Nexon (co-CEOs Kang Dae-hyun and Kim Jung-wook) announced on the 18th that it has launched the first part of its massive summer update for the popular online game 'MapleStory,' which includes the new job 'Lethe.'

The new job, 'Lethe, Ruler of the Covenant,' is an Asmodian Mage from Masteria. Lethe uses a parchment-style weapon and specializes in controlling various summons to fight. Players can call forth contracted summons to attack and use skills to buff them, increasing their attack speed or duration. Additionally, by using 'Edict' and 'Overload' skills at set intervals, players can issue powerful attack commands to their summons.

To celebrate the update, the 'New Mercenary Support Mission' event will run until September 16 to assist in character growth. Any character created after the June 18 update can participate. Upon completing growth missions, players can earn various rewards, including a 'Unique Emblem/Secondary Weapon Chest' and a '100% Karma Additional Epic Potential Scroll.' Specifically, those who participate with the new 'Lethe' job will receive additional cosmetic items such as the 'Lethe's Mansion Custom Background Coupon' and the 'Character Selection Screen Theme Coupon - Lethe's Mansion.'

The update also introduces 'Challengers World Season 4.' Running until September 16, this season features various improvements, including new tiers, rewards, and support benefits. Replacing the previous 'Hunting Missions,' the game now includes 'Weekly Growth Missions'—where players earn rewards by completing just one of several tasks like clearing Monster Park, eliminating Level Range Monsters, or finishing daily quests—and 'Season Missions' achievable during character progression. Furthermore, a 'Sapphire' tier has been added between 'Emerald' and 'Diamond,' and a 'Super Challenger' tier has been introduced for top-tier players, with rewards reorganized to match character growth. One designated character will receive support for 'Sol Janus' level 30 during the Challengers World period, and those reaching the 'Challenger' tier or higher will receive a 'Sol Janus Skill Enhancement Coupon (Level 20).' Additionally, convenience has been improved by extending the Challengers Pass duration from 8 to 13 weeks and allowing trade sharing with the Maple Auction of existing worlds.

Alongside this, the new Season 4 boss, 'Meilin, Guide of Fate,' has been unveiled. Players can challenge the boss solo, with the Normal difficulty requiring level 270 and Hard difficulty requiring level 280. The core of the battle involves selecting and using the 'Chaos of Fate' skill—a skill from other jobs—at set intervals, and strategically utilizing the powerful exclusive skill 'Order of Fate.' Defeating the boss yields rewards such as 'Meilin's Black Accessory Chest' and 'Fate's Eternal Armor Chest.' Clearing missions also provides rewards like the 'Guide of Fate Costume Set Coupon' and 'Great Meilin's Soul Chest,' with first-come, first-served rewards for the first players to clear the Hard difficulty.

The summer event 'Mission Ultima' is also underway. Set in the new region of 'Ultima Polis' in central Grandis, this event runs until September 16. It features diverse content, including the 'Supply Journal' attendance event, the 'Ultima Archive' which unlocks major stories upon completing weekly attendance, and 'Atherion Artifacts' that allow players to boost temporary stats using 'Atherion,' a tradable resource collected by eliminating Level Range Monsters and bosses. Other events include the special dungeon 'Specter Blast,' where players take on the roles of 'Gaon' and 'Keira' to eliminate Specters for massive EXP, and 'Merchant Guild Supply Support,' which provides additional EXP through 'Shadow Merchant Guild Chests' that appear when eliminating Level Range Monsters.

During the same period, burning events will be held to support rapid growth. These include 'Hyper Burning MAX,' which provides 1+4 level-up benefits from level 10 to 260, and the new 'Hyper Blink' event, which offers an additional 5k% EXP benefit from level 200 to 260. The 'Burning BEYOND' 1+1 level-up benefit has been extended from level 270 to 280, and 'Item Burning PLUS' has been revamped to provide better growth equipment. Additionally, the 'Genesis Pass' has been relaunched to support Genesis weapon liberation, and the new 'Genesis Pass PLUS' has been added to allow players to enjoy further content after liberation.

Furthermore, various improvements have been implemented to enhance the overall gameplay experience. These include reducing boss challenge time limits to 20 minutes, lowering boss HP, adding a sweep mode to Monster Park, and reducing the number of stages in Epic Dungeons to shorten the time required for major content. New 'Petite Luna Skills' have been introduced based on the number of 'Petite Luna' pets owned, and world-shared pet slots have been added. Other wide-ranging convenience improvements include a revamp of the Union attacker placement system, guild-unit world joining, the addition of practice modes for each boss monster phase, a complete overhaul of the 'Maple Auction,' the addition of 'Monster Park Hands,' and an increase in the Sol Erda holding limit.

More detailed information regarding the massive first summer update for 'MapleStory,' including the new job 'Lethe,' can be found on the official website.