Hello.

The key word for this post is time capsule, in the sense of preserving moments that I would want to pass on to future players.

After thinking about what would best fit that idea, I decided to gather official remarks from [Maple NOW] and the CROWN showcase that seem likely to affect how MapleStory will be played going forward. I have also added some explanation so that newer players can understand why these topics came up and what exactly is being discussed.

In the January 8 Maple NOW broadcast, several fairly important points were mentioned. Because they include matters that could have a major impact both on current players, who may be able to see them reflected relatively soon, and on future players as well, they feel especially significant.

Since this is meant as a time capsule, what I would most like to leave for future players is the hope that the points mentioned here are ultimately implemented in a positive direction and remembered favorably.

Remarks related to [new economic measures]

“It is true that MapleStory’s overall growth pace has become somewhat faster lately. We have been receiving many concerns about the economic issues that come with that. So of course we also recognize those issues as a problem, and we are thinking about and preparing whether these problems can be solved through new methods rather than the measures we have always used, but this will not be reflected immediately this winter, and the Genesis Pass from the previous Assemble update will not be sold this time.

So although it may be disappointing, we believed that through the new measures we mentioned, even if we accelerate growth, the resulting economic problems may be reduced, so this winter we will refrain from releasing the Genesis Pass. I also want to note that only Item Burning will be enhanced this time.” - CROWN Showcase

“There is one thing I do not want people to misunderstand. Previously, I said that we were preparing more fundamental changes related to MapleStory’s economy, right? This is not that. I want to make it clear that this is not the same thing, and we have more in preparation. I think we may be able to apply it sometime in the first half of this year. Rather than using methods such as adjusting Meso production, we are preparing a somewhat different approach so that, in the end, the production and consumption of this currency can be set up in a more meaningful way for the heroes who genuinely play hard and enjoy the game.”

This point first appeared during the explanation at the CROWN showcase that the Genesis Pass would not be sold this season, and it was brought up once again in January’s Maple NOW.

The “this” mentioned there refers to the currency balance adjustment shown above, which had been applied just one week earlier. Since that change alone was already a drastic measure that many players did not expect to see implemented, there is considerable curiosity and anticipation around what this newly prepared measure, one that has apparently gone through a longer and more deliberate process, will actually be. If it is large enough to offset the side effects that would have come with releasing the Genesis Pass, then many are expecting it to have a major impact in several respects.

Remarks related to the [parry system]

“People in chat are saying, ‘Can’t you stop being so fixated on parrying,’ but I do not think we have used it that many times. And they are not all the same kind of parry either. They are all a little different. So I still feel it is a bit awkward to call it an obsession, and of course I do not think it is good to give players repetitive experiences, so I think next time we may be able to do it in a different form.”

The parrying being referred to here points to the recently released boss [The First Adversary], the [Virtual Combat System] event that appeared as part of the One Punch Man collaboration, and most recently [Season Boss: Kai].

It was used a total of three times, on June 7, 2025, November 20, and December 18 respectively. [Virtual Combat System] received a fairly poor response, while Kai was received more positively because its timing and judgment were eased by comparison; even so, it remains a mechanic that divides opinion, so this kind of chat reaction is understandable.

Judging from the response, it seems quite likely that content or events using the parry mechanic in some form will continue to appear later on, and it will be interesting to see how that is handled and how players respond.

Remarks related to [V Matrix] difficulty after the revamp

“It is true that we set the post-revamp ratio for experience Core Gemstones conservatively. Whenever we revamp a system and there is a possibility that a foundational part of the game could change, we always take a conservative approach. From your perspective, the before and after are clearly noticeable. Compared to before, when it was easier to obtain Experience Core Gemstones and Core Gemstones, especially in Challengers World, you are probably feeling quite strongly that it has become harder now. Next time, to the extent that we can loosen the balance on this part, we will loosen it decisively.”

In this winter update, V Matrix was revamped into a point-based system. As a result, both the efficiency and acquisition amounts of the related Core Gemstone items changed as well, and because it became harder than before to reach the same level of enhancement, there was a great deal of feedback on the subject. Given the wording used here, it seems reasonable to expect that the difficulty may later be adjusted downward to a more manageable level.

Remarks related to [Maple One Card&Fight! Return of the Legend]

“People are saying, ‘Changseop, bring back One Card,’ and while the existing game is certainly fun, we are thinking about ways to do One Card differently. We will prepare this in a fun way as soon as it is ready.”

“Someone said, ‘Brother Changseop, I want to play Fight! Return of the Legend. When is the furniture coming out?’ The very first thing I asked for was, ‘Let’s make it possible to play Fight! Return of the Legend.’ But even without knowing anything about development, I think it is easy to understand that Fight! Return of the Legend is harder to make than other mini-games. So we are working on it, but it is taking a little time. We will prepare it quickly so that you can get it as soon as possible.”

Maple One Card is a fairly long-running mini-game, and it is said to have first been added before 2014. What exactly “a different way” means in this case is something we will only be able to judge later.

Fight! Return of the Legend, often referred to as “Ssa Jeon Gwi,” is also a mini-game with quite a long history, having first released in 2014, and it has continued to enjoy strong popularity among a dedicated fanbase.

The furniture mentioned here refers to [Maple Home] furniture, which in earlier events could be purchased through the Meso Shop and, once installed in Maple Home, allowed the mini-game to be played at any time. Based on the remarks, it seems likely that Fight! Return of the Legend will also be released in that form later on.

Regarding the [Challengers Partner] event

“Since this was the first event to introduce this partner system, we set it up a bit conservatively. So we had expected to some degree that not being able to cancel the partnership could become an issue, but because this was the first event of its kind, I would appreciate it if you understood that we handled it conservatively to avoid systemic loopholes. It will probably be difficult to address this in the January update, but we will try to provide it later in a somewhat improved form. For now, I would appreciate it if you could bear with us through January.”

[Challengers Partner] is a newly introduced event in this Challengers World, where players form a partnership with another user in the same world and earn rewards through gameplay.

However, as shown above, because the system was set up conservatively, once a partnership was formed it could not be changed under any circumstances. As a result, there were many cases where one player failed to keep the original agreement and stopped playing, leaving the other side at a loss.

When that kind of problem happens, the players who are actively putting in effort are the ones who end up harmed, so it would be good to see an improvement applied during this Challengers World. Since this also seems like the sort of event that could continue appearing in future seasons, it is worth hoping for a clear fix.

Regarding [Treasure Hunter]

“You also mentioned a pity system for Treasure Hunter, and when heroes feel from experience that something is off, even if I do not feel it myself, the staff do. I think there is room for improvement in those areas.”

Treasure Hunter is content in which players gain experience by opening boxes that appear randomly while hunting. The issue is that these appearances are entirely random, and the current upper limit is set at 20000 monsters, which has led to a fairly harsh reaction from players. For now, this is another case where we will have to wait and see what changes later.

Regarding [Tower of Dimensions]

“Tower of Dimensions Season 3 seems like it will be coming soon. We will try to prepare it in a form that is enjoyable.”

Tower of Dimensions is an event that has been held twice so far, and it was officially introduced as MapleStory’s version of a pot game, built in the style of an enhanced Forest of Patience.

That description is fitting, because it is an obstacle map with extremely high difficulty, and so far it has been held twice, on November 21, 2024 and May 22, 2025.

Because the difficulty is very high and the rewards are limited to cosmetic items, only a relatively small number of players actively engage with it, but the content itself is generally seen as having had a great deal of effort put into it. In Season 2, a live video broadcast format was added as shown above, so based on these remarks, it seems possible that Season 3 may introduce something new again.

It also appeared last November in the One Punch Man event as a kind of cameo, including a scene where Saitama could clear it extremely quickly using a standing high-jump skill. Since Season 1 and Season 2 were each held at six-month intervals, this may well have been part of that same pattern.

Remarks related to boss monsters

Regarding boss remasters: “The most recent boss remaster we did was Suu, and we absolutely do want to do more. But because of factors related to rewards and update planning, the reality is that they have been gradually pushed back in priority. If we have the capacity, we will try to move on that quickly as well. You also mentioned Guardian Angel Slime...”

Regarding boss patterns: “‘Changseop, try hitting Seren Phase 1 for 30 minutes.’ I see comments like that too, and we are well aware that Seren Phase 1 has some difficult aspects, so we are thinking about how it can best be improved. We are considering the combat-related points you are raising, and we will try to reflect them as quickly as possible.”

Regarding boss lag: “We also feel that boss lag is too severe, so we are looking into it. We know that there is especially heavy lag when entering, so we are reviewing how that can be addressed from both a technical and planning perspective. We will bring it to you quickly as soon as it is ready.”

The most recent Suu remaster mentioned here took place on April 18, 2024, which is already quite a while ago from the current point in time. It does seem that bosses other than Damien are still being considered, but given the recent direction of releasing new bosses and even season bosses at short intervals, it is difficult to expect remasters in the near future. As with earlier cases, it seems more likely that pattern easing will serve as the practical alternative for now.

March update remarks: Maple NOW revamp and a more substantial anniversary update

“Although it has been meaningful to greet you through Maple NOW for the past two years as well, we will try to reach heroes in a somewhat different way.”

“As for how we reach out, we will think about a new method in time for March as well. I think there will probably be another major change starting around March and April, so please look forward to it...”

“Actually, the reason I went over the Lotte World-related content once more earlier was because I wanted to explain this together with it. Our 23rd anniversary will begin one month earlier than usual. Challengers World will continue through April, but starting in March, we plan to fully enter the 23rd anniversary event and push forward strongly both in terms of content and events. In fact, this year was the 22nd anniversary, but there were many things that needed to be done at the time, so it passed by relatively quietly. However, MapleStory anniversary updates were originally very much like major festival-style updates. So this year, we are preparing things one month earlier in hopes of delivering something memorable, so please look forward to it.

On the offline side as well, we are preparing things to a standard comparable to the online side. Around the March update, we plan to fill Lotte World Mall, Seokchon Lake, and the Jamsil area with MapleStory. We are preparing it so that no matter where you get off at Jamsil Station, you will see Maple. What I want to say is that in March, together with the anniversary, you will be able to experience a much richer MapleStory on a truly large scale.” - CROWN Showcase

“March seems likely to be meaningful in several ways. As I said often at the showcase, I think this winter overall has been a period of stacking content upward. It was not that there was nothing broadly appealing at all, of course, but it was still a season focused on upward progression, and I think more broadly appealing updates will begin in March, and by moving the anniversary update forward into March and April, we will probably be able to do more of them. If that happens, I think heroes may find themselves saying, ‘This kind of update is coming with the anniversary event?’ in surprise, and when the warm spring comes, we are preparing motivations that could bring more heroes back to MapleStory.”

First, a change to the format of Maple NOW, which had been held on each Test World opening day, was announced. At the moment it is hard to predict exactly how it will change, but it was said that the new format would be applied around March and April. Since Maple NOW functions not only as a release broadcast but also as an official channel through which players hear the developers’ views on updates and current issues, any change to its format could have a meaningful impact.

For reference, [Maple University], the 22nd anniversary event, did include an offline event alongside it, but as mentioned above, the overall scale of the in-game content itself was relatively modest. In particular, the second update, which ran for a month as a mini-game, was received somewhat poorly.

By contrast, the 23rd anniversary event was already being emphasized from the showcase stage, with the update moved forward by one month and large-scale offline events, along with content that appears intended to drive player interest and return traffic, being previewed. Taken together, it seems likely to proceed on a very different and much larger scale.

Looking at everything together, many players seem to feel that, combined with the economic measures, the updates before the summer season could become a fairly important turning point. Hopefully, they end up moving in a good direction.

Thank you for reading.