[Alert] [Complete] Unscheduled Minor Patch - September 18, 2014

[icephoenix21]

In other words exploit the hell outta something next time :D

I think all the people that got perma banned from the bounty hunter exploit would disagree haha.

[ShinkuDragon]

I think all the people that got perma banned from the bounty hunter exploit would disagree haha.

i forgot, what was that one about?

and RIP blaze wizard, 0-60, but training with the lag (and random DC's i get) is too much for me.

[hadriel]

i forgot, what was that one about?

and RIP blaze wizard, 0-60, but training with the lag (and random DC's i get) is too much for me.

They put the reward check in front of the inventory space check, resulting in the Bounty Hunter box giving out the rewards and not consuming the box, causing 1/0 MCCs and other good stuff. They're not tradeable, but that's still crazy.

Hadriel

[ShinkuDragon]

They put the reward check in front of the inventory space check, resulting in the Bounty Hunter box giving out the rewards and not consuming the box, causing 1/0 MCCs and other good stuff. They're not tradeable, but that's still crazy.

Hadriel

oh.

well, this is what happens when nexon goes and covers everything under the blanket of an "exploit" then. that was obviously an abuse of faulty coding, like the "full inventory" boxing where you filled your inventory and kept clicking the box, and it wouldn't be spent until you got the item you had a slot for.

i doubt anyone sane would say something like that is at the same level as overlooking exp. this was an oversight, a really dumb one, but an oversight not an exploit. and it'd be nice if nexon started tagging stuff with the name it deserves.

[PirateIzzy]

They put the reward check in front of the inventory space check, resulting in the Bounty Hunter box giving out the rewards and not consuming the box, causing 1/0 MCCs and other good stuff. They're not tradeable, but that's still crazy.

Hadriel

That only worked if your etc. inventory was full, actually.

[hadriel]

That only worked if your etc. inventory was full, actually.

I know. It's implied from what I said, in that there's only one way to fail an inventory space check.

An item stack check is even worse, giving the "click-till-you-get-X-item" result and thus large amounts of the item just by holding down a button. Of course, MCCs don't stack, but there are other worse things out there...

It should ALWAYS be 1) consume box, 2) RNG, 3) inventory space check, and if it fails, then 4) award box again.

Hadriel

[SaptaZapta]

In other words exploit the hell outta something next time :D

@CM_Artasi;
I think Nexon needs to figure out a way to reward the people who didn't overuse the island.

I agree that punishing those who did is impossible. Too many people and the line between unlucky/ignorant and intentional is blurred.
But it would be nice if every char that logged in between the game update and the minor patch, and didn't go to the Moldoves, received a little something, maybe a 2x coupon.
Would be even nicer if the characters who went to the island and just did the quests got the reward too, but this again runs into the gray area of "how can you tell?"

[PirateIzzy]

I know. It's implied from what I said, in that there's only one way to fail an inventory space check.

An item stack check is even worse, giving the "click-till-you-get-X-item" result and thus large amounts of the item just by holding down a button. Of course, MCCs don't stack, but there are other worse things out there...

It should ALWAYS be 1) consume box, 2) RNG, 3) inventory space check, and if it fails, then 4) award box again.

Hadriel

I honestly don't even know how Nexon managed to screw it up in the first place. It was working normally before that SC.

[SaptaZapta]

A fix has been applied for a crash in the SAO dungeon that some players have occasionally experienced.

Didn't help me. I just now got kicked to the login page right after I entered the dungeon and buffed up.
That might be just the "normal" CC DC, though.

[PERM]

RIP MR LEE :'(

[MuscleWizard]

why the hell do people think mr lees is bad?!

Jesus Christ i got from 23 to 118 in two days just from that dungeon

and this is post nerf

[SaptaZapta]

why the hell do people think mr lees is bad?!

Jesus Christ i got from 23 to 118 in two days just from that dungeon

and this is post nerf

I don't know what you and Thorr are using. My BW only managed 35-50 in that one hour limit. Granted, I wasn't focused on seeking out the best exp mobs, I was actually doing the quests (which 1 hour is nowhere near enough time for, btw), but still...

[MuscleWizard]

I don't know what you and Thorr are using. My BW only managed 35-50 in that one hour limit. Granted, I wasn't focused on seeking out the best exp mobs, I was actually doing the quests (which 1 hour is nowhere near enough time for, btw), but still...

just rush through each map and kill everything, all you really need to 1-shot everything is link skills set up, MPE blue potions, and NLC Wizard potions, the only things that'll take a little while to kill are the black wolves, bosses, and purple neps, which is fine.

[SaptaZapta]

just rush through each map and kill everything, all you really need to 1-shot everything is link skills set up, MPE blue potions, and NLC Wizard potions, the only things that'll take a little while to kill are the black wolves, bosses, and purple neps, which is fine.

I am 1-hitting all the non-bosses (no link skills or potions, but a good set of newbie gear).
Today I went in at 60, and my client closed 8 minutes later, at 63 Might have gotten 20 levels if I hadn't dc'ed... on 3x (2x event and 1.5x coupon).
Guess I just don't know how to "rush through".

[kruimel0]

I know. It's implied from what I said, in that there's only one way to fail an inventory space check.

An item stack check is even worse, giving the "click-till-you-get-X-item" result and thus large amounts of the item just by holding down a button. Of course, MCCs don't stack, but there are other worse things out there...

It should ALWAYS be 1) consume box, 2) RNG, 3) inventory space check, and if it fails, then 4) award box again.

Hadriel

Shouldn't it be 1) consume box, 2) check all possible inv spaces, 3) RNG or award box back if 2 failed?
Your order makes it possible to keep on getting only use items if you insist on it

[MuscleWizard]

I am 1-hitting all the non-bosses (no link skills or potions, but a good set of newbie gear).
Today I went in at 60, and my client closed 8 minutes later, at 63 Might have gotten 20 levels if I hadn't dc'ed... on 3x (2x event and 1.5x coupon).
Guess I just don't know how to "rush through".

focus on bosses, if you leave a few monsters behind it takes more time to go back and kill it than it does to simply go on to the next map and get a fresh full spawn.

[hadriel]

Shouldn't it be 1) consume box, 2) check all possible inv spaces, 3) RNG or award box back if 2 failed?
Your order makes it possible to keep on getting only use items if you insist on it

I was thinking of a "Fail if free inventory space = 0" check, not so much of a "fail if not stackable". But yeah should be the other way round for even better security.

Hadriel

[SaptaZapta]

In a properly coded program, all box opening would be done using the same piece of code ("library subroutine"), so new events wouldn't have a chance to be miscoded in an exploitable way.
In a properly managed team, every piece of code would be reviewed by a senior team member or leader.

The way it seems to me, from observing that they often have the same bug recur:

There isn't a library routine. Or there are several (much like the multiple types of untradeable power elixirs in the game), only one of which works right. Nobody deleted the bad ones because Nexon never do cleanup.

When a programmer is given the task to add a new type of box to the game, they copy-paste code from some previous box, or randomly decide which library routine to use, not knowing or caring what the difference is between them.

Nobody checks over the code, except possibly the parts that needed changing after copy-pasting (e.g., the list of items and probabilities). QA run it and if the box seems to be giving out what it should and not crashing the game, they're happy. QA is also new or ignorant of exploits and don't try to glitch the boxes.

When an exploit is reported and fixed, it's usually done by a different person than the one who originally coded the box. The original coder never gets the feedback that their code was faulty, and therefore when they have to code another box, they'll likely do it the same way again. The bug fixer does not bother to search through the entire source code for more places where the same bug appears, because they are in a rush to get to the next bug, or because they don't care.

Bonus fail: when a hotfix is applied to the GMS servers, it is often not included in the main KMS development version, or not applied to versions that are already undergoing localizations for GMS, so the bug (exploit) is very likely to come unpatched at a future version update.


What is even sadder is that if Wizet is developing MapleStory 2 using the same (lack of) methodology, its code will become pomegranate in a couple of years even if it's gorgeously tight on release.

[Thorr]

I don't know what you and Thorr are using. My BW only managed 35-50 in that one hour limit. Granted, I wasn't focused on seeking out the best exp mobs, I was actually doing the quests (which 1 hour is nowhere near enough time for, btw), but still...

The only edge I have is using 1.5x. That got me 33-70 last night. I am taking my lvl 63 BW into Lee when 2x starts. GOnna have a blast with a 1.5 buff, 1.5 card, 2x event. I'll probably go 63-110 or higher in the hour. (I can do 60-100 with just a 1.5)

Update: Your level gain obviously is greatly dependent on your killing speed. In the 4 hour event on Saturday, I took a BW from lvl 63 to 112 at Mr Lee, then did zak runs and MPE until it was 130. Then I took a lvl 70 BW to lvl 118 at Mr Lee and then did Zak and MPE until 130. (Note, these had a 1.5 card from Tot and a 1.5 buff from the BW event, so I was getting a total of about 6x)
On Sunday, I grabbed a lvl 70 mercedes mule and tried to do the same. They had my standard beginner accessory set, but no other advantageous gear. (3 evo rings + Abs Ring belt and shoulder) The result was MUCH slower. These guys had the Tot 1.5, so I was getting about 3x. The killing speed of the mercs was painful compared to the BWs. I only got the lvl 70 to barely lvl 100 at Mr Lee. I did a second mule, but he started at 90. I got him to 110 only.
I am sure my mercs would have done far better if I had my W Att mule training gear. Killing miniboss monsters was taking just way too long. The BWs were plowing through them like paper. (But they were much better geared.)