Tree of Savior (English Ver.): Beginner-to-Endgame Guide

A current guide to Tree of Savior's international Steam version: how the class system works, choosing a build, levelling fast with the Popo Boost event, Goddess equipment progression up to the new Lv. 560 Dawn set, the EP 18-2 content, and the things new and returning Saviors most often get wrong.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the EP 18-2 "Light of Deceit" update (September 2026) and the weekly patches through 22 September 2026. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Service status: Tree of Savior is live and free-to-play on Steam, published internationally by IMC Games. It gets weekly maintenance (usually early in the week) with patch notes on the official site. In late September 2026 IMC ran several temporary maintenances for server stability; recent notices mention the NA Zachariel server and a "Z server". If you cannot connect, check the official news page first.

Quick Start

• Pick a base class you like the feel of. There are five: Swordsman, Wizard, Archer, Cleric and Scout. Your base class decides which advanced classes you can take.
• You end up with four classes. A character has one base class and three advancement classes. Plan the combination before you commit, because the class you take shapes your build permanently unless you use reset items.
• Follow the main quest line. It is still the fastest, safest route through the early and mid levels, and it walks you through the major hubs starting from Klaipeda.
• Use Popo Boost for a new character. Popo Boost Season 12 runs from the 1 September to the 24 November 2026 maintenance (KST). One character per team at Lv. 9 or lower is instantly raised to Lv. 540 with Episodes 1 to 14-2 cleared, gets Lv. 540 Onyx Fang weapons and armour at +10, and a Popo Special Buff (50% more final damage dealt and 50% less taken in fields and Challenges). Seven achievement checkpoints pay out rewards, ending with a Special Class Unlock Voucher Selection Box. The participating character cannot be changed, so choose carefully.
• Do not over-invest in low-level gear. Gear is replaced quickly while levelling. Save your enhancement materials for Goddess equipment.
• Read the Goddess equipment path. Endgame gear is a chain of Goddess sets, and each new tier is typically reached by inheriting from the previous one. The current top set is the Lv. 560 "Dawn" equipment.
• Check your mailbox after maintenance. Compensation for temporary maintenances is sent there and usually removed after about a day.
• Use the automatic party finder and join a guild. Party play is faster, and many raids and guild activities need a group.

The Class System

Base classes and advanced classes

The official class list (September 2026):

Base class | Advanced classes

Swordsman | Highlander, Peltasta, Hoplite, Barbarian, Cataphract, Doppelsoeldner, Rodelero, Murmillo, Fencer, Dragoon, Templar, Lancer, Matador, Nak Muay, Retiarius, Hackapell, Blossom Blader, Luchador, Shenji

Wizard | Pyromancer, Cryomancer, Psychokino, Alchemist, Sorcerer, Chronomancer, Necromancer, Elementalist, Sage, Warlock, Featherfoot, Rune Caster, Shadowmancer, Onmyoji, Taoist, Bokor, Terramancer, Keraunos

Archer | Hunter, Quarrel Shooter, Ranger, Sapper, Wugushi, Fletcher, Pied Piper, Appraiser, Falconer, Cannoneer, Musketeer, Mergen, Matross, Tiger Hunter, Arbalester, Arquebusier, Hwarang

Cleric | Priest, Krivis, Druid, Sadhu, Dievdirbys, Oracle, Monk, Pardoner, Paladin, Chaplain, Plague Doctor, Kabbalist, Inquisitor, Miko, Zealot, Exorcist, Crusader, Lama

Scout | Assassin, Outlaw, Squire, Corsair, Shinobi, Thaumaturge, Enchanter, Linker, Rogue, Schwarzer Reiter, Bullet Marker, Ardito, Sheriff, Rangda, Clown, Hakkapeliter, Jaguar

Special classes

Some classes are not available through normal class advancement and need a Special Class Unlock Voucher. The Popo Boost Season 12 selection boxes include options such as Winged Hussar, Illusionist, Godeye, Pontifex, Desperado, Vanquisher, Vulture, Sledger, Bonemancer, Blitzhunter, Aether Blader, Grimmark, Hermit, Eskrimer and Kneller. If one of these fits your plan, check the current Popo Boost reward list before buying anything.

Choosing a build

• Physical vs magic: Swordsman, Archer and most Scout builds scale with physical attack; Wizard and most Cleric builds scale with magic attack. Keep your stats consistent with your damage type.
• Look at synergy: classes buff specific attribute types, weapon types or skill categories. A build is strongest when all four classes point the same way (for example, all fire magic, or all two-handed sword skills).
• Solo-friendliness: many players want a build that can clear solo content and still bring value in raids. Healers and heavy support builds are always welcome in groups but level more slowly alone.
• Copy, then customise. The class meta shifts with balance patches. Before committing, look at what current top players in your chosen class tree run, then adjust to taste.

Version note: IMC's 9 September 2026 advance notice changed two skills: from the 15 September maintenance, cooldown reduction from items (such as Goddess Treasure) applies to Death Knell and Big Bang. Read the weekly patch notes, since skill numbers change often.

Levelling Path

Stage | What to do

Early levels | Main quest line from Klaipeda; learn your class skills and attributes

Mid levels | Continue the main quest; use daily dungeons and party finder for extra XP

Popo Boost (alternative) | Skip straight to Lv. 540 on one new character per team while the event runs, then work through the checkpoints

Level cap | Move into Goddess equipment, raids and the latest episode content

Popo Boost details (Season 12): the boosted character skips the Episode 1 to 14-2 quests but does not receive their quest rewards or EXP. It can enter Goddess Raids (Hard), such as Brutal Ledania and Silent Forest (Belliora/Laimara), without the usual quest requirements. The Onyx Fang boxes are character-bound and cannot be unbound. Premium checkpoint rewards need a paid Boost Premium Ticket; checkpoint coins also spin the Popo Roulette.

Tips:

• Keep your main quest current; many systems unlock through it.
• Use XP buffs during events and party with others to speed things up.
• Put stat points and attribute points into what your build actually uses.

Endgame: Goddess Equipment

Endgame gear progression revolves around Goddess equipment sets that you inherit upward.

• Lv. 560 "Dawn" Goddess Equipment is the current top tier, added with EP 18-2. The previous tier is the Lv. 540 Onyx Fang set (also what Popo Boost characters receive). Check the in-game inheritance NPC or the EP 18-2 patch notes for the exact enhancement requirement before you spend materials.
• The 8-piece set effect gained a Damage +50% option in the 1-2 September 2026 maintenance, and the option that raised Attack by 20% of the Defense gained through armour enhancement was removed. With Dawn equipped, older sets' armour-to-attack conversion no longer applies.
• Evolution Stone effects carry over on inheritance, but Evolution ATK is reduced to 50% when inherited (this reduction does not apply to the Lv. 540 to Lv. 560 transition).
• Popo Boost Onyx Fang gear is Cannot be Unbound: the 4 September 2026 maintenance closed a loophole that let it move through Team Storage after Succession, and added that note to the tooltips. Don't plan on passing boosted gear to another character.

Raids and content around the Dawn set

• Goddess raids remain the main gear source; the 4 September 2026 notes fixed visual-effect sync in the Wings raids and cut the Goddess: Forest of Silence boss's DEF by 15% and HP by 50%, so it is much more approachable than it was at launch.
• Sanctuary of Resonance - Zaura (EP 18-2) is a five-player raid with challenge levels 1 to 10 based on combat power; higher levels give bigger reward multipliers.

EP 18-2: Light of Deceit

The latest episode (September 2026) added:

• The new episode, Light of Deceit, including a new area, The Last Nest, and the Lv. 560 Dawn equipment set. The 4 September hotfix also added El's Flame Sword to the Equipment Cabinet. Learn the new boss patterns from your party or a video before pick-up groups.
• Resonance Skills: shared PvE-only skills infused with the power of bosses from the Sanctuary of Resonance. Unlock them with Resonance Cores from the Zaura raid, level each to Lv. 5, and register up to three at a time in the Goddess's Memoir window (Alt + F3).
• Resonance Points fill a Resonance Gauge during specific boss patterns in the raid, and the number of key rewards depends on your final achievement rate from 0 to 100%.
• Zaura challenge levels run from 1 to 10 and are gated by gear score; higher levels multiply rewards. Clear a level comfortably before stepping up.
• Popo Boost Season 12 started on 1 September 2026 alongside the episode.
• Follow-up fixes on 4 September 2026 reduced the Goddess: Forest of Silence raid boss's stats (15% less DEF and 50% less HP), removed The Last Nest from Mercenary Post quests, and fixed purchases of the Jurate/Lada Collection Boxes and an ESC-key bug when cancelling auto-matching.

Weekly Maintenance and Server Notes

• Weekly maintenance is announced on the official site and Steam news, usually for Monday night (US) / Tuesday (Asia). Recent notices give three time zones in the order KST, EST, SGT; for example, the 21-22 September 2026 window was 10:00-12:00 KST, 20:00-22:00 EST, and 09:00-11:00 SGT.
• Patch Note Previews go up before weekly maintenance, so you can plan around balance changes before they land.
• Temporary maintenances in September 2026 targeted stability on the Z server (16 and 22-23 September) and NA Zachariel (24-25 September). IMC acknowledged Z-server problems such as missing channel lists at character select, crashes on channel change, and disconnects after solo boss content.
• Compensation for temporary maintenance goes to your mailbox and is removed within a day, so log in and claim it.

Tree of Savior at a Glance

Per Wikipedia and the Steam page:

Fact | Detail

Developer | IMC Games; producer Kim Hakkyu, creator of Ragnarok Online

Steam launch | Early Access 28 March 2016, free-to-play from 28 April 2016

Publishing | IMC Games runs the international (EU, NA, SA, SEA) version; Nexon publishes in Korea, Japan and Thailand

Inspiration | Widely called the spiritual successor to Ragnarok Online, with music by SoundTeMP

Setting | Draws on Lithuanian culture and mythology, which is why names such as Klaipeda, Austeja and Jurate sound Baltic

Class overhaul | The Re:Build updates restructured the rank system and class advancement; older guides written before Re:Build are out of date

Mobile | Tree of Savior M (November 2022) is a separate mobile game

The Steam page advertises more than 200 unique boss monsters, hidden quests, automatic party finding, and in-game ranking statistics for almost everything.

Events and the Cash Shop

• Goddess' Roulette events hand out roulette coins through logins and event quests, with weekly caps; unused coins are deleted at the end of the event, so spend them before the deadline. The summer 2026 "Over the Rainbow" edition ran from 14 July to 25 August 2026, with 5 coins from each of six scheduled login windows and up to 50 from the Rainbow Bridge event, a cap of 10 coins per week (reset Monday 6 AM KST), and the Goddess' Roulette NPC in Klaipeda. Leftover coins were deleted at the 25 August maintenance.
• Leticia's Secret Cube is a recurring monthly gacha-style cube.
• Packages (for example the "Blessing of Dawn" packages in August 2026) sell cosmetics and enhancement materials. None of them are required to play, but check what materials they include before spending, since enhancement materials are the real bottleneck.

Free-to-play advice: Prioritise event rewards and weekly content over cash shop purchases. Most gear progression comes from content, and events regularly give Goddess materials such as Ichors and tokens.

PvP and Guilds

• Team Battle League is the arena PvP mode.
• Guild Wars allow guilds to fight in the field and even in instanced dungeons.
• In September 2026 IMC published a Guide to PvP Damage and Healing Formulas; read it if you plan to take PvP seriously, as PvP uses its own formulas.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Mixing physical and magic classes in one build without a plan.
• Enhancing temporary gear. Save materials for Goddess sets you will inherit upward.
• Ignoring mailbox compensation. Maintenance compensation expires quickly.
• Letting event currency expire. Roulette coins and similar event items are deleted after events.
• Skipping the main quest. It gates systems and is efficient XP.
• Not reading patch notes. Weekly patches regularly change skills, cooldowns and gear options.

Advanced Tips

• Plan inheritance chains. Reaching the enhancement threshold needed to inherit into the next Goddess tier is the key milestone; aim materials there rather than spreading them across gear you will replace.
• Build for the Resonance Skill slots. With three Resonance Skills registered, pick ones that cover your build's weaknesses in PvE.
• Learn new raid patterns before joining pick-up groups; Resonance Points in Zaura come from specific boss patterns, so knowing them raises your reward rate.
• Use the ranking and statistics pages in-game to see what top players in your class are running.
• Keep an alt for events. Popo Boost and class vouchers make extra characters much cheaper to build.

FAQ

Is Tree of Savior still alive in 2026? Yes. The international version gets weekly maintenance and patches, with EP 18-2 released in September 2026.

Is it free to play? Yes, the game is free on Steam, with an optional cash shop.

What is the current level cap? The latest content is built around Lv. 560 (the Dawn Goddess equipment); check the EP 18-2 notes for exact values.

Which class should a new player start with? Pick the base class whose playstyle you enjoy, then look up current builds for that tree. Cleric and Swordsman are forgiving for solo play; Wizard and Archer deal strong damage but need more positioning.

How do I get special classes like Eskrimer, Grimmark or Kneller? Through Special Class Unlock Vouchers. Popo Boost Season 12 gives a Special Class Unlock Voucher Selection Box at its final checkpoint.

Can I Popo Boost more than one character? No. Only one character per team, at Lv. 9 or lower, can join each season, and the choice cannot be changed.

Is there a mobile version? Tree of Savior M (launched November 2022) is a separate mobile game and does not share progress with the PC version.

Why can't I connect or keep getting disconnected? Check the official news page first. In September 2026 IMC ran several temporary maintenances to stabilise the Z server and NA Zachariel, and posted known-issue notices while they worked on it.

Can I move Popo Boost gear to another character? No. The Onyx Fang boxes are character-bound, and a 4 September 2026 fix stopped the gear moving through Team Storage after Succession.

Sources

• Tree of Savior official news
• EP 18-2 Update Preview
• Lv.560 Goddess Equipment (Dawn) Changes
• 2026 Goddess' Roulette Over the Rainbow
• Popo Boost Season 12
• Temporary Maintenance: 4 September 2026 (EP 18-2 fixes)
• Advance Notice: Skill Cooldown Reduction Effect Adjustments
• Official class list
• Steam news for Tree of Savior (maintenance and known-issue notices)
• Steam store page: Tree of Savior (English Ver.)
• Wikipedia: Tree of Savior