MapleStory

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MapleStory
MapleStory-logo.svg
Original title 메이플 스토리
Studio Wizet, Nexon
Publisher Nexon
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 (South Korea) April 29, 2003
(Japan) December 3, 2003
(China) December 2004
(Taiwan) July 4, 2005
(Thailand) August 16, 2005
(Global) May 11, 2005
(SEA) June 23, 2005
(Europe) May 31, 2007
(Hong Kong) November 1, 2007
(Brazil) June 10, 2008
(Vietnam) June 25, 2008
platform Windows
Nintendo DS
genre MMORPG
Subject Fantasy
Game mode Multiplayer
control Keyboard , mouse
system advantages
preconditions		 1 GHz CPU, 1.5 GB HDD, Windows, internet access
medium Download
language Multilingual

MapleStory (OT: 메이플 스토리, Meipeul Seutori ) is a free, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) from the international South Korean company Nexon .

The game is currently divided into eleven variants, each with a different level of development, independent websites , languages and independent game servers : South Korea , Japan , China , Taiwan , Thailand , Global ( North America ), Southeast Asia , Europe , Hong Kong , Brazil and Vietnam (in chronological order Sequence). In addition, an offshoot of the game called "MapleStory DS" for the Nintendo DS was released on April 15, 2010 in South Korea. MapleStory is one of the few multiplayer online games from South Korea that have established themselves internationally.

Gameplay

In MapleStory, as in many MMORPGs, there is no fixed goal. However, the goal of many players is to bring the player character to a higher level and thereby make him as strong as possible. This is done by collecting experience points , which the player receives by defeating monsters and solving quests on different virtual continents. The highest attainable level is 250.

Unlike most MMORPGs is in MapleStory is a 2D side-scrolling graphics used on the classic, two-dimensional platformers Run reminiscent title.

Characters

The character is the player's playing figure. Each player can have up to ten characters per game server. At the beginning you can choose between the professions adventurer, Cygnus knight, hero, resistance, dual blader and gunner. Each character belongs to a profession (often referred to as a class in other MMORPGs ). The profession determines which skills and equipment the character can use.

In the course of the game, from a certain level onwards, the character can advance within his profession and the player has the opportunity to choose from different development directions. The following table gives an overview of all professions and their subsequent developments. The fourth occupation level and the pirate occupation are not yet available in all variants of the game. The minimum levels required to learn the new profession are given in brackets.

First job 10 Second job (30) Third profession (60) Fourth profession (100)
adventurer Swordsman (10) fighter Crusaders hero
page White knight paladin
Spearmen Dragon Knight Dark Knight
Magician (8) Fire / poison magician Fire / Poison Magus Fire / poison archmage
Ice / lightning magician Ice / Lightning Magus Ice / lightning archmage
cleric priest bishop
Archer (10) Hunter ranger Bow master
Crossbowman sniper Marksman
Villain (10) Assassin hermit Night knight
bandit Bandit master Shadow dwellers
Pirate (10) Bully Pirates viper
Gunslinger rebel Corsair
Gunner (1) gunner gunner gunner
Knight of Cygnus Flame Mage (10) Flame Mage Flame Mage No fourth job
Windbreaker (10) Windbreaker Windbreaker No fourth job
Night runner (10) Night runner Night runner No fourth job
Soul Master (10) Soul master Soul master No fourth job
Striker (10) Striker Striker No fourth job
Mihile * (1) Mihile Mihile Mihile
Resistance Battle Mage (10) Battle mage Battle mage Battle mage
Wild Hunter (10) Wild hunter Wild hunter Wild hunter
Mechanic (10) mechanic mechanic mechanic
Demon (1) Demon butcher Demon butcher Demon butcher
Demon Avenger Demon Avenger Demon Avenger
Xenon (1) xenon xenon xenon
Heroes Aran (1) Aran Aran Aran
Evan (1) Evan Evan Evan
Mercedes (1) Mercedes Mercedes Mercedes
Phantom (1) phantom phantom phantom
Luminous (1) Luminous Luminous Luminous
nova Emperor (1) Emperor Emperor Emperor
Angelic Buster ** (1) Angelic Buster Angelic Buster Angelic Buster
Sengoku Hayato (1) Hayato Hayato Hayato
Kanna (1) Kanna Kanna Kanna 
* = Charakter kann nur männlich erstellt werden.
** = Charakter kann nur weiblich erstellt werden.

Skills

Each character type has particular strengths, weaknesses and martial arts . The chosen job determines the basic direction. However, the player has the opportunity to influence his character's abilities by awarding performance points and skill points . Skill points are used to improve the job's special martial arts. Achievement points, on the other hand, to improve general properties such as strength, dexterity, intelligence, luck, hit points and mana pool . With each new level, the player has the opportunity to distribute an additional five performance points and three skill points.

Warriors are particularly strong at close quarters and have high defenses, but cannot attack distant targets. They fight with swords , hammers , spears , or battle axes , many of which are available as both one-handed and two-handed weapons. With one-handed weapons, a warrior can also be equipped with a shield .

Mages can carry out powerful magical attacks, but are inferior in direct close combat - both in defense and in attack. They fight with one-handed wands and can therefore also be equipped with a shield . However, it is different from the warriors.

Archers are very good at handling ranged weapons, but have poor hand-to-hand combat skills. They use bows or crossbows .

Thieves are especially quick and have some medium close and long range combat skills. They don't have any particular strengths or weaknesses. They use either throwing stars or daggers .

Pirates have properties similar to thieves, but they fight with pistols or blow weapons .

Game world

The world in MapleStory is divided into three main continents, on which in turn many different locations can be found. Many countries have a special theme that sets them apart from other places. Quests, monsters and background music are adapted to the respective location.

  • Erev : This is where the Queen of the Maple World, Cygnus, lives. The new professions Flame Mage (Magician) , Night Runner , Windbreaker (Archer) , Soul Master (Warrior) and Striker (Pirate) can be learned here. You can always come back here. You can only reach level 120 with these professions.
  • Maple Island : This is the first island the game starts on. There are only a few different, weak monsters and tasks, as this place is only for the introduction to the game. In this way, the player can get to know the individual jobs better and become familiar with the controls. After leaving the island, it is no longer possible to return there.
  • Victoria Island : On this island the player can choose his main job. The island is divided into 6 large cities ( Lith-Hafen , Perion , Kerningstadt , Henesys , Nautilus-Hafen and Ellinia ) and the dungeon with the small village of Sleepy Forest , a place for advanced players with strong monsters. Five of the six large cities are each assigned one of the five main jobs that the character can only learn in the respective city. Perion is the city of warriors, Kerningstadt is the city of thieves, Henesys is the city of archers, Nautilus harbor is the harbor of pirates and Ellinia is the city of magicians. Lith Harbor serves as a port for the newcomers to Maple Island and to reach the small island of Florina Beach
  • Ossyria : This is the largest continent. All other countries, towns and cities are on it. The other levels of the professions are largely acquired here. The “capital” is Orbis , which serves as a port from which most of the other places can be reached. This happens either, like the connection between the main continents, with (air) ships or by a direct land connection. There is the Ludibrium toy world , the Omega Sector UFO crash site , the old Korean village Korean Folk Town , the snow town of El Nath and the underwater world Aquarium .
  • World Tour : The World Poker Tour (dt. Weltreise ) is not a separate area, but a group of places that are not on the actual performance continents and are therefore accessible only through a special NPC. The individual areas are thematically adapted to actually existing locations. These include Japan (with Zipangu ), China (with Shanghai ), Taiwan and Thailand (with floating market ).
  • Singapore : Another city that, like the cities of the World Tour, cannot be found on the world map, is suitable for both weaker and advanced players. You can get there through a special NPC in Kerningstadt by buying a flight ticket for 20,000 mesos (the monetary unit in MapleStory) and delivering it to the same NPC to get to the gate.
  • NLC : How the World Tour and Singapore's New Leaf City (dt. Neublätterstadt ) do not exist on the world map. NLC is reminiscent of Maplestory's Hollywood. With the Bigger Ben, a huge tower with a clock, over the jungle to the haunted house, there are many different monsters for different level classes. To get here you also have to go to Kerningstadt, but in the subway. A ticket costs 5,000 mesos.

Quests and events

Quests ( Eng. "Search tasks") bring up a certain framework . These are tasks that are given to the player by computer-controlled characters (NPC). Most quests require a certain level of character in order to be able to be carried out. The player must try to solve these tasks in order to receive a reward. The type and amount of rewards depend on the difficulty and level of the quest. It can be items, experience points, money or popularity points .

The tasks can be of very different nature, so monsters have to be defeated, rare items have to be found, an obstacle course has to be overcome or just another NPC has to be found.

There are also so-called party quests that you have to complete in a group of 2 to 20 players.

Events (dt. Events ) are a special form of quests. Events are always carried out on special occasions such as Easter , Christmas , Halloween or on MapleStory's birthdays. During this time there are additional quests that are specifically related to the respective holidays. Often times, during these event quests, the player can receive specially designed items that can become very desirable and valuable after the event has ended. At some events MaplePoints are awarded, a "currency" equivalent to NX Cash, which can also be used to purchase items in the Cash Shop.

trade

There are two trading options for the players. On the one hand, it is possible for two characters to exchange items or money directly. To do this, the player can send a trade request to the desired trading partner.

Secondly, there are the Cash Shop a "Store Permit" (dt. Business permit ) that allows the player in a specially demarcated for this area, the so-called "Free Market" (dt. Free market or market place to open a shop) , in which he can offer his items at a price that he determines himself. Other players can browse the stores and communicate with the vendors to haggle over prices .

Guilds and parties

The players have the possibility to form guilds and parties.

A party (German group or party ) can consist of up to six characters. Some jobs have skills that they can transfer to other characters at a party, making it easier to train the characters. In addition, 10% more experience points are distributed to players when defeating monsters. Parties are free and can be created and dissolved at any time.

Guilds are a permanent association of several players with mostly similar interests. Unlike at parties, the character does not receive a training bonus here and cannot exchange skills. Each guild has a unique name and can have an emblem , which is constantly displayed among the characters of the guild members. The guild formation and expansion is chargeable and paid in mesos. The largest guild expansion to date, which is only available in some variants of the game, allows up to 100 members.

Development history

Development of the game began in South Korea in May 2002 at Wizet, which was later fully acquired by Nexon. MapleStory was the world's first MMORPG with a 2D side-scrolling graphic, the design of which is particularly based on Japanese manga and anime .

After the great success in South Korea, Nexon decided to release the game in other parts of the world. First came the Asian countries Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand. The global variant followed in May 2005, which included all countries that had not yet had an independent variant. In the same year, Singapore and Malaysia got a joint variant under the name MapleSEA (South East Asia, South East Asia). In 2007, Europe and Hong Kong each got their own variant. In 2008 offshoots were released in Brazil and Vietnam. Recently, players from other countries have been “forced” to play the variant intended for their country by blocking certain IP addresses (which are assigned regionally). However, players who were already registered in another region prior to this action will not be affected.

The game worlds are updated and expanded at irregular intervals. So new functions, quests, cities and countries with new monsters are integrated.

On June 28, 2013, another character class was added to MapleStory. Xenon, a hybrid character, was implemented in the game. This can, among other things, carry the equipment of the thief class as well as the pirate class.

The game version 139 was installed on July 25, 2013 and, in addition to increasing the level limit to 250, new dungeons and an interface revision, also provides the player with the new playable character class Demon Avenger.

Finance and Success

The game itself is free. However, every player is free to purchase virtual money through Micro Transactions in the form of so-called NX Cash , which can be exchanged for additional items and game elements in the Cash Shop . This mainly includes equipment, but also pets and the option of opening your own shop to sell items. The purchase of cash shop items makes many processes in the game more convenient, gives the character a new look or doubles the experience points for each defeated opponent for a certain period of time.

NX Cash can be purchased worldwide using a PayPal account. In some countries it is also possible to purchase prepaid cards that can be redeemed for NX Cash on the game website. In the USA this has been possible since January 2007 in the branches of the Target retail chain .

Nexon has over 14.6 million MapleStory players worldwide, across all available variants. In 2005, the income was from the sale of NX Cash over 230 million US dollars . The monthly income is 16 million US dollars.

Problems and possible solutions

The game concept is confronted with the usual problems for MMORPGs , but also has its own weak points.

Due to the free availability of the game, the game servers are quickly overcrowded, as players can play with little financial means. For this reason, new game servers are added at irregular intervals. Another measure is to divide the game server into several identical channels. Although this does not relieve the server, it does help to prevent individual play areas from being overcrowded.

The freeze also reduces the inhibition threshold for cheaters who would not have spent any money in vain if they are excluded from the game because of prohibited interventions ( cheats ). The HackShield program is used to prevent such interference .

Another problem is the rapidly increasing " mudflation " within the gaming industry. Attempts have been made to curb this by introducing taxes that are calculated directly during the transaction and quests, which involve paying play money to a non-player character .

Trivia

Many names, monsters and locations appear in the game, the design or meaning of which is based on certain topics or events.

  • The monster Nependeath , shown in the game as a plant, is an allusion to the carnivorous plant Nepenthes rajah .
  • The Ludibrium game world is reminiscent of a huge area made of Lego bricks.
  • The as Boss encountered Monster Jr. Balrog is an adaptation of the book The Lord of the Rings emerging Balrog . The dungeon in which the monster can be found is reminiscent of the mines of Moria , which can also be found in the Lord of the Rings of the Balrog.
  • From Lord of the Rings there is also the ore mithril in the game , which (along with other ores) can be used to reinforce items of clothing.
  • The Omega Sector UFO Crash Site contains many ideas from modern science fiction and UFO theories, such as Area 51 or the Roswell Incident .
  • Many monsters are based on popular fables or myths , such as yetis , werewolves , zombies , ghosts and dragons .
  • In some variants of the game there is a city that is thematically adapted to Coca-Cola . This came about through an advertising contract between The Coca-Cola Company and Nexon.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MMORPG.de: Maple Story: Xenon expands the hero family
  2. ↑ MMORPG.de: MapleStory: Level Up to Version V.139
  3. ↑ gamasutra.com Q&A: Nexon America Talks Maple Story, February 28, 2007
  4. ↑ gamasutra.com Understanding Free-To-Play: Nexon's Min Kim Speaks Out, April 11, 2008

Web links