Split Physical Element into Sharp, Blunt, & Energy

OdysseyTwo

In MapleStory, there are 7 elements in the game: Fire, Poison, Ice, Lightning, Holy, Dark, and Physical AKA everything else. The problem is, Physical is far too ambiguous. For example, mage attack skills that don't use any of the first 6 elements are considered Physical which totally triggers my sense of context. Which is why, the Physical element should be split into Sharp, Blunt, and Energy.

In the Castlevania franchise, particularly the Metroid style entries, physical attacks are generally divided into two types: Slash and Strike. Slash damage type is generally used in bladed weapons such as swords and axes, while Strike damage type is generally used in blunt weapons such as maces and knuckles.

So bringing this logic to MapleStory, all Physical weapons that look bladed should have the Sharp element, while all Physical weapons that look blunt should have the Blunt element. I call them Sharp and Blunt, because not only do those words make the most contextual sense, but this also gets rid of having 2 elements start with the same letter. As for the rest, primarily magic, they would fall into a new catch-all element called Energy. This way, mage attack skills that don't use any of the existing magical elements would now use the Energy element, which makes so much more sense in context, and Physical weapons that don't appear to be bladed or blunt would have the Energy element.

Occire

Unlike the first 6 elements, physical isn't an officially recognized element. It just exists as a catch-all, and it might not even actually be called "Physical" by the developers, the reason we call it physical is based on the fact that it's designated by the letter P.

ZephyrusSpring

The elements system in general isn't very deep or intricate. Back in the day the damage boost made a difference e.g. thunder breaker training in aqua road because they could one shot the marine life. These days it basically boils down to doing 50% less damage to bosses just because, with very few ways to improve it. Bosses should be resistant to the bonus damage from the element, not the full damage.

I don't think splitting the physical (null) element would provide any new meaning or depth to combat. The idea with the null element is that there is no elemental bonus or penalty when attacking any monster.