Black Desert: Tips For The Maegu Class (2024)

Fans of Black Desert Online will finally be able to go to the mystical Land of the Morning Light, as well as the introduction of twins of separate martial arts schools with an inexplicably tied fate: the Maegu of the Jwado School and the Woosa of the Woodo School. While players who want to bring a warfan and the power of storms would appreciate the Woosa, Black Desert Online fans who want to captivate foes with the powers of the mystical fox should go no further than the Maegu.

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With the twins’ stories set in the same regional home of the Classes such as the Lahn, Maewha, Mystic, Striker, and the Tamer, the newcomer Maegu is a perfect introduction to Black Desert Online’s spin on Korean folklore. However, for those who want to dominate the battlefield with this new Class, they may want to reassess their current combat habits and reconstruct a new combat style befitting this up-close magic user.

Prioritize Evasion

Similar to most other Classes in BDO, the Maegu has her fair share of movement intricacies that make her separate from her other compatriots, particularly the likes of the heavy-hitter Dark Knight of Black Desert Online. While still boasting the same flashy movement as other speedsters such as the Mystic and the Kunoichi, the Maegu’s clone mechanics make deception a key part of her gameplay. However, this does imply a need to understand the deeper intricacies of the Maegu’s overall toolkit.

At its core, players need to understand that unlike other Classes, the Maegu doesn’t rely as much on pure Defense and Resistances. Rather, her speedy toolkit relies on Evasion. Players who want to maximize their Maegu should boost her Evasion as often as possible, especially since much of her movement mechanics bank on dodging enemy attacks and then punishing them with quick attacks.

Remember Moves Attached To Keys

Being a movement-heavy Class, the Maegu emphasizes pinpoint directionality in Black Desert Online gameplay. This means much of the Maegu’s offensive and defensive toolkit relies largely on specific key notations, which then pave the way for her combos. Before players even tinker around with her fast-and-loose playstyle, players should remember which moves are even available based on primary keys:

• Spirit Step (Shift+Direction): The Maegu spins her body to move across areas at great speeds. Perfect for evasion.
• Charm Mastery (LMB, Direction+LMB): The Maegu uses the Jwado School to cast incantations and use attacks with her Fox Spirit charm.
• Foxspirit: Tag (RMB): The Maegu scatters her charms to the front and then causes them to explode in a burst of damage.
• Foxspirit: Deceiver (Q): The Maegu releases an illusory double of themselves, which they can switch places with.
• Soulflame (E): The Maegu lowers her stance while tossing a charm to the opponent, burning them over time.
• Soulsnare (F): The Maegu spins forward while throwing their charm to interrupt the target's movements. This is a very short-range move.
• Charmed (S+Space, Other Skills+Space): The Maegu tosses her charm forward before tossing her binyeo knife to pin her target.

LMB Has Straightforward Attacks

Much of the gameplay in Black Desert Online and other fast-paced martial arts titles would position the most basic attacks with the left mouse button (LMB), and this is also the case with the Maegu.

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Similar to other Classes, the LMB primary attack of the Maegu gives players access to a basic slate of melee or ranged attacks. In the case of the Maegu, combining directions with her base LMB combo results in small changes to her attack notation:

• Bared Claws (A/D+LMB): The Maegu moves quickly to cast a powerful clawed attack after an incantation.
• Spirited Away (S+LMB): The Maegu allures the enemy before engulfing them in flames.

RMB Relies On Charms

Players of the Maegu may immediately notice that much of her right-mouse button (RMB) skills in Black Desert Online gameplay focus on her “charms.” In the lore, these charms are manifestations of the Maegu’s reliance on the Fox Spirit for spiritual abilities.

However, in the game, these charms are often used to deal burst damage against enemies, with strategies often surrounding the timing of their blasts. While combos use these charms in specific manners, the core principle of RMB-based skills is centered around these two (2) abilities:

• Heavenward Dance (W+RMB): This scatters and explodes all charms in an explosive blooming burst attack.
• Petalblast (S+RMB): The Maegu scatters her charms while slowly moving backward, forcing them to do burst damage toward foes.
• Ghost Bomb(A/D+RMB): The Maegu evades to the side while tossing a charm. This explodes after a certain time.

Shift Skills Focus On Burst

Aside from the skills attached to the primary keys in Black Desert Online gameplay, a lot of the Maegu’s toolkit efficiencies also rely on more specific key notations. In the case of the Shift key, many of the skills allocated here are more burst-oriented, giving the Maegu her most essential AOE spells in the Black Desert Online PVE meta. When in a bind, players should consider combining the Shift key with other primary keys to produce these effects:

• Petal Play (Shift+LMB): The Maegu releases power around them to push enemies away.
• Bristling Sparks (Shift+RMB): The Maegu creates a cluster of spirit charms that deal damage over time. Stabbing this with the binyeo knife releases the cluster for massive burst damage.
• Foxflare (Shift+Q): The Maegu releases a clone in an area before concentrating her spirit energy into an explosion.
• Spirit Swirl (Shift+F): The Maegu casts a spell that burns wandering souls and guides them into the afterlife.

Forward, Backward Repositioning

As with most other Classes in Black Desert Online gameplay, the Maegu’s toolkit can also have varied effects depending on whether skills are triggered with certain direction buttons. Specific to the Maegu, however, are minute differences in skills depending on whether primary keys are pressed with W (forward) or S (backward) directions.

At its core, combining W with most basic skills often results in charge attacks, while doing so with S focuses on damaging foes while retreating. These are often used to reposition the Maegu. Here are skills that are affected this way:

• Path of Petals (W+F, Hold F): The Maegu charges forward like a fox.
• Soul Tear (W+Q): The Maegu becomes possessed and rushes forward to attack enemies with renewed power.
• Flower Shroud (W/S+E): The Maegu casts a spell that creates a forbidden zone, dealing damage to opponents.
• Lurking Claws (S+F): The Maegu tosses her charm toward a target before teleporting behind them for a swift attack. When the second attack hits, pressing F will have the Maegu perform a third attack from behind.

Memorize Basic Follow-Throughs

While players can more or less create various combos by mashing the Maegu’s skills, there are certain special abilities that Black Desert Online gameplay only triggers with specific follow-ups. These moves are best used to evade the attacks of enemies or for repositioning purposes.

Players who want to maximize certain Maegu skills may want to consider following-through certain basic skills with certain keys:

• Flow: Fox Petals (Spirit Step+Space): The Maegu uses the momentum of her spinning body to make a charging attack.
• Flow: Hanpuri (Soulflame+E, Ghost Bomb+E, Soulsnare+F): The Maegu teleports to the target and stabs them with her knife.
• Flow: Nether River (Side Spirit Step+LMB, Bared Claws+LMB): The Maegu evades to the side after tossing the charm.

Combo 1: AOE Spam Maneuver

One of the best determinants of a beginner Class in Black Desert Online gameplay is its accessibility. And for the combat-averse, a Class with a reliant AOE component may become a dependable character in the long term.

In the case of the Maegu, she actually has access to a decent AOE spam combo in her toolkit, which players can use in most PVE scenarios. Here are some things players should consider:

• Charm Mastery (LMB, Direction+LMB): This serves as the combo’s basic attack.
• Spirit Swirl (Shift+F): This is the largest AOE skill in the Maegu’s arsenal, and can be a perfect aggro generator for larger and faraway mobs.
• Spirited Away (S+LMB): This is a medium-sized AOE that focuses on a main group of enemies.
• Petal Play (Shift+LMB): This is a rather slow AOE but dishes out decent burst damage against targets.
• Foxflare (Shift+Q): This is more or less a transitional skill, where the Maegu can repeat this same loop against another target upon teleportation. Likewise, this can be a handy repositioning technique to look back at the original target to spam this combo once more.

Combo 2: Remember The Forward Sway

Given how much of the Maegu’s movement skills are also tied to her stamina, beginners of this Black Desert Online Class might end up wasting their much-needed energy through careless movement.

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Those who want to maneuver around the battlefield without wasting too much stamina might want to consider the right mixture of swaying movements. At its core, this combo set allows the Maegu to zig-zag across the battlefield through charge attacks while ending with multiple bursts in her chosen locations. Doing so needs the following maneuvers:

• Lurking Claws (S+F): Holding S+F allows the Maegu to move around and attack after each charge. Players should stop once they want to switch targets.
• Spirit Step (Shift+Direction): This is the primary direction-switching movement in areas with no enemies.
• Soul Tear (W+Q): This is another charge attack that becomes the final movement-based attack toward the target destination.
• Heavenward Dance (W+RMB): Acting as a movement “stopper,” this releases a huge AOE burst in the intended enemy-occupied area.
• Flower Shroud (W+E): The forward variant of this move still releases a vicious AOE as a finisher.

Combo 3: Multi-Range Clone Attacks

The clone remains a central component to the Maegu’s arsenal in Black Desert Online gameplay akin to the Lahn’s Crescent Pendulum, especially since the clone will always appear as an exact copy of the player in the game. With the option to “switch” places with the clone, enemies don’t have an immediate way of knowing where the player is situated.

When combined with the multi-ranged skills of the Maegu, players can actually create a looping sequence of touring the map to blast enemies from afar before bursting them up close. Here’s the combination:

• Foxflare (Shift+Q): This is the declaration of intent, where the Maegu attacks an area of interest.
• Foxspirit: Deceiver (Q): This switches the player with the clone, acting as a gap-closer.
• Soul Tear (W+Q): Another charge attack, this allows the player to transition to another target if needed. This can also attract another mob to the Maegu for maximum potential carnage.
• Soulsnare (F, Hold F): This is a sequence of short-range attacks that still allow the Maegu to move a bit.
• Petal Play (Shift+LMB): This is the combo’s first AOE, which can push away enemies who try to get close.
• Foxspirit: Deceiver (Q): Again for repositioning, or to attack enemies pushed back by Petal Play.
• Heavenward Dance (W+RMB): This releases a powerful AOE around the caster.
• Flower Shroud (W+E): This is another AOE, but this time a finisher to the entire combo.

Black Desert Online is currently available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Mobile.

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