Glossary

Also: 1shot · One shot · 1HKO

Killing a mob in a single attack. The training-speed target for grinder maps - if you can't 1-shot the map's mobs, you're overleveled or underfunded for it.

Also: Accuracy · ACCU

Accuracy. Determines your hit rate against a mob's Avoidability. If ACC is too low you'll see '1' damage misses constantly.

Also: Away From Keyboard

'Away From Keyboard'. Historically abused traditionally as an excuse to occupy a rare mob spawn without contributing. Anti-AFK checks are a modern private-server feature.

Also: Threat · Attention

The mob's targeting priority. Whoever hits a mob first typically holds aggro; some skills (Warrior's Threaten) actively pull it.

Also: Area of Effect

Area of Effect. Any skill that hits multiple mobs at once. Warrior's Slash Blast, Magician's Thunderbolt, Bowman's Arrow Bomb - all AoE staples for grinder builds.

Also: Ability Points

Ability Points - the 5 points you earn every level to distribute across STR, DEX, INT, LUK. Also 1 point automatically added to MAX HP/MP per level based on class.

Also: AP Wash · Reset

A Cash Shop item that removes 1 AP from one stat and adds it to another. The mechanic behind HP washing (draining MAX MP to fund extra MAX HP).

Also: Avoidability · AVD

Avoidability. Chance mobs miss you entirely. Thieves get natural avoid from LUK; Bowmen/Mages rely on gear.

Also: Noob · Baby · Islander

The starting class before job advancement. Everyone begins as Beginner on Maple Island. Permanent Beginners (never advance) are a self-imposed challenge subculture.

Also: Bowmaster

Hunter 4th job. Sharp Eyes + Hurricane. THE bossing party's DPS carry - all other bows retire when a Bowmaster shows up.

Also: Weapon Booster

A short-duration buff that raises your weapon's attack speed by 2 tiers. Universally the second thing maxed after Mastery. Fires and forget every 60-200 seconds.

Also: Speed Buff

Colloquial: any attack-speed buff (Warrior Booster, Claw Booster, etc). Sometimes conflated with Haste which is a MOVEMENT speed buff, not attack speed.

A high-HP unique enemy with named identity. In-game 'isBoss' flag distinguishes them from field mobs. Classic-era bosses include Mano, King Slime, Mushmoms, Balrogs.

Also: Archer

DEX ranged class. Advances to Hunter/Crossbowman at Lv 10. Consistent DPS, high crit, Sharp Eyes in endgame.

Also: Friend

Your personal friends list. Buddy list has a soft cap of ~20 slots expandable via NX. See buddy locations map-wide, whisper across channels.

Any positive temporary status effect - Rage (+WATK), Meditation (+MATK), Iron Will (+DEF), Haste (+move/jump), Bless (+ACC/AVOID/DEF). Buffs are class-defining for party support roles.

The back-slot accessory. Cape scrolls raise WATK/MATK - the most common way funded players push their damage past gear caps.

Also: NX equip

Cosmetic equipment purchased with NX. Overlays your regular gear visually without changing stats. The reason your character can look like a snail while wearing full Zakum gear.

Also: CS

The in-game store for NX items. Note the terminology overlap: 'CS' can mean Cash Shop OR Chaos Scroll depending on context.

Also: CH

One of the parallel server instances. Same map, different players. Change channel to escape KSers or find boss spawns. Currently ~20 channels per server.

Also: Unscrolled

An equipment item with no scrolls applied yet. Clean godly (max base stats, unscrolled) items are the raw material for scroll gambling.

Also: Critical · Critical Rate · Critical Damage

Critical hit chance and damage bonus. Bowmen and thieves get large passive crit boosts at 2nd job (Critical Shot, Critical Throw) - transforms their base attacks into major DPS.

Also: Chaos Scroll · Chaos

Chaos Scroll. Randomly rolls +/- on every stat on an item. High risk, high reward - can make an item godly or brick it entirely. Traded like currency traditionally.

Any negative temporary status - Slow, Threaten (-WATK/-WDEF on mobs), Seal (blocks skill use). Debuff-heavy classes control fights instead of racing them.

Also: Dexterity

Dexterity. Primary damage stat for Bowmen and secondary/main for most Thieves. Also grants accuracy - 1 DEX = 0.8 accuracy roughly.

Also: Dragon Knight · Drk · DrK

Spearman 3rd job advancement. Gets Dragon Roar (massive AoE) and improved Hyper Body. The party support meta pick.

Also: Damage over Time · Poison · Bleed

Damage over Time. F.P. Mage's Poison Breath is the canonical example - a cloud that ticks damage on every mob inside its area for its full duration.

Also: Damage Per Second

Damage Per Second. The composite metric most people care about - product of attack speed, damage per hit, and skill cast rate. Booster skills are DPS multipliers.

Also: Etcetera

The 'Etc' inventory tab. Holds quest items, mob-drop crafting materials, and cards. Almost every mob drops at least one ETC item.

Also: Experience · XP

Experience. Fills a bar per level; hit 100% to level up. Dying costs 10% of your current bar (5% with Wedding Ring). Party grinding shares EXP by damage contribution.

Also: Free Market · Market

The player trading hub. Set up a shop stall, browse rooms 1-22 for player prices, or spam channel 1 chat WTS/WTB. The whole player economy runs through FM.

Also: Gach · Gachapon Ticket

A NX-purchased loot box. Consumes a ticket + gives one random item from a town-specific pool. Historically the source of Ilbi Throwing-Stars and rare CS drops.

Also: Game Master · Admin

A Game Master - official Nexon staff (or server admin on private servers) with in-game moderator powers. Wearing a GM-only outfit and using teleport commands.

Also: Perfect · Perfected

A piece of gear scrolled to its statistical maximum (or near-max). A 'godly' Zakum Helmet takes dozens of scrolls to produce and sells for 5+ billion mesos traditionally.

A named organization of players with a shared chat channel and roster. Guilds unlock at Lv 10; require a Guild Contract from the Guild Master NPC + 1.5m meso creation fee.

Also: Hyper Body

Hyper Body - Spearman's flagship party buff. Multiplies MAX HP and MAX MP by 1.4-1.6x for the whole party. THE reason people want a Spearman/DK in group content.

Also: Health · Hit Points · MAX HP

Hit Points. When it hits 0 you die and lose EXP. Warriors get the highest natural HP; mages the lowest. HP washing is the practice of trading MP for extra HP via AP resets.

Also: HP Washing

The practice of using AP Resets to drain MAX MP + adding those points to MAX HP. The only way non-warriors survive Zakum/Horntail 1-hit KO ranges. Requires massive NX investment.

Also: Holy Symbol

Holy Symbol - Priest/Bishop 4th job party buff. Increases EXP and drop rate for the whole party. THE most-invited-to-parties buff traditionally.

Also: Horntail

Horntail. The Leafre expedition boss. Multi-headed dragon with a phase-based fight. Endgame traditional MapleStory content; drops Horntail Necklace for +5-6 all-stat.

Also: Intelligence

Intelligence. Primary damage stat for Magicians. Also boosts MAX MP gain per level for INT-scaling classes.

Also: Iron Man · IM

Self-imposed challenge mode: no party, no trades, no scrolls, no NX. Community-tracked leaderboards on some servers. The purest form of traditional MapleStory grind.

Also: Job Change · Advancing

Progressing to a new job at fixed level milestones - Lv 10 (or 8 for Magician), 30, 70, 120. Requires visiting the class instructor NPC in the appropriate city.

Also: Kiting

Attacking while retreating so the mob never catches up. Bowmen and mages kite constantly; warriors rarely need to.

Also: Kerning Party Quest · Kerning PQ

Kerning Party Quest. Lv 21-30 PQ in Kerning City. Requires party of 3-6, teaches teamwork, hands out Rock/Paper/Scissors gloves + gear. First PQ every new player runs.

Also: Kill Steal · Kill Stealing

Attacking a mob someone else is already fighting to steal the EXP/drop. Historically the single most reported behavior traditionally; considered rude in the community.

Also: Leeching

Being in a party but not contributing damage - the higher-level partner does the killing, the low-level 'leecher' gets EXP for existing. Priest party leech is a traditional MapleStory economy.

Also: Looking for Party · LF>Party

Chat shorthand: 'Looking for Party'. Common in FM channel 1 and PQ maps. Reply with your class + level.

Also: Ludibrium Maze PQ

Ludibrium Maze Party Quest. Lv 51-70 timed maze. Rewards etc items exchangeable for stat gear + notably fast EXP if run efficiently.

Also: Ludibrium PQ

Ludibrium Party Quest. Lv 35-50 PQ. Long multi-stage puzzle-based PQ; drops Broken Glasses + high-EXP rewards. THE 2nd-job leveling meta traditionally.

Also: Luck

Luck. Primary damage stat for Assassins/Bandits (Thieves). Also gates equipment for thieves and boosts accuracy/avoidability marginally.

Also: Mage

INT caster class. Advances to Cleric/F.P. Wizard/I.L. Wizard at Lv 8 (not 10!). Squishy but massive utility; Cleric heals, Wizards nuke.

Also: Weapon Mastery

A passive that raises your weapon's minimum damage roll. Every 2nd job class has a Mastery skill and every canonical build maxes it FIRST - it removes 1-damage misses on your main attack.

Also: Magic Attack · M.ATK · MAG

Magic Attack. Damage multiplier for mage spells. Wands, staves, and magic-scrolled overalls contribute MATK.

Also: Magic Defense · M.DEF

Magic Defense. Reduces incoming magic damage. Critical against bosses like Zombie Mushmom that hit with a magic attack.

Also: Merching · Merchant

Buying items low from other players and reselling high. FM stalls exist primarily for merching. The traditional MapleStory wealth-building path that doesn't involve grinding mobs.

Also: Mesos · Meso

The in-game currency. Mobs drop it, quests give it, players trade with it. Meso Explosion at Chief Bandit 3rd job actively converts meso into AoE damage.

Also: Magic Guard

Magic Guard - Magician 1st-job buff. Redirects damage from HP to MP so your massive mage MP pool becomes an effective HP pool. Mages max this FIRST.

Also: Mana · Mana Points · MAX MP

Mana Points. Every skill you cast costs MP. Mages regen MP with Meditation and consume more per cast than any other class.

Also: Storage Mule

A secondary character created purely to hold items or receive item transfers. Trade a 100% CS to a mule via Cygnus Storage or same-account transfer.

Also: MM

A field-spawn mini-boss that respawns every ~1 hour. Green (Lv 30, Mushroom Park), Zombie (Lv 60), and Blue variants. Camping Mushmom spawn points is a traditional MapleStory pastime.

Also: Maple Warrior

Maple Warrior - 4th job party buff that raises all base stats by 5-15%. Universal DPS multiplier for every class. If a 4th job character is in your party, always ask for it.

Also: Nexon Cash · Cash

Nexon Cash. The premium currency purchased with real money. Buys Cash Shop items - hair/face changes, pets, mounts, and cosmetic equipment ('cash equips').

Also: Cash merching

Reselling NX-purchased items (Gachapon pulls, Cash Shop event items) for mesos. Legal grey area on some private servers.

Also: OA

A single armor piece covering both top and bottom slots. Common in mid-game because scrolling one overall is cheaper than scrolling separate top + bottom.

Also: Group

A group of 2-6 players sharing EXP. Party members within a screen of a kill share EXP proportional to damage contribution + a small even-split bonus.

Also: Whisper · /whisper

Private Message. Right-click a name → whisper, or type `/username message`. Works cross-channel same server.

Also: Party Quest

A structured multi-stage instance for a fixed-size party. Each PQ has a level range and unique rewards. The traditional MapleStory leveling meta between Lv 21 and 51.

Also: Resurrection · Rez

Bishop's revive skill. Restores a dead party member to full HP without EXP loss. Long cooldown but universally requested during boss runs.

Also: 30% scroll · 60% scroll · 100% scroll

A consumable that upgrades an equipment slot. Named by success chance (30% CS, 60% CS, 100% CS). 100% scrolls guarantee success but give smaller stat gains than 30%/60% variants.

Also: Sharp Eyes

Sharp Eyes - Bowmaster/Marksman 4th job party buff. Grants party members guaranteed crit rate and boosts crit damage. Trivializes bossing.

Also: Assassin

Thief throwing-star branch. Advances to Hermit at Lv 70. Uses claws + throwing stars. Lucky Seven + Critical Throw = crit-heavy DPS.

Also: Upgrade Slot · Slots Available

The number of times an item can still be scrolled. Every equipment starts with 7-8 slots; each scroll attempt consumes one whether it succeeds or not.

Playing without a party. Slower EXP but no split, no drama, no dependency. Some players run entire class ladders solo as a subculture challenge.

Also: Skill Points

Skill Points. You earn 3 per level starting at Lv 11 (Magicians: Lv 9). Spent inside a class's skill window to level up individual skills.

Also: Skill Reset

A Cash Shop item that removes 1 SP from one skill. Lets you undo a build mistake without a full character remake. Rare and pricey.

Also: Throwing Star · Throwing Stars · Stars

Assassin's ranged weapon. Stack size matters - a stack of 200 Steely Throwing-Stars lasts far longer than 100 Ilbis. Ilbi Throwing-Stars ('tobis') are the endgame star.

Also: Strength

Strength. Primary damage stat for Warriors (and secondary for a few thief hybrids). 1 STR = flat additive damage inside physical attack formulas.

Also: Rogue

LUK melee/ranged hybrid. Advances to Assassin (throwing stars) or Bandit (daggers) at Lv 10. Fast attacks, high avoid, Meso Explosion at 3rd job.

Also: Village

A safe zone with NPCs, storage, and no mobs. Henesys, Ellinia, Perion, Kerning City are the 4 starter towns per class.

Also: Swordsman

Melee STR class. Advances to Fighter/Page/Spearman at Lv 10. High HP, high WDEF, physical DPS. Rage/Threaten/Hyper Body make Warriors strong party buffers.

Also: Weapon Attack · W.ATK · ATK

Weapon Attack. Physical damage multiplier - the single most important damage stat for non-mage classes. Scrolls and buffs add to this.

Also: Weapon Defense · W.DEF

Weapon Defense. Reduces incoming physical damage. Every 10 WDEF reduces most mob physical hits by ~5 damage.

Your main damage-dealer. WATK-scrolled weapons are the biggest single DPS investment - a Chaos-scrolled weapon can eclipse an entire set of gear.

Also: White Knight

Page 3rd job advancement. Elemental Charges (fire/ice/thunder) let them stack element damage into their attacks - counters element-immune bosses.

Also: Want to Buy

Chat shorthand: 'Want to Buy [item] [max price]'. Standard FM channel 1 syntax.

Also: Want to Sell

Chat shorthand: 'Want to Sell [item] [price]'. Standard FM channel 1 syntax.

Also: Want to Trade

Chat shorthand: 'Want to Trade [my item] for [your item]'. Barter without meso.

Also: Zak

The Lv 50+ El Nath boss. Multi-arm mechanic (arms respawn until body is exposed). Zakum Helmet drop is THE stat helm of Classic-era. Not in Grand Launch; Nexon hasn't announced when it opens.