It’s been more than a decade since MapleStory’s release, but this game is still alive and kicking in 2023. And it’s easy to see why players still love this game. There are dozens of classes to choose from, a big world to explore and fun graphics.
Back in its early days, levelling was super hard. Today – thankfully – it’s much easier. We’ll show you how.
Our guide will walk you through the best training spots for each level on the Normal server (not the Reboot server).
Before you head out, be sure to load up on Nexon Game Cards (formerly known as Karma Koin) from OffGamers here so that you can take full advantage of the new events and adventures in MapleStory.
Following the Maple Guide
For the first 70 or so levels of Maple Story, you can follow the Maple Guide to level up. The guide always recommends the best quests and training spots for your levelling needs.
But you can also head to specific training spots for certain level ranges. We’ll talk about these shortly.
Activating Runes
Don’t overlook this simple and effective tip. Activating runes is an easy way to get an experience boost and a special buff that makes it easier to defeat monsters.
You can start activating runes from level 30 onward, so take advantage of the perks they offer. They can be game-changing when you’re in between levels.
Burning Maps
Training in burning maps will give you extra EXP points, so be on the lookout for them. These maps appear starting at level 100.
Burning maps decrease as players kill mobs on the maps, and they regenerate when no one is using them. They can sometimes create alternative maps with higher burning.
Because they happen randomly, it’s best to try switching channels a few times before training to see if you can find a high-burning map.
Daily Boss Fights
Daily boss fights are great for newer players. These are bosses that you can fight every 24 hours. They have some great drops and can give you some decent EXP, too.
For newbies, try focusing on the easy daily bosses, like:
- Zakum: Gives 130K experience on easy and drops Mesos, cubes, condensed power crystal or aquatic letter eye accessories.
- Von Leon: Gives 100K experience on easy, and drops Mesos and cubes.
Maplestory Levelling Guide for Levels 1-275
Looking for specific training areas for your levelling journey? These maps are great for grinding out levels and have high monster spawn rates.
Level 1-10: Tutorial
For levels 1-10, start with the tutorial. Along with helping you get some EXP, the tutorial will teach you how to play your class.
Check out our guide on the best MapleStory beginner jobs to find a class that matches your playstyle.
The length of the tutorial varies, depending on your chosen class. But finishing all of these starter quests will get you to level 10 or even beyond.
Level 10-30: Golem’s Temple and North Forest: Giant Tree
For levels 10-20, focus on these two maps:
Golem’s Temple: Golem’s Temple Entrance
Golem’s Temple Entrance is a great place to grind EXP, and most classes will have an easy time defeating the mobs here.
Golem’s Temple: Golem’s Temple 3
The mobs here are easy for any class to defeat, so it’s an excellent place for new characters. Mobs offer great EXP, and the map is relatively small, so you won’t have to travel far to fight someone new.
Once you hit level 20, you can head to the North Forest: Giant Tree map and other maps beyond to find other eye variants. Move through each map as you feel comfortable until you reach level 30.
Level 30-50: Gold Beach and Swamp Region
At this stage, you can start experiencing the game’s theme dungeon content. The mobs in these instanced zones will level with you, so combat is always challenging, and you’re rewarded with great EXP.
Plus, you can always access dungeons from the Maple Guide, so anyone can participate.
Once you hit level 30, you can head over to the Gold Beach map, which is perfect for levelling to 40. At this seaside resort, you’ll face all kinds of beach-themed enemies and help employees by completing quests.
You’ll even get a title for completing the map.
For levels 30-40, you can also grind some EXP in other dungeons, including:
- Ellinel Fairy Academy: Features magical-themed enemies. Rewards include an eye accessory, starting cape, glove and title.
- Riena Strait: Another sea-based map, but this one has a slower pace. You’ll spend a lot of time going back and forth between different locations to solve a mystery, but you’ll be rewarded for your patience with a title, face accessory and a belt.
Other maps include:
- Garbage Dump: Shaded Dump Site
- Abandoned Offices: Mr. Hazard’s Lair
For levels 40-50, you can continue with the dungeons above. But if you’re getting tired of these maps, you can head to the Swamp Region.
The Swamp Region: The Swamp of Despair is available through the Map Guide. This map has a high spawn rate, and it’s easy to manoeuvre your way through the map. However, some classes may have a harder time killing the small monsters found here.
Another option is to train at East Pantheon: Enchanted Forest. Although the mobs have higher HP here, they award higher EXP per mob.
Level 50-80: Mushroom Castle, Swamp: Silent Swamp and The Afterlands
There are quite a few great training spots for levels 50-80, but a few stand out:
Mushroom Castle
You can access Mushroom Castle through the Maple Guide. You’ll go on a journey to save Princess Violetta and find her a partner. Completing this quest will reward you with a few things:
- A title
- Pendant
- Cape
- A few million Mesos
You’ll probably replace these items quickly, but you can work on your familiar badges and monster collection while you’re here.
Swamp: Silent Swamp
The Silent Swamp is another popular training spot, and it’s accessible through the Maple Guide. Why is it so popular?
Because the map has flat platforms that you can easily move between and a portal that will take you right back to the top to start grinding again.
The Afterlands
You can access The Afterlands theme dungeon at level 75 from the Maple Guide. Don’t overlook this dungeon. Along with EXP, you’ll get permanent totems that are some of the best ones in the game.
These totems will give you a great strength boost, and you’ll also gain a good 10 levels just by completing this dungeon.
Just keep in mind that even today, The Afterlands can be buggy. Be patient and use guides to help you complete this quest.
Level 80-110: El Nath Ice Valley II, Sunset Road: Sahel 2 and Elin Forest
Even at the level 80 range, you can use The Afterlands for levelling. But if you want to start exploring other areas, you can head to:
El Nath Ice Valley II
You can reach this training map via taxi from El Nath, but it will cost you 45K Mesos. The Ice Valley is ideal for characters that have large jump heights and attack ranges, so you can stay at the bottom of the map while attacking mobs.
One nice perk of this map is that there’s a vendor at the top, which allows you to buy potions, sell loot or even buy new ammo.
Sunset Road: Sahel 2
This map is ideal for levels 89/90. It’s a small, flat map that also happens to have a high spawn rate. You can easily stick to this map through level 100 if you’re looking for an easy levelling route.
Another great thing about this map is that you can access it through the Maple Guide.
Elin Forest
If you prefer themed dungeon content, head over to Elin Forest. Completing the content will get you a title and a decent ring.
For levels 100-110, you can also try the following training spots:
- Minar Forest Leafre: East Forest
- Monster Park
- Minar Forest: Sky Nest II
- Final Mission: Zakum’s Alter
Level 110-130: Hidden Street: Unbalanced Time and Black Mountain: Entrance
At this stage, you can continue with Monster Park and Zakum’s Alter if you want. But you also have a few other options, including:
Hidden Street: Unbalanced Time
Hidden Street: Unbalanced Time is a hidden map in Ludibrium, but it’s amazing for training. Why? Because it has an abundance of Dual Ghost Pirates.
It also has lots of platforms and a teleporter at the bottom, which makes it easy to keep grinding.
If you want to get this map, you’ll need to first head to Ludibrium Warped Path of Time <3>. Once you’re there, go to the top of the map and head into the orange portal on the right side.
Black Mountain: Entrance
The Black Mountain: Entrance map is the first one of the Korean Folk Town. It has lots of adorable Moon Bunny mobs and is great for training. And you can easily get to it through the Maple Guide.
Another option for levelling to 130 is the Korean Folk Town theme dungeon. This dungeon awards great EXP and Meso, but you’ll also come across some fun side quests that offer more rewards.
Level 130-160: Korean Folk Town: Goblin House and Kerning Tower
Once you reach level 130, you can continue with the Korean Folk Town theme dungeon if you want. It’ll be viable until around level 140.
Some other training areas include:
Korean Folk Town: Goblin House
If you follow the Korean Folk Town quest line, you’ll wind up at the Goblin House where you’ll encounter Yellow Goblin.
Kerning Tower
The Kerning Tower becomes available through the Maple Guide at level 140, but it’s best to wait until you hit at least level 150 to head here. You’ll encounter enemies here that are 150+, and they can hit pretty hard at this stage.
You’ll find several Star Force maps here, too, if you meet the requirements.
Other training options here include:
- Kerning tower 2F: Café <4>, where you’ll face Enraged Espresso Machines and Grape Jelly Juice
- Kerning Tower 5F: Cosmetics Shop <3>. If you don’t meet the Star Force requirements to face Enraged Espresso Machines, you can head to this map, where you’ll face Deadly Dressing Tables.
Level 160-190: Future Henesys and Omega Sector
Stick with the previously listed maps until you hit level 162. From here, you can unlock Future Henesys.
Future Henesys
This map is available through the Maple Guide and will take you to future Henesys versions. Completing the questline will give you lots of experience.
Omega Sector
Around level 165, you can head to the Omega Sector, which is also accessible through the Maple Guide. This map will take you through an alien-themed quest chain. Some parts of the Mothership are great training areas, and monsters can range all the way to level 179.
Other training options for this level range include:
- Ninja Castle
- Kritias
- Knight Stronghold: Knights’ Chamber 1
Level 190-210: Twilight Perion, Extinction Zone: Fire Zone and Reverse City
As you progress further in the game, you’ll make your final push to unlock the Arcane River. For levelling in this range, focus on the following maps:
Twilight Perion
The Twilight Perion is a location in the Gate of Future. You’ll be visiting this place regularly until you reach level 200.
Extinction Zone: Fire Zone
You won’t be able to access this map until you have the minimum 40 Arcane Force it requires. You should also have damage I before heading here.
Although this is a larger map, it does have a great spawn rate. And its simple layout makes it easy to move from top to bottom and use a hidden portal to do it all over again.
Reverse City
The Reverse City dungeon becomes available at level 205. It’s worth going to this map because it will unlock so many other great training locations.
Just keep in mind that the quest line will take about an hour to complete. The good news is that completing the quest will reward you with some great EXP.
Level 210-240: Yum Yum Island and Arcana: Labyrinthine Cavern – Upper Path
As you move forward on your Arcane River journey, you can continue training at the Reverse City dungeon, or you can try new maps, like:
Yum Yum Island
After 5 levels on this map, you’ll unlock extra dungeon content that will take you on a lengthy questline. You’ll also unlock some great EXP maps, like Hidden Illiard Field.
Arcana: Labyrinthine Cavern – Upper Path
Arcana will be the next area that you unlock. The training maps here are so great that players usually stick around until level 240.
Level 240-275: Esfera and Cernium
You’re reaching the home stretch, but where should you continue your training? You could continue training at Morass, but a better option is to start training in Esfera.
Esfera
To reach Esfera, you’ll need to first finish the Morass questline. Once there, head over to Aranyas in Esfera: Mirror-touched Sea 2.
You’ll find a ton of enemies here, and it’s a map that’s designed for training.
Cernium
Finally, you can head to Cernium, where you’ll find lots of excellent training maps.
Final Thoughts
Reaching the end game in MapleStory is a feat! While you’re on your journey, remember to watch gameplays and streamers on Twitch or YouTube for playthroughs. They can be helpful if you’re stuck and don’t know how to move forward.
AND Don’t forget to check out and participate in the OffGamers Meets MapleStorySEA special event, which runs through the end of June!
