MapleStory – RED

Hello everyone. I want to thank the people who visited my Twitch channel to see the livestream. I apologize for the random buffering but I hope you enjoyed the show.
Yesterday there was a press conference by Nexon to showcase the RED (Revolution, Evolution, Delight) update. I have seen it and I have to say that most of the information is already known and was released at the 1st Festival event. The RED update is split in three separate updates.

I’ll begin to say that nothing of the 5th Job Advancement was said. In late May, Nexon had announced in an interview that they were working on the development of 5th Job. However, because of the large amount of work and detail that has to be spent on the skills it will take some time. My take on it is that we will probably see something around winter.

Anyway, I don’t want to keep you waiting! Some interesting information has been announced yesterday, so read below the cut for more.

I highly recommend you to watch the above video first. This video is the official video that was shown at the press conference.

July 4 – 1st Impact

On July 4, the first update “1st Impact” will go live in the public server. The biggest revamp to Adventurers will then be released
13 classes will be revamped and around 120 skills will be refined and changed. The Dual Blade & Cannon Shooter classes are joining the team of the existing Adventurer, classifying them now as official Adventurers.

Compared to other new classes the Adventurer was lacking a story line. That’s about to change. In 1st Impact a story line for the Adventurer will be added.
The Free Advancement system will be added exclusively for Adventurers. The Free Advancement system allows you to change to a different 4th Job class. However there are restrictions.

First of all, you can only swap classes within the same class branch. An example: a Dark Knight cannot swap to a Bishop, but it can swap to a Paladin. To swap classes, you must speak to the respective 4th Job NPCs in Leafre. To swap classes you need either Free Advancement Coins or Meso.
Skill books are no longer required for Adventurers.

Professions will be changed in this update. A craftsman/artisan system will be added. New powerful Meister equipment will be added.
Meister weapons are level 145 and are equal to Fafnir weapons. And… with the revamp comes the ability to craft Scrolls, Cubes and Flames of Reincarnation!

Last but not least, the Mileage system will be added. What is the Milage system? 
Earning Mileage is possible by clearing game content such as party quests and bosses. With Mileage you will be able to purchase cash items with a special discount. It is like airmiles.
As a token of appreciation Nexon will give everyone up to 50,000 Mileage through an event.

July 18 – Child of God, the Mirror World

Child of God, the Mirror World will be released on July 18! This second update of RED will include a new class, new world, new systems and the Maple Auction!

Zero is the name of the new and first dual character in MapleStory! Zero is a Warrior-type class. I knew it was a Warrior because in May Nexon added the job codes for Zero.
This is the first class that will also start at level 100 upon character creation. Zero will start in the Mirror World.

It has been clearly said that Zero will only be available this summer.

The Mirror World is a reflection of the Maple World created by the Black Mage. It is a new world that looks like Maple World but it is somehow different.
The following areas are in Mirror World: Temple of Time, Leafre, Edelstein, Henesys, Ariant, Ludibrium, Magatia, Critias, Shadow Village and the Temple of Zero.
You can move to all the areas through the Temple of Zero.

The Mirror World offers you premium hunting which can give you great experience and rewards in your own instanced maps.

The dual character system is implemented in Zero. Zero consist of Alpha and Beta. Alpha (male) and Beta (female) have their own separate skill trees.
There are two methods to battle against monsters as Zero. You can go for the Tagging route or for the Assisting route.
Tagging allows you alternate between Alpha or Beta. Both have a different style of attacking. Or you can choose for assist which means that after a period of time Alpha and Beta will combine their strength that allows you to deal very high damage.

Zero does not use MP but rather TF which stands for Time Force. I mean.. they are created from the Goddess of Time so it makes sense.
Time Force refills very fast allowing you to use many attacks. If you are in tag mode, it refills Time Force twice as fast.
Alpha and Beta uses their own weapon and even their own HP and ability gauge are separate. Cash items will be equipped on both characters.

It is possible on Zero to use a variety of effects by using the Transcendent Skill. This allows him to control time and manipulate buff and debuff times, resurrect himself and become invincible.

Through the spirits Lapis and Lazuli you are able to enhance the weapons of Alpha and Beta simultaneously.

Story telling in MapleStory will be improved in the second update. The quest system will be upgraded with a new user interface, bigger font size and NPC illustrations.
I hope they will change the old ones but I believe this is only for Zero quests for now. I am not sure but I will find out on July 18!
A fostering simulation will be added. No idea what this is but it sounds fun.

Finally, MapleStory is getting something useful. The auction house or also known as Maple Auction will be coming in this update.
I am so looking forward to this update. It will be so much easier to search for items, purchase and sell them and all for free.

Critias – August 1

The continent of Critias has been discovered! Rumors are that the Black Mage had hidden away this kingdom, but it has finally come to the surface.
Revealing to be a continent experienced only for the high-leveled players. More powerful monsters and an exciting story line are awaiting you.

What is the Black Mage up to? He hid this kingdom of Black Magic away in the space of time. Terrifying monsters and bosses are in that kingdom.
Critias is the first area in MapleStory where everybody from all worlds can join the maps in Critias and play with other Maplers.

In this third update a real-time invasion of the commanders of the Black Mage will be implemented. You can fight with them in real-time and your duty is to stop their invasion.
If you manage to stop their invasion there will be great rewards.

A gigantic boss monster will be released in Critias where up to 100 players can join. Players will have to cooperate with each other to defeat this gigantic-sized boss.

A different PvP system is coming in this update. In this system you can become a boss monster and challenge a Mapler. Instead of the good guy, become the bad guy!

Finally, Battle Monster League will be added to this update. Capture monsters to become your Battle Monsters, level them up, assign them to your Battle Monster deck and challenge other users!

This piece of content will also come to GMS and JMS. Sooner to GMS than we all think.