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Flames: Addressing Progression Problems in Reboot

awoovyawoovy
Reactions: 310
Post: 1
Member
edited February 2018 in Suggestions, Feedback, and Requests
Introducing the Problem

The main complaint from Maplestory players in Reboot (outside of game stability and the support system) is the prominent role of grinding meso for progression. Cubing, Starforcing, and Arcane Force are currently the three ways Reboot players progress, with meso involved in all three. It is necessary for Reboot players to spend more time grinding on a specialised meso farming character than the main character they loved, enjoyed, and seeked to fund. The current best methods for main characters require a second computer or breaking the TOS to use.

Since December specialised meso grinding methods were somewhat nerfed caused great community outrage. An official letter from the Maplestory producer was issued to quell the community. In that letter Savage Ace implemented a rough 15% meso buff for the remaining maps as a band-aid patch to the issue. It's been two months since, and we've heard no updates or long-term solutions so I intend to rekindle the discussion.

The letter aforementioned: http://maplestory.nexon.net/news/27281/maple-memo-an-update-regarding-mesos-in-reboot-world

I believe that trying to fix the Reboot progression issue by adjusting the meso rate in Reboot or adding extra sources of meso acquisition is misguided. I propose that the true issue with meso in Reboot is its core role in progression. The simple solution I propose is to add Flames to Reboot to take some importance away from meso in regards to progression.

NOTE: I understand that Flames have been suggested for GMS/EMS in the past. This suggestion is a solution to a problem specific to Reboot which is a unique topic to my knowledge. I cannot speak about the suitability of Flames to main servers since I don't play on those servers. I will try to answer criticisms in the comments below as long as they pertain solely to Flames in Reboot. It is likely that if Flames are added they would be added to both servers so I invite discussion for Flames on main servers in the comments, but I cannot contribute value to discussion.

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Why Flames are an ideal solution to the Progression Problem in Reboot

Flames help new players progress: Currently, good meso making methods require you to farm effectively on monsters within your level range. However in Reboot monster HP quickly outscales the skill damage of new players. This creates a hopeless scenario where new players must train on weak monsters and suffer a meso penalty to catch up in damage, by which time they have gained levels and now need even more damage to farm the monsters around their new level.

Flames are a great option for newer players to boost their damage and keep up with monster HP because Flames are gained through events, bossing, and crafting rather than grinding. Many new players also shy away from Maplestory in general due to the grindy nature of progression which Flames help dampen.

Flames are native to Korean Maplestory (KMS): We know that Global Maplestory (GMS) systematically copies and pastes update code from the Korean version of the game, as well as other regions. We lag approximately three to six months behind KMS presumably because the GMS team needs to port and test the patch's compatibility with non KMS code such as nebulites. The meso bug referred in Savage Ace’s Memo was a direct consequence of KMS game code poorly interacting with non-KMS game code.

Since Flames are a native feature to KMS, there is no need for GMS to manually remove the code every client build, nor is there any need to rethink event rewards involving Flames. Developer time saved in this regard can be used on higher priority issues such as game stability and the autoban system.

Flames increase Reboot job balance: Job balancing for all jobs except Jett, Kanna, Hayato, and Beast Tamer occurs in KMS. These KMS classes are balanced in the presence of Flames. Job balance is compromised in GMS with the absence of flames. When we also consider that reboot has no scrolling or bonus potentials, up to 33% of our total damage comes from Arcane Force in endgame conditions.

I would like to draw attention specifically to the balance of Xenon and Demon Avenger. These two classes gain significantly less damage per unit of Arcane Force than other classes with equal funding. This is a big problem when Arcane Force is so important to Reboot damage.This effect compounds with the fact that Xenon and Demon Avenger are the two hardest classes to Cube gear for in Reboot. For Xenon, All Stat lines are rarer than STR/DEX/INT/LUK lines. For Demon Avengers, All Stat lines cannot be used in lieu of HP lines to ‘three line’ their gear.

Prioritising proper job balance in Reboot is important because once a player commits to a character it is very time costly to switch mains since equipment cannot be traded. Reboot players are often left stuck on weak characters, lose their motivation to play, and would rather quit than re-doing all their progression up to that point on a better character.

Flames unlock previously impossible bosses for Reboot: One major shortfall of Reboot balance is that we are missing many item upgrade options. The strongest Reboot players are relatively weak compared to main server players, even with the Reboot damage passive. As a consequence, the highest tier of endgame bosses and the gear they drop are locked to the Reboot playerbase. Adding Flames to Reboot will make some of these bosses possible and a new goal for endgame players to chase. Hitting big numbers will make players feel better too.

Flames are universally relevant regardless of progression: As an endgame player in Reboot I increasingly find the rewards from events unsatisfactory. It has reached the point where events are unappealing if the event reward is not a new Best-In-Slot item or Maple Points. In KMS Flames are handed out for events and are always worth pursuing. Flames would also make an attractive compensation for repeated unscheduled maintenances instead of the 10 Power Elixirs meme.

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TLDR


Meso is too important in Reboot Progression. Flames are a good way to shift dominance away from meso.

Flames help new players progress:
Flames are native to KMS
Flames increase Reboot job balance
Flames unlock previously impossible bosses for Reboot
Flames are universally relevant regardless of progression

FutureChris

Comments

  • Retr0_Retr0_
    Reactions: 2,065
    Posts: 144
    Member
    edited February 2018
    nah. they aren't necessary.
  • AKradianAKradian
    Reactions: 40,340
    Posts: 6,342
    Member, Private Tester
    edited February 2018
    awoovy wrote: »
    Flames help new players progress: Currently, good meso making methods require you to farm effectively on monsters within your level range. However in Reboot monster HP quickly outscales the skill damage of new players. This creates a hopeless scenario where new players must train on weak monsters and suffer a meso penalty to catch up in damage, by which time they have gained levels and now need even more damage to farm the monsters around their new level.

    Flames are a great option for newer players to boost their damage and keep up with monster HP because Flames are gained through events, bossing, and crafting rather than grinding. Many new players also shy away from Maplestory in general due to the grindy nature of progression which Flames help dampen.

    Additional Options, like Potential, are heavily RNG. The chances of a new player finding gear with useful AO just from hunting are fairly low, and even more so in Reboot where gear can't be moved or sold to the character that can make best use of its Additional Options.

    If the problem in Reboot is that characters quickly outlevel the mobs they can comfortably kill, then a more logical solution would be to reduce the HP and/or EXP of mobs there, perhaps to the same values as normal servers have.

    Note that events that give out flames usually require killing mobs in your level range (or collecting items from them), so a character that can't kill efficiently to begin with won't be able to earn flames to maybe improve their damage. Such events would appear to be mocking weak players rather than helping them.
    awoovy wrote: »
    Flames are native to Korean Maplestory (KMS): We know that Global Maplestory (GMS) systematically copies and pastes update code from the Korean version of the game, as well as other regions. We lag approximately three to six months behind KMS presumably because the GMS team needs to port and test the patch's compatibility with non KMS code such as nebulites. The meso bug referred in Savage Ace’s Memo was a direct consequence of KMS game code poorly interacting with non-KMS game code.

    Since Flames are a native feature to KMS, there is no need for GMS to manually remove the code every client build, nor is there any need to rethink event rewards involving Flames. Developer time saved in this regard can be used on higher priority issues such as game stability and the autoban system.

    This is an argument in support of adding AO to GMS in general. It has nothing to do with progression in Reboot.
    awoovy wrote: »
    Flames increase Reboot job balance: Job balancing for all jobs except Jett, Kanna, Hayato, and Beast Tamer occurs in KMS. These KMS classes are balanced in the presence of Flames. Job balance is compromised in GMS with the absence of flames. When we also consider that reboot has no scrolling or bonus potentials, up to 33% of our total damage comes from Arcane Force in endgame conditions.

    I would like to draw attention specifically to the balance of Xenon and Demon Avenger. These two classes gain significantly less damage per unit of Arcane Force than other classes with equal funding. This is a big problem when Arcane Force is so important to Reboot damage.This effect compounds with the fact that Xenon and Demon Avenger are the two hardest classes to Cube gear for in Reboot. For Xenon, All Stat lines are rarer than STR/DEX/INT/LUK lines. For Demon Avengers, All Stat lines cannot be used in lieu of HP lines to ‘three line’ their gear.

    Prioritising proper job balance in Reboot is important because once a player commits to a character it is very time costly to switch mains since equipment cannot be traded. Reboot players are often left stuck on weak characters, lose their motivation to play, and would rather quit than re-doing all their progression up to that point on a better character.

    As I said above, AO are just like Potential: heavily RNG-dependent and doubly frustrating in Reboot due to the lack of trade. The specialized classes will find it no easier to get the stats they want as AO than they do as Potential. Arguably, adding AO in Reboot will just increase the imbalance between regular classes and Xenon/DA.
    awoovy wrote: »
    Flames unlock previously impossible bosses for Reboot: One major shortfall of Reboot balance is that we are missing many item upgrade options. The strongest Reboot players are relatively weak compared to main server players, even with the Reboot damage passive. As a consequence, the highest tier of endgame bosses and the gear they drop are locked to the Reboot playerbase. Adding Flames to Reboot will make some of these bosses possible and a new goal for endgame players to chase. Hitting big numbers will make players feel better too.

    This is unrelated to the role of meso in Reboot. Even if non-KMS map meso drops had not been fixed, Reboot would face difficulties with the newer bosses.
    AO can help with these difficulties, but it doesn't much help with players struggling to get to the point where they can defeat mid-tier bosses. It helps, but you still need Legendary gear with good lines, and for that you still need meso, and lots of it.
    awoovy wrote: »
    Flames are universally relevant regardless of progression: As an endgame player in Reboot I increasingly find the rewards from events unsatisfactory. It has reached the point where events are unappealing if the event reward is not a new Best-In-Slot item or Maple Points. In KMS Flames are handed out for events and are always worth pursuing. Flames would also make an attractive compensation for repeated unscheduled maintenances instead of the 10 Power Elixirs meme.

    Flames aren't "always worth pursuing" any more than Cubes are. You only need them until all your gear has good AO. What will you ask the game to add then, to hold your interest?

    Perhaps the problem in Reboot is that progression is too fast and people cube and enhance their gear to perfection so fast that they are left with nothing worth improving. Maybe making meso (as well as arcane symbols and nodestones) harder to obtain was actually the right move to prevent such boredom with the game as you're describing.

    ----

    I don't object to AO in general. It might even be essential if GMS is ever to defeat (Hard) Will.
    But your post does not convince me that AO are a solution to the Reboot progression slowdown introduced by the fix to non-KMS map meso farming.
    Petalmagic
  • PetalmagicPetalmagic
    Reactions: 7,660
    Posts: 1,572
    Member
    edited February 2018
    while I would like to hear more about flames...and see them implemented, none of your points really go with the main point on Reboot mesos.

    AKradian sums it up pretty well.