Unfunded Washing (16k hp) - A Journey to the Top (Buccaneer)

Hello, fellow maplers. I have returned after a couple years away, mostly enticed by an exclusive pet but also because I listen to Maplestory music at work to concentrate and inevitably get to the questions of "What if..."

This is not the first time I've returned to Maple, of course. This is, however, the first time I've decided to go in playing a class that isn't a DrK. I wanted a challenge. I wanted something that would keep me playing well after fourth job and perhaps one day even reach 200. But of course, that requires big HP. And big HP requires WASHING.

What am I doing here?
I'm deep into KPQ at this point, and when I mentioned to my party members (who are gracious enough to be carrying me through first stage) that I'm washing unfunded...they did not believe it was possible. How would I even pass 2nd job?

Up to this point, I thought I only needed this guide for understanding how to wash a Brawler, but then I realized that perhaps, maybe, I might be missing something. I assume the main concern there is DEX/accuracy but maybe I've just been so spoiled as a Spearman for so long that I didn't realize damage could be a concern.

So I figured I would document my progress in case I was missing something obvious.

What have I done so far?
As I mentioned, I'm into KPQ so not too much, but I like to think I've had a decent amount of luck and am off to a good start.

Accomplishments

• Rolled into 10int
• Got the red sporty cap
• Got a Blue Work Glove
• Got a cool snowboard
• Picked up 2 pairs of squishy shoes (2/3 runs where I rolled highest)
  
• Beat Mano all by myself
• Got 2x Int for Overall 10% from KPQ

What have I done wrong?
I haven't done anything too egregious, but I will say that some of my quirky little maple habits leave me with a less than optimized play style. Mostly because I am a hoarded who focuses very, very much on questing.

Mistakes

• Spent ~20k NX on slots expansions
• Wasted potions trying to kill Green Mushrooms and Axe Stumps
  
• Wasted mesos on Sandblasted Jeans instead of like, useful equips
• Wasted mesos on storing items
• Spent NX on a VIP hair coupon after the random Amoria one left me with a bad one
• NPCing a Stolen Fence (they're like 200k clean I think??)
• Spent 45k on gloves for dex 60 (not wasted because it worked!)
  
• Wasted 3k mesos to go to Mushroom Shrine just to get 2 shitty gaches

Again, nothing too egregious, but getting AP resets will certainly not be easy. Math is hard and all I remember to keep track of is that my INT needs to be intervals of 40 to be most effective and that washing gear only needs to be equipped on level up.

What's next?
Mostly PQing and regular progression stuff.

Short-term goals

• Sell scrolls for money for washing gear
• Finish KPQ runs (need like 2 cards)
• Join a guild
• Figure out 2nd and the acc situation
• Ariant questline that I have to finish before hitting 30

What do I look like?

Spoiler: Here I am

I'll update when I have time. But I figured this would be a fun way to keep me invested.

 

Yeah, I'm aiming as high as possible tbh but again...math. Probably gonna just keep adding to base INT and hope for the best.

 

Entry #1: Brawls of Steel


Goals accomplished

• Joined a guild (thanks Funk <3)
• Finished up KPQs
• Upgraded to a better knuckle
• Got through 2nd job
• Did the Ariant quests

Goals FAILED

• Got impatient with selling 10% scrolls and just tried to make cheap washing/DEX gear

So yeah, I managed to get everything I wanted to do, except for make money because I quickly realized/remembered that Owl Repo is only relevant when you have a damn FM spot or you're selling 30% scrolls. Investing the time/NX into an FM spot didn't seem worthwhile without a better potential profit.

I took a pause on KPQ to get all that other stuff done. I teleported back to Nautilus to get a better Knuckle, only to realize I needed 3 more DEX to equip it. With 3 slots left on on my Blue Work Glove and 80k mesos, I decided to trawl FM ch1 for gloves for dex scrolls.

I bought 3 10% scrolls for about 70k total. 1 worked, and it was just what I need to get me into that sweet, sweet accuracy threshold. Without that 1 scroll firing off, I would not have been able to finish 3/5 of those goals, so I'm lucky it did. Being able to hit Dark Axe stumps was necessary for the Manji Ariant quest and I literally did not even realize I had to use a knuckle for 2nd job advancement. Big f3 for me.

Sadly, none of INT scrolls worked nor did the 10% for jump I also happened to have.

I finished KPQ by 28; 5/5 cards and I figured I would have to purposefully die a bunch to get another pair of shoes that might not even match the first pair I got (2/2/2/1). I even had a second pair of 2 dex/2 int shoes as a back up for like, maybe some scrolling shenanigans? We'll see.

Relatively uneventful except for 2 things:

1. I picked up a yellow purse, which had a better w.att than my Knuckle so it could be used with Sommersault for better mobbing.
2. Somebody didn't take off their item pouch and picked up the card without rolling. I gave him a hard time because I warned him to take it off (having made this very mistake at LPQ many years ago) and leader immediately kicked him before next PQ. But he sent me 2m as apology later so I guess it's okay?

Still feel weird about the 2nd thing; might've been a bit harsh tbh. At least I don't have to worry about money for re-pots for a while.

Logged off last night at the ant tunnel so I can get all the relevant quests done; evil eye tails are a hot questing commodity at this level and I can actually hit them now.


New short-term goals

• Get first monster ring level
• Get Mano cards (having the first boss card empty is gonna annoy tf out of me )
• Figure out best mob to farm for pirate drops
• Not be tempted to go after ZMM
• Get some more jump quests done
• Do some math (boo) about when to stop dumping fresh AP into INT
• Get to 35 for LPQ
• Read an LPQ guide
• Cool macro names

Long-term goals

• Decent washing gear
• Finish monster book
• Maple weapon

 

Entry #2: Brawl in the Family

Goals accomplished

• Got 3/5 Mano cards (and earring for int 60!)
• Resisted the ZMM
• Determined to get to 160 base int (but didn't do much math)
• Got to 35
• Got a maple knuckler for lvl 35 because my guildmates are awesome

Goals FAILED

• Monster Ring is a lot harder than I thought
• My equips are FINE
• No more jump quests, not right now
• Holding off on LPQ
• Couldn't think of any original macro names ("falcon punch" and "falcon kick" seemed lame)

Unexpected Ws

• Some called me based for trying to kill Stumpy at my level
• Successfully scrolled the Maple Knuckler with 2 60% for att
• Finished Sophie's Snack via Gach
• Guildies were overwhelmingly supportive when I asked about Maple weapons and offered to give me ones for 35/43/64 (I don't consider this making me "funded" if only because it just saves me some Owls that would have likely returned 0 results anyway because Maple Knuckles are only hard to find because nobody is buying them)

Getting to 35 took a lot longer than I thought it would, mostly because I got very distracted by questing and IRL work is tough. I started off strong getting some ant tunnel quests done, and decided I needed to go back out so I could turn them in and get the 999 versions. As expected, I very quickly got all 5 Evil Eye cards, because, you know, those maps are ridiculous. But not Horny Mushrooms and only a couple Zombie Mushrooms because I do not understand anything about the math on monster card drop rates. Obviously can't even hit Jr. Bogies at this point (except with the GM buff, which came during work so I couldn't fully utilize it anyway ).

My ETC inventory was quickly filling up; instead of doing the smart thing and looking for that neat guide that tells me how many etc items I need for lower level quests, I decided to start NPCing anything I don't need immediately. Worse, later I spent NX on more item slots anyway, so I just feel a bit silly in hindsight. I sold my Charms of the Undead even though I'd need them for the 2nd half of the Raggedy Cape Quest. I sold my Horny Mushroom Caps and Wild Boar Teeth even though I could've used them for the Jane quest later.

But so is the life of the absent-minded quester.

At some point I realized that my Pig Illustrated could actually help me hit stuff with a higher avoid. So Jr. Wraiths, Jr. Neckis, and Lupins were on the table as far as quest ETC farming was concerned. I did get all the relevant quests done...though it did take quite some time, especially since I kept going back and forth because of the lack of pre-planning I mentioned earlier. As 35 was creeping up on me I decided to make finishing all the Victoria Island quests the priority and head to LPQ at 38 or so. I also decided to make my base INT 160 because after one glance at the washing calculator, I knew I had a loooooong way to go before I'd hit beyond whatever threshold doing traditional washing over the new HP challenges would become worthwhile.

Another factor that went into my decision to hold off on LPQ is that I have no idea how to use these pirate skills. I went with the recommended SP build instead of dumping everything into MP recovery or Mastery and now I kind of regret it. But I guess the cool skateboard tricks and new playstyle was why I chose to play this class anyway. It's certainly fun, just an uncomfortable learning curve that will surely make me a burden in LPQ. If anyone has a guide that actually goes into detail on how this stuff is meant to work together that would be SUPER cool because I still don't even understand why dash disappears sometimes and I'd like to save some money on HP pots.

Once I was at a place where I'd gotten a sufficient amount of quests done and I'd gone through enough pots to have a decent amount of use slots free, I decided to turn in a quest at Zipangu and do some Gach. Of this run, I feel like the 10 Saps of the Ancient Tree was honestly the most useful thing, but I guess at least one of these scrolls which I use to think were the big ones might be worth about 1m. Maybe the equips are worth something, but I doubt anyone wants an 6/7 INT overall if it takes 70/90 LUK to wear. It seems that the economy has shifted drastically since WS were made easily available.

Spoiler: Notable Items Listed Here - LMK if you wanna buy something

Green Ski - DEX 3, STR 2, W.att 81
Overall for STR 70%
Shield for STR 30%
Wand for M.att 60%

Note that I already failed the BW for ATT 10% on my Pig Illustrated for full disclosure

New short-term goals

• Determine if I can, in fact, hit the first monster ring goal in a reasonable time frame
• Make the cheap washing gear because earring for INT 60% is worth less than I thought
• Get done with the easy hidden quests that require dropping quest items
• Turn in all the stupid letters and research and stuff that all the Victoria Island folks keep giving me
• Figure out the macro situation
• Learn how Brawler skills work
• Learn how to replace Dark Sight on LPQ
• Do LPQ

Long term goals

• Plan out equips up to 90
• Get to at least +40 on washing gear, preferably before Zhelm (or find a more realistic goal)
• Monster book
• PQ gear (LPQ/EPQ/OPQ/MPQ and PPQ for the memes)

 

Helpful insight, though I would say that I am fundamentally against leeching.

 

Entry #3: I have died every day...

Goals accomplished

• Got up to about 25/30 for my first ring, so I'm close to a necessary +1
• Made +2 earring and a +2 sword
• Did some LPQs

Goals FAILED

• My Raggedy Cape is 0/5 with no stats
• I've stopped questing so I can get all my LPQs in while dying in between
• All the ETCs are still in my inventory until I'm done with LPQs
• I tried making a macro that only works 50% of the time
• I am still very confused by all my skills
• None of the LPQ guides mention Oak Barrel

Unexpected Ws

• Got the 43 claw from someone for 1.5m
• Made something like 6m just from selling Tree Branches and Firewood
• Finally got a decent scroll from gach (Face for avoid 60% is worth something, right??)

My last update was before the patch, so it's been a minute. Right before the patch I started spending what little money I had to try to obtain washing gear. I made a lot of mistakes, including missing out on a 3 INT Purple Old Wisconsin for 2m. TWICE. I wasted a lot on cape for INT 10% and a little bit on 1h Sword for M.att scrolls. And I wasted my Earring for INT 60% on the wrong equip. But I did get a cheap stormfinger, so there's that.

After digging a little more regarding washing goals, I realized two very important things:

1. My base INT should really be 160
2. I needed to start dumping fresh AP into HP

So I needed to start buying APR and putting the washed out MP into INT. Which was annoying, but not too bad.

Another thing I realized was that getting the first monster ring level would inevitably require me getting a lot of exp, and I didn't really want to be levelling, what with all the LPQs I still had to do. I also also realized that I was wasting my quest exp if I had to keep dying so I could keep doing LPQ. And once again, my ETC is filling to the brim. This was only exacerbated by the start of the event, where the fish take up a lot of your ETC slots.

The first thing I did to remedy my situation was to get a proper storefront, since they don't expire and I had enough scrolls and such to start making decent money. It also turned out that I could take advantage of the event's stipulations by selling my branches and firewood for 10k each. Not per bundle, but EACH (this has unfortunately slowed down in the past couple days, but it's possible there will be last minutes scrambles to get firewood and branches before the week resets, so I'm holding out hope for more opportunistic gains). The Toy Trojans in the Ludi Clock Tower drop both, so I farmed those until I got a full set of cards from them and the brown/pink teddies.

The second thing I had to do was make a mule to dump all my ETC into so I would stop wasting NX on item slots. Maybe some day he'll be my HB mule. Maple Island is way, WAY easier when you're not washing. I think the most notable thing that happened is two identical Beginners debating the existence of god

Spoiler: some deep shit, here

Eventually I did start doing LPQ last night. It was fine, though I will say I should probably properly learn the JMS method so I don't get called lazy for not being able to hit the invisible dark monster. I get the gist, but my ADHD makes it hard to remember number ordering. Like I keep having to reference the other numbers too (133, 221, 333, 123, 111...I'll remember it some day...)

Overall, I think my biggest mistakes was simply not jumping right into LPQ instead of trying to get a couple INT here and there, potentially through the monster ring but also through the event ring. I realized far too late that LPQ gives you way more bait points that just farming on your own, so now I'm ridiculously behind. Like, I literally was just hunting for cards while people smega'd for LPQ. Even I did get the monster ring, I'd have to waste my precious warp cards getting to Lith Harbor and back to Ludi

But I think I can pull through anyway. Using the coins for raffles instead of a single APR could land me a nice little washing stick, or even a PAC.

New short-term goals

• First level of monster ring, may or may not turn in
• Scrolled the Stormfinger once I'm at 43
• More washes
• Finish out my fishing for the week
• More LPQs, hopefully at least the needed 35 for the glasses
• Learn JMS number method
• Try to get all the LPQs by 45, a.k.a., EPQ level
• Probably finish some quests
• Figure out the best investment for my new found smidgen of wealth (probably zhelm)

Long term goals

• Zhelm
• Monster ring
• Event ring (gotta wait til the last day)
• Pirate hat

 

Oh that's good to know.

And I tried using the double uppercut + flash fist for finishing off mobs, but sometimes the flash fist just doesn't happen. Like my logic was that stunning them, then damaging harder them would work, but I guess the frames don't work that way.

Currently my biggest struggle is trying to use Corkscrew/Backspin blow in tandem, but it's hard to time all my skills efficiently. Maybe they'll just work better at a higher level.

 

Entry #4: More like SMELLPQ

Goals accomplished

• Finished out monster ring tier 1
• Fishing done for last week, even got the solo BPQs done (only 7 bait points each rip)
• Got some quests done, including one that gives the Shoes for Jump 30%, ez money
• Bought some washing gear and scrolled a Raccoon mask for cheap; really just gonna save the rest of my money for zhelm

Goals FAILED

• Had to buy a scrolled Stormfinger because all my 10%s failed
• Ran out of washes
• ...I just don't want to do LPQ, alright?

Unexpected Wins

• 4 INT chocolate bar
• Bought an 8 INT cape from a guildie
• Got Wand for att 30% from gach, more ez money
• Succeeded on a 10% for pet equip

While I did manage to finish out my fishing alright last week, the specter of LPQ glasses have slowed my progression in a way that inherently frustrating and wholly unnecessary. You see, the first absolute frustration that happened was accidentally levelling because of random spawns in BPQ. I was trying to clear my inventory, so I wanted to go through the fish for the GM buff dish. But I kept losing to Faust because I was trying to do cool stuff with my skills, rather than just standing and punching him. So there's an extra MP or two lost, probably.

The second absolute frustration is the very motherfucker preventing me from advancing past the first part stage in solo BPQ: ALISHAR. I just can't deal with this guy (or girl, idk, entity of annoyance). Not even with like, the potions and stuff. Well. Maybe if I got more Eye Drops, or actually waited around for a party my level. But for the sake of my narrative, I'm blaming Alishar.

So the third absolute frustration was realizing that the glasses are only +1 across the board, anyway. Maybe 2? If I'm lucky? Probably not. So now as I was turning in quests that needed to be turned in, I slowly realized that I should be working toward progression I actually care about. Like getting monster ring tiers is quite tedious, but it's the kind of thing I actually like doing in games. Or trawling the FM to better understand price points and figure out what to sell. After all, I still have old notebooks full of prices of gear for selling on BasilMarket.

After, all, it is my story.

So what do we do here? With our limited funs and maybe a little luck, I've reminded myself of what I came here to do in the first place: An HP that doesn't require HB. To SOLO THE GAME. Yes, bossing can be easier with a party, but I have to remind myself that I have to play the game how I want. We spend our fish on the +3 ring, we spend 8m to get a 7 INT sword, we spend 5m for an 8 INT cape, and at level 45 we buy a white raccoon mask for 7m so we can scroll it cheap and get it to 4 INT.

We wash for ourselves and no one else. We don't sit down and memorize a bunch of numbers. We sit down and do the math because doing math is actually easier than memorizing patterns. I don't really want to do EPQ, either, tbh. But at least there's no number BS.



New Short-term goals

• Finishing some Orbis quests I've dug myself into
• EPQ pre-reqs
• EPQs
• EPQ ring
• Finish out fishing for this week
• Organize my ores and sell what I don't need
• Find a video about pirate skills
• Like actually figure out how these stupid Brawler skills work because my patience is razor thin
• Fully scroll my pet equip
• Targeted monster ring tier kills
• Finish out Stumpy cards
• Florina beach jump quest?? Maybe??

Long-term goals

• Zhelm
• Monster ring level 2
• PPQ hat (for MEMES!!)
• OPQ glove (preferably with INT)
• 200 base INT