After having his stream officially showcased by MapleStory socials, the first player to come close to level 300 almost did so—but instead took the opportunity to vent about the game’s biggest issues, logging off at 99.993% experience towards the achievement.
Twitch streamer Niru started a stream for the final grind to level 300, with the occasion being officially highlighted by the MapleStory developers on social media. However, right as he was about to go over that edge, he came to a stop and started a vent to tear into Nexon’s handling of the game.
The WORLD's FIRST Lv. 300 in #MapleStory is happening today ?? Tune in and join us in celebrating Niru's legendary accomplishment! ???? https://t.co/le4i2uFUdM pic.twitter.com/PtJrmc5BTk
— MapleStory ?? (@MapleStory) April 25, 2024
He starts by clarifying that, as it’s most likely obvious from his impending level achievement, he probably has the highest hour count of any player in the game—and if it’s not that, then he’s certainly at least spent the longest actually playing the game. (Social activities are a thing, after all.) MapleStory came under fire for its New Age update last fall, so this isn't unfamiliar territory.
The vent got pretty granular here and there. A good portion of the time was focused on Nexon’s cash shop items, especially prices and features for those in North American servers. For instance, a bulk purchase option for certain luck features has a far smaller discount for packs of ten, and there are limitations and even time restrictions for how many you can buy and use. He also points out the lack of fairness for certain sales that had taken place in the past—even for willing and able “whales” who want to pay to get big prizes.
He also critiqued the drop rates, availability, and tradability of certain grindable items, as well as the thin spread of “Interactive” servers that make even these tasks frustrating.
While he did seem to want to climb over the level 300 mark for a while, in the end, he decided not to. In those same tense moments, he declared a break from the game due to burnout, and has since been playing the Nintendo classic single-player game, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
To his credit, he did say in his Twitch profile that he would be taking a break from MapleStory after he hit 300. So, hey, at least everyone had a fair warning about this hiatus, and that his streaming career isn’t over.
The rant was uploaded later uploaded to his YouTube channel for the community’s collective convenience, clocking in at just over 41 minutes long.