(Note: this post pertains mostly to NA Reboot server.)
It has been six days since the v200 patch changed the Ursus 2x time window from 1-3PM to 2AM-2PM. During those six days, I have only been able to find a party for Ursus once.
Why? Let's break down the problems that this time change causes. The time window now starts at 2AM-5AM for the majority of the playerbase (PST to EST). That means most players are asleep when Ursus 2x starts, and obviously not running Ursus. Different players wake up at different times, and so the people entering Ursus do so in a pattern where it takes absurdly long amounts of time to find 18-man Ursus parties. (The only Ursus run I was able to do consisted of myself and 6 very high level friends, rather than an 18 queue.)
What have players been doing about the issue? Why are these solutions incomplete?
1. Due to the ongoing Maple Relay event providing an abundance of Super Megaphones, many players have started attempting to use them to recruit Ursus party members.
This is not a complete solution because the Super Megaphones will not always be available to all players.
2. The Reboot Central discord has created a channel aimed at finding people to run Ursus with outside of the game.
This is not a complete solution because not everyone in Reboot is in the discord server.
3. Guilds and alliances have begun to arrange Ursus parties at a certain time.
This is not a complete solution for two reasons; one, not everyone is in an active guild or alliance, and two, this solution ends up being even more restrictive towards people in odd time zones than the original 2 hour window.
Now let's talk about the context that this change was implemented in, and why it does not make sense for Global MapleStory. This Ursus time window change was copied from a summer update in Korean MapleStory.
From the Orange Mushroom's Blog - KMS ver 1.2.298
Why does this change make sense in Korean MapleStory? Firstly, it's no secret that Korean MapleStory has a massive population compared to Global MapleStory. Secondly, this change coincided with summer vacation in Korea, meaning an influx of players having more time to play the game without worrying about school.
Why doesn't this change make sense in Global MapleStory? Global MapleStory's population is tiny compared to Korean MapleStory, and the change does not coincide with any event that would free up players' schedules for an extended period of time.
The result of all the above? Players waiting in Ursus queue in excess of one hour trying to find a party that must be accepted within 15 seconds or you will be kicked with a penalty. This is absolutely absurd and something must be done on Nexon's end, rather than the incomplete solutions players have tried to band-aid the issue with so far.
What can Nexon do? Besides the obvious suggestion of reverting the change, if the intention is to include players from other time zones, such as Australia or Europe, separate 1-2 hour windows can simply be implemented for them. For example, if we had Ursus 2x run from 1-2 PM ACST, 1-2 PM CET, and 1-3 PM PST, I believe many issues would be alleviated as the number of queueing players would again become concentrated enough to actually find parties.
