MapleStory Drop Rate Guide

MapleStory Drop Rate FAQ and Information Guide by Tolinar

I. Introduction
II. General Drop Rates
III. Specific Drop Factors.
IV. Clues to the common searches
V. The WHAT-IFs
VI. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS and arguments
VII. Conclusion and accredits
And subsequent posts deal with more specific variations.

PLEASE post requests for drop information to THIS THREAD. Don’t make another thread asking how many Green Trixters you need to kill to get that precious Seclusion.

I. Introduction

Drops and Drop Rates are some of the great mysteries of Maple – you kill a monster, it drops an item, right? Well, how do you know what will drop? Sometimes you get nothing.

This thread is dedicated to explaining the logic, just how much we know, what we don’t, and what is not worth asking for.

Let’s start with what we know. We can kill hundreds of thousands of monsters and come up with some pretty ballpark figures. Every so often someone does it, and churns out a set of semi-useful percentages. Then a handful of people cuss him out because “you said 0.1 percent and I killed over 5000 and didn’t get a thing”

First, we have found nothing concrete in the way of character information that seems to change the rate of a drop. Wizet has released statements that neither LUK nor HANDS affects the drop rate. (and we, being gullible, believe or don’t)

Second, there is no way to examine the drop rate in any file we have. We are not given the drop information. When a mapler kills a monster, his client sends a DROP LOTTO number to the server.

The server examines the DROP LOTTO, and awards items based on the number. Sometimes a number is worth a leftover, sometimes a meso. Sometimes a rare item drops, and sometimes the lotto is worthless.

All we do is send in our number as the monster dies, so we don’t even get to know what our chances of winning the good items are. We can sort-of figure it out, by looking at the luck of other players. But it will never be perfect knowledge.

One thing is certain though:
The MapleStory server CAN, HAS, and DOES change the odds of winning those lottos. At will. On any server check, the winning combinations can be altered. And they are apparently changed fairly often!

Sometimes a temporary item will start dropping, like easter eggs or Winter ornaments. Other times, an item that was dropping all the time will become super rare or vice versa. And occasionally, all new prizes are added to the lottos. Very rarely, some prizes are removed, altogether.

So now you know exactly how Wizet has maintained the mystery of the drop lotto for so long — the rules keep changing.

II. General Drop Rates
There are some general rates that can be observed, although they are not universal. Mesos, for instance, drop about 65% of the time from the average killed monster. Some monsters actually drop mesos a little more often, and some drop them less often.

The same goes for leftovers. Some monsters drop many more leftovers and some drop much less. For example, a slime will drop a squishy liquid about 55% – a little more than half the slimes you kill will toss out a squishy liquid. It will drop a slime bubble much less.

Trying to gather info on how much every monster drops every item is a fairly fruitless goal – because it takes forever, AND it can all change at the drop of a hat. Wizet can sneeze and the numbers will be different. Twice as many blue hats as greens? *snap* Now there’s twice as many green hats as blue.

But generally, these kinds of changes aren’t made in a HEAVY sense. The real problem is, pinpointing a percentage is also VERY hard with rare drops, because with such a TINY chance of getting the jackpot, there is TONS of room for luck to have its way.

Put 1000 blue marbles and one red marble in Santa’s bag. Shuffle well. Reach in without looking and try to get that red marble.

Didn’t get it? Too bad. Put the marble back and try again. =
Still didn’t get it? It won’t get easier.
You might draw from that sack 10,000 times and never find the red marble. Or you might pull it out on the third try.

If it takes you 3000 tries to get the red marble… does that mean there are 3000 marbles in the bag?
If you get it on the third try, are there only 3 marbles in there?

When the odds are so small, it is pretty much impossible to know exactly what the percent chance of getting a rare item is.

But we can safely say upon drawing the 1736th marble… and pulling out the red one… that the odds are slim.

That’s why so many people say “It’s all luck”… of course you have a percent chance to win the lotto. But it would take a LOT of tries to find out that percent — way more than it’s worth — and when you did, Wizet could always just change it again in an hour, and you would have lost weeks and months of work.

But we know some things.
Read on.

III. Specific Drop Factors

There is a proportion that is observed in monster drops for the most part.

Standard monster lottos look like this:
2 in 3 or so: Very likely finds (Mesos) first noted by Shaox to be closer to 2/3, rather than 1/2 drop
1 in 2 or so: Likely finds (Leftovers)
1 in 10 to 20: Simple goods (Potion drop)
1 in 50 to 200: Lesser prize (Monster card, ore)
1 in 500 to 5000: JACKPOT (Item)

Certain bosses and many monsters have unique tables. Usually the result of these unique tables are very enjoyable. Some bosses always drop special leftovers, have much higher chance of a GREAT drop — Crimson Rog USUALLY drops a scroll, last I heard, and Zakum, when at last defeated, always drops Zakum’s Hat when killed, a very worthy headgear.

Also, it has been observed that the higher level the jackpot item, and lower level the monster, the less likely your item will drop.

The lower level the jackpot item, and the higher level the monster, the more likely it will drop.

Likely finds and simple goods seem to drop about the same for most monsters. Lesser prizes fluctuate. Some lesser prizes are more rare than others. As a good rule of thumb, a monster has to drop SOMETHING when your DROP LOTTO comes up as “Lesser Prize”… and lower level monsters are more likely to drop a lower level prize.

Vice versa. Also, some high level monsters may actually drop more Lesser Prizes overall. Finding a monster with a lot of difference between prize levels is a huge sway to the balance.

A good example – Snails are an okay source of Bronze Ore. They drop Bronze, but they also drop Garnet. Garnet is fairly common also, although Bronze is more common. You’re more likely to see Bronze by a little, if the game decides to drop you an ore.

But Orange Mushrooms are an EXCELLENT source of Bronze Ore. That’s because they also drop Diamond Ore, but only very rarely. It’s all the more often that a Lesser Prize comes up, and your number just isn’t good enough to win the better ore, so a Bronze pops out.

If you wanted to find Diamond Ore, there are better places to look than Orange Mushrooms… Cerebes is a much better (if not HARDER) target, because he is higher level, and the Diamond Ore is paired with Silver Ore, which is a much better odds ratio than BRONZE, because it is rarer. You might get 4 Diamond to 6 Silver, as opposed to 9 Bronze and 1 Diamond.

It also seems that as monsters reach the upper limits, medium and even valuable drops occur much more often than poor drops.

FINDING YOUR ITEM
Try hunting a high-level monster that has a lot of higher-value drops than what you are looking for, and doesn’t have a lot of much lower value drops.
Basically, you want your drop to be the Low Drop on the Totem Pole.

If you are looking for Dark Ritual, you’re gonna be searching the High Drop no matter what, so buckle down and start killing Tauros. Expect it to take awhile, because you’re digging for a very red marble in a pretty big bag.

But if you happen to be searching Evil Wings — there are 2 philosophies.

Jr. Rog is more likely to drop an EW. He’s higher level, and a boss to boot. But werewolves spawn more often and in greater numbers and are ‘easier’ to kill. Hunting a Rog is fine for the occasional Lucky Lotto Drop Ticket, but mass tickets from Werewolves will probably see you an Evil Wings a bit sooner.

((This Example is an antique. Nowadays, if you want an Evil Wings, you need to either kill Yetis or Dark Stone Golems.))

The game is especially stingy with WEAPON drops. And heaven help you if there is a more common weapon drop than the one you are looking for.

If you want a super-uber-best equipment, such as the Dark Ritual, expect a drop rate of 0.01% or less. That is, ten thousand kills and not getting the item is completely AVERAGE.

You could kill 100,000 and it wouldn’t be unheard of. A bit unlucky, but not unheard of.

IV. Clues to the common searches

Updated Feb. 09

Red Katana – Pepe
Khan – MD Teddy, Cold Shark
Fraute – Pianus, Zakum
Heaven’s Gate – GSV
Blue Screamer – Lyncanthrope
Berkzerker – Pianus
Devils Sunrise – Zakum

Contra Axe – Axe Stump, Sentinel
Hawkhead – Stone Golem
Gaea – Bain
Vifennis – Papulatus, Zakum
Shining – White Pang, MT-09
Chrono – Dark Drake, Taurospear, Deep Buffoon
Helios – Death Teddy, Risell Squid
Colonian Axe – Pianus, Zakum

Frying Pan – Star Pixie
Tamus – Grupin, Soul Teddy
Judgment – Tauromacis, Klock, Jr. Rog
Bent Judgment – Werewolf, Dark Klock, Lycanth
Heaven’s Justice – Spirit Viking, Shark
Ruin Hammer – Pianus, Zakum

The Blessing – Hector
Gigantic Sledge – Jr. Rog, Taurospear, Spirit Viking, Risell Squid
Morningstar – Goby, Grim Phantom Watch
Leomite – Zakum

Asianic Bow – Malady
Red Hinkel – Tauromacis, Buffy
Blue Hinkel – Buffoon, Death Teddy
Golden Hinkel – Taurospear, Dual Ghost Pirate, Squid
Marine Arund – Thanatos
Dark Arund – Gatekeeper
Fire Arund – Phantom Watch, Bone Fish
Gold Arund – Bain
Metus – Zakum

Golden Crow – Hector, Ice Drake, Yeti, Bonefish
Gross Jaeger – Dark Y&P;, Gatekeeper
Marine Raven – Grim Phantom Watch
Dark Raven – Thanatos
Fire Raven – Ghost Pirate
Golden Raven – Gigantic Spirit Viking
Casa Crow – Papulatus, Zakum

Serpent Coil – Hector, Dark Pepe
Deadly Fin – Grupin, Buffy, Cerebes, Y&P;
Kandine – Werewolf, Jr. Rog, Thanatos
Golden River – Master Death Teddy, Dark Y&P;
Angelic Betrayal – Death Teddy, Zakum
Dragon Tail – Gigantic Spirit Viking, Phantom Watch
Cursayer – Bain, Papulatus, Zakum
Varkit – Papulatus, Zakum

Black Mamba – Gatekeeper, Zakum
Casters – Zakum

Holy Spear – Yeti, Y&P;
Redemption – Yeti, Lazy Buffy, Dark Drake, Y&P;, Phantom Watch, Squid
Omega Spear – Ghost Pirate
Fairfrozen – Zakum

Skylar – Wild Cargo, Dark Drake, Y&P;, Phantom Watch
Gold Dragon – Deep Buffoon, Buffoon, Lycanthrope, Squid
Eclipse – Gatekeepr
Hellslayer – Zakum

Evil Tale – Mix Golem, Red Drake, Soul Teddy
Angel Wings – Dark Drake, Cerebes
Phoenix Wand – Cerebes, Death Teddy
Magicodar – Papulatus, Zakum

Evil Wings – Dark Stone Golem, Yeti
Dark Ritual – Tauromacis, Taurospear, Dark Klock
Kage – Zakum

Bronze Kalkan – Risell Squid, Thanatos, Gate Keeper
Silver kalkan – Squid, Thanatos
Gold Kalkan – Risell Squid

Mystic Shield – Propelly, Chronos
Esther Shield – Platoon Chronos
Nimble Wristguard – Mateon
Jurgen Wristguard – Zeta Grey

White Seraph Cape – Lycanthrope
Black Seraph Cape – Death Teddy, Bone fish
Green Giles – Thanatos
Purple Giles – Goby

ELIXIR and POWER ELIXIR
Master Death Teddys drop plenty of these. But if that’s a little too much to bite off for the precious % Heal items, you can beat up Iron Hogs for occasional Elixirs, and even Ligators drop them once in a blue moon. If you had your heart set on Power Elixir, you need to take down at LEAST Tauromacis.

ALL CURE POTION
Tackle Lucidas for All-Cure potions, and they’ll drop you Elixirs sometimes also. If that’s too rich, sometimes beating down those tricky Fierrys will yield an All-Cure Potion, in a twist of irony. Death Teddys are another pick.

EQUIPMENT SCROLLS
It’s best to assume they can drop any time, any place, by total windfall, from a snail or a Cerebes. Higher level monsters probably have a better chance of dropping them, but that chance difference is seriously TINY. The difference is almost not worth the mention. Only BOSS monsters have a really BETTER chance of dropping a scroll. (excellent to sure-fire)

So don’t hunt any particular monster for a scroll, unless you’re willing to hunt it for a few MONTHS to get it. (Naturally bosses are the exception, they drop a lot more scrolls) There is some merit to noting which scrolls the monster you are killing will drop(especially the VALUABLE scrolls), but it’s too, too rare to hunt the average monster JUST for a scroll drop.

Also note that if you’re searching these monsters, you’re wasting your time:
Wild Boar, Fire Boar, Fierry, Jr. Boogie, Drum Bunny, Chirppie, Tweeter, Zombie Lupin, Wraith, Drake, Croco, Dk. Pepe, Iron Hog and Rombot don’t drop scrolls at all, as far as we know.

WEAPON ATTACK GLOVE SCROLL
By popular demand.
60% – Jr. Yeti. Platoon Chronos. Mateon+Plateon. Mushmom. Mix Golem. Soul Teddy. And Risell Squid.
10% – Fire Sentinel. Tortie. And the almighty Crimson Balrog. The ‘Muse is cooking’ quest. Or if you are really lucky trading in 100 Wolf Toenails.

MONSTER CARDS
Blue Snail, Pig, Ribbon Pig, Octopus, Blue Mushroom, Ghost Stump, Horny Mushroom, Evil Eye, Trixter, Cicle, Wooden Mask, Curse Eye, Lorang, Lupin, Cold Eye, Leatty, Jr. Cellion, Jr. Lioner, Jr. Grupin, Star Pixie, Retz, Flyeye, Tortie, Wraith, Drake, Master Chronos, Plateon, Mecateon, Freezer, Sparker, Block Golem, King Block Golem, Master Robo, Lunar Pixie, Rombot, Malady, Wild Cargo, Ice Drake, Dark Drake, Jr. Balrog, Goby, Shark, and Crimson Balrog drop them. A good place to look for monster cards is Pig Beach, and you can always ask the others there to sell you some.

OMOK TABLE
Used to be the only way to get an Omok table was to kill stumps that didn’t have axes. Now, Drum Bunnys and Toy Trojans in Ludibrium also drop them. Drum Bunnys are a bit more common, so just hunt whichever is more convenient. Omok Tables are fairly rare items all around, expect to be looking for awhile.

OMOK PIECES – Each Omok piece is only dropped by just one monster except the Mushroom Omok, which is dropped by big Orange Mushroom AND Mushmom.
Octopus, Pig, Slime, Trixter, Pink Teddy, Bloctopus and Panda Teddy all also drop unique Omok pieces. They are a semi-common drop, if you are training for a level or two at these monsters you will probably find an Omok piece.

OTHER CLASS ARMOR
There’s so much armor that drops, it’s too much to cover right now.

V. The WHAT-IFs

Superstitions. Real or not?
Dozens of rumors fly about how the drop system works and how you can exploit it. I’ve gathered a few choice superstitions here.

Please Note. These are superstitions. They may work, they may not. Suggested methods of ‘use’ may produce zero effect, or even reduce the rate of your finds. Believe at your own risk. I endorse none of these methods as a proven way to improve item finds.

.. but I find them curious all the same…
On with it, then.

The “LUCKY NAME” theory

~This interesting theory is from Stereo
If this is true, perhaps your name somehow influences the drops you will recieve..
… but even as a random number seed, random is probably random.
Variations include characters having a ‘luck stat’ which determines the amount of stuff you will recieve.

Acting on the superstition:
If you notice you are getting lucky, go nuts! … but most people do that anyway.

The “LIMITED LOTTO” theory.
The theory says that the server only has so many prizes per map/world to hand out to people. Once those prizes are gone, they have to ‘regenerate’ over time, and if you ‘win’ that prize while there are none, instead of the valuable drop you would have had, you get a lesser item – or nothing at all. After resets, or when prizes have regenerated, they become more likely to drop. Only one Magocidar? Frequent finds 15-30 mins after server reset? Is it a coincidence?? Many people think it is not. Multiple forms exist of the superstition, detailing when, how and where these item recharges happen.

Acting on the superstition:
By this theory, playing in off hours is more profitable. You should also get on a server right away after a reset, to boost your chances of a drop. Try to find an item that drops only on one monster, that probably isn’t being hunted hard during off hours.

Dark Axe Stumps, for instance, drop tons of uniques – Sap of Ancient Tree, Wooden Top, Black Jester, Mithril Wand, Green Abel skirt, White Piettra, and Machete. (yes, Dark Axe Stump drops ALL those uniques, and no other monster does.) If you want any of those, you might wait until several hours into a ‘cold’ period of Maple – low server activity – and then go to an out-of-the-way map and kill some Dark Axe Stump.

Ultimately this superstition does not ‘increase’ your drops, but keeps you from ‘losing’ a drop you would have had, because there was none left in the server at the time.

The “ASSOCIATED DROP” theory
This theory states that characters will recieve more drops associated to their own class.

Acting on the superstition:
Play a class with pricey, valuable equips, if you think like that.

The “LUCKY NEWBIES” theory
This theory states that green characters, by hourly total, recieve better drops. Get them in your party and they will share their luckiness. The more you play Maple, the worse your drop luck gets.

Acting on the superstition:
Make alts, if that works (a variation says the total carries between alts and possibly even worlds, so don’t bother?)

And party with new players.

The “LUCK BANK” theory
This theory states that luck accumulates until it is finally all spent on a rare drop. The longer you go without getting an item, the more likely it is to drop.
variations include driving up your luck by discarding valuable items and money, selling things to the game store, and trading them away. The total is contingent on how much money you have, or the items in your inventory, storage does/does not count, etc.

Acting on the superstition:
Of all the superstitions, this is the one I feel the strongest is Probably Complete Bunkum. Absolutely false. And it’s also the one that most people seem to quietly believe in as they complain they didn’t get their drops.
( omgcheated… standing here for 6 hours, I earned my drop already F5 )

More like OMG, blue marbles. Not buying this one. You figure out how to capitalize it.

The “LUK stat” theory
Despite repeated studies to the contrary, released statements directly denying it, and lack of ANY supporting evidence other than the ‘LUK-iness’ of it all, every third newbie will swear up and down that their LUK is getting them better drops. And every fourth wants to ask if it DOES improve the drops.

Acting on the superstition: This is slightly more likely than the luck bank theory. But just slightly. If it were true, assassins would be rich. Oh wait, they were already, So now how do we prove it?

You know what? Believe what you will. Spend your Stats how you like, and good luck.

VI. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS and arguments

Q. Does LUK affect my drop rate?
A. No.

Q. How many monsters do I have to kill before (valuable item) drops, on average?
A. I don’t know exactly. Nobody does.

Q. Can you give me a rough estimate?
A. It wouldn’t be a good estimate.

Q. How long did it take you to get YOUR (valuable item)?
A. That’s probably the best approach, but I never got a (valuable item) before. Maybe another poster can help you. Check this thread for mentions of the (valuable item)

Q. I want really GOOOD items… what should I do?
A. Kill high level monsters, and bosses when you can.

Q. How long DOES it take to get an item to drop?
A. It depends on how quickly you kill enemies. A melee player will make 500-1000 kills an hour. They will PROBABLY find a valuable drop in 1-3 hours on average. Lightning mages kill a lot faster so they make more. A player who kills more slowly, will have to search longer. Players have gone days without seeing item drops, and some report getting an item in 15 minutes.

Q. Do items all drop at the same rarity?
A. No. Leftovers are most common, then ores/booby prizes, equipment prizes, and finaly scrolls.

Q. Do all EQUIPMENTS drop at the same rarity?
A. No. The game hands out armors most often, then weapons, then shields, capes, and throwing stars. Higher level gear simply drops less often as well.

Q. Then why are Pink Jesters so common? Weight Earrings? Sky Blue Umbrella? Korean Fan?
A. Pink Jesters and Weight earrings are each dropped by Zombie Mushroom. Lv 30+ Clerics blast them by the sackful while they are leveling up with Heal, so there are a lot of Pink Jesters and Weight Earrings dropped. Sky Blue Umbrella and Korean Fan each drop from Lorangs, who Lightning Mages pick on as they’re older, so sky blue umbrella is much more common a sight, and Korean Fan is a little more common.

Q. Can multiple items drop at the same time?
A. Yes. You basically have to win them all seperately.

Q. Can I get 2 Pan Lids at once, from one Green Mushroom?
A. Yes. The way the lotto is set up, the same rare item will drop more than once from a monster, if you win them seperately.

Q. What about 2 leftovers? 2 coins?
A. The more common drops will not drop in duplicate. For certain, you only recieve at most one leftover of each kind and one coin from a monster. The coins are different for bosses which drop a lot of money, but each monster will still only drop one leftover.

Q. It’s all luck. This FAQ is pointless.
A. It isn’t. And it isn’t.

Q. I can psychically predict when my heart earrings were going to drop omgomgomg ~
A. Okay. Please, we’d love to see demonstrations and logic of how that works.

Q. Why can’t I find the $^&* throwing stars/shield?
A. They drop less than other objects.

Q. Does it help to get out of a crowded area?
A. Crowded areas have higher respawn rates, so it comes down to whether of not you’re getting enough kills. Superstitions abound, but statistically your lotto tickets are as good in a crowded place as anywhere else, and because someone else ‘gets your drop’ doesn’t mean YOU would have got it anyway.
On a practical note, in some maps you want to stay near your drops in case of looters.

Q. What about Double Drop periods?
A. It does not make monsters draw twice. A monster won’t drop 2 mesos or 2 leftovers.
During these times, the CHANCE that each type of element (meso, leftover, minor item, jackpot) will drop, is doubled. So you get twice as much chance to get anything or everything.
As a result, the monsters just drop a LOT more STUFF… and you get slightly better chances of getting a real prize. =D

Q. I just got (insert item here)!! Am I lucky?
A.
(A potion/arrow) — those drop all the time.
(An ore) — not really. You will get more. Keep playing.
(An item) — is it something you could use? Or a lot higher level than you? If it is, way to go!
(A % item improvement scroll) — Yes. Yes, you are lucky. Go to the free market and see what other people sell it for. The you’ll know how much money you just found. =D

Argument: C.Rog doesn’t always drop a scroll!
Response: Thanks for the update. I have changed the guide accordingly.
—
VII. CONCLUSION and accredits

This concludes the FAQ.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to post anything you think should be added to the FAQ.
Much of the item search advice is dependent on theory. Feel free to rant about your own experiences searching for items. Information on what specific monsters tend to drop, would be welcome.

If you post superstitions, they will be added to the FAQ as such. This includes superstitions that you tout as fact. But they will be added, so feel free to mention any serious ones you have.

Feel free to post with requests for specific information on hunting any item, and I will share what I know.

Most of this information was gathered from Sleepywood.Net and Hidden-street.
The FAQ is based entirely on the game MapleStory (global version) and 90% of the things mentioned are property of Wizet. If you contribute to the improvement of the FAQ I will gladly mention you.

Thanks again for reading.

~ Tolinar