Rarity

Rarity is another crucial element that determines the appeal of an item. An item, no matter how powerful it is, would not give players much satisfaction if everyone could easily obtain it. On the contrary, an item with lower utility but extreme rarity might be highly desired by many players. Consider an almost-one-of-a-kind decorative item: it may not aid you in battle, meaning its utility is low. However, it would still be worth possessing due to its rarity.

A well-designed rarity system requires careful consideration of how difficult items are to obtain. Additionally, when adding new items, their balance with existing items must be carefully examined. To ensure this, the MapleStory development team meticulously plans updates, collects and analyzes massive amounts of data, and actively listens to player feedback.

Automated programs, known as bots, that perform repetitive tasks pose a significant challenge to this elaborate process of rarity management. If bots farm items and in-game currencies indiscriminately, rarity would inevitably plunge. This disruption would destabilize the game economy and undermine rarity, a foundation of RX.

To address this risk, MapleStory dedicates substantial resources toward removing bots through consistent monitoring and updates. Over the past 20 years, these efforts have resulted in suspending or banning more than 10 million accounts. To give you a more tangible example, the population of New York City is around 8.4 million as of 2024; the number of accounts suspended or banned in MapleStory over the past two decades exceeds the population of the Big Apple.

This achievement would not have been possible without the bot detection system, specifically designed for live service operations. MapleStory successfully implemented this system, driven by a deep understanding of how to enhance RX through an effective rarity management system.