Last Updated on by Samuel Franklin
MapleStory Best Shoulders Progression & How To Get Them
Optimising all of your equipment is important to your MapleStory progression and in this guide I explore the best MapleStory shoulders options available and how to obtain them from the Maple World. While a relatively simple equipment slot in comparison to some other slots in MapleStory proper equipment choice here is still important as it allows you to confidently invest resources into optimising your shoulder piece. While shoulders in MapleStory generally cannot be flamed (except for the Scarlet Shoulder) they can still be cubed for % stat gains relatively easily given their small pool of cube line options and can also be used within the Star Force system for extra stats.
To help players progress through the MapleStory best shoulders this guide lists the shoulders in recommended progression order for both Reboot and regular game servers. Generally this upgrade should be taken when possible after the powerhouse trio of weapon, emblem and secondary for your character although there are some other important considerations that are included where applicable below. Each entry below includes information on obtaining the shoulder, the stats on the item and other considerations in deciding when to use each particular shoulder. For other guides on optimising your equipment and character you may find our other MapleStory articles on the best inner abilities, link skills, medals, titles, totems, legion and pocket slot unlock guide useful references.
MapleStory Best Shoulders (Progression Order)
Royal Black Metal Shoulder (Level 120)
- +10 All Stat (STR, DEX, INT, LUK)
- +6 Weapon Attack
- +6 Magic Attack
- +100 Defence
The first notable shoulder that players can obtain is at level 120 and the first shoulder that players should consider trying to obtain as the shoulders available before this offer only a small number of stats and are not worth the effort in trying to obtain them given they would be replaced relatively quickly. There is some level of luck involved in acquiring this shoulder in MapleStory with it dropping from any Magnus difficulty (easy/normal/hard).
Not only does this item offer reasonable base stats that will add up when combined with your other equipment pieces in MapleStory it also is part of the Boss Accessory Set that makes this a viable shoulder all the way up to players obtaining their AbsoLab shoulder. It’s this useful contribution to the powerful set effect that makes this arguably the MapleStory best shoulder for progression given players can obtain it and effectively forget about the slot until much later in their journey should they wish.
Other shoulders that players may find around this time include the Golden Flower Shoulder (obtainable in Yu Garden) and the level 130 Antique Leaf Shoulder (available from Oko in Root Abyss) although there are better ways to spend the applicable currencies from these locations.
Hayato’s Treasure (Level 140)
- +11 All Stat (STR, DEX, INT, LUK)
- +7 Weapon Attack
- +7 Magic Attack
- +100 Defence
A potential shoulder upgrade becomes available at level 140 and like the shoulder above provides a powerful set bonus through the Sengoku Treasure Set. Importantly this set bonus is at its best when players also include the Kanna’s Treasure ring and Ayame’s Treasure belt to reach the 3 set bonus. Players need to judge their own equipment and planned equipment at this stage in determining when (or if) to switch to this item as you will want to balance reaching the important boss set break points of 7 for the IED it provides as it is critical to MapleStory bossing during the midgame.
Generally reaching this 7 set bonus is done without the shoulder using face, eye, earrings, ring, pendant, pocket and badge slots instead and if this is the case for you then swapping over to all of the Hayato items should come out ahead. I would ensure you keep the Royal Black Metal Shoulder on hand though as you may need to shuffle it back into your equipment line up at some point to maintain the Boss Accessory 7 set bonus.
This shoulder is obtained by completing the Princess No quest line which is likely something players will be doing anyway given the other items from Princess No are great additions to your equipment slots.
AbsoLab Knight/Mage/Archer/Bandit/Pirate Shoulder (Level 160)
- +14 All Stat (STR, DEX, INT, LUK)
- +10 Weapon Attack
- +10 Magic Attack
- +100 Defence
The shoulder that is most likely to be equipped for the longest time in your MapleStory career once players obtain it is the AbsoLab shoulder available at level 160 through the same process as the other AbsoLab gear that revolves around Lotus and Damien. Not only does this shoulder provide improved statistics across the board it’s got an improvement in set bonus power that players will want to capitalise on.
This is where players may need to start shuffling around their other equipment pieces to optimise available set bonuses and out of the box the AbsoLab Shoulder in itself may not be stronger until players have at least another item from the AbsoLab set. It’s at this stage of your MapleStory best shoulder progression that I would start to ramp up your investment through Star Force and cubing to get a shoulder that you are happy with as AbsoLab is a staple equipment set for a large portion of the mid to end game push for players.
Arcane Umbra Knight/Mage/Archer/Thief/Pirate Shoulder (Level 200)
- +35 All Stat (STR, DEX, INT, LUK)
- +20 Weapon Attack
- +20 Magic Attack
- +300 Defence
Currently the best MapleStory shoulder available in the game this level 200 item is as powerful as it is difficult to obtain and upgrade to it’s full power level. Obtained from the Lucid and Will boss fights in combination with enemy monsters from the late game areas of Lachelein, Arcana, Esfera, Sellas and Tenebris players will accumulate droplets to trade for the items over a series of months.
While the base stats alone are notable so is the Arcane Umbra Set and the potential power boost from Star Force on this equipment piece that make it an end game necessity to push the highest tiers of content that MapleStory has to offer its player base.
