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Hello again Maplers!

There is a steady buzz of activity echoing through the halls here at Nexon as we prepare for what may be our busiest summer ever. As Chaos gets underway, were in the process of preparing new clients, writing long update notes, and finalizing big events. One of our biggest projects at the moment is implementing the upcoming class rebalance in Age of Heroes (the first stage of the Chaos update) and planning even more changes as part of our long term strategy for MapleStory. Making changes to skills and class balance is always complicated. We certainly know how passionately you feel about it, so I thought this would be a good time to talk a bit about the reasoning behind some of the changes youre about to see.

Isolated Class Design

For many years we didnt have to worry about class balance. Since MapleStory had no real competitive elements and hunting space was plentiful, we were able to practice isolated class design: we only needed to consider how the different classes skills would relate to each other and what might attract players to each one. We had the luxury to make each class unique and experiment with different kinds of leveling experiences.

If, for example, one class is weak at low levels but extremely powerful at high levels, that class is attractive to players who want to invest a lot of time and resources into one character for a large return. Alternately, players who want to level quickly and try out different classes could avoid that class. That worked well for MapleStory because the games lack of structure didnt require classes to be comparable to each other, but rather only fun as an individual experience. Over time though, MMOs have changed, the community has changed, and MapleStory has had to change with it.

Adding Classes
As we added more content to Maple World, we began to notice changes in the way players chose classes. Strong preferences began to emerge for particular jobs while others became almost abandoned. We started to see more and more discussion in the community about which job was best for bossing, or which did the most damage-per-minute/second. As other MMOs changed the landscape, what players wanted out of their classes followed suit.

At first we were hesitant to make any changes to the Explorer classes, and instead attempted to fulfill the communitys needs by creating more classes. We tried classes with narrow focuses (Cygnus Knights), classes with action mechanics (Aran), and classes that went through job advancements in a different way (Evan). We even tried adding new jobs to existing classes (Dual Blade). While these new classes certainly brought more variety to the game, they also brought their own problems. Players of classic classes felt left behind while those that embraced the new classes felt that most of the game was not designed with them in mind.

Rethinking Classes

By the beginning of 2010 it was clear that we were going to have to make some serious changes. Big Bang was on the horizon and the addition of PvP was becoming more likely. Big Bang would change the leveling curve significantly and seemed like the perfect time to bring some unity to the classes so we did! The Big Bang class rebalance was a great start, but in truth you just cant balance classes on paper. Players will always find ways to surprise you and use skills in ways you havent thought of, and as soon as Big Bang was released in Korea, we knew that more class changes were imminent.

Indeed, in the run up to our Big Bang release there was serious discussion about whether we should hold back the Resistance classes until they were rebalanced. It was painfully obvious that the Resistance classes (especially the Mechanic) were overpowered. Ultimately we decided that waiting for the rebalance delaying their release for six months would not be worth it. The Resistance classes were too much fun and we really wanted Global players to have the chance to play them as soon as possible.

An Ongoing Job

With class balance becoming more and more important, as demonstrated by the release of PvP in Korean MapleStory, our decision to release the Resistance classes with Big Bang turned out be a good idea. We now have months of user data over and above what was available from Korea. As we continue to make changes, studying how real players use these rebalanced classes will remain invaluable.

With Chaos we are beginning another round of changes that will continue throughout 2011. With the release of Age of Heroes, we will significantly adjust Aran, Evan, and Dual Blades. Resistance and Cygnus classes will also undergo changes, with Bowmen, Magicians and Warriors following later this year. We hope that after these overhauls most classes wont see major changes for some time, but of course that cannot be set in stone. As MapleStory continues to move forward, the long-term health of the game and the continuing viability of every class have to take precedence over the disadvantages of short-term disruption.

For now, I hope you enjoy the return of the revamped Hero and Dual Blade classes later this week. I also hope that Mechanics everywhere eventually forgive us.

Until next time Maplers,

Eurydice

The MapleStory Team

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What are you waiting for? Start the game now![/URL]

Eurydice Wrote:With Chaos we are beginning another round of changes that will continue throughout 2011. With the release of Age of Heroes, we will significantly adjust Aran, Evan, and Dual Blades. Resistance and Cygnus classes will also undergo changes, with Bowmen, Magicians and Warriors following later this year. We hope that after these overhauls most classes wont see major changes for some time, but of course that cannot be set in stone.

Panacea Wrote:Sorry thieves, pirates.

Panacea Wrote:Sorry thieves, pirates.

CrazyForDex Wrote:This was my first thought. Lol, I find these blogs entertaining, but it seems thieves and pirates may be getting screwed over :/

maplefreak26 Wrote:YES! ANOTHER DEV BLOG!

Jump coming later his year. (unless it got uber delayed)

kremechoko Wrote:lol

Panacea Wrote:Okay, back up a second.

Before you go assuming things, no where was I implying that I expected there to be a Jump! update for thieves or pirates. That, however, does not mean there would not be a revamp for the classes following shortly thereafter.

So please, think before you post.

kremechoko Wrote:Why are you guys acting like this is new? It's obvious Jump! doesn't contain Thieves or Pirate buff/balance patches. Do you expect GMS to do it themselves? lol

It's clear the (if there is) balance patches for Thieves and Pirates wont be coming this summer in Korea, but. If it's any later than that, you can't expect it to be here in GMS at 2011.

kremechoko Wrote:Then your comment was completely unnecessary as it was pointing out the obvious.

Alilatias Wrote:"For now, I hope you enjoy the return of the revamped Hero and Dual Blade classes later this week. I also hope that Mechanics everywhere eventually forgive us."

Hahahaha.

Dev blogs like this make me think that someone out there is paying attention, at least.

Retalion Wrote:When I read this post/blog, I get the impression that they actually had to think about these things instead of copying and pasting skills/classes from KMS. Has anything actually changed for us in comparison to KMS in terms of these class buffs/debuffs?

CrazyForDex Wrote:That wasn't what I meant. I know JUMP does not contain Thieves/Pirates and no I don't expect GMS to do it alone. I just found it funny that in the Dev Blog they didn't even mention Thieves/Pirates while they mentioned everyone else.

Nexon Wrote:I also hope that Mechanics everywhere eventually forgive us.