Orange Mushroom's Blog

Really quick Maple Now stream this week for the August update, which is pretty small. Changseop is hyping up the September update though!

Introduction

• The August update is pretty much what was revealed in the showcase, mainly the new boss Bellona. There are a few smaller things that he wanted to talk about to players, but otherwise, this is probably the shortest Maple Now of the year.
• He also briefly talked about the Ultima Squad event which was added in the July update. He was really proud of the reception as players generally enjoyed it. Many were even asking if they could make it permanent content, or replace the Union Raid with it. He said they don’t have plans do to that right now. He also said that the game’s playtime density is getting very low (for example, hunting is basically hands-off now, and there’s proportionally more non-hunting sources of experience like AFK maps), so they need content that makes playing the game more fun at these times. Look forward to more content like this.

New Boss: Bellona

• A level 280 boss.
• You can challenge it in a party of up to 3 players.
• It will be released with Easy, Normal, and Hard Mode.
• Close to 50% of players in Challenge World are already level 280+ (last time, it was about 10%), so in terms of levels, most players should be able to fight her.
• Since its level 280, it’s a bit of a mid-tier boss.
• Bellona is an apostle of Gerand Darmoor, and she’s a bit of a fanatic, wielding a giant axe.
• There are almost no map patterns, its basically a 1 on 1 fight with Bellona herself.

• Below the timer, there is the Death Count UI, represented with hearts. When you are hit by Bellona’s attacks, one heart is immediately taken away. The boss is designed so that it’s extremely tense with every attack.
• There is also the Insane gauge. It will fill up automatically over time, and when it fills up, Insane Mode will begin and the screen will turn black. Bellona will disappear before every attack and there will be a brief warning effect before each one.
• In Insane Mode, Bellona becomes berserked, so when she attacks, she will consume her own HP and take increased damage.
• The battle style will be to play well during the basic mode, then when it enters Insane Mode, you can rapidly take down her HP.
• It’s definitely a difficult boss at first. Each attack is more significant since they don’t just deal a bit of damage, they’ll take away an entire Death Count. They’re planning on adjusting the difficulty when it releases on the main server based on the testing.

• The rewards are the same as previously announced.
  • Normal Mode:
    • Cursed Vengeful Spirit’s Remnants (collect 10 to choose one Eternal Shoes, Gloves, or Cape)
    • Grindstone of Life
    • White Jade Boss Ring Box
    • Bellonaroid
    • Bellona’s Soul Shards
  • Hard Mode:
    • Starving Blood-Red Vengeful Spirit
    • Insane Eternal Armor Box
    • Grindstone of Faith

• The first clear event will reward the first 50 (originally 10) players that solo Hard Mode.
  • Curse-Stained Altar Custom Background
  • Fanatic’s Execution Finish Attack Effect (someone asked in the chat why they always use Guardian Angel Slime to show these off, and he replied that he asked the person who records them too, it’s nothing personal, it’s just the biggest boss and best to show the visual effects)
  • <Contempt for the Weak> Animated Title

• The regular clear event will reward players who defeat specific difficulties of Bellona within the event period.
  • Easy Mode: Bellona Action Damage Skin (Unit)
  • Normal Mode: Rift of the Abyss Chair
  • Hard Mode: Bellona Nametag/Chat Bubble Ring

• Bellona will be added to the boss collection packages.

Cash Items

• The 20th Master Label set: Master Abandon will be released. It’s based off an abandoned king and queen concept.

• Together with this new set, they will make significant changes to the Master Label system. Overall, they wanted to reduce the RNG, and update the stat acquisition methods to match the current modern business models.
  • MLabel items will have all stats by default. (previously, it was RNG which ones you got)
  • All stat durations will be unified to 190 days. (previously, it was RNG between 3~12 months)
  • You will now receive Selective Master Label Coupons that let you choose which piece you want. (previously, it was based on the items you used as material)
  • Master Label acquisition rate has been increased by about 25%.
  • The Masterpiece item will no longer be sold. (no one uses this versus the Premium Masterpiece so it is not necessary)
  • Only the past 6 rotations of Special Label items will appear as Black/Red Label. (previously, it was the past 11 rotations)
• In addition to the existing Master Label set effects, they will be added a new Master Label Plus system where you can pay 30k NX for growth stats or 40k NX for additional combat stats for 90 days, based on the number of Master Label items you have equipped.

• Translucent NX equipment has been added. Unlike existing transparent equipment which makes your gear completely invisible, the Translucent equipment hides your NX so you can show off your regular equip while still wearing a Label NX equip that gives stats.

Events

• Ultima Artifact Exploration is a new event that will replace the Ultima Squad event.
  • In August and February (the tail ends of summer and winter), it’s the time of year where mostly the hardcore players remain, and they’re the ones that grind for a long time. This event is designed to reward those players for grinding with more benefits (like Haste events) and to make hunting more fun. Of course, there’s options for players that don’t grind as much too.
  • In this event, you can choose between 5×5, 10×10, or 15×15 block maps. Depending on the map size, you can customize which rewards you want (Advanced EXP Vouchers, Sol Erda Energy, Sol Erda Fragments, Adversary’s Black Cubes, Adversary’s White Cubes).
  • The rewards will be randomly placed in the map, hidden behind the blocks. Every time you defeat 500 monsters within your level range, you can reveal one block on the map. Similar to Ultima Squad, it’s kind of automatic.
  • One map will be provided every 3 days, so you can decide on the map size based on how much you expect to hunt in the next 3 days. The maps you choose will also accumulate, so you don’t have to worry about missing out. Theoretically, you could do them all at once near the end of the event.
  • You’ll also receive an additional reward of your choice when you complete a map.
  • You can also find items that have special effects when you use them on the map (e.g. revealing a 3×3 square, a whole line, or very rarely, reveal the entire board)

• The Momentum Pass Plus event will be released.
  • The previous Momentum Pass was designed originally to be fairly efficient for the level 280-290 range but less so after that. However now, about 50% of players in Challenge World are already 280+ and more than 10% of them are 285+. So the Momentum Pass needed to be updated since this level range isn’t as difficult to level up in.
  • Therefore, they have added a new Crimson Mechaberry Farm.
    • Level 280~284: About 55% more experience than the Mechaberry Farm.
    • Level 285~289: About 16% more experience than the Mechaberry Farm.
    • Level 290~299: About 7% more experience than the Mechaberry Farm.
  • There are two additional reward tracks now, the Premium Momentum rewards and the Prime Momentum rewards.

Content Improvements

• Not that many for August, since they’re currently focusing on the major things for the September update.

• Monster Park Hands will be improved so you can use PiP Mode to minimize the app while using your phone, and Lock Mode, which darkens the screen while it runs.

• The Item Dyeing UI has been improved.
  • The Item Dyeing UI can now be accessed through the main UI.
  • You can dye multiple of your items at the same time without having to apply them one-by-one and see how they look with each other.
  • You can now 3x zoom in to your character.

• Union Champion Coins will now be maintained for the first 7 days after the monthly reset. The carried over coins will be used up before your new month’s coins. This is so you don’t have to run the Champion Raid first thing every month before you do your bosses.

• The Skill Repeated Input option has been updated.
  • Skills that don’t require repeated input like Noblesse guild skills will be excluded.
  • Previously, you would choose between Type A (Fast) or Type A (Normal), but now you can directly set your Wait Time and Repeat Time values.

• The Maple Auction has been updated.
  • Dark Mode has been added.
  • An Outfit tab has been added to the search filters.
  • You can now use #tags to search for label items.
• When there is channel maintenance, if your character is in the MVP Resort or VIP Sauna, you will be automatically moved to an available channel. (this wasn’t really an issue before but now there’s a lot of content where you can AFK, so it feels bad when you leave your computer on and come back to see the login screen)

Conclusion

• Lotte World Adventure Busan will have a MapleStory collaboration, similar to the one that Lotte World Jamsil had. No new rides but it will have special merchandise, food and drinks, and parade events.
• The September update will have a bunch of previously unmentioned changes and there’s a lot of content planned to be added.
• In the September Maple Now, he’ll probably also talk about some stuff coming up afterwards.
• They do have some collaborations in the works, both anime and games, for next year and afterwards.
• Players asked for the Dear My Hero movie to be released online, and he said to wait on that.

Patch Notes

• Client 1.2.205 Release (Events, Content, Improvements, and Bug Fixes)
• Changes in the Client 1.2.418 Official Update