Some Maple questions

My brother and I are home for the holidays for 2 weeks, and we wanted to play maplestory. I have not played for over a year, and he hasn't played for.....at least 4 years. We have decided to be casuals and start from scratch together on a small server to play while were on holiday. So we have some questions!

What classes are considered Garbage, Underpowered, Adequate, Strong, and Overpowered? (Garbage being worst possible and Overpowered being absurdly broken).

What server has the smallest population?

What is the game like at the moment? Issues, attractions, etc.

We want to level together, is this efficient?

Any leveling up tips as far as places to go, things to avoid, quests to do? Should we even quest at all? Also are PQ's still good, or is it just more efficient to grind?

Basically, we just need to be updated on the game so we will know what were looking at when we log in. If anyone wants to play with us we will be starting fresh lvl 1's on whatever server is suggested.

I appreciate the help, thank you.

What classes are considered Garbage, Underpowered, Adequate, Strong, and Overpowered? (Garbage being worst possible and Overpowered being absurdly broken).

re: this
play whatever the hell you want
everyone who doesn't have high potential is underpowered

Classes get "rebalanced" every couple months, anyway.
At the lower levels (up until ~80-90, I'd say), you're going to be easily 1-2 hitting whatever you train on (except jesters), even with the clean gear the game is currently giving out every 5-10 levels. So just play whatever's fun.
At 4th job, though, you're going to have to start putting money into the game, or a lot of time merching, if you want to be training and bossing where everyone else is.

Do people even quest anymore? I used to love playing Maplestory for the min/maxing aspect of it, but with the massive amounts of hacker items on the market is it even worth trying?

Class strength is very much based on funding, but if I had to categorize, the upcoming Mercedes and Demon Slayer classes are definitely overpowered. Like SaptaZapta said, there's been a trend of rebalancing every few months so don't count too much on current class rankings.

Smallest server: my best guess would be Demethos or Yellonde.

Issues with the game are the same as ever. Rampant account hacking, hacked/duped equips, lots of bugs in game that never get fixed (like HT which has been bugged for over a year)... you get the point.

Partying doesn't do so much for your experience unless you're doing Monster Park or training at LHC(110+), which give extra EXP bonuses for each party member you have. As long as you're not fighting over spawn and both killing efficiently it shouldn't decrease your training speed though.

Quests below 30 have been reorganized such that they give reasonable EXP, so you can try following the main quest line if you don't want to grind. Above 30, quests are still as worthless as ever with the exception of some money quests like the GFA quest from NLC which haven't changed at all. But overall, quests are still a waste of time.
PQ's are great, as long as you can find people. Don't expect to be able to find full parties in smaller servers. You can only do each PQ 10 times a day, but it gives great experience as long as you party with people near your level range (e.g. not level 2x partying with 5x).

I'm on Broa, which isn't really a small server so I guess I can't help you there. Good luck~

Smallest servers are probably Yellonde, Demethos, Arcania, Zenith, and Nova.
Those are COMPLETELY dead however. Galicia is a small server but isn't dead. We're intermediate between dead and crowded, probably one of the only if not the only that is.

Do people even quest anymore?

Not to be rude, but what kind of question is this?

Galicia is a small server but isn't dead. We're intermediate between dead and crowded, probably one of the only if not the only that is.

Bellocan did it first.

Bellocan did it first.

Yes, but they've gotten bigger since they got the rep for being the perfect size.
It's a balance, you can't get too desirable otherwise you ruin it all.

Yes, but they've gotten bigger since they got the rep for being the perfect size.
It's a balance, you can't get too desirable otherwise you ruin it all.

Still, Bellocan is basically at the perfect server size.

Still, Bellocan is basically at the perfect server size.

Bellocan is ugly. Has way more hackers than what I've seen in Gali. Good or bad, you decide.

Party quests are a great way to level. At least it offers a decent alternative to grinding.

And if you want any OP class, pick any of the 3 Legend classes, if you don't, pick a pirate or thief.

Lvling together when grinding at common mobs its not efficient, but Monster Park or pqs are always good.

Good luck!

Bellocan is ugly.

What is this even supposed to mean?

Has way more hackers than what I've seen in Gali. Good or bad, you decide.

You must not be looking very well then. Bellocan doesn't have a lot of hackers, about as much or less than Galicia.