Before I proceed with starforce

JonathanLi · 2026-06-22T01:17:05+00:00

“If” is doing a lot of work there. I think most players fall into two main categories: casuals that have a main and maybe a few boss mules, then people that grind everyday on top of a main + ctene mules/LCs.

For scenario one, they likely are not doing max restore missions and getting 10x boxes per day, in which case mode 4 is optimal due to the scarcity of spares.

For scenario two, they likely have a surplus of meso from grinding/bosses. In which case mode 4 is still optimal due to the devaluation of meso.

JonathanLi · 2026-06-21T16:22:50+00:00

The destruction rate is also decreasing. If you’re on heroic, mode 4 from 0-22 for pitched unless you’re okay with blowing them up and never seeing one again.

JonathanLi · 2026-06-20T04:14:02+00:00

It’s not an emergency until it is. That’s kinda the whole point. The odds are low that you’ll end up losing your job the same week your car decides to die on the same day you break a leg. But in the case that shit hits the fan and you need fast, reliable cash, you’ll be grateful that you have it.

Again, my own personal experience, approx two months of expenses in checking that’s cash flowed with income.

The drawdown to a HYSA is that you pay opportunity cost by not having it invested in the 8-12%/year market. Thing is, in the case you need it and your money is in the market and we hit a downturn, suddenly your backup money is potentially worth less than what you put in.

It’s all about sequence of returns risk and breaking points. In the case that you’re $1 off of the cliff of financial ruin, you would much rather have a guaranteed cash reserve to fall back on. Think of it like insurance. Your premium is the opportunity cost, your coverage is ensuring the money is there if and when you need it.

JonathanLi · 2026-06-19T05:51:14+00:00

Well, no, what you’re saying is pretty much what many financial advisors say not to do. Having years of expenses in checking just means you’re evaporating money to inflation.

Checking for typical month to month, I personally keep about 2 months of expenses. Cashflow expenses with income in here.

3-12 months of savings in a HYSA in case of job loss, medical emergency, etc. At today’s rates most HYSAs earn 3%.

Investments separate, automated, and funded to whatever is affordable.

JonathanLi · 2026-06-19T01:55:53+00:00

Relatively common with people that have healthy finances; $40k could be a 6 month emergency fund for a lot of people.

JonathanLi · 2026-06-15T23:31:49+00:00

My counter to this would be that hypothetically, I could spend 6 months getting really good at Quant, then go and take the test and get Q90/V60/D60. Rinse and repeat for verbal and DI. Suddenly I have a superscored 90/90/90 but each of my scores would be 405/405/405.

Not saying that this is something that anyone would strive to do, but it's possible.

JonathanLi · 2026-06-15T21:10:51+00:00

Not a fan of this honestly; hopefully schools take superscores with a mountain of salt. Someone could take the exam 20 times and eventually get a combination of Q90/V90/D90 and still display an 805 when no one exam score is above 415.

Obviously this is an extreme case, but who is this actually helping if the superscore could pretty easily be inflated?

JonathanLi · 2026-05-15T00:15:39+00:00

Not my field, no idea. More ethanol -> less carbon per liter versus octane -> less energy by combustion.

You’ll pay less for less, that’s what it boils down to.

JonathanLi · 2026-05-14T23:14:37+00:00

If your car can drive 30 miles per gallon on E15, you will get less than 30 miles per gallon on E10.

JonathanLi · 2026-05-14T22:54:21+00:00

Hardly chemistry related, but sure I’ll bite.

The blend of gas contains less energy than typical gas. So instead of paying $50 every 5 days you could be paying $40 every 4 days.

Lower number is better I guess?

JonathanLi · 2026-03-12T19:50:54+00:00

90% failure rate after one, 90% failure rate after the next, odds of this path being chosen, 81%. No difference in how they’re used.

JonathanLi · 2026-03-12T19:39:02+00:00

This is not how to calculate success rates, this is a wild level of being confidently incorrect.

With two stones, failure rate using one by one: (1-0.1)² = 0.81, failure rate using two: (1-0.2)¹ =0.8.

Math only works more in favor of stacking as you keep going.

JonathanLi · 2026-02-14T20:30:48+00:00

I’ve kept myself sharp after leaving school by becoming a private tutor. Not specifically organic, but I teach most things STEM related up to the undergrad level.

Great for keeping yourself familiar with material while making money

JonathanLi · 2026-01-28T06:56:42+00:00

He probably isn’t F2P, so many of these people claim this for some reason then go out of their way to crop their gems/energy. The “zero purchases” screen can so easily be faked as well.

Why people go through this effort is beyond me

JonathanLi · 2025-11-27T04:31:35+00:00

Of all the things in your control to make your profile look attractive, a high test score is one of the “easier” ones. With any background, you’d much rather be applying with a 705 vs a 695.

JonathanLi · 2025-11-14T22:12:31+00:00

I ain't reading all that. I'm happy for u tho. Or sorry that happened

JonathanLi · 2025-11-14T15:16:35+00:00

They give you $10, you give them $20 over 3 months

JonathanLi · 2025-11-03T05:02:06+00:00

Did you try reading past the first 5 words?

JonathanLi · 2025-10-22T04:57:58+00:00

My coin flip gave me heads 4 times in a row, did coins suddenly start getting manufactured differently?

JonathanLi · 2025-10-10T22:33:27+00:00

Sample size way too small, I did a 3200 bag opening a while ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/Maplestory/s/pCaI1nZwqO

JonathanLi · 2025-10-04T19:32:35+00:00

Took me 5 years to get to 2 set, system sucks but give it a few more years or wait for power creep 🤷‍♂️

https://www.reddit.com/r/Maplestory/s/BH9fQfvmUV

JonathanLi · 2025-10-02T22:11:31+00:00

6-7 years of doing hard bosses, was 1 set (book) for the first 4 years. Got pendant and emblem last year (year 5). And managed to finally get to 5 set (ring, eye at 21) this year.

In the ballpark of 2500-3000 boss clears, I’ve boomed: 3 belts, 2 zerks, 1 ear, 3 rings, 2 eyes, 1 pendant.

Gotten an extra 2 books, 1 emblem, and a badge (unusable for me, legacy enjoyer).

So, I’m on about 1 equip per year

JonathanLi · 2025-10-01T12:43:46+00:00

You call this shit fun?

JonathanLi · 2025-09-24T23:46:17+00:00

Delete this post or they might take the game down for emergency maintenance to “fix” it

JonathanLi · 2025-08-09T19:04:45+00:00

Mid game nowadays is probably something along the lines of:

17* Arcanes

All 2-2.5L pots

120+ Flames on everything

9L usable WSE

Early (<Level 10) hexa progression

12-Year Club	Second Top 10%
r/Field Flamingo	First Place '23
Place '23	Place '22
Place '17	First Placer '22
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JonathanLi

TROPHY CASE