ? (it gives extra accuracy)
I plan to switch for my Marks of Shadows for Outlaw’s ring (Ap+3, DP+4 & Stamina +50) , do you think it’s worth to get it ?
For my belt, I don’t really know what to get.
BTW, thanks for the guide 🙂
Both 🙂 It has all the skills you need for both PvP and PvE. We will be adding combos soon as well.
is this build a pvp build or pve?