Job advancement Level 1 skills problem
Posted by Roxic
KuroMS Suggestions discussion with 4 posts about Job advancement Level 1 skills problem.
One suggestion I’d like to raise regarding early job progression in MapleStory is the way most first-level skills currently scale after a job advancement. Right now, when players complete a job advancement, there’s often very little immediate gameplay impact. In many cases, the new skills at level 1 are so weak that players are forced to continue using their previous job’s main attack skill for another 5–10 levels until they invest around 15–21 SP into the new skill. Only then does the new skill become comparable or worth using. This creates a problem where one of the most exciting milestones in the game — job advancement — ends up feeling underwhelming instead of rewarding. The first several levels after advancing can feel more like a chore than a meaningful power spike or fresh gameplay experience. A possible improvement would be to increase the baseline effectiveness of level 1 skills for new jobs so they feel immediately usable after advancing. The overall skill power cap would not need to change — maxed skills could remain exactly as strong as they currently are — but the scaling between skill levels could be smoother and less extreme to compensate. This would preserve long-term progression while making the early post-advancement experience far more satisfying. Players would immediately feel the identity and strength of their new class instead of feeling stuck in a transition phase where older skills are still objectively better for too long.
Replies
Reply by Nane
Man, I get that, but that's just part of the game's normal progression. It doesn't really make sense to be super strong with a skill right at level 1. For example, in 4th job, when you're grinding in a party, it's relatively easy to level up. So you're not going to have a hard time getting a skill to level 10, for instance. It's definitely a bigger issue for a class like Hero, which really needs Brandish and struggles to attack early on, but again, that's just part of the progression. I think it's natural for the game; it's always been this way. If you make a skill too strong at level 1, it just encourages people to drop a single point into it and then focus on maxing out other skills instead, right?
Reply by Roxic
You missed the point I'm trying to make, I’m not saying the new skills should be overpowered. I’m saying they should at least be around the same strength as the previous main skill so players can actually use them right after job advancement. Right now, a lot of new job skills start so weak that you’re better off continuing to use your old skill for another 5–10 levels until you put enough SP into the new one. That takes away a lot of the excitement from advancing. I know it has always been like this, but honestly it has always felt like a flaw in the design. In most MMORPGs, when you unlock a new class or job, you immediately get new skills that are worth using. It makes the job advancement feel exciting and impactful. In MapleStory, the new job often doesn’t actually feel stronger until much later. I don’t think the max damage or balance needs to change at all — just make the early scaling smoother so the new skills feel usable from the start. Also good you brought up Brandish, does it make sense to you that 1st job skill does more damage than a 4th job skill?
Reply by Kuro
I thought about it, I do not think level 1 skills need any kind of boost maybe there is another solution but making them strong off the start does not seem like one