To those who've quit: What would make you come back?

[Zenkat]

I love how Diablo 3, a game with absolutely nothing at all in common with Maple, is somehow effectively the great game killer.

Gamekiller? No. But it will take back what it lost. I played Diablo2 and its expansion for over 4 years straight, until i started tiring of it. Suddenly this 'Maplestory' game is in beta, and has anime characters and is an MMO! It seemed enticing, so i went with it. Ever since 2008 with the unveiling of D3, i have been sitting, patiently waiting for it to come out and steal me away from this place.

One thing i always always hated about Maplestory was the uniform loot. Weapons/Armor are all the same, and all you can do is a little scrolling. In Diablo, the items have many varying affixes and it's all very random, causing you to search and search for good loot. (Borderlands has the same style of loot drops as Diablo, which is why i love that game as well)

Byebye stupid chibi anime money pit! We spent way too much time together.

[Ryukiroku]

Maplestory was always something colorful, silly, easy to understand and develop on, and it was casual. I came from RTS, it was a constant fight of adrenline, maplestory was always my mental resting time. It had sort of a charm that kept players. If there were more updates like ludi and less on miracle cubes, it could have been easily the only game I'd want to play.

It's that lack of complexity that made the game good for me at least.

Precisely. I remember the whimsical feeling I had when entering Ludi for the first time with the atmosphere and music. It was a major contrast from Victoria Island and it felt good. That kind of work they did on the game really held me for quite awhile. Now the only way they extend the life of the game is release a constant stream of new classes to go through content you've already played through like a million times. The worst part of it is that they shrunk the world I once loved as soon as Big Bang hit. Lost a lot of exploration factor just so you can continuously grind again and again and again.

If there was one thing that would bring me back... more areas to explore for all level types and not just released for whatever new class comes out at the time.

[Born2BeMild]

Ain't nothing that Nexon could do to bring me back.

I've tried firing the game up awhile back and got a compatibility error. I laughed and closed it all.

[xManuz]

I know I will end up coming back someday. pineappleing addictive game.

[KhainiWest]

I know I will end up coming back someday. pineappleing addictive game.

YOU'RE WEAK. EVERYTIME YOU RETURN TO MS YOU KILL A KITTEN.

[案山子]

If there were more updates like ludi

And what kind of updates would those be exactly? Players just don't give a damn about new maps anymore. At most something is hyped until about a week after it's released, then it's back to the same old thing.

Obviously Maple hasn't implemented anything that resembled the Ludi release, well, since the Ludi release. Not only that, but how many current players in the game ever even experienced that patch? Only the ''old folks'' remember those days, and that's just nostalgia. It's not like Ludi added any content that was actually interesting, it was just that it was something new for those who were so used to not ever having it and they were excited for that new albeit crappy content.

The same just doesn't apply anymore. Now some content is released and about a week in the players are already bored.
The game just isn't holding up anymore.

You're hoping that someday a patch brings back that excitement you obviously lost years ago, but is it ever going to come? No.

[KhainiWest]

And what kind of updates would those be exactly?

Places to train in large maps as groups to gain efficiency outside of LHC. A mini boss like Pap, obviously much more enhanced. A story that adds depth to the area, new weapons that don't involve killing an impossible boss that are just as effective, and the ability to actually get decent scrolls through quests/new monsters.

Players just don't give a damn about new maps anymore. At most something is hyped until about a week after it's released, then it's back to the same old thing.

Because they don't offer anything. The training is inferior and the quests straight up suck. The quest stories are completely hashed garbage, and offer a PQ boss that is either completely underpowered, requires NX, or a ridiculous requirement.

Obviously Maple hasn't implemented anything that resembled the Ludi release, well, since the Ludi release.

NLC or leafre, whatever came first, I can't remember.

Not only that, but how many current players in the game ever even experienced that patch? Only the ''old folks'' remember those days, and that's just nostalgia. It's not like Ludi added any content that was actually interesting, it was just that it was something new for those who were so used to not ever having it and they were excited for that new albeit crappy content.

Pretty sure Ludi has offered more than any other area in god knows how long. We get new towns not new continents. The quests were worth doing, the training was very sociable, the rewards of the drops actually had value, and we had a fun miniboss that was actually challenging at the time, including "guard" bosses such as gatekeeper/Lycan's that just added a fun mob to f`uck with.

The same just doesn't apply anymore. Now some content is released and about a week in the players are already bored.
The game just isn't holding up anymore.

Because there is no depth, there is no purpose, you get 4th job in less than 4 hours, only to train harder to get to 160 to get some decent skills, only to find out the end game content is stale. Ludi was the end game content, and it was good end game content for that time. You had something to look foward too "I can Zak, 4th job is coming soon, one day I can solo papulatus myself!". If you died, you couldn't wheel, you died. You failed.

You're hoping that someday a patch brings back that excitement you obviously lost years ago, but is it ever going to come? No.

I'm hoping for nothing, the game is as good as dead to me. The only way they could even attempt to bring me back is if they completely wiped it, and built it from scratch. The only way. I refuse to go back to the remnents of an armaggedon just to scrap up what's left.

You haven't actually presented anything but statements of your opinion, no examples, no anything. Then you assume I want to come back when they finally find a way to recreate that experience. All of the above, no.

[Spiral]

I could write an essay about this...but here are some broad points I think Nexon needs to read.


1. Start caring about your customers. It's extremely disappointing to see how the customer service of this game has deteriorated since I joined the beta version of the game in 2005. Caring about your customers (a.k.a. customer service) is not just limited to sending automated replies to tickets and fixing errors when they arise, it's about engaging your community and actually listening to what they have to say (not just ignoring them). Nexon makes this game out to be larger than it actually is, so they have no excuse.
2. Be proactive. Any company that waits for things to break instead of testing them before hand is digging their own grave. Don't wait until users report errors to fix them. What is with this nasty habit of releasing game updates that have barely been tested and are loaded with bugs and then taking the servers down from anywhere from 8-24 hours at a time to fix bugs that could have been fixed before the game even went live? Sure, there will be things that slip through the cracks but over the years the amount of errors, glitches, and bugs in the game has just increased.
3. Stick to your guns and be honest. If you say you're going to do something, then do it. Don't make false promises to players, especially ones you can't keep. Be honest with your players. A little transparency will go a long way. Remember that little old message when the cash shop was released in 2006? You know, the one about how you would never give paying customers unfair advantages over non-paying customers? Yeah, you might want to go re-read that.
4. Remember where you came from. What Nexon seems to be forgetting is that if it weren't for us (the players), they would not have a game and wouldn't have a cent to their name. They can put on a happy face every day if the want, but the game is losing players every day and the players they do gain, are short-lived. MapleStory used to have dedicated players who stuck with the game because they loved it...no matter what happened. People left, but they always came back. Just because you have a fancy new office in California, a YouTube channel, and are making some money doesn't make it okay to treat your players like crap. If you continue to do so, you will lose them.
5. ADAPT OR DIE. It's 2012. The tech industry is taking over. Nexon can either adapt and start fixing MapleStory while they still can (time is QUICKLY running out) or they can go the way of MySpace and Friendster and every other internet startup that got lazy and thought they had it in the bag. You're not Facebook, Nexon. Your players aren't invested as much as they used to be in your game. If you think that a new game won't come along in the next few years and blow MapleStory out of the water, then you are all kidding yourselves. The only way you can succeed is to continue adapting (remember when MapleStory was a groundbreaking game?), innovating, and caring about your customers. Make us feel wanted again...because most of us feel like just another dollar to you. If you don't, you will be eaten alive.

[IImaplers]

I think asking them to release more content or certain content is a bit selfish at this point. All Nexon HAS BEEN DOING is releasing more and more content. It's what got them into this problem in the first place because they've always ignored things like testing, security, tickets, etc. If they'd focus on quality rather than quantity, I wouldn't have quit.

[CarrionCrow]

I think asking them to release more content or certain content is a bit selfish at this point. All Nexon HAS BEEN DOING is releasing more and more content. It's what got them into this problem in the first place because they've always ignored things like testing, security, tickets, etc. If they'd focus on quality rather than quantity, I wouldn't have quit.

When people say content they certainly are not refering to the puke grade classes and tweaky systems Nexon been spewing out since Big Bang.

[IImaplers]

When people say content they certainly are not refering to the puke grade classes and tweaky systems Nexon been spewing out since Big Bang.

Then what else would they be referring to?

[Flonne]

New, better host.

p2p.

all microtransactions have an ingame equivalent that is obtained with a "normal" amount of effort as of endgame.

NO MORE DAMAGE BUFFS. Nerf all damage to pre-4th job level, or buff all bosses to an absurd extent. An idea a friend an I had was, square their current HP; remove all timers on bosses, instance it for infinite number of raids. Zakum on a full god level DPS group should take 5 hours, HT 10, PB 20, Empress 30, as a benchmark for what I am talking about. If you d/c or leave you can come back. All boss heal skills removed. Drops buffed tremendously/new, better drops added to reflect difficulty/time increase. Increase group sizes to reflect this. Make healers useful in runs again, perhaps by disabling potions as well as zombify.

All fashion permanent with ingame obtainable equivalents.

Maybe square the pineappleing required EXP, getting to 200 is now under a week, it used to take years. New job/level cap would be nice, but balancing to the former "no more damage buffs" would be difficult so I can deal with keeping cap at 200/4th job.

Random daily quests for incredibly good rewards, to remove some of the godawful monotony.

At least 2 GMs on every server at ALL HOURS, that will respond within a minute.

Fully serverside, no more of this clientsided hack filled garbage.

To elaborate, "buffing drops" on instance bosses should not just mean more and better stuff with better stats, it should mean they also drop cash shop items, TRADEABLE and permanent, including pets. Speaking of pets, remove autopot entirely, pineappleing lazy people. In fact, the entire potion system needs to be entirely redone, as it is now it's retarded. I like how pets have their own unique buffs, passive or active, in other games; add that, gives a bit of pet individuality. Autoloot is the only "auto" that is acceptable, though.

Authentication.

Even if all of these are done, there is only a small chance I will play it more than a few times a month around TERA, anyway, but whatever.

[Mibs]

I still play. I still don't have any reasons not too.

[案山子]

p2p.

That would do far more harm than good. Part of why people even play still is because they don't have a subscription to pay. Maple honestly isn't ''P2P-worthy'' and would very likely kill off much of the player-base that's left. ''What, I have to actually pay to play this piece of pomegranate just so I can talk to my friends on it in Henesys?''

Zakum on a full god level DPS group should take 5 hours, HT 10, PB 20, Empress 30, as a benchmark for what I am talking about.

Just god no.

Maple bosses shouldn't even go over an hour per fight for a couple of reasons:
1) The bosses have no complexity to them. For the most part they just stand still and unleash attacks now and then.
2) Almost every boss requires you to just stand around spamming the same skill or two.

Making the boss fights even longer would honestly just make them even more of a snooze-fest than they already are. They would have to revamp many things from the ground-up to even consider an idea like this so that it makes sense.

Maybe square the pineappleing required EXP, getting to 200 is now under a week, it used to take years.

That's because there was practically no content in the past. You had virtually no training spots that were even remotely decent, and for the most part you had to settle for training on the same monster for the last 60~80 levels to hit cap. At least if you have to do that now the monsters give very good EXP, whereas in the past they gave just about nothing.

---

I only have a problem with the quotes; the rest of the post seemed fine to me.

[SaptaZapta]

@Flonne; @案山子;
I also have a problem with this bit:

Random daily quests for incredibly good rewards, to remove some of the godawful monotony.

especially along with this:

Drops buffed tremendously/new, better drops added to reflect difficulty/time increase.

I just don't see how you can give so many "incredibly good" rewards without getting a power creep (or power inflation) thing going.
Unless all these rewards are like the Dojo gloves, expiring in a day, in which case they don't relieve the monotony but rather become a daily chore.

[IImaplers]

@Flonne:
I'd agree for making certain bosses a bit more challenging, but 10-30 hours to beat a boss? That's just nuts. There's a thing called sleep y'know. I agree to an extent with most of your other points though, especially better security, making it 100% server-sided, GMs.


On the topic of P2P. Yes, I think it should become P2P because that would:

1. at least fend off script-kiddies.. Or would it? I mean if it became P2P, if it's kept client-sided, the real hackers would still find some exploit to allow them to play for free. So it may or may not work depending on how well it's planned out. But I digress..

If every new account and character on that account costs a certain amount of real $ to make (to throw a number out there: 20 bucks for an account (5 chars with each new account) and 5-10 bucks for each character added to that account after the 5th one), you won't have dupers/etc. storing thousands of duped scrolls on thousands of mules.

2. and making it P2P means the company would be more legally responsible because real money is involved for everyone playing, not just a certain few. This is the main advantage for it to become P2P. More players paying real money = more chances for Nexon to legitimately get sued by said player when pomegranate hits the fan. So Nexon would have to seriously step up their service or suffer the consequences.

[KhainiWest]

Ey, pay to play doesn't necessarily mean all that. They could make you pay to play and hold the same TOS, the thing is though, making it p2p gives them a definite income, or more definite than their current model, although what they have now is much more profitable.

[Flonne]

@Flonne; @案山子;
I also have a problem with this bit:

especially along with this:


I just don't see how you can give so many "incredibly good" rewards without getting a power creep (or power inflation) thing going.
Unless all these rewards are like the Dojo gloves, expiring in a day, in which case they don't relieve the monotony but rather become a daily chore.

That's not necessarily what I meant by "good". Powerful=/=good. I think a worthwhile reward for that much effort would be something you can't obtain anywhere else, like special fashion items, pets, or even a semi-rare consumable that adds to subscription time. Things like that.

That's because there was practically no content in the past. You had virtually no training spots that were even remotely decent, and for the most part you had to settle for training on the same monster for the last 60~80 levels to hit cap. At least if you have to do that now the monsters give very good EXP, whereas in the past they gave just about nothing.

Nerf the unholy hell out of current mobs too, then. I think Aqua Road parties should be about optimum for late game grinding.

And if it's p2p, nothing is to say that bosses can't be given more interesting patterns. Removing stupid things like 1/1, damage reflect (UNLESS they can implement it in a better fashion, right now it has almost zero tell and it's overpowered to boot), superarmor, et cetera, would also be a good idea. Those are, as someone else said, fake difficulty. One may argue that tons more HP is too, but at least that's a controllable value, it doesn't randomly screw you.

[byakugan]

That would do far more harm than good. Part of why people even play still is because they don't have a subscription to pay. Maple honestly isn't ''P2P-worthy'' and would very likely kill off much of the player-base that's left. ''What, I have to actually pay to play this piece of pomegranate just so I can talk to my friends on it in Henesys?''

Pay to play is the only way I see of salvation for this game from Nexon's greediness. One of the factors that has killed the game has been the constant increasement of NX's importance for like... everything. (Heck, you can't even kill the last bosses released without paying money). You could say you can play at your own rhythm and be as strong as you wanna be without caring about other's strength, but this is in part a social game and where there's people there is competitivity, it's inherent to humans. As it is right now. this is a challenge of who is the dumbest one to spend the most money on their chars.

NO MORE DAMAGE BUFFS. Nerf all damage to pre-4th job level, or buff all bosses to an absurd extent. An idea a friend an I had was, square their current HP; remove all timers on bosses, instance it for infinite number of raids. Zakum on a full god level DPS group should take 5 hours, HT 10, PB 20, Empress 30, as a benchmark for what I am talking about..

Wait what? I hope you were being sarcastic with this because that is just ...

Even in a game with a gameplay as fluid as, lets say, Megaman, having to fight a boss for anything more than 2 hours would be unbearable. What 案山子 said is true, the only challenge from MS's bosses is staying alive while you spam your skills. I sort of feel you'd want to to bring back the feeling from early Zakum and HT doing this, but they were no different from what Pink Bean and Cygnus are right now, impossible unless you're with a lot of uber strong people (strong back then, wealthy nowadays).

[Flonne]

I like bosses that are impossibly hard. If they aren't, they don't feel like a boss to me. Unless the success rate for the run is under 10%, it's not really a boss, in my eyes. I remember a Zakum run I was in that took about 4:30, that was really fun, and only 3 people out of the 30 that went in survived. Sure, now we have wheels and resurrect and stuff, so that would not happen in current MS, but it was still really fun.