31/1 - Characters' max level is increased to 250!

[Arrol]

No worries man!
Red leaf high and you're all set.
And nexon knows this so the keys are probs going to be more expensive.
Calling it.

Until the KMS Red Leaf High rears its ugly head...

[Zerard]

Until the KMS Red Leaf High rears its ugly head...

Didn't that come a little after Angelic Buster in KMS?

[Arrol]

Didn't that come a little after Angelic Buster in KMS?

It came after Magnus and Hero/Nova Hyper skills, so we still have a chance of getting this.

[Derosis]

relevant for some people

I, on the other hand, welcome this update <3

I also welcome our new levelcap raising overlords.

[heroofstars]

Absolutely all of this.

I'm really struggling to see how many of you claim this will solve the game's rampant "power creep" issues. Please. It's not and hasn't been an issue of "power creep" for the last 3 years, but a "power overload." How many of you can OHKO anything that moves in the game that's a non-boss monster? Even major bosses are getting OHKO'd now by the best funded characters in KMS. Doesn't that seem like an issue to you? And if so, how is giving players more levels and power going to solve that?

IIRC Spadow mentioned a change to mobs, like a 25% increase in level/HP/etc. all-around. What does that solve? All it does is make them even meatier EXP meatsacks to parallel the level change. It doesn't make the game more balanced, or much less, fun.

This game has and always will have an enormous host of balance issues thanks to Nexon not addressing the main concerns of power, mostly class skill imbalance issues (especially between newer v. older classes) and the incredibly out-of-control potential system.

All Nexon is doing with this change is buying more time and creating more meatsacks so you keep doing the same thing you've always been doing. Months later, when everyone is at 250 and all their Lv. 160 gear is upgraded to the max and whatnot, the game is going to play THE EXACT SAME as it does now. You're going to kill everything in one hit, nothing will be a challenge, and you'll be clamoring for more updates and higher damage caps because golly gee your 5th Job skills can do so much more than the 99m they're hitting now!

So all this does in the end is piss off a lot of people who worked hard back in the day to reach Lv. 200 when they did. Honestly though, everyone who has said "this is an MMO, it's what happens" is right, a level cap was bound to happen soon, but to underscore my contentions and to further echo Sapta's, it's a pointless change if not brought about strategically in tandem with other necessary game updates. But as we've seen from Spadow's recent screenshot, and from Nexon's track record over the last 10 years, that's most certainly not the case.

Now if you'll excuse me I need to go screenshot my rankings for posterity's sake.

Thanks for defending us "old veteran players" Dan.

There is a reason why most of us players who did what we did to get our ranks are frustrated. I'm going to share 2 stories from my own personal experience. First ill introduce myself. I'm the rank 2 player in my server and ranked 39 in gms (should be 40 but i guess someone's char got deleted) And my pirate is the rank 329th overall (should be 333) and ranked 33rd in my server Khaini. Personally i am a bit frustrated by this because of all the work put into the game. And before i begin my story i can't begin to imagine how many insane stories other old veteran players might have had. On the other hand i'm a little excited only because i love challenges.

My first story was when i was training my bishop at the 15x lvls at himes before 4th job was even released. I raced my friend chris to see who can get the most experience in a day. We trained 20 hours on 2x cards and 2 of those hours were 4x because of the yearly thanksgiving event. We were lucky to get 2 events in a year back then. we both made 150m exp that day and thats about how much exp it took to lvl at 150, he was lvl 167 at the time.

The second story was when i trained my Buccanner. Pirates came out 2 months after my bishop reached 200 back in 2008. I took part in the race for the top rank pirate in gms. I ended up as the 5th rank and 1st in my server. I kept losing internet for 2 weeks at a time back then because we never payed the bills. In total i probably lost about 2 month of time i could have been training. Anyway the last time i lost my internet i was the 4th rank pirate in gms. after i got my internet back i was the 7th rank and at lvl 190. At that point i started training 23 hours a day instead of 20. I had 1 hour worth of sleep and made my siblings wake me up. If i couldnt wake up i would take my finger and bite it as hard as i can until i did. i made it to the 5th rank and the 6th rank person was on my tail. Funny thing is i lost my internet when i was lvl 199 and 99.98% so i went over to my cousins house downloaded the game and just lvled as quick as i could. People were suprised that i had not one but two lvl 200's back then. It took about 6 months of nonstop training but the satisfaction was great. BTW just so you know i wasn't in great health after training 23 hours for 2 weeks i looked like i was on the verge of death.

After all that over time level 200 became a joke. There was no more satisfaction of being 200. Honestly a person who reaches lvl 200 now would probably be lvl 90 back then. Now the cap is being removed undermining all that work. It's as if 3 years of wasting your time training to get to 200 has been replaced with a 1 week effort. Do we receive any compensation? no. But that's right we don't play anymore so we don't deserve those ranks. But the truth is that's all we have left to show for the wasted 3 years of effort now there is nothing left except stories.

But there is a reason why our generation died out. The game is nothing like it was 4 years ago. It's true i kept my rank for 5 years. But yeah hopefully these stories serve as a wake up call. Who knows how the game is going to turn out 5 years from now. would be nice if they kept the old ranks but i doubt it matters. But part of me is also actually excited. Either ill join the race to 250 or ill just do it just to accomplish it.

Things i regret: Spending 3 years to accomplish something that later became undermined.
Things i do not regret: Meeting a handful of friends like Dan who i see twice a year now.

[Zerard]

It came after Magnus and Hero/Nova Hyper skills, so we still have a chance of getting this.

Ah, that's right. GMS threw me off with it's whole 'we'll give you hypers/Magnus with Kaiser' deal.

[PirateIzzy]

Until the KMS Red Leaf High rears its ugly head...

I doubt Nexon would release that since they'd get more money out of regular RLH, but you never know.

[Alloy]

BTW just so you know i wasn't in great health after training 23 hours for 2 weeks i looked like i was on the verge of death.

And people still call it a game.

I'm starting to think it's not the game what's wrong, but the people. I'm not overpowered, I never spent a cent on this game, and know what's weird? I still have fun playing it.

[Moonlapse]

The only reason I stick around on this game is because I have friends like @moore4me in my guild, so I will probably continue to play even after this update. I will be very dissapointed if this update is not followed by new high level areas and skills, however.

[Even]

Things i regret: Spending 3 years to accomplish something that later became undermined.
Things i do not regret: Meeting a handful of friends like Dan who i see twice a year now.

Why would you regret the first thing if it lead to the 2nd? Imagine if you didnt do the first one, you life could a lot different than it is now, would you want that?

[Arrol]

I doubt Nexon would release that since they'd get more money out of regular RLH, but you never know.

They made money out of Golden Temple with their tickets. Look what happened.

[heroofstars]

Why would you regret the first thing if it lead to the 2nd? Imagine if you didnt do the first one, you life could a lot different than it is now, would you want that?

because i over did it. i should have just casually played. the 2nd thing makes the 1st thing worth it i agree. but i gambled my health trying to achieve a rank that no longer matters.

[PirateIzzy]

They made money out of Golden Temple with their tickets. Look what happened.

Like I said, "you never know".

[Justin]

BTW just so you know i wasn't in great health after training 23 hours for 2 weeks i looked like i was on the verge of death.

If you were seriously playing this much, then you have some serious problems you need to set straight. This game is not worth your physical health, your life. This is exactly the same way people end up dying in internet cafes. The only 'wake up call' this post gave me was just how much of a 'wake up call' the pre-bb level 200s needed. (The ones that pulled this crap, in any case). There's no reason to play a game that much on a daily basis. Absolutely no reason for it.

[Endgame]

I do wonder what kind of "high level content" they intend on adding.

Hitting 110 then doing LHC until 160 or so then doing Stronghold all the way until 200 really needs to change. Even moreso than a higher level cap.

Hell, KMS doesn't even have Party Play LHC. What the hell do they do for 110-160?!

[Arrol]

I do wonder what kind of "high level content" they intend on adding.

Hitting 110 then doing LHC until 160 or so then doing Stronghold all the way until 200 really needs to change. Even moreso than a higher level cap.

Hell, KMS doesn't even have Party Play LHC. What the hell do they do for 110-160?!

Evolving World. Lots of it.

[heroofstars]

If you were seriously playing this much, then you have some serious problems you need to set straight. This game is not worth your physical health, your life. This is exactly the same way people end up dying in internet cafes. The only 'wake up call' this post gave me was just how much of a 'wake up call' the pre-bb level 200s needed. (The ones that pulled this crap, in any case). There's no reason to play a game that much on a daily basis. Absolutely no reason for it.

alright here is a little clarity. I said i looked like i was on the verge of death didn't say i was. I just remember having a thick itchy beard and was sick. As far as the other pre-bb level 200's there was only 1 person as crazy as i was in my server and that's why he was rank 1. The record for being awake is 11 days by the way. I rested an hour a day so i was fine. The reason people end up dying is because they don't rest at all. This is just how competitive we were.

[mithi9]

And people still call it a game.

I'm starting to think it's not the game what's wrong, but the people. I'm not overpowered, I never spent a cent on this game, and know what's weird? I still have fun playing it.

So much this

[FrozNlite]

And people still call it a game.

I'm starting to think it's not the game what's wrong, but the people. I'm not overpowered, I never spent a cent on this game, and know what's weird? I still have fun playing it.

Why would you regret the first thing if it lead to the 2nd? Imagine if you didnt do the first one, you life could a lot different than it is now, would you want that?

If you were seriously playing this much, then you have some serious problems you need to set straight. This game is not worth your physical health, your life. This is exactly the same way people end up dying in internet cafes. The only 'wake up call' this post gave me was just how much of a 'wake up call' the pre-bb level 200s needed. (The ones that pulled this crap, in any case). There's no reason to play a game that much on a daily basis. Absolutely no reason for it.

I think what many of you don't understand is the extremely different dynamic of the game now v. back then. While I don't condone David's (heroofstars) behavior (some of the most extreme out there, though it's not like people like myself weren't doing 12-16 hour average days for 3 months straight), I understand and respect where he's coming from (being there myself, of course) because of what the game offered back then.

More explanation

Not just before Big Bang, but like mid-2009 and earlier, MapleStory didn't have much. I mean, it had a fair amount to captivate many people, but that was nothing compared to some of the really great changes and additions that came with Big Bang and in patches since. Because some of the biggest things to do in the game was boss, and back then you actually needed to be a pretty high level to join a squad for anything, people grinded and made goals to hit certain levels to participate in various runs. By setting a goal, putting in the work, and reaching it, people found satisfaction in leveling that not only isn't here today, but also led to other neat elements: meeting like-minded, hardcore gamers (like David), racing one another with levels, and accomplishing feats no one else could because no one else wanted to dedicate themselves.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is the underlying difference between the game now v. then is the degree of dedication. Casual gamers didn't go far and eventually quit MapleStory back then because to do anything required time, effort, setting goals, and dedication to achieving them. But because a company needs to expand, and because of the massive rise in casual gaming since then thanks to the iPhone and other mobile devices, it only makes sense that they've streamlined the game now so everyone can do anything with minimal effort and funds. Hence why all of the casual gamers are now back playing MapleStory and saying they're "still having fun with it."

Well duh you're "having fun" if you only want to play for a few hours a day and in a few weeks have a Lv. 200 capable of soloing Zakum. If you got a free permanent Hyper Teleport Rock and can warp around the entire world, wherever you want, whenever (in a world, mind you, that has been incredibly redesigned and streamlined so travel is even faster than before, without such special devices). If you get free pomegranate all the time and great equips drop from anything and it's easy for anyone with no funds to even get enough potential to be hitting multi-hundred thousand damage hits.

Dedication is no longer an essential element in this game because Nexon has transformed MapleStory into the only thing Americans want: entertainment with instant gratification.

So to echo David, yes, it's incredibly frustrating to see our hard work become something meaningless, and now wiped away before our eyes, because even if we went to unhealthy extremes at times to achieve what we did, at least we did it, at least we proved our patience and our worth with the records we set. The reward was delayed until we put in the time and hard work, but once we accomplished it the result actually meant something. What does literally anything you do in this game matter anymore? Who cares how many times you solo HT? Anyone can solo HT. peaches in KMS are OHKOing HT. When people can do anything in this game with the single press of a button, why does any of it matter anymore?

In the end, I recognize the importance of increasing the level cap now, of giving new and current players a chance at the top when, like many have aptly noted, the top ranks are filled with many of us retired players. But honestly I pity you, to spend the extra day or two or *gasp* seven it may take to do 200-250, because with such minimal relative effort needed to do that compared to what we did, it's simply meaningless. At least our accomplishments still have recorded merit, if only in our memories and posts.

[Alloy]

In the end, I recognize the importance of increasing the level cap now, of giving new and current players a chance at the top when, like many have aptly noted, the top ranks are filled with many of us retired players. But honestly I pity you, to spend the extra day or two or *gasp* seven it may take to do 200-250, because with such minimal relative effort needed to do that compared to what we did, it's simply meaningless. At least our accomplishments still have recorded merit, if only in our memories and posts.

That's what's important. Maybe they know about this and create halls of fame for lv 200 people before this update. Then bring the new rankings before they raise it again, setting a new record. But in the end, it's the same: A game to have fun with. That's all you should ask from a game. Did you have your fun? Nice. You did but now it turns out you didn't? Well, you better make up your mind, because fun can't time travel.

Also, I've been playing this game before 4th job and all, too. I just never even got to 3rd before 4th's patch arrived. Or something like that. And while I know what you are talking about, it's the same from that point, a game. Just play it as a game, not a chore.