My guide from hero online lvl 1-40 : General Discussion

To Start with I suggest having the Demon Restrain weapon. It is not required but is very helpful. Ok so you've started a new character. Great. If you have the demon restrain weapon pull it out of the bank and equip it now. Bank is located directly across from the Escort Warrior. If not then just head out the west side of the castle. Start by assigning all your first points to STR. If you have the Demon Restrain weapon then skip Step 1. If you are a rod/spear user, you will be using spears and if you are a blade/sword user you will be using blades.
Step 1
Start by killing lvl 1 wolf pups. They go down easy and drop things you might need/want to sell. After a few of these you should lvl up. here's your first decision. I chose the 3/0/1 stat point distribution. You can go 2/1/1 or 2/0/2 if you like but I found 3/0/1 goes a bit quicker. The reason I suggest 3/0/1 is because you will need 30 int at lvl 25 so you can either start early or just pump a few lvls into int later on. for the next 2 lvls just kill lvl 2-3 wolf pups.

Step 2
If you have a higher character already then you should already have equipment for your new character. if not then you should have some that the wolf pups dropped anyway. Now you will be fighting Boars. You can skip the lvl 3 boars and just go for the lvl 4-5. Also you can try the bandits. People with the demon restrain weapons can start this at lvl 1. After killing some boars/bandits you should be level 5 or 6. Again when assigning points it is important that you are giving yourself mostly str and some int. Dex isn't really required. at this point you should already have armor equiped. Head to DC and sell any unneeded items/weapons. DO NOT sell any minor healing teas unless you have or can afford better

Step 3
So you're lvl 5. Leave DC through the north west exit and head east along the pat. kill a few boars if you wish. no big deal either way. Once you hit the mountains and can go no further west, go north. don't bother with the boars along the trail unless you want to. go past the first bandits as well. Head for the Thieves and wolves as well as the lvl 6 bandits. Fight these until you are around level 8. Assign most stat points to str. again int is optional at this point.

Step 4
Alright you're lvl 8. if you haven't already, make a trip to DC and sell any useless junk. if you don't have any by now you might want to think about buying a few charm of returns. not needed but very helpful. Head to the highlands and bypass all the first mobs or just kill them on the way. At the turn in the path you will encounter lvl 10 great black wolves as well as lvl 8-9 black wolves. killing these are optional. After you get past those follow the pat and you will encounter wild apes. fight these until you are lvl 10. If you haven't guessed already the leveling will start to slow down due to your lack of accuracy. but thats fine because you will lvl much faster at lvl 25. DO NOT buy your lvl 10 skill book I say this because you will need your skill points for you lvl 25 book. having enough is imperative. even selecting a job at this point is optional.

Step 5
Alright so you're lvl 10. If you have your demon restrain weapon then sell any weapon you get. your weapon is better. if not, be on the look out for your next weapon. You have to start being more careful because now if you die then you lose exp. If you decided to choose a job then don't use skill points on the class skills. if you are going to then I suggest using a minimal amount. The MOST I can say is around 6-7. ok time to get back to grinding. you've killed a horde of apes. now its time to move on. if you have one, use your charm of return and just follow the path straight out. if not then, well just keep following the path. its the same either way but if you use a return charm, you can sell all your junk. ok so now you're on to mighty apes and bears. Things get a bit harder so now is the time that you will start using your healing teas. aren't you glad you didn't sell them? Make sure to level to about 13 on these. Again use most of your points on STR.

Step 6
Well you've hit 13 so thats good. Next move on to the lvl 15 rouges and lvl 17 renegades. You will be here for quite a while. you will fight these till about 16 then you can start fighting the lvl 18-19 renegades until about 18.

Step 7
These next two lvls will take a while no matter what you fight. if you feel up to it then go try and kill a red illusion spearmen or two. If you have good armor/weapon then you should be fine. if not then go back to Highlands and kill some more renegades. Either way is fine. Just be sure to fight where you can kill with the least amount of down time. Keep fighting until you reach 20.

Step 8
Ok so you're finally lvl 20. Almost there. If you have a horse then mount it. if not you might wanna think about getting one. you can get one right outside the north exit of DC and it costs 100,000gold. If you're new that might sound like a lot but by now you should have a lot more than that. Also stock up on some horse food. Oats are cheapest and should be all you need. now at lvl 20 on your mount kill some red illusion spearmen and archers. Do this for a lvl or two. not only to lvl yourself but also your mount. On a side note Mounts gain exp every 3 minutes based on how many hits you land in those 3 minutes. so be patient.

Step 9
You should be lvl 22. Your horse should be around 22-24. Now you are going to kill some toads. Do this all the way to 25. if you have the demon restrain weapon and a fairly high lvl horse then you can try your luck at spiders. Toads will be faster though. unless you can kill spiders just as fast which is doubtful but possible.

Step 10
Level 25. Awesome. Go to DC. Grab your lvl 25 skill book from the NPC. Seto I think his name is. if you followed my information earlier in the guide you should have at least 30 int. as well as a bunch of skill points. Use your skill points to get your book to at least lvl 5. Hopefully you will have some left over. if not don't worry about it. Now at lvl 25 you will not need your horse anymore. put it in the bank or keep it equipped for emergencies. go back to VS and pick up some items that restore CHI. Spice herbs are cheapest so buy a bunch. you want to spend as much time fighting and as little time buying as possible. Go south in VS to the spiders and start spamming your skills. You will also notice you have an area skill. most often refered to as AoE (area of effect). that will be your most useful skill. now heres where having a lot of str comes in. your skills will be very strong. Kill spiders until around lvl 28 then go to the area near the Mad Physician in the south. You will see a large skull and what looks like giant rib bones. at this points start putting stat points into int. follow the path and you will encounter a cave. This is called the cave of ruin. Go into the cave and once the path forks go left. follow the path turn right when you have to and just after that you should be able to turn left. If you waited till 29 thats even better as you will have a current weapon for the area. Even if you have the demon restrain weapon get the lvl 29 weapon as it is better. if you don't have it kill bats till you find the weapon. Hopefully it will have aditinal skill damage. Once you enter that turn you will be treated to a bunch of Red Illusion Rouges. They should be fairly easy with your skills. Kill here as long as you like. Recommended is around 32.

Step 11
ok now you're 32. You should now have a high str and a good int. if you str isn't at least 70 put more into str. Now its off to Spirit Spire. Kill anywhere in here except for the area with horror knights. those are up a hill on the north west. Those will be a little later. If you want you can go to the beach which is on the east side through a cave. Go north from the tavern and follow the path west and you will see a small opening the the rock face. go through and there you are. Fight here until about 34-35. Now you can start putting stat points into Dex. then head out of the beach and up the path to the horror knights. Make sure to keep an eye on your health here as they are heavy hitters. But the plus side is they give 5k+ exp for each horror knight and the other mobs there aren't bad either. Watch out for the Cryptic Monk This nasty creature can kill you in 1 hit with his skill. Two if you are lucky. Stay clear of him. Everything else is fair game. Kill here until about 37. Then move on to Southern Plains.

Step 12
The LAST stretch. Also you can, if you haven't already, start putting points toward DEX. From here follow the east coast all the way north. You will come to a corner in the mountains. It will be marked by dark green grass followed by spots of green grass. The dark green is you're safe spot. After you kill you can go there to meditate. Kill Black Ninjas and Cruel Swordsman. Steer clear of blind swordsman as best you can. if you do happen to attract his attention, run towards the portal to SS you passed. go past the dock man like you are going to run into the water. anything following you will leave once you get past him. Fight the Cruel Swordsman and Black Ninjas until 40. Happy Leveling.