Should You Play MapleStory 2? Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming Anime MMORPG!

With closed beta invites already being sent out for MapleStory 2’s closed beta next month, more and more people are wondering what exactly we have to look forward to.
What the game itself will offer us and whether or not it’ll be worth investing time into. Maybe it’ll garner a reputation like its predecessor and become heavily pay to win. It is Nexon after all, and we know how their games go.
Now, not everyone enjoyed MapleStory – that’s no secret. It has a very unique style of animation, storytelling and is a side-scrolling MMORPG: Something a lot of people just.. aren’t into.
So with that being said, what does MapleStory 2 even bring to the table that could whet one’s appetite? Especially with Bless Online launching next month as well?

MapleStory 2 is a free to play, 3D MMORPG that utilizes an entirely new graphical system, showcasing beautifully bright, vibrant environments to traverse and explore.
It’s just as quirky, just as packed with cutscenes (which are predominantly unskippable, but what can you do,) and just as.. well, actually, it isn’t as large as the original MapleStory but there is a lot more content packed into each zone.
While you could go ahead and argue that a smaller world mass is bad, or that increased content inside each map is good, the fact remains that the average player won’t even notice a difference.
The sequel takes place in the same universe as MapleStory, the Maple World, and is actually a prequel to the original centering on the rise of dark forces, and the three Sages that live in Lapenta, governing space, time, and the world’s life.
Fans have voiced some concern with regards to the class selection being made available as anyone that has played MapleStory in the past knows that its unique class system is one of the most advanced and well thought out in the MMORPG genre.
With the exception of Ragnarok Online, I guess.

MapleStory 2 has the same fun, fast action combat that players remember from the original, with noticable improvements made to utilize the new 3D engine.
However, accompanying those improvements is a dumbing down of the ostentatious special effects that would at times plague the screen.
Players are able to chain together various skills to make for some utterly destructive gameplay, just like in MapleStory.
Likewise, boss monsters are large and take up quite a bit of space. They also have large attacks that are not only capable of hitting multiple players, but destroying the environment themselves, making for some at times, hilarious encounters.
In MapleStory 2 you have the very same world, with familiar zones, familiar faces, and familiar environments. Albeit.. altered to fit the period you’re now playing in.
It retains the same features – adding some additional things such as destructible environments – with players being able to cut down trees and knock over blocks, a la Minecraft.
Objects obtained through the destruction of the terrain are even able to be used in combat, adding a new mechanic into the game.
Disregarding combat, NPCs, and story for a moment – players are able to participate in several other activities. These range from a myriad of mini-games – some of which will be created by other actual players using the in-game editor, and player created dungeons.
This will make for some exciting gameplay as you’ll always have new content to explore and new experiences to have.
Finally, one of the two things I’m most excited about, is:
1.) The ability to have non-instanced player housing. Players are capable of building their very own house block by block, again, just like Minecraft.
You are able to decorate the interior with special items you obtain, ranging from storage, to mannequins, to general decor.
2.) You are able to design and upload your very own patterns and apply them in-game to costumes – something that is truly insane. You can run around looking like a Kingdom Hearts character or even Kratos from God of War.

I’ve talked about Nexon in the past. Although they’re not as bad as Aeria Games or My.com, they are still very, very money hungry when it comes to their games.
They’re generally known to take everything you enjoy about a game, and then monetize it. It’s absurd, really, just how much Nexon loves squeezing money outta their players.
So while I listed above that I am truly excited about being able to design my own costumes – there will be a pay wall behind it. Meaning you need to pay for every costume you upload.
Likewise, the game has the potential to go very pay to win, very fast.
Then we have the limited classes – which I’ll go over shortly. In essence though, the classes you have available are a significantly smaller roster to choose from.
This makes for less replayability which is something the original had a lot of.
And finally.. it’s Nexon. They really have no care whatsoever about their playerbase.

MapeStory 2’s character creator has about what you’d expect from an Anime MMORPG:
You’re given the ability to change your hairstyle, hair color, choose from a pre-determined selection of face styles and eye colors, add a few cute little tattoos or scars to your face – which are actually movable, mind you.
Change your skin color, the default outfit your character wears along with the color scheme, and even change the overall length of your hair.
All in all, not a bad character creator for the genre of game it’s in, but nothing to really praise.

Here comes the rough part. The Korean version of MapleStory 2 – you know, the iteration of MapleStory 2 that our English version is derived from, is quite heavily pay to win.
Now, before you get all defensive with me and start hating on me, plotting my inevitable death – hear me out. Allow me to explain what avenues of pay to win MapleStory 2 employs.
Nexon have publicly stated that MapleStory 2 will not, in any way, be pay to win. Yet many people can argue that the original MapleStory is. Hah. Good going, Nexon.
MapleStory 2 – or at least, the Korean version of it promotes various forms of pay to win. For example: You need Mesos, the in-game currency, to purchase a lot of things. Healing items, equipment, and even upgrading costs Mesos.
So.. why can you purchase Mesos with real life currency? That is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.
And yes, while there are some forms of this model in games like WoW with WoW tokens, the fact of the matter is that you aren’t required to pay ridiculous amounts of gold to upgrade your gear.
Allowing people that pay thousands of dollars to guarantee highly upgraded equipment in a week as opposed to the average player grinding out for months is pay to win.
Next is the fact that you’re capable ot adding gems into your outfits. The outfits that are gemmable are obtained through the cash shop, meaning you’re required to either purchase it from someone else in-game, or spend money on it yourself.
Now, they go ahead and justify this by allowing you to purchase “Merits” with Mesos earned in-game, Merits being redeemable for cash shop currency.
So in theory, you can obtain these items, all cash shop items, through thorough and extensive grinding – but in the time it takes to do that.. every whale will have passed you in the time it takes to insert their credit card details in.
Pay to win in MapleStory 2 is going to run rampant, just like it does in MapleStory.

The Korean version of MapleStory 2 has quite a few classes and jobs in total. Jobs are essentially a sub-class that you pick upon hitting a certain level.
The English release of MapleStory 2 however only has access to a little over half of those. Which is understandable, as the Korean version is much further along.
Like the original MapleStory, Nexon will likely go ahead and release the additional classes over time with new updates as they have been doing ever since MapleStory came into being, but it is nevertheless unfortunate to not have access to everything at launch.
One thing I would like to note though is that MapleStory 2 actually has quite a significantly reduced roster of playable classes and jobs. Almost 50% less, to be more accurate.
This could be a huge drawback for fans that loved the diversity found in its predecessor amongst classes.

There are several types of PvP available in MapleStory 2. First and foremost, there will be your traditional 1v1 duels in a 3 dimensional arena.
Second, there is a large free for all mode where players compete to attain the most kills to receive maximum rewards.
Finally, there is open world PvP – where players are capable of being attacked while out in the open world grinding or questing.
While open world PvP will be a thing, it will be limited to certain zones so players need not concern themselves with being ganked everywhere they go.
This is a fun PvP system in all honesty, and I look forward to experiencing each and every mode of PvP the game has to offer.

That’s a very good question. Closed beta begins soon – the second week of May, actually, if all goes according to plan.
The official release won’t be too far off, either.
With that in mind, and knowing what I know about firstly MapleStory, and secondly Nexon the company – I’m a little on the fence.
The game itself looks so much fun. The gameplay, the classes, the graphical style, the mini games, player housing, customization. They really nailed it when they were going for an Anime MMORPG.
But the fact that it is going to be a convoluted mess of pay to win in every aspect kills my anticipation for the game.
I am of the firm opinion that every game should be given a chance before judging it, and likewise, I shall be giving MapleStory the benefit of the doubt here as it looks to be an incredibly entertaining successor to the franchise.
However, long-term, I don’t believe it’ll be worth the time as it will inevitably go pay to win.
If it doesn’t however, then I will gladly recommend it to everyone interested in Anime MMORPGs. Because this will likely be more than worth it if it doesn’t end up pay to win.

Regardless, that’s about everything I think you guys need to know before you go ahead and either play the game, or inevitably trash it instead.
Thanks for watching, and both my wife and I will see you all in-game when it officially launches. <3