Storm Gust

Storm Gust
Type:	Offensive Skill
Levels:	10 (Selectable)
SP Cost:	78
Cast Time:	(5 + Skill Level) seconds
Cast Delay:	5 seconds
Duration:	4.6 seconds
Target:	Ground
Range:	9 cells
Knock Back:	2 cells
Area of Effect:	9x9
Property:	Water
Status:	Frozen
Prerequisites
(Wizard) Jupitel Thunder Lv. 3, (Mage) Frost Diver Lv. 1

Description

Storm Gust is a 2nd class offensive skill available as Wizard and High Wizard. It summons a blizzard upon a targeted area, striking enemies within range a total of 10 times, and pushing them in random directions. Enemies that are hit 3 times by Storm Gust may freeze, although this skill cannot freeze Boss and Undead monsters. Frozen enemies are not hit by Storm Gust.

Skill Level	MATK ratio per hit	Cast Time
1	140%	6 sec
2	180%	7 sec
3	220%	8 sec
4	260%	9 sec
5	300%	10 sec
6	340%	11 sec
7	380%	12 sec
8	420%	13 sec
9	460%	14 sec
10	500%	15 sec

Applications

Storm Gust is a key skill used by Wizard's in all areas of play. Its ability to freeze without failure (excluding specialized equipment) gives it an important role in immobilizing opponents. As one of the most reliable of Wizard skills, Storm Gust is a popular skill used to kill in all scenarios. At high DEX, all levels can be cast with reliable speed and thus are easily used in hit-and-run techniques. In WoE and PVP conditions, the damage modifier is high enough to deal significant damage to many classes, making Storm Gust a popular choice for WoE precasts. Because MVPs can not be frozen, Storm Gust is also a reliable damage dealer while simultaneously freezing mobs (assuming they can be frozen).

Storm Gust is commonly used to simply immobilize targets. Level 1 is sufficient for this purpose, although the delay remains the same. Since Frozen targets take more damage from Wind, targets that have been frozen are then more susceptible to Jupitel Thunder and Lord of Vermillion. Due to the DEF reduction, frozen targets can also be dealt with by heavy melee burst damage.

Notes

• It is rumored that players only need to be hit 3 times by Storm Gust to freeze. This is false. The third hit of Storm Gust -- regardless of whether it was the same one that did the first two times or not -- has a 150% chance to freeze the target. This means, with the exception of those immune to the Freezing status, players with high MDEF can lower this chance to under 100% and have a chance at not freezing on the third hit.
• Storm Gust does not stack with other Storm Gusts; two simultaneous Storm Gusts will not result in additional damage or effect. This is important in WoE Precasts. The reason for this is that anything hit by Storm Gust is temporarily immune to the skill for a preset period (half a second). In this way it is similar to Lord Of Vermillion and Magnus Exorcismus.
• Each cell affected by Storm Gust unconditionally splashes a surrounding 3x3 area. This means that the actual area-of-effect of the skill is 11x11.