MapleStory 2 Soul Binder Build - guide to binding souls and crushing foes

MapleStory 2 was a quite a bit of fuss when it came out. Underestimated at first, it rose to a true bestseller on the MMORPG stage. Assembling thousands of players each day, it's a title that no one can sneeze at now. 

As in most MMOs, you have plenty of characters available to choose from – Priest, Knight, Heavy Gunner, Soul Binder, Berserker, Wizard, Thief, Assassin. Runeblade and Archer. For those players, who want to mix DPS with support gameplay, Soul Binder is a perfect choice. We're going to take a look at MapleStory2 Soul Binder build and guide. For those who want to try something else, we recommend reading our MS2 Classes Guide.

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Soul Binder overview

The Soul Binder is wielding powerful, spiritual magic – animus. Trained in the mysterious Halo Mountains, she holds an ancient power, but one that either her mind or body can fully control. With darkness gaining more and more control over Maple World and an old enemy scheming to destroy the school of Guidance, Soul Binder must gather all her inner strength and step up to the challenge.

Class role: Utility DPS

Weapon: 2H ORB

Attributes: None

Main Stats: Intelligence, Magic Attack

Difficulty to play: 3/5

Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Can heal self and other party members in Priest's fashion

- Can deal a high amount of damage with regular SP skills.

Cons:

- Most of the advanced skills have an extended period. And by so you must rely on regular Soul Points based skills.

- Most of the more advanced skills have more utility applications, so don't hope to deal much damage.

- In order to deal more damage or increase the healing effects of your skills, you have to charge orbs manually.

- Charging orbs slows you down in the attacking department and increases skills cooldown period.

Now we will take a look at Soul Binder's skills, which we are going to create our build around. At the very beginning, you will have an opportunity to level up such skills as Illusion, Mantra Array, Radiant Salvo, and Soaring Orb. Thanks to them, you will be able to modify Soul Binder to your gameplay likings and desires.

Soul Binder skills

- The percentages in the brackets are the upgrade range of the skill, usually from rank 1 to 10.

- Active and Passive besides skill names designate whether they have to be activated manually in case of active skills or are always in effect in the case of passive skills.

- Level in captions informs at which level skill first becomes available to use.

Offensive skills

Radiant Salvo (active) - Concentrate life energy within the palms of your hands and launch a salvo of orbs at the nearest enemy within 7.5 m range, dealing (58% - 94%) damage 4 times. Every orb that collides with an enemy ricochets 4 more times onto other enemies within a 3 m radius, dealing (58% - 94%) damage. Energy orb does not damage the same enemy twice. It consumes 3 spirit.

Soaring Orb (active) - Gather energy from your surroundings to form an orb and launch it at the nearest enemy within 7.5 m in front of you, dealing (38% - 65%) damage. Pressing the skill key triggers a 3 – hit combo. The third strike launches an orb that explodes on collision, dealing (170% - 278%) damage to 5 enemies within a 2.25 m radius.

Expansion Blast (active) (Level 13+) - Gather the Narubashan's energy into a powerful, one-meter wide electricity orb and shoot it 7.5 m forward, dealing (625% - 1021%) damage to up to 8 enemies in your path. The same orb also shocks targets, dealing an additional 20% electric damage every sec for 3 seconds. Skill effects are activated and i the number of active Mantra Cores. It consumes 4 spirit.

Expansion Blast (second mantra) (active) (Level 13+) - Condense the Narubashan's energy into a powerful, two-meter-wide electricity orb and shoot it 7.5 m forward dealing (665% - 1088%) damage to 8 enemies in its way. The orb also shocks targets, dealing an additional 20% electric damage every sec for 3 seconds. It consumes 4 spirit.

Expansion Blast (third mantra) (active) (Level 13+) - Condense the Narubashan's energy into a powerful, three-meter wide orb and shoot it 7.5 m forward, dealing (702% - 1021%) damage to 8 enemies in its way. It also shocks them, dealing an additional 20% electric damage every sec for 3 seconds. In the end, the orb will burst, releasing a powerful electrical pulse, dealing (358% - 592%) damage to 8 enemies within 1.5 m radius, additionally stunning them for 1 second. It consumes 4 spirit. 

Expansion Blast (fourth mantra) (active) (Level 13+) - Condense the Narubashan's energy into a powerful, three-meter wide orb and shoot it 7.5 m forward, dealing (741% - 1218%) damage to up to 8 enemies in its way. It also shocks targets, dealing an additional 20% electric damage every sec for 3 seconds. At the end of its course, the orb bursts releasing a powerful electrical pulse, dealing (609% - 1005%) damage to 8 enemies within a 1.5m radius, additionally stunning them for 1 second. It consumes 4 spirit.

Expansion Blast (fifth mantra) (active) (Level 13+) - Condense the Narubashan's energy into a powerful, five-meter wide electric orb and shoot it 7.5 m forward, dealing (786% - 1281%) damage to 8 enemies in its way. It also shocks targets, dealing an additional 20% electric damage every second for 3 seconds. In the end, the orb bursts, releasing a powerful electrical pulse, dealing (725% - 1184%) damage to 8 enemies within a 1.5 m radius, additionally stunning them for 1 sec. It consumes 4 spirit.

Raging Tempest (active) (Level 16+) - Soul Binder shifts flow the atmosphere to create a whirlwind 6m in front of you. It rages every 0.2 seconds for a total of 4 times, dealing (23% - 41%) damage to 8 enemies in 3 meters radius and gathering them in its center. After 1 second, the dense energy in the eye of the whirlwind explodes, dealing (68% - 104%) damage to 8 enemies within 3 m radius and also decreasing their accuracy and evasion by (1 – 3).

Flash strike (active) (Level 25+) - Gather light energy within palms of your hands and fire it in the form of a beam with recoil pushing you back for 1.5 meters. The beam itself deals (668% - 1120%) damage to 8 enemies up to 10.5 m in front of you. It consumes 6 spirit.

Energy surge (active) (Level 28+) - Stack up the energy of the earth and drive it forward the nearest enemy within 8 m range in front of you, forcing the ground upward, dealing (308% - 506%) damage to 8 enemies within 2.25 m radius. The accompanying earthquake will stun them for (0.3 – 1.2) second. Skill effects are activated and enhanced proportionally to the number of activated Mantra Cores. It consumes 5 spirit.

The second mantra grants 2 attacks.

The third mantra grants 3 attacks.

The fourth mantra grants 4 attacks.

The fifth mantra grants 5 attacks.

Static Flash (active) (Level 34+) - Interfere into nature's energy flow within 7.5 m radius, additionally exhausting the vitality of 8 enemies within mentioned range, dealing (44% - 71%) damage, reducing both their defense and movement speed by (1% - 10%) for 10 seconds. Skill effects are activated and enhanced proportionally to the number of active Mantra Cores. It consumes 15 spirit.

The second mantra enhances the effect to 15 seconds.

The third mantra enhances the effect to 20 seconds.

The fourth mantra enhances the effect to 25 seconds.

The fifth mantra enhances the effect to 30 seconds.

Shooting Star (active) (Level 37+) - Use the animus strength in order to form 3 orbs infused with celestial energy and launch them at the enemies within 8 m in front of you. They will explode upon collision, splashing celestial energy over the area, dealing (242% - 395%) damage to 5 enemies within a 2.25 m radius. Skill effects are enhanced proportionally to the number of active Mantra Cores. It consumes 4 spirit.

The second mantra increases the number of orbs to 4.

The third mantra increases the number of orbs to 5.

The fourth mantra increases the number of orbs to 6.

The fifth mantra increases the number of orbs to 7.

It is the top priority skill for animation canceling, for its long animation lock. Once you use this skill and the first star comes out, pop Illusion, and spam Radiant Salvo right away. It should clip the animation by a tiny bit, but it's still something. You can also try it with Flash Strike or Energy Surge, however, keep in mind that you have to wait for the damage to go off beforehand. Otherwise, you will lose the cooldown for nothing.

Concussion Orb (active) (Level 43+) - Gather energy from your surroundings to form and launch an orb at the nearest target within 7.5 m range in front of you. It explodes upon collision, dealing (179% - 287%) damage to 5 enemies within a 2.25 m radius. Pressing the skill key triggers a 2-hit combo.

Support skills

Illusion (active) - A mysterious aura is released from Soul Binder's body, allowing to rush 4.5 m forward, additionally leaving an afterimage. It grants 50 evasion while you move. It can be canceled and triggered immediately while using other skills. It makes you immune to knockback. It consumes 40 stamina.

Mantra Array (active) - Use the animuses energy stored within your body to create Mantra Cores, aka Orb energy, and restore 12 spirit in the process. You can create up to 4 of these, which can be activated consecutively while you continue to hold the skill key. While you are creating them, you can control a more considerable amount of energy and enhance some other skills prior to their activation.

Light Barrier (active) (Level 10+) - Gather your animus energy to create a shield that lasts for 4 seconds and absorbs damage equal to (10% - 37%) of your max health. This barrier does not stack with other protective shield effects. It uses all Mantra Cores. Other skill effects are enhanced proportionally to the number of Mantra Cores used. Also consumes 12 spirit.

The second mantra allows to protect you and 2 other allies within 3 m radius.

The third mantra allows to protect you and 3 other allies within 3 m radius.

The fourth mantra allows to protect you and 4 other allies within 3 m radius.

The fifth mantra allows to protect you and 6 other allies within 3 m radius.

Orb Mastery (passive) (Level 19+) - Time spend in Guidance school, allows you to manage your Mantra Orbs more efficiently. When you have an org equipped, it increases the strength of your weapon attack by (1% - 6.4%).

Healing Bond (active) (Level 22+) - Harness nature's pure energy in order to restore your health and do the same for 4 allies within 3 m radius by (85% - 130%) of your magic attack. Skill effects are enhanced proportionally to the number of Mantra Cores consumed. It consumes all Mantra Cores and 12 spirit.

The second mantra allows you to heal by (95% - 158%) of your magic attack.

The third mantra allows you to heal by (112% - 184%) of your magic attack.

The fourth mantra allows you to heal by (129% - 210%) of your magic attack.

The fifth mantra allows you to heal by (146% - 236%) of your magic attack.

Narubashan Unleashed (active) (Level 31+) - Unleash the incredible power of Narubashan as explosive energy courses through your body. This energy automatically forms into Mantra Cores every (4 – 0.5) sec for (20 – 22) seconds. Only 4 Mantra Cores can be created.

Animus Focus (passive) (Level 40+) - Focus the strength of animus within the body and amplify the Mantra Core's energy. Increases the damage dealt by Expansion Blast, Energy Surge, and Shooting Star (which activate when the maximum quantity of Mantra Cores has been achieved) by (3% - 12%) and increases the recovery granted by Healing Bond by (3% - 12%).

Fountain of Renewal (active) (Level 46+) - Create a field of concentrated life force 6 m in front of you with a 2.25 m radius lasting for 3 seconds. It restores the health of 8 allies within its range by (300% - 489%) of your magic attack and increases physical and magic resistance by (200 – 317). It increases the potential of Healing Bond by (4% - 40%). While you're within its range, you are immune to knockback from standard attacks.

Stat priority

It is not that much of a clear cut for the Soul Binder in MapleStory 2. It's not a class that, with a decent all-rounded build, will be able to dish out consistent damage in both PvE and PvP scenarios. It's more intuitive, adjustable, and flexible. 

Just like for any other ranged DPS characters, you should prioritize Ranged Damage and Piercing, as it will amplify your DPS by a considerable margin. Capping these stats is mandatory. In PvE scenario, you should lean towards the Boss Damage a little bit more, while maintaining other stats at a decent level, to avoid significant DPS loss. You can read our Heavy Gunner, Wizard, and Archer build and guide articles to catch the drill for the ranged DPS class in MS2.

As for the support type of build, go for Magic Attack and Health. These two stats will have the most impact on your gameplay and utility. The shield value is based on your max HP, so stacking it might come in handy. The Magic Attack will enhance your offensive power enough for you not to become merely the shield bot. 

You will want to have the magic 110% Attack Speed, regardless. Why is that? Mantra Core is bound by the annoying animation lock cast. The high Attack Speed value minimizes the animation lock. Normally, it takes 350 ms for each charge to go through. The 110% ASPD value reduces this animation for about 120 ms. It may seem like not much, but for every fast-paced game relying on smoothness, 120 ms is a difference between life and death. What's more, the 110% Attack Speed makes it possible for the player to squeeze an additional Salvo into the rotation, vastly increasing the DPS value. The Salvo itself benefits significantly from Attack Speed with breakpoints every 3.5 points. 

However, you should only go for Attack Speed in your gear, if you have less than 110%. Once you've already reached the threshold, drop it for some other stats.

MapleStory 2 Soul Binder Builds

Let's get to the main course of our MS2 guide - the builds. There are three setups for Soul Binder when it comes to build, and we'll break them down quickly.

Max Damage/Solo

Support DPS

Healing Support

There is a never-ending discussion, whether the build is legit or not. Of course, it's legit, but it doesn't mean it's viable and more than anything - optimal. Sure, you can go off-meta.

There is a slight premise for Soul Binder to be the healer, but there is also a good reason not to do it, and it is simple.

There are better healers in MapleStory 2.

Sadly for all aspiring SB-healers, this class is not destined to be the main healer in a raid party. Priest's abilities to keep allies alive outmatch those of a Soul Binder by a huge margin, which is why SB-healer is considered useless, at the utmost, and troll at the worst. Don't expect to be a vital part of a raid group as Soul Binder healer. 

But if you still desire to walk that unrewarding, contemned path no matter what, here is the build for you. 

Summary

Now you know everything about the Soul Binder class in MapleStory 2. We've told you all that we knew, and not it's up to you to learn all the ins and out of the newest MS2 Class. Perhaps one day you will teach us? To do so, feel free to post a comment here or on our social media. Facebook and Twitter are for you to compliment or criticize.

We're looking forward to it. 

FAQ

What is Soul Binder in MapleStory 2?

It is the newest, 11th class (10th on CMS2 and GMS2). In theory, it was supposed to be a mix of a DPS and support class with bursty rotation, debuffs, shields, and some healing.

Does Soul Binder have a good damage?

It's considerable. SB will suffer from a lack of Skill Points early on, but with a progression, it will get better and better.

Is Soul Binder difficult to play?

Definitely, it's not the easiest class. Honestly, it's among the hardest classes to play. 

Can Soul Binder be a good support?

If you are thinking about him as an offensive one - sure. As for the healing type of a support, it's garbage.

How is Soul Binder in PvP?

It does well enough. With lots of utility, mobility, and burst damage, it can be a pain in the neck for his enemies.