Global MapleStory Classic World is officially open to everyone. After two closed tests and two weeks of paid Founder's Access, Nexon flipped the switch on the Grand Launch on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, and the free doors opened when maintenance ended at 18:00 UTC, which was 1:00 PM CT. Anyone with a Nexon account can now make a Beginner on Maple Island, and Founder's Access characters keep their progress.
This is not just "the beta, but free." The launch build is version 1.0.0, and it brings Housing, a sixth boss, a brand new area in Perion, an anti-bot tool you can use on other players, a trade lock for new accounts, real class tuning and a month-long event calendar. The response on Steam was big too. Korean outlet Kyunghyang Games reported, citing SteamDB, that MapleStory's Steam concurrent players passed 26,000 after the launch, the highest the game has hit since it arrived on Steam, and that it climbed to 15th on Steam's global Top Selling chart.
Everything below is pulled from Nexon's Grand Launch release notes, the Grand Launch maintenance notes and Megaphone notice on Steam, and attributed community sources where Nexon left gaps. All times are converted to Central Time. Note that US daylight saving time ends on November 1, so later dates are shown in CST.
When Did MapleStory Classic World Launch?
The Grand Launch maintenance ran from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM CT on October 21 (6:00 to 11:00 AM PDT). Nexon's update on Steam says it finished on schedule at 11:00 AM PDT, and that Cash Shop items in your inventory were extended by 5 hours to cover the downtime.
If you were already playing during Founder's Access, restart the Nexon Launcher or Steam so you pick up the new client. If you are brand new, here is how to get in:
- Nexon Launcher: install it, log in, find MapleStory in your library, turn on the MapleStory Classic World toggle and download the standalone client.
- Steam: Classic World is bundled with MapleStory. Install MapleStory and let every pending update finish.
What Is New at Grand Launch
Most of the leveling path is what Founder's Access players already know: Maple Island, then Victoria Island, 1st job at Lv. 10, 2nd job at Lv. 30, and a level cap of 100. The new pieces are below.
Housing
Housing is the headline feature. You can own one home at a time in either Henesys or Kerning City, and it belongs to the whole account, so every character shares it. To buy one, you need to be a citizen with a Citizenship Grade of Visitor or higher, and you pay in mesos at the town's Housing Registrar: Bianca in Henesys or Scarlett in Kerning City.
Nexon did not list house prices in the notes. You can furnish your home, invite other players over and visit theirs. The maintenance notes also mention that the Companion's Magic Box from the Kerning City Party Quest now has a chance to drop a Lakelis Statue housing decoration, so party questing doubles as decorating.
Citizenship
Citizenship opens at Lv. 12. Talk to Arthur in Henesys Town Hall or Roxy in the Kerning City Civic Center. Citizens get the town's specialty shop and discounts on Cab rides, Storage Keeper services and some general store items. Requests on each town's Community Board earn Contribution toward your grade, and that grade is now what unlocks Housing.
Stumpy and the Excavation Site
The boss list grows to six: Mano, Stumpy, Mushmom, Shade, Zombie Mushmom and Jr. Balrog. Nexon's notes do not give Stumpy's level or location. Fan database MapleStory Quest, which reads data from the launch client, lists Stumpy at level 35, spawning about once an hour in Parched Land off East Rocky Mountain. Nexon also says field boss respawn times are now more randomized, so camping a fixed timer is less reliable than it was.
Perion's new Excavation Site has eight monsters: Ghost Stump, Wooden Mask, Rocky Mask, Skeledog, Mummydog, Skeleton Soldier, Officer Skeleton and Commander Skeleton. MapleStory Quest's client read puts them between level 19 (Ghost Stump) and level 73 (Commander Skeleton), which gives warriors heading out of Perion a fresh training ladder.
The Lie Detector Test
This is Classic World's answer to bots, and it is player-driven. Citizens can buy a Lie Detector Test from the Citizen General Store. It is account-bound and lasts 7 days. Use it on a character you think is behaving abnormally and it triggers a minigame. Fail it, and that character goes to the Truth Booth, where it cannot move, use skills, chat, use items or join any content, and has to stay logged in for a set time before leaving. Nexon has not said how long that time is.
Bots are a live concern. Kyunghyang Games summarized Reddit and other community threads as excited about the early Maple feel but worried about crowded hunting grounds, farming bots and how quickly content gets used up.
The Trade Lock and Megaphone Changes
Two changes are aimed squarely at spam and bot accounts.
- Trade restriction: a new account cannot use any trading features until 24 hours after a character on that account reaches Lv. 15. If you are planning to sell or buy early drops with friends, budget for that delay.
- Megaphones: since 18:00 UTC on October 21, all Megaphone items need Lv. 15 instead of Lv. 10. Megaphones already in your inventory keep their old requirement. Coupons from Monthly Essentials and the Convenience Essentials Pack follow the rule in place when you redeem them, so coupons used after launch produce Lv. 15 Megaphones.
Version 1.0.0 Patch Notes: Class Tuning and Quality of Life
The Grand Launch maintenance also updated the game to v.1.0.0 with real balance changes for warriors and magicians.
The warrior changes are the big ones. Raising the top end of item HP recovery from 20% to 50% and lifting Iron Body's floor from 5% to 20% makes early Swordsman much less potion-hungry. Magicians get a smaller boost to MP recovery. The Dark Sight change means a rogue using it now appears semi-transparent to all players, including those outside the party, so other players can see where a hidden thief is standing. Nexon had already fixed a related bug on October 15 where a Store Permit shop opened under Dark Sight was invisible to other players.
Other notable changes in the same patch:
- New content: The Murky Swamp II in the Kerning City area, new quests on Victoria Island and new drops for some Victoria Island monsters.
- Kerning PQ loot: less Garnet, Amethyst, Aquamarine, Emerald, Opal, Sapphire, Topaz, Diamond and Black Crystal Ore from the Companion's Magic Box.
- Cash Shop: a Rates Info button on probability-based items.
- UI: equipment bonus stats now show in the Character Stats window, and a setting can always show item names in English.
- Beauty Album: expandable with Beauty Album Hair and Face Slot Films.
- Stagger fix: the minimum damage to stagger Copper Drake, Tortie, Drake, Red Drake and Wild Kargo was too low and has been corrected.
- Bug fixes: Final Attack now lasts the full 60 seconds for affected jobs, Poison Breath no longer consumes MP twice or deals more than 1 damage to poison-immune monsters, the Green Jester Hat has its +18 Magic Defense back, and failed 2nd job advancements no longer eat the quest item when your Use inventory is full.
Jobs and Your First Steps
Every character starts as a Beginner on Maple Island. Each account can hold up to 3 characters, and deleting one has a waiting period. At Lv. 10 you choose from four jobs; at Lv. 30 you return to the same instructor for your 2nd job.
- Warrior: Dances with Balrog in Perion. 2nd job: Fighter, Page or Spearman.
- Magician: Grendel the Really Old in Ellinia. 2nd job: Wizard (Fire/Poison), Wizard (Ice/Lightning) or Cleric.
- Bowman: Athena Pierce in Henesys. 2nd job: Hunter or Crossbowman.
- Thief: Dark Lord in Kerning City. 2nd job: Assassin or Bandit.
The Kerning City Party Quest, "First Time Together," opens at Lv. 21 with Lakelis. It is only available on Channels 3 to 12, so do not wait for a party on Channel 1.
If you are coming back after years away, our piece on why players are returning to the original 2D MMO covers the nostalgia side, and our MapleStory fall 2026 guide covers what is happening on the modern servers.
Launch Events and the Halloween Calendar
Nexon lists every event window in UTC. Here they are in Central Time.
The Journey Begins Check-In
This is the one to start today. Accept "[Event] The Journey Begins" from Maple Administrator on a Lv. 10+ character, collect 30 Maple Leaves from monsters Lv. 10 or higher, and turn them in for that day's reward. It is once per day per account, and it counts check-ins rather than calendar days. Miss a day and you simply pick up the next reward when you return. Nexon's example: claim Day 1 on Monday, come back Wednesday, get Day 2.
The Snail is untradable and expires November 18. The potions are tradable within your world and permanent. Pet Food lasts 30 days, Cake and Return Scrolls last 7 days and can be traded within the world, and the charms, permits, effect boxes and megaphones are untradable 7-day items.
Halloween: Candies and Slime Attack
Both Halloween events start at 7:00 PM CT on Tuesday, October 27 (00:00 UTC October 28). Talk to Malady in Henesys or Kerning City, collect 100 Halloween Candies from Lv. 10+ monsters and bring them back. A hidden mission follows: hand her candies out to children around Victoria Island to earn the Pumpkin Basket, a fast one-handed sword with +27 Weapon Attack, +3 Speed and 7 available enhancements. It is tradable within your world and permanent.
During Slime Attack, Orange Slimes appear in Henesys, Ellinia, Kerning City and Perion. They can drop Halloween Candies plus three tradable, permanent potions: Red Malady's Candy (600 HP), Blue Malady's Candy (450 MP) and Green Malady's Candy (300 HP and 300 MP).
GM Events and the Scroll of Secrets
Classic World is bringing back GM-hosted events. Each one opens when a GM opens the Event Door, and you enter by talking to Paul in Lith Harbor. You cannot join if you already own a Scroll of Secrets or took part in a GM event in the last 24 hours. Rooms fill fast, so if you miss one, wait for the next round. Everyone who takes part gets an Event Trophy.
Skills like Haste and Teleport are disabled in the jump events and consumables do nothing. In Coconut Harvest, only melee works, and if you do not have a melee weapon you can buy one from Harry on the event map.
A Scroll of Secrets goes to Chun Ji at the Kerning City Construction Site, whose quest gives you a Magic Box. Mr. Pickall in Kerning City opens it into one random item: ore stacks, food, 15 Elixirs, or an Intermediate or Greater scroll for overalls, tops, bottoms, shoes, earrings, gloves, shields or capes.
What Comes Next: Forgotten Hollow and Beyond
Forgotten Hollow is not in the Grand Launch build. Nexon's notes say the path there "hasn't been discovered yet" and that the area will open in November. Fan sites tracking Nexon's MapleStory Fest roadmap, including MapleStory Quest and MetaRoad, point to November 18, the same day the launch events end, and MapleStory Quest's roadmap summary lists guilds for December 9. Treat those dates as reported until Nexon posts patch notes.
Should You Jump In Now?
If you have any nostalgia for 2000s MapleStory, yes. It is free, the Journey Begins check-in rewards you for logging in over the next four weeks, and Housing gives you a long-term meso goal from day one. Get one character to Lv. 15 early to clear the trade lock, pick a Citizenship town by Lv. 12 if you want a house, and save mesos, because Nexon has not posted prices.
Expect crowds. Windia was expanded to 40 channels and more Free Market rooms were added, but the community concerns about packed training maps and bots are real. Spread out across channels, and if you see an obvious bot, the Lie Detector Test is there for exactly that.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did MapleStory Classic World Grand Launch start?
Grand Launch opened when maintenance ended at 18:00 UTC on October 21, 2026, which was 1:00 PM CT. The maintenance itself ran from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM CT.
Is MapleStory Classic World free to play now?
Yes. A Founder's package is no longer needed. Anyone with a Nexon account can play through the Nexon Launcher or Steam, and Founder's Access characters keep their progress.
What is the trade restriction in MapleStory Classic World?
New accounts cannot use any trading features until 24 hours after a character on the account reaches Lv. 15. After that, trading opens for the whole account.
How do you get a house in MapleStory Classic World?
Become a citizen of Henesys or Kerning City at Lv. 12, raise your Citizenship Grade to Visitor or higher through Community Board requests, then buy a home with mesos from Bianca in Henesys or Scarlett in Kerning City. Your house is shared by every character on the account.
Where is Stumpy in MapleStory Classic World?
Nexon's notes only confirm Stumpy as the sixth boss. Fan database MapleStory Quest, reading the launch client, lists Stumpy as a level 35 boss that spawns about once an hour in Parched Land off East Rocky Mountain.
What does the Lie Detector Test do?
Citizens can buy it at the Citizen General Store and use it on a character they suspect is a bot. The target gets a minigame, and failing it sends them to the Truth Booth, where they cannot move, chat, use items or join content until a set time passes.
What are the class changes in MapleStory Classic World 1.0.0?
Swordsman item HP recovery went from +5 to 20% to +20 to 50%, Iron Body Weapon DEF went from +5 to 25% to +20 to 40%, Magician item MP recovery went from +5 to 20% to +10 to 25%, and Rogue Dark Sight now makes you semi-transparent to every player.
What do you get from The Journey Begins check-in event?
Fourteen check-in rewards, each costing 30 Maple Leaves. Day 1 gives a Snail pet, Pet Food and Red and Blue Potions, and later days add Safety Charms, Store Permits, Return Scrolls, Megaphones, Cake, Atmospheric Effect Boxes and Item Megaphones. The event ends November 18 at 5:59 PM CST.
When does the MapleStory Classic World Halloween event start?
Halloween Candies and Slime Attack start at 7:00 PM CT on October 27 (00:00 UTC October 28) and run until November 18. Completing Malady's hidden mission rewards the Pumpkin Basket sword.
When does Forgotten Hollow open?
Nexon says Forgotten Hollow opens in November. Fan sites following the MapleStory Fest roadmap report November 18, but Nexon has not posted patch notes with a confirmed date yet.
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