Pocket MapleStory is a new game for iOS by NEXON that is based on the side-scrolling MapleStory that arrived more than a decade ago courtesy of Korean developer Wizet. As the name of the game implies, this is a version specifically designed for mobile, but perhaps it would also be best if we focus on the features of this game as described by Nexon. Among the things you can do in the game, you can form a party of heroes and battle ferocious monsters and beasts, customize your characters’ appearance, their outfits, pets, and mounts, discover different items and materials, and of course, form guilds with other players from around the world, or join an existing one. Of course, it wouldn’t be a MMORPG if you didn’t have a chance to form or join a guild, right?
As this is quite a detailed mobile title, despite the presence of the word “pocket” in its name, we’ve decided to break down our Pocket MapleStory strategy guide into two. So without further ado, here’s the first in a two-part series of general tips and tricks any player can try out for themselves in this game.
1. How To Level Up Your Hero Faster
First of all, leveling up your hero has numerous benefits. For one, you can get more stats and skill points, but aside from that, you can theoretically use higher-end weapons at some point. But in order to level up your hero, you need experience points.
The obvious way to increase EXP is to complete quests, but beyond that, it’s also a good idea to fight low-level enemies instead of the tougher ones. Why waste your time on monsters you may have a hard time against when you can just focus on the weaker ones and feast on them? Aside from using this particular farming technique, you can always return to a location you had already cleared and fight the weaker monsters over there.
2. Equip Your Hero Properly
Once you’ve leveled up your hero, make sure to equip him/her with the best weapons and armor possible. And when we say “equip,” we also mean special items that could help your hero in battle, as well as adding to his/her attributes and skill points to bring them up to speed.
3. Cherry-Pick Your Spots
What do we mean by this? For starters, you may have noticed that in Pocket MapleStory, monsters don’t just go around in groups, but also by themselves. And if a monster touches your hero, that means they’ll lose some hit points automatically; expect the HP losses to be greater if you’re dealing with large packs of monsters. What you want to do, given these facts, is to pick locations where there aren’t too many monsters. Look for a safe place to keep your hero away from danger and you shouldn’t worry too much about losing a lot of HP.
It’s also good practice to launch counter-attacks like a boxer would use a counter-punching strategy; this means only launching an attack when the monster(s) move the other way.
4. When Can You Use Auto Combat?
Typically, we’re not fans of Auto Combat/Auto Battle features. They may make things faster for you and allow you to complete battles in a snap, but not only do they take away the challenge of choosing the best battle tactics. Computer AI in auto-battles, as we’ve seen so many times, isn’t that smart at all.
Considering this limitation, it’s best that you save Auto Combat in Pocket MapleStory for those platforms where there aren’t too many monsters. This allows you to take out small groups of monsters faster, though you’ll want to be quick and use this feature again when the monsters respawn at the same place.
5. The Map Is Your Best Friend, Part 1 (My Location)
You will likely be consulting your map quite often in Pocket MapleStory, as it’s basically your one-stop cheat sheet for a lot of things. The My Location sub-menu on your map shows you a list of enemies if you’re in an enemy territory, or a list of NPCs and merchants if you’re at your home base. By tapping on any name you see in List, you’ll see whatever that name represents – an object, a monster, or an NPC – flashing on the map.
As this is a great way to point out the location of enemies, you can use the teleport feature to send you to a given location when it comes to those quests where you have to kill so many enemies of the same type, or collect a certain number of items, again from the same type. Again, it’s all as simple as going to My Location, then tapping on the name to get your information.
6. The Map Is Your Best Friend, Part 2 (Path)
Before accepting a quest, you should use the Path menu on the map, as it also helps you view data on enemies and NPCs; this is another good way to identify the type of enemy you’ll be dealing with. So if you’re going on a quest that asks you to kill ten of the same monster type in a given location, tap on Map, go to Path, find the location by tapping on the blue orbs, and view all the available details on the monsters. But since My Location has a more detailed list of enemies and their corresponding details, you may want to use this more frequently. Either way, you get our point here – the map is arguably your best friend and most important resource in the game.
7. When Should You Use Your Potions?
When the going gets rough, you’ll want to turn to your potions, but you shouldn’t use them when the going isn’t that rough yet. Use them instead when your hero’s HP reaches below 50 percent. At that time, you can go ahead and use HP potions to restore them back to a decent amount of hit points, if not 100 percent. But in connection with this, it’s always best to do what you could to prevent your hero’s HP from taking a huge hit. Quick, ranged attacks against enemies are a good way to go about this.
In case you are curious about our second set of Pocket MapleStory tips and tricks, now you can check them out right here.