First experience with the legendary game "MapleStory" blockchain version
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
First experience with the legendary game "MapleStory" blockchain version
Today, have you been to the island?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAfter two years of waiting, the Web3 version of "MapleStory" officially launched yesterday. This is the most high-profile blockchain game ever released, and "Have you boarded the island yet?" became one of the hottest topics yesterday. At 6 PM last night, immediately after launch, servers were overwhelmed. Some players encountered issues receiving verification codes during registration due to the influx of new users.
The in-game token $NXPC debuted on multiple exchanges including Binance, Bybit, Bitget, Upbit, and Bithumb at TGE, currently trading at $2.87 with a circulating market cap of $483 million.
How do you start playing? What's the gameplay like, and how are the earnings?
Getting Started
Visit the official website and click "Game Start" in the top right corner, which will prompt you to connect a MetaMask wallet. Make sure to securely back up your recovery phrase!
If you haven't registered an account before, you'll need to sign up using an email address. Then install the downloader and wait for the game to finish downloading and installing before entering. For subsequent logins, simply return to this page and click the "Game Start" button to launch the game—no in-game login required.
Game Experience
In the Web3 version of MapleStory, players can only choose the original Adventurer classes (Warrior, Thief, Magician, Archer, and Pirate). Longtime players may feel this resembles the pre-V077 era before the Hero class update. However, aside from class selection, core elements such as skills, maps, quests, UI, and other aspects are nearly identical to the current Web2 version.
Nonetheless, due to major changes in the economic system and Web3 GameFi features, the overall gameplay experience differs significantly across the board.
When creating a character, players cannot manually input a name. The system randomly generates an English string as a temporary character name. This name cannot be changed until the character is minted on-chain as an NFT. To mint, the character must reach level 65 (although level 60 meets the minimum requirement, the other condition—defeating Balrog once—requires at least level 65).
So when first entering the game, you’ll see a bunch of characters with random English names chasing Green Snails—you can’t even compete for drops! It took me ages to collect five Green Snail Shells… I couldn’t even see other players. I logged in early, but my own screenshots weren’t dramatic enough, so here’s one I saw from another player in a WeChat group:
Early-level progression has been greatly streamlined. After completing initial tasks, you’re quickly transported to the classic "Kerning City" map.
You're then prompted to select your first job advancement. Upon selection, the system automatically levels your character to 10 and teleports you to the job instructor for advancement.
Next, you proceed to Henesys to complete a series of simple monster-hunting quests. After completion, regardless of current level, you're instantly leveled to 30 and teleported for your second job advancement. From there, follow the guide through themed dungeons until reaching the third job advancement at level 60, where you’ll finally encounter a short grind period requiring manual questing and leveling.
Monsters typically drop only in-game gold ($NESO) and potions. NFT item drop rates are currently extremely low—in over four hours of playtime, I only received two lottery tickets. There are no longer NPC shops to buy potions with gold, but supply isn’t an issue; monsters drop plenty, and higher-tier potions gradually appear as you level up.
You can quickly check what equipment may drop in the current map. As seen below, droppable accessories are very limited, meaning their drop rates are naturally very low.
Another way to obtain powerful gear is by defeating bosses. In the Web3 version, boss kills don’t directly drop items, but instead grant a "lottery ticket," meaning players must kill bosses daily and compete server-wide in a roll-based system for gear.
I defeated Zakum on easy mode, but only rolled $NESO—did not get the Zakum Helmet.
As seen above, the game does include some Chinese localization, but the quality could be described as severely incomplete...
Overall, being able to play a childhood favorite within my industry is deeply nostalgic. However, there’s still room for improvement—such as full multilingual support including better Chinese translation, and enhanced onboarding guides. Given the drastically changed drop mechanics, I hope future updates introduce unique Web3-exclusive events that leverage blockchain features. That said, it’s still early days—the game just launched and needs time.
It will also take time to evaluate how NFT item mechanics evolve. From a Web3 perspective, in-game gold ($NESO) represents barrier-free Play-to-Earn, while NFT items represent Play(Hunt/Raid)-to-Raffle, especially with the server-wide boss roll mechanic, which depends heavily on luck after meeting requirements.
Earning Potential
Players entering with an earning mindset are largely dissatisfied. Due to its Web3 nature, many expected a highly profitable gold mine, but current earning potential falls far short of the Web2 version.
Setting aside NFT gear drops (which depend on marketplace demand and require time to assess—though the game does have an official gear recycling mechanism, its impact on earnings remains unclear and highly luck-dependent), the most direct method is farming monsters for $NESO and exchanging them for $NXPC. The current exchange rate is 100,000 $NESO for 1 $NXPC—an extremely high threshold given current drop rates.
Citing data from @ZiYu0210:
Note that this assumes reaching level 200, and converting $NESO into $NXPC requires having a character minted on-chain. Therefore, monetizing in-game earnings demands significant gameplay depth. Currently, only players who participated in early events or tests and received large airdrops are profiting.
This creates a contradiction. To sustainably attract gold farmers, either the exchange rate or drop rates must be adjusted. If unchanged, the game faces serious challenges—relying instead on genuine players or hoping NFT gear becomes a viable income stream. But obtaining top-tier sets without spending money (pay-to-win) is impossible. For Web3 players, spending equates to reinvestment—but how can you convince farmers to spend their first dollar when current earnings are near zero, let alone reinvest?
For true gamers, the overall experience of the Web3 version may not yet be compelling enough to switch from the Web2 version.
This is a game that can be both grind-heavy and casual, best enjoyed with friends. How the game evolves and is managed going forward will reveal how seriously NEXON treats this blockchain project and what strategic vision they truly hold. For now, a cautiously optimistic wait-and-see attitude seems appropriate.
So, today—have you boarded the island yet?
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
BlockBeats
