Sku's MULTIQUEST [Concluded?!]

No matter how much time I spend away from MapleLegends, I always seem to be drawn back by a powerful and mysterious force. Some may call it addiction. Some may call it a lack of anything better to do. But me? I'd probably say it's the product of poor life choic--I MEAN--a longing for something that you can't quite experience in the real world.

So what is it that I love so much about Maple?
Well...

• Building characters
  • Min-maxing stats and skills (you know how I love that INT)
  • Designing a character's aesthetic & appearance, and allowing that aesthetic to change and evolve as they go forth in their journey and acquire new gear and abilities.
  • Seeing your character grow in power; going from piss weak, to weak, to competent, to excellent; stockpiling riches and hoarding cool-looking items.

• Exploring the World
  • Maple has no shortage of unique, colorful towns, roads, & dungeons that are loads of fun to simply *be* in.
  • Time-gated travel gives an exciting sense of adventure to exploring the various areas & continents.

• The Grind
  • Love it or hate it--or hate it so much you end up loving it--the grind never stops. There's always another level to gain, or a piece of gear that could be better, or a quest that you've been dreading to complete, or a set of monster cards that's been torturing you for the past two hours and just won't drop. Life itself may be finite, but the grind is eternal.

• The Shared Experience
  • Some of us play casually, some are basement-dwelling degenerates who have made meso farming into their full-time occupation, and the majority are somewhere in between. No matter what type of player you are, we're all in this odd little game together. I have a soft spot for this community, especially the aforementioned degenerates.

So what have you been up to, Sku? (asked nobody)
Well, I've been...

• Studying hard for career & certifications

• Homeschooling a young family member

• Listening to audiobooks. To anyone who loves a good story, I highly, HIGHLY recommend the First Law Trilogy on audible, written by Joe Abercrombie and narrated by Steven Pacey. It's a gritty dark fantasy that's bloody, captivating, heartwarming, and hilarious all in one. Pacey's narration is the best I've EVER heard in an audiobook - the man has no shortage of great voices, and paces every sentence near-flawlessly. Abercrombie's writing is witty, insightful, and damn funny. Check this series out.

• Listening to lectures. I recently rediscovered the infamous Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, and must say that his Biblical Series on the Old Testament is the most brilliant & illuminating series of talks I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. You may have thought a series of 2.5 hour lectures on the BIBLE of all things would be a tad boring, however you couldn't be more wrong. Link here:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w&list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I3lUrrFTzkpat
  
  I can also highly recommend JBP's advice on responsibility & meaning. If you're struggling to find your way in life, this man's thoughts have helped millions and may help you too. Here's one in particular that really sparked change in me, link here:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOFDqX16_mY

• Currently reading REAMDE by Neal Stephenson. In two words: fascinatingly tangential.

• Practicing the Wim Hof breathing method. If you're not aware, Wim Hof aka "The Iceman" is this crazy Dutch bastard who's known for his superhuman feats of cold endurance, e.g. running barefoot marathons on ice, swimming in freezing cold water. Anyways, if you get anything from this: TRY HIS BREATHING EXERCISE. IT'S HONESTLY 100% LIFE-CHANGING, NO BULLSHIT. LINK HERE:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BNejY1e9ik
  DISCLAIMER: I would check out Motto's post below as well as do some of your own research before attempting this method. In over a month of practicing the method daily, I have had nothing but positive experiences, HOWEVER there's reason to believe it could be dangerous for some.
  
  I've never been able to hold my breath for much more than a minute, yet the first time I did this exercise I was able to reach a full two minute breath hold. The exercise itself feels amazing and meditative - I won't preach too much, just try it yourself and see.

• Doing yoga first thing every morning and really enjoying it.

• Fasting every morning: waking up at 5AM, then having nothing but water until ~11AM. It sounds crazy, but try it. You'll have way more energy throughout the day and ANY food will taste delicious. Oats are my absolute favorite to eat after a fast.

• Setting aside some time for writing every day. I've had loads of ideas for a novel floating around my head for ages, now I'm finally taking the time to jot them down. Writing is so painful and every lackluster sentence makes me want to jump off a cliff. But it's a good kind of pain.

So it seems like you've got it all figured out, then?
Not in the slightest, and anyone who ever claims so is a fool among fools.

Wait, what about the challenge?
Oh, nearly forgot about that...

Is MQv2/Skucci done for?

Skucci, my Shad and most recent main, is a beast. He's crazy strong and fun as heck to play. That said, I'm going to leave a bookmark in his journey for now. He will surely return... at some point. For now, we're onto something a bit newer, a bit fresher, a bit more interesting...
​

So what's next?

A hugely important skill to have in the current meta of MapleLegends is the dexterity to manipulate multiple characters simultaneously, whether through multiple game windows or even multiple computers. After all, two characters are better than one. Just watch guys like that crackhead Blu301 or that one dude selling Shaolin Temple leech with four mages simultaneously. (is he still around?) Total insanity!
So I thought our next challenge would revolve around that fun little aspect of the game.
Allow me to introduce you to...

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MASTER QUEST V3: MULTIQUEST​

THE GOAL:

• Build two characters from scratch, start to finish.
• See how proficient I can become at controlling both of them simultaneously.
  • One will be on my PC, the other on my laptop. One hand each.
• For now, the main focus will be on reaching Level 70 & third job. After that, we'll see what's next.

Our character classes will be: HUNTER & ASSASSIN.

I wanted a pair that would synergize nicely (with NO mages), so I basically had two choices: Warrior/Bucc, and BM/NL. Warriors are CRINGE to play from 1~140, so that left us with only one choice. Sins are great, but I've never earnestly played a BM, so I'm excited to see what they're capable of.​

THE RULES:

1. Start with nothing. No help from existing characters.
   (exception: I will be starting on a couple accounts with ~500k NX because HP washing exists KEK)
2. No mules, only the main characters are allowed.
   (exception: if I end up having a lot of fun with this challenge, I might end up creating a *gasp* Lvl 81/90 HS mule in order to make grinding a tad easier)
   this rule went out the window
3. No leeching. Leech is for big time weenies.
   (NO EXCEPTIONS!)

Streaming?

I don't think I'll be streaming this challenge. For one, I can really only play for 30-60 mins on most days; for another, there are plenty of lovely people FAR more entertaining than myself streaming ML right now. We'll just stick to silly forum threads.
​

OK, let's get it started.
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Day 1 (January 31st, 2021)
Total Playtime: 1h, 35m

Skip skippity skip past all that Maple Island nonsense, and...


Say hello to our two new heroes!
My right hand controls Skulu, the aspirant Bowman, and my left Skumu, the soon-to-be Thief.

Getting to this point was a little awkward, with the with the greatest feat being a lengthy grind for 30 Mushroom Spores on Maple Island. I think our situation will be vastly improved the moment these two dudes get their jobs and unlock ranged skills. Until then!