Job Description:

Explorers are the undisputed king of the seas. They can use quite a few of their skills while in a boat, giving them a major advantage over other jobs. Even on land, also, their skills pack quite the punch! They are the only class that can equip Corals- which come in four varieties (Lightning, Wind, Fog, Strike)...I'll explain those in a bit. At Level 40, an explorer can become a Voyager, which is pretty much just some spiffier skills.

Weapons: Daggers, Corals
Characters able to become Explorer: Ami, Lance, Phyllis
Quest NPC: Little Daniel (2193, 2730) in Argent City

Stat Builds: (Credit goes to Snowy for these, not me)

There's 3 major builds you can try here: Pure Spirit, Spr-con hybrid, or pure Con...Well, really two. Pure Con isn't that good. Pure SPR is good...but it makes you a glass cannon, so I personally recommend a mix.

(credit goes to Snowy for builds)

Pure SPR: Just pump SPR till maxed, then pump CON

Hybrid: 1 CON per 4 SPR

Con: CON till maxed, then SPR

IMPORTANT NOTE: SPR DOES –NOT- AFFECT DAMAGE OF YOUR SEA SKILLS!

Corals: You –need- corals to be able to use your magic, simply put. Corals come in four varieties: Lightning, Wind, Fog, and Strike, and levels 1 through 5. You start with a level 1 Lightning Coral in your box, which has 100 charges on it. Obviously, you're going to run out sooner or later...So when you do, you have two options:

One: Buy a new coral! There's a vendor that sells them at (2061, 2543) outside Argent City. The lv 1 ones are only 150 gold.

Two: Recharge it! You need a ship to do this [Level 15 ]. You've probably noticed all the notices saying [Thunderstorm/fog/tornado has appeared at [x, y]]. Well, these are beneficial to you! Just sail out there with your coral equipped, and just stay there until it recharges itself to full! Just remember to equip it afterwards.

Lightning storms recharge Lightning, Tornadoes charge Wind, Fog charges Fog, and Strike can't be recharged [Sorry! D:]

Side note: It -really- isn't worth it to go through the hassle to recharge a lv1 coral...maybe lv 2 if you're short on cash...But lv 1 only has 100 charges! Just buy a new one, you can get 75 gold back if you sell the old one! XD

Since obviously the shop only sells lv 1 and 2 corals...Here's a list of the rest!

Locations of Corals above Lv 2:
Lv 3 Lightning: Rabid Squid- 1588, 3887 in Magical Ocean [Shaitan]
Lv 4:
Lv 5:

Lv 3 Fog:
Lv 4:Jack the Pirate's Support Ship- 1106, 3754 in Magical Ocean [Shaitan]
Lv 5:Tempest Sea Jelly- 2011, 3225 in Magical Ocean [Shaitan]

Lv 3 Wind:
Lv 4:Jack the Pirate's Warship - 1106, 3754 in Magical Ocean [Shaitan]
Lv 5:

Lv 3 Strike:
Lv 4:
Lv 5:

Skills: For reference, when I mention CP, I mean Charge Points- the number of charges left on the coral you have equipped.

Diligence: Passive, 2 to SP Recovery Rate [ 1 per skill level]
-Your basic starter skill. Comes with your level 10 box. Just up it to level 2 for Lightning Bolt.

Current: Passive, Requires lv 2 Dilligence, boosts ship movement speed by 6% [ 1% per skill level]
-Not a bad skill...just not really essential. Get it to level 2 for Tornado.

Conch Armor: Passive, Requires lv 1 Current, boosts ship defense by 8 points [ 3 per skill level]
-Only if you want to upgrade it...

Lightning Bolt: Active, Land, Requires lv 1 Dilligence, Lightning Coral, 27 SP [ 2 SP with each skill level]
-Your main attack spell for when you start out. Not a bad spell at all!

Skill Level: CP
1: 4
2: 4
3: 4
4: 5
5: 5
6: 6
7: 6
8: 7
9: 7[?]
10: 8[?]

Tornado: Active, Land Active, 1 CP, Wind Coral, 27 SP [ 2 SP per skill level]
-Tosses an opponent up into the air for a certain amount of time, I'd personally just level it to 4 for Tail Wind.

Algae Entanglement: Active, Sea[?], 21 SP [ 2 SP per s-level]
Duration: 5 hp per sec/ 6 secs [ 1 hp and 2secs per lv]
-Binds and deals damage over time. Not a bad skill, really, especially for the sea.

Skill Builds: Well, again, two routes here: Either Full Land or Half land/half sea hybrid.

Full Land: Diligence lv 2> Lightning Bolt lv 10> Current lv 1> Conch Armor lv 5
Leftover skill points: 12 at level 40 (Use ‘em as you want]

Hybrid: Diligence lv 2> Lightning Bolt lv 8> Tornado lv 5> Conch Armor lv 5> Algae Entanglement lv 5
Leftover skill points: 0 [You still might want to level up Algae Entanglement...it's really valuable for fighting on the sea]

Voyager Skills:

Conch Ray: Active, Land, Requires lv 5 Conch Armor, Strike Coral, 23 SP [ 3 per skill level]
-Your main land-based attack skill. Not only does it pack a wallop, it can attack multiple foes in a straight line! Get this to 10 and you won't be dissapointed. Also, it has a faster recharge rate than Lightning Bolt.

Tail Wind: Active, Sea, Requires lv 4 Tornado, Wind Coral [23 SP, 3 SP per skill level]
-Buffs the movement speed of all ships in an area. If anything, get it to level 4 for the next skill.

Whirlpool: Active, Sea, Requires lv 4 Tail Wind [21 SP, 1 per skill level]
-Does the exact reverse of Tail Wind: Slows down ships in an area. And it doesn't require any coral, to boot!

Fog: Active, Sea[?], Requires lv 2 Tail Wind, Fog Coral [21 SP, 1 per skill level]
-AoE attack debuff..Not bad at all.

Lightning Curtain: Active, Sea, Requires lv 8 Lightning Bolt, Lightning Coral [21 SP, 1 per skill level]
-It's an attack spell at sea, AND it's AoE! Really makes levelling up Lightning Bolt worth it!

Skill Builds:
Once again, you have a choice of how to level your skills- Pure land or a mix.

Land: Conch Ray lv 10, the rest as you see fit [Isn't it obvious? It IS the only land skill..]

Mix: Conch Ray 10/Lightning Curtain 10>Tail Wind 4>Whatever you please.

I noted Conch Ray OR Lightning Curtain depending where you want to level.

-You can put your own spin on how to level your skills...You're pretty open for choices at this point.

Tips:

-Don't spend your time buying full sets of gear- you'll do just fine with the armor provided from your treasure boxes.

-Life skills are always good cash..You can get lifeskill EXP from doing story quests.

-If you're REALLY in a pinch, do some quests from Little Daniel, the Explorer NPC. His quests are usually simple enough and give a bit of gold here and there.

Levelling Guide: [In progress..VEERY SLOWLY]

Note: Okay, i'll admit it: I'm a SLOOOW leveller. Like World's slowest. Like ittakedmetwoyearstogettolevel54onFinalFantasyXIwhenittakesothertwomonthstopstogetto75 slow. >_>;; XD If you want a much better-done levelling guide, go look at Furanku and Kurisutaru's Levelling Guide ...Hate to say it, but it pwns mine XD

-And another levelling guide that pwns mine: Aquilus' Solo Explorer Guide

Though although I am a slow leveller, it should like take...around 5 hours or so to get from 10-20...Probably a lot quicker if you're hardcore-levelling. XD

10: Get help [if needed] to kill combat pigs for Explorer quest

12-18: level off Bear Cubs (1905, 2053) (Your lightning bolt spell can practically one-shot these guys)

16- low 20s: Party up and kill Angelic Pandas (1655, 2563).

17- Smugglers give good loot and can usually be 2-shotted without a problem.

19- Snowy Snails, if Smugglers are getting slow for you.

-Credits-

-Snowy...well, 'cuz he's awesome
-Furanku and Kurisataru...or however you spell it /facepalm- for the really nice guides
-The GMs...See above
-Atropos... for helping me revise the specifics on my skill list
-thailehuy...for making me aware that the CP for some skills rises as you level it up
-Aquilus...for making an explorer-specific levelling guide
-DaemonBlue...for a minor skill correction and an EXP spot
-Gilder/Lord Galcian...for data on lv 3-5 corals
Anyone out there who helps in the world chat ingame or just tries to show some common courtesy- for helping restore my faith in humanity XD

-End Note-
To anyone that reads this thing, hear me out. It's obviously just a work-in-progress, i'm trying to level as fast as I can. But if there's something you want added, or want to submit a levelling spot or tip, drop me a pm!

Thanks for reading!