MAPLESTORY BIG BANG - THE PROS

Pro #1: The Improved Leveling Rate

Improvement of the leveling rate was something that Maplestory needed for a very long time. It used to take hours of grinding just to gain a couple of levels. In order to make sure it took that long, I went on a private server called ClassicMS which brings you back to v62, and sure enough, it did. With the painfully low EXP yields from monsters and the terribly low damage, it was extremely difficult to get to the ridiculously high EXP requirement for a level up.
Although, sometimes I get a feeling that you level too fast. Back before Big Bang, even second job was a huge achievement. I now play on a server called MapleRoyals, which is v62 except there's a x4 EXP rate. Even that is much slower than modern GMS, but I actually like it better that way. Maybe x6 or x8 EXP rate in v62 would be better. However, the way you level now is definitely better than the way you used to level before Big Bang, with no x4 EXP rate.

Pro #2: Balanced Monsters
Before Big Bang, the only place where players above Lv. 100 could train was Leafre and Temple of Time. Because of this problem, it was extremely difficult to get to Lv. 100, let alone Lv. 200. That was the reason why 타락파워전사 (Tarakpawojunsa, "EvilPowerWarrior") and Fangblade, the first people to reach Lv. 200 in KMS and GMS respectively, became so legendary.
But now, each region has a different range of monsters. Once you get powerful enough, you can move to a different area. Now, you can level up way more easily.

Pro #3: The Addition of a Storyline
I know that I said I miss the pure exploration aspect of MapleStory, but a storyline was something that MapleStory desperately needed as well. Most other RPG games have story quests to let you level up more quickly and to distract you from the grinding, while MapleStory lacked this. Now even Explorers have a loose storyline, and I feel like that's a great improvement. MapleStory went from a story about some random people killing slimes to an amazingly complex story about the Black Mage, the Five Heroes, the Cygnus Knights, the Resistance... and all of those stories were tied together. I believe the Black Mage was first mentioned with the Pirate update, and yes, classes with consistent storylines (Cygnus, Aran, Evan) came out before the Big Bang update, but with the Black Mage becoming an active part of the Maple storyline, I think it really improved Maple a lot.

ANT TUNNEL IS BACK!

Nexon has done something so unbelievably nice that I'd never have imagined they'd do - they brought back the first two maps of the Ant Tunnel, now dubbed as the "Ant Tunnel Square".

The new "Ant Tunnel Square I" compared to the old "Ant Tunnel I". The private server "MapleRoyals" was used to obtain the second image. As far as I can tell, the two maps are geographically identical.

When I first saw the two new Ant Tunnel maps in the World Map, I was swarmed with nostalgia and it made me almost cry.
In my previous blog post, I complained about how Zombie Mushrooms were, after the Big Bang update, exposed in plain sunlight when they were supposed to be zombies. Well, now they fixed that problem, because in the new Ant Tunnel lurks the newly revamped Lv. 65 Zombie Mushrooms. Sleepywood in general also seems more challenging than before, as Copper Drakes, who were previously Lv. 50, have been boosted up to Lv. 66.
I also noticed that with the removal of the Zombie Mushrooms from Henesys, the previous Zombie Mushroom map was replaced with a "Blue Mushroom Forest 2" map. I really like how they're bringing back the map series thing, where they have (insert map name here) 1, 2, 3, etc.
Several parts of Maple World are currently undergoing revamp, including Ellinia's Cursed Forest area. I can only hope that this revamp, just like the Sleepywood revamp, brings Maple one step closer to pre-Big Bang.
Now all we need back is Victoria Road and Hidden Streets.

MAPLESTORY BIG BANG - THE CONS

Con #1: The Complete Makeover of Victoria Island
Victoria Island was, and perhaps still is, the most iconic place in all of Maple World. It's where people spent most of their time leveling up. It's where they made most of their friends. And it was, in my opinion, one of the most amazing places I've ever been to in a video game. Until Big Bang, that is.
In my opinion, what made Victoria Island so amazing was Victoria Road and the vast maps it contained. In case you're new and don't know what Victoria Road is, it was a circular road that connected all the towns in Victoria except Sleepywood, then known simply as the Dungeon. Each and every map in Victoria Road was so large that one could explore even in individual maps. Maplestory's slogan, at least in KMS, used to be "Maplestory: It's your story". Maplestory used to be that centered around adventuring and exploring. The amount of adventuring that Maplestory suggested its users to experience could only really be done in Victoria Island, which is what made the place so amazing. But now, it can't be done even in Victoria.
Another thing other than Victoria Road that made Victoria so full of exploration was the Hidden Streets. Hidden Streets were hidden maps scattered all across Victoria Island. They didn't have entrances marked with portals, and instead the only way you could find them was by luck, your wit, or by someone else giving you the information. Some of the most famous Hidden Streets were the Ellinia tree dungeons and Pig Beach. Now both of those Hidden Streets have been turned into crappy mini dungeons. Some hidden maps, like the one in Dangerous Croco, were extremely hard to find. Other ones, like the Ellinia tree dungeons or the Hidden Street entrances marked with "DANGER" signs, were obvious. However, the joy of finding them was overwhelming.

Con #2: The Dungeon/Sleepywood
Before Big Bang, Sleepywood was simply just known as the "Dungeon". Sleepywood was no more than the name of the town that happened to be inside the Dungeon. The Dungeon was not a place that you had to go by every time you wanted to go to a Victoria town. It was a truly terrifying place.
Even the road to the Dungeons were extremely hazardous. For example, in the Henesys way into the Dungeon, which was otherwise most likely the easiest way in, there was a pit full of golems at the bottom. If you missed one jump, you'd fall in and die instantly.
There are now two guards, Luke and Mike, guarding the entrance and exit to Sleepywood. However, before, Luke and Mike used to guard the Henesys entrance to the Dungeon and the Perion entrance to the Dungeon respectively. Even if they were just NPCs, the Dungeon was so dangerous that Nexon felt like placing those guards there.
Even inside the Dungeon was completely different from modern day Sleepywood. The Ant Tunnel had a completely different feel. It had a sort of an overpowering aura that overwhelmed you as you trained there. Now, Sleepywood just feels like an everyday hunting place.
Right now, Sleepywood starts at Lv. 50 Copper Drakes and ends at Lv. 66 Junior Balrogs, Lv. 64 Taurospears if you don't want to count the boss mob. Back in the day, the Dungeon started at low-level monsters such as Octopi and Zombie Mushrooms, and ended at high-level monsters way up in the 70s. Modern day Sleepywood has become a place where a Lv. 50 player can enter and clear in less than half an hour. They can just storm through the entire thing. There is no more excitement in clearing Sleepywood, or any map in Maplestory for that matter.
But the old Dungeon was a place of challenging oneself whether you were of low level, mid-level, or high level. The Dungeon was a training place for Lv. 20 players hunting mushrooms as well as a place where Lv. 70 players were hunting golems. As you progressed deeper into the Ant Tunnel, you had a feeling like, "Wow, I've grown so much!" It was a place where you would keep pushing yourself to go further, realize your limits, and feel proud and satisfied when you broke through those limits and set new goals. Maplestory just doesn't have that kind of place anymore.

Con #3: Carelessly Modified Monsters
Before Big Bang, golems were terrifying monsters. Although they were only at Level 55, with all sorts of buffs and abilities they had, they were challenging for players as powerful as Level 70. But now they've become toys at Level 20. Although they still have the buffs, they are weak monsters that Level 10 players train on.
Another carelessly modified monsters are the mushrooms. I am not referring to the levels but their placements. According to an official KMS Maplestory Guidebook published before Big Bang, Horny Mushrooms are "Green Mushrooms who have grown horns due to lack of sunlight". Zombie Mushrooms are "very weak to light". Why is it that monsters that are created from lack of sunlight and are weak against light are living in Henesys? Nexon just decided to stuff all mushroom monsters into Henesys for no reason. I know it looks more organized and all, but I actually like it more disorganized. I liked it way more when some maps had monsters of all rangers from snails to ribbon pigs in the same place. It was way more realistic and way more enjoyable.
Some quests don't even make sense anymore. For example, at Lv. 15, Evan gets a quest from Mir. Mir wants to help the people of Henesys by hunting Blue Mushrooms, but Evan insists that BMs are too strong and they need to train until they're Lv. 20. This was understandable as before Big Bang, Blue Mushrooms were powerful mobs that even Lv. 20 players didn't have an easy time defeating. But now Blue Mushrooms are only Lv. 16. A Lv. 15 Evan should easily be able to defeat a Lv. 16 monster.

Con #4: Accuracy and Avoidability
Accuracy and avoidability are two elements in Maplestory that don't even matter anymore. Now, if a player is two levels below a monster's level, he/she has a 2% chance to miss the attack. For every level a player is under his/her opponent, the chance to miss increases by 2%. Likewise, a monster has a 2% chance to miss against a player who's one level above it.
Before Big Bang, accuracy and avoidability on equips actually mattered. There were mobs such as Jr. Neckis and Iron Hogs who had extremely high avoidability, apparently caused by their tough scales and armor. Which actually made more sense and added some realism to the game. Thieves, who focused on LUK (accuracy) and DEX (avoidability), had the best chance to kill these types of monsters, and had an added fun to playing the class.