New Player Guide — Start Here

Getting into Zipangu takes only a few minutes. Head to our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/M4Up4kM to grab the client download and the latest announcements, register your game account on the website, then launch the client and log in.

Zipangu runs on a stable v117.2 client protected by our custom RustHS anti-cheat. You don't need to configure anything special, just install, patch, and play. If the launcher flags a missing file, let it finish patching before you click start.

• ▸Join the Discord and read the #start-here / announcements channels.
• ▸Register your account on the Zipangu website.
• ▸Download and run the launcher; let it fully patch.
• ▸Log in, create your character, and pick your starting class.

Zipangu is a low-and-fair rates server, which is the whole point of the GMS v117.2 experience. Our rates are 2x EXP, 1x Meso, and 1x Drop. That means leveling is brisk enough to respect your time, but mesos and items keep real value, so the economy stays meaningful.

Strictly no pay-to-win. You cannot buy power, levels, or rare gear with real money. Every meso in your pocket was earned, and the marketplace is driven entirely by players. That keeps trading honest and makes a well-funded character something you genuinely worked for.

Zipangu offers the full v117.2 roster. New players often start with an Explorer because the path is familiar and flexible, but every class below is a solid first character.

If you're brand new to MapleStory, a Warrior or Bowman Explorer is forgiving and straightforward. If you want a faster, flashier ride, the Heroes and Cygnus classes have strong early kits and clear questlines.

• ▸Explorers: Warrior, Magician, Bowman, Thief, and Pirate, each with all four job advancements.
• ▸Cygnus Knights: a streamlined alternative path through the five base archetypes.
• ▸Heroes and friends: Aran, Mercedes, Phantom, Luminous, Demon Slayer.
• ▸Pirate cousin: Cannoneer, a fun, beginner-friendly bruiser with strong sustain.

Exact skill numbers vary by class and patch, so rather than invent values, follow these priority principles. They apply across the v117.2 classes on Zipangu and will keep you efficient from 1st through 4th job.

The golden rule of Big-Bang era builds: max your core training (mobbing) skill and your main attack first, then passives, then utility and burst. Don't spread points thin.

• ▸1st job: Max your primary single-target or mob attack and any movement/jump skill that improves training pace.
• ▸2nd job: Prioritize your main farming line and the passive mastery/accuracy that makes it land reliably; pick up a booster for attack speed.
• ▸3rd job: Max your bread-and-butter mobbing skill and key survivability/buff passives before situational tools.
• ▸4th job: Front-load your hypers and main bossing skill, then top off passives; leave gimmick skills for last.

Follow the natural GMS v117.2 leveling flow and let the 2x EXP do the heavy lifting. Early on, lean on your class's starter town and tutorial questline, then graduate to the classic training maps your level can handle.

Quest as you go, especially the long story and theme-dungeon chains. Quest EXP stacks on top of grind EXP and often hands you usable gear and mesos. The fastest leveling on Zipangu is rarely pure grinding, it's grinding the right map while clearing the quests that send you there anyway.

• ▸Do every early job quest and tutorial chain for free EXP and starter equips.
• ▸Train on maps where mobs are a few levels above you for the best EXP per kill.
• ▸Group up; mob-heavy maps with a party clear far faster than soloing.
• ▸Save your buff and EXP-boost consumables for events and longer sessions.

Party Quests (PQs) are where Zipangu's community shines, and they're some of the best EXP and rewards in the early-to-mid game. Each PQ has a level range, a starting NPC, a clear objective, and staged rooms you clear as a team. Below is the general v117.2 lineup, grab a party from Discord or the free market and dive in.

PQ rewards typically include strong EXP, mesos, and PQ-specific items or equips, with bonus stages that reward speed and teamwork. They're the single best reason to make friends early.

• ▸Kerning PQ: low-level entry PQ in Kerning City; cooperative stages and a boss finale, great for your first grouping experience.
• ▸Ludibrium PQ (LPQ): the iconic puzzle-and-platform PQ in Ludibrium, multiple stages culminating in a boss; classic mid-level EXP.
• ▸Orbis PQ (OPQ): a higher-level chain in Orbis with stage objectives and a tough finale.
• ▸Monster Carnival (CPQ): PvP-flavored team battle where you summon monsters and spend points to out-fight the other side.
• ▸Pirate PQ and Romeo & Juliet PQ: themed stage-based PQs with their own level brackets and rewards, plus more PQs to discover as you climb.

Bossing is the natural next step once you're geared. Zakum is the classic first major boss: you enter through the boss queue/NPC after meeting the prerequisites, fight through the arm phase, then the body. Watch for its seduce and debuff attacks, bring status-cure items, and don't tunnel-vision the body while the arms are still up.

Horntail is the next big team fight, a long, multi-head encounter that rewards coordination and resist gear. Further along, Pink Bean and the Black Mage storyline give you the marquee end-game progression to chase. For all of these: come with healing and status-cure potions, the right elemental resistance where it helps, and a party that knows the mechanics.

• ▸Prep: stock HP/MP potions, all-cure (seduce/curse) items, and any class buffs before you queue.
• ▸Zakum: clear the arms, manage debuffs, and bring enough party DPS for the body phase.
• ▸Horntail: expect a long fight; resistance gear and steady positioning win it.
• ▸Rewards: bosses drop the meaningful endgame gear, scrolls, and progression items that hold value on our 1x drop economy.

That's everything a new player needs to begin: pick a class you'll enjoy, lean on 2x EXP and the quest chains to level, run party quests for community and rewards, then gear up for Zakum and beyond. No pay-to-win, no shortcuts, just a fair MapleStory v117 world.

Download the client, join our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/M4Up4kM, and make your first character on Zipangu today. We'll see you in Maple World.