MapleStory Reboot vs Normal (Regular) Differences Guide - Games Finder (2024)

Last Updated on March 26, 2024 by Samuel Franklin

Reboot vs Normal (regular) servers is a common question for new and returning MapleStory players when deciding which server to play on. Since this is a permanent choice in your MapleStory adventure it is critical that players understand the differences and co-ordinate with friends to be able to play together.

In this guide I will help you which world to choose by detailing the difference between Reboot and Normal servers, the benefits of each option and guidance on how to make your own personal decision based on my experience playing on both servers. The major difference is the optional pay to progress mechanics and trading on the Normal servers that make it useful for people that are okay with investing real money or leveraging the community auction house to speed up progression. As reboot lacks these mechanics it is focused on self progression and time investment to acquire Mesos while still retaining other MMO community features like guilds, chat and party bosses.

Table of Contents:
– Maplestory Server Overview
– Maplestory Reboot vs Normal Server Comparison
– What is Maplestory Reboot (History)

MapleStory Server Overview

Similar to other online games Maplestory splits the community across different game servers which can be viewed on the official server status page with Reboot and Normal servers each having multiple servers available. This is essentially a permanent game decision as server mergers have only occurred a few times in the history of MapleStory. After players have selected a server they can move between different channels within that serve as different instances of the game within that server.

Each server has its own population size which impacts on many social and economic game mechanics. This includes how regularly you will encounter other players, ability to complete party based content (such as Ursus), item availability on the auction house and availability of popular training locations. In GMS for example Bera and the Reboot server are currently more populated than Scania and the best way to check the current server population is to view the server channel capacity in game.

In game the servers are described as follows:

• Heroic (Reboot): A server where you progress through content at your own pace. Trading is restricted on these servers.
• Interactive (Normal/Regular): A server that allows for growth through a variety of methods, including trading between players.

Reboot vs Normal Server Comparison

The following is a Reboot vs Normal server comparison:

While on the surface many in the community make the Reboot vs Regular server debate a free to play or paid one the considerations on which server to play go significantly deeper and I would recommend them based on your personal preferences for the following:

Reboot is good for players that:

• Have the available time and interest in farming Mesos to progress their characters and enjoy playing the high Meso rate classes that are critical to this progression.
• Enjoy a structured approach to progression of their character as Reboot players often have a clearer pathway given they cannot buy items on the Auction House to leap their progress.
• Are confident in there choice of main character as switching later requires players to start from scratch for equipment.
• Have the time and patience to grow their Legion/Link skills without the ability to trade equipment between these supporting characters to speed up the process.
• Enjoys that satisfaction of earning every single equipment slot and upgrading it for themselves. This includes using lots of cubes and flames on items that free to play players on normal servers might rarely use if they opt to buy premade gear.
• Don’t want to be tempted to spend real life money for damage progression.

Normal Servers is good for players that:

• Want a faster progression pathway to mid game bosses such as Chaos Root Abyss and Lotus/Damien as you can purchase the necessary equipment for Mesos relatively easily, even as a free to play player.
• Enjoy playing the market economy and merchanting as a source of income to fund their adventures.
• Don’t mind spending some money on premium NX currency for progression or to purchase Mesos from the Meso Market.
• Want access to a more diverse amount of cosmetic items for character customisation.

Ultimately in deciding between Reboot or Normal servers it is a personal decision based on what you enjoy doing in MapleStory and how you wish to play long term. I’ve played both Reboot and Normal servers during my time playing MapleStory since and have settled on playing Normal servers as a free to play player. This works for me as I enjoy using the auction house to hunt for deals, make Mesos and purchase equipment upgrades for my characters. My end goal for my MapleStory account is also to stop well before the end game bosses so I don’t expect to hit any of the pay to win negatives of later progression.

Reboot Server – What is Reboot?

Launched in late 2015 in the North American GMS server Reboot was an attempt by Nexon to give players are a traditional MapleStory experience given the game had moved away from some of it’s tough RPG and free to play roots of decades past with Reboot EU introduced approximately 3 years later. The primary appeal to the Reboot server is that it removes the reliance on NX premium currency in progression and instead empowers players to earn powerful items with Mesos dropped from monsters.

Currently the Reboot servers are known as Kronos (the original Reboot server), Hyperion (the second Reboot server) and Solis (EU Reboot).