MapleStory Evolution Discussion

To discuss your reactions to the specifics of the latest game overhaul in KMST patches 1.318 and 1.319, refer to this thread. This thread is to discuss the overall changes to the game since it's onset.

As Global MapleStory passes it's half-decade anniversary, it's important, much like any notable passage of time, to reflect upon the past in order to best understand and prepare for the future ahead. With the release of the phenomenally game-redesigning KMST patches 1.318 and 1.319 this week, it's easy to fall into a state of confusion and panic, unable to fully comprehend the game as we know it. Therefore, the purpose of this thread is to instigate discussion amongst our members (and hopefully get some lurkers/guests to contribute!) about the overall picture of Global MapleStory - not just the few months that lie ahead, but the timeline of events, memories, and changes we've experienced since beta.

So with that said, I invite you to enjoy the nostalgia while critically discussion the evolution of GMS. Have fun!

Some questions to consider during the discussion:

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory? Late 2004(Beta) to 2006
Why did you choose that time period? The community was actually good, people were doing quests, people were exploring and it wasn't all about damage
What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta? New areas to explore
What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta? Everything Else
What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy. Exploration, Goals, etc
In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget? idk

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1. That's a pretty hard question for me. I could pick out so many points and I've been playing since the late end of beta. I guess my main turning point would be Spring 2007.

2. I was about lvl 44 at the time in competition with one of my friends at school so pretty much it was my first major set of grinding I taken place in.(I was on and off maple the past couple years)Around the time that KFT came out I had this random guild request from a guild called SacredHeros. I've been in several failure guilds before then so I didn't think anything major at first. The guild just kept getting more and more interesting though and I learned the value of a true community. I was a solo trainer for so long I didn't know what a good group of people can do for your motivation.

3. New areas, more features such as Maker, Monster Cards, progression of jobs (Seeing the birth of 3rd and 4th)

4.The managment of a couple things. I'm not the type who can go for or anti-nexon but I would've loved some more communication when there was a problem afoot.

5. Goals and attaining power in-game and quest whoring(I can't stop that for anything)

6. Almost every moment with my guild through holidays, gpqs, ect ect. Hitting 3rd job and thinking it was something major. Hitting 4th job and knowing it was something major. The feeling of exploration was also something always important to me as well.

Over the years, Maplestory has two different parts: One going up, the other down.

Game balance, friendliness to new players, ease of leveling, et cetera have been on the rise. This is a good thing. Maple Island use to be the same size as Victorian Cities. Now it's a nice tutorial. Getting to level 100 use to be hard. Now it's not. In kMST, it's even easier. These are good things. I want more of this. Making the game "easy mode" might bug people who got far before significant patches, but until you can breeze through the game in a month or so, it's not too much.

Then there's Nexon. Constant glitches, security leaks, just all around idiocy (bannings, failure to make balanced content, etc). Their custom or support is horrible, and I have seen no improvement over the years. They might have their moments, but consistency is what I want to see in a company running a good game. Consistently doing well.
And then there's NX Cash. Over the years it's creeped in to take more and more of the game. NX is now insta-EasyMode. I realize they need a form of income, but making the game live around NX is not a good design. MTS relieves this issue a bit, but they pineappleed that up too. The taxes on transactions there make living off of NX via ingame means more work than it's worth.

If they would stop with the NX-centered game designs, reduce the bullpomegranate spam from Smegas and this PedosRUs crap they just released, and work on customer support, MapleStory could be a half decent game.


Didn't follow your template, but I think I got my points across and within the thread's initial parameters.

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1. I enjoyed MS the most probably when Arans were first released here. I started playing Bera when the server was launched, and I had some fun. But when arans came out they were the first class that had such a graceful and fun playstyle. They took fun to a new level on MS for me.
2. Because that is when arans were released
3. I like that they're spreading Crit talents to more classes. I like that new classes are being released. I like that leveling has become more fun and bearable.
4. I dislike the new scrolling systems in KMS. The potenial system and stuff. In my opinion it took the game over the top. Whether or not the new system caused the 2.0 revamp is up for debate, but I hope the 2.0 revamp brings all the classes closer on DPS and make it fun to play some classes again.
5. 2x Experence cards. I don't use video games to socialize, so I only play MS to see big numbers, kill stuff, and level up. Anything that makes either of those processes faster keeps me interested.
and

6. I will always have a long-lasting, deep-seated, burning hatred for all Asians (all types of asians, jap, viet, korean, chinese,etc) under the age of 20. RAGE

1.What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?

Mid-late 2007. That was the timeframe when I started playing MS, although I was introduced to the game during beta. I was just brought back into the game by my little cousins.

(To understand my situation, I first played MS in Beta as a (horribly built) Mage for one hour, before my control freaks of a family decided to uninstall the game. Then my cousins started playing in 2007, and they let me play on their computer. Later, I got a hand-me-down craptop from my brother and proceeded to install MS on it. (Said craptop that I still use is at least 6 years old.)

About one week after 4th job was introduced, my craptop got a virus, and my control freaks of a family freaked out and wouldn't let me reinstall MS, thinking that MS was the cause. Two years later, they actually still won't let me do that - I just grew the courage to do it secretly and return to Maple during December 09. Unfortunately, my cousins had quit Maple about a year earlier, so this time around, I was kinda alone. So I decided to ditch everything I had done in Scania and have a fresh start in Windia.)

[SPOILER=Random personal crap that you guys probably don't need to know]However, during my two year absence from the game, I was still fairly active within the MS community. I witnessed the birth of SouthPerry when I noticed the strange absence of Temple of Time data (and all of Fiel's earlier extractions) at SleepyWood, but didn't join SP then.

I actually idolized IAngeliaL, who used to post a bunch of videos of her (now) Level 200 Bowmaster in MSEA. In mid October 08, her guild got into a huge fight with several other guilds in her server, in which she posted a link to this flamewar of a thread within AsiaSoft forums in her blog. I got curious, signed up on the forums, and somehow ran into the Prediction thread crew (DeanNim, Hanabira, Hadriel, and chrisloup, among others) through a strange series of events that I can't even remember.

I finally joined SouthPerry in December 08 afterwards.

2.Why did you choose that time period?

Just... A lot of memories, I suppose. I was in competition with my cousins. One was an Assassin, the other a Spearman who idolized Tiger, and I chose the Hunter line since I thought all the other classes looked boring. (Playing all of said other classes now only confirmed my thoughts. Well, except for Infighters, but Pirates didn't exist back then, so...) I knew little about the game's mechanics, economy, and crap - I played to explore, go on suicide runs with my little cousins, Kerning and Ludi PQed to hell and back, and I wanted to become a Ranger so bad because OMG I GET TO RAIN ARROWS FROM THE SKIES/KILL STUFF WITH FOUR ARROWS AT ONCE!!!

Well, not to mention that I really had the sense of that Archer Pride thing before 4th job came around with the Bowmaster bandwagon.

(And about two weeks ago, I finally became a Ranger. I was only about two years late. Still, Strafe and Arrow Rain were still worth it.)

3.What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?

I like how you can get through 1st job and about half of 2nd job without excessive grinding. The quests and PQs are enough to get through those levels in a reasonable amount of time.

4.What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?

The community got worse, I'll give you that. For some reason, the general community of Maple gives off this general feeling that the only point of Maple is to get to a high level and try to make a name for yourself through high damage numbers and similar stuff. I mean, it was kind of like that in the past too, but it seems so much more so nowadays.

5.What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.

Back then, it was my competition with my cousins. Now? I'd say that the community of SouthPerry, my really weird friendship with some of the MSEAers at AsiaSoft forums, and my hilarious 'the way the government is currently being run'-hating guildies are the only reasons why I'm still playing Maple (as it currently is now).

6.In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?

Hm, I'm not exactly sure. Maybe it's the day that I decided to go 'screw grinding' in mid-March and do Ludi and Elin PQ for the hell of it. Or it could be something as random as my half-hour rant to my alliance last month, about how California isn't as much of a holy land of opportunity like the movies and stories say it is.

Or hell, watching my cousin explode when Fangblade took over Tiger's position as highest leveled Mapler, and then proceed to create a character in Bera just to whisper insults to Fangblade for half an hour (and watch his jaw drop when Fangblade replied, all polite and stuff).

So with that said, I invite you to enjoy the nostalgia while critically discussion the evolution of GMS. Have fun!

Some questions to consider during the discussion:

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1. Beginning of Beta (200x) and post-beta period (About up to 2005).

2. Well, besides being thrown into the vast world of Maple (Even if Victoria was the entire world back then) and discovering new things in a game (Everybody goes through these), I suppose it was because of the archaic society at the time. See, back then nobody knew what to do with skill or stat builds, but it did not matter as you could easily go into a common training map and talk to people like next door neighbors. Of course, that was only possible because of the smaller population. Even then, everything was still more easy-going without today's standardised gameplay, and I think that I liked the period better than most is because it (the game) was more of a stress-reliever and not as competitive.

3. I could say nothing for this one because everything good is overshadowed by something bad, but I suppose that will be more on the Ne卍on hate thing, haha. Anyway, I am unsure if the question goes towards only the game itself or it includes the community and Ne卍on as well, so for now I would have to say that content and interface has got a good improvement over time.

4. Again, if it is only on the game itself, then I really could say nothing since everything just unfolded as normally. However, if including the community and Ne卍on, then I could go on for paragraphs and paragraphs outlining all the glitches/crap/standardisation/etc. about the game, but I will refrain from that here since it is needless and may even stir up flame wars with some material being controversial.

5. For beginning and until end of Beta, it was all about exploring and getting into the experience of the game, even though the grinding was a turnoff, the general game play was addicting and therefore enjoyable. Post-Beta until around late 2005 I was motivated to play because of my guild (The guild existed back in Beta, but I was not aware of them until somebody introduced me, and back then guilds were not officially in game, so it was pretty cool being in this guild), which is a bit different than friends with this guild, as there were weekly events and meet-ups (And in some cases, unofficial weddings, xD). I originally had more details, but this was unnecessary, so I will just say that I went into hiatus (Originally thought to quit forever) for awhile around late 2005.

So sometime later in 2009 around ~Late March - Early April? I heard news from an old friend that he is playing maple again, and that he is using a character from a friend and is 10 levels higher than me, but he was in a different world and transferring. Without delay, and due to unknown means (I think it may be my competitive spirit) I jumped right back into Maple, looked for fastest levelling place, and rushed ~8 levels to be on par with my friend. I suppose for gameplay, it this would be more of the fun of levelling up as well as getting my new skills since I just reached 3rd job and got past the level 70-82 milestone, and it did not stop there, I continued to play nonstop all the way until today, checking out whatever new content there was (From KoCs to ToT, etc.), and since I was away for few years and had many things to catch up on as well as eventually having a loose link with my guild way back, even though I never got into it again (Though at present time I could say connexions with this guild may be permanently severed).

6. For this section, I am really tempted to use this as a Ne卍on-hate holder, but pushing that issue aside and considering what has happened I would say that oMS (Everybody used to call GMS this because it was "Official MapleStory" up from Beta) started out quite innocently and eventually evolved into something beyond control and hopeless I guess? XD

As for what is to come for the future of Maple... that is hard to answer right now as the things seen are only KMST stages, so there is a chance they will not be finalised and just trashed since it is such a big overhaul of basically everything (And that since it is KMST material, it will be a year before it gets to oMS anyway). Still, maybe perhaps there will be hope in the future, maybe along with the overhaul that is coming, something will happen that the game will shape up. However, there is also a chance that the game will plunge further into despair and beyond help until it crumbles down and goes kaboom. At this point, only time will tell as far as anything is concerned.

1. I started playing the game in 2006, and I've enjoyed it most of the time since then. I do have moments when I think "why am I still playing this game?" but the last KMST patches will make me want to play the game more than ever.
   
2. I can't play games I don't enjoy, and I played the game a lot from 2006-now. Not much of a choice there.
   
3. The amount of new areas added, UI additions, and probably much more.
   
4. That Nexon, instead of reducing the damage we deal, just keeps buffing up the monsters. Of course finding a way to nerf damage without messing up is hard, and they may have found a way.
   
5. Job advancements, quests, new equipment are all good goals to keep me playing, but I can't play for longer periods of time when there aren't buddies/guildmembers online.
   
6. Too many memories. I'm looking forward to when all the maps get changed around because the game might feel the same to me like it did when I first played it: a whole new experience.
   

1. What time period do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
- From little after beta to before 4th job was released (2004 -2006? I don't remember)

2. Why did you choose that time period?
- Many reasons, like back then, every thing was new so it was exciting to explore the game and find out about every single thing. Because back then the NX cash didn't have such a high impact on the gameplay (Gachapon was not out, neither 2exp cards)

3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
4th job EXCEPT FOR ULTIMATES (they gave a fatal blow to the game). The development of a storyline for the maple world. The legend Classes which they should finish. Other than that, NExon didnt do much that pleased me.

4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
That despite whatever a FEW people say, this game has become Real Money oriented. It took me 4 years to get to 160 on my hero (training slowly) but it takes 2 Months for a newcomer to get to the same level and way better items. You can get ANYTHING in this game if you have the bucks to pay for it. I don't pretend to demand every one to level as slow as me, but you should take a year for that, not a month.

5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
Again there are many reasons, like some very good friends that I've met in this game, but another one is, that after wasting so much time on this game, I decided I wont be play something else. I'm already in a far point of the game, not gonna start from scratch somewhere else.

6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
PARTING NEDS TO COME BACK !!. I think thats the main point of any MMORPG, interaction with other people from around the world. Back before 4th job was released, I would have so much fun training at gobies with my friends, meeting new people, making new friends, etc. Back then parting was the fastest way to level and there were parties everywhere (Vikings, Grims, Gobies, Squids, even zombies I recall. Not like today, Thats just newties <.<)

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1.i enjoyed the first year of maplestory when it came out after beta.
2. NO NX AND NEXON :l
3.Job Changes and new bosses
4. So much. Nexons fail at being a company,Corruption revolving around NX, Nexon not doing a proper job,Community becoming kiddies, did i mention how much i hate nexon and how theyre destroying a game i once loved playing alot?
5.Grinding with friends and bossing
6. Simple... pineapple YOU NEXON DO A BETTER JOB >_>. Maplestory was fun and those asswipes destroyed it :l

I have a lot to say and not enough time to organize my thoughts, so bear with me.

My favorite time period of MapleStory was, well it's been so long - 2006 to mid 2007. This was the period before and after the release of Leafre and 4th job. This was just a period of major activity on MapleStory for me, and not in a bad way like late 2008-early 2009 was when I was seriously addicted. I came back to MapleStory just as the first 4th job information was starting to come out (each class had one skill out at the point) and decided to start clean with a new character. I chose to make a Ranger, and made it to 3rd job in about 3 months. Levelling in those days was much slower; my first character was a CB that I quit at 71, and it took just over a year to reach that.

The Beran archer community was tiny at the point, so I quickly got to meet many of my fellow archers. Soon, my BL was filled with Archers. Archers were and still are a relatively rare class. As 1v1 DPS-oriented ranged classes, the archer community had always played second fiddle to our rival assassin community. There wasn't really much of a reason to be an archer as far as gameplay advantages go, though we sure as hell TRIED to make justifications for why we weren't all that bad (better mobbing, stunning). Most archer players were people who really liked bows, or people who liked investigating gameplay mechanics (go figure), or people who just liked to be different for no reason at all. One of the most interesting aspect of MMOs is the fun of banding together with a small group of people that you share something in common with. Anyone who held a bow or a crossbow in their skinny Mapler arms felt like family.

Meanwhile, more 4th job information was steadily coming out, it was all incredibly exciting. Hurricane and SE just looked so fantastic at that point. We were all talking trash about how soon NLs would be begging us for buffs. The archer community seemed to suddenly explode.There was a mid-sized all-Xbow guild called IronArrows at that point, but no such thing existed for Rangers, so we decided to make one. RainOfArrows we called it, and then when the leader quit on us without deleting the guild, we remade it as ArrowStorm. The guild started out with nothing. Our highest levels were 8x-9x Rangers. We couldn't GPQ because we needed HB to fight Ergoth, so myself and another Jr started a HB and HS/Door/Tele mule for the guild. We all really wanted to become part of the high level bossing scene with our awesome 4th job skills, and we really worked our asses off to get everything working. The guild grew and grew as 4th job neared and more people started bandwagoning our class, and we were happy to accept them. We actually reached 100 members for a while.

Now I'll stop rambling about my personal story and tie this in to the actual evolution of the game. The major thing that was going on during this whole period was a big pending update to all classes, and the release of a major area. 4th job was probably the biggest update to this game before this new stuff going on in KMST. It was what really fueled all of the excitement that lasted over a whole year. Sure, it shook up the entire balance of the game. People complained about EVERYTHING, from ultimate spamming to previously OP classes like DKs becoming completely mediocre. I think the thing that really keeps me going is a dynamic game. I don't care about reaching perfection in any one state of the game by selling leech for 12392 hours and getting perfect gear. I don't care about my efforts toward one class becoming overshadowed by the buffing of another class. It's just exciting as hell to see the core of the game changing, and discussing and adapting to the changes with your fellow players. I love seeing things like a new stat window, a new UI, new class balance, new area. It keeps the game a lot more fresh than seeing a new boss that drops a new ring that will improve my damage by 2%. It really feels like you're preparing for a whole new game.

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory? Winter 2006 to summer 2007.
2. Why did you choose that time period? My buddy list was as active as it had ever been (45 people online out of 50 pretty much constantly), guild was thriving, training was fun.
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta? More content.
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta? Very heavily based on $$$, less work needed now to get to the same place as you used to have to put in, aimed at a younger audience, aimed at a less patient audience.
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy. Bossing as a group, training as a group. Talking to people that I met and started to get to know.
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget? Honestly, everything post 4th job is sort of a blur, I didn't really like the way the game was progressing then but I think I'll remember training at Grims and Squids/Gobies with a party of 6 for a long time.

I decided to quit MS about 6 days ago, prior to this patch being released... I'm quite glad. This would have probably pulled me back in but I can just smile and hope that existing players of the game will enjoy it. I don't really like the way everything is changing, but I suppose it has to in order for the game to keep earning money.

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?Late 2005/Early 2006 (I think this is when I started)
2. Why did you choose that time period? The game was new to me. I was playing MSEA at the time(for some reason, I think it was the closed beta, I was unable to sign up for GMS). Everything that was released was so exciting. It was an adventure to explore the world (the Orbis boat costed 80k!). Being a low level was actually fun, which isn't really the case for me anymore.
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta? New content that I never saw coming
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta? Too much NX required to have fun
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy. Technically, it's free. I don't really have much money (my family is well off, I guess, but I'm sort of the black sheep in this house, so my parents don't really spend much money on me)
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget? Well, seeing as I barely ever played GMS, I'll have to go with MSEA, JMS, or KMS. I'll never really forget how much fun I had in MSEA. I really wish Maple gave me the same pleasure as it did back then. JMS was really fun, too. I was so proud after getting my first character past level 50. I felt like a straight badass training at zombies (till they changed the map!). As for KMS, I'll remember how good I felt for making two characters to level 120 in what is arguably the hardest version of MS to level.

To discuss your reactions to the specifics of the latest game overhaul in KMST patches 1.318 and 1.319, refer to this thread. This thread is to discuss the overall changes to the game since it's onset.

As Global MapleStory passes it's half-decade anniversary, it's important, much like any notable passage of time, to reflect upon the past in order to best understand and prepare for the future ahead. With the release of the phenomenally game-redesigning KMST patches 1.318 and 1.319 this week, it's easy to fall into a state of confusion and panic, unable to fully comprehend the game as we know it. Therefore, the purpose of this thread is to instigate discussion amongst our members (and hopefully get some lurkers/guests to contribute!) about the overall picture of Global MapleStory - not just the few months that lie ahead, but the timeline of events, memories, and changes we've experienced since beta.

So with that said, I invite you to enjoy the nostalgia while critically discussion the evolution of GMS. Have fun!

Some questions to consider during the discussion:

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

Im from maplesea but itll work too, i guess ?

2006 ~ mid 2007.

I chose that time period because IT was when i just started mapling. I knew nothing except for hidden-street.net(im an inactive moderator there now). Many things happened such as omega sector, zakum and etc.. Leveling my level 30 cleric which had STR in it was almost impossible. I had MANY in game friends... none of them were shemales or girls playing guy characters. MrYaNdAo was extremely popular then.

[spoiler=a lil' backstory till 2008]
In 2006 i was only a level 33 cleric with screwed up stats.. Thats when i found out hidden-street had guides. I quit my cleric and started a fire mage... I didnt go too far but i followed the guide and got to 50 in 2 months I was so proud back then. Wearing the dark calas made me feel so proud. And then my friend gave me his level 52 bandit.. i never really leveld it and it got banned for unknown reason. And then after i got bored of both, fire wiz and bandit i made a cleric, nows its at level 55 in aquila. I trained at many many places with my fire wiz and bandit but when i made my cleric it was like 2007 already and MapleSEA released singapore and thats where my cleric trained at. In 2007, it was basically play-quit-play situation because of my PSLE.

In 2007 was the year i quit photoshop, i quit HTML/CSS and PHP etc just for maplestory(Pservers). I learned many new computer languages such as Java(odin), C++(titan) and some unknown ms that uses C#. I was really active with vana although i dont really know C++ that much. And that is how i found out about southperry... heres the summary. Friend tells me about private server > I got to know the owner > owner tells me about ragezone > i saw titan ms > i saw vana > joined their IRC > some person named LEvi or something ? told me about southperry. Am not active with vana but i still use an email address given by Bri(sharhan_pewpew@magatia.net). By now, its mid 2008 ~ 2009.

OH YA NOT TO MENTION LLOYD KORN

Then i started maplesea all over again.. this time in bootes. blah blah made bishop, compete with percocet(cancambo) to level 120. He won obviously duhh.. And here i am. Active in southperry instead of kryptodev. And hell im proud of that.
[/spoiler]

I hated when things like dark scrolls appearing, they screwed everyone up and gave birth to damage whores. During that period of time i mentioned above, 5 passed 60%s was godly. And then KS-ing started when Aquila had more and more people.

I like when new areas gets released and we get to explore. The mindset that 'if i dont get to level 120, im a maple loser', look , im a 154 bihsop now

Since i play maplesea, here goes.. OH god, i have this really close friend of mine.. we were both clerics.. he was level 50 and im still at 30ish(the one i screwed up on).. He was always there when i needed him.. always there to help.. And then there was ludi pq.. before CPQ got released.. it as always full! Alot of friends from there and killing alishar was so hard and only if the party had an assasin and then we could do it. Orbis PQ, rush pq, full pq, dispelling papa pixie and etc... When pirates were released on kms, playpark forums(the old one) went ZOMG. sigh..

Now, i have no friends... none, all of them which made me move to bootes quit(i met them from this totally spies forum :3).

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1. I think that the time I enjoyed the most is 2007-2008.

2. As many others, I chose it because of memories. I think that MapleStory is one of the few games which leaves great memories. I've played several other games, but MapleStory is the only one which gave me that feeling. Back then, many other italian friends of mine were playing MapleStory (now most of them quitted) and I really had fun times. Now.. well, the feeling is just totally different. Maybe because the game grew up, or maybe because I did.

3. Well, I like how they're always finding new ways to get the most out of this game. Some of the features I liked the most are the system which makes your character be in the NPC chat window, making the conversation more "realistic", the NPCs becoming monsters (see: all the Puppeteer's quests, etc.) and the combo system. Another feature I really liked is mobs climbing ropes (the new El Nath PQ) and entering portals. They're one step away from making monsters attack other monsters and help you (one of the concepts I'd have liked to see in CWKPQ).
If we're only talking about GMS, well, I started to like their new exclusive content, as it looks like they've finally understood the game system and are using it to the fullest (unlike previous exclusive content). Hopefully, if there will ever be any more Masteria content, they'll use those new features which Nexon Korea added to the game to make things more interesting.

4. I dislike how they're totally changing the game. Those will be heavy changes and it'll be kind of hard to get used to them. I also dislike how they keep releasing jobs (they really should stop with this one..) and PQs, while I think they should focus on more new areas instead. It looks like they really don't want to release new areas, or don't have ideas for them (I doubt it's this one, though, seeing how they always come up with something new), judging by how they changed all the mobs' levels to make some of them training spots for higher leveled people.

5. Goals (such as reaching level 200, even if I know that probably will never happen), doing quests, being able to use more skills and raising their power, and yeah, obviously friends as well.

6. I will never forget the memories of me doing Ludibrium Party Quests when it was the only place where you could earn much EXP for levels 35+ and every channel was full of people tracking the other people inside (some even sold tracks). I will never forget when I was a newbie, was stuck in Omega Sector and didn't know how to go back. I will never forget all the great times spent questing, training and having fun with my friends. I will never forget the great feeling I had while playing Tespia, Global MapleStory's test server which they opened around summer 2008 but then they permanently closed because of people abusing of it. There are many nice memories of these game which will never leave my mind.

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1. Memory Fails, but right when ludi first came out.
2. Friends were still around and I was in the right level range for LPQ, which was my best social experience in my entire MS lifetime. Even if we had to wait for an hour just to get a channel, we managed to make it fun. It was a game rather than a grind-fest.
3. The UI updates across the years were the primary improvements I saw. Jump down, Maker, Monster Book are my top picks among them. I also liked how new user friendly they made the first 15 levels compared to how they used to be, but only to an extent. I can't say I liked being stuck in a town with no potions or chairs after my job change dieing repeatedly just trying to get to a reasonable training location, but I'm not sure I like being level 18 within an hour of quests either.
4. NX and 4th job.
5. Equipment across the levels I guess? I used every last set of class equipment and that; more than skills; to me kept me going. Beyond that, the outside competition of the Quest Kings kept me going for a while, yet now I'm not sure. Friends are gone, and most of my goals seem unrealistic (starting with that ZMM card, 400 kills in...).
6. Sprites and 2D will live on Forever. All MMOs break down to businesses over time.

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1. 2007-2008 (Sept to Feb) I think that was when 4th job came out.
2. It was one of the biggest revolutions I've experienced even though I had an account since Beta (and in all honesty i hated it... i disliked Beta so much and I truely fail to see why so many people love it outside of nostalgic value, the GM's where shitty and rarely seen, events sucked and rarely happen, there was barely any content, and since this was "pre-NX can get you meos" it was damn near impossible to be "Godly" without losing your life to the game).
3. I like the fact the game is easier and there's more things to do.
4. The lack of high level content is my main concern. Being in Mardia Hacking is damn near non-existent so i don't really care
5. Me being bored and not having the money to pay for any other form of entertainment... seriously the fact the game was free was basically my only reason for playing it
6. Frustration at Nexon for their negligence and for the community for it's arrogance and stupidity. I've never seen more "pineapple-ups" and peaching in anything then I have in MS.

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory? Beta of 2006
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?Because a new friend of mine told me that he played the game and it was fun so I did ^^. I was all PRO-Archer and this was wayyyy before the bandwagon. My first character derosis was born on the couple days of beta, sense i never knew of the Mark of Beta bandana I never got it or I wasn't playing much (Holidays for me) I can't remember been too long :p.
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?I had tons of friends we made joke characters all the time. The unexpected patches. Pirates really, I loved aran, NLC, Horntail was funny I alwayse called it my tomato (idk why lol).
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta? The community, it got worse and when it did i started that random on and off phase. Oh yea and the bandwagon where people called me a noob for being on the bandwagon ;_; (which I wasn't).
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy. The new content really, my friends kept me playing, but when they quit I went to JMS and made friends there :p
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget? Making some of the best friends I've had on an Online experience. Some of them are unforgettable and I would never forget them. Other than the characters (Except for derosis my oldest character (probably one of the weakest/oldest rangers hahaha)) is what I'll forget about. Friend experiences are never unbreakable. Thats why I thank Nexon and Wizet and never hate the companies.
   

What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
When KoC and Maker came out.

Why did you choose that time period?
Because I was rich, rich, rich!

What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
I like the fact that they're adding new jobs, new depth, and new ways to play the game. It doesn't get old due to more and more polish.

What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
I don't like it when Nexon takes something perfectly good and screws it up. Like Evan skillbooks, or Friendship smegas. Gross.

What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
MONEY! I like to merchant more than train.

In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
When I first thought of creating Southperry.

1. What time period (ex. 2006-2008 or January 2008 - June 2009) do/did/will you enjoy the most of MapleStory?
   
2. Why did you choose that time period?
   
3. What, if anything, do you LIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
4. What, if anything, do you DISLIKE about the progression of the game since beta?
   
5. What feature of the game kept you playing the longest, during whichever period? While "friends" is an understandable answer, I'm curious what parts of the game itself people really enjoy/enjoyed/will enjoy.
   
6. In viewing GMS as a whole since its inception in the world of MapleStory, what are the lasting thoughts, memories, impressions, and emotions you will never forget?
   

1. The first year I played MapleStory (around 3-4 years ago), I loved it. Also maybe when I got to second job on my sin...

2. Played with two of my friends from school I don't talk to anymore, and got to level 38, got hacked and was upset for awhile. Made a new account and started an assassin. Today I'm only a hermit.

3. I like pirates, down jump, exp curve, new party quests, exploring new areas, new experiences, this upcoming 'maplestory 2.0' patch, oh yeah and EVERY CHRISTMAS PATCH. Love it so much.

4. I dislike the lack of higher level content (even though I'm not very high level), I dislike the excessive amounts of new jobs, KoC was great but everything else is meh, people who treat Maple like their social networking site (community getting worse), events becoming worse, the new panther job because I think it's a silly idea, I miss thinking that sleepywood was a dangerous and scary area that I wanted to explore all of, I hate how easy it is to get to second job, it makes everyone miss out on having to KPQ and meet new people, back when I first played it was all about partying, now it's all solo.

5. Trying to get to the next job advancement. When I finally turned to hermit I only got to around level 81 though, I've been playing MapleStory on and off ever since until I have a new start. (also new content)

6. Amazing people from a long time ago I met on my first account, nostalgia from Ellinia music and my mage, staying up all night to level once more, getting my zhelm, all my old great guilds, and so much more. I'll make more memories some day, and with Southperry too, since I've been lurking for around a year now.

So many other things to talk about, but I'm sure I'll write about it one day.