Look no further, I've compiled a thorough list with all the options available to get the best out of Sura and boost it to new heights of a few millions of damage.
First, we'll look at each equipment slot and the options available to boost your Sura's Asura damage to the max. I'll seperate it into high, mid and beginner choices each - so there's something for all of you out there, be it veterans on the server you're playing or new players!
This will also depend on what's available on the server you're playing as not all headgears are available on every server. In that case, just look for the next best one on the list!
(c) Picture titled "Ragnarok Online - Sura" by jaggudada
STATS
An optimal stat build for Asura consists of a mix of high STR/INT for boosting its damage and DEX to increase its cast time.
In my opinion, going over 120 in any base stat is a point of stat points that could be distributed more wisely and therefore I don't recommend going over 120 in any stats - ever. You can find a healthy mix of stats yourself, especially a DEX amount that feels comfortable for you, but I personally run bases of 120 STR, DEX and INT with little points in AGI and VIT. Especially STR since a lot of mentioned gear will scale with having a base of STR.
UPPER HEADGEAR
High-end/end-game choice: +9 or higher Turkey On Your Head [1] + Carat Card
Why? This headgear gives a 1% HP/SP boost per refine level and coupled with a Carat Card is an uncontested contender for the strongest damage boost available to Sura.
NOTE: If your headgear isn't +9, you should use an Incubus Card for the time being.
Next best choice: +9 Dress Hat + Carat Card
Not much to say about this one, it's very good and the bonus you can unlock at +7 from the dress hat and additionally at +9 via the Carat Card makes it the next best choice as an upper headgear and is available on most, if not all servers out there.
Beginner choice: Morpheus Hood / Any slt. headgear with Incubus Card
If you're just starting out, find a slt. headgear that's easy to obtain like a Ribbon [1] and slot an Incubus Card into it for a the damage boost. You'll already start to feel a significant difference in your Asura damage! You can alternatively get a Morpheus Hood and alternatively the entire set as a great gear foundation for starter Asura damage.
MIDDLE HEADGEAR
Best choice: Cyclops Glasses + Incubus Card
This one could be replaced by any other slt. midgear or if it's available on your server Black Framed Glasses [1] for the INT bonus, but on the server I play on, Cyclops Glasses give +50 SP which adds up greatly for Asura and makes these unbeatable for dishing out the strongest Asura possible.
LOWER HEADGEAR
Best choice: Gangster Scarf / Pirate Dagger
Basically, any lower headgear that gives +5 ATK such as the ones listed above is the best thing you can get your hands on for this equipment slot.
ARMOR
High-end/end-game choice: Hero Judgment Shawl [1] + Mangkukulam Card
This is hands down an insane gear combo for the armor slot. The Hero Judgment Shawl gives 5% SP as well as +10 ATK which will outclass our old friend Diabolus Robe (150 SP bonus, 3% ATK in combo with Diabolus Ring) in combination with all the other SP bonuses as we'll reach over 3000 SP with all our gear/finished build. It also adds damage to our Dragon Combo which means we'll get an additional damage boost if we use our Dragon Combo > Fallen Empire > Asura Combo to pull off an Asura. Mangkukulam Card gives +10% SP overall to us and therefore outclasses Porcellio Card with its mere +25 ATK.
Next best choice: Diabolus Robe + Mangkukulam Card
The next best thing we can obtain, the Diabolus Robe gives a nice boost of 150 SP and a 3% ATK bonus if we use it in conjunction with a Diabolus Ring. This will be a great foundation for our damage and the armor itself can also be stat enchanted for 3 extra STR or INT. Mangkukulam Card again because +10% SP beats our old friend Porcellio Card by all margins and is a welcome addition to the repertoire of any Asura lover.
Beginner choice: Orlean's Gown + Porcellio Card
A great starter choice as the Orlean's Gown is easily obtainable in Cursed Abbey and the Porcellio Card can be obtained via leveling up your character as they're Level 85 and pretty easy to kill.
GARMENT
High-end/end-game choice: Fallen Angel Wing [1] + Aliot Card (+250 SP Enchant)
Getting 1% ATK per every 20 STR will amount to +6% ATK for us with 120 STR and this beats the SP we'd get from a Nidhoggur's Shadow Garb, even on high refine levels of it. The Aliot Card further amplifies our already big SP pool and adds up nicely with the rest of our gear. The Giant Whisper Card with its mere +20 ATK will be outformed by how much scaling SP gear we're running.
Next best choice: Nidhoggur's Shadow Garb + Aliot Card
You can obtain this item from doing the Nidhoggur's Nest instance and it was the best garment for Asura damage for a long time. It's still pretty great and if you manage to get a hold of one with high refine levels (the SP boost you get increases every 2 levels from this item). Aliot Card remains the best Garment card.
Beginner choice: Morpheus' Shawl
The Morpheus set is a great choice for beginner Suras who want to deal a good chunk of damage with Asura as it's usually pretty cheap and accessible as the parts are from Abyss Lake 3 mini-boss Hydro as well as the boss Detale itself.
SHOES
High-end/end-game choice: Enhanced Variant Shoes [1] + Sohee Card
Gravity has graced us with an improved version of our long-loved Variant Shoes. I don't think this is a coincidence and just another reason why Asura is still an amazing skill - especially for MVP hunting. These bad boys only give us 12% HP/SP but come with a slot, which more than makes up for their lack of 8% HP/SP of the shoes itself. The Sohee Card compliments this nicely and you'll get a whooping +32% SP just from shoes alone. Another added and nice bonus is that we can actually refine these shoes without losing any benefits, a little bit of extra DEF/MDEF always helps.
Next best choice: Variant Shoes
The good ol' reliable. You can never go wrong with these shoes and they still outclass anything you can get in the game except for the aforementioned "bigger brother". Beelzebub is also now significantly easier to kill and these shoes should generally be pretty easy to obtainable.
Beginner choice: Vidar's Boots / Any slt. shoes + Sohee Card
Vidar's Boots are always nice and shouldn't cost much on the market at all. Alternatively, you can find any kind of slt. shoes and get a Sohee into them to make yourself a pair of Pseudo-Variant Shoes
WEAPON
High-end/end-game choices: High-refined Quadrille [2] + 2x Abysmal Knight Card
This is definitely the best weapon for boosting Asura damage as it's a Level 4 weapon, which means that it gets way higher ATK bonuses on each refine than a Lv 3 weapon (Carga Mace, the next best choice). It's way harder to obtain than Carga Mace but well worth the effort as its damage is uncontested and not many Sura players opt for this item due to laziness or don't even know about it being a Level 4 weapon - which means you'll outMVP them with ease. The 2x Abysmal Knight Card is the best option for a damage boost vs. MVPs.
Next best choice: High-refined Carga Mace [2] + 2x Abysmal Knight Card
This weapon is definitely great. It's easy to obtain since it drops from Anolians can therefore be obtainable in very high refine levels. The 2x Abysmal Knight Card is the best option for a damage boost vs. MVPs.
Beginner choice:
Lunakaligo [3] +3x Abysmal Knight Card
Lich's Bone Wand [2] + 2x Abysmal Knight Card
Stunner
Entry-level weapons from the Pre-Renewal era that are still decent damage options and are usually found plentiful by people who level in areas such as Manuk Fields or Cursed Abbey. The LBW gives an additional bonus at +9 but is not worth putting the effort towards as Carga Mace or Quadrille should be your goal. Don't waste too many resources on these weapons.
If you're really scraping at the bottom of your zeny funds, you can get a Stunner and easily oneshot a few minibosses or mobs such as Abysmal Knights.
SHIELD
High-end/end-game choices: Valkyrie Shield [1] / Immune Shield [1] + Any card that increases damage vs. an element of monster depending on what you're killing.
Next best choice: Stone Buckler [1]
The shield part of your gear is not mainly about resists as the majority believes, but about increasing your damage further whilst getting a tad bit of resistance on top of it. The reason for this are the underrated and neglected cards that add damage to a certain element of monsters which you can find listed right here.
Namely, Aqua Elemental Card (vs. Water MVPs), Centipede Card (vs. Poison MVPs), Cornus Card (vs. Holy MVPs), Dark Shadow Card (vs. Shadow MVPs) Draco Card (vs. Earth MVPs), Luciola Vespa (vs. Wind MVPs) & Tatacho Card (vs. Neutral MVPs).
These all will add a 5% damage boost to a certain element for your Asura and can amount to 100.000s of extra damage with a fully buffed Asura as it can deal damage up in the million range.
ACCESSORIES
High-end/end-game choices: Str Glove [1] + Phen Card & Glove of Shura [0]
Why? Phen Card is needed to make our Asura uninterruptable. There's nothing more devastating than getting your Asura cancelled by quick MVPs and losing the MVP because of it against other players. It gives ATK as well as HP and with our high base STR it will be boosting our Asura damage immensely.
For the 2nd accessory slot, Glove of Shura is the best option because it gives the highest amount of raw stats/damage boost for Asura out of any accessories available and since we don't need another card slot/there's no more efficient cards we could slot, this is our best option.
Next best choice: Diabolus Ring [1] + Phen Card & Diabolus Ring [1] + Gold Scaraba Card
Phen Card because of the same reason as before. Diabolus Ring is a simply more accessible and more easily obtainable choice that still works greatly, especially if you get the 3% ATK bonus from combining it with Diabolus Robe. We use another D. Ring for its bonus to SP and slot it with a Gold Scaraba Card for the +20 ATK.
Beginner choice: Morpheus' Bracelet & Morpheus' Ring
As mentioned before in the headgear & garment slot, this set is great for people starting out with an Asura build and actually gives you the benefit of having uninterruptable cast without wearing a Phen Card, which makes this a perfect budget set.
