Star Force Enhancement

OverviewStat Tables

The Star Force Enhancement UI.

Star Force Enhancement, colloquially known as star forcing or starforcing, is an Equipment Enhancement system that allows players to increase an Equipment item's stats and final damage dealt in certain maps throughout the Maple World.

Overview

• Star Force Enhancement is measured by stars, and each successful enhancement will increase the item's Star Force by a single star.
  • Star Force values beyond certain breakpoints will grant even greater bonus stats.
  • Each attempt at enhancing an item's Star Force has a fixed success chance. The chance of success goes down as the item's Star Force increases.
  • Each attempt costs Mesos. Enhancing at higher Star Force values or enhancing higher level item increases the cost.
  • The cost, success rate, and bonus stats granted are shown before each attempt.
  • Attempts can be done without using a mouse by pressing the Spacebar key.
    • This, however, runs into the risk of overshooting and performing more attempts than intended after achieving the desired Star Force level. In serious cases, the item might be destroyed within a single attempt.
• Each item can only be enhanced up to a maximum amount of Star Force. Higher level items generally have a higher Star Force limit compared to lower level items.
• If a Star Force attempt fails, no Star Force is gained.
  • At higher levels, failure can destroy the item and leave a trace of the item.
  • Superior items' Star Force will reduce upon failure.
  • When the same Superior item's Star Force is decreased twice in a row, Chance Time triggers, where the next attempt will be a 100% success rate. However, if players change channels or logout, this effect will disappear.
• The total sum of all equipped items' Star Force can be viewed in the Character Info window.
  • Overalls' Star Force values are worth twice as much as other items to offset occupying both the Top and Bottom slot.
  • Certain titles, medals or Guild passive skills can also increase total Star Force value. However, they do not affect Star Force Conversion type skills.
• In all servers other than KoreaMS and GlobalMS, certain VIP Lounges (Royal Suite and Starry Black Terrace) allows automatic Star Force Enhancement based on the requested Star Force level.
  • In KoreaMS and MapleSEA, automatic Star Force Enhancement is available for all players beginning in the 23rd Anniversary / Crown Update.
• Various events can improve the chances of successful upgrades or apply a discount to the mesos needed. However, these events do not apply to Superior items.
• Equipment with a Star Force value of at least 23★ will have the top of their overview adorned with glittering stars.

Maximum Star Force Value

The maximum Star Force Value available for enhancement for each item depends on the item's required level to equip. The general maximum Star Force Value is as follows, with exceptions to Superior items, certain Sweetwater Equipment and Badges with Potential:

GeneralSweetwater and Badges with PotentialSuperior

Equipment Level	Maximum Star Force Value
0 to 94	5★
95 to 107	8★
108 to 117	10★
118 to 127	15★
128 to 137	20★
138 and above	30★

Equipment	Maximum Star Force Value
Sweetwater Shoes	15★
Sweetwater Gloves	15★
Sweetwater Cape	15★
Ghost Ship Exorcist	22★
Sengoku Hakase Badge	22★

Superior Equipment	Maximum Star Force Value
Elite Heliseum	3★
Nova	8★
Tyrant	15★

Success Rates

Note: The following tables do not apply to ChinaMS.

KMS, GMS, JMS, MSEATMS

Probability Table
Star Force Value	Success Rate	Failure Rate	Destruction Rate
0★ → 1★	95%	5%
1★ → 2★	90%	10%
2★ → 3★	85%	15%
3★ → 4★	85%	15%
4★ → 5★	80%	20%
5★ → 6★	75%	25%
6★ → 7★	70%	30%
7★ → 8★	65%	35%
8★ → 9★	60%	40%
9★ → 10★	55%	45%
10★ → 11★	50%	50%
11★ → 12★	45%	55%
12★ → 13★	40%	60%
13★ → 14★	35%	65%
14★ → 15★	30%	70%
15★ → 16★	30%	67.9%	2.1%
16★ → 17★	30%	67.9%	2.1%
17★ → 18★	15%	78.2%	6.8%
18★ → 19★	15%	78.2%	6.8%
19★ → 20★	15%	76.5%	8.5%
20★ → 21★	30%	59.5%	10.5%
21★ → 22★	15%	72.25%	12.75%
22★ → 23★	15%	68%	17%
23★ → 24★	10%	72%	18%
24★ → 25★	10%	72%	18%
25★ → 26★	10%	72%	18%
26★ → 27★	7%	74.4%	18.6%
27★ → 28★	5%	76%	19%
28★ → 29★	3%	77.6%	19.4%
29★ → 30★	1%	79.2%	19.8%

Probability Table
Star Force Value	Success Rate	Failure Rate	Destruction Rate
0★ → 1★	95%	5%
1★ → 2★	90%	10%
2★ → 3★	85%	15%
3★ → 4★	85%	15%
4★ → 5★	80%	20%
5★ → 6★	75%	25%
6★ → 7★	70%	30%
7★ → 8★	65%	35%
8★ → 9★	60%	40%
9★ → 10★	55%	45%
10★ → 11★	50%	50%
11★ → 12★	45%	55%
12★ → 13★	40%	60%
13★ → 14★	35%	65%
14★ → 15★	30%	70%
15★ → 16★	30%	67.9%	2.1%
16★ → 17★	30%	67.9%	2.1%
17★ → 18★	15%	78.2%	6.8%
18★ → 19★	12%	79.8%	8.2%
19★ → 20★	10%	81%	9%
20★ → 21★	30%	59.5%	10.5%
21★ → 22★	20%	68.5%	11.5%
22★ → 23★	17.5%	70.25%	12.25%
23★ → 24★	8.5%	73.5%	18%
24★ → 25★	8.5%	73.5%	18%
25★ → 26★	8%	74%	18%
26★ → 27★	7%	74.4%	18.6%
27★ → 28★	5%	76%	19%
28★ → 29★	3%	77.6%	19.4%
29★ → 30★	1%	79.2%	19.8%

Star Catch

Star Catching is a small minigame that can be played after committing to a enhancement attempt. A star will move back and forth quickly from side to side on a line starting from the left, and it must be "caught" within the middle yellow section of the line by clicking the "Stop" button on the interface or by pressing the spacebar on the keyboard. If successful, the success rate will increase by 5% multiplicatively, and proportionally decrease the chances of failure and destruction. The minigame can be skipped by ticking the checkbox beside "Disable Star Catching" on the interface.

Enhancing an item while in the Enhancement Altar of a Guild Castle or in the VIP Lounge (in all servers other than KoreaMS and GlobalMS) will also passively apply the multiplicative bonus of star catching without playing the minigame. However, the achievement of succeeding in Star Catching will not be counted.

Star Catching is no longer available in KoreaMS and MapleSEA as of the 23rd Anniversary and Crown Updates respectively, as the multiplicative bonus of star catching has been automatically applied to the base success rates. Such achievements are also retired.

"5/10/15"

During certain Sunny Sundays, the success rate for upgrading from 5★ → 6★, 10★ → 11★, and 15★ → 16★ increases to 100%, colloquially referred to as "5/10/15". When upgrading from 15★ → 16★, safeguard is disabled as it would provide no benefit. This event does not apply to Superior items.

Chance Time

When a Superior item's stars decrease twice in a row, chance time activates, which guarantees the next enhancement attempt to succeed. The guaranteed attempt will only apply to the item that is currently being enhanced. When chance time triggers when upgrading from 15★ → 16★ or 16★ → 17★, safeguard is disabled as it would provide no benefit.

Destruction

The trace of a destroyed Commanding Force Earring. Although it is unequippable, the bonus stats from flames and potential persist and can be transferred onto a new pair of Commanding Force Earrings.

From 15★ and beyond (5★ and beyond for Superior items), items have a chance of becoming destroyed. When an item is destroyed it will leave behind a trace, which is an unequippable remnant of the item that retains all of its stats except its Star Force.

Certain Sunny Sunday events can reduce the chance of destruction by set amounts. In most servers, the chance of destruction is reduced by 30% when enhancing an item below 21★. In JapanMS and MapleSEA, the chance of reduction can be reduced by 40% when enhancing an item below 21★, and reduced by 20% when enhancing an item between 22★ and 24★. However, this effect is not applied to Superior items, and the additional cost of protecting from destruction is not discounted due to this event.

Safeguard

When an item is between 15★ to 17★ inclusive, the item can be safeguarded from destruction. This will increase the cost of each upgrade attempt by 200% of its base cost (i.e. triple before any discounts), but will protect the item from destruction. While safeguarded, if the item were to be destroyed, it will instead act as if the attempt failed; the chance and behavior of successes are not affected. The additional cost while safeguarding is typically not affected by discounts (such as MVP or events) to the base cost.

Enhancement Mode (GlobalMS only)

Enhancement Mode becomes available when enhancing items from 15★ to 21★, excluding Superior equipment. 4 enhancement levels are available with varying success or destruction rates per level, with Level 1 being the standard rates and cost and Level 4 with 0% destruction rate. The cost to enhance is based on the Enhancement Mode level, where higher Enhancement Mode levels will cost more Meso.

Trace

A trace can be restored back into an equippable item through various methods. In Non-GlobalMS servers, when the trace is restored, the recovered item's Star Force level will be set to 12★ by default.

In GlobalMS, the recovered item's Star Force level will be set to a specified value depending on the original item's Star Force value before it was destroyed.

Star Force Upon Destruction	Recovered Star Force Level
15★ to 19★	12★
20★	15★
21★ to 22★	17★
23★ to 25★	19★
26★ to 30★	20★

In KoreaMS and MapleSEA, beginning in the 23d Anniversary and Crown Updates respectively, when item is destroyed during Star Force Enhancement, the Star Force level of the trace is set to the Star Force value of the equip before destruction with up to a maximum of 22★. Meso and identical items can be used to fully restore the item based on the previous Star Force level.

• Traces up to 18★ require 1 identical item, traces at 19-20★ require 2 identical items, traces at 21★ require 3 identical items, and traces at 22★ require 4 identical items.
• For Zero weapons, additional essences are required instead.
• For Astra secondary weapons and Destiny 2nd Transcendence weapons, only one identical item is required, though the Meso costs are increased according to the Star Force level.
• Alternatively, one identical item can still be used to restore the item at 12★ without requiring any additional Meso.

In all servers, when trace is restored on Superior items, the recovered item's Star Force level will be reset to 0★.

Trace Transfer

The most straightforward way to restore a trace is to combine it with an identical item under the Trace Restoration tab in the Enhancement interface. The process will overwrite the stats of the recipient item with the stats stored on the trace. In Non-GlobalMS servers, this remains as the only way to restore a trace.

Core Restoration (GlobalMS only)

After accepting [Fabian's Research] The Star's Force within a world, up to 10 Mysterious Star Speck Boxes can be looted from monsters every day across that world. Opening these boxes randomly reward Star Specks and Shining Star Specks. These boxes are fully tradable in Interactive Worlds, and can be transferred between different characters using the Storage System in Heroic Worlds.

Before they can be used to restore traces, Star Specks must be crafted into a specific type of Star Core by speaking to Fabian in Veritas. 200 Star Specks can be crafted into a Star Core, which can be further refined into a Dawn Star Core or Pitched Star Core when combined with Shining Star Specks. Once the proper core is crafted, it can be used to restore the trace under the Trace/Core Restoration tab in the Enhancement interface. Badge traces cannot be restored.

Materials Needed

Core	Materials	Equipment Trace Restored
Star Core	200 Star Specks	Equipment Level 200 or below part of an Equipment Set
Dawn Star Core	1 Star Core and 25 Shining Star Specks	Dawn Boss Set
Pitched Star Core	1 Star Core and 50 Shining Star Specks	Pitched Boss Set

Trace Restoration (GlobalMS only)

After any character in a world completes [Arthur and Red Beryl] Restoring Power, any character across that world can attempt Trace Restoration missions per week by selecting Trace Restore within the Boss Entry UI. The designated character can only be changed after weekly boss reset.

Trace Restoration missions are additional modifiers or objectives that increase the difficulty of the boss. Defeating a boss with active missions will reward points, which can be used to restore traces. The boss must be defeated alone and cannot be done in Champion Mode. Points are shared across the world and up to 2,500 points can be accumulated. If a character leaps from Challenger World, their points are also transferred, but the total points will not exceed 2,500. Badge traces cannot be restored.

If an optional objective is selected but is not fulfilled before the boss is defeated, such as getting hit by a particular attack a certain number of times, its points will not be distributed and cannot be re-attempted until next week.

Points Needed

Note that the table below is not comprehensive—the included equipment are items typically used by players.

Item	Points to Restore
Kanna's Treasure	392
Black Bean Mark	400
Dominator Pendant	431
Papulatus Mark	462
Root Abyss Armor	495
Sweetwater Equipment	512
Solid Gollux Accessories	523
AbsoLab Armor	588
Reinforced Gollux Accessories	607
Daybreak Pendant	646
Superior Gollux Accessories	697
Guardian Angel Ring	844
Arcane Umbra Armor	960
Pitched Boss Items	1,680
Eternal Armor	2,312
Brilliant Boss Items	2,500

Missions

Missions
Boss	Mission	Points
Lotus	Challenge on Hard Mode	1
	Challenger in Extreme Mode	8
	Start with a Death Count of 2	1
	Final Damage: -20%	1
	Damage Taken: +10%	1
	Hit Lotus with laser 5 times	3
Damien	Challenge on Hard Mode	1
	Start with a Death Count of 5	1
	Final Damage: -20%	1
	Damage Taken: +10%	1
	Don't let the Brand take hold	3
Lucid	Challenge on Normal Mode	1
	Challenge on Hard Mode	3
	Start with a Death Count of 5	2
	Final Damage: -20%	2
	Damage Taken: +10%	2
	Don't fall below the floor	3
Will	Challenge on Normal Mode	1
	Challenge on Hard Mode	3
	Start with a Death Count of 5	2
	Final Damage: -20%	2
	Damage Taken: +10%	2
	Clear a total of 5 Spiderwebs in Phase 3	4
Darknell	Challenge on Normal Mode	1
	Challenge on Hard Mode	4
	Start with a Death Count of 2	2
	Final Damage: -20%	2
	Damage Taken: +10%	2
	Get hit by Pillar of Light 3 times	4
Gloom	Challenge on Normal Mode	1
	Challenge on Chaos Mode	3
	Start with a Death Count of 2	2
	Final Damage: -20%	2
	Damage Taken: +10%	2
	Terror Gauge fill rate increased by 150%	4
Verus Hilla	Challenge on Normal Mode	2
	Challenge on Hard Mode	4
	Start with a Death Count of 2	4
	Final Damage: -20%	3
	Damage Taken: +10%	3
	Get hit by thread 3 times	5
Guardian Angel Slime	Challenge on Normal Mode	1
	Challenge on Chaos Mode	4
	Start with a Death Count of 2	2
	Final Damage: -20%	2
	Damage Taken: +10%	2
	Clear after blocking 2 Holy Gates in the first wave	4
Black Mage	Challenge on Hard Mode	8
	Challenger in Extreme Mode	16
	Final Damage: -20%	12
	Damage Taken: +10%	12
	Clear Phase 1 and 2 with a full Death Count	10
Seren	Challenge on Normal Mode	2
	Challenge in Hard Mode (Extreme 2x Points)	4 (8 in Extreme Mode)
	Start with a Death Count of 2	6
	Final Damage: -20%	5
	Damage Taken: +10%	5
	Limit Usable Item (Potion) to 30	7

The maximum points a character can receive in a week are as follows, if all possible missions are activated and successfully completed.

Boss	Maximum Points
Lotus	14
Damien	7
Lucid	12
Will	13
Darknell	14
Gloom	13
Verus Hilla	19
Guardian Angel Slime	14
Black Mage	50
Seren	31
Weekly Maximum	126
Monthly Maximum	43

Full Screen Enhancement Effect

The game enters a full screen enhancement effect, prompting players to click to reveal the result. This can occur in the following situations:

• When the account has not obtained the Maple Achievement for reaching the next Star Force level, the current item is between 19★ and 23★, and the attempt is either successful or item is destroyed.
• When the current item is at least 24★ and the attempt is either successful or item is destroyed.

This is a placebo effect as the result is determined as soon as Mesos are deducted for the enhancement attempt. Force closing the game to attempt to revert the attempt will not change the result of the attempt.

Star Force Hunting Zones

Star Force Hunting Zones are marked with red pips adorned with a white star, compared to the usual yellow pips.

Various maps in the Maple World region are marked as Star Force Hunting Zones. Monsters on this map are strengthened with Star Force, and players with less Star Force than the monsters will deal less damage and receive more damage. Conversely, having a greater amount of Star Force will increase damage dealt and decrease damage received. While monsters empowered with Star Force are generally stronger than their normal counterparts, they also offer significantly more experience points when defeated.

The minimum amount of Star Force required is displayed on the world map and through the user interface while in a Star Force Hunting Zone. It is also displayed via a message upon entering the map.

Damage Multipliers

Star Force Value	Final Damage dealt to monsters	Final Damage received from monsters
Less than 9%	1	3×
10% to 29%	10%	2.8×
30% to 49%	30%	2.4×
50% to 69%	50%	2×
70% to 99%	70%	1.6×
100%	100%	1×
More than 100%	+1% for each excess star (up to +20%)	1×

Base Meso Cost

Each enhancement attempt requires a certain amount of Mesos, which vary depending on the level of the item and the current number of stars on the item. The exact number can be derived via the formulas below, where values are rounded to the nearest hundred and L is the equipment's level.

The base Meso cost varies slightly between servers at lower levels, but equalizes from 15★ onwards. The following values do not apply to ChinaMS.

Star Force Value	Meso Cost (GMS)	Meso Cost (KMS, JMS, MSEA)
0★ → 10★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (S+1)}{25}\rceil$, where $S$ is the current Star Force level.	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (S+1)}{36}\rceil$, where $S$ is the current Star Force level.
10★ → 11★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (11{)}^{2.7}}{400}\rceil$	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (11{)}^{2.7}}{571}\rceil$
11★ → 12★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (12{)}^{2.7}}{220}\rceil$	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (12{)}^{2.7}}{314}\rceil$
12★ → 13★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (13{)}^{2.7}}{150}\rceil$	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (13{)}^{2.7}}{214}\rceil$
13★ → 14★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (14{)}^{2.7}}{110}\rceil$	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (14{)}^{2.7}}{157}\rceil$
14★ → 15★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (15{)}^{2.7}}{75}\rceil$	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (15{)}^{2.7}}{107}\rceil$
15★ → 16★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (16{)}^{2.7}}{200}\rceil$
16★ → 17★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (17{)}^{2.7}}{200}\rceil$
17★ → 18★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (18{)}^{2.7}}{150}\rceil$
18★ → 19★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (19{)}^{2.7}}{70}\rceil$
19★ → 20★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (20{)}^{2.7}}{45}\rceil$
20★ → 21★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (21{)}^{2.7}}{200}\rceil$
21★ → 22★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (22{)}^{2.7}}{125}\rceil$
22★ → 30★	$1000+\lfloor \frac{L^3\times (S+1{)}^{2.7}}{200}\rceil$, where $S$ is the current Star Force level.

For Superior items, the cost is fixed regardless of the current stars, and are not affected by any discounts. The cost is: $1000+\lfloor L^{3.56}\rceil$, rounded off to 100 mesos.

Discounts

Special events may apply discounts to the amount of Mesos required. The most notable examples are certain Sunny Sundays that apply a 30% multiplicative discount, which are applied before safeguard costs.

Certain MVP / VIP tiers will also apply a multiplicative discount up to 16★ → 17★:

MVP Tier	VIP Tier	Discount
Silver	Gold	3%
Gold	Diamond	5%
Diamond+	Royal+	10%

Star Tokens (ChinaMS only)

In ChinaMS, the Star Force Enhancement system works differently from all other servers. As of v219 update on September 10, 2025, the Star Force Enhancement System was adjusted as follows:

• Existing 20+★ items, except Genesis Weapons or items with Eternal Star Force Scrolls applied, have their enhancements increased by 2★, with increased scaling to the corresponding Star Force.
• Enhancement cost adjustments
  • 0★ - 14★: Requires Mesos
  • 15★ - 24★: Requires Star Tokens
  • 25★ - 29★: Requires Quenching Star Tokens, usable until the end of current year, and obtained from Extreme Kalos, Extreme Carling, Hard Limbo, Hard Baldrix, and Extreme Malitia
• Prices of different enhancement stages for Non-Superior items are greatly inflated comparing to other regions. For example, enhancing an Eternal item from 14★ to 15★ cost 1,496,657,400 Mesos at 10% success rate.
• Before the update, players were required to use Star Tokens instead of Mesos for Star Force Enhancement, with entirely different enhancement costs and success rates. This still remains unchanged for Superior item.

As of 2025, Star Tokens can be obtained from following sources:

• Loot from monsters, up to 10 times every day per character
• MAPLE Daily Gift reward
• Event Coin Shop
• Legion Coin Shop
• After clearing chapter 3 of Black Heaven, players can do a daily quest for 60 Star Tokens every day, and another daily quest would require player stay online in 20 minutes for another 60 Star Tokens, up to 5 times per day per character
  • If the player disconnects from the game (including switching characters), the player has to forfeit the quest before doing the daily quest again
• First 7 days after a new server update, players who have reached 500 points could claim 2000 Star Tokens once per account

Other differences in ChinaMS include as follows:

• Items after enhancement attempts will become untradable regardless of enhancement results. However, players may use Transfer Hammers, introduced in the Reboot Update, to get a tradable item, or making the item tradable once with Scissors of Karma (if applicable).

• item with Eternal Star Force Scrolls applied are untradable and unable to use Transfer Hammer.
• Chance time is unavailable.
• If an item is destroyed during enhancement, trace of destroyed item is dropped to 6★ instead of 12★.
• The star amount of existing items enhanced by Equip Enhancement Scroll before the Star Force Update were reduced with enhanced stats untouched:
  • 1-5★ items: Reduced by 1★
  • 6-10★ items: Reduced by 2★
  • 11-15★ items: Reduced by 3★
• Existing items with reduced Star Force were referred to as "star reduced gears" CN:降星装备 by Chinese players, most notably Tyrant items.

History

• The NEXT / Post-NEXT / Every Little Thing, Every Precious Thing Update increased the upper limit of Star Force from 25★ to 30★ and tweaked success, failure, and destruction rates to make obtaining higher Star Force levels more achievable.
  • In KoreaMS and GlobalMS, items that were already at least 23★ before the patch had their Star Force level increased after the update:
    • 23★ items were converted to 25★.
    • 24★ items were converted to 28★.
    • 25★ items were converted to 30★.
  • In JapanMS, TaiwanMS, and MapleSEA, items that were already at least 23★ before the patch had their Star Force level increased by 2★ after the update.
  • In ChinaMS, items that were already at least 20+★, except Genesis Weapons or items with Eternal Star Force Scrolls applied, have their Star Force level increased by 2★ after the update.
• Previously, items could only be Star Forced if it had no remaining Scroll Enhancements in Interactive / Non-Reboot Worlds. As of the 22nd Anniversary Update (KoreaMS) / NEXT Update (JapanMS and MapleSEA) / Dave the Diver Update (ChinaMS and TaiwanMS) / Carcion Octo Fest Update (GlobalMS) as part of the UI revamp, this requirement has been removed and all items can be Star Forced immediately.

Trivia

• In GlobalMS, enhancing the Masteria's Legacy Set, most notably the Glona's Heart Ring, requires both Mesos and Shadowknight Coins.
• In TaiwanMS, players were able to substitute the Meso enhancement cost with a flat Maple Point amount until the NEXT Update. In this same update, the ability to safeguard up to 25 stars using Maple Points was also removed.