MapleGeek

I’ve mentioned MapleGeek before. It’s the first private server community I have ever been a part of, and the third one I played. A couple of years ago, before [i]real[/i] private servers were available, I used to browse through the Xtremetop100 rankings fishing for an actual working private server. In January of 08, I made that search again, but didn’t have to look far. MapleGeek was #1, and it was the first one I’d seen that didn’t lie about the fact that it didn’t have a server yet. The ad said that it was awaiting the release of the OdinMS source. I then tried to join OdinMS, but was of course stonewalled, they put the [i]private[/i] in Private Server. So I signed up for MapleGeek!
Anyways, they ended up closing down that summer due to a number of reasons, but now, about a year later, it’s back and under new management. One of the former MapleGeek staff set up a new forum for MapleGeeks to reunite, and we’re now merging with an existing private server.

Check out http://www.MapleGeek.com for more info on that. If you join up on the forums, chat me up. My display name is LiteralLight.

Maple Story Private Servers

They’ve been out for quite a while now. The first one opened (I believe) in December of 2007, the next one soon after, and then, with the public release of a different source in early March, private servers began to pop up everywhere. What is a private server, you ask? It’s basically a copy of a popular game but everything can be edited by the “host” or “owner” of the server. Experience rates, drop rates, items found in shops, you name it. MapleStory private servers range anywhere from 5x EXP all the way to 100,000x EXP. In some servers, everyone is a Game Master, and can spawn whatever monster or item they want, warp to any map they want, and be any class or combination of class they want. On most servers, though, the owner picks a small team of players to be Game Masters and moderate the regular players, as well as look out for hackers. These Private Servers are much more fun than Nexon’s versions, because the Game Masters actually exist, usually talk to you, sometimes are fun, and often throw awesome events. Events could include monsters that drop NX-Cash items, monsters that give a TON of experience (20k exp * the server’s EXP rate), monster invasion, boss runs, hide-and-seek, trivia, and tons of others. Some servers give out Wizet Invincible Hats as the ultimate prize. These babies give 999 to str/dex/int/luk, 999 accuracy/avoidability, 50 speed, 20 jump, and 200 weapon defence and magic defence. Many servers also offer the ability to be “reborn” once you hit level 200. You start back as a level 1 beginner, but you keep all your items, stats, and all your skills that you have mapped to your keyboard. For instance, if a player is a Night Lord the first time through, they can keep Flash Jump, Haste, Dark Sight, and Shadow Partner, and be reborn as a bowman. Shadow Partner works with all projectiles, so the Night Lord/Bowman will shoot 2 arrows with a regular shot, 4 with double-shot, 8 with strafe, and 2 streams of arrows with Storm of Arrows/Hurricane! All in all, Private Servers provide a ton of fun, and if Nexon could just take a few ideas from them, MapleStory Global would be MUCH better off!