LORE CHANGES
Below are a list of story changes made to storylines since the creation of the KMS story team. There have been many story changes and revamps in the past, but I’m only covering the ones from the Destiny update onwards, as that’s when I first created this site and began tracking these changes. Note that there may also be certain overseas storyline changes (such as Neo Tokyo), which have nothing to do with the KMS story team.
Explorer Storyline Revamp - Destiny Update:
The Explorer storyline has most of its original quests that take place from levels 1-100 adapted and condensed into levels 1-30 in the new storyline, with two such quests adapted into the new third and fourth job advancements. The requirements for their job advancements have also been changed such that collecting Dark Marbles, fighting the job instructor clone, and fighting Manon and Griffey is no longer required, as merely talking to the job instructor is sufficient.
All class-specific story paths have been removed. This means that regardless of whether the Explorer is a warrior, magician, etc., the storyline will be the same. This replaces the original feature in the old Explorer storyline, which has several slightly different storylines depending on the Explorer’s class. There is also a strong implication that the canon job for the Explorer is a warrior.
All references to the Explorer being Kao have been removed, likely to make it open-ended as to which class Kao could be. Consequently, there’s no reason for Tess to remember the Explorer from Ellin Forest, and so his personality changes and he treats the Explorer and the others somewhat standoffish and rudely, since he doesn’t recognize the Explorer as Kao, his best friend.
The Explorer hails from Maple Island, rather than the original explanation that they’ve come from another world. This means that the reason why the Gate to the Present opens to them during their storyline is because they hold a “special power”, rather than because they come from a different world from Maple World
A new backstory has been given to the Maple Tree, with the First Explorer being an Adversary who fought against the Ancient Gods eons ago until his will was scattered into the maple leaves. The Explorer inherits the will of the First Explorer after a maple leaf falls on them, which contains a fragment of the Adversary’s power.
The Explorer has been given a different characterization. Rather than being upbeat and positive, they’re crippled by self-doubt and initially don’t even feel worthy of becoming an Explorer until Sugar helps them become more confident.
Sugar essentially “dies” at the end of the Explorer’s main storyline after the Black Mage’s attack on Maple Island and returns to the Horizon Portal, where she assumes her true form as the Goddess of Maple World. Whereas Sugar remains present throughout the original Explorer storyline, she is absent in the new storyline from level 30 onwards, only reappearing in her Goddess form during the Explorer’s 5th job advancement until she temporarily returns as Sugar in the level 255 Aftermath cutscene.
Rather than the Black Mage’s Shadow being defeated by the blessing of the Goddess and the others buffing the Explorer, the Explorer now uses a fragment of the Adversary’s power from the maple leaf in order to defeat the shadow alone.
Destonen’s backstory has been changed and expanded. The poison that Ephenia and Kirston use to kill the refugees of Altaire Camp has been revealed to have come from a trace of the Black Mage’s power. While scouting Victoria Island, Destonen finds Kirston’s tent and learns that he’s trying to revive the Black Mage. Kirston then arrives and curses Destonen’s bloodline with the Black Mage’s power such that it can only break if the Black Mage dies.
Destonen returns to Altaire Camp and finds that his wife, Yuris, has died from the poison after giving birth to Kyrin. Destonen also dies shortly after explaining the curse to Tess and Athena. Tess discovers half of Destonen’s curse mark on his neck and the other half on Kyrin’s hand. Realizing that the curse worsens when they’re in close proximity, Tess decides to leave Kyrin in order to save both their lives until he can find a way to break the curse.
The plot with the Seal Stones has been changed. Rather than the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert being stolen, it’s the Seal Stone of Victoria Island, which was stolen by the Black Wings while it was being transported after Lilin entrusts it to Athena Pierce. The plot with the five Explorers combining their will to transform the maple leaf into the Seal Stone of Maple Island has been changed to the Explorer using the Seal Stone of Victoria Island alone to undo the damage done by the Black Mage. This retcons the lore that the Seal Stones can only be used for the land that they were created for, as well as the lore that the combined will of five individuals is needed to use the Seal Stone.
The quest that involves each of the Explorers seeking out a different Hero of Maple has been changed. Rather than the Explorers seeking out the Heroes to ask about how to use the Seal Stones to save Maple Island, this quest now replaces the old Maple Alliance storyline for Explorers. Rather than the Explorer seeking out the hero of their respective job, they now seek out Luminous in order to ask him whether the Heroes can reseal the Black Mage now that he’s free.
The Explorer’s job advancements now include dialogue from the voice of the First Explorer, similar to the voice from the knight statue in Adele’s storyline. The voice continually tells the Explorer to remember their desire to protect others, claiming that it will be the key in the future. This is because that desire is the key to wielding the Adversary’s power in Tenebris. The Explorer’s third job advancement adapts the old level 25 magician quest to help Rondo while their fourth job advancement has them learn Tess’ backstory.
During the Explorer’s 5th job advancement, the First Explorer speaks to them for the last time after the Explorer obtains the Arcane Stone of Maple World. He reveals that the Overseers had granted him the power to quell the primordial chaos, and that Sugar had been by his side eons ago, tasked with guiding him on his mission until his death.
The Aftermath cutscene has been slightly changed. Before the main cutscene, Tess tearfully reunites with Kyrin after the death of the Black Mage breaks the curse on their bloodline. The four Explorers then meet under the Maple Tree, where Sugar unexpectedly appears and explains that she’s been watching the Explorer every step of their journey. She says that it would be too difficult for her to keep maintaining her current form and asks the Explorer to one day meet her again under the Maple Tree.
The Cannoneer’s storyline has been updated to fit better with the Explorer storyline. Previously, the Cannoneer started on a ship to Maple Island when a Crimson Balrog attacked, leaving him stranded on Coco Island before escaping to Victoria Island. This created a continuity error, in which the Cannoneer references his time on Maple Island in the Explorer storyline, despite him never having been there. His new storyline has him follow the new Explorer storyline, except he boards another ship because the Shangri-La is full. He then gets attacked and lands on Coco Island, after which his story is the same as the new main Explorer storyline upon arriving at Victoria Island.
Similarly, Dual Blade now starts on Maple Island instead of the Secret Garden and follows the new Explorer tutorial until he lands on Victoria Island and becomes a Dual Blade. After his first job advancement, he follows the main Explorer storyline until second job, after which his Dual Blade storyline plays out. The Dual Blade storyline has not been changed.
Ellin Forest Revamp - KMS 19th Anniversary Update:
A new premise has been given to Ellin Forest. Rather than Spiegelmann inviting the player to Ellin Forest, Wiz the Librarian now calls the player to Helios Tower after finding a record in a book about Ellin Forest that shows someone of the player’s exact description in the past.
Time travel mechanics have been defined in the game. Rather than operating on the principle of multiverses that split off from changes in the timeline, it is now established that the Overseers defined the laws of time to operate on a causal loop. This ensures that the past will always remain fixed, thus maintaining a predetermined fate. This is why the player was said to have killed Ephenia in Wiz’s book, as it was always meant to have happened, rather than it being an act of changing the future.
Kao and all mentions of them have been removed from Ellin Forest. Rather than the player being mistaken as Kao, they now appear as a stranger to the people of Altaire Camp. In the case of the Heroes and the Demon, their faces appear different from their normal appearances. This has been established as one of the mechanics created by the Overseers in order to prevent time paradoxes.
Loha has had her role in the story removed, although she is still present. On the other hand, Kanderune, Rius, and Shadrion have been completely removed from the game. Kanderune’s role has instead been given to Destonen, in which the player helps clear the path for his exploration by defeating Chao and the other wild boars inside Chao’s cave.
There is a new subplot involving the player hoping to change the past by preventing Destonen’s death at the hands of Kirston. This subplot replaces the generic quests to help the people of Altaire Camp, which were originally given by Shadrion and Rius. The player attempts to stop Destonen from entering Kirston’s tent, which would lead to his bloodline being cursed, but the laws of time ultimately make it so that Destonen dies in spite of the player’s actions.
It has been revealed that the destiny of any fairy ruler, regardless of their race, is tied to that of their subjects. This principle was first introduced with Mercedes’ storyline, explaining why her subjects were frozen alongside her, but it now also explains why Ephenia’s corruption has spread to her subjects.
It has been revealed that the rain in Ellin Forest has been artificially cast by Perzen in order to settle the large amounts of dust which had been scattered into the air after Victoria Island separated from Ossyria.
Minor changes have been made to Aran’s Seal Stone of Ellin Forest quest and Luminous’ Guwaru quest, in which both characters enter Ellin Forest before the events of the theme dungeon. Aran and Luminous’ appearances now change, in accordance with the new laws of time travel, and it is now established that objects from the past cannot be moved outside their time, with the exception of the Seal Stones.
Kao’s Journey - KMS 19th Anniversary Update:
Kao’s storyline has been reorganized in order to provide a timeline of their actions. With the removal of Kao from the Explorer storyline and the Ellin Forest storyline, Kao only appears in the amnesiac Temple Keeper storyline and Vanishing Journey.
It has been revealed that Arma was an Erda creature corrupted by Tana while being escorted to the Black Mage by Arkarium. Arma was responsible for draining a portion of Kao’s power.
This power deficit resulted in Kao being unable to save Ollie after she was branded by Will’s poison and attacked by the Executors, causing her to succumb to her injuries.
Because of Ollie’s death, Kao chose to not give in to hesitation and made the choice to kill Tana, keeping them stuck on the Path of Destiny. Kao’s lack of determination prevented them from summoning the power of the Adversary, and as a result, they were unable to kill Tana, an immortal Transcendent.
Kao eventually lost to the Black Mage at Limina. The Genesis Ritual succeeded and erased the three worlds, leaving a new one in its place. The White Mage and Kao were the only two people to exist in the new world. Though the White Mage succeeded in creating a new world, Kao’s failure to kill him meant that the Overseers still had a hold on it through the White Mage, the last Transcendent.
The White Mage peered into Kao’s memories and realized that he hadn’t accounted for Tana’s ability to corrupt the Erdas in the Arcane River. He used his power to transport Kao to the past in order to have them warn the player about Arma.
Kao emerged through the Gate of the Past. However, forcing one’s way through the gate without permission causes them to lose their memories. Kao was found by the Temple Keepers, who gave them the name “Kao”, meaning “chaos”, to represent the undefinable meaning of time.
Kao was made a Temple Keeper and frequently lost their memories until they encounter the player during the amnesiac Temple Keeper questline, at which point the events of the main storyline proceed.
Mihile Storyline Revamp - Ignition Update:
Mihile’s storyline has been completely revamped.
The Knight of Light, which was previously a title bestowed uniquely upon Chromile and Mihile, now refers to the Empress’ official guardian. The Knight of Light has served the Empress for generations, with the title passing down from each Knight of Light to their disciple. There have been Knights of Light even during the period between the death of Empress Aria and the coronation of Empress Cygnus.
Freud is revealed to have created and distributed the Seal Stones before Empress Aria’s death, which means that he had done so before Phantom joined the Heroes. Freud personally visited Shinsoo in Ereve and gave her the Seal Stone of Ereve.
It is shown that during Lotus and Orchid’s attack on Ereve, the Knight of Light who had served Aria had been killed while defending her. With Aria’s death, Shinsoo was weakened without an Empress to wield her power. Because of this, she entrusted the Seal Stone to the disciple of the Knight of Light, who placed it within his Soul Shield. The Knight of Light then became the official guardian of the Seal Stone, as they are the only ones capable of extracting the Seal Stone from within the Soul Shield.
The Seal Stone of Ereve, which has been known as Shinsoo’s Teardrop since Aran’s storyline, now has a backstory about how it was given the name. It is revealed that Shinsoo named it in memory of Aria’s death.
Mihile’s backstory with Mr. Limbert has been removed. Instead, he is now the adopted son of Atan, a disciple of Chromile. Many years ago, Atan’s only son had died at a young age. Atan spent years searching for a way to bring his son back to life. After hearing the stories of Shinsoo’s Teardrop and its power to grant any wish, he came to Ereve and became a disciple of Chromile, hoping to be chosen as the next Knight of Light in order to gain the Soul Shield and the gemstone. Upon failing to be chosen, he attempted to steal it and was banished by Chromile as a result. Furious, he decided to take the Soul Shield while Chromile and his family were on a trip. During the attack, he killed Chromile and his wife, whose name has been revealed to be Ricella. Realizing that Mihile had the potential to become a Knight of Light, he kidnapped Mihile and raised him as his own son.
Mihile grows up in a remote land and is raised to believe that his older brother is Atan’s deceased son. He is raised to become the next Knight of Light in order to extract Shinsoo’s Teardrop from the Soul Shield and revive Atan’s son, whom he believes to be his brother.
Mihile’s meeting with Cygnus has been changed. Rather than Cygnus and Neinheart discovering Mihile and testing him, he instead accidentally stumbles upon Cygnus being attacked by wild dogs. After he saves her, they come into contact, which causes the Soul Shield to light up. Cygnus and Neinheart believe that Mihile is the Knight of Light whom they have been search for during their quest to grow the Cygnus Knights and recover Shinsoo’s Teardrop.
Empress Cygnus naming Mihile has been removed, as well as the meaning of the name being “Born of Light”.
Mihile comes with them to Ereve in order to train, as it is said that the Knight of Light can only awaken while in service to the Empress.
Mihile’s questline with Irena has been removed, along with him investigating unusual monster activity in Ellinia. However, his quest to recover an artifact of Empress Aria has remained in the revamped storyline.
Atan learns that Mihile has left and sieges Ereve by himself. Mihile attempts to defend Cygnus when Atan tries to strike her down, which shatters the activated Soul Shield and reveals the Seal Stone of Ereve. Atan attempts to use the Seal Stone to revive his son, but as the Seal Stones can only grant the wish of a population, his wish is not granted. Mihile and Atan fight, resulting in Atan falling off a cliff. Mihile saves him in spite of having learned the truth about Atan and his real father. Feeling remorse, Atan lets go of Mihile's hand and falls to his death.
Mihile meets Chromile's spirit within the broken Soul Shield for a moment, which gives him closure about his family. As the new Knight of Light, he relinquishes his duty as the guardian of the Seal Stone by returning it back to Cygnus.
Mihile’s second job advancement has been changed. Rather than him taking an examination to become an Apprentice Knight of Light, he now becomes knighted by Cygnus after completing the Atan storyline, removing the original requirement to eliminate Exam Instructor Tae Roon and Stumpy.
Mihile’s third job advancement has been changed. Rather than directly taking an exam to become an Official Knight of Light, he now has a new storyline in which he meets Oz, Hawkeye, Irena, and Eckhart. The five are then sent by Neinheart to investigate the unusual behavior of the Drakes in Sleepywood. During the mission, they discover traces of poison on the Drakes’ scales, after which Neinheart reveals that similar behavior had been seen in the Golems of Henesys. After the mission, Cygnus promotes him to Official Knight of Light.
It is revealed that Admiral Martini has been recruited by Gelimer during this time period. Martini has been conducting experiments with hallucinogens on the Golems and Drakes in order to cripple the Cygnus Knights.
Mihile’s fourth job advancement has been slightly changed. Originally, Neinheart asks Mihile to become a Chief Knight, as they are reorganizing the structure of the Cygnus Knights. While Mihile takes time to consider it, the Black Wings are revealed to have enchanted several Knights into attacking Cygnus. Mihile rushes to Ereve and defeats them, after which he accepts the position of Chief Knight. In the revamped quest, he and the other senior Knights fight the Knights who are attacking Cygnus, though it is revealed that they have been poisoned by Martini and his hallucinogens. At the end of the crisis, Cygnus promotes Mihile, Irena, Oz, Eckhart, and Hawkeye into Chief Knights.
Mihile’s level 120 quests to defeat Arkarium in order to raise the level of his Noble Mind skill has been removed. Instead, this has been replaced by a new questline that reveals the backstory of the other Chief Knights.
Irena is revealed to be a ranger from Leafre who joined the Cygnus Knights after seeing the suffering in the world, such as Ariant.
Oz is revealed to be a magical prodigy and the youngest of five siblings. She is shown to be very close with her family and joined the Cygnus Knights after being heavily recommended by her teachers.
Hawkeye is the son of a wealthy family based in Lith Harbor. He ran away from home in order to live freely at sea and joined the Cygnus Knights in order to deliver freedom to others.
Eckhart is a thief from El Nath who joined a Robin Hood-esque band of thieves. He fell in love with the leader of the thieves, who also taught him everything he knew. After the thieves were attacked by the angry nobles, Eckhart’s teacher gave him her mask and told him to protect others in darkness, after which he joined the Cygnus Knights.
The requirement to complete the Cygnus Awakens questline in order to receive the Call of Cygnus skill has been removed.
In the Cygnus Awakens storyline, Shinsoo reveals that her duty is to maintain the balance of the world alongside the Transcendents. She also reveals that Cygnus has awakened as a “reserve”, rather than a full Transcendent, with the wording implying that she has a similar role as Tana had to Aeona.
Mihile has a new level 200 quest, in which Shinsoo reveals the origins of Shinsoo’s Teardrop and how it came to be guarded by the Knight of Light.
Cygnus Knight Storyline Revamp - Ignition Update:
The lore about the Noblesses has been expanded. It is revealed that Shinsoo had existed during the era of the Ancient Gods. After the fall of the Ancient Gods, Shinsoo protected the weak from the wars that plagued Maple World as new kingdoms fought each other. As Shinsoo slowly lost her power while protecting the humans, a group of those whom she had saved vowed to follow in her footsteps. Shinsoo gave them her blessings and called them the Noblesses, an organization bound by their ideology, rather than bloodline.
Shinsoo is said to have created Ereve as the seat of power for the Empress, whose bloodline is said to give rise to a new Transcendent in the distant future. The Noblesses build a large mansion on Ereve, although they later left Ereve to fight in the wars.
It is revealed that the Noblesses fought to preserve the peace of Maple World until they became extinct during the war from 300 years ago, causing them to be all but forgotten.
The main character of the Cygnus Knight storyline is revealed to be a descendent of the Noblesses, who had passed down knowledge of their mission and ideology to the Noblesse’s family for generations.
In the test server, the Noblesse had a different backstory. The Noblesses were a clan bound by bloodline, rather than ideology, and they had fought alongside Shinsoo and the Piyos for generation. Rather than going extinct, the Noblesses continued to live on Ereve in their mansion and many had become Cygnus Knights. The Noblesse is native to Ereve and lives in the mansion, rather than being a traveler who had come to Ereve. It is also said that upon becoming a Cygnus Knight, one most forfeit their claim to nobility and any clan.
The Cygnus Knight has a new personality, centered around being humble to a fault and always rushing in to face things alone.
Neinheart behaves more cordially towards both the Cygnus Knight and Mihile in their respective storylines.
All references to the 1st generation Cygnus Knights storyline have been removed.
The Black Wings are revealed to have intercepted all communication between the Cygnus Knights and the Resistance following Eleanor's attack on Ereve, effectively making the Resistance think that the Cygnus Knights bailed on them and gave absolutely no justification about why, while the Cygnus Knights thought that the Resistance was furious and never sent any communication out of spite.
The Black Wings have routinely been posting propaganda about Cygnus and the Knights in order to make the citizens of Edelstein, particularly the children, even more hateful of Ereve than the Resistance.
Over the course of the storyline, Claudine gains a grudging respect for the player as new information comes to light, such as the Black Wings conspiracy to intercept communication, as well as the Knight's willingness to jump into danger for the sake of the people of Edelstein, making the Resistance's hatred for the Cygnus Knights less abrasive from a narrative point.
The second job advancement has been changed to have the Knight face a Jr. Balrog.
The third job advancement has been changed to have the Knight face their inner darkness in the Third Drill Hall.
The original third job advancement to obtain the Book of Ancient has been changed to be a level 65 quest. The reference to it being the Book of Ancient has been removed. The quest has been slightly modified to have the Resistance grab the book first, with the player chasing after them in Ludibrium. The Knight then works together with the Resistance to defeat the Black Wings soldiers who come to steal it and Claudine gets injured. She lets the player keep it after witnessing their strength and she agrees that the book is better off in Ereve than in Edelstein, the headquarters of the Black Wings.
The book is said to be an unknown person's research journal on the Ancient Gods and their powers.
The Alliance prequest has had the part where in which the Knight talks to Della in the Gate to the Future moved out to another quest.
Neinheart still mentions the three major groups (Explorers, Resistance, Heroes), but the Knight now only gets the choice to speak with the Resistance because of their close ties. Claudine still initially refuses to read the letter until the Knight complete a mission for her. Unlike the old quest where she asks the Knight to enter Gelimer's lab and listen for Vita's voice, she now asks them to find Vita in his lab, though she doesn’t specify Vita by name. However, the Knight instead enters a prison and rescues a group of children captured from other parts of Maple World.
The Gate to the Future quest that used to be the Alliance quest is the new fourth job advancement. Neinheart tells the Knight to investigate the Temple of Time with their Chief Knight. Inside, they find that a black mist is coming out of the door. They get a glimpse of Future Cygnus and the corrupted Knights before the Chief Knight pulls them back out. The Chief Knight then get dragged into the door and the Knight has to go after them. They defeat one of Lucid's Wightmares in order to save them. They go back to Ereve and find that the black mist has forced Cygnus into an enchanted nightmare. Her power being tied to the Cygnus Knights means that the Knight getting trapped by the black mist allowed for it to get past Ereve's barrier and Shinsoo's protection and take hold of Cygnus. The Knight enters her dream and defeats Future Cygnus in order to wake her up.
The requirement to complete the Cygnus Awakens questline in order to receive the Call of Cygnus skill has been removed.
In the Cygnus Awakens storyline, Shinsoo reveals that her duty is to maintain the balance of the world alongside the Transcendents. She also reveals that Cygnus has awakened as a “reserve”, rather than a full Transcendent, with the wording implying that she has a similar role as Tana had to Aeona.
Neo Tokyo Revamp - Overseas Event:
Several terms have been relocalized in the revamp:
Zipangu Research Lab => Zipangu Technology Research Institute (ZTRI)
Distortion (the high-energy burst that destroys Zipangu) => wave
Spell of Acacia => bonds of Acacia/curse of Acacia
Operational Unit => Mastercore
Ponicher => Ponicheleu
Army of Blaze => Blaze Army
Marr => Mareu
Maverick Platoon of Robots => Mechanized Maverick Platoon
Iruvata Independent Force => Iruvata Independent Task Force
Engineering Test Corps => Technical Experiemental Force
Core Blaze => the Blaze Core
Old Fox Flagship => Old Firefox
All references to Gritto have been removed.
Asia and the other Guardians are said to be exiles from another dimension, rather than being natives of Zipangu.
The Acacia Chronicle is said to have been created using extra-dimensional technology.
The lore about how the Guardians learned magic in Magatia has been removed, as well as the Black Mage being their teacher. Instead, their unique powers were bestowed onto them by the world itself.
Zipangu is going to be destroyed in 80 years instead of 100 years in order to account for the year of the revamp’s release being in 2022, which is 80 years before 2102 - the year when the wave destroys Zipangu..
The wave is described as a high-energy body that burns dimensions and absorbs the life force of the world.
Asia’s test to have the player prove their strength by going back in time to Ninja Castle has been removed.
The subplot with swapping out the chipset to disguise the Mastercore was removed.
There is a new emphasis on the player's role, as their powers are said not to be from their world and are on-par with the Guardians.
Commander Garuda gets some extra dialogue at the beginning, in which he reveals that the people of Zipangu have legends about the Guardians, who appear to save them during moments of great crisis. He supposes that the player might be one of them.
The coffee shop that he refitted into the command room is now a maid café, which explains Captain Maricias' outfit.
Captain Maricias was part of the Engineering Test Corps before the creation of BWZ.
The Iruvatas from the Independent Task Force have been revealed to be weapons created by the Technical Experimental Force before they got stolen and modified, which is why they don't need Bergamot. Bergamot's tech was also improved and outfitted onto them, allowing them to remain independent while also having a commander unit.
The player is said to be the only one able to face Dunas because they have comparable power to him, reminiscent of a principle introduced in the main story that only gods have the power to challenge other gods.
Asia’s explanation about the Guardians’ backstory is split different from the original story. In the revamped version, Asia tells the player about both her misunderstanding with Ashray, as well as her meeting with Ashray in the future before she gets interrupted. In the original story, Asia only tells the player about her misunderstanding at first, and she talks about her meeting with Ashray in the future after the player deals with Dunas’ latest scheme.
Ashray and Asia’s plan has been altered in the revamped version:
In the revamped version, Asia and Ashray plan to find the key to changing the destructive energies of the wave into creation. Ashray swaps powers with Asia and uses her immortality to absorb the wave into herself, after which Asia is tasked with finding the key.
In the present, Asia tells Dunas about Ashray’s plan, but after Dunas learns that Ashray is trapped in a purgatory timeline in which nothing exists except herself, he vows that he’ll do anything to prevent that from happening.
After millennia of cleaning up human-made messes, Dunas believes that humans are stupid, selfish creatures that are fated for destruction regardless. He believes that there is no reason why Ashray should have to sacrifice herself for them, and so he decides that he will force the wave to destroy Zipangu before Ashray sacrifices herself. In this way, humans will go extinct and Ashray will have no reason to sacrifice herself by absorbing the wave.
In the original version, Asia and Ashray wander Maple World after Zipangu’s destruction and come across the Acacia Chronicle. Ashray comes up with a last-resort plan to rewrite history and prevent the wave from appearing. Ashray swaps powers with Asia, who travels back in time and changes history to stop the wave from happening, leaving Ashray trapped in a purgatory timeline in which nothing exists except her.
Dunas refuses to accept that Ashray will remained trapped in a purgatory timeline and begins attempting to undo Asia’s actions to prevent the wave. In this way, he hopes to force their timeline to branch into the purgatory timeline where Ashray is trapped, allowing him to reunite with her once again.
Asia’s battle with Dunas is revealed in a flashback, rather than through Asia’s dialogue. The backstory and aftermath of their battle has been slightly modified:
In the revamped version, Dunas is told about Ashray’s plan to use a key (the player) to save Zipangu, but Dunas has no faith that the plan will work. He and Asia then fight, with Asia creating a monster to trap Dunas’ soul in.
In the original version, Dunas created the monster in an attempt to reincarnate and flee Kamuna. However, Asia seals the monster in stone. Because of the time freeze in Kamuna, both Asia and the monster remain immortal, which prevents Dunas from dying and reincarnating into a new body.
The subplot involving Asia reinforcing Dunas’ seal with Gritto's crystal after the player fights the monster has been removed. Instead, Asia will note that the player player defeating Dunas is only a temporary measure, and that there is nothing that they can do to stop him from escaping.
Before the player’s fight fight Nibelung and the Mavericks, Commander Garuda now gives a speech to rally everyone.
The Mastercore that controls Graviton Flame and the copy that Dunas has converts the user's strong will into power, which Dunas had developed himself.
There is a new addition to the fight in Shibuya, in which Dunas has a conversation with the player and Dida after they defeat him. Dunas reveals that it's impossible for machines to have created the Mastercore and calls humans a pitifully arrogant race for thinking that the flimsy technology that they're so proud of could make something so powerful. He then reveals that he himself had created the Mastercore which can convert the user’s strong will into power.
Dida reveals the full story about the Blaze Core and Dida right after Dunas disappears in Shibuya, rather than in Roppongi Mall like in the original story.
The explanation about Dunas speaking as Marr's doctor, despite possessing Marr in the original story, has been removed. Instead, Dunas directly speaks to the Blaze Core as Mareu.
The Blaze Core is revealed to have personally asked to be Mareu’s life support.
Asia gives the player an explanation on Dunas' reincarnation powers instead of Alcaster.
Much of the story after defeating the Blaze Core has been changed:
After defeating the Blaze Core, Dunas' voice is heard from Mareu’s comatose body. Dunas begins to feel regret because he realizes that the player really was the key all along, although he realizes that it's too late to change things.
Ashray appears, as they have now reached the same point in time that she exists, and says that it's not too late. She and Dunas have a touching reunion, after which Dunas emerges out of Mareu in golden orbs, just like in the original. Ashray then uses her power of immortality, which Asia describes as the power to manipulate the body, in order to restore Mareu back to health.
Ashray tells the player that they're the key to changing the power of destruction from the wave into the power of creation.
After Ashray seals the wave within her, she gets consumed by Aufheben, an angel who destroys worlds.
After the player defeats Aufheben, Dunas uses his powers to gather the souls of Zipangu and restore them back to life after the player turns Aufheben’s destructive energies into creation. Dunas and Ashray are then reborn together in the new world. Asia then vows to carry on Dunas and Ashray’s will as the last Guardian of Zipangu.
In the original version, a furious Dunas summons Aufheben from another dimension as a last-ditch effort to ensure that the wave will manifest. After Aufheben appears, her dark energies cause a temporal rift to the purgatory timeline where Ashray is trapped. As the wave is about to take swallow Zipangu, the current timeline is branching into and fusing with the purgatory timeline.
After the player defeats Aufheben, Ashray emerges from the temporal rift and extracts Dunas from Mareu in the form of golden orbs. She then brings Dunas with her into the purgatory timeline before it closes up, as the timeline has once again diverged as a result of the player stopping the wave. After the battle, the story ends with Asia vowing to find a way to save Ashray and Dunas and bring them back.
Silent Crusade Revamp - KMS 20th Anniversary Update:
Chapters 1-4 of the Silent Crusade have been removed entirely. Small aspects of the story have been loosely integrated into the Arkarium prequest as an introduction to the Silent Crusade before the story transitions into the main content of the prequest.
The events of Chapter 1’s beginning have been integrated into the main story. Jake calls the player to the Kerning City subway, where the player defeats the Black Wings henchmen and Crimson Rock before going to the Excavation Site with Starling.
Starling and the player enter a crack in time, leading them into the same map reachable from the Mystic Gate in the Excavation Site during the original story. This map is revealed to be Sharenian from the past, prior to Ergoth’s invasion. However, Lord Skeleton - revealed to be an undead Sharenian commander revived - is a present-day monster from the lingering effects of Ergoth’s devil magic.
The player’s introduction with Bastille has been slightly changed. Bastille explains that the Silent Crusade is a special branch of the Alliance focused on gathering information about the Black Mage’s forces, as well as to defeat powerful monsters around Maple World.
It is revealed that all the Commanders slipped into the shadows after the Black Mage’s sealing, and that they are resurfacing after his unsealing. This explicitly confirms that the events of the Silent Crusade are set after the Black Mage’s unsealing, whereas the original storyline took place before.
The crack in time in the Excavation Site is revealed to be the work of Arkarium, with the mixture of present-day and past elements being a result of his imperfect time magic.
Following the player joining the Silent Crusade, they are sent to work with Crow in Leafre, where they defeat Master Hoblin. Soon after, Arkarium’s snake minions appear and reveal that the player has fallen into their trap, allowing Arkarium to complete his spell uninterrupted.
The Mystic Gates have been removed from both the game and the story. Originally, Arkarium made use of the Mystic Gates to harvest enough energy to travel back to the past, although all details regarding this have been deleted within the Silent Crusade storyline.
The player travels to the Temple of Time in order to stop him, where they encounter the spirit of Rhinne. The dialogue between the player and Rhinne has been changed, with Rhinne revealing that Arkarium plans to go back in time and kill the Heroes. Before she disappears, she tells the player that she cannot manifest her spirit so far from her physical body for long.
Instead of entering the crack in time to past Leafre with Crow and Starling, the player instead goes back with Lora and Starling. Lora takes over Crow’s role within the story.
Most of the story in past Leafre is the same, with the player saving Starling and helping Maha.
Certain details in the player’s conversation with Afrien have been changed:
Instead of the Onyx Dragons being wiped out by the Black Mage immediately after their refusal, the Onyx Dragons were now attacked by the Commanders, causing many of the fully-grown dragons to die. When the Black Mage curses the Heroes, the curse also extends to the Onyx Dragons, causing many of the weaker young dragons to perish, resulting in the extinction of their race.
When Afrien talks about the time barrier that Freud created, preventing time from flowing back before the creation of the seal, he also reveals that Freud’s abilities - while powerful - are limited as a mortal, meaning that a Transcendent of Time can override the barrier and go further, for which Arkarium intends to take Rhinne’s powers.
He also reveals that Luminous was sealed in ice with the Black Mage in the Temple of Time.
After the player defeats a possessed Bastille, Bastille reveals that the Silent Crusade far predates the Alliance, as it was created by Empress Aria centuries ago in order to unite the people of Maple World. After her death, the organization swore revenge on the Black Mage and went underground, publicly revealing themselves when the Alliance was created.
The player’s conversation with Rhinne in the Temple of Time has been changed. Originally, Rhinne revealed that Arkarium plans to break the seal and free the Black Mage. In the revamp, Rhinne reveals that Arkarium plans to break the seal in order to reach her and take her Transcendent powers, with which he intends to go back in time and kill the Demon and the Heroes together.
The player’s conversation with Arkarium’s clone has been changed. Arkarium reveals that he intended to kill the Heroes and the Demon in Leafre, but after being unable to find the Demon, he intends to go back even further and kill the Demon before he betrays the Black Mage. With the Demon failing to break the Black Mage’s protective barrier, Arkarium believes that the Heroes will grow exhausted in the battle, allowing them to be easily killed.
The remainder of the quest is the same, with the exception that Rhinne’s dialogue after the player defeats the real Arkarium in the Dimensional Schism - in which she reveals that Arkarium’s partial success in breaking the seal causes it to degrade over centuries - has been removed.
Gate to the Future Revamp - KMS Fall 2023 Update:
The events of the Gate to the Future have explicitly been set after the formation of the Alliance and the Cygnus Knights’ 4th job advancement. Exclusive dialogue has also been added for Evan, Mihile, Cygnus Knights, and the Resistance.
Neinheart has replaced Cassandra as the instigator for the questline.
The Temple Keeper claims that the Black Mage’s minions opened the Gate to the Future while attempting to access the Altar of Time at the end of the door, though the Temple Keepers were able to repel the attack.
There is a heavier emphasis from the Temple Keeper on the idea that the future should neither be seen nor changed by mortals. He asks the player to close the Gate to the Future, as the Temple Keepers do not have the strength to do so. While attempting to close the door, the player is sucked into the Gate to the Future, where a mysterious white light now leads them into Future Henesys.
The player’s meeting with Chief Alex has been slightly changed. After meeting with Big Headward, the player is said to cover their face with a hood in order to prevent others from recognizing them. Chief Alex searches the player’s belongings for a dark Cygnus Knight badge, and after finding nothing suspicious, he decides to tentatively trust them.
The quiz that Alex gives the player in order to prove that they’ve met in the past has been removed to match the new setting of the player hiding their identity. Instead, this quiz has been moved to become part of Evan’s exclusive dialogue after Evan reveals that he and Alex have met before in Henesys.
The questline for the Henesys Ruins has been slightly altered. A majority of the quests have been reworked into a more cohesive storyline, while several extraneous quests have become side stories which can be completed after the main storyline.
Jay and Anne are revealed to be training together in order to defeat Cygnus.
Rather than Utah giving the player a Dream Fragment, Jay creates the fragment by extracting dark magic from Mutant Tiguru Feathers, which he claims makes him dizzy. The player brings the fragment to Athena Pierce, who grows more belligerent than the original storyline in order to better reflect Lucid’s dream responding to the player’s attempts to investigate the illusion.
The questline for the Knight Stronghold has been slightly altered. A majority of the quests have been reworked into a more cohesive storyline, while several extraneous quests have become side stories which can be completed after the main storyline.
It is revealed that after the Empress was corrupted, Shinsoo was also corrupted through their bond. Because the Cygnus Knights derive their power from Shinsoo, the corruption on Shinsoo took away the Knights’ free will, turning them into mindless puppets that obediently followed Cygnus.
The lore about the Dream Key has been changed. Rather than crafting it from the elemental spirits in Ereve, the Dream Key is revealed to already be in the possession of Jay, who had obtained it from the belongings of other Explorers who had crafted it before trying and failing to stop Cygnus.
Jay and Anne now accompany the player to fight Future Cygnus. A new story mode has been added to the boss battle, which includes a short cutscene before and after the fight with Cygnus.
In the original storyline, the player can only complete the final Knight Stronghold quest after defeating Normal Cygnus and checking the quest lightbulb in the exit map, which leads to a conversation with Shinsoo. This has been removed, and the dialogue with Shinsoo now takes place as part of the cutscene after defeating story mode Cygnus.
The conversation with Shinsoo has been slightly modified to tie into the events of Twilight Perion. Shinsoo’s claim that the future seen by the player is only an illusion has been expanded to reveal that the Gate to the Future itself has not been opened, and that the Black Mage’s followers have merely created an illusion to make it appear as though it had. She also claims that the Dream Master who created the illusion cannot control all parts of the dream, which is an allusion to Lucid, Twilight Perion, and Lachelein.
The ending of the Knight Stronghold storyline directly ties into the events of Twilight Perion, with Neinheart telling the player that the people of Maple World have begun to see nightmares of the Gate to the Future.
The questline for the Knight Stronghold has been slightly altered. A new storyline has been implemented in-between several pre-existing questlines, which creates a more cohesive conclusion to the Gate to the Future arc. The quests to help the townspeople of Twilight Perion have been adapted into a series of optional side-quests.
It is now revealed that the warriors of Perion have been receiving visions of Twilight Perion, while the rest of Maple World has seen Future Henesys and Ereve. Because of the player’s investigation, Neinheart has already warned the people that the vision in the Gate to the Future is an illusion, which is why the warriors of Perion are shaken by Twilight Perion, which was not part of Neinheart’s warning.
Rather than completing the investigation of Twilight Perion with Grendel through the quest lightbulb, a more cinematic experience has been added to this questline, with the player meeting with Grendel, Claudine, Athena, and Neinheart in the Magic Library in Ellinia. Grendel elaborates on the dream addiction that the people of Maple World are suffering from, revealing that it is hypnotizing them to believe that their nightmares are actually reality.
When the player enters Lucid’s dreamscape, the images seen of Lucid have now been updated to reflect her design as an elf, rather than the generic human design from when she first appeared.
After the player obtains Lucid Matter for Grendel, they are now asked to enter a part of the Gate of the Future which they have not yet visited in order to find clues, which leads them to a very small, barebones map of Future Sleepywood. There, they meet the Future Rememberer, who reveals that they have entered the back of the dream.
He explains that the reason why the back of the dream is incomplete is because creating an entire world is impossible for a mortal like the Dream Master, who put the illusion of Future Henesys and Ereve together from the subconsciousness of Maple World’s people. He reveals that the only way to cut off the connection between dreams and reality is with the Fog of Oblivion, which will cause the people of Maple World to forget about their nightmare permanently.
The player must craft the Fog of Oblivion with the Sorcerer in the Temple of Time, which they sprinkle throughout the Gate to the Future in order to cure the people of their dream addiction.
A more conclusive resolution has been added to the end of the Twilight Perion storyline, with the Alliance growing more unified as a result of overcoming the threat of the Dream Master. Neinheart also resolves to look further into the Dream Master, whom he concludes is indeed a new Commander of the Black Mage.
Angelic Buster Storyline Revamp - KMS Fall 2023 Update:
A vast majority of characterization has been modified in the revamp. Eskalade, Eurenth, and many of the other male characters in the story no longer objectify or sexualize Angelic Buster. Eskalade, in particular, has been changed from a “pervy mentor” type character to an “older brother” type character, who encourages Tear and helps her grow stronger.
There is a heavier emphasis on Tear as a person, as well as her character development, putting more of a focus on her existence as a Nova without magic by overcoming her weakness through growing stronger. This is further supported by Kaiser and Velderoth acting as older brothers to her, encouraging her in their own ways to help her grow.
There is now a direct correlation between Tear’s lack of magic and her lack of tail.
The lore about the Nova relics has been changed. Rather than there being four Nova relics powering the Protective Shield, there is now only one Nova relic - the Outrigger - which is installed in the throne room of Heliseum. During the fall of Heliseum, the Nova priests - unable to transport the Outrigger - transferred some of its power to four sacred stones, which were used to create the Protective Shield.
When the Nefarious Priests attempt to steal the sacred stone of the West Sanctum, Tear now senses the stone being stolen in addition to Kyle.
The sequence in which Tear taps into the sacred stone’s power to defeat the remaining priests after Kaiser’s transformation has been removed.
There is a heavier emphasis on Tear’s relationship with Fenelle, as Fenelle - not Kylan - is the one to comfort her after she is told that the sacred stone has fused to her, which has weakened the Protective Shield.
Several details about Eskalade and his backstory have now been removed. Eskalade’s full name - Eskalade Lorang - has been removed, leaving him known as simply Eskalade. The setting about Eskalade being an ancient Nova has also been removed, and it is now suggested that Eskalade is an Ancient God of the Nova. It is explained that Eskalade’s spirit used to dwell within the Outrigger until it was extracted into the sacred stone. Because of this, Eskalade’s memories and power have been greatly reduced.
Eskalade is revealed to have chosen Tear as the inheritor of his powers. It is revealed that the conditions to use Eskalade’s powers within the sacred stone are that the wielder must have a high level of fame and renown, which Eskalade believes is a reflection of his own desire to be a famed warrior before his spirit came to reside in the sacred stone.
Though Tear does not have the magical abilities to become a renowned warrior, Eskalade instead transforms her into an idol - Angelic Buster - so that she can gain fame and reputation as a pop star instead of a warrior. It is explained that Angelic Buster’s powers grow as she becomes more popular. It is also explained that Eskalade first learned about idols from Maple World, which his spirit had visited while wandering outside the sacred stone.
Many of Angelic Buster’s quests have been streamlined, such as her quest to find Selene’s missing ingredients, defeating monsters around Pantheon, and finding sparkling rocks for herself. Instead, these quests have been adapted into a smaller storyline, in which it’s revealed that the Nefarious Priests are stealing food in order to draw security to the food storage, thereby weakening security around the sacred stones.
Magnus’ invasion of Pantheon has now been condensed. There are fewer battles against the Specters, and Angelic Buster is now the only person to recover the missing sacred stone, rather than both her and Kaiser completing the quest together. Angelic Buster also uses her connection to the sacred stones in order to find the location of the missing stone.
The summoning ritual to bring Specters into Pantheon is now performed by the Nefarious Priests, rather than the Specters.
Angelic Buster is now the one who brings down the Protective Shield to lure the Specters back in, as well as the one to bring the shield back up to vaporize them all at once.
Angelic Buster’s quest with Beldar, in which he asks her to use the Interdimensional Portal to find allies, has been condensed. All information about the Primordial God, the Overseers, and the Transcendents has been removed.
Angelic Buster’s quests to obtain Essence Stones have all been removed, instead being condensed into finding a single Essence Stone for her 3rd job advancement. This removes the requirement to complete these quests in order to obtain her emblems.
Angelic Buster’s quest to meet Kaiser during her exploration of Maple World has been slightly modified with new dialogue.
Several of Kaiser’s quests have been removed in the story update to line up with the new changes to Angelic Buster’s storyline, such as a few quests to visit the sanctums, the quest to find the missing sacred stone, the quest to reactivate the Interdimensional Portal, and the quest in which he makes contact with the Cygnus Knights to have the Nova join the Alliance.
Heliseum Storyline Revamp - KMS Fall 2023 Update:
The Heliseum storyline has been thoroughly condensed into a smaller questline. The unique questlines for Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena have been modified into scenes with exclusive dialogue, as they almost completely line up with the generic storyline.
The timeline for the Nova joining the Maple Alliance has been modified, with the Nova only officially joining the Alliance after retaking Heliseum, rather than before the operation.
Eurenth’s backstory has been significantly changed. Rather than him being a “pervy sage” type character, he is now a bitter and jaded man who exiled himself after the Nova refused to listen to his warnings about Magnus’ imminent attack on Heliseum.
Changes to the generic story:
Harpoon now asks the player to obtain Dinogoth Tails instead of Dinogoth Shoulder Meat
Harpoon asks the player to obtain shields from the Specter Shieldbearers, which was originally a Cadena-exclusive quest
A new questline is added, in which the player is asked to spar with the Nova soldiers in order to train them
The player’s purpose in meeting Eurenth is now to find a way to restore the Blue Dragon Cannon, rather than asking for his advice on the Nova’s next strategy.
Eurenth’s pet Kaloong, Popo, has received a new backstory. Popo will only cry for those whom it likes, and so Eurenth tests the player’s worthiness to receive his knowledge by having them get Popo to shed tears for them.
The player’s meeting with the Shadowdealers now takes place after giving Eurenth’s information to Edea. The questline with the Shadowdealers has also been significantly reduced, with the player only meeting with Tonero in order to obtain an amplifier device for the Blue Dragon Cannon, rather than them taking part in a trade war between Tonero and Romero.
The downtown Heliseum storyline has been changed into several kill quests, in which the player and Tiron learn that Magnus has filled the city with low-intelligence Specters while he intends to take the power of the Outrigger for himself.
The backstory for Victor and Treglow have been modified:
Rather than Treglow wanting to create an artificial creature, his ambitions are now more generic. Magnus now sends his spies to give Treglow resources from the High Flora, rather than from other worlds. Magnus also corrupts Treglow with a cursed reagent, rather than sabotaging his experiment and causing him to lose his mind with grief.
Rather than Victor falling in love with a dead woman, he now obsesses over his fiancée, who died before their marriage. The cursed canvas that Magnus sends is no longer said to have been cursed or procured by Darmoor. Victor is now said to have killed himself out of grief, with his soul being trapped in the canvas through endless paintings, rather than his soul immediately being trapped upon his first attempt to bring his love back to life.
A new story-mode Magnus has been introduced, which features a new cutscene at the start. The scene shows Magnus attempting to steal the power of the Outrigger, though his attempts are rejected by the Ancient Gods of the Nova. Magnus is then defeated by the player, after which a mysterious vortex causes him and the Outrigger to disappear.
Changes to the Kaiser story:
Kaiser’s intro quest now begins with a meeting with the Alliance to plan out the operation.
Kaiser’s Blue Dragon Cannon quests have been adapted as part of the generic story involving Eurenth. Kaiser also receives an exclusive quest, in which he tests out the weapon by using his willpower to fire it.
The attack on the Heliseum outskirts have been aligned to be identical to the generic story
The information learned about Victor and Treglow has been modified. Additionally, Edea is now the one who tells the story about the Guardians, rather than Eurenth.
The questline to unseal the castle has been significantly reduced, instead only requiring the seals of the Guardians, rather than working with Fenelle and the Shadowdealers to perform an unsealing ritual.
All Shadowdealer quests after retaking downtown have been removed, instead being streamlined into defeating Specters with Tiron, just like in the generic story.
Kaiser’s initiation questline into becoming a Nova general has been removed, instead being replaced with a small quest at the end of the Heliseum storyline, in which he refuses the rank of general to Edea.
Changes to the Angelic Buster story:
Many of Angelic Buster’s early Heliseum quests, such as defeating Dinogoths, have been removed. Her storyline now lines up with the generic Heliseum story.
Angelic Buster’s Blue Dragon Cannon quests have been adapted as part of the generic story involving Eurenth. Angelic Buster also receives an exclusive quest, in which she helps Tiron gather the coordinates for firing, similar to her old questline.
Angelic Buster’s quests with Eurenth have been heavily modified to align with the generic version. Eurenth no longer objectifies or sexualizes Angelic Buster.
Angelic Buster’s quests with the Shadowdealers have been heavily modified to align with the generic version. She is no longer involved in the trade war between Tonero, Romero, and Gallero, nor is she an honorary Shadowdealer anymore.
The information learned about Victor and Treglow has been modified. Additionally, Edea is now the one who tells the story about the Guardians, rather than Eurenth.
All Shadowdealer quests after retaking downtown have been removed, instead being streamlined into defeating Specters with Tiron, just like in the generic story.
Changes to the Cadena story:
There are no available playthroughs for me to check at the moment, but I’ll update this once I find one.
Black Heaven Storyline Revamp - Dreamer Update:
Act 3 Changes:
The player no longer saves Francis from his burning cell before heading to the Pilothouse.
Claudine does not blame the player for saving Francis, and the scene in which the player is put on trial has been removed. Instead this scene, and the remainder of Act 3, has been significantly reworked.
Instead of denying Claudine’s request to search Brighton, Belle, and Checky, Neinheart now offers Claudine the choice. Claudine considers it for a moment and realizes that they need to focus on defeating Black Heaven, for which she decides to trust that her friends have survived and will find a way back to them.
The Alliance decides to interrogate Francis in his cell, where they find that he has accidentally started a small fire while trying to escape. In exchange for letting him out of his burning cell, the Alliance interrogates him about Black Heaven, with Francis revealing information about Black Heaven and Lotus that he originally told the player during their boat ride back to Ereve after they exile themselves.
In exchange for this information, the Alliance lets Francis out of his cell, though Francis immediately vanishes and heads towards Edelstein in order to rescue Orchid from the Resistance.
After Claudine deduces that Black Heaven’s troops are being sent from the Scrapyard, Neinheart sends the player to investigate.
Act 4 Changes:
The Piyo siblings no longer give the player a letter from Cygnus asking them to stick with her until the end.
Heroes of Maple Storyline Revamp - Dreamer Update:
Act 1 Changes:
The prologue to Act 1 has been significantly changed. The scene with Freud and Afrien’s last moments has been replaced with a scene of Freud seeking out Alicia in Sleepywood after the final battle, in which Alicia directs Freud to seek out Abraxas, the Ruins of Memory. Another scene has been added at the end of this, which features Damien capturing Alicia after defeating Shinsoo.
The demon army no longer captures Lilin or the penguins of Rien. Because of this, Aran and Shade no longer appear in Act 1, significantly shortening its duration.
Evan and Mir now directly reach Afrien after fighting past the demons, removing the scene of them being separated, as well as the scene involving the spider monster and her children.
Freud’s message to Evan is now pre-recorded, rather than Freud imbuing a portion of his spirit into Afrien’s mark of the Spirit Pact. Freud now transmits his memories to Evan about Abraxas and instructs him to seek out his ‘five friends’ who helped seal the Black Mage.
Damien’s scene with Alicia has been slightly altered with new dialogue that emphasizes Damien’s desire to take the power of the Transcendents, as well as to emphasize that Damien’s power comes from his Sword of Destruction.
Act 1.5 Changes:
A new scene has been added at the start of the act, in which Evan meets with Cygnus, Neinheart, and Athena Pierce in order to report the events that transpired on Turtle Island, which transitions into him seeking out the Heroes.
Evan now seeks out Aran on Rien in Act 1.5, as Aran’s role in Act 1 has been removed. Aran’s personality has been modified to be less blunt and callous, compared to the original Heroes of Maple story.
Evan’s dynamic with the Heroes has been significantly altered. The Heroes now see Evan as a worthy successor to Freud from the start, rather than dismissing his aptitude. Because of this, all the Heroes immediately agree to help Evan, rather than initially rejecting him and later choosing to help him. The lore about the size of Onyx Dragons being proportional to their master’s power has also been removed.
Luminous, in particular, is no longer skeptical of Evan, and instead seeks to become his mentor in magic, believing that Evan needs a teacher in order to hone his abilities even further.
The Heroes now gather in Ereve, where they deduce from Freud’s message about finding his ‘five friends’ and the nature of the sealing spell that one of their comrades had sacrificed their existence. From their time meeting Shade at Black Heaven, they realize that he’s the forgotten hero and travel to El Nath in order to meet him, leading to Shade’s joy at seeing that his friends recognize him.
Knowing that the demons are tracking the Heroes, they decide to split into two groups. While Phantom, Shade, and Aran go after Damien, Evan goes with Luminous and Mercedes to the ruins of Abraxas.
The Demon’s reunion with Damien is slightly modified. Damien reveals that the Sword of Destruction contains the spirits of countless wingless half-bloods sacrificed across the millennia, including the ones who had been exiled back to Tynerum after the Black Mage’s sealing. He also reveals that the sword had chosen him and bestowed its power upon him.
Act 2 Changes:
Kapus the Gatekeeper no longer gives a riddle, instead allowing Evan to enter after recognizing him as the Dragon Master.
A new scene is added to the ruins of Abraxas, which feature stone tablets infused with magic. Upon connecting with this magic, the Heroes discover that they contain records of Maple World’s entire history.
In the mural room, the scrambled mural puzzle is revealed to be an encryption spell placed by Freud to obfuscate the records of history from the unworthy.
The prophecy of the “unshackled wolf devouring the World Tree” has been removed from the story, along with its corresponding mural.
New dialogue has been added to the story, with the Heroes reading the history associated with each of the murals. The mural about the Transcendents reveals the story of how the Ancient Gods had ruled until the Overseers had sealed them away in the name of their Creator, which is a reference to the Primordial God.
The lore about Abraxas as the only Ancient God remaining awake in the era of the Transcendents has been removed. It is instead revealed that Abraxas’ true form is the ruins themselves, with Abraxas’ power weakly manifesting through the seal in order to record history.
It is revealed that when the White Mage awakened as the Transcendent of Light, a dark artifact called the Abyss Crystal was created, which holds the dark power to devour anything, including the power of the gods. The Abyss Crystal was used to steal the powers of Rhinne, with the crystal being sealed away in a subspace to recharge over the centuries. The Abyss Crystal replaces the role of the Transcendence Stone, with the Heroes realizing that the Black Mage has dispatched Damien to find the crystal so that he can take Alicia’s powers.
A new scene has been added, in which Phantom, Aran, and Shade arrive at the demon encampment in Rien, where they watch Damien and his demon army leave for the ruins of Abraxas. After he leaves, the Demon arrives and meets with the Heroes, revealing that Damien is his brother. He then asks the Heroes to stop Damien, adding that he’ll stop Damien in his own way.
After the Heroes escape on Abraxas’ airship, Freud’s message reveals that the Abyss Crystal was placed in a subspace between Maple World and a parallel world called Friends World. Though the barrier between worlds prevented anyone from accessing it, the Transcendents slowly disappearing has caused the barrier to weaken, making the Abyss Crystal accessible in Friends World.
The scene in which Freud reveals that Shade is one of the Heroes, as well as the scene in which the Heroes elect Evan as their new leader have both been removed.
Act 3:
A new scene has been added in Act 3, in which the Heroes speak with a hologram of Grendel the Really Old. This conversation reveals new information about the differences between Friends World and Tynerum:
Tynerum is the third dimension created by the Overseers, which had once been the same world as Maple World and Grandis. A portal had appeared quite a long time ago in the south of Maple World, bridging Maple World and Tynerum together.
Friends World is a parallel dimension within the same dimension as Maple World. Because of this, Shade can travel between Maple World and Friends World without being forgotten, as he does not need to travel across dimensions.
As Abraxas is an Ancient God, the Heroes use Abraxas’ divine power being drawn towards the Abyss Crystal’s pull in order to find it, with Grendel opening a portal between Maple World and Friends World. Rather than using the brand placed on Maha during his clash with Aran in the original Act 1, Damien now uses the portal to follow the Heroes.
The scenes involving the people flirting with Mercedes and Phantom have been removed.
The conversation in which Luminous reveals that Freud had believed the Transcendents to be unjust, as well as his faith that people would one day outgrow the need for kings and instead rule themselves with justness, has been removed. In addition, Luminous’ argument with Phantom has been removed, with their fight stemming from Phantom attempting to return Luminous to his senses after the Abyss Crystal shifts his inner balance.
Act 4:
During the Heroes’ preparation to face Damien, Luminous reveals that it is impossible for a mortal to fully claim the power of a Transcendent. This further reinforces the original story’s implication that Damien does not truly become the new Transcendent of Life, but rather, he simply channels the Transcendent powers that still reside within Alicia.
Instead of three Heroes going after Damien, it is stated that all six of them fight in two teams of three, with the player choosing which two Heroes accompany Evan.
A new scene has been added that explicitly shows Damien absorbing Alicia’s powers by absorbing the Abyss Crystal into his sword and using its power to absorb Alicia. New dialogue has been added for Alicia here - along with previous acts - that has her reflect on her time with Ryude, with her expressing her regrets for not believing in humans earlier.
The World Tree growing larger is now revealed to be because it has been engorged on the life force of Maple World.
When the Heroes encounter the Demon, it is revealed that the Sword of Destruction is the product of an experiment that the pure-bloods had once conducted to replicate the powers of a Transcendent, which is why the sword radiates with an energy signature that resembles that of the Transcendents. This experiment had resulted in the devastation of Tynerum.
The fate of the Demon and Damien’s father has now been changed. It is revealed that their father’s failed attempts at stopping the pure-bloods’ experiments had resulted in him being isolated and killed, rather than being banished.
The Spirit of Vengeance is now said to be the combined souls of the wingless half-bloods sacrificed, rather than the sum of the demons who lost themselves in search of power, alongside their victims.
The story mode boss fight with Damien now skips Phase 2.
The scene in which the Spirit of Vengeance possesses Evan has been removed.
Following Damien’s death, a new scene is added that shows Alicia growing corrupted by the Black Mage’s darkness inside the Abyss Crystal, forcing the Heroes to fight in order to save her. It is then revealed that Alicia will slowly become absorbed into the Abyss Crystal and lose her ego and power, resulting in the Transcendent of Life disappearing. For this reason, Alicia asks the Heroes to shatter the Abyss Crystal in order to spread her life force across Maple World.
After Alicia’s life force is scattered, a new scene has been added, in which the Heroes comfort and reassure Evan, who is worried about having to keep losing lives in the process of saving the world.
Neinheart and Lilin’s conversation has been reworked and adapted into a new conversation between Neinheart and Cygnus, as Lilin no longer appears in the story. It is revealed that the Alliance has now claimed the information about the Ancient Gods, the Overseers, and the Transcendents contained inside the ruins.
Aftermath Storyline Revamp - KMS Spring 2024 Update:
The Explorer cutscene has been changed to include a new line from Sugar, who notes that the world is still in danger, despite the Black Mage’s defeat. She also tells the Explorer that a lot will change in the future, but that she’ll always be there.
Pathfinder gets a new scene before her old Aftermath cutscene, in which she reunites and reminisces with Athena Pierce. There are some dialogue changes in her conversation with Brie in Partem, which delete lines about her returning to Partem in order to find a way to break the curse, as well as more dialogue from Brie about how much her adventure with the Pathfinder had impacted her for the better.
The Dual Blade cutscene remains unchanged.
The Cannoneer and Pirate Explorer cutscene remain unchanged.
The Cygnus Knight cutscene has several additions to exclusive dialogue that changes based on the Cygnus Knight’s branch. Cygnus now addresses the Cygnus Knight as the sixth Chief Knight. A new scene has been added to the end of the old cutscene, in which the Cygnus Knight visits Shinsoo in Leafre. Shinsoo asks the Knight how they felt while facing a god and warns them that the balance of the world is still broken, and that they and the Empress will soon be engulfed by a new darkness.
Mihile’s first cutscene has been changed from the generic Cygnus Knight dialogue in order to better differentiate him as a Chief Knight. His second cutscene with Cygnus remains unchanged.
The Resistance classes get additional exclusive dialogue after the assembly, which changes based on their class. Main Resistance classes speak with their job instructors, the Demon speaks with Mastema, and Xenon speaks with Claudine. The scene in which the people of Edelstein celebrate has had its dialogue changed to include the other job instructors, with Claudine explicitly stating that she wishes to have the Resistance help liberate the oppressed people of Grandis.
Xenon’s flashback while speaking with Bitterbot has been expanded and included in his exclusive dialogue with Claudine in his first scene
The Demon’s exclusive dialogue with Mastema has him express his desire to create the world without war that Damien had dreamed about. His second scene at Damien’s grave has added dialogue with Mastema, in which he vows to fulfill Damien’s dream and expresses how much he loves his departed brother.
The Heroes’ common cutscene remains unchanged.
Aran’s cutscene remains unchanged.
Evan’s cutscene has been slightly changed during his conversation with Mir. Mir notes that Evan’s feelings of inferiority to Freud had already been resolved in the past, and he affirms that while Freud is a prodigious magician, Evan is a good enough magician as well. Evan also notes that their journey isn’t over yet, as another corrupted Transcendent threatens Grandis, vowing to become a beacon of hope for them by inheriting Freud and Afrien’s will.
Mercedes’ cutscene has small additions in her conversation with Athena Pierce, in which both of them note that the fight isn’t over. Mercedes then vows that if another corrupted Transcendent appears, she will defeat them as the ruler of elves.
Phantom’s cutscene has a small addition at the very end, in which Phantom orders Gaston to set sail for Grandis, where a corrupted Transcendent still lies.
Luminous’ cutscene has a small addition towards the end, in which Luminous vows that if a corrupted Transcendent appears, he will stand against the darkness as a beacon of light. Vieren addresses Luminous as the Starchild, while Luminous thinks to Lucia that everything is finally over at last.
Shade’s cutscene has been slightly changed towards the end. After expressing his happiness that he hadn’t disappeared, his line that he has people counting on him has been changed to him asking aloud to Freud whether his gladness is a good thing like he believes.
Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s common cutscene remains unchanged.
Kaiser’s cutscene with the Former Kaiser has been slightly changed to include dialogue about Magnus escaping with the Outrigger. The Former Kaiser tells Kyle not to worry about it, as a traitor like Magnus won’t be able to claim its power. He reveals that the Outrigger had been created by the Ancient Gods of the Nova after one of those gods - Satiras the Devil Dragon - and his Black Nova followers had begun a war of conquest, with the Outrigger holding the will of the Nova gods to protect the Nova people. He also notes that though Magnus, as a mortal, can’t defy the will of the gods, it remains possible that Darmoor, as a Transcendent, may be able to.
Angelic Buster’s cutscene remains unchanged.
Cadena’s cutscene remains unchanged.
Illium’s cutscene remains unchanged.
Ark gets an additional scene after his old cutscene, in which he reunites with the nomads in Savage Terminal and vows to never give up on protecting the people he cares about.
Adele gets a slight addition to her cutscene, in which Jerome writes in his letter that he is planning to seek out a new resistance group against the High Flora, which is implied to be the Primacy.
Khali’s cutscene remains unchanged.
Kain’s cutscene has a slight change, in which Dr. Y returns injured from his fight with Khali during her cutscene, implying that Khali faces Ypsilon after the battle of Tenebris regardless of whether she is the Adversary or not. Dr. Y also tells Luska that they need to hurry up with the next phase of their plan, as he cannot keep Darmoor waiting.
Hoyoung’s cutscene remains unchanged.
Lara’s cutscene has small additions to her conversation with her grandmother, Sodam, in which she goes into more depth about her adventures and her feelings of despair while facing the Black Mage.
Zero’s cutscene has been changed completely. It begins with Alpha, Beta, and the priests reminiscing about the twins’ growth, as well as Rhinne noting that Alpha and Beta had managed to change a future that even she could not. Alpha is unsure of what to do next, as he and Beta - despite being the new Transcendents of Time - do not have the power to see the future. Rhinne tells Alpha that he and Beta make their own future, as they are not bound to the future as she had been. With Darmoor’s threat looming in the horizon and Cassius still alive, the twins decide to take things one step at a time, reaffirming that they can accomplish anything as long as they stay together.
Kinesis’ cutscene remains unchanged.