Hello.

This post follows a word chain made up of MapleStory terms, with explanations to help new players understand each one. Where possible, I chose terms that would be useful during gameplay.

1) Maple NOW

Maple NOW is a livestream hosted by MapleStory's director on the day the Test World opens.

The broadcast usually starts around the same time that day's Test World notices are posted. It focuses on introducing updates and offering commentary based on the release notes, though it sometimes covers topics beyond the patch itself, such as upcoming events.

No separate broadcast is held in months with a showcase. January's Maple NOW is scheduled for January 8 (Thursday), with the exact start time to be announced earlier that day in a community post on MapleStory's official YouTube channel.

2) Maple NOW → Ursus

Ursus was a boss available from August 20, 2015 to January 25, 2024. Unusually, players could enter through a party matchmaking system that matched players within the same world.

Players could challenge this boss up to 3 times a day with anywhere from 1 to 18 participants. Its most important feature was its meso rewards, which increased with the player's level; at level 260, completing all three runs would earn approximately 20 million mesos.

However, players at level 200 or above could join a party, land the minimum number of hits required to receive mesos, and leave the rest of the fight to other party members. This allowed them to earn mesos on multiple accounts with little additional effort. The image above is one of the well-known memes from that time.

As this became a growing problem, measures were introduced, including a requirement to defeat monsters within the player's level range and entry limits that applied per Maple ID. Ultimately, however, it was confirmed that the content would be discontinued and replaced. That replacement was <Azmoth Canyon>, which is available today.

One former Ursus reward still available today is the Mashoor's Gift weather effect, commonly called “우뿌,” which has become an essential consumable buff.

Until recently, it could be purchased in the Reward Shop, but the latest update moved it to the Functionality–Weather Effects tab. This is an unusual example of an in-game content reward becoming an official Cash item.

(The Superpower buff was moved to the Functionality–Convenience tab.)

The outfit sets sold in the Ursus Shop were also well received. They returned as permanent items through Camila's event in the second half of 2025, quite some time after Ursus was discontinued. The original Ursus versions were time-limited items with stats such as Boss Damage, whereas the permanent versions from Camila's event naturally had those stats removed.

The team may also have considered these outfits worth highlighting: unlike the other items, they were shown in enlarged images of characters wearing them on the official event page.

These are the regular and hidden Soul illustrations, respectively. Ursus Souls are no longer available.

3) Ursus → Scania

Scania is MapleStory's first world, said to date back to the game's closed beta.

It has consistently ranked among the most populated worlds since its creation, though there was a period when each surge in the game's popularity brought inconveniences such as character creation restrictions. According to statistics from January 1, 2025, it has approximately 79,000 active players, keeping it in first place with a considerable lead over Luna (approximately 60,000) and Elysium (approximately 48,000). These figures were taken from https://meaegi.com/statistics/population.

It is said to be the world where the once-notorious Pink Bean was first defeated, an achievement also mentioned in the 8000-day anniversary event, <In Search of the Records of 8000 Days>.

4) Scania → Arcane Power

Arcane Power becomes available at level 200 or above after entering Vanishing Journey. The story establishes its importance as a power essential to surviving in Arcane River.

It is also an important gameplay mechanic. You collect the Symbols required for each level through daily quests, weekly quests, and event Symbol Selector Coupons, then spend mesos to level them up. Each level increases both your class-appropriate stats and your Arcane Power.

Reaching certain Arcane Power thresholds increases the damage you deal to regular monsters and bosses in Arcane River, making it essential to max out your Arcane Power.

The Arcane Power values needed for each damage multiplier against Arcane River bosses are listed below.

Boss: 100% / 110% / 130% / 150%

Lucid: 360 / 400 / 470 / 540

Easy Will: 560 / 620 / 730 / 840

Gloom: 730 / 805 / 950 / 1095

Normal & Hard Will: 760 / 840 / 990 / 1140

Normal Verus Hilla: 820 / 905 / 1070 / 1230

Darknell: 850 / 935 / 1105 / 1275

Hard Verus Hilla: 900 / 990 / 1170 / 1350

Black Mage: 1320 / 1455

This system and its underlying concept carry over to Grandis in the form of Sacred Power.

5) Arcane Power → Lotus

Lotus is a spirit who, like Orchid, gained a human form through the White Mage's power. He later served the White Mage after his transformation into the Black Mage, acting as a commander of the Black Wings and carrying out acts such as murdering Aria, the empress at the time.

He later endured ordeals that included having his body modified by the mad scientist Gelimer. After playing a major role in <Black Heaven>, MapleStory's first blockbuster story content, he exited the story.

He later reappears in spirit form during the battle against Verus Hilla.

Lotus was released as a boss monster in November 2014 and revamped approximately 10 years later, alongside the 21st anniversary update in April 2024. The revamp slightly changed his appearance and replaced all of his notoriously punishing mechanics. Some of the new mechanics also drew criticism, but follow-up patches adjusted or removed the problematic elements. He is now generally considered a fair boss without mechanics that feel arbitrarily unfair.

6) Lotus → Wooden Mask

Wooden Mask is a monster found at the Excavation Site in Perion and has no particularly notable characteristics.

Its stronger counterpart, Rocky Mask, wears stone on its face instead of wood.

Wooden Mask later reappears in a stronger form in Twilight Perion, beyond the Gate to the Future.

7) Wooden Mask → Critical Rate

Critical Rate, as the name suggests, increases your chance of landing a critical hit. Reaching 100% makes every attack a critical hit, so achieving 100% is essential.

Base Critical Rate varies by class, so the best sources of additional Critical Rate depend on your situation. The available sources are listed below.

• Adventure Deep Dark Critical Ring: 15%

• Phantom's Link Skill, “Phantom Instinct,” at level 2: 15%

• Decent Sharp Eyes: 10%

• Sharp Eyes: 20%

• 세이람의 영약: 20% (when used alongside Sharp Eyes-type skills, only the higher value applies)

• Legion Artifact: up to 20%

• Inner Ability: Unique – up to 20% / Legendary – up to 30%

• Marksman/Night Lord Legion Member Bonuses: 1–5%, depending on rank

• Legion Grid Bonuses: 1% per square, up to 40%

• Explorer Bowman's Link Skill, “Adventurer Curiosity,” with 3 level 2 skills: 10%

• Hyper Stats: up to 15%

• Temporary event buff skills

• Magnificent Souls (Crimson Queen or above): 12%

• In <Challenger World>, a passive skill provides 30%

Classes other than Bowmen only need to reach 100%, while Bowmen also need to weigh other factors. Sources such as Souls, Inner Ability (Legendary), and Hyper Stats are therefore rarely used for Critical Rate, since other options in those categories take priority. Instead, combine sources such as Link Skills, Decent Sharp Eyes, Inner Ability (Unique), Legion Member Bonuses, and Legion Artifacts to reach your target, choosing those that sacrifice little or nothing compared with the alternatives in each category.

Thank you for reading.