Article Contents

Quick Summary
General Idea of the Game
Goals and Strategies
Character Creation
Exploring the Maple Story World
The Gaming Atmosphere and What It's Like To Play
How much does it cost?
Quests and Things to do
The Maple Story Online Gaming Community - Is It Safe?
Screenshots

Quick Summary

Here is a quick summary of the game for those who do not have the time to read the entire article below. Maple Story is a side scrolling MMORPG (or Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). Similar to most role playing games before it, you hack and slash your way through the game, completing various quests, and leveling up your character through experience points. This game is much quicker to load and play than more graphically complex RPG's like Sacred. You can choose between 4 character classes to become, and then make a transition to the expert level of character at level 30. This allows players an extra something to look forward to while working to develop their character. The characters you can become are Magician, Bowman, Thief, or Warrior.

The online community inside Maple Story is great to make new gaming friends, use the included messenger and buddy list features, and plan battles and strategies. Massive multi-player games like Maple Story don't require you to meet up with someone in order to see them in the game. Anyone can join the game at any time, and you never know who you'll meet.

Controls in the game are fairly simple and do not require a lot of complex memorization. It's really easy to get the hang of Maple Story and the gameplay is always changing to keep your interest. There are a lot of Non-Player Characters (or NPC) that give you tasks to accomplish and reward you upon completion.

Maple Story is totally free to play, but if you want to buy some of the items Nexon offers for real cash you need to purchase some of the in-game currency called NexonCash. You can pay for your NexonCash using paypal, find it on Ebay, and receive it as a gift. Best of all, this currency is useable in all of the Nexon games.

Quests in Maple Story are all different. They keep your interest with their stories and concepts. You can gain a lot of experience points doing the various quests.

Practice makes perfect, so if you want to develop a character with super high skills and abilities, then you need to put in the effort to make it happen. Rome wasn't created in a day, and neither are expert players. Maple Story is really easy to get the hang of so download a free copy and let the fun begin.

General Idea Of The Game

Maple story is a two dimensional, side-scrolling, massive multi-player online role playing game from the South Korean game called Wizet. There is more than one version of the game available, developed for different countries and published by different cooperative company efforts. Nexon is one of these additional companies to teaming up with Wizet to produce the American version of this graphically stunning and resource friendly video game.

The overall concept of the game is based in a traditionally massive multi-player world with some proprietary additions. You go through the game battling monsters and developing your abilities in the same format as previously created PC role-playing games. This makes it easier to adjust to the game play and learn how to play quickly. You will find that learning how to play Maple Story simply falls into place. Before you know it, you are immersed in their graphically perfected world of monsters, quests, and multi-player interaction without missing a beat. Instead of a three dimensional perspective, Maple Story uses a visually intense two dimensional approach. This is a delightful escape from predominantly angle based games like Diablo, Sacred, and the many spin offs trying to replicate their success.

Reminiscent of previous platform games like Contra and Castlevania, Maple Story capitalizes on this previously successful gaming style. While the graphics have come a long way from previous world class offerings, the game play is just as simple to master. The learning curve on this game is fairly easy and a joy to experience.

The game is pretty simple and is similar in structure to most other RPG's. Players travel into dungeons and other classic scenarios to work as a team defeating monsters and completing the side quests. The acquired features in the game include the in-game currency "Mesos", skill levels and abilities, weapons and items, experience points (needed to reach the next level of skills and abilities). The "loot" is awarded between a maximum of 6 players, the highest level players receiving the most reward from completed battles.

In a attempt to teach players how to become a skilled player in the core elements of game play, the ability to choose a character class is blocked until such time as the player completes mandatory requirements of the beginner job. This way, no player is at a loss for gaming skills required to develop themselves as a player.

The overall objective consists of opponent hack and slash as well as solo and multi-player mini games. The hack, slash, and accumulate items process is pretty consistent throughout the game. The reasons for playing the game vary according to what the player wants to accomplish and what their favorite features are. Some play to develop the highest skill and attribute levels with their character, complete quests, participate in multi-player/guild game play, and see the special effects.

Game Goals and Strategies

Becoming the best player you can be at Maple Story involves practice and strategy. Here are some of the things you can do in order to make yourself an expert player.

Begin by customizing your controls to your individual playing style. In doing this, you ensure your response times and hand eye coordination are at their very best. Many novice players settle for the standard control configurations. This limits your ability to compete with other players and will disappoint the multi-player gamers who need you to be 100%. Should you choose to use the standard control configuration, you can master that as well. The standard configuration is:

Esc -Menu ` - Cash Shop 1- To All 2- To the party 3 - To a friend 4 - To guild 5 - To alliance 6 - To spouse Tab - Move Menu Q - Quest W - World Map E - Equipment

R - Buddy I - Item O - Party Search P - Party [ - Short Cut ] - Quick Shot \ - Set Key S - Ability F - Family G - Guild H - Whisper K - Skill

L - Helper ' - Chat+ Z - Pick up X - Sit C - Messenger B - Monster Book M - Mini Map Ctrl - Attack Alt - Jump Space - NPC Chat Scroll Lock - Screen Shot

Join or start your own guild. Guilds are useful to make new Maple Story multi-player buddies and help to answer your gaming questions. When trying to complete difficult quests, having a guild that works well with you can be very useful in helping you to perfect your skills. You can customize your guild's graphics and the titles you give to guild members. Creating a completely customized guild will let other players know your group as a formidable opponent or powerful ally. This also works wonders to increase player moral. Being part of a team and developing a cooperative relationship improves your performance and brings players closer together.

Try doing some quests! These in-game assignments allow you to pick up some rare and valuable items. They are also a welcome break from training to be an expert player. Quests don't offer many experience points, but they are fun and rewarding! Completing quests are well worth your while and the special items you find can be used throughout the game.

Understand the allocation methods needed to create the perfect character. Each time you level up, you are awarded an increase in overall character attributes and special abilities. If you are looking to create a well rounded character in all areas of ability, allow the game to auto-allocate the attribute increases. If you want to create a more specialized character for multi-player battles, developed to serve a specific purpose, you need to manually allocate your attribute units according to the abilities you need.

The game allows you to choose the character you want to become upon reaching levels 8 to 10, depending on character choice.

Character Creation

There are 4 core character choices you may choose to become after attaining the required experience points. Thief, Warrior, Bowman, and Magician. Character development differs slightly in Maple Story when compared to classic RPG games like Diablo. After selecting the initial character class from one of four options, players get to upgrade the character through a specialized progression system. Each of the four characters have additional levels of upgrade options. This ingenious game addition keeps players looking forward to the various player upgrades throughout the game. If at any time the game play becomes even the slightest bit boring, which rarely if ever happens, anticipating the level 30 character upgrade options will keep you in the game. It prevents repetitive and boring game play and you have the upgrades to look forward to! It's the best of both worlds.


Warriors: This character class is the hack and slash champion. Specializing in close quarters combat with strength as their primary asset, warriors can reach four different levels of transition. At level 10, Warriors reach the first transition, becoming skilled Swordsmen in the mountains of Perion. From there, the next transition event is triggered at level 30, forcing players to become one of three specialized warrior classes. Spearmen, Fighter, or Page. Warriors are capable of wielding the most powerful weapons in the game, but incredibly primal strength lacks in accuracy. In the majority of battles, devastating brute force more than makes up for this less than perfect precision. When it doesn't, one of the other three character classes can assist Warriors by using more precise forms of attack.

Magician: This character class is trained in the art of supernatural force, possessing a wide range of spells and magical abilities. At level 8, a novice player can make the choice to become this complex character class. At level 30, just like in the other classes, more specialized character upgrades are available. Become a Fire/Poison Wizard, Ice/Lightning Wizard, or Cleric. Magicians are useful in situations where conventional warfare is not a suitable option. The use of magic to destroy opponents is a crucial to any guild or multi-player group. While not as physically adept as their Warrior, Thief, and Bowman counterparts, adequately protected Magicians are a highly effective character class.

Thief: High dexterity and luck give this character class lightning fast attack speed, capable of highly competitive close quarters combat. Stealing items and money from monsters of a higher character class make thieves a great addition to any guild or multi-player battle. They can steal a substantial amount of cash quickly, and have a dark, alluring persona. At level 10, beginner thieves make the initial transition to Rogue. Upon becoming thoroughly skilled as a Rogue, level 30 players decide to become either a Bandit or an Assassin. They are then free to master the art of thievery as the most secretive and devious player in the game. Thieves are one of the most frequently seen character classes because of their dark and mysterious visual appeal.

Bowman: This character class specializes in long range battles requiring swift, precise, and continuous damage. It takes special talent to master the art of being a Bowman. While not as popular as the other character classes, players who develop the level of skill required to be an expert are highly valued by the Maple Story community. They are also a rarely chosen character choice, adding to their value at expert levels Bowmen can look forward to extraordinary abilities as they reach higher levels, but the road to become an expert isn't an easy one. When beginning Bowmen reach level 10 they automatically become Archers, the second level of Bowmen proficiency. As they gain additional experience and masterful skill in the field of archery, reaching level 30 gives these players the choice to become either a Hunter or Crossbowman. Hunters are faster and more agile, with light and accurate equipment, but wield less powerful weaponry than a Crossbowman. Crossbowman are more powerful but slower in attack speed, carrying a heavier grade of equipment.

Creating characters is a lot of fun, just like in any other MMORPG. The constant development of characters to impress your friends, win battles, compete in tournaments, and much more is one of the core elements that make Maple Story a really fun game to play. The characters in this game have more depth than the classic versions of role playing games. In previous offerings, the choice of one character class dominated the entire game. The character transition feature has been a wonderful success and has improved player morale throughout the ranks of the Maple Story community.

Exploring the Maple Story World

The storyline begins on Maple Island, a floating island designed to show beginning players the fundamental moves and gaming instructions. Some players choose to stay on the island, help others, and enjoy the game by guiding other players in the skills required to be a better player. These real players are nicknamed "Islanders". There are pros and cons to being an Islander, and for some players staying on Maple Island provides them the best game playing experience possible. Islanders can be a lot of fun and most times they make the best friends.

Victoria Island is the second island in the game, comprised of eight cities, where players are able to upgrade to their first character class. After that there are the islands of Ossyria and Masteria. Four world tour continents are also available, based on real life countries. These four continents are Zipangu, China, Formosa, and Siam. This is an innovative inclusion within the world of massive multi-player games. Places to visit within the game based on real life locations are an intriguing concept that is scheduled to be explored further in the future. For now though, there are only 4 of these continents to visit.
After Maple Island, players who choose to move on with their character development pay Shanks, the ship captain from Southperry, 150 Mesos to go to Victoria. Victoria is the second island, a more challenging environment with bigger rewards and more powerful monsters. The action on Victoria Island is exciting and fast paced.

Take the ship from Ellinia to Orbis to get to Ossyria Island. Ossyria is comprised of 6 regions and 11 towns. As you may have guessed, the monsters on Ossyria are more difficult to defeat than the ones on Victoria Island. The game play is a little bit more complex than Victoria Island.

Masteria is the most complex and difficult world in Maple Story. The monsters are incredibly difficult, the quests incredibly challenging, and the rewards for completing quests and killing the monsters are high. Only highly experienced players can make it to Masteria, and the skill level required forces players to be at their very best.

Maple Story has over 100 different monsters. The most challenging and dangerous are found deep in the dungeons, while weaker and less challenging monsters are usually found near the towns. Maple Island has enough easy prey to wet your whistle and give you some simple game playing experience. Exploring the game is quite fun and there are a lot of places to go. Every new location you explore is different. You never know what the environments will look like, they're all stunningly vivid, and they're more fun to play than a Fender Straticaster.

The Gaming Atmosphere and What It's Like To Play

The feeling of this game is kind of like the old Castlevania/Contra 2D side scrolling games, but feels completely different because of their technologically advanced graphical wizardry. The graphic are much more vibrant and detailed than the majority of the 2D side scrolling games offered for the PC. Maple Story fits right into modern PC gaming with graphics that are bright, smooth, and extremely detailed. Sometimes, when traveling through the game you feel like the background is another world entirely, pretty amazing stuff considering the game is very small in file size and resource friendly. The designers did a wonderful job to make sure that Maple Story is pleasing to the eyes with smooth, high resolution backgrounds. The game is designed for everyone and is especially popular with children ages 10 and up. With no scary graphics or offensive material, it's family friendly and perfect for all ages.

While it may not be legendary in it's visual appeal, the file size and resource usage is low enough to make up for it. Most visual masterpieces in the video game genre are so resource intensive, you spend a great majority of your game playing time waiting for the files to render and load. Maple Story loads fast and doesn't waste a lot of your time, meaning incredibly fast game play more rewarding than PC offerings with bigger file sizes and load times.

Getting a feel for the game control is pretty easy, and not having to memorize complex button combinations helps a lot. If you spent the small amount of time it takes to master the game buttons, what they do, and how they can improve your performance as a player, you won't find yourself in a difficult position later in the game. When it comes down to raw skill, you need to be fast and nimble with your character control.

How Much Does Maple Story Cost?

Maple Story is completely free to play, but players may also buy an online currency called Nexoncash. This in-game currency can be purchased with real cash online (through Paypal), at Target, or any other participating store. Nexon cash cards can even be found on Ebay. This is the primary income source for Maple Story. Players become feverishly addicted to the Maple Story game play and want to be the most well equipped player in the game. So, Maple Story asked the players what its worth and received an answer that simply amazed them. Maple Story players spend tons of real life money to buy fantastic items within the game as well as the Maple Story site.

The game creators are always coming out with new items that increase the fun factor, strategy, and overall satisfaction of the game. Maple Story does not allow players to bet, set up battles for real money, or any other type of cash motivated playing structure. Doing so results in an immediate ban from the Maple Story community.

To summarize, Nexon (the creators of Maple Story) receive income from increasing player interest and subsequent purchasing of special items. Possibly, a different scenario may be in the works. In the future, cash tournaments may be scheduled by Nexon themselves, allowing the players a chance to play for incredible amounts of cash. Games like Quake and Unreal are notorious for holding cash based tournaments, bringing competition levels and gamer interest to never before seen levels. As Maple Story is a relatively new game, the inclusion of cash based tournaments sanctioned by Nexon has yet to be seen. As of now, there are currently no known plans to hold these cash tournaments, but rules are not set in stone and may change at Nexon's discretion.

Quests and Things To Do

Party quests are organized quests requiring several people to be involved in order to be accessed. Even if you beat these quests once, they can be repeated over and over again. These party quests are great for thousands of experience points and a wide variety of special items. Party quests come in three different categories: Boss Quests, Cooperative Party Quests, and Competitive Party Quests. Here are a few of the quests to give you an idea of the fun you can have in Maple Story:

Monster Carnival: This is a competitive party quest only accessible to players on levels 30 to 50. The only places that this quest can be accessed from is Kerning City, Ludibrium, Orbis, and CBD. Once this quest is initiated, two parties enter a Ludibrium style map and compete to kill monsters for Carnival Points. The accumulated CP (or Carnival Points) can then be used to slow down the competing party, held to be used in a larger attack, summon monsters on the competing group, and much more. Items dropped in this party quest can be used immediately upon being picked up. Should the alloted time given for the battle run out with both teams left standing, the team with the highest amount of CP is declared the winner.

Ariant Coliseum: This is a competitive quest for characters between levels 20 and 30. The Ariant Coliseum requires that characters have a level range difference of 5 or less so things stay fair. This party quest is accessible through many towns, making it a frequently played party quest. The towns you can access Ariant Coliseum from include: Ariant, Ludibrium, Henesys, Nautilus Harbor, Perion, CBD, and other towns as well.

The sign up area of Ariant Coliseum is where the players go to plan their battles and choose their opponents. A match can range from a 1 to 1 battle, up to a totally crazy 6 player war.

Coliseum Battle: All players participating in this competitive party quest must first enter the Coliseum Room. Upon entering, all players must first talk to the non-player character (or NPC) to receive their Element Rocks and Bombs for use inside the quest. As soon as the players receive their weaponry, scorpions are spawned. The goal is not to kill the scorpions, but to skillfully weaken and collect them using Element Rocks. Every successfully captured scorpion will show up as a spirit Jewel within the inventory.
The Bombs are used to attack the opposing team and make them drop their scorpion gems. Once you cause a member of the opposing team to drop their gems, you can then stun them so you can pick them all up unscathed. Be careful though, the bombs can also stun you and leave you vulnerable. Be quick! If you don't pick up the dropped gems before your opponent regains movement, they may once again recover the gems.

If at any time during the game you run out of bombs, kill the scorpions you usually collect. Slain scorpions yield bombs and can buff/rebuff your items. What are items in the Coliseum Battle? They are all immediately activated upon being picked up and not able to be stored away. We list them below:

Power Punch: A fist used inside the Hunting Tournament. This item will boost damage inflicted by weapon and magic attacks substantially.
Shield: The shield item protects the player from one bomb attack and is also used during the Hunting Tournament
Wing of the Wind: This item will increase the power of your speed and jump during the Hunting Tournament. As the name implies, they are a set of wings.
Crazy Skull: A skull with a rotating eyeball inverts players directional control. The down key must be held to jump. The Crazy Skull will affect any player in the game completely randomly, even the one who picked it up.

Now that you know the controls and items in the Coliseum, here are some tips that you can use to your advantage:

1. Bombs are tricky, their fuse length is completely random. Inevitably, you will have bombs explode on you. Don't stress about it, it's a part of the game you can't avoid.

2. The Power Punch is the most useful item for beginning players. The high amount of damage they cause allow new players to get power ups quickly and collect lots of gems. Make it your first goal to acquire this item.

3. Anticipate your enemies next move. Reading into the game using your previous experiences can really help to give you a strategic advantage. Always try and avoid your opponents as much as possible, especially when carrying a lot of gems. Devise multiple escape plans to keep yourself out of their reach.

4. If you run into a scorpion before the explosion, you can possibly avoid the wave of bombs.

5. Ducking down will keep you from getting knocked back as far when a bomb explodes.

When time runs out in the Coliseum,.players are then taken to talk with "The Queen". This Non-Player Character will grant the competitors experience points based on amount of scorpions collected and how the player performed in comparison to the competitors.

These party quests are really a lot of fun. Because there are more than one party quest, three different categories, and unique maps, these quests offer a welcome change from the continuous hack and slash action used to level up and develop the characters. Maple story is so much more than that. You have to use strategic problem solving in many parts of the game, but not too intricate that you can't get the hang of it quickly. The game play gets progressively harder as you gain more experience, but you also become a more skilled player in the process.

The Maple Story Online Gaming Community - Is It Safe?

Maple Story is also a wonderful place to make new friends and socialize. Buddy lists, messenger features, and guilds allow these MMORPG players to create groups that bring them closer together as a team. As many have experienced in the world of multi-player online gaming, the trust and relationships developed inside the game most often carry over into real life. The amount of hard work and dedication required to master Maple Story gives the players a true respect and admiration for each others efforts and impressive skill.

The quality of the Maple Story community is well known to be all ages friendly and constantly monitored by the Nexon staff. Most of the players are always busy trying to strike up deals, trade items, and become the best player they can be. Most days, the chat dialog is full of item traders displaying their special items and sharing game strategies. Adding people from the community to your buddy list is easy and a great way to keep track of your cooperative battle members.

You can be sure that the Maple Story virtual environment is safe for everyone, completely free of cyber stalkers, weirdos, and undesirables. If such a person is found to be harassing the Maple Story community, he or she is quickly reported to the Nexon staff and is subsequently removed from the program. Depending on the extent of trouble caused by such a person, legal action may also be taken. This deterrent method is actually quite successful at keeping the community in good standing. Should you yourself come across any harassing or otherwise offensive behavior, please report it to the Maple Story staff immediately and they will take appropriate action.

Have a great time chatting in the Maple Story community, and here are some screen shots of the game itself:


See the chat box in gold and green? There is also a white input box beneath it so you may can chat with the other players. If you meet someone in the general chat box that would like to take the conversation into a more private setting, you can add them to your buddy list and speak with them in your own private chat box. This is useful for making trades, general chat, as well as keeping track of each other for future gaming nights.



See the stunning detail? This game is filled with beautiful vibrant graphics. The graphics in the forefront are incredibly crisp and well detailed. It's hard to believe, the file sizes in this game are incredibly small when compared to multi-disc role playing games like Sacred and Diablo.



All of these screen shots can give you an idea as to the incredible amount of work required to produce the background art. See how the background graphics are soft and lightly blurred? This is a unique graphical scheme that is used throughout the game.



As you can see, there are a wide range of things you can do. Climbing up and down vines is just one of the many different actions you can perform from within the game. The Shop, Trade, Menu, and Shortcut Keys are easily accessible at any time with a click of the mouse. Player statistics including health and experience points needed to reach the next level are always visible at the bottom of the screen. This is useful for determining the actions needed to develop your character more efficiently.



Look at that incredible stone art work! One of the characters in this picture is a real person playing in multi-player with me! Awesome! The small box in the top left hand corner of the screen always shows you where you are in the map you are in. This makes it easier for you to figure out your next move and how to get there.



Here you can see a visual layout of the controls used in Maple Story. These controls can be changed according to your preference. Feel free to customize them to your playing style There is nothing better than creating a control configuration that makes you a more effective player. Do not underestimate the importance of having a button configuration that works well with you, many games are won and lost because of quickness.