Changes that will bring more players

[MATThew]

Hello! 

I want to add some features here that will bring more players and make the game overall better:

 

Must change

- Website design: Make it possible to identify that it is a MapleStory game.

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Should change

- Class balance: I don't need to say that the original maplestory was never balanced well enough.

We should buff: Archers 1st job; Thief-melee 1st job; Wizard F/P; Page 2nd job 

We should nerf: Clerics; Hermit; Dark Knight

- Party Bonus EXP +5% per player: Oldschool servers always work around people playing together as a community, the best way for anyone to play together is partying while grinding. If it is not worth inviting people to party they will solo grind.

- Buff maps that no one would ever grind

- Ban BUFF MULES: most players dont want to create characters that they dont like just so they get the same advantage as others who will do it.

- Add maps post-big-bang but in a way that they could work with pre-big-bang 

- Buff quests reward: this way it will be worth leveling by quests

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Optional changes

- Make mobs drop NX (not items that you pick and get NX, directly getting NX as you get EXP)

- Add all hairs and faces available until v90+

- Let mobs drop GACHAPON items (the skull hat was pretty cool)

- Add a way to get more MAX HP or NERF BOSS DAMAGE

 

I am not native english so whatever its wrong about my typing you can correct me.

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by MATThew

[Fruit Shop Owner]

First off, I want to stress that making changes for the sole purpose of attracting more players is a recipe for disaster, and I suspect that Arnah is aware of this. I believe that the playerbase of this server prefers the feel of old maple with all its downsides and inconveniences, and wants to play it as such.

Now to address these changes. The ones which I might be willing to accept are: adding all hairs and faces, the website design (which is fine as it is), very slight promotion for some unpopular maps (which has been suggested, though I have some reservations) and possibly getting NX through experience (at a very low rate; not sure how I feel about this either). Gachapon is currently missing, and I'd like to see it in some form, which I believe is also being planned.

As someone who is planning on making a white knight in the future, I am against class re-balancing. Buff mules don't exist anymore, as you can only run one client at a time; that argument against them is lame anyway. Post-BB maps and buffed quest rewards definitely not. From what I've seen, people party plenty as it is, and +5% per player is way too much - aside from Holy Symbol's mechanics, a full party would potentially have a massive advantage over players who prefer to level solo. As for HP, there is always the option of investing in HP or wearing HP equipment. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by Fruit Shop Owner

[MATThew]

20 minutes ago, Fruit Shop Owner said:

First off, I want to stress that making changes for the sole purpose of attracting more players is a recipe for disaster, and I suspect that Arnah is aware of this. I believe that the playerbase of this server prefers the feel of old maple with all its downsides and inconveniences, and wants to play it as such.

Now to address these changes. The ones which I might be willing to accept are: adding all hairs and faces, the website design (which is fine as it is), very slight promotion for some unpopular maps (which has been suggested, though I have some reservations) and possibly getting NX through experience (at a very low rate; not sure how I feel about this either). Gachapon is currently missing, and I'd like to see it in some form, which I believe is also being planned.

As someone who is planning on making a white knight in the future, I am against class re-balancing. Buff mules don't exist anymore, as you can only run one client at a time; that argument against them is lame anyway. Post-BB maps and buffed quest rewards definitely not. From what I've seen, people party plenty as it is, and +5% per player is way too much - aside from Holy Symbol's mechanics, a full party would potentially have a massive advantage over players who prefer to level solo. As for HP, there is always the option of investing in HP or wearing HP equipment. 

The changes are not only to attract more people. This is for the longevity of the server and also a way to be competitive against other private servers.

The website is fine as it is? How can anyone be attracted to phoenix looking that website? Nothing about maple whatsoever. Every image is the same on patches. This must change.

NX through experience is a plus so people feels rewarded for grinding a lot.  

Gachapon dont need to be in this server. Just make the items dropable.

" I am against class re-balancing" Ok, why tho? Why should I create an archer if I would be the weaker class around for ever? Why have dagger skill on thieves if they can't  hit like claw attackers? I don't get it why class balance is controversial at all.

If you open any stream on Twitch you can see people playing phoenix and using buff mules. 🙂 The argument is not lame also.

"Post-BB maps and buffed quest rewards definitely not." No reason? Just "No"?  Why should I do any quests? Black bulls for 50exp? its a meme.

Nerf Holy Simbol and bring party bonus exp!

"a full party would potentially have a massive advantage over players who prefer to level solo" - Oldschool is all about community, this argument is a worst version of mine about Buff Mules.

HP equipement when I'm already 1 year playing? And its not even effective. Just nerf boss so all classes can stand them.

 

 

[Fruit Shop Owner]

Alright here's the thing - a 1x server isn't meant to attract a large crowd or be competitive with other servers - it is a place for a more "niche" set of people, and should not cater to the masses, as that is exactly the sort of thing that ruins it. Regardless of the inconveniences that we have, or maybe in part because of them, we want to play here, like this. 

In an odd way, the website actually attracted me - it made it apparent that the server isn't all frilled up and made me think that it may be more concerned with content over presentation. I was right. My next step was to take a look at the rules where I noticed that they are more like guidelines rather than the legal constitutions that other "popular" servers sicken me with. Thus I decided to test whether this is one of them pansy servers with my in-game name. As it turns out, it's not, and if Arnah shifts his focus to server popularity, his mindset may instead become twisted in an attempt to satisfy the rampaging hordes. 

NX through experience actually sounds worse the more I think about it. People should level for the reasons they did in old-school maple, without any additional artificial incentive. Another way of being able to acquire NX in-game may be acceptable, but voting is good enough in my opinion. 

I'm neutral on the gachapon topic, it sounds reasonable enough, but I'd like to have the gambling aspect of it somewhere - just probably not with NX.

Now as for class balance. People should play the classes that they enjoy, regardless of how "competitive" they may be (while I'm currently playing a spearman simply because I felt like it for my ironman, I generally focus on unusual classes and builds). This isn't a difficult or particularly competitive game, you can get through it as any class, and I doubt that you'll be rejected just because you're playing a "sub-optimal" one. In fact, some of us prefer to play these classes BECAUSE they are unpopular. They even have their own odd advantages, like cheaper scrolls. 

In order to use buff mules, you'd probably have to use a second computer. It's possible... Anyway, if you insist on being "optimal", there's no room for complaining about having to do things that you may not particularly enjoy. You don't need to be optimal, nor do you need the advantage, just play the game. A buff mule is also a time investment - time which could be used working directly on your main character instead, without having to use such tricks. 

Personally, I do quests because I find it satisfying, and they give me a bit of a challenge or objective for a while. I imagine that was a more common mentality back in the day. Most of the time, the reward is just an extra - I do sometimes hurry to do some quests if I know they give something of interest, but I was going to do them anyway. There should be a reward, but it should not be the sole reason you do a quest. 

As for Big Bang maps, we'd have to specify which ones. There are some that may interfere with the old-school feel of Maple, and some (possibly the same ones) that people may favor over actual old maps solely because of the experience or drops, similarly to the problem we might have with Leafre soon. Heavily nerfing their experience and removing their drops may be some kind of solution, but we need to make sure that they don't interfere with the feel of old maple either way. 

There is no need to nerf anything. Playing in a party is already beneficial enough, as murdering things on one side of the map helps spawn them on another side where other party members are - that's already enough of an advantage. If necessary, 1% bonus per person is sufficient. Furthermore, forced community is not a community. 

You can invest in HP through AP you know. If you're a squishy class and want to insist on soloing some bosses, that's a reasonable enough investment. About 100 HP per 5 AP for non-warriors. Not tragic. You'd be weaker in damage than others, but hey, you're trying to solo bosses as an archer. Some classes are also just not designed for such purposes, and with good reason. We don't need to be "all the same" and be able to do everything that someone else can - we shouldn't. 

[Kradia]

On 12/1/2020 at 6:27 PM, MATThew said:

- Website design: Make it possible to identify that it is a MapleStory game.

 

+1

On 12/1/2020 at 6:27 PM, MATThew said:

- Buff maps that no one would ever grind

+1 but indirectly. Buffing specific maps just causes a meta shift, which is bad. A buffed map becomes better than any other and it's hard to get right. Instead, adding the additional scrolls that we are missing could be added to a variety of mobs that usually wouldn't be hunted. This way mobs that are currently considered useless could suddenly serve a purpose.

Eos Tower mobs

Deep Ant Tunnel and Ice/Dark Drakes

Red Drakes

These are just a few examples of mobs that have become obsolete/don't really serve a purpose.

To the rest of your suggestions: nomegalul

On 12/1/2020 at 6:27 PM, MATThew said:

- Add a way to get more MAX HP or NERF BOSS DAMAGE

this one deserves an omegalul

[Fruit Shop Owner]

26 minutes ago, Kradia said:

+1 but indirectly. Buffing specific maps just causes a meta shift, which is bad. A buffed map becomes better than any other and it's hard to get right. Instead, adding the additional scrolls that we are missing could be added to a variety of mobs that usually wouldn't be hunted. This way mobs that are currently considered useless could suddenly serve a purpose.

 

That actually sounds like a potentially good idea, +1 from me although I might regret it later for some weird reason 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Fruit Shop Owner

[MATThew]

I really want to play Phoenix but if Arnah doesn't change some things I won't be playing.

I know it doesnt matter for anyone that I play only to me. And as I can see most people dont care having 100 players max online, so having more players is not what this server wants right now.  I will wait for this changes while trying servers that are willing to change some things that were really BAD. Nostalgia about things that sucked is not for me. (and as we see more and more, not for most people)

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by MATThew

[Fruit Shop Owner]

That's right, this server is not for "most" people, and thank god for that. If anything, it is a haven for the remaining few, like myself, who can not exist on other servers - the ones which cater to the masses.