Hello.

This time, the keyword is season pass rewards, and the topic is the various pass-style events that appear in the game.

With that in mind, this post goes over MapleStory’s pass events from a new player’s perspective, organizing what kinds of pass events exist, when each one tends to run, and what makes each event distinct.

Before we begin

Before getting into the main topic, I should clarify one point first. I am not especially familiar with other games, but I do know that in many of them, pass-style events or products are available more or less continuously. MapleStory is not like that.

The kind of pass event people usually mean, where there is a basic reward track and then an additional reward track unlocked by paying for the pass, has not actually been in MapleStory for as many years as you might expect given how long the game has been running. Even so, as mentioned above, while it is not a permanent feature, it has still appeared consistently during major update seasons.

Also, even before events in this format were introduced, the word “pass” was already being used in MapleStory. For example, when you miss attendance or mission progress in an ongoing event, paying Maple Points to make up for it is also referred to as a pass. Because the term is used in both senses even in official releases and event descriptions, this is something newer players may want to keep in mind.

Lastly, every pass discussed below was, in its most recent version, run as an event that could be participated in once per account holder’s name, and the participation requirements and rewards referenced here are based on the most recent version of each event. So when a new event starts later on, you should naturally check that event’s own detailed description as well.

[Challengers Pass] : A pass event exclusive to Challengers World

If you were to pick the most representative pass event in MapleStory, it would probably be the Challengers Pass. As the name suggests, it is closely tied to Challengers World, and you can only participate in it there. In the most recent case, Challengers World Season 3, it started alongside the world opening and ran for two months.

To explain the structure first, you raise your pass level by accumulating points from completing weekly missions, and then claim the reward assigned to each level. The weekly missions include completing Symbol daily quests, clearing Monster Park & Monster Park Extreme, clearing Epic Dungeons, defeating weekly bosses, and defeating monsters within your level range, so they can be finished through ordinary play without much burden.

As for the Premium Pass, it was originally sold through Maple Points, but in the most recent version it was sold through Nexon Cash instead, which seems likely to change depending on the in-game economic situation. The price was 19,800 Nexon Cash.

This Premium Pass gives additional items, of course, but its biggest strength was the immediate premium effect shown above. Since it increased damage against normal monsters by a full 200%, it was extremely helpful for hunting in Grandis.

The reward lineup is also made up of items that are particularly valuable in Challengers World. The quantities are as follows.

• 435 Sol Erda Fragments : 6th job skill enhancement

• 20 Karma Black Cubes : Potential

• 20 Karma White Additional Cubes : Potential

• 3,500 Advanced EXP Exchange Coupons : Experience

• 20 VIP Boosters : Experience

• 12 VIP Sauna Recharge Tickets : Experience

• 300 Experience Core Gemstones : 5th job skill enhancement

• 330 Karma Black Rebirth Flames : Additional option reset

• 230 Select Symbol Exchange Coupons : Symbol progression

• 110 Special Medals of Honor : Ability

• 1 Transcendent Growth Potion : Experience

There is really no wasted reward here. In the case of Sol Erda Fragments alone, even if you estimate them at roughly 6.5 million mesos each, that comes out to around 2.8 billion mesos. The value of the experience rewards also rose significantly after Challengers World score missions changed from attendance-based requirements to level-achievement requirements, and Symbols and Gemstones are likewise valuable there.

Because so much of the value is concentrated in the Premium Pass, and because the premium effect itself is also so strong, the overall conclusion is simple: if you are playing in Challengers World, the Challengers Pass is more than worth buying.

[Frontier Pass] : The successor pass to the Challengers Pass

Next is the Frontier Pass, which can essentially be viewed as a direct follow-up to the Challengers Pass. Likely for that reason, as you can see, the UI is the same as the Challengers Pass, and the weekly mission requirements and progression method are also the same.

The Premium Pass effect is also identical, but there are several differences compared to the Challengers Pass, as follows.

• As the pass’s maximum level increased to level 30, the rewards were spread out accordingly

• As each weekly mission’s point reward was standardized to 100, the amount of extra time available became smaller

• The event acceptance condition was limited to characters created within one month of the first winter update

• The price of the Premium Pass increased to 30,000 Nexon Cash

• It is not an event exclusive to Challengers World

As for the price, which is probably the most noticeable change, it is probably best to think of the Challengers Pass as having been offered at something close to a special launch price.

The item rewards follow the same general direction as the Challengers Pass, but aside from the extra 45 Sol Erda Fragments, the quantities of the other rewards were reduced.

• 480 Sol Erda Fragments : 6th job skill enhancement

• 10 Karma Black Cubes : Potential

• 10 Karma White Additional Cubes : Potential

• 2,500 Advanced EXP Exchange Coupons : Experience

• 8 VIP Sauna Recharge Tickets : Experience

• 200 Experience Core Gemstones : 5th job skill enhancement

• 180 Karma Black Rebirth Flames : Additional option reset

• 100 Select Symbol Exchange Coupons : Symbol progression

• 60 Special Medals of Honor : Ability

• 1 Transcendent Growth Potion : Experience

Even here, if you value only the Sol Erda Fragments at 6.5 million mesos each, that alone comes to roughly 3.1 billion mesos, so it is still clearly profitable, and once you also factor in the premium effect, hunting in Challengers World becomes much easier, which makes it worth considering.

[Momentum Pass] : An experience-reward pass purchasable at level 280 or higher

The Momentum Pass is one of the more recent pass events, and it can be joined with a character at level 280 or higher. It appeared alongside a major update and ran three times over a total of three months, once per month, and unless that overall direction changes, it seems likely that it will return.

As you can see from the UI, the participation method is the same as the pass events discussed above.

That said, unlike the previous two passes, the weekly mission requirements here are a bit harder. Since the maximum number of points you can earn in a week is 2,000, if you are using it on a secondary character, you do not necessarily need to complete every single mission. This is already after one round of easing, however, and because the pass ends and restarts on a one-month cycle, the weekly margin for error is still fairly small.

This pass also has a Prime Pass that can be purchased with Nexon Cash. It costs 49,800 Nexon Cash, and aside from the item rewards, it does not grant any separate effect.

The reward lineup looks like this, and aside from Sol Erda, every reward is tied to experience gain.

• Mecaberry Farm Entry Ticket : 11

• VIP Sauna Pass : 3

• Sol Erda : 3

• 4x EXP Coupon (30 minutes) : 6

• Advanced EXP Exchange Coupon : 9500

The main reward here is, unsurprisingly, the Mecaberry Farm Entry Ticket. While that event was active, this item could also be bought in the Meso Shop for 500 million mesos each, with a limit of two purchases per week.

You can think of it as an upgraded version of Golden Strawberry Farm for characters level 280 and above, and the amount of EXP it gave was substantial. Below is the amount of EXP gained per ticket used.

• 280 : about 9.7%

• 285 : about 5.1%

• 290 : about 2.2%

• 295 : about 0.7%

Many players bought this pass either because they were actively pushing levels on their main character, or because they wanted to raise a secondary character to level 285, which is the requirement for Link Skill level 3. Even if you simply compare it against the Meso Shop price of the Mecaberry Farm Entry Ticket, it is still profitable, so for players with those goals, it was clearly a very good event.

[Genesis Pass]

Lastly, the Genesis Pass was only released once, but it still had a fairly large impact.

The reason is that buying this pass greatly reduced both the difficulty and the time required for Genesis Weapon liberation. As you can see above, it lowered the difficulty when challenging the boss, and if you completed liberation within the event period, it awarded a Magnificent Soul with a guaranteed tier 1 option, so it was a pass with very meaningful value. This was especially true in Challengers World, where boss clear missions were part of the event structure.

That said, while there is probably little disagreement that it had more than enough purchase value overall, it has currently been stated that the pass is planned to return after prior economic measures are completed. Because of that, if it is re-released later, there may be changes, so the detailed contents will need to be checked again at that time.

One thing we can reasonably expect is this: at the time, it was released as a once-per-Nexon ID purchase, but since then an even narrower once-per-account holder’s name limit has appeared for similar events, so there is a chance that this Genesis Pass would also return in a once-per-account holder’s name format.

Thank you for reading.