CONTENTS:

(To find something quickly, press Ctrl + F and type in the 5
number/lettercode next to the section you want, and click Find twice)

Concerning the PQ in general ------------------ CTPQG
STAGE 1 --------------------------------------- STG01
STAGE 2 --------------------------------------- STG02
STAGE 3 --------------------------------------- STG03
STAGE 4 --------------------------------------- STG04
STAGE 5 --------------------------------------- STG05
How to fight the Slime King ------------------- HTFSK
BONUS STAGE ----------------------------------- BNSTG
General notes on KPQ for each character class - GNECC
PQ Etiquette and manners ---------------------- PQETQ
Order of members in terms of Efficiency ------- OMEFC
How to get picked/pick ------------------------ HTGPP
What to do if someone dies or DC's ------------ DTHDC
Kicking People -------------------------------- KKPPL
Getting back into your PQ when finished ------- GBPQF
Updates List ---------------------------------- UPLST
Acknowledgements ------------------------------ AKDTS

Concerning the PQ in general: [CTPQG]

The Kerning City PQ is located in (gasp) Kerning City, down by the
sewers near the weapon shop.
The way to get into the PQ is to have a party of 4 people of levels
between 21-30 inclusively, and to have the leader talk to the
nearby NPC 'Lakelis' (By the way, this is written from Mapleglobal,
I don't know if names are different in the Europe version).
If no party is already attempting to PQ, the screen will black out
and you will appear inside a marshy, swampy area. Well done,
you've entered the PQ (If you want to leave, talk to Nella).
There is the possibility that some party has already
gotten in – you will receive a message saying 'Some other party has
already gotten in to attempt the quest'. If so, wait for them to finish,
or change channels to try again. The best time for Party Questing
(On MAPLEGLOBAL) is 7-10am GMT, or 1-5am EST.  This is because
Mapleglobal users are mostly based in America, and they tend to be
asleep at this time, meaning the servers are less crowded.

KPQ is, from 25-30, at the time of writing, the fastest, most fun
and most profitable method of training. I met many of my friends here
– and made most of my money. Possible rewards include:

Earrings,
Bamboo hats
10% scrolls for Glove/Overall DEX
10% scrolls for Top/Bottom/Overall for DEF
Potions
Mineral/jewel ores
Screws

Onto the individual stages of the PQ – of which there are 5.

STAGE 1: [STG01]

This is the stage that takes the longest (usually). The leader must
collect 3 passes from the other 3 members of the party, who have to
attain these passes through answering a question from the NPC to
the right side of the map (Cloto). She will ask you a question from
 the following (the answer is listed to the right):

What Level do you need to become a Magician? (8)
What Level do you need to become a Bowman? (10)
What Level do you need to become a Thief? (10)
What Level do you need to become a Warrior? (10)
How much EXP is required from lvl 1 to lvl 2? (15)
How much INT is required to become a Magician? (20)
How much DEX is required to become a Thief? (25)
How much DEX is required to become a Bowman? (25)
How much STR is required to become a Warrior? (35)

Sounds simple? Well, you have to answer by having the answer
in 'Coupons' in
your ETC inventory – which you get from killing the Ligators around
the map. These have about 600hp (not sure on that, actually) and a base
hit of about 130 (be CAREFUL, I've seen many people die here – magicians
especially, use Magic Guard if you can).
They have a 100% chance to drop a coupon. Collect the right number of
coupons to answer the question, then give them to Cloto for a pass
(make sure you have a space in your ETC inventory). Once you get this,
give it to the party leader through Trade or just drop it and let them
pick it up (faster). Once they have all 3, they need to click on Cloto
to advance to the next stage. You will be rewarded with 100 exp.

Note: The Ligators are actually very good experience for the party –
kill extra if you want.

Extra Tip: If a low level member who cannot kill quickly has a high
number to collect like 35, it is possible to switch the Leader
position to that member, excusing him/her from having to collect.
The previous leader can then recieve a new question from Cloto,
hopefully with less coupons needed. This saves a lot of time.
Alternatively, once the stronger members have finished, they
can kill Ligators and leave the coupons for the weaker members.
Teamwork is important here - it saves MASSIVE amounts of time.

STAGE 2: [STG02]

The fastest stage – there are 4 ropes hanging from 4 platforms here.
Three members of the PQ have to hang on to these ropes in order to
find a 'password' to clear the stage. The stage is set out with 2
platforms next to each other, with the ropes hanging down, and 2
platforms directly above those,with ropes as well. The traditional
way to complete this stage is as follows (and make sure you
follow this procedure, as people tend to get annoyed otherwise):

1. Two party members hang on to the bottom two ropes, one hangs
on the top left – leader stands by Cloto and double clicks her to
check if the 'password' is right.

2. If the message CLEAR appears, you will be awarded 200 exp
and you can go to Stage 3 through the portal to the right.
If not, the member on the top left should shift to the top right.
Have the leader click again.

3. If CLEAR, move on. If not, bottom left member moves to top
right. Check again.

4. If CLEAR, move on. If not, bottom right moves to bottom left.
Check again – if none of the previous were right, this one will be.
Move on to stage 3.

STAGE 3: [STG03]

This is similar to Stage 2, however this time you have 5 platforms,
each with a different number of (extremely cute ^_^) kittens on –
from 1 to 5. Each member will stand on one to find the password
for this stage:

Start by having your 3 members on 1, 2 and 3. Check if this is right
with Cloto. If not, change to these platforms IN THIS ORDER and check
each one.

(You may want to write this down and have it by your computer screen
the first few times)

124
125
134
135
145
234
235
245
345

One of these will be CLEAR. Once you get CLEAR move onto to Stage 4 –
you will be awarded 400 exp.

STAGE 4: [STG04]

This is very similar to Stage 3 in how it works – it is simply longer.
This time, you have a pile of barrels numbered 1 to 6 (it can be quite
annoying to jump between them).
Start on 1, 2 and 3 and check this with Cloto, if it's WRONG then
continue with THIS ORDER EXACTLY - or people will get annoyed at you
and call you a noob =(

(You may want to write this down and have it by your computer
screen the first few times)

124
125
126
134
135
136
145
146
156
234
235
236
245
246
256
345
346
356
456

Once you get the CLEAR message, you will be awarded 600 exp.
Head through the portal.

STAGE 5: [STG05]

This is arguably the most difficult stage, but can be completed quickly
with teamwork. This is not a puzzle stage, this is a combat stage –
there are three levels to it. The objective is for the leader to
collect 10 passes from the monsters.

Part 1: The first platform has 3 Curse Eyes on it. They move fast,
hit hard and have quite a chunk of HP, but give you good exp.
Each will drop a Pass.

Part 2: Here there are 6 Jr Necki's. They have less hp, but move
fast and hit quite hard. They are also very difficult to hit for
a warrior. They will each drop a Pass.

Part 3:

The Slime King – don't rush into this without your party members
– it can hit 250 fairly easily with it's area attack.

__________________________________________________________________

Fighting the Slime King: [HTFSK]

Teamfighting: The Slime King is a giant slime monster, with 8000 hp
and 150 touch damage.

It has an attack where it will jump and land with a white cloud when
it impacts, this will hit everyone nearby for about 250
(BE CAREFUL – MAGES USE MAGIC GUARD).

The trick here is to just attack, attack and attack. Drink a HP pot
WHENEVER you get hit, and drink MP as necessary. Just keep plugging
away at the huge creature until it dies and drops a pass. You can
avoid his area attack if you jump just before he hits the ground.

Solo-Style: Occasionally an experienced member of the party will ask
to fight it solo (one on one). If you want to try this, follow the
above guidelines for Teamfighting, but PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR HP AND MP.
The best solo fighters are Mages, Assassins and Archers. If you are a
Warrior, don't try to solo, it'll take too long due to your low accuracy.
Bandits can do this, but your low HP makes it difficult and dangerous.
Brawlers can do this as well, at 25+. I wouldn't recommend it though,
as you still get hit a lot.

Mages: Use Magic Guard and drink your potions as necessary (KEEP AN EYE
ON MP – IF IT RUNS OUT YOU'LL GET HIT MUCH HARDER THAN YOU EXPECTED.
YOU MAY DIE). Keep attacking him with the Magic Claws.

Assassins: Dexless assassins with Ilbis/Steely's will have a wonderful
time with the Slime King; you'll quickly bring his massive HP down with
your deadly and accurate attacks. Don't get overconfident though, you
still don't have much HP to take his attacks with. Remember your jump
attacks to avoid his area strike.

Archers: You have a long range, a nice cushion of hp and a high accuracy.
You'll just sit and pump out the Double Shots. However, you can't Jump
Attack very well at all, so you'll get hit by the area strikes.
Remember your potions and you'll be fine.

Gunslingers: More or less the same as the Assassins - only notable
difference is that you have a slight disadvantage in how your attacks
are weaker but faster. This means that each of your weaker hits has
to contend with the Slime King's relatively high Weapon Defence,
so you'll kill it a bit slower than Assassins would.

Well there you go, that's how to fight the Slime King. Or, as I call
him, Sir Slimey. Or, as KnightKurisu calls him, Dave. Don't ask why,
I don't know either.

__________________________________________________________________

Once you have defeated the Slime King and taken his pass, your leader
should have 10 (some people leave the Curse Eyes until last, so you
might have to fight them after the Slime King). Go back up the map to
Cloto and speak to her. Make sure you have a space or two in your
Equip, Use and Etc Inventories. Once the CLEAR message shows, you'll
be rewarded with 1500 Exp and an item from the rewards listed
in the 'Concerning the PQ in General' section. You'll appear in
the Bonus Stage.

BONUS STAGE: [BNSTG]

This is a map of Horny Mushrooms (after three years I still find that
amusing) and Green Mushrooms. They have normal exp and drops – you can
stay here until the timer runs out or just leave by talking to Nella.
Not much more to say on this.

General notes on KPQ for each character class: [GNECC]

This section deals with the problems each character class faces
when KPQing, and how to overcome them.

Warrior: Playing KPQ as a Warrior is tough going until level 27+.
Your main issues are ludicrously unstable damage and low accuracy,
as well as having to fight up close.
You cannot really solve these but it helps a lot if you deviate
slightly from the traditional Warrior +2 Dex +3 Str build. For a
few levels between 22-25, change your build to +4 Dex +1 Str. This
gives you higher accuracy and minimum damage for the PQ. Once you
can hit the monsters well enough, add all your points into Str until
you're back on the normal build. If you can afford some 100% Dex
scrolls which boost accuracy on your equipments, that helps a bit.

Bandit: You have a similar problem to the Warrior in your close-range
fighting style. The reason this is a problem for Bandits is that they
do not have the same amounts of Weapon Defence and HP as a Warrior,
so they'll lose a lot of health. Potions are the way around this, but
they get expensive after a while. Your higher accuracy, however, means
you can PQ just fine at levels 26/27+.

Assassin: The best class for PQing, but the problem remains of minimum
range - killing Ligators can be irritating. Luckily, you have the
ability to Jump Attack, so you'll be fine.

Archer: Your greatest problem is unstable damage and minimum range.
You will find yourself hitting anywhere from 1-250 with Critical
Double Shots, and often as not whacking Ligators with your weapon.
Even if you're a Crossbowman, the best way to PQ is with the Lv25
Bow (which needs 30 Str), as it has a Fast attack speed, allowing
you to get off more shots before the monsters get too close.

Mage: Low health is your only problem. Easily solved with Magic Guard,
which costs a lot of MP, but if you're funded enough to afford all
the MP potions you need, you'll be just fine.

Brawler: Same as Bandit.

Gunslinger: More or less same as Assassin, only difference being
your slightly lower damage. As the monsters all have fairly high
Weapon Defence, this puts you at a mild disadvantage, but you'll
still do alright.

PQ Etiquette and manners: [PQETQ]

Here are a few basic unspoken laws and general manners in PQ, which
I sincerely advise you to follow:

1: If your leader 'misses' and another party gets in before you,
DO NOT cuss them out and make a noob of yourself. Remember, 'he who
calleth another a noob sees not another person, but merely a mirror image'
(Thanks KnightKurisu for your words of wisdom ^_^) If you think the
party is full of idiots, just leave. Alternatively, save everyone
hassle and just wait or change channels to try again.

2: If, during any point, you need to go AFK for a few minutes,
politely inform your party members of this. If this is during Stage 1
and you need someone to get your coupons for you, ask POLITELY and
say please, and thank you when you get back.

3: If one of your party members does the above and goes AFK: DO NOT call
them noobs or cuss them out. Sitting around with the F7 expression or
aimless poking of the AFKer is still ok. ^_^

4: If someone can't get into position on Stage 4 due to bad
co-ordination or something, don't cuss them, just wait for them.

5: If someone doesn't know the traditional order for the puzzle
stages, explain calmly.

6: If someone dies (more on that in a minute) tell them to meet you
outside the PQ again.

7: Even if you don't get along with the other party members, don't
leave/kick anyone, because this will end the PQ and lose everyone
Exp and time.

8: If someone ruins your solo on the Slime King, or someone rushes
ahead and steals all the Necki kills (happens a lot) just ask them
not to do it again, don't start swearing.

9: If there are passes lying around, pick them up and take them to the
leader.

10: If you continually get bad rewards, it's no-one elses fault. Don't
blame the party for your bad luck. Similarly, if you get 3 Overall
DEX scrolls in a row, don't brag. Inform your members what you got,
though, since they may wish to swap or buy from you.

11: If you finish Stage 1 early, or are the leader, help the weakest
members or the ones with the largest amount of coupons to collect.

12: Make use of your character expressions. Using F2 when entering
the PQ, or giving your passes to the leader, or after killing King
Slime etc, helps lighten the atmosphere.

13. There is some theory that the ordinary slimes spawned when the
King Slime dies shouldn't be killed because it affects the reward
– I personally haven't noticed any difference either way over
hundreds of PQ's, but hey, there might be something in it, so
don't kill them.

~To summarise, just try and be nice. It makes the PQ much
more fun and infinitely easier.~

Order of members in terms of Efficiency: [OMEFC]

This is simply a list of how good individual jobs are at KPQing.

1st – Dexless Assassin (with Ilbis/Steely's these guys are godly)
2nd – Luckless Mage
3rd – Ordinary Assassin
4th - Gunslinger
5th - Ordinary Mage
6th – Archer (Bow or Crossbow)
7th – Dexless Bandit
8th - Brawler
9th – Bandit (They need to fight up close, making them slower
than other classes)
10th – Warrior (any class, due to low speed, accuracy and
necessity for close combat)

(I am unsure about pure brawlers and gunslingers, but I imagine
a pure 'slinger would be a rank above Ordinary Assassin, and pure
brawler a rank above Dexless Bandit.)

How to get picked/pick: [HTGPP]

How to be picked: 

In order to join a KPQ team, go to Channel 1 Kerning City outside
of the PQ. Stand around the crowds and say the following.

J> PQ (Add on your level and class if you like) (adding on that
you are 'Exp'd' also helps in being picked, although don't say
you're Experienced unless you actually are.

A classic example, and something that I might use, would be:
"J> PQ – Lvl 27 Mage – Exp'd" (replace the level and class
with whatever yours is).

Having some form of NX outfit, particularly the hair, will help.

If you're an assassin, state what type of stars you throw.
If it's above Icy's, this will help.

If you are below lvl 25, don't expect to be picked very much,
especially in Scania.

How to pick:

In order to find members for a KPQ team, go to Ch1 Kerning City,
outside the PQ. Stand around the crowds and say something similar to:

L> PQ Members.
You will probably get people following you saying 'Me!'

Who to choose: Use the 'Order of members in terms of Efficiency'
list just above this to select your members, but remember that
warriors, bandits and brawlers can KPQ efficiently as well at 25+.

Also, as a personal aside, don't pick people who're filling the
screen with 'J> PQ@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@'
messages. These people, although they probably know how to do the PQ,
don't tend to be particularly helpful beyond doing the bare minimum.

Kicking People:  [KKPPL]

In a PQ, you may find yourself in a state of disagreement with another
member. If so, simply try to remain silent and carry on PQing. Even if
it gets to the state where you firmly no longer wish to PQ with the
person in question, try to get to the end of the current PQ before
leaving/kicking them.

Although it is preferable to try and get through the PQ without
any disputes, and much as I despise the use of the word 'Noob',
occasionally you will get landed with someone for whom 'noob' is the
only available description. This sort of person will not only have
no idea how to do the PQ, but will purposefully obstruct the other
members of the party, and might use obscene language as well.
I have actually in the past had one of these people threatening to
kill me after I kicked him for being obscene to another member.

If you manage to get into a party with one of these abhorrent entities,
firmly request that the leader kick them. If you are the leader,
you get to personally kiss the fool goodbye. If the leader doesn't
agree to kick them, just leave the party – it is quicker exp to
just get on with it and find another party than to try and put up
with this person.

What to do if someone dies or DC's:  [DTHDC]

DC means disconnect.

If this happens, you will be left with 3 people. Don't panic, you
can still complete the PQ. If you're in Stage 1 when this happens,
you will only need 2 passes. The 3 puzzle stages need 3 people to
complete, and the leader can hang on a rope or stand on a
platform/barrel like a normal member to fill the requirement.

If 2 people die, you will be left with 2. If this happens
before the puzzle stages are done, quit, since you can't carry on.
If it happens on Stage 5 it's fine, you can still kill the King and
complete the PQ with 2 people.

I've never been in a PQ where everyone but me has died before (I like
to keep my members alive… ^_^ cleric at heart), but I believe the
PQ ends if this happens.

If someone DC's, carry on as if they had died. After the PQ is
finished, you will probably need to find a new member to replace the
disconnected person. Again, if several people DC before the puzzles
are done with, quit the PQ and find more members.

Getting back into your PQ when finished:  [GBPQF]

In order to swiftly get back into the PQ when finished, instead
of waiting around, have one person leave the bonus stage (as long
as 2 people including the leader remain in the bonus no-one
else will be able to enter the PQ) to check whether there are
any parties outside waiting.

If so, try to 'Rush'. This means everyone leaves the PQ,
activates Nimble Feet if they have it (which you should) and
runs like mad back to the PQ start. The leader then clicks
Lakelis again and re-enters your party for the PQ, hopefully
without the other group trying to enter while your party is running
through Kerning City.

If there is no-one outside, you can be a bit less frantic with
the Rush tactic, but try to get there quickly.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you get there within 10 seconds of
leaving the last PQ, it will say there is a party already
in there. There isn't. Wait for a few seconds and try again,
it should let you in.

Any way you do this, you should always use a scout.

There is a method to PQing called smuggling, which involves
exploiting the game mechanics to take your coupons outside of the PQ
and then re-entering to do the stages more quickly. I won't explain it,
since I disapprove of such exploitation. If you want to smuggle,
get someone else to tell you how. I will say however that it's not
much faster than normal PQing, and there's the risk of missing when
you leave the PQ, so it really isn't worth it.

Updates List: [UPLST]

V1.1 - Fixed an error with Stage 3, got rid of a spelling mistake,
added the 'General notes on KPQ for each character class' section,
and updated to include the new Pirate job. :)

Acknowledgements: [AKDTS]

Well I make that a finished guide! There will be updates in the future
if someone tells me I've missed something (which may well be possible,
I'm a bit of an airhead), so check back if you want.

A big thank you to the following:

Nexon + Wizet, for Maplestory =)

KnightKurisu, for his endless support, impenetrable logic
and words of wisdom.

Me, for writing the guide ^_^

And YOU, for taking the time to read it!

Remember, feel free to e-mail me or add me on MSN/AIM
or Whisper me ingame if you have questions. The addresses
are at the top of the FAQ.

Again, thank you ^_^

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