Bug Type: Progression, Game Logic
Bug Summary:
These quests cannot be completed in the game at this time, despite being available to start. These are not due to bugs or glitches (such as happened to Sengoku characters with their Magnus prequests in the past), but due to unavailable NPCs or content normal players cannot access. (Note that these are all based on my experience on Reboot, I cannot speak to any quest that appear on other servers)
Details:
Dragon Rider, an Explorer quest. An old outdated mount quest that cannot be completed because the prerequisite quests, receiving a Hog and Silver Mane mount, are no longer accessible. This quest can be accepted from the 4th job instructors in Leafre, but cannot be progressed.
(Lv. 35) Amoria: The Sakura Garden, under the quest journal heading Victoria Island. This one is a bit weird now. Before, when old Amoria was still accessible, the problem with this quest was that the Sakura Cellions in Amoria didn't drop an essential quest item. Now Amoria is (normally) inaccessible altogether, and I'm honestly not sure this quest even appears in new character's Available quest lists. It's still listed in my old main character's available quest list, so I'm going ahead and listing it for now.
The Committee Challenges, Under Victoria Island. The first part of this quest, collecting Lazy Buffy marbles for Sabitrama in Sleepywood can be done, but the second part is undoable. Previously because it requires going to Omega Sector, which was closed until recently (though the second part of the quest could be started using a remote quest accepting item. It could not be turned in with a remote quest item though). Now that Omega Sector is back, the required NPC, Dr. Kim, does not react to this quest due to the revamps that have been done. I need to do this questline under other characters, as with the previous quest listed, I'm not sure if that one is even still available to newly made characters. Updates pending me having more free time.
The Missing Hero, under Leafre. This one is only impossible on Reboot due to the nature of the server. The last part of this quest requires a Nine Spirit's Egg from Horntail, but because that item acts like a Scroll, it does not drop on reboot, making the quest unable to be completed. After a recent patch, Nine Spirit's Egg suddenly starting dropping on Reboot, and I was personally able to finish this quest line. I haven't tested it on other characters, but as far as I'm aware, this one is now possible.
The Lantern at Mushroom Shrine, under Overseas Travel, related to Showa Town and Mushroom Shrine. This quest cannot be completed as previous changes to the Mushroom Shrine area have changed the monsters in the area. The quest requires killing Paper Lantern Ghost enemies and collecting the Worn Paper Lanterns they drop. The only place a monster of this type appears now is in the map Zipangu: Vanished Village. However, the Paper Lantern Ghosts there now do not count toward quest completion when killed, although the items they drop still do.
Eliminating Big Cloud Fox, same heading and areas as above. This quest requires killing 80 Big Cloud Foxes. As before, the current iteration of mushroom shrine does not have this monster anywhere that I can find.
Umi's Ambition, same heading and areas as above. This quest requires talking to the NPC Alien Gray in Omega Sector. Before, Omega Sector was closed and this NPC was inaccessible. Now, this NPC doesn't exist in the new Omega Sector.
Eliminating Ghosts, same heading and areas as above. This quest requires killing Nightghosts. There are no Nightghost monster available in-game at this time, in the Zipangu areas or out.
For a time I had the quest to kill Astaroth on Victoria Island active, which couldn't be completed because Astaroth's Demon Door no long exists. However, I forfeited that quest to build this list and now it's no longer listed under Available or receivable from the NPC, so I'm going to assume that one has already been patched out entirely? Otherwise that quest also belongs on this list.
This is all I could come up with at this time, having done nearly every quest currently available in-game over the last few months. I've only created about half of the available character types so I can't confirm that all of the unique character quests are functional, but so far there haven't been any other issues. If anyone else has found any outdated quests that can't be completed due to revamps and changes that cause broken quest logic (not straight up coding bugs like Princess No had for a while there), please add them to the list.
Comments
Oddly, they only restricted access to the first quest, Monster Riding, as I was able to do the Silver Mane (which I already started) and Dragon Rider quests on my mule yesterday.
They also made the second part impossible to complete, since it requires Lupin Dolls, and Lupins don't spawn anymore.
The egg itself isn't a scroll, it's a quest item that you turn in to get a scroll. Don't know if it drops in Reboot though.
All the old Zipangu quests in Mushroom Shrine/Showa Town are either outdated now or impossible to complete. I think it would be best if the quests were blocked/removed altogether (like the ones listed above, and the ones in Showa that require items from mobs in Ludibrium).
Yeah, I have this quest! The npc still giving the quest.
The npc is: The Rememberer.
I will forfeit this quest tonight...
I might even do a bug report for monster cards that aren't dropping - aside of these areas which aren't accessible due various reasons.
Sorry, I've been busy with other things and this thread was several months old and out of my immediate thoughts. I was also trying to play through all the character types in search of any other odd quests that might be undoable, but that takes time that life doesn't always provide. Also I've found that using this type of thread where I compile bugs that are closely related to each other all in one place (monster collection text errors, these broken quests, etc) don't tend to get responses from those that pass the bugs on to the game dev team. Better results are had when each individual error, glitch, or bug is made into its own thread. For lack of actual effect, I've had to give up on them outside of information gathering purposes, especially this one that's months old at this point and had fallen pretty far down the page list.
As to the quests you listed,
Quill you find my Pen: I have actually completed that quest and the subsequent one where you have to buy an inkwell, but the quest design is definitely not good. It seems like the chest only sells a limited number (maybe only 1) of these items on a server at a time, so after someone buys it, nobody else can. I don't know if I caught the chest shop just after a server restart such that it was restocked, or if I just got lucky, but it is technically doable...just not reasonably doable. The pen and inkwell should really be changed to unlimited purchases, because it's not like they're particularly useful outside of these pointless little quests.
Lost Spirit: It's been a while since I messed with NLC quests, but most of them are infinitely repeatable, just not for anything of particular value. (Kill Galacto-Drill 300 times for one Nebulite? Great...) If the quest can be finished, but it just pops up again, it's not really bugged, it's just repeatable. The original idea of this thread was for quests that can be accepted, but literally cannot be completed because an item doesn't drop, or certain mobs or NPCs don't exist to allow you do progress through them.
Dragon Rider: Noted this one in the OP. I've heard some people say that the Silver Mane quest could be done if you somehow had the Hog, but the Hog quest is just unavailable, so anyone trying this quest line now would get nowhere.
Interestingly, The Missing Hero quest in Leafre suddenly became possible in Reboot a few weeks ago. Horntail dropped a Nine Spirit's Egg and I was able to hatch the baby dragon from it. Not sure why it happened, and haven't confirmed that it's still dropping for anyone that hasn't finished the quest, but that's one potentially off the list.
I appreciate other folks' contributions to this thread, but I'm likely to abandon it myself for lack of personal time, and because posting each broken quest in its own individual thread is much more likely to get results. I may start doing that in the future, but seeing as I don't tend to have the time lately to push for anything but minor text error corrections, it's not likely. Best of luck with your efforts to compile errors in other game systems like the monster book. Little by little, you might be able to get some results.
Adding my hayato to the list of Easy Magnus & impossible to 5th job.And the imminent loss of the recently offered - and why timed? nodestones. Having worked at it overtime, including late into the night. Only to meet the disappointment to have to fail jobbing in time for the nodestones.
Then
Masteria through time
Sadly. Starting it OK, and then very quickly into the game, a back-and-forth without solution, keeping me stuck at "Onwards to Masteria"
For the - sadly timed, but why so? - nodestones, I guess I am not the only one to have been working intensely toward 5th jobbing, possibly including buying some 2EXP tickets from the Cash Shop. We'll have done so to no avail, apparently staying stuck there. And losing the benefit of our nodestones. Again, why limiting their time anyway? What is a present that disappears?
Thank you Nexon for a) making those nodestones permanent AND b) resolving the various quest and other bugs mentioned here, including the one hindering so many people to 5th job!
I think that most of us here will appreciate interrupting our playing Maplestory while you are fixing the various bugs, and be able to start anew in optimal conditions.
Ludus Lake (Omega Sector) - Porter's Challenge: This specific NPC is not the same NPC as the one found in Omega Sector. They have the same name and look, but they are programmed differently. By theory you could use the Remote Quest Starter/Finisher (I've done this when Tot's Know How gave it out as a reward), but without NX you can't talk to him.
After giving Master Sergeant Fox 50 Lazy Buffy's Marbles, this quest requires you to speak to General Maestro in Omega Sector.
However, because of the Omega Sector revamp, General Maestro is no longer there.
Here's a hidden-street link to the quest: https://bbb.hidden-street.net/quest/el-nath-mt-aquaroad/monster-rumor-mill
The Lantern at Mushroom Shrine: Can now be completed with the new Paper Lantern Ghosts
Eliminating Big Cloud Fox: Renamed to Night Fox Hunt, can now be completed with the new Night Foxes.
Umi's Ambition: The quest has been blocked
Eliminating Ghosts: Can now be completed with the new Dark Specters
The thread itself was forwarded a few months ago.
However, I don't know whether Nexon's devs keep an eye on it to see the things everybody's been adding, updating, or removing, since that point.
I will tell them to look at it again.
Not yet, but these are being looked into!
Thanks.