MapleStory Is Rolling Out Massive Updates And Quality-Of-Life Upgrades Later This Year

MapleStory might just be entering a new era with a wave of quality-of-life improvements, new content, and long-requested system changes (as detailed in Inkwell’s Note).

This winter, Nexon plans to overhaul progression for alternate characters of the free-to-play MMORPG. More quest progress will be shared across the account, certain weekly quests will be converted to daily ones, and high-tier equipment such as Absolab and Arcane Umbra will become sharable between characters on the same account. Returning players will also benefit from a new support system to replace expired event gear and offer short-term rental equipment, helping them catch up more quickly.

Acquiring and restoring rare boss-dropped “pitched” items is another pain point the developers aim to address, especially with the possible introduction of the 30-Star enhancement system. Proposed solutions include fragment collection for gear exchange, quest-based restoration, consumable items that can recover destroyed gear, and a reduced penalty for failed upgrades. On the progression side, all link skills in GMS now max out at Level 3, providing a substantial boost.

Later this month, the Legion Champion System will arrive, rewarding players based on how many bosses they can solo with specific characters. Midnight Carnival will headline the seasonal events, with side activities like Champion Burning, World Leap, and an extended “Dave the Diver” crossover. 

After that, September’s major update will standardize all class cooldowns to two minutes, implement broad class balance changes, introduce a new Level 290 boss named Baldderix, and debut the Destiny Weapon system as a new long-term goal. The game’s UI will also get an overhaul.

Looking further ahead, GMS will receive its own public test server in the first half of 2026, allowing players to test updates before release. Economy changes include the removal of the 10% cross-world trading fee on August 27 for interactive servers, while planned convenience upgrades will let players pin favorite events, instantly relist auction items, open reward boxes in bulk, and enjoy better inventory tools. The familiar system will also see presets, expanded storage, removal of unpopular potentials, and stat tweaks.

One more thing: a free gift is available now from the Maple Admin NPC.