Link Skills Explained

A link skill is a passive ability that a class can "link" to another character on the same account. You make a second character (a mule), level it to a certain point, and the bonus then applies to whatever main you actually play. The mule never has to be touched again. On Zipangu, this is handled account-wide, so the moment your main logs in, the server checks every character on your account and applies the strongest link skills it finds.

Most link skills get stronger at level milestones rather than ramping continuously. For the typical Explorer-era and Heroes-era classes, the link tiers upgrade around level 70 and level 120, while Cygnus Knights upgrade at level 30, 60, and 120. You don't need to grind a mule to max level, you just need to clear the next breakpoint.

Zipangu runs low, fair rates (2x EXP, 1x Meso, 1x Drop), so every percentage point of extra power or experience genuinely shifts your progression. Link skills are a permanent, free upgrade that stacks on top of your gear and buffs, which makes them some of the best value-per-hour you can spend as a new account.

Because Zipangu is strictly no pay-to-win with a player-driven meso economy, link skills are also one of the few "power-ups" that everyone has equal access to. There's no shortcut, just a little planning. Set your account up right early, and you'll out-scale a player who skipped them entirely.

Not every link is equal. Here's a practical priority order for the classes Zipangu supports, focused on what actually moves the needle for a fresh main.

• ▸EXP links first (fastest leveling): Mercedes and Aran both give a meaningful experience bonus that improves at their milestones. Stacking these two early is the classic "level my main faster" combo.
• ▸Damage and boss links: Demon Slayer (Fury Unleashed) boosts boss damage, and Phantom (Phantom Instinct) adds a critical-rate flavored bonus, both excellent once you're hitting Zakum and Horntail.
• ▸Survivability and offense: Cannoneer (Pirate Blessing) grants a clean all-around stat boost that helps any class survive early grind maps.
• ▸Utility and scaling: Luminous contributes ignore-enemy-defense scaling that becomes more valuable the harder the boss, and Cygnus Knights provide a flat attack/magic-attack bump that's easy to unlock thanks to their fast early milestones.

A sensible plan for a brand-new Zipangu account looks like this. Each step is a self-contained mini-goal, so you can stop and play your main whenever you like.

Don't feel obligated to do all of them at once. Even one or two EXP links early will noticeably speed up your main's journey to Zakum range.

• ▸1st: Roll a Mercedes mule and push it to its first EXP milestone, this is the single best leveling head start.
• ▸2nd: Roll an Aran mule and hit its milestone to stack a second EXP bonus on top.
• ▸3rd: Once you're approaching bossing, add a Demon Slayer mule for boss damage.
• ▸4th: Add Phantom and/or Cannoneer for crit and all-around stats, then chase the level-120 tiers on your favorites when you have time.

Activation is automatic, but here's the exact flow so nothing trips you up. Link skills are evaluated when a character logs in, so the order matters.

If you level a mule past a new breakpoint while your main is already online, just hop to character select and log your main back in. Zipangu re-scans the account on login and applies the upgraded tier.

• ▸Create your mule on the same account as your main (this is the part people forget, links are account-bound, not server-wide).
• ▸Level the mule to the next milestone (around Lv.70 or Lv.120 for most classes; Lv.30/60/120 for Cygnus Knights).
• ▸Log out of the mule and log into your main, the bonus is applied during login.
• ▸Check your stats, an active EXP or stat link will be reflected in your effective numbers in-game.

A few setup errors will quietly cost you the bonus you worked for. Watch out for these.

• ▸Wrong account: a mule on a different account does nothing. Same account, always.
• ▸Skipping the milestone: if your mule is sitting one level short of a tier, you're getting the lower bonus, push it over the line.
• ▸Forgetting to re-log: the upgrade applies on your main's next login, not retroactively mid-session.
• ▸Over-investing too early: you don't need every link before you start playing. Get one or two EXP links, then enjoy the game and add more as you go.

Link skills are exactly the kind of long-term, skill-based progression Zipangu is built around: free, fair, and account-wide, with no pay-to-win shortcuts. Set up a couple of EXP mules, push them to their first milestones, and watch your main climb toward Kerning PQ, LPQ, Zakum, Horntail, and the Black Mage storyline that much faster.

Download and play free on Zipangu, then jump into our Discord to ask the community which link skills they ran first and trade mule-leveling tips.