MapleStory 2 is now live on Steam! Players can now purchase Steam Founder's Packs and join their friends in Maple World for the Head Start period. Everyone will be able to play together on Steam or Nexon Launcher when MapleStory 2 fully arrives on October 10th! Learn more about Steam's Head Start period in the FAQ below, but before you do that, we have a special celebration in mind for the weekend...



We're celebrating the fun with a special event for 72 hours this weekend, giving out double the Kay Coins for those that take on MC Kay's mini-games and come out on top! You can take those coins to the Kay Event Wheels in Queenstown for random prizes including single-shot weapons, cosmetic items, special consumables and more!



Event Duration:

• PDT (UTC -7): 5:00 PM Friday, October 5th - 5:00 PM Monday, October 8th
• EDT (UTC -4): 8:00 PM Friday, October 5th - 8:00 PM Monday, October 8th
• BRT (UTC -3): 9:00 PM Friday, October 5th - 9:00 PM Monday, October 8th
• CEST (UTC +2): 2:00 AM Saturday, October 6th - 2:00 AM Monday, October 8th
• AEST/AEDT (UTC +10/+11): 10:00 AM Saturday, October 6th AEST - 11:00 AM Tuesday, October 9th AEDT

Event Duration:

• Winners of MC Kay's mini-games will earn 2 Kay Coins instead of 1

Q: If I have a non-Steam Founder's Pack, will I be able to play on Steam during Head Start and get my rewards?

A: Due to technical limitations, non-Steam Founder's Packs only grant access to MapleStory 2's Head Start through Nexon Launcher. After the Official Launch on October 10th, you will be able to link your Steam account to a Nexon account created with an email address and play through either platform, with the rewards properly applied to your account.

Similarly, if you purchase a Steam Founder's Pack, you will only be able to play during the Head Start via Steam. Once MapleStory 2 officially launches, linking your Steam account to an email-created Nexon account will allow you to play via either launcher without issue.

Q: What about Google and Facebook-created Nexon accounts?

A: Unfortunately, again due to technical limitations, Google and Facebook-created Nexon accounts cannot be linked to Steam accounts. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Q: Is there any difference between MapleStory 2 on Steam and Nexon Launcher?

A: Aside from the impact of the Steam overlay and how you launch the game, none! Once you're in MapleStory 2, you'll be able to play with players using both Nexon Launcher and Steam and both versions will be updated in tandem and fully supported!

Q: Can I upgrade Steam Founder's Packs?

A: No, there are no upgrade options for Steam Founder's Packs, due to Steam's sales system. Please make sure you purchase only the package you're interested in.

Q: When are Steam Founder's Packs being sold?

A: Sales begin on Thursday, October 4th and will end on Wednesday, October 10th prior to MapleStory 2's official launch.

Q: How do I claim my registration rewards?

A: When MapleStory 2 officially launches, you will be able to claim your rewards through in-game mail. Rewards can be claimed only once per region, so please make sure that you do so with the correct character.

Q: Can the rewards be transferred?

A: The rewards are bound to the account they were claimed on, and cannot be transferred or traded to other characters or players.


Q: Will Founders be able to reserve their preferred character name?

A: All players, whether they have purchased a Founder's Pack or not, will be able to reserve a character name via Mushking Royale Pre-Season until Head Start begins on October 1st, 2018. After that point, only players with Founder's Packs, who have access to the Head Start, will be able to create characters until MapleStory 2 officially launches on October 10th, 2018.

Q: Can I purchase a Founder's Pack from any region?

A: MapleStory 2 is only available in these service regions. Players from outside our service region should not be able to purchase Founder's Packs, and if you do obtain a Founder's Pack while outside these service regions, you will not be able to download or play MapleStory 2.

Q: Can I upgrade my Founder's Pack?


A: You can choose to upgrade your Founder's Pack at any time before the sale of the Founder's Packs ends.


Q: When is the last day of Founder's Pack sales?


A: Founder's Packs will be available for purchase until MapleStory 2 officially launches.

Q: Can the Founder's Pack be purchased for another person or be gifted to someone else?

A: All contents of the Founder's Pack will only be distributed to the account it is purchased on. A gifting option isn't available and purchases cannot be granted to a different account.

Q: How many Founder's Packs can be purchased per account?

A: Only one Founder's Pack can be purchased per account. However, if you purchase the Explorer's Package or Master Package, you can choose to upgrade your Founder's Pack.

Q: Can I transfer the Founder's Pack to another account?

A: The Founder's Pack is tied to the account it is purchased on and cannot be transferred to another account.

Q: What type of payment methods can I use to purchase the Founder's Pack?

A: Founder's Packs can only be purchased with PayPal, Xsolla, Karma Koin, and a Credit Card. You will not be able to use existing NX to purchase the Founder's Pack. If you wish to use Karma Koin to purchase a Founder's Pack, you must redeem the Karma Koin at the Founder's Pack purchase page, and not redeem it beforehand.

Q: Are all items included in the Founder's Pack permanent?

A: The Premium Club Membership will be available for 30, 60, or 90 days based on the package purchased. The Founder's Daily Wonder must be activated by December 31st, 2018, and all items within must be claimed by 3:00 PM PST on January 31st, 2019. The rest of the items are permanent in the packages.

Q: What is the NX to Blue Meret ratio for MapleStory 2?

A: Each Blue Meret is worth 10 NX ($.01 USD). $1 USD will grant 1,000 NX. 1,000 NX will grant 100 Blue Merets.

Q: Is purchasing the Legendary Founder's Pack the only way to get the Founder's Daily Wonders?

A: This is a special and unique version of the Daily Wonders and can only be obtained through the purchase of this Founder's Pack.

Q: What are the Premium Club Membership benefits?

A: The Premium Club grants the following bonuses:

• Unlimited Rotors Walkie-Talkies
  
• +20% Monster Hunting EXP
  
• +20% Mesos from monsters
  
• -50% 1:1 Meso Trade Fee
  
• -20% Black Market Item Trading Fee
  
• -10% Ophelia Enchant Material
  
• Access to the Remote Bank
  
• Premium Club Dungeon and Premium Club Insignia
  
• Party Buff Bonus
  
  • All party members get move speed +5% (excluding PvP)
    
  • All party members riding a ground mount get move speed +5%
• Daily Bonus Items
  
  • Special White Potion x30

Q: Will you receive a Founder's Pack on each server or only the first server you log into?

A: Starting from October 1st, 2018, the Founder's Pack items will be distributed to the first character logged in for each region. With Blue Merets, you can only choose one region to receive them. A popup will appear to ask you if you would like to accept these Merets in this region. If you do not choose to accept the Merets immediately, the popup will appear each time you relog into the client until you select a region.

Q: Do you have to login consecutively in order to get the Founder's Daily Wonders items?

A: No. If you miss a day, you can redeem that item the next day. It is counted as accumulated logins, but does not require consecutive logins. The Founder's Daily Wonder must be activated before Dec. 31, 2018 or else it will expire. Upon activation, you have until Jan. 31, 2019 to redeem all items.


Q: How many character slots will be available?

A: You will have access to 6 character slots for free, with an additional 3 character slots purchasable with Merets.

Q: Can I still reserve my name during Head Start?

A: You will only be able to reserve your name until Head Start begins on October 1st. Those without Founder's Packs will no longer be able to reserve their name after that point, and must wait until the Official Launch on October 10th to create their characters.

Q: Will Mushking Royale be available during Head Start?

A: No. Mushking Royale's Pre-Season will end on October 1st, when the maintenance to launch Head Start begins. Mushking Royale will then go on hiatus until Season 1 is ready to begin.

Q: When will Mushking Royale be available again?

A: In order to make improvements to Mushking Royale and make it as high quality an experience as possible, without diverting much-needed development from the main game, Mushking Royale will remain on hiatus until we're ready for Season 1 to begin. Keep an eye out on the MapleStory 2 website for additional news to come in the future.

Q: What happens to my Royale Pass rewards? When can I claim them?

A: All Royale Pass rewards must be claimed from the Mushking Royale menu before the Pre-Season ends on October 1st. Any rewards that go unclaimed will not be rewarded after the fact.


Q: How many character slots will be available?

A: You will have access to 6 character slots for free, with an additional 3 character slots purchasable with Merets.


Q: Can I connect my Nexon Account to Steam in the future?

A: If you had created a Nexon account through Google or Facebook, then you will not be able to link to a Steam account. We encourage using e-mail address when creating a Nexon Account for compatibility with Steam in the future.

On October 10th, MapleStory 2 will finally launch, free for everyone to play! And while that might be enough for some, we're hitting the Official Launch strong with a massive update, featuring a new Job, new maps to visit, new dungeons to battle and more!



Check out some of the fun coming on October 10th below, and make sure to register in the Official Launch Registration Event before 10:00 AM PDT on October 8th to secure some exclusive rewards when MapleStory 2 officially launches!



The Runeblades of Terrun Calibre are the perfect marriage of melee combat and mystical might. On the hunt, chasing after a traitor to the order, the Runeblade will stop at nothing to take vengeance upon the vile Holstatt and avenge his teacher's heinous murder... but it will take the combination of Pelgian bladecraft and Jibrician rune magic to stop him.



The Runeblade uses a powerful combination of heavy melee attacks and powerful elemental spells that become bolstered with the runes applied to the Runeblade's two-handed sword. Use the Flame Sigil to boost your health and make your Echoing Blade assault burn the opposition, or apply the Frost Sigil and harden your armor along with your weapons, causing the Impact attack to freeze the ground your foes fight on. With attacks and spells that devastate in both the melee and at a distance, Runeblade's an effective fighter against nearly any opposition.



Official Launch also comes with a brand new zone ripe for exploration! Travel to Karkar Island, a gorgeous resort island where absolutely nothing could possibly be wrong! That is, aside from the swarms of insects, undead monstrosities, vile devils and... belligerent gaming consoles?



Party up with your friends and delve into six new Normal Adventure Dungeons, and when you think you're ready, grab 9 well-armed buddies and venture into the new Labyrinthine Halls Hard Adventure Dungeon. There's plenty you'll have to contend with as you reach for the new level cap of 60! Get more Ability and Skill Points, upgrade your gear and show the forces of darkness that the cute is not to be underestimated!



The Official Launch also launches some spectacular sales and events! The Style Crate makes its grand reveal, containing a vast selection of cosmetic items, ranging from clothing to wings to jewelry and even weapon skins! And there's no games or gimmicks here either: Not only does each item within the Style Crate have the exact same chance of being rewarded, but you can trade the unwanted outfits into coins, which can be used to purchase exclusive outfits!



We're also launching Mapleopoly for a limited time when the Official Launch arrives! Earn Maple Coins from playing MapleStory 2 and fishing in Tria or Henesys and spend them at the Mapleopoly table! Earn special consumable items or toys with each square you land on, plus each loop around the board will give you additional items, including musical instruments, a special emote, a wealth of mesos and even the special Fluttering Maple Set!



Join us on Wednesday, October 10th as we say hello to MapleStory 2 in style, and make sure you register in the Official Launch Registration Event for the Rustic Mushcabin Name Tag badge, Ducky Rickshaw mount and Roosting Seagull hat!

On Thursday, October 4th, MapleStory 2 will become available on the Steam digital distribution platform!



We still have a few i's to dot and t's to cross, but starting October 4th, players who buy Steam Founder's Packs will be able to start playing immediately during Head Start! Please note that while the contents of the packs are the same as those sold on the Nexon website (and some items cannot be given twice), you must purchase a Steam Founder's Pack to play on Steam during Head Start, and you must have purchased a standard Founder's Pack to play on Nexon Launcher during Head Start.
Q: If I have a non-Steam Founder's Pack, will I be able to play on Steam during Head Start and get my rewards?

A: Due to technical limitations, non-Steam Founder's Packs only grant access to MapleStory 2's Head Start through Nexon Launcher. After the Official Launch on October 10th, you will be able to link your Steam account to a Nexon account created with an email address and play through either platform, with the rewards properly applied to your account.

Similarly, if you purchase a Steam Founder's Pack, you will only be able to play during the Head Start via Steam. Once MapleStory 2 officially launches, linking your Steam account to an email-created Nexon account will allow you to play via either launcher without issue.

Q: What about Google and Facebook-created Nexon accounts?

A: Unfortunately, again due to technical limitations, Google and Facebook-created Nexon accounts cannot be linked to Steam accounts. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Q: Is there any difference between MapleStory 2 on Steam and Nexon Launcher?

A: Aside from the impact of the Steam overlay and how you launch the game, none! Once you're in MapleStory 2, you'll be able to play with players using both Nexon Launcher and Steam and both versions will be updated in tandem and fully supported!

Q: Can I upgrade Steam Founder's Packs?

A: No, there are no upgrade options for Steam Founder's Packs, due to Steam's sales system. Please make sure you purchase only the package you're interested in.

Q: When are Steam Founder's Packs being sold?

A: Sales begin on Thursday, October 4th and will end on Wednesday, October 10th prior to MapleStory 2's official launch.

Note: This Producer Blog was originally posted to the MapleStory 2 website on Thursday, September 27th.



Dear Maplers,

I can't believe Head Start is kicking off a few days from now. For the team here at Nexon, it has been a long journey preparing the game from making our official announcement at MapleStory Fest in April!



We are very excited about how we can improve the global version of MapleStory 2 based upon player feedback and the data we have collected through two closed beta tests. I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who gave us great feedback throughout our journey towards Official Launch.

Today, before we leap into our Head Start on October 1st, I would like to share some of the key changes we are putting into the Head Start build. This doesn't include all of the detailed information about Head Start, as this blog is more focused on highlighting some of the larger changes players are curious about. We will have more detailed patch notes coming out with Head Start, so please make sure to review those notes in the future as well!

List of Key Changes:

• Level/Character Progression Changes
• Safe Revival Adjustments
• Dungeon Difficulty, EXP and Meso Adjustments
• Housing Improvements
• Other Changes

Based on player feedback, we came to the conclusion that the most desired change for the character progression is 1) providing different ways to level up your characters, and 2) increasing the efficiency of monster hunting in general.

After thorough review, we decided to make the following changes towards our Epic Quest progression and the EXP rate coming from regular monsters.
All the SP and AP coming from Epic Quest rewards will be removed and will instead be granted via Trophies. This will ensure that players can level up in different ways, meaning that if players don't participate in the Epic Quest line they will still have the same amount of SP and AP supplied to their characters.

We are also reverting the amount of EXP gained from the Epic Quests back to their original amounts from Closed Beta 1, meaning that after each Epic Quest, players will once again receive enough EXP to meet the level requirements for the next Epic Quest. We have seen players become frustrated when they need to level up through other means to do the next Epic Quest, and we want to make the experience seamless.
We are adjusting the amount of EXP coming from monsters. Monsters at a certain level range will get up to a 55% boost in their EXP rate, which will reduce the hunting time to level up by around 30%.

But on the contrary, to help prevent bot and macro issues, we are adjusting the meso drop rate from field monsters by around 40% as well (this varies for different levels of monsters). This is similar to the Chinese version of MapleStory 2.
We are also adjusting the EXP from auto-fishing and other lifestyle skills to balance the level-up speed with monster hunting.
Based on your feedback, as we have announced, we are removing Meret revival. But as some of the hardcore playerbase has addressed, if it becomes necessary for certain player groups, we do have the possibility to bring it back. But again, we want to reassure you that we will only review bringing it back if it makes for a better experience for all of our players.

Also, to ensure players still do have enough ways to complete Hard Adventure Dungeons we are making the following adjustments:

• Addition of Meso Instant Revival
• Extending Number of Safe Revivals from Three to Five

For the revival costs, it will be a flat fee based on your level, and won't go higher incrementally.
We have thoroughly reviewed the feedback received regarding the dungeons and are making a few important adjustments.

• Based on the data, we are adjusting the difficulty level of dungeons under level 20, to ensure new players go through a more balanced experience. Boss Monsters will get nerfed to ensure players don't experience Dark Souls-level difficulty while you're still learning the game.
• We are making changes to the EXP received from the dungeons. After thirty dungeon runs for the week, players were getting much less EXP when doing dungeon runs. We are adjusting this rate to provide the same amount of EXP from the dungeon after thirty dungeon runs.
• Also, we are increasing the amount of mesos received from the normal adventure dungeon. It was 4,000 mesos during Closed Beta, but beginning with Head Start, players will get 10,000 mesos. Then, after thirty dungeons for the week, players will be only getting 10% of the regular meso reward. We reviewed increasing mesos from the dungeons but based on the dev team's experience in other regions, we were afraid bots would be mainly targeting dungeons to farm mesos, and decided to keep the meso reward lower.

We are making Housing contents free, or at least cheaper!

We know lots of players had concerns with how much it would require to build a fabulous looking house, and we are glad to confirm that lots of things will be free and it won't require lots of money to own a better-looking house.

• Extending the size of the house will be FREE
• Most of the basic blocks will be FREE
• Price of paid blocks will be much cheaper compared to the Korean and Chinese versions of MapleStory 2
• Interior level requirements for certain blocks are removed

We really want players to be creative with housing, and hope to see lots of great creations!



We have other adjustments, including the following:

• We are adjusting how our voice over (VO) works. We specifically worked on new VO lines for both female and male priest classes after thorough review, and the cadence of class-specific VOs will be adjusted
• WASD + Mouse control is getting another round of improvements. Based on the feedback from our surveys, the team worked on making changes to make the control more convenient and intuitive
• We are adding Brazilian Portuguese in-game strings for Brazilian players
• To avoid any concern related to Enchanting being part of the pay-to-win monetization mechanic, we are removing Spirit Spellstones and Spirit Guardstones from the game
• Improved the overall readability of chats in-game.

We understand the changes we have finalized for Head Start might not satisfy everyone. BUT, we consider Head Start to be the starting point of a long journey with the game, and hope to communicate more with the players and constantly improve the game.

Everyone here at Nexon, including the Development Studio, is very focused on making sure we have a very stable game service. Recent high-ping issues have been the team's top priority and we have conducted several tests and will be making more improvements for the Head Start. Also, we will step up our communication to provide better transparency.

It has been a long journey to the Official Launch, and now we are about to start a brand-new journey with the Head Start. We are very excited because this time, we are on this journey with all of you, fellow Maplers. Please continue to share your experiences with us on how we can do better, and how we can have more fun together.



Looking forward to seeing everyone in game soon!

Sincerely,
Jungsoo Lee

Note: This Producer Blog was originally posted on the MapleStory 2 Website on Friday, September 21st.

Dear Maplers,

This is MapleStory 2 Producer, LAMBCOOK. I'm going to take a stab at the ultimate question of the day "How will MapleStory 2 make money?"

Perhaps that question isn't what you wanted to ask. You might be wondering "Is this game going to be Pay-to-Win?", "What can I buy with my Merets?" or more importantly....

"How can I get a Mint Body Pillow in the game?"



I assure you that most of the answers to those questions actually relate to the answer to the big question: "How will MapleStory 2 make money?"

First, I need to let you know what we are trying to do. We're working really hard to make MapleStory 2 the right free-to-play game for most people. We know we can't make every single person happy with every one of our choices because at the end of the day, the purest form of a "Free-to-Play" game would be a "Free" game. Because we're striving to offer you the best game experience with MapleStory 2, we need ongoing financial support of the game as well.

So how will MapleStory 2 make money? Short answer, with STYLE.

Here's what we've already covered regarding what we are NOT selling:

• We're not going to sell outfits that have stats
• We're not going to sell Lumistones that increase the stats on outfits
• We're disabling Meret Revival, so there is no buying your way to victory

Instead, we'll be offering many ways to style up your character or offer convenience items:

• Premium Shop: Direct sales of various cosmetic and convenience items
• Premium Club: Premium service with a wide array of benefits
• Design Shop: Direct sales of player-designed cosmetic items
• Style Crate: Random redemption of various outfit items

Premium Shop is where we will have a huge catalog of cosmetic items spanning from sunglasses to a bear mount that carries you in her bare arms. You can try out any outfit to see how it looks before buying, and you don't have to worry about getting the wrong sizes! Neat, right?



There also are myriads of convenience options offered in and out of the Premium Shop. The Premium Shop has items like Guild Summon Scrolls, which allows you to summon online guild mates to your location. And outside of the Premium Shop you will have additional options, such as buying channel or world chats from the chat menu.

Premium Club is what its name says, a service packed with a large number of convenience features. One of my favorite benefits is the unlimited Rotors Walkie-Talkie, which allows you to go to any town you've already visited without paying a single meso. It's not just members who get the benefit of Premium Club either: If you party up with a Premium Club member, you also get a slight (5%) boost to your move speed too.

Design Shop is where you can buy items that other players have carefully designed for you. We're already seeing lots of unique costumes we couldn't come up with ourselves in the Design Shop, and we're really excited to see what players will come up with next! There are more than 100 design templates available to work with. We treat Design Shop as a platform where getting started as a designer will cost you some initial setup fees (like buying the templates and listing fees), as well as a flat percentage fee from revenue you make, but the rest of the proceeds go to you so that you can design more costumes or buy other things from the Premium Shop!

In addition to direct sales of many cosmetic items, our Premium Shop will be selling the Style Crate for 300 Merets when MapleStory 2 launches. While this is a loot box, we are taking a much more transparent approach to this type of item. Each Style Crate contains 1 random outfit piece out of 100 outfit items. Each item has the same 1% chance of appearing. We will disclose all 100 items in each crate and update the list regularly. We'll be curating the Style Crate to ensure that it has a selection of adorable, cool or quirky outfits you can use to complete a set or mix-and-match to create your own, unique one-of-a-kind looks.

In case you don't get an item you like, fear not! You can recycle the ones you don't want into special coins that you can redeem towards other vanity items or rare outfits only available through the Style Crate Coin Shop.

We really believe that MapleStory 2's unique look and style with an amazing variety of cosmetics makes it possible to go this route. It's just so irresistibly cute!



Point being, none of these outfits are a required part of your journey in the game. They are pretty awesome to look at, and that's what we're banking on. If we've done this right, the added benefit of this direction will be that we can focus on making the game fair and balanced better for every player. And did we mention that all cosmetic items you get from Premium Shop, Design Shop, and Style Crate are permanent?

As a final note, please know that things are always subject to change based on your feedback and data. We and the MapleStory 2 development team are working day and night to figure out the best ways to implement your suggestions and incorporate them for Official Launch. Thank you all for your patronage and I can't wait to share more details with you soon.

MapleStory 2 Producer,
- LAMBCOOK

P.S. Dungeon Revival Removal: A little more on this for those who are interested. While we are removing the Meret revival system, we think that some players may have been using this system for its rightful purpose, as a failsafe system for those who'd like additional chances. As such, we'll be looking into adding more free "safe revival" or "meso revival" options for dungeons while balancing the difficulties appropriate to amount of available failsafe options. We're eager to listen to how these changes feel once we launch, so keep your suggestions coming!

P.P.S. Why sell EXP Tonics for Mushking Royale?: With the Gold Royale Pass Bundle and EXP Tonic getting added to the game, we're hearing some concerns from players. The original intent of the bundle and EXP Tonics for sale was to give an option for players who don't have enough time to get to max level before Head Start and obtain all of the limited time unique vanity items included. As explained above, style is our game and we'd like to offer enough options for everyone to obtain them.

Note: This Producer Blog was originally released on the MapleStory 2 website on Monday, August 13th.



Hey Maplers!

This is Nimei, one of your producers for MapleStory 2. This is my first time writing a Producer Blog for this game, and I get to discuss one of the toughest and hottest topics during the Closed Betas: how we will be setting up the region servers in North America.

During Closed Beta 1, when we were originally deciding where the servers should be placed, we had set them right in the middle of the United States. Our original goal was to have one regional North American server that players from Los Angeles to New York could use to congregate and play together. Unfortunately, there was an issue with this idea: lag. With the servers set up in the middle of the US, players who weren't near the servers were experiencing serious latency issues. This included lag when using skills, picking up items, or even dodging damage from bosses. As a raider myself, I could see that the lag was noticeable enough to ruin a party's progress in dungeons and raids.

With the amount of feedback that we received from Closed Beta 1, we decided we had to run a second Closed Beta in order to, among other things, run a few more latency tests before deciding how we should set up our servers.

If you can imagine that the servers act as a WiFi signal, placement of the servers is key. If you place a server in the corner of your house, it may not reach the opposite corner. We had to strategically place them so that the entire area is covered, and North America (US and Canada primarily) is pretty big, with major cities on both coasts.

During Closed Beta 2, we decided to introduce an additional region server giving North American players the choice of which server they wanted to play in. This method improved latency, but divided the player base in North America. We also explored having special cross-server channels which would act as a "WiFi" extender: one main central server, but with different channels dedicated to each region. That way, players could pick and choose which channel they wanted to play in based on their latency, but would still be able to play with friends across the country.

Now that the second beta test has ended, our three main findings are:

• The increased latency caused by those playing far away from their region's servers had a significant enough impact on enjoying MapleStory 2, making a single region located in the center of the continent impractical.
• While it does end up splitting the North American players into two groups, having a North America West and East region greatly improved overall latency and player enjoyment.
• Having one central server with channels in different regions was a good idea in concept, but test results show otherwise. Across the three scenarios, this simulation generated the worst results. There were a large number of disconnections and longer loading times when playing, as well as multiple back-end issues that, while not apparent at first, would significantly impact long-term server stability.

After running through multiple test scenarios to ensure that we laid the right foundations for MapleStory 2, we decided to keep the North America East and North America West regions since stability is one of the most important factors we have to consider for an MMO. Overall, it was critical for us to provide the best possible service, and that means setting a stable foundation with a stable network.

Thank you for sticking with us as we work on improving MapleStory 2, and keep an eye out for more Producer Blogs to come!

- Nimei