[Pre-BB] MapleStory Formula Compilation

Fairly sure it has SOME sort of protection or else that would have been done long ago.

If it can run, it can be disassembled. That is, put in assembly language instead of machine code. You can't "decompile" it back into C or whatever.

Furthermore, if it has been stripped of its symbol table (something normally done for release versions of proprietary software), the disassemled program would be very hard to figure out. Variables and subroutines would only have addresses, not names, so finding the code-block that deals with magic attack damage would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

It can be done, if you've got your "metal detector".

One can use an assembly-level debugger to map out which instructions are carried out between the user pressing the (e.g.) "Magic Claw" button and numbers appearing above the monster.
One can do the same for other magical attacks, and for physical attacks, and thus find the code segment(s) that are common to all magical attacks and only magical attacks.
And then try to (manually) decompile this specific code path.

Also, I believe Fiel posted a while back that Nexon actually have the unstripped client (with debug info, at that) in a publically accessible location. That would make things much much easier.