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MapleStory 2026 Latest! Hyper Burning Newbie Must-Have: Complete Guide to Union and Link Character Training PrioritiesThis is a Hyper Burning and Tera Burning character progression guide that every MapleStory newbie should know. It details the priority of characters that can maximize essential Link Skills and Union effects for your main character's growth. Use this guide to create an efficient character progression plan and become stronger in Maple World.
1. 🎮 Mega Burning Link Character Core Priorities
· MapleStory Link Skills unlock at Level 60 for Level 1 and Level 120 for Level 2. Recently, Level 285 characters can receive 'Proof of a Brilliant Hero' to unlock Link Level 3, but as a newbie, you don't need to worry about Level 285 Link Level 3.
· Link Skills can be freely used by both your main and sub characters without any usage limits.
· Below is a list of Link Characters that should be prioritized for progression using Mega Burning.
· Link Skills can be freely used by both your main and sub characters without any usage limits.
· Below is a list of Link Characters that should be prioritized for progression using Mega Burning.
| Priority | Character | Effect & Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Priority | Angelic Buster | A core link skill essential for fixed burst damage buffs against bosses. You must use Mega Burning to get Link Level 2. |
| 2nd Priority | Demon Avenger, Xenon | Damage links with great versatility for both bossing and hunting. Demon Avenger is recommended to be leveled to 200 for its Union boss damage effect. Xenon's All Stats 10% is efficient, as 1% Main Stat is similar to 1% Damage. |
| 3rd Priority | Kinesis | Maple's most efficient Critical Damage link (1% Crit Dmg is equivalent to 3% Main Stat). Recommended to level to 120. |
| 4th Priority | Evan, Aran, Mercedes | The EXP Link Troika. You'll feel a significant difference when leveling Union or Link characters. Mercedes is recommended to be leveled to 250 for its Union cooldown reduction effect, high priority for Hyper Burning. |
| 5th Priority | Phantom | Increases Critical Rate by 15%. Important for classes with low critical rate like Fire/Poison Mages, and essential for increasing Critical Damage efficiency. |
| 6th Priority | Demon Slayer, Lara, Hoyoung | Specialized Links: Demon Slayer: Increases Boss Damage. Lara, Hoyoung: Increases damage during hunting. Priority increases if you can't one-shot monsters while hunting. |
| 7th Priority | Ark, Illium | Conditional Links: Although conditional, they are easy to maintain and offer good efficiency with a maximum of 11-12% damage. Recommended to level together due to their versatility. |
| 8th Priority | Explorer Mages (F/P, I/L, Bishop), Explorer Thieves (NL, Shadower, DB) | Boss-Exclusive Set Links: The synergy between Explorer Mage links (status ailment judgment) and Explorer Thief links (effect sustained upon status ailment activation) is excellent. When used together, they provide a continuous 9% Ignore Defense and 27% Damage, showing tremendous efficiency in boss battles. |
| 9th Priority | Kain, Cadena | Boss-Exclusive Conditional Links: Although the conditions are strict, their damage efficiency is good, making them a high priority. |
| 10th Priority | Luminous | Ignore Defense: Only needed for boss battles, but if your Ignore Defense is low, your damage won't register properly, so level this as a boss-exclusive link. |
00:19 - 04:41
1. 🎮 Mega Burning Link Character Core Priorities
· MapleStory Link Skills unlock at Level 60 for Level 1 and Level 120 for Level 2. Recently, Level 285 characters can receive 'Proof of a Brilliant Hero' to unlock Link Level 3, but as a newbie, you don't need to worry about Level 285 Link Level 3.
· Link Skills can be freely used by both your main and sub characters without any usage limits.
· Below is a list of Link Characters that should be prioritized for progression using Mega Burning.
· Link Skills can be freely used by both your main and sub characters without any usage limits.
· Below is a list of Link Characters that should be prioritized for progression using Mega Burning.
| Priority | Character | Effect & Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Priority | Angelic Buster | A core link skill essential for fixed burst damage buffs against bosses. You must use Mega Burning to get Link Level 2. |
| 2nd Priority | Demon Avenger, Xenon | Damage links with great versatility for both bossing and hunting. Demon Avenger is recommended to be leveled to 200 for its Union boss damage effect. Xenon's All Stats 10% is efficient, as 1% Main Stat is similar to 1% Damage. |
| 3rd Priority | Kinesis | Maple's most efficient Critical Damage link (1% Crit Dmg is equivalent to 3% Main Stat). Recommended to level to 120. |
| 4th Priority | Evan, Aran, Mercedes | The EXP Link Troika. You'll feel a significant difference when leveling Union or Link characters. Mercedes is recommended to be leveled to 250 for its Union cooldown reduction effect, high priority for Hyper Burning. |
| 5th Priority | Phantom | Increases Critical Rate by 15%. Important for classes with low critical rate like Fire/Poison Mages, and essential for increasing Critical Damage efficiency. |
| 6th Priority | Demon Slayer, Lara, Hoyoung | Specialized Links: Demon Slayer: Increases Boss Damage. Lara, Hoyoung: Increases damage during hunting. Priority increases if you can't one-shot monsters while hunting. |
| 7th Priority | Ark, Illium | Conditional Links: Although conditional, they are easy to maintain and offer good efficiency with a maximum of 11-12% damage. Recommended to level together due to their versatility. |
| 8th Priority | Explorer Mages (F/P, I/L, Bishop), Explorer Thieves (NL, Shadower, DB) | Boss-Exclusive Set Links: The synergy between Explorer Mage links (status ailment judgment) and Explorer Thief links (effect sustained upon status ailment activation) is excellent. When used together, they provide a continuous 9% Ignore Defense and 27% Damage, showing tremendous efficiency in boss battles. |
| 9th Priority | Kain, Cadena | Boss-Exclusive Conditional Links: Although the conditions are strict, their damage efficiency is good, making them a high priority. |
| 10th Priority | Luminous | Ignore Defense: Only needed for boss battles, but if your Ignore Defense is low, your damage won't register properly, so level this as a boss-exclusive link. |
04:44 - 07:14
2. ✨ Utility and Other Link Character Usage Tips
· In addition to the characters mentioned above, there are utility link characters useful in specific situations.
| Category | Character | Effect & Details |
|---|---|---|
| HP Recovery | Explorer Warriors (Hero, Dark Knight, Paladin) | Provides HP recovery buff. Priority increases when challenging high-difficulty bosses like Black Mage. |
| Invincibility After Death | Resistance (Mechanic, Battle Mage, Wild Hunter, Blaster) | Provides invincibility effect after death. Essential when challenging bosses with tricky patterns like Kalos. |
| Class-Specific | Kaiser | Tier 1 link exclusive to Demon Avenger. Recommended only for Demon Avenger mains. |
| Minor Pattern Defense | Lania | Useful against bosses with many minor patterns like Kalos. Consider leveling if you frequently die to minor patterns. |
| Attack Power/Magic Attack | Cygnus (Flame Wizard, Striker, Wind Breaker, Night Walker, Soul Master) | Increases Attack Power/Magic Attack by 25 (6% damage efficiency). While not highly efficient, it's good if you have no other links to equip for hunting. |
| Party Dependent | Adele | Receives stacks based on the number of party members, so it's not efficient for solo players. |
| Low Priority | Khali | Low recovery and ambiguous damage values make it low priority. It's fine to level this last. |
| Low Priority | Zero | An Ignore Defense link, but its low values make it a low priority link. |
| Low Priority | Explorer Pirates | Increases All Stats by 70 (efficiency equivalent to 17.5+ Attack/Magic Attack). Lower efficiency than Cygnus links, making it low priority. |
| Monster Collection | Explorer Archers | Increases Critical Rate and Monster Collection chance. High priority only for users who do Monster Collection. |
07:15 - 09:16
3. 🚀 Hyper/Tera Burning Union Character Priorities
· Union effects vary by Level 140, 200, and 250. While the occupation board expands from Level 140, it's best to consider starting from Level 200 as Tera Burning allows for rapid progression to Level 200.
· Below is a list of Union characters that are good to prioritize for Hyper Burning or Tera Burning.
· Below is a list of Union characters that are good to prioritize for Hyper Burning or Tera Burning.
| Priority | Character | Effect & Details |
|---|---|---|
| Hyper Burning Priority | Mercedes, Eunwol, Demon Avenger | Mercedes: Top priority when using Hyper Burning Booster for its cooldown reduction Union. Eunwol: Increases Critical Damage by 6%. Recommended for Hyper Burning or Tera Burning. Demon Avenger: Good efficiency due to increased Boss Damage. |
| Consideration Targets | Wild Hunter, Blaster, Mechanic | Wild Hunter: Conditional 4% damage (at Level 250) which isn't a huge noticeable difference, sometimes used as a hunting Union. Blaster: Ignore Defense Union. If leveling to 250, Blaster is better than Wild Hunter. Mechanic: Increases buff duration. Low priority unless for specific classes like Dark Knight, but recommended to level to 200 due to synergy with Angelic Buster's link. Conclusion: All three characters are good to level to 200 with Tera Burning. |
| Hunting Specialized | Phantom, Zero | Phantom: Increases Meso acquisition. Zero: Increases EXP acquisition. If you have Tera Burning, prioritize leveling it. If using Hyper Burning, Zero is recommended for its good EXP efficiency. |
09:17 - 10:22
4. 💡 Additional Union Character Progression Tips
· When leveling Union characters, you can maximize efficiency by considering Critical Rate, Main Stat, and Union effects specialized for specific job groups.
| Category | Character | Effect & Details |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Rate | Night Lord, Marksman | If your Critical Rate is insufficient, leveling to 200 is recommended. |
| Own Main Stat | Characters by Job Group | Level characters of the corresponding job group to match your main character's main stat, such as Thief (LUK), Archer (DEX), Mage (INT), Warrior (STR). Pirates are divided into STR (Ark, Striker, Cannoneer, Viper) and DEX (Angelic Buster), so choose according to your main character. |
| Demon Avenger Exclusive | Dark Knight (1st Priority), Soul Master, Mihile (2nd Priority) | This applies only to Demon Avenger main users, and it's good to prioritize leveling them to 200 with Tera Burning. |
| Lara Exclusive | Captain | Increases the damage of Lara's 'Eruption' skill. If you are a Lara main user, prioritize leveling Captain to 200. |