Training your beginner

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This is an article on training your beginner. For newcomers looking to register, join and start the game, see Registration and Beginning.

Starting the Game

Welcome to the article on the Beginner! If you had taken a look at the Registration and Beginning article (which I recommend you do), it left off here. So what DO you do after you've created your character? This article will explain it all.

If this is your first time playing Maplestory, I highly suggest you speak to every NPC (Non-Playable Character) at the beginning. Once you begin the game, you will receive a message telling you the basics of gameplay. These controls will allow you to move, jump, fight, climb ropes, pick things up, etc. If you are new, it is very important to familiarize yourself with these controls.

Each NPC will give you information and small tasks to complete. It should only take a few minutes to do each task. With each task, you'll learn the basics of gameplay and you'll get a few items and experience points along the way. I highly advise you take the time to learn these aspects of the game.
Once you enter the first map with monsters, you should be ready to fight and play the game. As you play around, you will probably level up a few times or will find yourself thinking the controls just don't feel right.

Changing the Controls

Many people find the default controls hard to use and remember. To change these according to your tastes, click the "\" key while playing (make sure you are in a safe place away from monsters while doing this).
A screen similar to a keyboard will show up.
http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/1383/keyboard7kg.png
The keys with text on them are all keys you can use in game. If you are unsure what a key does, press the button and you'll easily find out. To move keys, click and drag them to the key of your choice. You cannot change the facial expression keys. You can also put unwanted actions in the slots below the keyboard. When you are done editing the board, it could look something like this:
http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/5370/keyboard27zg.png

Don't like your changes? Never fear! Simply press the green "Default" button and all the keys will return to their original settings.

• The screenshot key, like the facial expressions (F1,F2,etc.), is unable to be changed via the keyboard menu. However, the location of screenshots can be changed:
  

"Menu"-->"System Option" Then use the scroll bar to choose a location.

Level Up!

Training to reach new levels is the main gameplay element of Maplestory. Whenever you complete a quest or kill a monster, you will receive things called experience points (EXP). Once you reach the set amount of exp for your level, you will "Level Up". Killing monsters in order to reach this number is calling "training". There are many benefits from training. Once you have a job, you can add new abilities to your character. You will earn ability points as well. These will be explained later. Your Hit Points (HP) and Magic Points(MP) will increase everytime you reach a new level.
http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/4607/lowerbar22ac.png
The amount of EXP required to level up also increases every time you level up.

Ability Points

Ability Points (AP) are used to increase your Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Luck. Every time you level up, you will gain 5 APs. Each job type has a formula for AP distribution:

Magician AP Formula

Luck is equal to your level+3 (Ex: [Level: 12] 12 + 3 = 15 LUK)
All other points go into Intelligence.
NEVER add points into Strength or Dexterity.

Warrior AP Formula

Dexterity is equal to double your level.
The rest goes into strength

Thief AP Formula

Before reaching level 10, put AP into Dex until it reaches 25. From then on, put the rest in Luk.
After level 10, follow this formula:
Luck +5 for three levels.
Dexterity +5 for two levels.

Bowman AP Formula

Bowmen
Strength is equal to your level +5.
All other points go to Dexterity.

Crossbowmen
Strength is equal to your level.
All other points go to Dexterity.

IMPORTANT: NEVER put AP into the HP or MP slots. This is a giant waste and will only make you weaker. For more detailed information on each job type, go to Mapletip Go to perma beginner/supernoob section for details on exeptions.

Note from an experienced player: In my opinion, it is much better to try and get at least 9 in your main stat and a decent number in your sub stat. The highest you can get from the dice roll is 12 and when that came up as INT for my mage, I used it. This greatly helped her.

Maple Island

Training on Maple Island

I suggest every job train on green snails until they reach level 10 (magicians leave the island at level 8). They may give less EXP, but they give a nice, constant flow. It's better to kill 4 green snails and get 12 exp points total than to kill only 1 red snail and get 8. If you are planning to be a warrior and become strong enough, you probably can switch over to killing Blue Snails, Red Snails and Shrooms (small mushrooms). To-be-Bowmen may also switch to these.

Maple Island Quests

Please see Quests to find descriptions of each of the quests on Maple Island.

Leaving Maple Island

Once you reach level 10 (level 8 for aspiring magicians), you need to leave Maple Island. It is important you do not level up again until you choose your job.
Head to Southperry and go east until you see a ship and a NPC named Shanks.
http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/8679/shanks1ae.png
Shanks will ask you if you are ready to leave and will tell you that you need 150 mesos to go to Victoria Island. Once you leave, you can never go back to Maple Island with this character. Say yes and cough up 150 mesos for him and you'll find yourself in Victoria Island's Lith Harbor. Congratulations!

Jobs

Job Requirements

Each job has a set of requirements.

Magician Requirements:
Level 8
INT: 20

Swordsman Requirements:
Level 10
STR: 35

Rogue Requirements:
Level 10
DEX: 25

Archer Requirements:
Level 10
DEX: 25

Make sure you fulfill these requirements before making the job advancement.

Job Advancement

Now it is time to go to the city specified for your job. Magicians go to Ellinia, Archers to Henesys, Thieves to Kerning City, and Warriors go to Perion. Because Beginners get highly discounted cab fees, I suggest you use the cab to go to the city of your choice. DO NOT click on the VIP Cab, that is a completely different thing. It will take you to a place that has monsters much stronger than you and will trap you in the island. The "cab" for Lith Harbor comes in the form of a man named Phil. He is inside a ticket booth to the right of the ship. Double click him and ask him to take you to your job's city.

Each city has a "leader" who will grant you your job.
Magicians have Grendel the Really Old.
Warriors have Dances with Balrog.
Thieves have [The]Dark Lord.
Archers have Athena Pierce.

Magicians, after reaching Ellinia, need to enter the building at the highest point in their town to find Grendel.
Warriors, after reaching Perion, need to enter the building at the highest point in their town to find Dances with Balrog.
Thieves, after reaching Kerning City, need to enter the basement of the Jazz Cafe to find the Dark Lord.
Archers, after reaching Henesys, need to enter "Mushroom Park" and enter the building to the west to find Athena.

Check Mapletip and other Maplestory fan sites for guides made specifically for your job type. This is a guide for beginners, so there's not much more for me to say on the topic of jobs.

The End?

Although almost everyone who plays MapleStory will decide to advance into a job at level 8 or 10, some might decide to not do so. These players are called Permanent Beginners (Perma Beginners, also known as supernoobs). To find out how a Perma Beginner works, consult the article on Perma Beginners.