Sku's Master Quest V2

Total Playtime: 153.5 hrs ~> 159.5 hrs
Hey maplers! This is the first part of a mini-update series that will chronicle my card hunting progress over the course of the xmas event. Many more to come!

Spoiler: Expand

Even though I barely bothered to hunt any cards while I was running around doing assorted quests, I still somehow ended up at ~50 completed sets. Another 10 is no trouble at all, so I just ran through some quick mobs in vic to finish off the upgrade.


Boom, Tier 2! Still amateur numbers, but trust me - we'll get there.


It's official... he's dead!



150 ~> 155
66 ~> 68
1 ~> 2
0 ~> 372
0 ~> 24
Milestone(s) Achieved
Tier 2 Ring

The hunt continues...

also michaelxii , 1) i was nowhere NEAR as tilted as u, and 2) it still had good potential to become a 119 or 124. dork!

 

Total Playtime: 159.5 hrs ~> 178 hrs
I'm really startin to feel the GRIND!

Spoiler: Expand

So when I get into card hunting, I just DON'T STOP! No matter how hard the set is, I find it's really relaxing to just sit and grind some trash mobs. Clearing out sets by area is also really satisfying! Decided to go for Vicky stuff first.


EVEN the toxic sets like Jr. Boogies! There's nothing like finishing a set that the game REALLY doesn't wanna give you.


I always thought Ice/Dark drakes were a pretty gnarly set, but that's probably just cuz I was a weakling sin last time I farmed em. The spawn is honestly not bad at all in their maps.

I'm finding that a Bandit's skillset, especially Assaulter, is very decent when it comes to hunting cards. On all the annoying, ladder-spamming vertical maps you can use Assaulter to save a ton of time climbing, plus it's fairly efficient as a kind of movement+attack option.


xmas fm so comfy


Speaking of toxic sets, yeah. Wild Kargo and Tauromacis. Taurospear is easy as heck tho.


FoG is a GOOD map! Not sure if it would be viable for farming, but the big slow mobs, high spawn, and BGM make it very relaxing.


Strangely, the big cats are wayyyy easier to farm than the little guys. Got em all in <10 mins whereas the Juniors took a devilish amount of time.


BOOM, Tier 3! STILL amateur numbers, but... trust me..... we'll get there.


Staff finally separated the event hair and face coupons... do u know what this means...?

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TIME TO GO OWOMODE !


155 ~> 178
68 ~> 78
20 ~> 28
372 ~> 1228
24 ~> 96
Milestone(s) Achieved
Tier 3 Ring

The hunt doth continue...

 

The Dark Drakes map is NOT BAD! I think higher resolution really helps there too. Ice Drakes are a lot suckier, I do agree with you there.

 

Total Playtime: 178 hrs ~> 202 hrs
Hey maplers, hope your holidays are going well!
SwordnBoard HOGGERS

Spoiler: Expand

Picked up where we left off in Ossyria!


Yetis were kinda hard for me as a squishy weak Bandit, but if you average out the three sets you'll inevitably get while farming the dudes in Valley of Snowman, it's actually quite efficient - highly recommend.
(pls forgive me mini yeti)


LETS! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! First WS from gacha, making two total so far!

And FYI, this was my on 83rd rare ticket.


b-b-bananas?


Btw, I haven't shown this at all yet but I have been ON the snowman event this year. I'm saving up all my raffle stuff for a huge NUT at the end of the event, and my goal for presents is a lofty 1,000!


Washy time~


My first real death at Snowman + shoutout to ^KLSXFTW for helping me w/ the wolf cards!


I quite like the Dead Mine area. Great atmosphere, cool music, and Miner Zombies make a solid farming spot - I might come back here to farm in the future.
Cerebes were the only cards that were kind of a pain here, and that's probably only cuz I'm weak.


Was also fortunate enough to be able to finish both of the Nath area anti-bot mobs. I do like an easy set.


Proceeded to west Aqua to hunt down the infamous POISON POOPA! I've seen so many players complain about this card. GUYS, you're in the wrong frame of mind: you need to be hunting all three Seals with the intention of killing as many Poopa as possible. Do that and you'll finish all of em at about the same time.


Next was the east end. These cards are eeeeasy!


30 sets before ya know it, Tier 4 GET!


Could this be it? The GDK we've been waiting for?????

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YATTTAAAAAAAAA!! I was NOT expecting this anytime soon after everything we've boomed so far. This is officially our new baseline for daggers - the moment I make something of equal or greater att, I'm throwin a 30 at this sucker ASAP.
Very fitting as well that this was my 30th GDK.


179 ~> 196
78 ~> 90
35 ~> 36
28 ~> 29
1228 ~> 2153
96 ~> 240
0 ~> 10
Milestone(s) Achieved
Tier 4 Ring
120+ Att Dagger (perf+15)

The hunt must go on...

 

Total Playtime: 202 hrs ~> 214.5 hrs
Daily reminder to DRINK SOME WATER!

Spoiler: Expand

Been meaning to do this for a while! Finally picked up a decent glove - great investment for right now as we're gonna be using it for a loooooooooooong time.


Some easy sets and we've knocked out the entirety of KFT. I was FLABBERGASTED when I managed to get the infamous Yellow Goblin within 6 Roasted Porks. SIX?! Last time it took me over 20! Maybe they buffed his droprate or maybe I'm just lucky.


These Ludi Terrace sets just fly by. The great part about getting the hard stuff done (e.g. Jr. Boogie) is that you really get to appreciate when a set goes by quick.


Finished up the Chronos bits as well as a couple of the ~dreaded Deep Ludi sets~. HUGE shoutout to DDcaptain25 for being a megabro and helping me out w/ Buffies!


Let's all thank neckson for making five nearly-palette-swapped flying mobs to populate Eos Tower. Easy 5 sets.


EASIEST! TIER! OF MY LIFE!



196 ~> 206
90 ~> 93
29 ~> 30
2153 ~> 2647
240 ~> 324
10 ~> 15
Milestone(s) Achieved
14 Att Glove
Tier 5 Ring

The hunt... will... um... keep going.

 

Total Playtime: 214.5 hrs ~> 227 hrs
If you have trouble remembering to stay hydrated throughout the day, start carrying around a metal water bottle. Those boys will keep your water ice cold all day long.

Spoiler: Expand

Omega stuff was super easy cuz I'd already finished ~50-60% of it while doing the quests.


Even managed to finish off the devilish Rombots and MT-09s. I was most dreading these but they didn't end up being too bad. Basically just check em every 30 minutes or so while you're hunting (and make sure no one else is trying to do the same).


Somehow I hit 700 quests in the middle of all this!


Oh Ellin Forest, how short and sweet you are...



On to MU LUNG. The only mob that gave me any real trouble in this area was the Blue Flower Serpent.


Took down the ignominious Reindeer! Honestly? Old man Bellflower was harder.


Captains were a bit of a grind cuz of my lack of power, otherwise spawn and droprates are rock solid.


Tier 6 GET!
SECOND EASIEST TIER OF MY LIFE!



206 ~> 225
93 ~> 98
2647 ~> 3233
324 ~> 360
15 ~> 20
Milestone(s) Achieved
Completed 700 Quests
Tier 6 Ring

We're getting up there in numbers! Gotta keep on the hunt...

 

PPL 2 PASS

 

Total Playtime: 227 hrs ~> 241 hrs
Happy New Year maplers! Let's make this one the best yet.

Spoiler: Expand

Nihal Desert is a goldmine. Good spawn, good maps, easy sets.


Really Zio? Sand Dwarf F tier? Got something against dwarves?



Magatia also has a huge amount of sets including three really easy anti-bot mobs. The place is nice but... I can't stand how the same BGM plays in EVERY SINGLE map.


Like I said, a huge amount...



Hardest hunt in the entire zone was Homun, and he wasn't even bad.


CRIMSON ROGS HIT FOR 4K?!



Somehow I was an idiot and missed not 1, not 2, not 3, BUT FOUR sets in Mu Lung when I thought I'd cleared out the entire area.


Boom, Tier 7 GET.
Not sure when it happened, but I've gotten SERIOUS about this grind. Like to the point where it's evolved into a spiritual endeavour. Must be exorcising my demons at this point.


225 ~> 243
98 ~> 102
3,233 ~> 3,902
360 ~> 432
20 ~> 30
Milestone(s) Achieved
Tier 7 Ring

The end is in sight, though the road ahead is long and treacherous. Let us continue.

 

Total Playtime: 241 hrs ~> 264 hrs
First 2020 update! It's been a great year so far.

Spoiler: Expand

Started on Singapore which I hadn't even touched yet! Tons and tons of easy sets to be found here.


Fun fact: there are two mobs named Freezer in maple: the seals in Aqua, and the ^fire extinguisher guys here. I think they're the only two unrelated mobs that share the same name.


Ghost Ship maps all have amazing spawn and layout making them no trouble at all. GS2 is always packed tho, especially cuz we're in the middle of a big event, so I tipped some nice clerics to loot their card drops. If ya can't beat em, buy em.


The maps leading up to TZM aren't too bad, just don't get tilted if you get a million Chlorotraps before finishing Emo Slimes. Same thing for Oly-Oly and Dark Fissions.


Got a claw 30% from one of the Scar prequests!



This awful Booper Scarlion/Yabber Doo map was the first big hurdle I faced. Decided to cut my teeth bombing here because Boopers are just TOO thicc to take out w/ my weak attacks. I worked out a janky kind of "rotation" around the map where I would aggro, bomb, then drop stacks in preparation for the next cycle.
EVEN THEN, I was still struggling to finish Yabber Doos (the bus guys) because you need to be constantly killing the Boopers up top for them to respawn. HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE shoutout to Metis aka MeIanie for going out of his/her way to help me get my last two cards here. dedluv/dedu also helped out a bit, bless him.


More Meso Explosion practice at Vikerolas! My bombing here got a lot more efficient when I realized these guys are nice enough to not attack you while you're in Dark Sight. Odd property but it came in handy big time. Also got an OA Int 10% drop!!
Froscolas/Jester Scarlions were no trouble whatsoever.


I seemed to get a lot better at bombing after sleeping on it, so Galloperas with their nicer layout were easy as heck to finish. Actually I finished the card set before even collecting 200 tails for the last Scar prequest.


A la my earlier GS2 scheme, I tipped a guy leeching at Petris to let me loot some of his cards. Accidentally cut out his name in the crop but shoutout to sevendeadly!
Also looted michaelxii's extra Slygie cards while he was hunting for Veetrons. If ya can't beat em, yoinkem.
TIER 8 GET!


243 ~> 271
102 ~> 115
3,902 ~> 4,737
423 ~> 528
30 ~> 37
Milestones Achieved
Tier 8 Ring

The hunt nears its end, but the worst is yet to come. The dreaded depths await...

 

Total Playtime: 264 hrs ~> 310 hrs
Gotta go fast!

Spoiler: Expand

For this tier I decided to get all of the gnarliest stuff out of the way. No matter how bad cards like Deep Buffoons may be, we kinda need them if we wanna be able to hit T10. Remember, I'm level 9x bandit with 150 INT here. Not exactly the strongest.


OK, I was originally planning to blow all my coins on raffles, but this deal on AP resets is too good to pass up (350 Snowdrops for 2). I'ma need a lot, though I haven't done the exact math on washing yet.


Remember when I said you'd never catch me blowing up my own money? Well, I kinda lied, but what is true is that time is money, and no way will you catch me spending three hours per set chipping down these high level mobs with my piss-weak BoT. We're going straight for T10 by any means necessary!


Karma: A MapleLegends Tale
There once was a player who had thought of a brilliant meso-making scheme: he would buy up every Dagger 30% scroll on the market, multiple times a day, so that almost no one would have a chance to buy them at a fair price. Then, he would set them in his shop at three times that price, in an attempt to artificially multiply their value. All was well, and it seemed that the scrolls' price had doubled, until...
HE MISPRICED HIS SCROLLS AND I BOUGHT THEM ALL!



Pirates. Both were pretty easy, the blue ones were the harder of the two because of thinner spawns (less bombing).


Managed to get ALL of the PPQ stuff done in just a couple hours! HUUUUUUUUUGE shoutouts to Legoshi and Clow for being great teammates. THIS IS THE LAST PQ WE HAD TO DEAL WITH! Now I can level past 100 with no hangups.


BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

Spirit vikings were very easy, but I skipped Gigantic Vikings for now because their map layout/slow speed made them way too difficult to bomb.


Thanatos and Gatekeeper, spooky as they may be, are literally the easiest sets in all of Deep Ludi.


On to Leafre! These mobs ain't bad except for how they decided to give them all an annoying status effect to spam. Just make sure you bring lots of All Cures.


Green Hobis are BAAAAAAD. They only spawn up top, and you need to kill all the Hankies down below for them to keep spawning -- or you could just find someone to kill them for ya. MASSIVE shoutouts to both argh aka Law, and later the legendary michaelxii, for taking the bottom and helping me finish Greens!


Dual Birks might be one of the worst sets I've encountered yet. Kind of the same situation as Green Hobis, you need to keep killing the normie Birks for them to spawn. In the time it took me to farm five Birk cards, I got only ONE Dual Birk. BIG SKIP!


Kents were super refreshing. Great spawn, good maps, good droprate.


Every single one of these boss sets is gonna help so much on the way to T10. Shade took way too many clears, but worth.


Ah, the infamous Dark Yeti and Pepe. Honestly? Not that bad. I think he might have been buffed. They only hit for 1k, which was quite cozy after dealing with so many Ludi mobs that were smacking for 1.5+. I enjoyed my stay.


YATTA. Tier 9. And we got the hard stuff out of the way!


271 ~> 295
115 ~> 128
4,737 ~> 5,603
528 ~> 744
37 ~> 60
Milestone(s) Achieved
Completed All PQ Quests
Tier 9 Ring

We've journeyed long and our destination is at hand. All that remains is to see it through.

 

Total Playtime: 310 hrs ~> 332 hrs
Hey maplers! I've got a lot to say, but let's save it for the update.

Spoiler: Expand

Just a tip on Werewolves: hunt Lycanthrope first. They summon Werewolf adds that you might get a stray card or two from.


SHOCKING proof of Penelope GM abuse



Onto the big easy area I was saving for last. These guys are all decent, just make sure you go for Extra C in Showa Street 2 before any others.


The Hideout is kind of a janky area but the BGM here ["Flaming Raccoon"] is HOT. Perfect soundtrack for the final climb to T10!


Notice for all you card hunters at the time of this post: MALE BOSS IN ZIPANGU: ARMORY DOES NOT DROP CARDS! I'm not sure when it'll be fixed, but for now just hunt him in Showa Street 3 - super easy card btw.


First chaos from gacha! This one was on my 138th rare ticket.


Welp guys, I finally sold out and decided to bomb Himes. My eph was like 9m solo, that any good?


SHOUTOUT TO CLOW AND LEGOSHI (Nancy and Phil) for helping me out at Nightghosts! In the brief time I was here I managed to score both an OA Int 70% and DFA 30%. Not bad, maybe we'll be back here to farm later.
Btw, the Ninja Castle music, ["Castle Inside"] absolutely SLAPS. ["Castle Outside"] also rocks and is one of the most emotionally varied tracks I've ever heard in a game.


4 sets until T10... Lucidas were easy.


3 sets... Commander Skeles were also surprisingly friendly.


2 sets... Picked up a totally random one I forgot in the desert.


1 set to go...
I thought it would be quite fitting to make Gobies the last hunt, as they were the very beginning of my forum career. Hello, Gobye.


YATTA. YATTA. It's done. IT'S DONE. TIER 10 GET!
I wanna give a big ol' shoutout to everyone who helped me on this journey: michaelxii, Clow, Legoshi, Metus/Meianie, dedu, argh (Law), based DDcaptain25, and anyone else I'm forgetting at the moment!

Also, huge credits to Precel and everyone who helped to create the amazing [Monster Book Efficient Farming Guide]. This resource helped me out a whole lot!

And of course, to Zooploop aka Ziozo for his [Monster Book Tier List] not because it was very helpful, but just for sheer comedic value.



Opened 840 presents to celebrate! Got a bunch of Green Mittens and, WHITE SCROLL! Hey, two WS/CS in one update!



As another celebration event, I blew up the 34 GDKs I'd been piling up since the hunt began. No results this time, but remember I've still got my 120att/2slot.


My current stats, for the statistically curious. We've gotten to the point where we're gonna start pumping everything into MP for the big MP wash. Cuz why not?


295 ~> 316
128 ~> 141
30 ~> 65
5603 ~> 6,647
744 ~> 840
60 ~> 68
Milestone(s) Achieved
Level 100
3 Chaos/White Scrolls from Gacha/Event
Tier 10 Ring

A Reflection
Alright, I wanna address something that's been on my mind for a little while: You know how something can be kind of weird and ugly, but after a while you get used to it? The 'Sku face' is ugly AF LOL! And most of the looks I've done really didn't take advantage of it. I think one of the few that managed to use it well was this one:

- which still looks pretty cool IMO. But it's HARD to make it work, and I can see how a lot of my previous ones were offensive to the eyes/just looked kinda dumb. For now we'll stick to the OwO face! Always important to try new things.
Btw, [maples.im] is apparently the site everyone's been using for character design since maplestory.design went down. It seems like the same exact thing so that's good.

Going Forward
Couple things I wanna work on to improve Master Quest:
1. A new forum avatar. My photo editing ""skills"" have improved a bit since I started this thread, and I think I could make something really slick.
2. Update the Milestones section to have a 'Date Achieved' for each one, and maybe revamp the section itself a bit visually.

OK, now it's finally time to relax...

And by relax, I mean clean my room, get a haircut, and stop being a smelly NEET! For now at least.
Though I am gonna try and keep up a steady grind for the remainder of this event, so let's look forward to that.

Until then, keep on questing!