Best Illusionist Skill Build(s) in C9 Online

If you are looking for a character in C9 Online which has wide AOE range skills and does tremendous damage to the enemy, then look no further and go pick an Illusionist. And, if you are looking for a guide on Illusionist skills, then look no further as this is the page you are searching for.

This guide will help you determine the different skills of an Illusionist and of course, it will try to determine which skills are best for an Illusionist and which are best left untouched.

Yes! Definitely Yes! In this page, I will try to share to you two builds for an Illusionist: PvE-oriented Illusionist and PvP-oriented Illusionist.

First, let's describe each Illusionist skill and determine which is better in PvE and which is great in PvP.

Elec Swing- Use electricity to shock a wide area in front of you. Sometimes, this skill is overlooked by most players as they deemed this to be useless. Well personally, in PvE this skill is not that useful at all as you will be depending mostly on your range attacks which are hard hitters and has large AOE. But in PvP, it's a different story. This skill is really helpful for combo linking and initiating a counter attack to those enemies facing you up close. Take note that this skill has the ability to break enemy guard which is pretty useful in doing counter move. I strongly recommend to get at least 1 if you are a PvP fanatic and just leave it to 0 as a PvE player.

Fireball- Concentrate the energy of fire to burning orbs and launch it to enemies. You can take your time sniping enemies from afar with this skill as it can be charge up to 2 levels. Plus, it hace a decent burst AOE damage when leveled up high and it gives additional burn (DoT) damage to the enemies hit by the explosion. Here is another good thing about the skill: It ignores 100% Fire resistance which basically means that the enemy will receive the burn damage no matter what. But that's not all, even if an enemy is hit by the explosion only and not directly, they will still receive the full initial damage and the addiitional burn effect. Pretty neat isn't it? Yes indeed! The only thing is, you need to be precise on throwing this fireball and you need to anticipate enemy movement to make this skill work like a charm. Personally, I spend my spare SP on this skill in both PvP and PvE.

Illusion Flame- One of the few skills of an Illusionist that can put enemies off their feet. It has decent damage when leveled up high and the final hit (enemy lying on the ground) does significant damage to the enemy. Also, this skill has low cooldown and very easy to use which makes it a highly recommended must level up high skill for both PvE and PvP.

Additional Details: This skill is perfectly paired and chained with Illusion Flasher as the damage inflicted by these two skills when combined will surely be great.

Phantom Cry- Stuns all nearby enemies with the cry of a phantom spirit. Not only does it stuns enemy but when this skill is leveled high, it deals massive damage to them. And don't forget that this skill is an instant cast! However, the range of this skill is not that good. Honestly, I have hard times in making this skill work flawlessly with the range disadvantage. The range is pretty short and will make you uncomfortable often times as you need to get close to the enemy. But despite all that, I prefer leveling this skill high as I can't get the damage and the stun just pass by. If you are worried about getting close to the enemy before you can cast this skill, there's the Illusion Wind to do that.

Phantom Ascent- This skill allows you to summon a giant vertical blade that deals massive amount of damage to the enemy, especially to single targets. This skill can shave up to 1/3 of your opponents HP as it spins doing multiple hits to them until it explodes or until you decide to detonate it manually with Phantom Crash. I strongly recommend to max this skill in both PvE and PvP.

One Piece of Advice: For newbies, you will surely have hard times making this skill hit. I suggest that you keep on practicing, timing this skill correctly. If you really have hard time making this skill hit, just cast first skills which can ensure that your opponent will stay in a spot for a couple of seconds.

Phantom Crash- PvE or PvP, you must invest a point on this skill. This skill will allow you to detonate any currently summoned Phantom Blade, Phantom Excaliburs and/or Alluring Illusion. Hence, this gives you the ability to control when and where the said skill will explode.

Additional Note: Remember that explosions of any Blade skills of Illusionist and as well as the Alluring Illusion has the most significant damage. But that's not all, the explosions gives you the time to counter a combo as it can break semi-super armor skills, which basically means you can interrupt it. So essentially, this is one of your key to winning a battle in PvP.

Soul Aura- Encases you and your party with a shell of spirit energy which will make you invincible for a couple of seconds while you are within the area of the barrier. The damage it can absorb increases as you level it high and also the size will. What amazes me with this skill is that players will be unable to hit you when they are inside or outside the aura. In addition, all projectiles and shockwave attacks will be deflected by the Soul Aura. Also, it has the ability to make your skill casting uninterrupted. In PvE, it's a must to have at high level as it will serve as your extra HP and as well as your super armor to cast your ultimate skills like Phantom Tornade, without being interrupted. In terms of PvP, I let you decide whether to take it or not. If you think that this skill is beneficial, then go get it.

Phantom Wall- Summons a barrier to protect you against certain amount of enemy attacks and unleashes a dazing attack when summoned. Basically, the amount of HP it has and its size will grow accordingly to the amount of level you invest on it. For me, I prefer not getting this skill in PvE as the damage absorption of the barrier isn't that significant and it has no other use than absorbing damage. However in PvP, I recommend to get 1 level on this skill. It's useful in blocking range attacks and can be a good combo linker if you time it correctly with your Phantom Punch. When you do time it well after an opponent was launch into the air, he will be knocked back up once again.

Lightning Bolt- Drop a deadly bolt of lightning in a selected area which has high level stun chance. It's more like your Fireball. The only difference is that it has no DoT damage but has bigger AOE. It is a good skill to have in PvP for the high level stun attack but, the only problem is, it has long casting time which is two times that of Fireball. That is why I have not included this skill in my builds.

Soul Chaser- Release a spiritual energy to hunt your opponent, which has a chance to reduce their movement speed. The percentage of movement speed reduction does not increase when you level this skill high, only the damage and the tracking range. In terms of PvE, you will find no use for this skill but in PvP, I have seen pro players using this skill as a set up for their range skill. What they do is, they use this skill to distract opponents as they will run (one way to counter the skill) far from the soul while they are sniping their opponent with range skills such as Fireball. Another way on how they use this skill is they use this as a set up skill for their Phantom Punch. When an enemy guard this skill (another way to counter this skill), they will use Phantom Punch immediately followed by any skills than can deal damage or chain combos. If you think you can do these stuff, then I suggest to just level it to 1 for PvP.

Phantom Upper- Punch with spiritual force from the ground to throw opponents high into the air. A very effective skill to juggle enemies into the air. Not only that, when an enemy is off their feet, you can launche them into the air with this skill (pick up). It works quite perfect with Phantom Cry: Phantom Cry+Phantom Upper+Illusion Flame+Illusion Flasher. This combo woks perfect for me as it does chunk huge amount of HP of an enemy. In my own preference, I will level this skill high going either PvE or PvP.

Phantom Blade- Release an invisible moving blade before you that cuts enemies on contact. The blade lasts for a few seconds or until you detonate it with Phantom Crash. The damage is decent when leveled up high but the problem is, the blades spins so slow. In PvP, you will have hard times making this skill hit as you will definitely need to cast skill which has stun or any that can put them in place before you cast Phantom Blade, to make sure it hits. So that is why I have decided just to level it for prerequisite in PvP. On the other hand, you can level this skill high in PvE as you can surely hit those dumb mobs and bosses, as they have little to none knowledge evading this skill :D.

Alluring Illusion- Some piggies just want to eat. Other piggies just want to sleep. But this little bad arse piggy wants to explode and deal huge damage to its foes! This skill is basically your nuke attack as it does tremendous amount of damage to the enemy when it explodes. Not only that, it cannot be guarded when it explodes which is why it is most hated by melee class, as they need to attack it first before attacking you because they don't want it exploding in their face. Also, Assassin's cloak ability has no effect when this skill is on the field as you can tell where they are. Based on experience, average gear people's HP will be cut to half or more than half with this skill at max level (provided that you have good equips too of course). Max this skill in both PvE and PvP.

Side Note: Use this skill wisely and of course, don't forget that it can be detonated with your Phantom Crash.

Phantom Excalibur- Throw a massive invisible blade to the enemy to deal huge damage. Basically, this skill is an improved version of Phantom Blade which has more damage, faster blade spin and easy to use. Preferably, I max this skill in both PvE and PvP.

Ice Spear- Shoots an ice spear which deals 4 water hits to the enemy with bonus water damage on the 4th hit. Not only the damage is increase when its leveled high, but also the size of the skill. It may be a good skill to use to those melee guys that are or will hound you but the problem is, it has horrible casting time. Don't get this skill. Elec Swing has more uses than this skill and in fact, you are better off with Elec Swing than this one.

Additional Details: Based on experience, this skill is close to being useless in the third continent of C9 Online as there are lots of mobs that resist water.

Dark Emotion- A pretty nifty skill to have in PvP. This skill can ruin Assassin and Blademaster's combo as it will knock them off balance, giving you the chance to counter attack. Also, it can be a pick up skill which basically means you can launch an enemy a bit high while they are lying helpless on the ground. Just add 1 level to this skill in PvP as you don't need the damage but the utility only.

Mana Protect- Basically, this is a shield which absorbs damage and at the same time, will consume a percentage of your mana in the process. In terms of PvP, I say it's a big NO as you need as much mana to cast your skills. Illusionist do consume a lot of mana in battle and, do remember that the effect of this skill will be cut to half in PvP. While on PvE, well, it's your call. If you think you need this skill for higher survivability in dungeons, then go level this skill high.

Phantom Bind- Essentially, this skill will grab enemies a couple of times, dealing damage with each grab. The damage isn't that significant and in PvP, most people will try to wait that you cast this skill and counter. When an enemy evaded this skill, they will just use range skill and counter it or even rush forward and combo you to death. Take note that this skill can be cancelled. While in PvE, it may be a good skill to use, to hold mobs in a spot and then cast Phantom Tornado. You can level it high on PvE.

Additional Details: This skill costs 1 skillstone per use.

Phantom Scrape- You may call this as an improve version of Phantom Blade and Phantom Excalibur. When you use this skill, your mouse cursor will have a circle beneath it which will be your way to target the spot where you want the blade to appear. This skill requires a casting time and you will need to be accurate and place the massive blade to a location where you can hit the enemy. Well, it's like Fireball where you need to anticipate enemy movement, basically. So obviously, you need to practice hard to make this skill work flawlessly. If you think you can use this skill wisely, then max it.

Additional Notes: This skill can be used to stun targets within Illusion Wind's distance and then perform a combo.

Soul Valkan- Fire a relatively long range energy orbs to the enemy that deals decent damage to them. It's basically like Fireball but the difference is, it has no DoT but the travel speed is a bit faster than Fireball, espeically when you level it high. Great for single targets and even AOE. But like Fireball, your problem is to anticipate enemy movement. Well, there is not room for complaint in this one as you have decided to pick a class which requires tons of accuracy. I strongly suggest to level this skill high.

Phantom Tornado- I don't know why players don't get this on PvP. It is great for its suction power especially, when your other skills are on cooldown. What I do is, first I cast skills which can stun or down enemies and then, I cast this Tornado. It is very useful indeed as right after the Tornado subsides, you can then use skills which can damage or chain combos. I usually have this skill at level 1 in PvP. On the other hand, it is a must max skill in PvE for its AOE damage and suction power.

Mana Piece- Fire small mana orbs to the enemy. Charged mana piece spreads out over a wide range. This skill may serve as a combo linker as it keeps enemy up in the air for about a second or so and, it can be chained to almost every skill of an Illusionist. That is why in PvP, I have this skill for utility. While in PvE, it may be a good skill to level high as it is good in clearing small mobs and, you will definitely be versatile using this skill when you will have the aerial version.

Mana Shot- Launch a glowing ball of concentrated mana which does ridiculous damage to the enemy. However, it requires charging to increase its size. PvE-wise, I don't have this skill as I think I have enough skills that can be chraged up and, those skills deals more damage than this. PvP-wise, it may be good as it can pick up enemies while they are on the ground but, I think Illusion Flame is more effective to use than this one as it's more reliable and gives off better damage. So, it's a big NO for me also in PvP.

Ground Vein- This is a skill which uses the physical attack power of your character which is why, don't expect that it will give off huge damage. It's just effective in PvP at level 1 for it's downing effect, which is very useful to help the opponent helpless on the ground while you are inflicting damage to them.

Vera Crasher- Perfom a powerful ground strike during spin smash that can both pick them up or down them, depending on their status (standing or down). Don't expect that this skill can do lots of damage as it also uses the physical attack power. You only need this skill on PvP, as a combo linker.

Phantom Bolt- Essentially, it's like Phantom Blade but the only difference is, it moves a bit faster than the said  skill. In PvE, I don't have this in my build as the damage isn't that significant but in PvP, I have this at level 1 for its stun effect.

Phantom Punch- In terms of PvP, this skill is pretty useful. It picks up enemies on the ground and continue to damage them until they fall off, it has a long distance and huge size and can be used in a 360 degree manned which then you can use to turn your camera around efficiently, and hit the enemies behind you in cases they will try to flank. Plus, the damage is pretty decent at high levels and, when an enemy is near an edge, you can push them off using this skill for an easy win. I have definitely max this skill in PvP. However, in PvE, I don't usually blink and get close to the opponent as I rely mostly on range skills so that is why I don't have this in this said build.

Evasive Dash- For PvP, it is a must get skill to evade enemy attacks or get close to an enemy. While in PvE, you can have this skill at level 0 as you have Illusion Wind to help you, and that is enough.

Mana Cipher- Get at least 5 level of this skill for prerequisite as a PvP player. Take note that this is basically your gra skill which grab and squeezes enemy, preventing them from escaping when your combo fails. It can be chained virtually to any skills that do not knock players far away. In terms of PvE however, AOE and damage is much needed than grabbing and choking an enemy and that is why I don't have this in my PvE build.

Chain Edge- This skill serves as your hook shot which can pull enemy closer to you. In PvP, it is a must level high skill as you need the extra pulling range. Remember that this skill is shorter in range than the Assassin's whip and that is why you should level it not only for the damage but for the range. And of course, take time to practice using this skill as it's quite hard using it. I don't have this skill in PvE by the way.

Air Mana Piece- If you decided to level Mana Piece high, then this will make you versatile in using the said skill. Get this if you have Mana Piece at high level.

Illusion Flasher- Make an additional attack after Illusion Flame. It is a great skill for its ability to inflict extra damage after Illusion Flame and, don't forget that it has a downing effect which can put enemies on the ground. I prefer to get this skill at high level.

Additional Details: This skill does consume 1 skillstone to use.

Phantom Hand- Another grabbing skill of an Illusionist. The advantage of using this skill is that it grants invincibility while using it. It has a great initial and final damage but as expected, it is hard to use and quite hard to chain in combos. Say for example, Phantom Upper must be on a certain level to achieve the certain height to basically chain it with this skill. But despite the difficulty, I still have this skill at high level in PvP.

Additional Details: It is notable that it can also stop charge attacks as they will be lock into Phantom Hand.

Dash Attack- Roll to evade an enemy attack. A good combo linker and that is why I suggest to get at least one level for this skill in PvP.

Rushing Bite- Evade left or right to dodge enemy attack and strike back. This skill gives off an second of invincibility to user which gives them the time to counter. It's only purpose is for evasive and counter maneuver, in terms of PvP.

Spin Smash- Quickly smash your weapon at your opponent, dealing damage and can aggro enemies nearby. I only have this skill in my build for the sake of Vera Crasher and never have used it, or experiment using it.

Illusion Wind- This skill will let you teleport to a nearby area. In cases where you want to dodge or just get close to enemy immediately, then this is your skill. Get this skill whether you are going PvP or PvE.

Illusion Decoy- Summon a level 1 Alluring Illusion when you are lying on the ground. This skill is your key to quickly escaping, and avoid being combo-ed while you are down. It may be a level 1 Alluring Illusion but take note that its damage is more than 300% which is pretty significant. Get this skill in both PvP and PvE.

Max HP Increase- A must level high skill to increase your HP. Remember that we are squishy class so some HP would definitely help.

Max MP Increase- For me, I prefer to just leave this skill to 0. I can increase my MP with good equipments and decided to invest the points intented for this skill to those most needed one.

Critical Increase- I don't have this in my build. the percentage increase in critical isn't that significant even if leveled high.

Fast Casting- A definitely must max skill. As an Illusionist, we have skills which has very long casting time. With this passive skill, we will be able to shorten that to almost half at max level.

Mentalism I- Max this skill for the increase in MP regeneration and Wisdom.

Mentalism II- Also, you must max out this skill for the same benefits as the previous skill.

Focus- Decrease mana cost will be a good asset for you as Illusionist really consumes a lot of mana on casting skills. That is why personally, I have level up this skill to max level.

Furious Storm- This skill increases the pull speed and as well as the range of your Phantom Tornado. Get this skill in PvE but leave it at 0 in PvP as it does no effect.

Soul Valkan Flash- When you decided to take Soul Valkan on your build, then get this skill and better leave it at level 3 for the most effective increase in radius and shots fired.

Now, let's take a look at the two builds I was mentioning earlier...

PvE-oriented Illusionist Skill Build


PvP-oriented Illusionist Skill Build

For comments and suggestions, feel free to write what's on your mind with this Illusionist Skill Guide in C9 Online, by posting it on the comment box below.