FAQ - What Makes Castela different

Isn't this server just the Heaven MS public source, repackaged up with minor tweaks?

The source code that we're using is called Heaven. It's a public source that can be accessed here, where many of the basic v83 features work, and other parts are completely broken. Castela is far more developed & customised than a standard Heaven server though. We've re-worked a large amount on the client (the game window that pops up when you play), stabilising it so you won't crash when bossing. Through these client edits, we've been able to add completely new skills (hypers, Battle Mage and dozens of regular skills) that you won't find in other private servers. We've also amended thousands of items by hand to balance stats & progression, adjusted thousands more items in drop tables by hand, built entire new systems (some modelled on current GMS and others of our own design) and loads more changes over almost 3 years worth of development. While the bones of the Heaven public source are there, Castela is a completely unique iteration of v83 MapleStory based on our vision and the ideas of our community.

How does Castela balance it's classes in comparison to other servers?

Balancing is a difficult piece of work in v83 and people look at it from different viewpoints. For us, we want to give every class the opportunity to both multi-target (i.e. mob) and single-target (boss), so you'll find many of the changes we've made are to even the playing field across all jobs and classes. What this means is full-map attacks (FMAs) have been nerfed (30 second cooldown), all classes have their own single target skills (including new skills for Mages) and every class has a unique party skill (even Paladin, Corsair).

Why should I spend time on Castela versus other private servers?

The purpose of Castela is to create an enjoyable pre-Big Bang MapleStory experience for our players. There's 3 key things that truly set us apart from the rest. 

1. Every class and weapon type is playable - want to go Axe/Blunt Weapon as a Warrior? You can! We've changed the multipliers so you won't be impacted by your weapon choice. Every class has a role to play in the game, has been thoroughly tested and measured to ensure they're near-equals with each other. Mage single-target damage scales as they get further into the game, Buccaneers are a viable choice and every class has it's own party skill, including Corsair and Paladin.

2. Clear item progression - we've added in 10 more weapon and armor sets after level 120, meaning there's always a new challenge waiting. Stats on these items have been hand-edited, so you're getting a well thought through experience from the very outset of the game. You'll find these new sets when tackling bosses, including Von Leon, Empress, Krexel, Castellan Toad and more.

3. Custom quests helping you level - we currently have over 200 custom quests added to the game, all with unique rewards that will make you stronger. Go questing with your buddies or by yourself when you feel like taking it a bit slower, these quests help you gain levels fast, particularly from levels 40-170, when the game truly opens up.

How do I know you aren't here to just make some money via donations and disappear (aka a "cash-grab server")?

If you've been in the scene for a while, you'll understand where this statement has come from. 

There's a few thing to list off here:

1. Castela has been around since 2020, when Syntax, Stonks, Mike and a few Maplers got together to design a game that we'd want to play. We've had a public Discord since then, always interacting with players. We haven't ever re-branded since Castela's inception, hidden ourselves or avoided our players since the project's beginning in 2020 (many are still in our Discord from when we started). 

2. We have a real passion for our game, which is why it's never been transformed into a Pay-To-Win server. Donations are used to help maintain server costs (virtual server, DDOS protection, website host) and fund our own advertising budget to attract new players in, nothing else.

3. We've invested a huge amount of time to make our game as perfect as possible by working with our players over a long period of time. We've changed over 600 maps by hand to make them perfectly align to a larger client, created our own in-game widget, amended (manually) over 10,000 items in mob/boss drop tables, hand-written 150+ new quests into the game, painstakenly gone over packets to find dupes/exploits and much more over the last 4+ years. Our goal is to create a long-term, custom, free-to-play nostalgic server for players to enjoy.

Doesn't Castela wipe progress all the time?

Castela has had 4 wipes since 2020. One in September 2020, another in January 2021, in May 2021 and most recent one in December 2023. Each new version has it's refinements as we've taken what we've learned and built entirely new systems into the game that enhance it's playability, giving players a sense of fulfilment without making the game too quick and easy. You'll find some example of the changes in our Features page.

Since 2020 when we first brought the server live, we've always kept a Discord or Guilded server open with our players. All of the staff are very approachable and open to talking about what we've learnt over the years.

How is the owner of Castela different from other private servers?

Syntax is very easy going - you will find him always online and approachable. He's developed new skills, classes, item attributes, customised events and loads more into the game, along with a sophisticated anti-hack and anti-dupe protection. For him, MapleStory development is a real passion. If you treat him, his team and players with respect, you will get along really well with him! :)