Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
On May 15, the MapleStory Universe token NXPC launched simultaneously on major exchanges such as Binance, Upbit, and Bithumb. Driven by a strong wealth effect, the price of NXPC surged rapidly after its launch, reaching a high of $3.98, with a total market capitalization approaching $4 billion. Users who received the Binance Alpha airdrop shared their earnings on X, with the 198 NXPC they received valued at nearly $600, marking it as the "fattest" airdrop since the Alpha launch.
However, as the game officially opened, while "chain game enthusiasts" were eagerly preparing to farm gold, issues such as "client crashes" and "unable to receive verification codes" emerged one after another, severely affecting the gaming experience. Additionally, gold farming profits continued to decline, with feedback indicating that "for accounts around level 190, whether fighting bosses or grinding maps for 10 hours a day, the income does not exceed that of a Meituan delivery." The wealth creation myth failed to materialize, and market enthusiasm quickly waned, with the NXPC price only holding firm for a day before starting to decline, dropping below $1.8 yesterday, halving from its peak.
So, is it still worth participating in MapleStory?
Project Overview
The MapleStory Universe chain game version is an MMORPG developed by the South Korean gaming giant Nexon, known for classic online games like "MapleStory" and "KartRider." Currently, MapleStory Universe is in the Genesis phase, "providing brave adventurers with the opportunity to explore the unknown world of MapleStory Universe."
Notably, Nexon announced in December 2023 that it would invest $100 million in its Web3 game project MapleStory, aiming to expand the MapleStory universe. This investment will be used to develop a large-scale multiplayer online role-playing game based on blockchain technology.
Image source: cryptorank.io
Earning 2 dollars an hour, gold farming profits far below expectations
Compared to the previous beta testing phase, the gold farming profits after the official launch of MapleStory have significantly shrunk. For most players just starting with MapleStory, grinding for 10 hours a day yields less than one token. The average hourly earnings are only 2 dollars, and even for a level 190 character, a full day's effort only produces a few dozen NXPC, with very limited NESO drops from monsters and bosses. Even high-level accounts yield only a few hundred yuan for a whole day's work, drastically reducing the cost-effectiveness of gold farming. Meanwhile, the costs associated with the game's enhancement system are relatively high, further diluting profits.
Worse still, the game currently has numerous bugs affecting the experience, such as frequent interruptions when talking to NPCs, some NPCs disappearing without reason, preventing quest progression, and rollback issues after enhancements, leading to direct NESO losses. These cumulative issues have left many players feeling disillusioned about the prospect of "getting rich through gold farming," with feedback shifting towards disappointment and skepticism.
Team response to gradually increase gold farming profits
The executive producer of MapleStory Universe and CEO of Nexpace recently posted on X in response to community discussions, stating that the player feedback after the project launch exceeded expectations, and the team has noticed the concentrated feedback regarding "low gold farming profits." The official acknowledgment is that the current profit mechanism of MapleStory N indeed has issues, primarily because the player activity level at launch was higher than originally estimated, leading to an imbalance in the supply and demand of NESO and game resources, affecting the overall return experience. The team is currently urgently adjusting the profit algorithm and resource distribution mechanism, promising to soon make "gold farming" genuinely incentivizing.
In addition to profit issues, technical problems such as crashes, verification code failures, and interference from cheats that players have frequently complained about are also being addressed. The official also revealed that the core system Reactor (composed of Fission and Fusion) will officially launch in the coming weeks, at which point the economic linkage between NFTs and NXPC will be further strengthened, potentially becoming a key link between gameplay and value. The team emphasized that they will continue to listen to community feedback, making adjustments as they go, and gradually refining the game ecosystem.
In summary, the official is gradually increasing gold farming profits, with an update on May 22 for enhanced NESO and experience point drop activities, and a new reward distribution mechanism set to launch on May 30.
Conclusion
Although the current gold farming profits in MapleStory are far below expectations, the chain game community is collectively voicing complaints, with some studio members even reporting that their daily gold farming income does not cover basic labor costs, leading to an overall return rate in a "negative profit" state. From the players' perspective, "the effort does not match the return" is becoming a mainstream consensus.
However, it is worth noting that market sentiment seems to be undergoing subtle changes. Last night, the NXPC price briefly stabilized, breaking the previous downward trend. At the same time, the project team has clearly stated that they will soon increase the gold farming profits and simultaneously address a series of key issues affecting the experience. Although the dual-token model still struggles to resolve the long-term structural issues of the death spiral, in the context where the "wealth creation effect" has not truly started, the current price and profits may present a short-term window for "quick profits."
After all, this is not an unknown project, but a super IP backed by Nexon, with a global player sentiment; perhaps, it is at least worth giving it another chance.
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