I'm home again

Hey everyblody, I'm super excited to be here. Maple Story was my JAM from 2006 to probably 2010ish. I normally get really into a game for a few weeks then set it down for the next thing, but Maple Story was one of very few games that I'd always be playing year-round. I fondly remember eagerly downloading patch data that took forever on those old computers, watching new areas, and eventually classes come out. It was such a big part of my life, I'm kinda surprised it was only about 5 years I played. My biggest achievement was getting my main assassin character to become a Hermit. I think he ended up at around level 75 (and he had regular DEX), but I was always jumping between different characters, I think I had about 600 levels between all the characters I made. Eventually though my taste for the game started fading. I got frustrated with the economy and felt some of my achievements being weakened by the new flashier classes. (You don't know how badly I wanted to get flash jump, and then they just give it to some rando Dawn Warrior class at level 30.) I was also worried about addiction, so I took the opportunity to quit the game for good and I vowed I would never play Maple Story again. And for 10 years I kept that promise. Over time I'd hear about a friend picking up the more modern incarnation of the game and being presented with 50 class choices and getting to 3rd job in a matter of days instead of years. That wasn't my Maple Story. I've been tempted to pick it back up a couple times, but I always remembered my vow and wanted to leave the game a happy memory.

I don't know what changed. I was just thinking about the old days, reading something about the modern rise of classic mmos like Old School Runescape and WoW classic and it got me thinking about the only MMO that successfully captured my heart. A quick google search for retro Maple Story brought me to your community and I found myself ravenously reading through this forum, quickly going from hypothetically to seriously considering diving back in. I caved. I've been playing loads over the past weekend and having a blast. I was worried returning to the game with modern eyes would sour my memories of the game I once loved, but no. Even now that I understand stuff like HP washing, I'm just so happy to be back. I nearly teared up on that opening login screen with that classic song welcoming me back. It's possible in a week's time I'll be distracted by some other game, but I feel that's unlikely.

This has been a bit long and rambly, but suffice it to say that this game means a lot to me, and I'm really grateful that someone's preserved and even polished the game I once loved. The changes the mods have made to EXP and skills and stuff seem like inspired improvements. (I may love the game, but I'm not above admitting Maple Story had some fundamental problems). The community feels great and I'm delighted to see that this old game still has a decent playerbase. I've been gone for a long time, but I'm back and mean to stay a while.