This post was created as part of Nexon PEAK activities.

Hello!

It is easy to make a few mistakes when you first start a game. That is especially true in MapleStory, which has accumulated a wide range of systems and events over the years. In this post, I have put together a few things worth knowing as a beginner to help you avoid some common mistakes.

You do not really need to feed your pets

You may notice your equipped pets looking hungry over time, but a previous patch changed how hunger works: pets no longer return home, no matter how low their fullness gets.

Pets used to return home if you did not feed them, which could be a bit of a nuisance when leveling characters other than your main, for example. This is not exactly the sort of change that gets highlighted as a major update feature, so some players still do not know about it.

Of course, pets with the Pet Training skill eat on their own. Now that Reward Points have been replaced by Exploration Coins, it is easier to spare enough for the skill, so you can buy and equip it if you can afford it.

Hunting maps have been shareable for quite some time

If you are a new or returning player, you may still associate MapleStory with players claiming hunting spots—the game was widely known for it, after all. However, a patch quite some time ago made all hunting maps for level 60 and above shareable.

You can still see other characters, which takes some getting used to. When this was first introduced, I remember getting nervous after killing monsters, apologizing, and changing channels. You can see each other, but you do not share monsters, so there is no need to worry. Regular monsters, Booster Monsters, Runes, and almost everything else are separate for each player.

Elite Bosses are shared, however, and this is the only time your gameplay actually overlaps. You cannot receive rewards unless you land at least one hit, so it is worth paying a little extra attention here.

Lie Detectors can be triggered by either a player or the system

MapleStory's anti-macro system, the Lie Detector, comes in several forms. The important thing to know is that either a player or the system can trigger it. You can tell which one it was by whether you receive 5,000 mesos after entering the correct answer: if you receive 5,000 mesos, a player used the Lie Detector on you.

Without knowing this, you might assume another player on the same map used it on you, so I think it is worth keeping in mind. The game does not explain the distinction, and reacting to another player based on that misunderstanding could leave you with a rather embarrassing memory.

Take your time when joining events

Many MapleStory events require you to enter your character name and a confirmation phrase before you can participate. It is tempting to rush through in-game warnings and confirmation steps because they feel tedious, but these deserve particular attention in MapleStory.

For one thing, major events with substantial rewards often limit participation to once per registered identity. The current Personal Burning event has this restriction, as do major seasonal events such as Hyper Burning, Burning Beyond, and Item Burning.

Recently, more events have also prevented you from deleting a character you selected by mistake and choosing another one. Even when you can do this, you cannot claim any rewards you have already received a second time, so you will lose out either way.

These restrictions were introduced to curb reward farming across multiple accounts. If anything, they are likely to become stricter over time rather than looser, so it is worth being careful. Since participation is limited to once per registered identity, choosing the wrong character during the summer or winter season can leave you in a particularly difficult position.

Accept events & quests at the right time

It is also important to remember to accept events and quests at the right time.

Burning Beyond is a good recent example. The event becomes available at level 260, so you need to accept it as soon as you reach level 260 to get all the item rewards and the full benefit of the 1+1 level-up effect. At this stage, EXP Vouchers, the Blueberry Farm, and Epic Dungeon bonus EXP can raise your level quickly without hunting, so forgetting to accept the event can cost you.

I have had a frustrating experience like this myself—not in MapleStory on PC, but in MapleStory M. I went to the trouble of buying a pass and getting a Burning Booster, only to forget to use it in time.

The same applies to the Genesis weapon liberation quests. They are particularly easy to forget in Challenger World, where progression is fast and boss missions also need your attention. You can only obtain Traces of Darkness after accepting the quest, and you cannot earn them in Practice Mode. If you have already cleared the boss in a normal run, you will not be able to collect its traces that week.

You could also only hold up to 3,000 Traces of Darkness, which meant you had to be particularly careful when defeating the Black Mage if you had purchased the Genesis Pass. This update raised the limit to 6,000, so it is less of a concern than before.

Thank you for reading.