WarriorSTR · Melee fighters with the highest HP
MagicianINT · Spellcasters
BowmanDEX · Ranged attackers
ThiefLUK · Fast and evasiveKPQ Walkthrough: Kerning City Party Quest Stage by Stage in MapleStory Classic World
KPQ ("First Time Together") takes a party of 4, level 21 and up, through five stages against the clock (community sources report a 30-minute limit): collect coupons from Ligators, solve three "stand on the right three" puzzles (ropes, kitten platforms, barrels), then clear 3 Curse Eyes, 6 Jr. Neckis and King Slime. A bonus room follows. Talk to Lakelis in Kerning City on channels 3 to 12. Take Proof of Companionship from Lakelis before your first run.
For the short overview (level, NPC, channels), see our KPQ overview. This page is the full walkthrough.
Verified vs reported: monster stats (KPQ Ligators, Curse Eyes, Jr. Neckis, King Slime), the Proof of Companionship quest, the Squishy Shoes and Companion's Magic Box item data, and where each KPQ map returns you come from the launch game data. Level 21, party of 4 and channels 3 to 12 come from Nexon. The 30-minute time limit, the coupon questions, the rest of the death/disconnect rules, stage EXP, box contents and what King Slime drops are community-reported from the closed tests and pre-launch data; treat them as likely, not confirmed.
Cheat sheet: Stage 1: hand Cloto the exact coupon count your question asks for (drop extras). Stages 2 to 4: three non-leaders stand on three spots, the leader asks Cloto, and you move one person at a time through the combinations below. Stage 5: 10 passes in total (3 Curse Eyes, 6 Jr. Neckis, 1 King Slime). Leave through Nella.
Requirements
| Level | 21 and above (Nexon) |
| Party | Exactly 4: a leader plus three members |
| Start NPC | Lakelis, Kerning City |
| Channels | 3 to 12 (Nexon) |
| Time limit | 30 minutes for the whole run (community-reported; not in the game data) |
| Job | Any |
The original game capped KPQ at level 30. Two community sources both report no maximum level in Classic World so far, and both say several parties can run it at the same time on one channel.
Before your first run: accept Proof of Companionship from Lakelis (Lv. 21, one time). Killing King Slime completes it for 1,870 EXP, 687 mesos, +1 fame (community-reported) and a random Intermediate earring stat scroll (STR, DEX, INT or LUK).
Pick the leader carefully. The leader never gets a Stage 1 question, talks to Cloto in every puzzle stage, and collects all the passes.
Stage 1: Ligators and coupons
The room holds 22 Ligators. These are a special KPQ version: Lv. 21 with 778 HP, not the Lv. 31 field Ligator. Every member except the leader talks to Cloto and gets a question. The answer is the number of coupons that member must collect from Ligators. Bring exactly that many back to Cloto for a pass, then give the pass to the leader. The leader hands all passes to Cloto.
If Cloto refuses your coupons, you're holding extras. Drop the surplus and try again.
The question pool isn't settled. Two community sources list the same answers from the closed tests (Set A); a third lists a partly different set (Set B). Both sides agree on the first two rows:
| If Cloto asks about... | Coupons |
|---|---|
| The level for 1st job advancement (any class) | 10 |
| The EXP needed to go from level 1 to 2 | 15 |
| Set A: INT a Magician needs | 20 |
| Set A: DEX a Bowman or Thief needs | 25 |
| Set A: STR a Warrior needs | 35 |
| Set B: the level to enter this party quest | 21 |
| Set B: total AP gained from level 1 to level 6 | 25 |
| Set B: the level for 2nd job advancement | 30 |
The Set A sources both mention closed-test footage showing 21- and 30-coupon questions, which fits the extra Set B rows. Read the wording, match the row, and count.
Leader-swap trick (community tip): if someone draws the 35-coupon question, make them leader. Leaders don't get asked, and the old leader draws a new question that may be cheaper.
Stage 2: the ropes
Four ropes, two on the high branch and two on the low branches. Three are correct. Three non-leaders each hang on a different rope while the leader asks Cloto. Number the ropes 1 and 2 on top, 3 and 4 below, and agree on it in party chat first.
There are only four possible answers (it's always "leave one rope empty"):
| Try | Ropes used | Empty rope |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1, 2, 3 | 4 |
| 2 | 1, 2, 4 | 3 |
| 3 | 1, 3, 4 | 2 |
| 4 | 2, 3, 4 | 1 |
Stage 3: the kitten platforms
Five platforms, each marked by how many kittens sit on it (1 to 5). Three are correct. Call them by kitten count, not "left" and "right". Ten combinations:
| Try | Platforms | Try | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-2-3 | 6 | 1-4-5 |
| 2 | 1-2-4 | 7 | 2-3-4 |
| 3 | 1-2-5 | 8 | 2-3-5 |
| 4 | 1-3-4 | 9 | 2-4-5 |
| 5 | 1-3-5 | 10 | 3-4-5 |
Stage 4: the barrels
Six numbered barrels stacked at the top of the map. Three are correct. Twenty combinations:
| Try | Barrels | Try | Barrels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-2-3 | 11 | 2-3-4 |
| 2 | 1-2-4 | 12 | 2-3-5 |
| 3 | 1-2-5 | 13 | 2-3-6 |
| 4 | 1-2-6 | 14 | 2-4-5 |
| 5 | 1-3-4 | 15 | 2-4-6 |
| 6 | 1-3-5 | 16 | 2-5-6 |
| 7 | 1-3-6 | 17 | 3-4-5 |
| 8 | 1-4-5 | 18 | 3-4-6 |
| 9 | 1-4-6 | 19 | 3-5-6 |
| 10 | 1-5-6 | 20 | 4-5-6 |
Work down the list in order and move only the one person whose spot changes. Parties that shuffle everyone at once lose track and repeat combinations.
Stage 5: Curse Eyes, Jr. Neckis and King Slime
The last stage is a tall map in sections. From the top down: 3 Curse Eyes, then 6 Jr. Neckis, then King Slime at the bottom. Every monster drops a pass, so you need 10 passes in total for the leader to hand to Cloto.
- Clear the Curse Eyes and Jr. Neckis first and make sure every pass is picked up. A missing pass stalls the whole party.
- Jr. Neckis aren't the accuracy check some guides make them out to be. The KPQ version is Lv. 25 with 12 avoid, lower than the field Jr. Necki's 14. A fresh level 21 is still fighting something four levels higher, so expect the odd miss, but you don't need a dedicated accuracy build.
King Slime (game data):
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | 32 |
| HP | 16,820 |
| EXP | 2,400 |
| Weapon attack | 288 |
| Knocked back at | 1,750 damage |
| HP recovery | 168 (it regenerates, so keep the damage steady) |
| Resists | Fire, Holy, Ice, Lightning |
| On death | Splits into 11 Slimes (killing them is optional) |
Fire, holy, ice and lightning attacks are all resisted, so mages and holy-arrow users should expect weaker hits; poison isn't on the list. Community sources disagree on a summon at 50% HP: one lists it, another calls it unconfirmed in Classic World, and the game data doesn't cover monster summons. Either way, focus the boss.
After King Slime dies, the leader turns in all 10 passes. Each member then takes a Companion's Magic Box from Cloto.
Bonus stage and leaving
The bonus room holds 24 Horny Mushrooms and 12 Green Mushrooms. Hunt until the timer runs out or leave early. There are no normal exit portals in KPQ: talk to Nella to leave.
If someone dies or disconnects
Here's what the game data shows: the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and Last Stage maps and the Bonus room all list 1st Accompaniment <1st Stage> as their return map, so dying in any of them puts you back in Stage 1 inside the party quest, not out in Kerning City. Stage 1 itself has no return map listed, so the data doesn't say what dying there does, and it doesn't say whether you can rejoin your party's current stage. Community sources report, from the closed tests, that dying doesn't kick you out and testers walked back in, which fits the data. Also per those reports: with three players you can still finish: Stage 1 needs one fewer pass, and the leader fills the third spot in the puzzles. Drop to two before the puzzles are done and the run is over. Treat this as tested behavior that could change.
Rewards
- EXP after each stage. Sources confirm EXP for every cleared stage but no source lists the amounts yet.
- King Slime: 2,400 EXP. Community sources report it drops Squishy Shoes; the game data has no drop table to confirm it.
- Companion's Magic Box for every member. It's untradeable (trade-blocked in the item data), so you can't pass boxes to a friend. Contents and rates are player-reported; one pre-launch list includes bamboo hats, earrings, Intermediate and Greater scrolls, potions, Screws and ores.
- Proof of Companionship the first time (see above).
Squishy Shoes: Lv. 28, any class, +1 STR, DEX, INT and LUK, 18 weapon defense, 7 magic defense, 5 upgrade slots. The item data has no trade block on them, so they can be traded.
Is KPQ worth it? For the boxes, the shoes and the scroll, yes. For pure EXP per hour, testers reportedly found good party grinding could beat it, so compare your clear time against your usual map. Our level 10 to 30 training spots cover the alternative.
Finding a party
Parties form next to Lakelis. Classic shorthand still works: J>PQ if you want in (add your level and class), L>PQ or R>PQ if you're building one.
Good KPQ manners: help the slowest member finish their coupons, drop stray passes in front of Cloto, explain the combination order calmly to first-timers, and don't leave mid-run.