During promoted live stream, MapleStory’s top player holds the game’s feet to the fire with a scathing critique

MapleStory may have just witnessed the most extraordinary community mic drop in years, perhaps ever. Niru - undoubtedly the game's most dedicated player in recent memory - has been grinding to hit level 300 for months. No one has ever done it before, but moments from hitting the record-breaking milestone, and with the developer promoting his livestream both in-game and on social media, he flipped his own celebration on its head.

On the verge of hitting his goal, Niru stopped and delivered a staggering scathing critique infront of 20,000 live viewers on the state of the game for roughly 40 minutes (the full video is available on his YouTube channel). He then logged off, pledging not to play the game again until these issues are fixed and providing MapleStory developer Nexon a historical case of corporate blue balls. Today, he is streaming Zelda.

"I am very sorry, but I just don't want to do anything because I feel this needs attention and anything I do will take away from it, which is why I decided not to level up," writes Niru in the description of his latest video ("I won't play MapleStory unless things change"). "I am very sad over this, and worked very hard to build up a Twitch page that I really wanted to do for years and I feel I am throwing it all away, but this is probably the best chance that I can think of to try and improve this and if not I just won't return."

Ahead of this stream, Nexon added both an in-game banner promoting the stream and urging players to watch it live. They also made custom art of his character which was blasted all over social media. Official posts on the MapleStory Steam page offer some good insight into the type of conclusion the dev team were expecting, stating the following:

"Be prepared to witness history alongside the MapleStory Team! After our v.250 Mayple Island Update Preview Stream, we will be tuning in to watch Global MapleStory's very own Niru who will be the first player to reach Lv. 300! This is a historic moment and we are excited to see him cross the finish line. Prepare your Wealth Acquisition Potions and EXP Coupons, and tune into Niru's stream to be part of this unforgettable experience!"

Niru's complaints are varied and laid out in-depth, and it's really worth watching the video yourself if you're interested on the finer points. That being said, he discusses the population of servers and his desire to see them merged together to improve the game's overall health, a variety of issues surrounding cube items, and more. As it stands his video covering all his issues is sitting at 63,000 views, while the Twitch VOD is at 243,000 views as of writing.

Since this stream, MapleStory official channels have been silent on the matter. The game is currently nearing its 19th anniversary and you can only assume the Nexon PR and community management teams are hoping to keep eyes on that rather than their highest level player quitting moments from a highly publicised milestone.

You've really gotta watch it. It's rare we get moments like these - I think the last one I can remember that's somewhat similar is the Apils Fools question at Blizzcon 2018 Diablo Immortal announcement. Whether or not these problems remain unaddressed, or if the MapleStory team will take the feedback to heart and remedy the game, remains to be seen. Will Niru's departure work to the game's benefit? We'll have to sit back, wait, and see.