This post was written as part of Nexon PEAK activities

and is sponsored content.

​

Hello, it’s Onya

I think the fun of making your own character in an online RPG
really comes down to styling them exactly to your taste and getting attached to them.

In MapleStory, even if it’s the same class, the whole vibe changes depending on the hair, face, and outfit combo,
and there’s something so fun about putting it all together piece by piece around the concept I picked.

I especially love styling.

Like, how much?
If the character isn’t pretty... I straight up can’t raise them. 눈뜨고 키울 수가 없음.

So today I wanted to talk about the Pathfinder and Striker looks
I put together while playing MapleStory for a long time.

1. The class is Pathfinder... with a side of vampire

When Pathfinder first came out, I made one right away
and stayed up all night for 3 days straight until I hit level 123.

But even while grinding that hard, there was no way I was giving up on styling.

Back then I loved the Royal Coupon lineup so much
that, well... I did spend a little money.

I got Suho Hair in one try..!

I literally screamed at the PC bang ㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Once the hair came out exactly how I wanted,
then of course my eyes went straight to the face.

I wanted Lucid Face... so bad...

In the end, I used the face coupon 6 times total and finally got Lucid Face.

Lucid Face with Suho Hair!!!!

I wanted to see this combo so badly that even after lying down to sleep, I was still thinking about pulling Lucid Face,

and looking back now... wow, I was really passionate.

Then I dyed the hair black too, and that finally completed the exact look I wanted.

But human greed never ends,
and once you get the hair and face you want... now you need clothes too.

Back then the Reaper set was just really... insanely cool, so I pulled the robe,

but with only the robe on, it still felt kind of empty, so

I even bought the cape while broke.

And once I put the cape on too? Suddenly it felt like I had to match the lens color.

So then I changed the eye color to red too.

And just like that, the black hair, red eyes, robe-and-cape vampire concept was complete.

Hoo.. hehe.. hehe...

Satisfied

The class was Pathfinder,
but appearance-wise, I turned it into the vampire I wanted.

For me, this was the fun of making a character feel like my own.

You pick the class the game gives you,
and then you layer your own favorite vibe on top of it.

Even if we’re all raising the same Pathfinder, everyone’s taste shows in the styling.

2. Even sub characters have to be pretty or I can’t raise them

Then Striker started looking fun, so I made a sub character.

I made it because I wanted to try a new class, but first things first... it needed to be styled.

When I styled Pathfinder, I was obsessed with the Suho Hair and Lucid Face combo,

but with Striker, I fell into the fun of styling a female character.

One way or another, I ended up putting together a Rose Witch coord look.

I also put in a lot of effort trying to pull the exact face I wanted.

I rolled the hair once and left it alone for the time being, then used a Hair Coupon...

And before I knew it, I was rolling the hair again.

Thankfully, I got Quiet Hair.

ㅜㅜ what a relief...

Honestly, I was kind of hoping for Nabiya Hair too because black looks so good on it,

but Quiet Hair was pretty too, so I was satisfied here.

And then with a Skincare Coupon,
I even gave her Ashen Skin.

Lastly, once I dyed the hair black,
the exact vibe I like was complete.

I love it^^~~~

3. A playstyle where the styling gets finished before the specs

My Striker was only around level 135,
but I was already going all in on the styling.

The look was getting finished way faster than the actual leveling.

But for me, this was part of enjoying the game too.

Trying a new class is fun, of course, but thinking about what kind of look I want for that character is seriously so fun.

If I change the hair, I check if it matches the face,
if I put on clothes, then suddenly it feels like I need a cape,
and once the whole thing is coordinated, I start wanting to change the eye color too.

I only meant to change one thing, but before I know it I’m doing the whole coord.

And once it’s all styled like that, I feel satisfied every time I look at the characterㅎㅎ

4. The order I use when styling my characters

Looking back, it basically goes like this.

1. Pick the class I want to try
   I raised Pathfinder, and Striker looked fun too, so I made it as a sub character.

2. Match a hair and face I really like
   Like Suho Hair and Lucid Face, sometimes there’s just a combo I absolutely have to do.

3. Choose clothes and colors to fit the overall concept
   If it’s a vampire concept, then I match black hair and red eyes with a robe and cape.

4. Look at the finished character and feel satisfied
   And then it’s finally time to level!

And the hair/face coupons I used back then
were the kind where the result came out randomly.

Of course, with a Select Hair Coupon you can choose the exact hair you want right away

But there was a totally different kind of fun compared to just picking the look you want immediately.

That moment of waiting for the result while going please... this time... really had that dopamine hit, you know

I don’t think you need expensive items or some specific combo for it to become your own character.

I did spend money back then trying to pull the exact appearance I wanted,
but what really felt good in the end was that I made the exact vibe I like myself.

Even if you use the same items, I love how your taste still shows through depending on what color you choose and what you pair it with.

Recommended for people like this

• If you need to love how your character looks before you can really enjoy raising them

• If you love mixing and matching hair, face, and clothes

• If you want to give your character your own personal concept, like a vampire

• If you enjoy dressing up too, not just grinding or bossing

When picking a class in MapleStory,
it’s fun to think not just about playstyle, but also what kind of look you want to give it.

Just keep in mind that the coord and coupon experiences in this post are from past Royal Style records.
The Royal Style hair/face lineup differs by season, so if there’s a look you want, please check the current seasonal Royal Style hair/face acquisition methods first.

If you’re the type who starts styling the second you make a sub character like me, set a budget in advance too… ㅎㅎ

Conclusion

For me, the fun of making my own character
is putting my taste on the screen and then happily staring at it forever.

Pathfinder and Striker are different classes and have totally different looks,
but they do have one thing in common: I styled both of them into looks I love.

Even looking back at these old screenshots now, I can totally see why I loved them so much back then...

The level is kind of fuzzy, but I still remember getting Lucid Face on the 6th try.

RPG characters have to be pretty first.~~