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I would argue that's what Nexon is trying to do as of late. What with Kanna rework, frequent memos, bringing back weekly ban data, etc.
Nexon is trying, everyone just wants to ignore all their efforts because Maple isn't being fixed over night.

To be clear, I'm not criticizing any fixes or other general support GMS is doing - they are doing fine (besides the surprise channel removal). It is the KMS team, the ones who greenlit everything and can create change, are the ones I'm having troubles with. They're the ones leading what type of content to be created. And while I don't necessarily hate their direction, they are meandering through what I feel should be better used elsewhere. For example, the Black Mage event had an event ability tree that allowed additional buffs to certain activities. I wish that would be integrated to guild skills, as to give it more value to being in a guild as well as doing those activities.

I didn't. I said if you care about party play that loot/exp comes second. Which it does if you play Maple to be social.
I also don't feel like being social in a game originally designed for being social is a waste of time.

The problem is currently, you can't even call party play being your priority along with loot/exp, when loot/exp becomes inferior. Not a close second, it becomes strictly inferior, when the opposite is not true. You can say the game can be for more social activities but that's not worth much when there are much more worth for activities for solo-play.

They look forward to playing with their friends. Nexon can't force you to be social. Even if party play was better, it is still up to you, the player, to be social.
Nexon isn't going to care that much about unused features. Fact of the matter is if you want them to make party play better, you're going to have to use it.
I still stand by party play is easier/faster than solo grind anyway. You're not going to convince me otherwise on that one.

I'm not arguing the ability to be social, it is the platform that Nexon has made, which is faulty, is what I am referring to. Of course if party play were made better, more people would use it - I mean, if Jetts and Beast Tamers finally get their deserved buffs (read: fixes), wouldn't more players be more inclined to play them? What does having to use a faulty system have to do with proving that it is unusable? Especially when it was Nexon themselves that made it unusable? They can buff classes every other patch but can't lift a finger for even updating PQ rewards? (Also like to note how there is a clear divide for training and bossing: Bishops and Kanna for grinding, any other class is unnecessary. For bosses, the group is supported by Bishops, and a few other select classes for their abilities, every other class is a different flavor of DPS).

Different issue entirely. 2PC Meta needs to die.

2PC meta does need to die. Still, I was referring to the fact that with Kanna, it shows the extreme state of what constitutes as party play now, and shows the state of solo grinding. The monsters are brainless fodder, little player interaction, and all that is cared for is acquisition in the least time possible. Runes are the only serious break in this stale gameplay loop. Having map-specific bosses was a great idea, but when they're generically-designed shadows that can show up anywhere, with generic rewards, it's hard to get excited about it. This is the same ineffectiveness as with potion-lock mobs.

People still playing the game complain about this. I don't know what you're talking about.

Have you ever thought that people might have quit with the lack of party-play?

I personally disagree. Nexon is doing a great deal of trying for a game that is barely worth running.
I've even heard claims that they operate at a loss. If Nexon didn't care they'd just pull the plug instead of bleeding more money.
The players have a lot more power to change things than they give credit to. Even a dying game can have a friendly and welcoming community.
This is an issue that not only Nexon, but also players have the power to adapt to and fight back against.

I've said this before, but if Nexon really cared, they'd try to make the game better. Yea, they're a business, and their current model is working in other countries, but instead of trying to make Maplestory into a long-term plan to milk players, what if they just sat down and really try to work out what makes players want to play Maple instead of dubiously creating stockholme-syndrome mechanics and tightly controlling player progress. I think with the state of Maplestory 2 proves they have still a lot to learn about how they can interpret and deliver on the audience that they're trying to cater for (different dev team working on MS2 than MS notwithstanding).

When was the last time you actually invited that guy who popped into your channel to your party?
How about party requests? They usually do get declined, but I've had the chance to grind with a few people and it's always fun.
Even if you don't party, just yesterday I had someone enter my map and take the other half while we had a silent agreement going on.
Party play being slower or faster is a non-issue. If you're actually concerned about party play, the speed at which you progress should be second to that.

Biased personal experience. I'm not sure why you're trying to even downplay on receiving loot/exp when it's one of the core tenets of Maplestory, due to grinding. No one wants to feel like their wasting their time when Maple has so many ways to, and for better results. That, in itself, is where certain players find enjoyment. Even if the community adopts a more proactive attitude on party-play, sacrificing material gain for that party enjoyment, what do those players have to look forward to? How does Maplestory actually cater to those who want to party? Using your example, is it still fun to share this map with someone? Sure. Wouldn't it be better if the map was designed for more than one person, and necessitated conscious party-player interactions and impact? Surely, that would be even better. But there is no hook, no incentive, nothing. You are literally doing the same thing as if you were doing things solo plus x number of players in the same map as you are, except less map space and gains.

I mean, if "being slower or faster is a non-issue" then we'd have little further need to look at than at the state of Kannas.

Given how many people are vocal about party play being dead though, I don't think this is the majority of players.

Yea, I wonder how vocal the massive amount of players that stopped playing Maplestory over the years are.

I'm sure Nexon knows, but all we want is for Maplestory to feel like an MMORPG again. Sense of adventure, secrets, fighting as a group, being tested. What that really comes done to is a more focused balance towards these things, a direction that success has been seen with Dragon's Quest, Final Fantasy, Persona, etc.

The fact that MapleStory is highly played in other countries shows that the problem isn't the game. It's the region/players.

Yikes. I'm all for the creator's original vision and intent, and I can accept Nexon's success with Maple in other countries, but there has to be something unintentional that is working in their favor, or with certain cultures, something unique that is not easily replicable. If you look at Maplestory on just its gameplay, the gameplay loop is very basic and static, and if it were a normal, physically released video game, it would be incredibly middling.

Shouldn't it be called a Solo Event and Daily Login Game?

Nexon would rather make a new class, blockbuster or stuff in a daily event than make a new pq. I think it's pretty clear at this point, for whatever (dumb) reason, they don't want to make party quests anymore. It's been literal years. Even GMS, since they took out CWKPQ for n o r e a s o n.