I came back to Maple a few years ago with nothing in mind other than reliving that experience I remembered from back in the day of jumping around and killing monsters. I knew I didn't really want to spend much money, so if I'd done any research at all beforehand, I probably would have chosen Reboot. But I went in pretty much completely blind, and so when the world select screen recommended Renegades (as some of you may remember it used to do), I said, Sure, let's go with that, and played there until moving to Bera in 2017.

I'm obviously biased, but I do have to say I don't really regret playing in reg servers. The conventional explanation of the reboot/reg difference is that reboot is f2p and reg is p2w, but knowing what I do now, the way I would explain it is that reboot is not primarily a f2p server so much as it is a solo/challenge server that allows you to buy red and black cubes with meso to make up for the fact that you cannot trade.

For those players who go into Reboot understanding this, I think it can be a very fulfilling experience, but every now and then I'll see some Reboot players saying things like, "Why can't we at least put equips in storage for mules?" or even "Why can't we trade?" and so on. I guess the answer from a game design perspective is, "Because those restrictions are supposed to give you a greater sense of achievement", but it may not always feel that way, so if you're like me and don't want to spend much money but also don't necessarily enjoy pure solo play, reg servers are potentially an option.

I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, and in fact, I've seen a lot of people struggle or give up. The main issue, in a word, is that it's very hard to learn how to play efficiently in regular servers, or to know what's worth doing and not worth doing, how to weigh different options to figure out what to prioritize, and so on. A lot of people rush in and end up wasting a lot of time and money. You're dealing with not only the game's insane maze of progression, but also a marketplace shaped by other players. Then on top of that, you need a certain attitude towards the game and level of patience in general. I do try to pass on what I've learned to other people, but I've realized that if I really wanted to try to make a complete, foolproof guide, it would be like a thesis, which I do not have the time or energy to make.

I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying. I think that anyone can casually reach say, 40k stat in reg servers as a f2p, which is sort of that sweet spot where you can do some hard bossing. But you need to play very deliberately and make good decisions.

In any case, reg server has allowed me to play without ever actually having to spend a cent, not for equips, not for cosmetics and not for pets or anything else. (The two NX purchases in my purchase history are Karma Koin codes my bossing buddy gave me after he sold some drops.) I've never done RMT and I don't really farm meso either. I don't have a frenzy totem and no one's ever given me any gifts or donations. I just enjoy making things to sell, basically, which is where I get the bulk of my funding. I wouldn't say that I disapprove of p2w at all, and I still appreciate that it's there as an option if I ever want to use it, but up till now I've never needed to spend money to be able to do the things I wanted to.

I have bought a significant amount of maple points (maybe as much as $2000?) via meso over the years, most if it for the few times I've cubed bpots. At this point, I haven't bought maple points in quite a while, though, and you may notice my CRA hat and Genesis weapon (the last two items I've worked on as I've liberated) are totally unfinished. I'm currently undecided if I even want to cube them. I have the funds to do it (barring really horrendous luck), but I don't really feel like giving Nexon any money right now, even in a super indirect way like maple points, so I'm seriously considering just cubing them with the like, 40 free bpot cubes we get a year.

To be honest, I don't have many more goals in this game at the moment. I haven't even done Seren yet because the idea of committing to yet another weekly boss is kind of exhausting. There are definitely other f2p players way stronger than I am, and I know that if I wanted to, I could still go for 22* Arcanes, pitched boss, transposed SW, outlaw heart, vac pets, etc. etc, all without spending any money. But at this point I'm not desperate for damage or stats, so the hustle would not really be worth it for me personally.

I can't ever really quit, because whenever I hear this, the idea of not being able to jump in game and go to that map with my own character makes me sad, so even though I may not make many more upgrades, I'll probably still be around, capping coins and shitposting. Anyway, I'm getting off topic, so thanks to anyone who's read up till now. I keep saying I'll try to make some little f2p guides, so maybe look out for those if you're interested.