Is it Worth Playing MapleStory in 2025?
One of the OG Pillar of MMORPG
MapleStory remains one of the oldest and most iconic MMOs still thriving today, consistently rolling out updates that keep it alive and kicking. For instance, during March 2025, MapleStory dropped a collab event with the wildly popular anime Demon Slayer, letting players step into Tanjiro’s shoes and slash through quests. It’s a bold move that’s got me itching to dive back in and see what’s new.
As I’ve mentioned before, MapleStory was the MMORPG that first hooked me on the genre. This was way before I dipped into Silkroad Online or around the same time (it’s been way too long now to remember which came first), before World of Warcraft, and long before everything else followed.
Growing up, it was one of my go-to MMORPGs, right alongside Silkroad Online and World of Warcraft. Those were simpler days, a different era altogether. MapleStory’s quirky, iconic graphics set it apart. Back then, grinding levels wasn’t the obsession. Everyone I played with knew hitting level 200 was a pipe dream, and we didn’t sweat it stuck between levels 40 and 100. Instead, we poured our energy into the real endgame: decking out our characters with killer fashion, costumes, and pets while doing Party Quests.
The core of MapleStory hasn’t changed all these years. It’s still a 2D side-scrolling MMORPG with chibi cartoon graphics. It has evolved beyond what GMS was in the early 2000s. We call that the Pre-BB. The Big Bang update shook things up with massive changes. The real issue for most Maplers wasn’t what you’d guess. It was the Big Bang EXP Curve that flipped the leveling experience. Better or worse is still up for debate. Some loved it. Others hated it. Fay prefers the old “impossible” dream, even if it frustrated me back then when hitting level 20 took forever and every new character crawled to 2nd Job.
With Big Bang, the experience points needed to level dropped fast. The climb from 1 to 200 became way quicker. This year, 2025, that Demon Slayer collab in March pulled me back in. In two weeks of solo play, I got a Buccaneer to 234, a Mercedes to 221, an Angelic Buster to 200, and a bunch of link skill characters between 105 and 120. Speed levelers would call that slow. Fay’s not on Reboot with those passive account buffs, so it’s all raw grind. Pre-BB, hitting 120 would’ve taken months. Level 200 would’ve taken years. Now it’s a different game, and I’m hooked on juggling all these characters.
Fast forward to now, April 2025, and MapleStory’s still holding strong. Steam Charts show a peak of 8.7k players this month, up from 6.2k at the same time last year. That’s just Steam though.
So here comes the million dollar question, is Maple Story still worth playing in 2025 or should we find another game invest time in playing?
Publisher
Nexon was never the original publisher for Maplestory, the original developer and publisher was Wizet, which was absorbed by the current publisher Nexon in 2021.
While Wizet felt more relaxed and community-friendly in my childhood memories, Nexon always came off as a money-hungry company obsessed with monetizing the game. In fact, Nexon’s notorious reputation as a “terrible company” isn’t news to anyone. Their own gaming community has a habit of boycotting their titles over questionable decisions. Not much has shifted for Nexon though. Their bad rep still lingers, especially with recent headaches like constant maintenance, rollbacks wiping progress, and crashes kicking players offline. Still, MapleStory keeps chugging along strong, and I’m glad Nexon hasn’t shelved it into maintenance mode.
Combat
The combat in MapleStory flows like butter for a side-scrolling platformer. It’s easily one of the smoothest I’ve experienced when stacking it up against other 2D scrollers like La Tale, Closers, Elsword, or even Grand Chase. Every skill pops off with precision, and chaining moves feels seamless, whether you’re smashing buttons or timing your combos. Compare that to something like IdleOn, a simpler 2D setup where combat’s more laid-back and hands-off. In IdleOn, you’re mostly setting up your character to auto-battle cute little mobs while you kick back. MapleStory’s the opposite. It demands your attention, rewarding quick reflexes with a dazzling payoff.
It’s not quite an anime-style MMO, but those chibi characters pack some seriously flashy skills that light up the screen. You’re not just poking at enemies, you’re unleashing chaos with over-the-top effects that make every fight a spectacle. If you’re into retro 2D vibes with tiny heroes whacking mostly adorable monsters, this combat system’s a treat. It’s got that active, engaging edge over IdleOn’s chill grind. Shame about MapleStory 2 though. It was hyped as the big successor, bringing a 3D twist to the formula, but it fizzled out completely in both West & East. Still, the original’s combat holds up. Swapping the keyboard for a controller adds a fun twist too. Something about thumbing the joystick while blasting skills feels fresh, almost like you’re playing a console classic with an MMO soul.
Game Focus
MapleStory’s focus has changed over the years. Back in the Pre-BB days, there wasn’t one clear goal. Some players went after the crazy level grind, like Tiger or Fangblade who actually did it. Most of us stayed below level 80, teaming up for Party Quests and talking a lot. Others spent real money to make their character look perfect, fixing every little thing. The community’s goals didn’t change much beyond leveling. Party Quests, or PQs, were a big deal then. Now they’re gone, not needed since leveling got so easy. In 2025, MapleStory’s more like a place to hang out. You do dailies, join events that keep coming, or fight bosses, then just sit back with friends. The game’s about this now: build your group of characters, make them look cool, and meet people. That’s it, and it works.
Leveling to ~200s is fast these days, not the slow drag it was, although that does change once you hit around 250. It gives you time for mini-games, jumping puzzles, and fun little extras. With over 20 years of stuff in the game, spread over servers and channels, it’s an easy place to relax. The big difference now is how the game likes alts. Forget sticking to one character. They give you leveling events all the time, pushing you to get alts to 200 and up. Every different class you level helps with Link Skills and Legion Stats, giving your account’s server extra power or skills. It’s less about making one character the best and more about growing a whole team. In 2025, that’s what it’s all about: building your crew, dressing them up, and chilling with whoever’s online.
Bossing
Bossing in MapleStory has grown a lot by April 2025. Right now, Global MapleStory has tons of bosses you can fight. You’ve got the classics like Zakum and Horntail, plus newer ones like Princess No and Guardian Slime. The big endgame boss from the old lore, Black Mage, is in there too. They’ve spiced things up lately with reworks, like Lotus getting a big overhaul in 2024, adding new tricks and tougher phases. They’ve also tossed in extra difficulties for some bosses and dropped fresh faces like Limbo, who hit the scene late 2024. You can pull up the boss list with the F4 hotkey under Boss Party. The Clear Status tab is a handy perk, showing what you’ve beaten daily, weekly, or monthly on that character. It’d be cool if they stretched that to your whole account since each character’s tries don’t share.
Bossing’s your ticket to the best gear after level 140 Pensalir stuff, which drops from regular mobs, or level 150 Sweetwater gear from Commerci Trade Voyage bosses. Past level 200, arcane monsters get tough and beefy. Without solid gear, you’ll be slugging it out forever, especially in Reboot where monsters hit harder than in regular servers. The early bosses, from Easy to mid-tier, aren’t too bad once you figure out their moves. Take Lotus, for example. After the rework, it’s about dodging lasers and managing that annihilation gauge, but the pattern’s learnable. Same with Limbo, a new stamina test with wild attacks. Once you know what’s coming, it’s all about having the stats and gear to finish the job. Week two of solo progression still shows most of those early bosses falling fast if you’ve got the setup.
Completion
MapleStory’s jumped on the trend of completing everything you can think of. Every system in the game has some kind of finish line, and hitting it gets you stuff like power boosts, reward points, or other goodies. There’s the Familiar system, Monster Collection, Hunting Zone, Legion, Link Skills, and skills like Blessing of the Fairy or Empress’s Blessing, just to name some. The new zones at level 260 even have familiars now, so you’re collecting those while grinding there too. Most of these tie together and can be worked on at once. The gap between someone who does them all and someone who skips them is massive when it comes to power. One oddball is the Maple Achievement system. It’s super detailed, tracks a ton, but doesn’t hand out rewards or stats, which feels off.
Customization
Character Customization
Customization’s a big deal in MapleStory, like I said in the game focus part. You can change up your chibi character with tons of costumes, outfits, and accessories. Want a new haircut? You got it. A full makeover or gender swap? No problem. A cool new outfit? Plenty to pick from. The catch is most of these are stuck in the cash shop or tied to events. Free-to-play players on Reboot servers miss out, and regular server folks need to drop lots of mesos to buy them from others. On the plus side, with over 20 years of cosmetics by 2025, cash shop looks hardly ever match. Recently, Nexon kicked off the Steam Market for cosmetics too. Now you can sell or trade stuff you don’t use, which is pretty handy for unloading extras.
It goes beyond your character. You can tweak your name plate and speech bubble. Pets are a thing too, up to three, and you can set them to auto-loot or auto-buff to make life easier. The android system got a small update. It’s like another pet you can customize, but it also works as a general store and gives you an extra stat boost. New event items and shop drops keep coming, so there’s always more to play with. It’s all about making your character your own, even if it takes some cash.
State of Game
Updates
MapleStory’s still got tons of life in it as of April 2025. It’s not like the early 2000s anymore, that’s for sure. The feel’s changed, but the charm’s still there, and it’s a lot of fun to play. Even with Nexon behind it, this game’s far from maintenance mode. Updates hit regularly, right up there with the big MMOs. The storyline keeps moving forward, no plans to stop. Character backstories and lore are so deep, the world’s bigger than you’d ever think. Nexon keeps adding new classes, races, and content too, keeping it fresh. There’s a class or race for everyone now. You get two big updates a year, plus smaller ones every 6 to 8 weeks. After 2024’s solid patches and 2025’s Demon Slayer collab in March, more’s definitely coming.
Events
Events never stop in MapleStory either. There’s always something happening, so much it can swamp a new player. The game just keeps going, no breaks. You’ve got plenty of regular content to run through, but if that’s not your thing, events pile up one after another. Unlike most MMOs where events pop up now and then, MapleStory likes to tease what’s next. They give sneak peeks of upcoming stuff, keeping you hooked. It’s a constant buzz, and it’s part of what keeps the game alive.
Is Maplestory Dead?
MapleStory is not dead in April 2025. Far from it. People are still hooked, and they’re spending hundreds on the Demon Slayer Pettie Pets from the March collab event. Players are going all in to snag those exclusive pets, dropping big cash like it’s nothing. It’s not just a few either, tons are jumping on it. Numbers back this up too. Steam peaks hit 8.7k this month, way up from 6.2k in April 2024. The GO West patch from June 2024 pulled players back with some nice quality-of-life changes for GMS, and that momentum’s still going strong. This game’s got life left in it.
Why Am I Playing Maplestory
I’m still playing MapleStory because it’s just too good to quit. In 2025, I finally got three characters past 250 on Reboot, with my main Bowman sitting at 260 and climbing. The progression in Reboot is a blast, hands down one of the best in any free-to-play MMORPG. You can see yourself getting stronger over time, all without spending much. The cash shop barely touches it, maybe just for drop pets. When I started decades ago, I dreamed of hitting these levels, and now I’m here, still pushing higher. Every day and week feels like I’m moving forward, and that’s awesome.
I haven’t reached that veteran wall yet, like post-260 where progress slows way down. Pre-260 feels great though, and that’s where most players hang out too. It’s even truer on the new Hyperion server, the second Reboot that just dropped. The grind’s fun, the goals are clear, and I’m loving every bit of it.
Cash Shop
F2P Friendly
Nexon’s taken a lot of heat over the years for turning Wizet’s game into a pay-to-win mess. They keep throwing up wild paywalls for free players. Getting to endgame and grabbing the best gear feels almost impossible without cash. That’s not rare for Korean games though. They’re built to be a grind. Take Silkroad for an extreme example you don’t even start leveling until you farm a million Skill Points, which is brutal. This only hits the original servers hard though. Reboot servers dodge most of that pay-to-win trap. There, cash shop stuff like bag space, Hyper Teleport Rocks, and stat re-roll cubes can all be bought with mesos instead.
You’ve also got the Maple Reward system now. You rack up points daily by doing stuff like dailies in MapleStory M, which you can auto-play in about 30 minutes for 500 points. Killing bosses or finishing Monster Collection Journeys works too. Those points buy stat cubes, pet revives like Water of Life, and more. From what I’ve seen, Reboot servers are buzzing with players. World Chat’s alive, and it’s way more fun than the regular servers. The cash shop’s still there in 2025, but Reboot keeps it manageable.
The cash shop has it all. If you can think of it, you can buy it. Gear resets, in-game gold, pets, and fashion are all there. You can even customize your nameplate, text bubbles, and damage meters. The game lets you tweak almost everything, as long as you’ve got the cash. Most cash shop items can be sold to other players too. That means anyone with enough in-game gold can grab them, technically making it open to all.
There’s also Reward Points, an in-game cash shop currency. On Reboot servers, you use them to revive auto-loot pets or buy cubes for re-rolling gear stats. It’s way more free-to-play friendly. A new account can pull in 100 to 200 points a day after a week of playing. That’s enough to hit 2400 points three times every 90 days, keeping all three pets fresh. After two weeks, my main Buccaneer, now 219, gets over 400 points a day just from knocking out most Normal and Hard daily bosses.
Pets
Are pick up pets a must in Maplestory?
Yes, no question asked. They’re a total game-changer for grinding and training. There are two types: normal pets and VAC pets. VAC pets, like the name says, vacuum up loot fast with a huge pickup range. They’re pricey though, $99 in Reboot for just 30 days, plus $14 a month to keep them going. Normal pets are way easier to get now. In 2025, free-to-play players can buy basic ones with Reward Points anytime, no more waiting for events. Want skills like auto-pots, buffs or auto feed on them? That still costs real money.
Nowadays, most people go for the VAC pets instead of normal despite the much heavier price tag.
Artwork
The artwork in MapleStory is stunning. It’s clean, bright, and packed with vibrant colors. You get these cute chibi characters you can customize however you want. There’s a class for every fantasy, from tamers and swordsmen to mechs, androids, or mystical creatures like nine-tailed foxes and dragons. The game’s over 20 years old now, but it doesn’t feel dated. It keeps getting better. Nexon and Wizet keep adding new classes and skills for everyone. Most games let old classes fade away, but not MapleStory. The developers keep things fresh. Every classic class has had revamps over the years to stay fun and match the newer ones. They don’t just update old stuff either. New things keep coming, whether it’s revamps, cosmetics, skill system, features or mechs.
System Requirements
| Windows | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operation System | Windows 8.1 64 bit or higher | Windows 10 64bit or higher |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz AMD Athlon 64 x2 3.0Ghz | Intel Core i3 4.0 Ghz AMD Ryzen 3 3.5 Ghz or above |
| Memory (RAM) | 4 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics (GPU) | GeForce 9600 GT ATI Radeon HD 5670 or equivalent | Nvidia GTX 1050 AMD RX 570 or equivalent |
| DirectX | Version 9.0c or higher | Version 9.0c or higher |
| Storage | 50 GB HDD available space | 50 GB SSD available space |
Is Maplestory Worth Playing
Fun
Is MapleStory worth playing in 2025? Honestly, yes, it’s a no-brainer. This game stays fun and keeps you hooked. With over 20 years of content, it’s always growing. You’ve got more than 40 classes to pick from, a max level of 300, and new 6th job skills to mess around with. The fun factor’s at least 4 out of 5 stars. For me, the regular updates and ongoing story are what pull me back every so often. Sure, most skip the dialogue, but the Black Mage storyline’s got some real draw. I love that it’s not locked behind gates like in World of Warcraft. If you’re level 150 or higher, you can dive into almost all of it without trouble. Give MapleStory a shot. It might look kiddish at first, but it’s got a way of growing on you.
