MapleStory is a constantly evolving game, full of heroes, villains, and everything in between. But none of them are as important to us as you, our players who make Maple World what it is! The history of MapleStory is a long and winding one, but now we'd like to turn the attention to you, and hear more about your own journeys that you've taken as MapleStory has grown over the years. The question we'd like to ask you all is: What's Your MapleStory? If you'd like to submit your story, you can do so via this form. For today's edition of What's Your MapleStory, we spoke to Sabishisa, who shares their favorite memories and adventures with their friends and guildmates! How did you start playing MapleStory? I started in Windia in 2005, with my only sister, playing 2 characters we leveled together the whole summer like there was no tomorrow. I was 24 years old at the time, she was 17. MapleStory was our first and only MMORPG. We played regularly and insanely for years, until college took a toll on her time and she couldn't play as often anymore. I created Sabishisa, my first alone character, around 2007. I've played MapleStory ever since, with some breaks in between, and I keep returning to the game because I love the music and aesthetics. I love my characters and I want to try and make them go as far as they can. What is your favorite class and why? My first character, the one I played along with my sister, was an I/L Magician. She was a Bowman, and then I made Sabishisa, who's a Bishop and who I still play and love, but I definitely prefer warriors now that I've tried them more, particularly Paladins. I'd say that's my favorite class so far, even though I'll be a Bishop main forever, and I love Explorers in general. What is your favorite memory while playing MapleStory? I particularly loved the first years of the game, despite how hard it was to level up (it was challenging!). I'll never forget the times I spent PQing with my sister and friends, exploring unknown places such as Ant Tunnel or Orbis when we were barely level 20 something, making Christmas celebrations with my sister and friends in the FM, trying our hardest to reach level 70 (back when that was an accomplishment) at last and to do it all together so we could do the 3rd Job advancement at the same time. Another unforgettable experience was reaching the then-hard-to-get level 70 and 3rd Job advanced on my Ice/Lightning Mage. My sister, me and our two best friends were determined to reach that amazing goal together, at the same time, so we tried to coordinate our schedules (not such an easy thing to do considering we were in different countries and time zones, and we all had things to do in real life too) and came up with a plan. We would all try to reach level 69 and on our own or as a group when possible, but we'd save that last 50% to train together, as we had been doing for months already. We grinded at Coolie Zombies (Forest of Dead Trees IV), which was the best map for that purpose at the time, so it was highly demanded and it meant a high risk of being kill-stolen. So we took turns to take bathroom or food breaks, so the others could stay "protecting" the channel we had found, and we trained and trained. Back then, 50% of experience from level 69 to 70 was VERY slow, you got like 1% or less of experience in an hour of killing zombies, so it took a long while. But it finally happened and, despite several kill-stealing attempts that we successfully thwarted, despite internet problems and real-life "interruptions", at around 9 or 10 AM for me, we reached our goal, after training a whole day and a whole night and part of the next morning. Then we had to do the 3rd Job advancement, which was quite the test back then, so that took the rest of the morning, but... At around noon (my time), we managed to become our 3rd Job selves TOGETHER, at the same time, as we had planned! That was truly one of the most fun, tiring, and epic things I've ever done in my Maple life. :D What do you enjoy about playing MapleStory today? I'm proud of my Bishop and what I've accomplished alone. I've worked hard on her throughout the years to overcome her weakness as a Cleric, especially since, in later years, Clerics have become more and more and more irrelevant. Also PQs, where I used to shine as a good Cleric. The game has become more solo-oriented and that meant grinding alone, especially when fighting alone or trying to boss, trying to clear content with her even though I'm not strong or funded and I'm free-to-play in a regular server... It's been a long, hard, challenging ride and I've enjoyed most of it immensely, even though I will always miss playing together with my sister (who's now married) and leveling our first characters together with friends. I probably fall well outside the average age of MapleStory players, but I'm in love with the game. Nostalgia and the love of my characters keeps bringing me back and I hope I can continue to make them grow and be stronger at my own pace and style. And I hope MapleStory will continue to be around for many years to come! Any piece of advice to our fellow Maplers? Mmm... I'm not the kind of person who tries to tell others what to do or how to do it. I try to do things my way and respect how others do their stuff too. But if anyone cared to hear a piece of advice from an old Mapler and woman... I would say that the most important thing is to play the game at your own pace and play it to HAVE FUN. I have sadly seen how, over the years, everything has become much more "success-oriented" than "fun-oriented", as it used to be (or as it used to feel for me, maybe) in the old days. I see and hear people obsessing over damage range and dailies and getting "the most" out of everything in "the least" possible time, even to the point of burning themselves down and ending up feeling like the game is a chore they must do every day because of some sort of obligation. And I get it. It's very easy to fall into that mindset, both because of how the world works in general and because of the way video games and this particular videogame have evolved and changed. But that will lead you nowhere, except to feel frustrated, fed up, bored, forced to do things that you don't want to do and miserable, which I'd argue is the very opposite of what a game should feel like! So, my piece of advice would be: keep playing the game at your rhythm, following your style, doing the things you WANT to do even if they are not the most productive or lucrative or the ones that will make you progress faster or more. Enjoy your time in the game, enjoy the challenges it presents and try to overcome them, but at your pace, without letting yourself get caught up in the rush or the madness or the easiness with which accomplishments seem to be dismissed nowadays. And, if the game stops being fun for you, take a break. Nothing will disappear, nothing will be irreparably lost, nothing will cause the end of the world if you just don't play a few days or a week. I keep playing MapleStory after so many years because I refuse to let my old and beloved characters be abandoned. Because I've taken breaks, I've found my balance again when I felt like I was losing it, and that helped me keep going and face the changes and challenges I've found along the way, even if some don't suit me perfectly or are not particularly to my liking or are not always things I enjoy. :) So, have fun, take it easy and do your own thing and Happy Mapling! :D View on the Official Site