The Excavation Site is the one new map area in Nexon’s Grand Launch release notes - and it’s bigger than “a map in Perion”. It’s a chain of twelve maps that runs from Lv 19 mask-and-stump fields to Lv 73 Commander Skeletons - among the highest-level regular training on Victoria Island (only the Lv 75 Taurospears of the Sleepywood sanctuary are higher).
Layout
You enter from Rocky Road III into Excavation Site I, then walk deeper:
| Section | Maps | Monsters (level) |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation Site | I, II, III | Ghost Stump (19), Wooden Mask (23), Rocky Mask (24) |
| Base camp | Excavation Site <Camp> | No monsters - NPCs Shuang and Shawn, plus a Bulletin Board |
| Tombs | Remains <Tomb> I, II, III | Skeledog (44), Mummydog (47), a few Skeleton Soldiers (57) |
| Camps | Camp 1, Camp 2, Camp 3 | Skeleton Soldier (57), Officer Skeleton (63) |
| Deep end | Remains <Tomb> IV, Remains <Cliff> | Officer Skeleton (63), Commander Skeleton (73) |
The path: Rocky Road III -> Excavation Site I -> II -> III -> Camp -> Remains <Tomb> I -> II -> III -> IV -> Remains <Cliff>. Camps 1, 2, and 3 branch off Tombs II, III, and IV respectively.
Lv 19-24: Excavation Site I-III
| Map | Spawns |
|---|---|
| Excavation Site I | 23 Ghost Stumps, 10 Wooden Masks |
| Excavation Site II | 11 Ghost Stumps, 30 Wooden Masks, 12 Rocky Masks |
| Excavation Site III | 8 Wooden Masks, 17 Rocky Masks |
A strong Lv 19-28 alternative to the usual Victoria Island fields, and right next to Perion. Excavation Site II has by far the most spawns.
The mask trick: the two masks have mirrored defenses. Wooden Mask has 0 physical defense and 30 magic defense; Rocky Mask has 30 physical defense and 0 magic defense. Warriors, Bowmen, and Thieves should favor Wooden Masks (Site I and II); Magicians should favor Rocky Masks (Site III). Ghost Stumps are weak to Fire.
Lv 44-47: Remains <Tomb> I-III
| Map | Spawns |
|---|---|
| Remains <Tomb> I | 16 Skeledogs, 7 Mummydogs |
| Remains <Tomb> II | 13 Skeledogs, 10 Mummydogs, 2 Skeleton Soldiers |
| Remains <Tomb> III | 15 Mummydogs, 4 Skeledogs, 2 Skeleton Soldiers |
Skeledogs (Lv 44, 2,134 HP) and Mummydogs (Lv 47, 2,513 HP) are undead and weak to Holy. Note the stray Lv 57 Skeleton Soldiers in Tombs II and III - they hit harder than the dogs.
Lv 57-63: Camp 1-3
| Map | Spawns |
|---|---|
| Camp 1 | 20 Skeleton Soldiers, 5 Officer Skeletons |
| Camp 2 | 12 Skeleton Soldiers, 8 Officer Skeletons |
| Camp 3 | 14 Officer Skeletons, 6 Skeleton Soldiers |
The camps shift from mostly Skeleton Soldiers (Lv 57, 3,872 HP) in Camp 1 to mostly Officer Skeletons (Lv 63, 5,976 HP) in Camp 3, so you can step through them as you level.
Lv 63-73: Remains <Tomb> IV and <Cliff>
| Map | Spawns |
|---|---|
| Remains <Tomb> IV | 9 Officer Skeletons, 5 Commander Skeletons |
| Remains <Cliff> | 14 Commander Skeletons, 3 Officer Skeletons |
Commander Skeletons are Lv 73 with 11,915 HP and 390 EXP - second only to the Lv 75 Taurospear among Victoria Island’s regular monsters. They’re weak to Holy, strong against Ice, and immune to Poison. For the Lv 70-100 stretch, this cliff and Jr. Balrog are the main event (see the Lv 70-100 guide).
By class
- Clerics: everything from the Tombs onward is undead and weak to Holy. This is your area.
- Fire/Poison Wizards: Ghost Stumps are weak to Fire; Rocky Masks take full magic damage. Deeper in, skip poison against Commander Skeletons (immune).
- Ice/Lightning Wizards: Rocky Masks early; avoid Ice against Commander Skeletons (they resist it).
- Warriors, Bowmen, Thieves: Wooden Masks early (0 physical defense); physical damage is unaffected by the skeletons’ elements later on.
All 8 monsters
| Monster | Level | HP | EXP | Phys / Magic DEF | Avoid | Elements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost Stump | 19 | 404 | 35 | 15 / 15 | 7 | Weak: Fire |
| Wooden Mask | 23 | 462 | 43 | 0 / 30 | 14 | - |
| Rocky Mask | 24 | 479 | 45 | 30 / 0 | 14 | - |
| Skeledog | 44 | 2,134 | 102 | 15 / 15 | 27 | Undead; weak: Holy |
| Mummydog | 47 | 2,513 | 117 | 15 / 15 | 29 | Undead; weak: Holy |
| Skeleton Soldier | 57 | 3,872 | 183 | 15 / 15 | 34 | Undead; weak: Holy |
| Officer Skeleton | 63 | 5,976 | 242 | 15 / 15 | 37 | Undead; weak: Holy |
| Commander Skeleton | 73 | 11,915 | 390 | 15 / 15 | 42 | Undead; weak: Holy; strong: Ice; immune: Poison |
Drops
Nexon’s v1.0.0 patch notes say it “increased the potion drop rate for monsters between Lv. 10 and 30” - that covers the Ghost Stumps and both masks - and “added drop items for some monsters in Victoria Island” without naming which. Nothing in the notes names the Excavation Site.
What players have reported so far (NiaMeowDB vote scores - not drop rates; higher means more people confirmed it). This is a snapshot; each monster page shows the current list.
| Monster | Reported | Most-confirmed drops | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost Stump | 10 | Adamantium Ore, Aquamarine Ore, Bronze Viking Helm | Lv 20 hats and tops |
| Wooden Mask | 20 | Stiff Feather, Silver Ore, Orange Potion, Blue Potion | Earring STR and Topwear HP scrolls (Intermediate) |
| Rocky Mask | 15 | Stiff Feather, Blue Potion, Bronze Ore, Sapphire Ore | Two-handed Sword Attack Scroll (Intermediate) is its top scroll |
| Skeledog | 11 | Steel Tower Shield, Brown Guiltian, Amethyst Ore | Lv 40 gear, Spear Attack Scroll (Intermediate) |
| Mummydog | 12 | Red Jangoon Armor, Brown Piettra, White Potion | A Lv 50 Serpent’s Tongue |
| Skeleton Soldier | 9 | Sapphire Ore, Red-Lined Kismet, The Rising | Lv 50 gear; Pet Equip Jump Scroll |
| Officer Skeleton | 1 | Red-Lined Kismet | Almost no data yet |
| Commander Skeleton | 0 | - | No confirmed drops yet |
The pattern fits the community talk: the masks are the Intermediate scroll source for the low band, and the Lv 50 equipment starts with the Mummydogs and Skeleton Soldiers. But a few votes is not a drop rate, and nobody has published rates for this area. The deep-end skeletons are the least understood part of the whole complex.
The camp: NPCs and quests
Excavation Site <Camp> is a safe town map with no monsters, between Excavation Site III and Remains <Tomb> I. It has three NPCs - Shuang, Shawn, and a Bulletin Board - and in the Classic World client data all three are scenery: idle chatter only, no shop, no teleport, and no quests attached. None of the 343 quests in the client data starts, ends, or takes place in the Excavation Site.
Older (traditional MapleStory) wiki data attaches quests to this area - “Notice from the Excavation Team” (Lv 60+, kill Skeleton Soldiers, Officers, and Commanders, turn in Rib, Pelvic Bone, and Horse Skull for an attack-scroll reward) is the main one. Treat that as unconfirmed. Nexon’s launch patch did add “new quests in Victoria Island” without listing them, so one of these could be live, but nothing we can verify says so. If you find the Bulletin Board or Shuang gives you a quest, tell us and we’ll add it.
What is confirmed, and what is not
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| The area exists in Perion, with these 8 monsters | Official (Grand Launch release notes) |
| It is entered from Rocky Road III | Client data and wiki agree |
| It has 12 maps | Client data and the wiki agree (Nexon gives no count). NiaMeowDB lists only 4 of them |
| Levels, HP, EXP, defenses, elements | Client data; the levels also match launch-day player videos |
| Spawn counts per map | Client data |
| Drops | Community-reported only |
| Quests and NPC functions | Nothing confirmed |
| EXP per hour, best level to train | Nobody has published numbers. Don’t trust anyone who says otherwise this week |
One real disagreement: the older wiki lists lower-HP, different-EXP stats for several of these monsters (for example Ghost Stump at 330 HP and Commander Skeleton at 15,300 HP and 315 EXP). Those look like traditional MapleStory values. We use the Classic World client’s numbers (Ghost Stump 404 HP, Commander Skeleton 11,915 HP and 390 EXP), which NiaMeowDB also shows, and we label our stats source on every monster page.
What players are saying (anecdotal - it comes from video titles and comments, and some of it was recorded before servers opened):
- Expect crowding. Players predict hard-to-find spots, and bots farming glove attack scrolls.
- Launch-day video titles promise scroll drops and Lv 50 equipment (our drop table above shows both). The masks are described as good for mesos with low potion use, and as a scroll farm for area-attack classes.
- Clerics: one commenter says high magic defense hurts them, another says they are “giga broken”. The client data supports the second: the skeleton family has only 15 magic defense and every one of them is weak to Holy. Only the Wooden Mask (30) has meaningful magic defense.
Nearby: Stumpy, Grand Launch’s new boss, lives in Parched Land off East Rocky Mountain V.