Taking part in the Nexon PEAK Post Challenge

My first taste of party play came from MapleStory's party quests.

Things like Moon Bunny's Rice Cake, the Kerning City Party Quest, and the Ludibrium Party Quest ㅋㅋㅋ

When you're grinding the same map over and over to level an alt, there's a point where you get so tired of it that your brain starts to go a little fuzzy...

You know that feeling? I remember party quests being just the thing for moments like that.

I remember sitting at my computer during school breaks, switching between PQs as my alt reached each new level range.

I think those memories have stayed with me the most.

Those were the days...

They weren't as mindless as grinding, and they helped with those early levels, plus the more smoothly your party worked together,

the faster you could clear them.

The Kerning City Party Quest especially took more coordination than you'd expect if you wanted to get through to the next stage without a hitch,

so for me, it was where the fun of teamwork and leveling up really came together.

So for this post, I thought I'd give you a little introduction to MapleStory's party quests.

ⅠContentsⅠ

① MapleStory's Many Party Quests

② What Made Them So Fun?

③ Leveling That's Better Together

1. MapleStory's Many Party Quests

- Moon Bunny's Rice Cake, Kerning City, and Ludibrium…



Like party quests in other games, MapleStory's party quests

had players team up to tackle each stage's objective together.



└ The party quests we ran endlessly back in the day



Instead of just killing monsters on the same map,

you'd have party members collect specific items, answer questions, and so on,

with each stage mixing things up a little.

Clearing them gave you a pretty hefty chunk of EXP,

so quite a few players chose to use up their party quest runs

rather than grind monsters.

Some of the best-known ones were also the first you'd come across,

like Moon Bunny's Rice Cake, Kerning City, and Ludibrium.

The Ludibrium party quest in particular was required

as a pre-quest for the Papulatus boss fight.



└ Grinding is the better option over PQs these days, after all..ㅠ



I think quite a few pre-quests have been removed by now.

This one's among them.

2. What Made Them So Fun..?;

- Sharing the Work

I think what made party quests fun was having a shared goal,

with everyone naturally settling into different roles.

Take Moon Bunny's Rice Cake, for example.



└ Source: Inven ┘

Unlike grinding, where you handle everything yourself,

each party member would gather seeds, as you can see in the picture,

and once every spot had a seed planted, you'd move on to the next stage.



└ Source: Inven ┘

Someone would find the items we needed, someone else would handle attacks at 11 o'clock,

another would cover 5 o'clock, and what each party member did

made a difference to how quickly we progressed and whether we'd clear the quest.

Of course, when someone didn't know what to do or mistakes kept happening,

it could get a little frustrating.

Still, when we helped each other learn the ropes, tried again, and got the clear,

it came with a sense of accomplishment that earning EXP from solo grinding just didn't have.

3. Leveling That's Better Together

Party quests gave players who were tired of the same old grind a chance

to take a break from it and level up a different way for a while.



└ Romeo and Juliet was so good for easy gains…



You still earned EXP and rewards, but the objectives changed from stage to stage,

and you were talking with other players along the way, which made it

a little less boring than regular grinding.

Especially for players tired of grinding solo for n hours with YouTube on,

or those who liked playing with others

but found bossing a little intimidating, I think this was

a surprisingly solid way to level up.



└ Of course, some PQs can be tackled solo too



And if you want both levels and rewards

but find party quests a bit daunting, solo PQs

are an option too.

Though I really only did this one when I hit a rough stretch of leveling,

and the rewards were a bit underwhelming for the time it took, so eventually, I think

I just went back to the grinding maps ㅋㅋㅋ...ㅠ

In the end, I don't think the fun of party play is just about a bunch of people

gathering on the same map—it's about everyone's roles and actions

coming together to achieve something as a team.

For me, MapleStory's party quests

brought the fun of teamwork and leveling up together,

and I think that's why they've stayed with me all this time.



These days,



the NPCs for cross-world party quests are all gathered here like this,

and you can head into party quests from here.

Besides the party quests I've talked about, there are plenty of others

for different level ranges.

If you're curious, they're worth a try.

You get a look at the art styles and map mechanics

from when each party quest first came out, and that's a nice little treat in itself!

Are there any party quests that have stayed with you?

That's where I'll leave things for this post.

I'll be back with another story next time (๑>؂•̀๑)