Back in my day we had 4 classes that could then further diversify.
For most classes, job advancements are at 10, 30, 70, and 120, referred to as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th job.
Now, there's 5 basic classes and diversification starts at character creation.
Mage, Warrior, Bowman, Thief, and the (really old but still new to me) Pirate.
First they implemented first jobs for each of the original 4, then second, then third, and after awhile eventually the fourth. Then they decided, fuck it, lets add a BILLION more classes and jobs.
Cygnus Knights are capped at lvl120, and after completing the requisite level 120 quests as a Cygnus Knight, you may make an ultimate explorer, which is simply a slightly buffed version of the original four classes. Cygnus Knight classes are based on the original 5--one for each. While as a regular mage, you choose to be a bishop/fire-poison/ice-lightning mage, Cygnus Knights choose that for you. For example, the Mage Cygnus Knight is fire, the Thief Cygnus Knight is an Assassin, and so on.In addition to the above, Cygnus Knights require 10% less exp to level and get additional AP, and get better skills at lower levels. Until 120, Cygnus Knights are the strongest. I recommend making a Cygnus Knight and then an Ultimate Explorer of your eventual end-game class--you even get a nice equipment set for free on any Ultimate Explorer. Cygnus Knights also require no skill books, ever. There are quests at 90, 100, and 110 to give you what would otherwise be 4th job level skills.
Dual Blades are weird. They're basically a fanciful Shadower (Thief explorer class) that you make from the character selection screen instead of specializing your explorer. They have their own job and skill advancement system that requires Cash Shop skill books.
With the Aran and Evan, they started this entire "Hero" class thing. Lore wise, basically the big-bad of Maple (The Black Mage) was originally sealed by these 5 heroes. A mage, a warrior, a bowman, a thief, and a pirate. The hero classes are pretty damn different from their explorer equivalents, and have a weird 'awakening' type advancement. Not all heroes are yet released.
The Resistance is where it starts getting more ridiculous. Bowmen are immobile, so the resistance bowman is very mobile and engages in mounted combat. Mages are ranged spell casters, so the resistance mage is a melee Battle Mage. They're supposed to be rebels.
Recently, they added "Legends," and I still have no clue as to why they are seperate from the others. Demon Slayers are really just Resistance warriors, Mercedes is the Bowman Hero, and Cannoneers are like dual blades for thieves.
I have played Maplestory on and off since its earliest beta (before the business model/cash shop was implemented) and above I relayed the information in a pretty much chronological fashion in the game's development. Here's the class system:
Explorer
>Mage
>>Cleric
>>Fire/Poison Wizard > Fire/Poison Archmage
>>Ice/Lightning Wizard > Ice/Lightning Archmage
>Thief
>>Assassin>Hermit>Night Lord
>>Bandit>Chief Bandit> Shadower
>Warrior
>>Fighter>Crusader>Hero
>>Page>White Knight>Paladin
>>Spearman>Dragon Knight>Dark Knight
>Bowman
>>Hunter>Ranger>Bow Master
>>Crossbowman>Sniper>Marksman
===================== Original Classes End Here
>Pirate
>>Gunslinger>Outlaw>Corsair
>>Brawler>Marauder>Buccaneer
===================== Explorers End Here
Cygnus Knights
>Blaze Wizard
>Night Walker
>Dawn Warrior
>Thunder Breaker
>Wind Archer
===================== Cygnus Knights End Here
Heros
>Aran
>Evan
>Mercedes
>?Phantom
>???
===================== Heros End Here
Resistance
>Battle Mage
>Demon Slayer
>Mechanic
>Wild Hunter
===================== Resistance End Here
Dual Blade
Cannoneer
===================== Weird Classes End Here
April Fool's Classes
>Mikhail
Actually implemented, and they reverted to Dawn Warriors or Paladins depending on their level after o.O
>Super Beginner
No.
This post was edited by XilDarkz on Apr 16 2012 03:41pm