50 Fun Facts About MapleStory

MapleStory 2 traded the original's 2D look for blocky 3D worlds that reviewers likened to which game?

Minecraft was the comparison Polygon's Julia Lee drew for the sequel's blocky look. Its global servers opened in October 2018 and shut in May 2020, lasting under two years.

MapleStory Adventures, a spin-off that ran from 2011 to 2013, was built for which social network?

Facebook hosted the game, which passed three million monthly players within seven weeks of its open beta. Every strike on a monster spent energy from a pool that refilled in real time.

Which currency do MapleStory players earn from monsters and quests and spend in trades?

Mesos drop from monsters and come as quest rewards. Many of the taxis, ships and teleport stones that link the game's towns charge a fare in them too.

Which low-level MapleStory monster is Kino, a main character of the 2007 anime series, based on?

Orange Mushroom is the model for Kino, who gathers shiny stones as a present for his mother. His cousin Kiki, a Blue Mushroom, lives on Victoria Island.

MapleStory N, a blockchain version from 2025, was kept out of which country, the series' homeland?

South Korea restricted play-to-earn games, so the country that created MapleStory was left out at launch. The game turns fixed-supply items into tokens that players can own and trade.

Which real warlord appears in fictional form as the enemy of MapleStory's Sengoku warrior classes?

Oda Nobunaga is the foe the Sengoku classes set out to stop. Two men from his real-life circle, Mori Ranmaru and Akechi Mitsuhide, turn up as raid bosses as well.

Which MapleStory store sells outfits, pets and other premium extras, most of them temporary?

The Cash Shop takes real-world currency for avatars, digital pets and other virtual goods. By 2010 more than a million players of the global version had bought something there.

Which peaceful prairie town on Victoria Island is where MapleStory beginners go to become bowmen?

Henesys is where archers are made, and Athena Pierce is said to be one of the last of the elves who settled it. The monsters to its south train players from level 10 to 30.

Nexon, the publisher of MapleStory, has kept its headquarters since 2005 in which Asian capital city?

Tokyo became Nexon's base in 2005, eleven years after Kim Jung-ju founded the company. It listed on the city's stock exchange in 2011, in Japan's biggest share offering of that year.

Which big cat does a Wild Hunter, one of MapleStory's Resistance classes, ride while firing a crossbow?

Jaguar mounts carry the Wild Hunter into battle, and players catch their own in the wild. The rarer breeds grant a small permanent bonus when captured.

Which MapleStory hero, one of six who sealed the Black Mage, is an elven archer wielding dual bowguns?

Mercedes fights with dual bowguns and begins her story in the past, in Elluel. Like the other heroes, she paid for the victory by being sealed away herself for centuries.

Which MapleStory raid boss began as a spirit sealed in a tree, corrupted by the greed of nearby miners?

Zakum grew clever enough to control a mining town, made its people build a giant monument to it, then killed them all. Players prize the helmet it drops.

Which MapleStory stat, a measure of popularity, can other players raise or lower for a character?

Fame goes up or down at other players' say-so. In the Japanese version, only characters with 300 or more of it can sail back to the starter island.

Which town, the most urban on MapleStory's Victoria Island, is where beginners train to become thieves?

Kerning City is ringed by half-built construction sites, and its subway is a popular training ground. In some versions its swamp hides Dyle, a huge alligator with a bird on its back.

Which coastal town of fishermen is the first stop for MapleStory players leaving Maple Island?

Lith Harbor greets every newcomer on the south-western corner of Victoria Island. The Big Bang patch later tied it to every other town on the island through a single crossroads.

Which MapleStory hero is a magician who found a dragon near his home and now fights alongside it?

Evan is a Dragon Master, a magician whose dragon fights at his side. His older brother Utah hands out quests and looks after a pig farm.

Which MapleStory hero is a thief who can copy the skills of Explorer classes and travels in an airship?

Phantom mimics skills from Explorer characters, and his airship, the Lumiere, can travel anywhere. His storyline opens on board.

In which MapleStory trading area could players open their own small stores after buying a special permit?

The Free Market let permit holders open miniature stores that admitted three customers at a time. Hired merchants, from teddy bears to robots, could mind the stall while the owner played on.

Which MapleStory town of living toys has a Clock Tower dungeon where the boss Papulatus hides?

Ludibrium runs on the Time Sphere, an energy supply that Papulatus slipped through a dimensional crack to drain. That contamination is what turned the town's harmless toys into monsters.

Which power-hungry dragon, a MapleStory raid boss, hides in the Cave of Life after stealing a sacred egg?

Horntail rebelled against the gentle Nine Spirits Dragon that shields Leafre, wounded it and made off with its egg. Beating him earns a necklace that boosts every stat.

Which of the five Explorer classes in MapleStory arrived later than the rest as an expansion job?

Pirate was the latecomer, a cross between a warrior and an archer that leans on both strength and dexterity. At the second job it chooses between fighting with knuckles and firing guns.

Which of the four Resistance jobs in MapleStory goes into battle with an arm cannon?

The Blaster wields the arm cannon, while its Resistance comrades favour a staff, a crossbow or a robotic suit. All of them train in a town run by the very cult they oppose.

Which Japanese studio produced the 25-episode MapleStory anime that aired in 2007 and 2008?

Madhouse made the series, which follows a young warrior named Al on a quest to revive the World Tree. A 26th episode was released only on DVD.

Which studio developed the original MapleStory before Nexon bought the company in 2004?

Wizet was set up in April 2001 and released MapleStory two years later. Its first leader, Seung-chan Lee, had been lead developer on an earlier Nexon game.

Regulators fined Nexon a record sum in 2024 for quietly changing the odds on which paid MapleStory item?

Cubes are bought with real cash, and the regulator found that Nexon had lowered their odds over a decade without telling players. The fine came to about US$8.9 million.

Which MapleStory world, opened in North America in December 2015, switched off player trading?

Reboot disabled trading and made equipment drops match the player's own class. Its monsters were tougher than usual but paid out more experience.

Which MapleStory hero, a warrior who starts out in Rien, builds combo counts by landing hits on monsters?

Aran has the Combo System, which turns a run of hits into buffs and powers skills that spend the count. The polearm-wielding hero wakes in Rien centuries after the war with no memories.

Which MapleStory class is the sixth hero, whose existence was erased when the Black Mage was sealed?

Shade is the hero nobody remembers, the price paid when the seal was cast. The class calls on spirits to help in battle.

Which MapleStory hero is a magician who also commands dark magic absorbed from the Black Mage?

Luminous is by training a magician of light, so he fights with both forces. His story eventually brings him to Lania's house in Ellinia.

Which MapleStory class was split into two characters, Alpha and Beta, on the orders of the Black Mage?

Zero is the child of Rhinne, the Transcendent of Time, made from her tears. Splitting the child into a boy and a girl was meant to weaken them, and both were trapped in Mirror World.

Which second-job class in MapleStory uses a claw to launch throwing stars from a distance?

The Assassin hurls throwing stars with a claw, and the stars must be recharged once they run out. Its close-range sibling, the Bandit, fights with daggers instead.

Which MapleStory monster raids the ship between Ellinia and Orbis, always travelling in pairs?

Crimson Balrog swoops on ships carrying passengers and cargo between Victoria Island and Ossyria. It turns up only on some crossings, so every voyage is a gamble.

In which region of MapleStory's Ossyria do players reach the boss Pink Bean after a long chain of quests?

The Temple of Time keeps Pink Bean at its very end, in a hall called the Twilight of Gods. To walk that far, players must pass the Temple Keeper's tests one stretch at a time.

In MapleStory, what must a party destroy before Pink Bean will leave his throne and join the fight?

Statues of the old gods come first: Solomon the Wise, Rex the Wise, Hugin, Munin and Ariel. Pink Bean lounges out of reach meanwhile, eating meat or playing an electric guitar.

Which floating island is home to MapleStory's Cygnus Knights and the divine beast Shinsoo?

Ereve hangs in the sky between Orbis and Ellinia, held aloft by the power of elemental sprites. A boat from Ellinia carries visitors up to it.

Which industrial town, controlled by the Black Wings, is where MapleStory's Resistance trains?

Edelstein is occupied by the very cult its citizens secretly fight. Recruits there reach level 10 and run a few errands for the townsfolk before choosing a Resistance job.

Which world, home to the dragon-like Nova race, slowly fused with Maple World in MapleStory's story?

Grandis is where the second great story arc plays out, against Gerand Darmoor and his Apostles. He holds that his own race, the High Flora, should remake all life in its image.

Which object does the MapleStory boss Pink Bean pull out to make music notes rain down on players?

A megaphone is his loudest trick: he shouts into it, and the falling notes hit hard and stun. He can also call up swarms of Mini Beans that shrug off physical attacks.

Which commander of MapleStory's Black Mage was once chief shamaness of Azwan, a city she betrayed?

Hilla handed Azwan to her master in return for infinite power, youth and beauty. She then raised the city's dead to serve as her army.

Which MapleStory class is a human turned cyborg who escaped from the laboratories of the Black Wings?

Xenon fights with Whip Blades. The class is a hybrid of two job types, so it draws on strength, dexterity and luck all at once.

Explorers in MapleStory start as Beginners, but which starting class do new Cygnus Knights hold?

Noblesse is the rank every new knight holds until level 10, when five knightly classes open up. Resistance recruits get a humbler title, Citizen.

From which Maple Island port town do new MapleStory characters board the ship to Victoria Island?

Southperry is one of only two main towns on the starter island, with Amherst the other. The crossing is a one-way trip that takes a minute.

In MapleStory lore, which man summons Pink Bean by accident while trying to call up the Black Mage?

Kirston tried to use the Mirror of the Goddess, a relic only the Goddess herself could work. The ritual misfired and pulled the pink creature in from another dimension.

Which lost culture, said to have once ruled all of Victoria Island, lies behind MapleStory's Guild Quest?

The Sharenian built the ruins scattered over the island, then collapsed under King Sharen III. The Guild Quest sent guilds into those ruins to win back his prized gem, the Rubian, from the demon Ergoth.

Which MapleStory guide whisks players off to World Tour areas such as Japan, China, Taiwan and Thailand?

Spinel stands in most major towns of Victoria Island and Ossyria. The tour areas began as maps exclusive to single regional versions and were opened to others from September 2006.

Which MapleStory continent, home to New Leaf City, is said to have risen from the sea after 1,000 years?

Masteria takes its name from the warriors who came to master their fate there. Its theme is the past meeting the present and the future.

Which MapleStory boss, once a king in El Nath, joined the Black Mage after the murder of his wife Ifia?

Von Leon found a Cygnus Knight crest on his wife's body and swore revenge, never learning his new master had staged the killing. The villagers he then killed with a spell linger as ghosts.

In which MapleStory town, themed on Western weddings, can couples marry in a Chapel or a Cathedral?

Amoria stages Western-style ceremonies, while Peach Blossom Island hosts traditional Chinese ones. The Korean version of the game calls the town simply Wedding Village.

Besides card-matching Concentration, which board game can MapleStory players challenge each other to as a minigame?

Gomoku is the five-in-a-row stone game. In MapleStory it is one of the minigames, alongside Concentration, that players set up to compete with one another.

Which MapleStory boss, described as the grandfather of all snails, calls red, blue and green snails to its aid?

Mano is the largest snail of all and presumably the leader of the rest. It respawns quickly and turns up in every regional version of the game.