lla🍄

Based on previous updates, there’s a high chance that new classes will be added again before the Winter update, followed by another wave of classes in next year’s Winter update. First, I want to talk about the future release pace of new classes and related issues. After that, I’ll share which classes I think are most likely to come in the next two waves, and why. Right now, compared with other versions, MSN still has about 20 classes that have not been released. Aside from the very newest ones, I think most of the remaining classes will eventually be added to MSN. Looking at this year’s updates, the official pace of releasing new classes has clearly sped up. I think accelerating class releases is the right approach. At the current stage, it would be hard to go much faster than this, but if the pace stays the same, most classes could be added by next year. Speeding up class releases is what actually gives players more real choices. Among the unreleased classes, there are still many distinctive and strong options. But later-released classes all face the same problems. Your level and ARC still take time to raise. Unless you are more efficient than other players, you will always be a bit behind. On top of that, new classes often have equipment issues. Some gear may be new, or may require specific stats. That means you cannot always just transfer gear from a character you already trained, or simply buy it on the market. You may have to spend more time and money to obtain and upgrade the new equipment. Given that the developers seem to want to speed up game progression, I think we may see further reductions in EXP requirements, higher-level burning events, or even simpler ways to gain EXP. It is even possible that players will be able to buy EXP up to a certain level, or something similar. Otherwise, even ignoring equipment costs, training a future class under current conditions to the point where it can challenge future bosses looks very difficult, even for the fastest levelers right now. More importantly, fewer players would be willing to make that choice. My view is that in the future, going from level 1 to a level where you can challenge most bosses should become noticeably easier than it is now. Later boss gates will also lean more on player skill and character strength. Even now, not everyone who reaches the required level can clear high-difficulty bosses. As for when the next new classes will arrive, based on this year’s update schedule, it will probably be around September to October. There usually is not a major update in that period, so the number of new classes is likely to be 3. First, that would match April’s update, which also added 3 new classes. Second, if 3 classes are added, the character slot cap would likely rise to 38. For players whose characters average level 200, that would still leave some distance from 8000 Legion. If more than 3 classes were added, more slots would presumably open as well, and players could more easily pass the 8000 Legion threshold. Looking at the previous release order, the official direction originally seemed close to other versions. The difference is that they brought forward classes that launched later in other versions but still belong to already-released factions, such as Pathfinder. Under the original order, we should have gotten Resistance first. Instead, later classes like Adele, Ark, and Hoyoung were prioritized. To me, releasing later classes first is still reasonable. Why those three specifically is harder to say. It may simply be that the developers picked those three first from the available pool. One reason to release later classes first is the Legion issue I mentioned earlier. If Resistance were released in order, players would reach 8000 Legion earlier and easily gain five extra character slots. Those classes also have strong Legion effect or link skills, such as Boss Damage, Damage, or Buff Duration, which is very important for the three Explorer mages. I think the plan was not to open those strong effects too early. There are also classes that would affect the gear economy, such as Demon Avenger, who uses HP gear, and Xenon, who uses All Stat gear. Both could influence the price and demand of certain equipment. When new classes were added in June and the slot cap rose to 35, the Legion cap was already raised to 7500, one step above the 7000 you get from 35 level-200 characters. So I think if 3 more slots are added next, Legion will also open to 8000. At 8000, you can get at least three large-block stat bonuses, which is a meaningful upgrade, especially for classes that need Buff Duration. Reaching it immediately would require a fairly high overall character level: with 38 slots, the average would need to be around 210. The good news is that characters can be traded in MSN, so this is not impossible. It just depends on whether each player thinks it is worth it. One thing worth noting is that in MSN, once you meet the required levels and raise your Legion Rank, unbinding characters will not lower that Rank. So you can buy characters, raise Rank, wait out the lock period, and sell them again. That lets you raise Legion Rank at a lower cost. Assuming the next wave also adds three classes, here are my thoughts on which three they might be. First, I think the developers’ overall plan will still mainly follow the original class release order. After that, they will prioritize completing factions that have already been introduced, while still being open to releasing a small number of later-timeline classes first. Also, although Adele, Ark, and Hoyoung were not released at the same time, they were released in succession. So even if later classes come first, they are still likely to be ones that are connected on the timeline. Putting those factors together, I think the possible combinations and reasons would be as follows: Follow the timeline: Kaiser, Angelic Buster, Zero Skip earlier classes but stay on a connected timeline: Zero, Kinesis, Cadena Prioritize completing already-released factions: Illium, Khali, Lara The final result still depends on how the developers design it. Personally, I think the first option is the most ideal, because it follows the original order and also gives players Zero’s Legion EXP effect and Angelic Buster’s burst link skill. As for the Winter update, unless something unexpected happens, Resistance should be released then. Based on the six-class setup, Blaster may not launch together with the others, but that would not stop players from getting the key skills and effects. At this pace, I think opening 6th Job in the second half of next year is realistic. In other versions, 6th Job arrived around the time Khali was released. Excluding version-exclusive classes that I do not think will come here, there are about 16 classes left. If we get 3 in the next two months and 6 in Winter, that leaves 7. If those are also split into two waves (possibly 3 + 4), then at this year’s pace we could catch up around June next year. The second half of the year could then match the class progress other versions had when 6th Job launched. That said, I do think the developers need to plan later adjustments carefully. For classes released later, there needs to be a better way to catch up in level, gear, and other areas. I do not mean they should immediately match players who have already invested a huge amount of time. I mean they should at least be able to close the gap to a reasonable degree. Otherwise, those new classes start with a major disadvantage from day one, and fewer players will be willing to play them and stick with them into later content. I think there are adjustments that could help with this, but I’ll leave that for a later post. @MaplestoryU #MSU