I've never posted a long thread about anything but considering this is a new forum(sorta) I figured I'd post this thread before it becomes buried. I know others have written about some of this but I personally have never seen an official reply to any. I am making this thread solely for the purpose of receiving an official response from Nexon or @KThxBaiNao as to what we can expect in the future. There will be a TL;DR at the bottom for those who hate long posts. Please feel free to add any input you might have.
1) Nebulites(nebs) are GMS exclusives. These bad boys are sought after by nearly every Mapler, whether it be a 1% LUK [C] neb or a 4% All Stat [A] neb. For as long as I can remember, [S] nebs have been in the maple files but have never been legitimately implemented in game or even officially acknowledged. Nexon has tried to do certain things to make acquiring nebs easier, however, those methods require players to spend NX. A couple of months ago, a forum member(I'll call him Kyle) made a somewhat controversial thread in which he basically was demanding Nexon to
DECREASE the drop rate of nebullite boxes because they were too easy for
him to get. As absurd as that sounds, I am pretty confident that Kyle's request was actually approved. The thread had a lot of posts and most people were against what Kyle was proposing but I do not remember where I can find that thread. I do know 2 things though, 1) the thread was closed and 2) Kyle was later banned from the forums for a reason unknown to me. This had me thinking... Did he get banned only from the forums or from in-game too? Was he hacking to acquire the nebulite boxes that he claimed he was getting too many of? If the drop rate truly was decreased, did nexon really decrease the drop rate of nebulite boxes due to a hacker's complaint even though the majority of the people debating in that thread were
AGAINST decreasing the drop rate of nebulite boxes? Those are all questions that I will probably never know the answer to but I think should be put out there.
I do not know if the drop rate was actually decreased or if it is just a coincidence that the drop rate seems lower to me, but nebs are now harder than ever to get a hold of. To put into perspective, about 1-2 years ago, 4% All Stat nebs(considered the best nebs in game) used to sell for about 2bil-2.5bil mesos and now they sell at a whopping 6bil-6.5bil mesos! I have even seen a few being sold for 7bil! Surely there is something off about this. For those wondering how you can obtain nebs, there are many ways but most require you to buy NX. You can get them from Marvel, Gachapon, Anderson's box, and a few other nx-only ways that I can't remember at this time. There is a Nebullite Fusion skill that everyone can use to fuse nebs but fusing [B] or [A] nebs require you to spend nx to buy Premium Fusion Tickets which can only be obtained through the cash shop or through gachapon tickets. The ONLY nx-free way to get nebs(excluding [A] nebs) is to hunt for nebulite boxes and hope for the best. I don't consider buying them in the FM "nx-free" because someone had to spend NX in order to get that neb.
To be honest, I don't know what the right suggestion would be to make nebulites more popular and affordable, but making them more accessible without NX should be the first step. Below I will list some suggestion before moving on to the next topic.
- Make [S] nebs available
- Increase the drop rate of Nebulite Boxes
- Increase the chance to get [C] and [B] nebs from nebulite boxes
- Make [A] nebs obtainable from nebulite boxes
- Increase the chance to fuse [D], [C], and [B] nebs into upgrading to the next tier
- Either make Premium Fusion tickets available without spending NX or only to fuse [A] and [S] nebs
*Since [S] nebs would be considered end-game and quite powerful, it would be reasonable if they were only obtainable through the use of NX.
2) Bonus Potential Cubes(green cubes) are the only way to reconfigure the bonus potential of an item and they are also only available by purchasing NX. About a year ago, green cubes were added into the reward shop for 1 month. Sadly, they were removed the next month and never added or even mentioned if they would ever return to the reward shop. I don't have much to say or to suggest except that Nexon consider adding them to the reward shop permanently. I believe that adding green cubes into the reward shop will be a great way to make the game less Pay2Win, which is why the reward shop was added to Maple in the first place. I also do not see why Superior Shielding Wards(which are basically protection scrolls for Tyrant equips) are in the reward shop but not green cubes. Obtaining a Tyrant equip is many times harder than obtaining an equip with available bonus potential. Therefore, it seems a bit illogical to have Superior Shielding Wards available in the reward shop but no green cubes.
The only thing I suggest for this is to simply add Bonus Potential Cubes to the Reward Shop
3) Violet Cubes are probably the best cubes GMS has ever had. Using a violet cube allows you to select 3 lines from 6 possible choices, making them the best way to reach end-game main potential on equips. They were released for the first time almost exactly 13 months from now. Since then, we have never heard an official response from Nexon if they will ever be available again. There are some very rare Hot Time events in which obtaining a couple of violet cubes is possible, however, the chance is very very low... I would say about 1%-5% chance to obtain them. Considering the nature of these cubes and how they can possible be considered "overpowered", I would not suggest adding them permanently into the cash shop. Making them available every couple of months or even every 6 months(2 times a year) would be a great option.
*EDIT* Someone posted a link to a Maplestory Cube Simulator a while back, I do not know how accurate(if at all) it is to the actual cubes in game, but for anyone who wishes to test how cubing works without having to spend NX, this will be fun to play with and learn
https://stripedypaper.github.io/cube/TL;DR : Whether any of the suggestions I posted get approved or denied, I truly would just like an answer from Nexon. I believe these are things that are important enough to receive some sort of official response but I have yet to see any.
1) Nebulites:
- Make [S] nebs available
- Increase the drop rate of Nebulite Boxes
- Increase the chance to get [C] and [B] nebs from nebulite boxes
- Make [A] nebs obtainable from nebulite boxes
- Increase the chance to fuse [D], [C], and [B] nebs into upgrading to the next tier
- Either make Premium Fusion tickets available without spending NX or only to fuse [A] and [S] nebs
2) Bonus Potential Cubes:
- Make Bonus Potential Cubes available in the Reward Shop
3) Violet Cubes:
- Make Violet Cubes availabe in the cash shop as a special sale event, similar in frequency to Miracle Time/Marvel Machine, or even every 6 months(2 times a year)
Comments
2) ALL OF MY AGREE
3) Violet cubes aren't even that great, why's everyone so caught up with getting them brought back?
-Nebulites have a lot of junk in there, even in the As and Bs. They really need to clean those +MP, happy face when hit nebs from the mix.
-Boxes should not expire
-A Nebs and B Nebs, as well as the box drop rate should be jacked up to match those of cube fragments
-Switching Nebulites really should not require NX
-Tickets should not be required for fusing
-The Bonus Cubes in the rewards shops are a must
-Violet Cubes should come again once in a blue moon (not in Gachapon or random Philosopher box event form)
I had another idea from Nexon, but Michael shook his head T_T because it was not a priority (if you know what I mean.) I had a feeling that would be really good to add to your list of ideas.
@Daxterbeer I don't really want to add too many suggestions since I am only looking for Nexon to give attention to these 3 topics. But I am sure that they will see your comment and consider them anyways
Adding S nebs will do nothing but make the power creep that's been going on since Unleashed even worse. As it stands right now, unfunded players who do not or cannot afford to sink hundreds of dollars on cubes cannot do Lotus, let alone Damien or Lucid when she comes out. S nebs will not be available to anyone but the wealthiest players, or those who can afford to spend as much as necessary on fusing A-rank nebs.
In short, to add S-rank nebulites is equal to putting a bandage on a gangrenous leg. It might look like it's fixing things, but in reality it's simultaneously doing nothing and making things worse. And this is ignoring the fact that if you continue feeding into the power creep, Nexon Korea will continue putting out content that is wholly out of reach for any unfunded player.
Low range players cannot solo major bosses for profitable items unless someone gives them away and the receiver decides to sell them. It would be wise to offer extra goodies that are always desirable in the market and are always in demand (humans need water, remember that kids.) into those minor bosses. They can use it themselves and gain a nice boost, or sell it those who need a silo of them. These maplers should always have something to sell in their shops, or when they go door to door. The mesos they earn can be used towards enhancing, potions, good gear, Nebulites, scrolls or anything they find fun.
Everyone should have a garden to feed themselves, and whatever they don't eat, their neighbors who ran out, will buy from them. What is wrong with that idea , @Aggraphine?
I cannot agree with something being added in such a way as to effectively restrict it to high-level players who are very likely already hitting(the current) cap. Because once the cap is removed, S-rank nebulites will simply push the ceiling farther and farther up, leaving the floor to squeak up a centimeter at a time.
If you have a garden, you can use the food to feed yourself, or sell leftovers to your neighbor who ran out of crops for the day (selling to people who are buying flames for materials.) A third option is to offer your daily or accumulated harvest(s) to the gods of your server (the people who have 15 star tyrants and are looking for insane results.) Since they are most likely perfectionists, they will have the most restrictive items (RIP Absolab users because you need a high level crafting in Accessory Crafting) to flame and they won't stop until they hit something godly, and you can just keep supplying them and get paid because of their immense project. Players would benefit as long as they remember to harvest from their garden before it gets dark (do all your boss runs before 3am PST)
To make craftable flames, you need the flames from mysterious herbs, mana crystals, special extractor from high level Alchemists to break down the junk flames into materials (like cars to scrap metal,) and finally a meister or master accessory crafter. It requires BOTH alchemy and accessory crafting to pull this feat off. Even if the Alchemist is absent and flames materials came to a halt are no longer crafted on the accessory crafter's end, the flames dropped by boss runs will still benefit those who didn't choose endgame gear due to compatibility nature of flames.
@Aggraphine This is more like the opposite of making things exclusive to the elites
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PJdMZ_3L48jYHIXqImyMBk-HVPYgrLHnBlc292F4qPQ/edit?usp=sharing
Data from watching KMS, Orangemushroom
If GMS is wondering what to do with underused content and getting players together, here is a fun example.
@Aggraphine I understand you're reluctant to having S nebs in game but I think you should re-read the suggestions I posted. Like someone else has already stated, those who pay money will ALWAYS be further ahead than those who don't. It does not matter even if Nebulites didn't exist, they would simply pursue something else. I'm upset that S nebs are causing so much debate because they are the least of my concerns. Players who don't already have all of the [A] nebs that they need will be able to obtain them so much easier and without having to spend a single dollar but Nexon will never make all Nebulites available without having to spend nx.
Why would you, or anyone else for that matter, care whether or not the powerermongers are using S nebs when A nebs will be obtainable by everyone? If anything, it will serve as motivation for players to try and actually boss in groups to take on more difficult bosses such as Damien, Lotus, and Lucid.
Heres a serious question for you, would you rather
A) Leave the Nebulites system as broken as it is right now, where obtaining the best nebs for your equips cost anywhere from 5-6bil mesos
Or
?
The funded were always stronger than the unfunded. Even back before potential, they were the ones who could manage to perfect their weapon with 30% or 10% scrolls, to chaos their PAC and SCG and FS to two-digit attack values, to max their 4th-job skills, etc. But when you put all that together, they could do maybe 2x or 3x the damage of a normal unfunded character. So you could replace one superfunded character in your Zakum or HT squad with two or three normal ones. Oh, and we could bring 30 people in to fight the boss...
Now, a funded player does over 20x the damage of an unfunded one, and boss parties are limited to 6 people. Teaming up to defeat the bosses, that were created with high-funded characters in mind, is impossible.
With the damage cap raise, a funded player can do 1000x the damage of an unfunded one. And when Nexon makes bosses that "challenge" these characters that hit billions per line, normal people can't even think about trying them, alone or in a party.
So any change to our gear has got to raise the floor, without raising the ceiling even further. Narrow the gap, so people could aim for major bosses without breaking the bank.
For Nebulites, I would do the following:
1. Remove all D-rank Nebulites, and make S-rank Nebulites accessible. Nebulite Boxes would only give C and B rank, while C, B, and A would come from Master Craftsman, and C, B, A, and S would come from Meister.
2. Create the special nebulites mentioned above and make them drop from bosses like cubes, as well as having fragments drop from elite mobs, bosses, and legendary herbs. The rates of getting good Nebulites would probably be similar to rank-up rates from Smithing cubes.
3. Make it that you don't need a Nebulite Diffuser to replace a Nebulite, but allow for Diffusers to keep the Nebulite if they are to be used, instead of removing them completely.
4. Allow for easier access to Nebulite Fusion Tickets, maybe via daily quests.
@PirateIzzy Those are great ideas. Nebulites are sorta like accessories anyways. And not many people do accessory crafting so it would be a great way to improve 2 different things simultaneously
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If nexon were to implement my suggestions, it would be something that could increase EVERY players stats by a great amount and maybe I'm wrong for this but I don't see anything wrong with that at all. Would I be upset that I can't afford S nebs but pros can? Sure.... but it's unfair to hate on people who own a Lamborghini simply because you can't afford one. That's just the way things are.
I agree with you about the bosses becoming incredibly harder with each patch... but there are still many bosses that people can't defeat and they have been out for a while now. For example, Hard Magnus and Chaos Root Abyss(CRA) bosses. To many, they are not that hard to defeat, but to most, they are simply impossible. I believe that Nexon needs to somehow bring back the expedition system in order to have more than 6 people enter certain bosses. ESPECIALLY Damien and Lotus. Those who can solo or don't need many people to defeat those bosses will not lose anything except maybe the value of whatever drops one may get from the bosses. But to everyone else, it would mean that they can acquire more items that will make them more income and grant them more chances to further expand their range and experience with end-game content without having to spend $$$. It will also make Maple a more sociable game.
Sadly, it seems that Nexon did not care(or was unable) to find a fix to the expedition DC hacks and other problems that were happening. Should they ever decide to bring that back, the game will be so much better.