MapleStory Classic L Forest Guide: Kerning Fields, Construction Sites

Checked against v1.0.0 on October 29, 2026.

L Forest is the strip of pig and snail maps south of Kerning City, and with the Construction Sites and Middle Forest it makes up the 11 fields where most Thieves, and plenty of other new characters, spend levels 5 to 15. This MapleStory Classic L Forest guide compares all 11 Kerning fields, picks a map for each level and class, flags the two rare spawns that surprise new players, and covers the Thief job test and Chun Ji's quests nearby.

Quick summary

• Kerning City has 11 field maps around it: two Construction Sites, Caution Falling Down, the Northern Top of Construction Site, L Forest I–III, Kerning City Middle Forest I–III and Sunset Sky (MapleStory Quest).
• L Forest I and III are the 5–12 maps. L Forest I has 21 Ribbon Pigs on 73 spawn points, and NiaMeowDB rates it 333,525 max EXP per hour. L Forest III has the most spawn points of any Kerning field at 83 (both counts match NiaMeowDB's live map pages).
• Two small Octopus maps spawn fast. Caution Falling Down (×1.9) and the Northern Top of Construction Site (×1.8) have the highest mob rates here, with 12 Octopuses each (MapleStory Quest).
• Watch for two rare spawns. An Iron Hog (Lv 28, 500 weapon defense) appears in L Forest I every 600 seconds, and a Lupin (Lv 37) appears in L Forest II every 3,600 seconds (MapleStory Quest).
• Thieves take their Lv 30 job test here. The Thief Job Instructor stands in Construction Site North of Kerning City and asks for 30 Dark Marbles.

Walk the fields around Kerning City

Route	Maps (MapleStory Quest connections)	Leads to
South	Kerning City → Kerning City Construction Site → L Forest I → II → III → Middle Forest I → II → III	3-Way Road-Split from Middle Forest I
South side branch	Kerning City Construction Site → Caution Falling Down	Dead end
North	Kerning City → Sunset Sky → Construction Site North of Kerning City	West Domain of Perion
North side branch	Construction Site North → Northern Top of Construction Site	Dead end

Construction Site North of Kerning City links to the West Domain of Perion, the first map on Perion's west side. See our Rocky Mountain guide for that road. The subway starts in town; see our Kerning Subway guide. Middle Forest I's link to the 3-Way Road-Split is the walking road to Henesys, covered in our Henesys Hunting Ground guide. Town NPCs and shops are in our Kerning City guide.

Compare L Forest and all 11 Kerning field maps

Spawn points and mob rates are from MapleStory Quest. EXP per clear is our calculation: each spawn point's EXP added once, rare spawns included.

Map	Points	Main spawns	Mob rate (CoT2 → Public)	EXP per clear (ours)	Best for (ours)
Kerning City Construction Site	52	24 Stump, 10 Octopus, 8 Blue Snail, 8 Orange Mushroom	×1.0 → ×0.7	674	5–9
Caution Falling Down	20	12 Octopus, 5 Orange Mushroom, 3 Blue Mushroom	×2.0 → ×1.9	456	11–15
L Forest I	73	21 Ribbon Pig, 9 Pig, 9 Shroom, 3 Green Mushroom, 1 Iron Hog (600 s)	×1.3 → ×1.0	985	6–11
L Forest II	54	10 Ribbon Pig, 9 Pig, 8 Shroom, 1 Lupin (3,600 s)	×1.3 → ×1.2	801	6–10
L Forest III	83	23 Slime, 14 Red Snail, 10 Green Mushroom, 7 Ribbon Pig	×1.3 → ×1.0	1,104	8–13
Kerning City Middle Forest I	53	14 Blue Snail, 10 Red Snail, 10 Slime	×1.2 → ×1.0	528	Passing through
Kerning City Middle Forest II	47	10 Slime, 9 Blue Snail, 8 each Red Snail and Orange Mushroom	Unchanged (1.20)	531	4–8
Kerning City Middle Forest III	50	13 Slime, 10 Orange Mushroom, 8 Red Snail	Unchanged	552	4–8, dead end
Sunset Sky	44	15 Stump, 8 Orange Mushroom, 7 each Dark Stump and Green Mushroom	×0.5 → ×0.6	627	Passing through
Construction Site North of Kerning City	54	23 Red Snail, 11 Dark Stump, 9 Orange Mushroom, 8 Octopus	×1.2 → ×1.0	833	8–14
Northern Top of Construction Site	21	12 Octopus, 6 Orange Mushroom, 3 Blue Mushroom	×2.0 → ×1.8	471	11–15

Kerning City Construction Site had the biggest cut, from ×1.0 to ×0.7. NiaMeowDB describes Construction Site North as a "broad lv 4-19 spread with Red Snails for early kills and Dark Stumps for late," at 297,499 max EXP per hour.

Know the Kerning field monsters

Monster	Lv	HP	EXP	Defense (wpn / magic)	Element	ACC to never miss	Source
Blue Snail	2	51	4	0 / 0	None	—	MapleStory Quest
Shroom	3	62	6	0 / 0	None	—	MapleStory Quest
Pig	7	128	13	0 / 0	None	—	MapleStory Quest
Orange Mushroom	8	142	15	0 / 0	None	—	MapleStory Quest
Ribbon Pig	10	172	19	0 / 0	None	21 at Lv 10, 25 at 5	MapleStory Quest; NiaMeowDB
Octopus	12	191	23	0 / 30	Lightning weak	24 at 12, 29 at 7	MapleStory Quest; NiaMeowDB
Blue Mushroom	19	342	35	10 / 20	None	37 at 19, 44 at 14	MapleStory Quest; NiaMeowDB
Iron Hog	28	572	52	500 / 100	Lightning weak	57 at 28, 68 at 23	MapleStory Quest; NiaMeowDB
Lupin	37	1,336	75	0 / 30	None	89 at 37	NiaMeowDB

None of these monsters changed in the Public Release, per MapleStory Quest, and the levels, HP and defense figures match NiaMeowDB's live monster pages. Iron Hog's 500 weapon defense means a low-level character will barely scratch it. Leave it alone below the 20s. The same goes for the hourly Lupin in L Forest II, which is 25+ levels above the map. For hit rates, see our accuracy guide.

Best L Forest and Kerning field map by level

These picks are ours, built from the tables above:

Level	Map	Why
4–8	Middle Forest II or III	Snails, Slimes and Orange Mushrooms; mob rate 1.20
6–11	L Forest I	21 Ribbon Pigs; NiaMeowDB says "the mob levels climb with you, so there is no map-hop at lv 5 or lv 8"
8–13	L Forest III	83 points, the most EXP per clear of any Kerning field
11–15	Caution Falling Down or Northern Top	Octopuses and Blue Mushrooms at ×1.8–1.9 mob rate
15+	Kerning City Subway	Line 1 Area 1 Bubblings; NiaMeowDB's top 11–15 map at 640,000 max EXP per hour

NiaMeowDB rates L Forest I mainly as a full-party map, and its map pages explain why: a map fills to 75% of its spawn points with one player and to 100% with six. Solo, expect about 55 of L Forest I's 73 monsters up at once.

At 21, you can join the Kerning Party Quest (party of 4, all Lv 21+, on channels 3–12); see our KPQ guide.

Example: a new Thief can hand in Nella's Andre's Request at 10 with Octopus Legs from Caution Falling Down, train L Forest I until 11, then switch to L Forest III's 83 spawn points until the subway pays better at 15. For the full 1–70 route, see our training guide.

Match your class to the maps

Class	Best map here	Why	Guide
Thief (1–30)	L Forest I, then the Octopus maps	Starts in Kerning; Pigs, Snails, Slimes, Mushrooms and Octopuses have 0 weapon defense (Stumps have 30)	Thief guide
Magician (1–30)	L Forest I and III	Pigs, Snails and Slimes have 0 magic defense; Octopus has 30	Magician guide
Ice/Lightning Wizard alt	Caution Falling Down	Octopus is lightning weak	I/L Wizard guide
Assassin, Bandit (after 30)	Move to the subway	These maps are too low for 2nd job	Assassin guide

Do the Kerning field quests

Thief 2nd job test (MapleStory Quest):

Step	Detail
Finding the Instructor (#020301)	The prerequisite quest
Test of Qualification (Lv 30+)	Collect 30 Dark Marbles; the Thief Job Instructor is in Construction Site North of Kerning City
Proof of Qualification (Lv 30+)	Bring back The Proof of a Hero

Chun Ji's citizenship quests (MapleStory Quest): Chun Ji stands in the Kerning City Construction Site. He's also the NPC who turns a GM event Scroll of Secrets into a Magic Box, which Mr. Pickall in Kerning City opens for one random prize such as ores, Elixirs or Intermediate and Greater armor scrolls (Nexon's Grand Launch notes).

Quest	Level	Needs	Reward
A Quiet Line of Work	47+	Kerning City Citizenship Grade 8+, First Greeting with Chun Ji, 50 Wraiths	11,400 EXP, 1,477 mesos, 180 contribution
Another Lead	47+	Grade 8+, A Quiet Line of Work	7,980 EXP, 1,033 mesos, 180 contribution

See our citizenship guide for how grades work.

Drop items worth keeping:

Item	Drops from (older-version reference)	Quests that ask for it (MapleStory Quest)	NPC pays
Orange Mushroom Cap	Orange Mushroom 20%	Biggs's Collection of Items ×1 (Lv 3), Don Hwang's Request ×10, The Reason Behind the Mushroom Studies ×10, Donating to Henesys ×30, Donating to Kerning City ×30, Maya's First Collection ×20	8
Octopus Leg	Octopus 20%	Andre's Request ×20 (Lv 10), Donating to Kerning City ×30, Estelle's Special Sauce ×30 (Lv 15), Getting Arcon's Blood ×30 (Lv 21)	12
Blue Mushroom Cap	Blue Mushroom 20%	Donating to Henesys ×30, Pia and the Blue Mushroom ×20, Talking to Stan ×15, Jane and the Mushroom ×15, Maya's First Collection ×20	19
Leather	Pig, Ribbon Pig 20%	JM From tha Streetz Looking for a Partner ×5 (Lv 10), Chris's Request ×20 (Lv 22)	10
Stiff Feather	Ribbon Pig 7%	Chris's Request ×20, Icarus's Hang Glider ×15 (Lv 31); crafts into arrows	10

Bowmen alts: Stiff Feathers craft into every arrow type in Woodcrafting (MapleStory Quest), so don't sell them; Icarus's Hang Glider also wants 15 (our Icarus Cape guide). Drop rates in the table are reference data; Classic World's own rates are server-side and unpublished. Our Etc keep list covers every drop worth a slot.

Pack at the Kerning City Pharmacy

Launch prices from Dr. Faymus, the Kerning City Pharmacy grocer (NiaMeowDB NPC shops):

Item	Price (mesos)	Use
Red Potion	50	Levels 5–15
Orange Potion	150	Octopus maps
White Potion	350	Later, for the subway
Blue Potion	220	Mages
Dexterity Potion	500	Thieves, bosses
Speed Potion	500	Moving between maps

If you're making alts or coming back

• New Thieves: you start in Kerning. Do the Middle Forest at 4–8, L Forest I at 6–11, then the subway. Come back to Construction Site North at 30.
• Alts walking to Perion: Construction Site North connects straight to the West Domain of Perion.
• Returning testers: Kerning City Construction Site now spawns less (×0.7), and every L Forest map lost some mob rate.
• Collectors: keep Octopus Legs and Orange Mushroom Caps for the Donating to Kerning City weekly.
• Choosing an 11–15 map: the subway's Line 1 Area 1 wins on EXP (NiaMeowDB), while the two Octopus maps win when you need Octopus Legs.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, MapleStory Classic powerleveling services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Nexon's Terms of Service before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

What changed in the Kerning fields at Grand Launch

Grand Launch (v1.0.0, October 21, 2026) didn't change a Kerning field spawn. These changes, from Nexon's Grand Launch maintenance notes and release notes, do affect the area:

Change	What it means here
More potion drops from monsters level 10–30	Ribbon Pigs, Octopuses, Green and Blue Mushrooms and the Iron Hog qualify; Snails, Shrooms, Pigs and Orange Mushrooms don't
Halloween quest (October 28 to November 18): Malady's quest text names Ribbon Pigs, Dark Stumps, Octopuses and Green Mushrooms as candy carriers	Every one of them spawns in these fields; see our Halloween event guide
KPQ moved to channels 3–12	More rooms for the level 21 party quest that starts in town
GM event prize list published: Chun Ji turns a Scroll of Secrets into a Magic Box	A reason to visit the Construction Site after a GM event
Windia expanded to 40 channels; Lie Detector Test added	Less crowding and a way to test bots on L Forest I
New accounts can't trade until 24 hours after a character reaches level 15	Sell spare Leather and Octopus Legs to NPCs or keep them until then

Orbis and third job are still closed, so the Thief instructor's test at 30 is the last advancement. The MapleStory Classic hub collects every guide for the game.

Frequently asked questions

Where is L Forest in MapleStory Classic? South of Kerning City, past the Kerning City Construction Site. L Forest I, II and III lead to Kerning City Middle Forest I (MapleStory Quest).

What's the best Kerning field map for levels 6–11? L Forest I. It has 21 Ribbon Pigs on 73 spawn points, and NiaMeowDB rates it at 333,525 max EXP per hour.

Where do Thieves take the 2nd job test? The Thief Job Instructor is in Construction Site North of Kerning City. The Test of Qualification asks for 30 Dark Marbles at level 30 (MapleStory Quest).

Why can't I damage the Iron Hog in L Forest I? Iron Hog has 500 weapon defense and 100 magic defense (MapleStory Quest, NiaMeowDB). It's a single Lv 28 spawn every 600 seconds, so skip it at low level. L Forest II has a similar surprise: one Lv 37 Lupin every 3,600 seconds.

Where do I farm Octopus Legs? Caution Falling Down and the Northern Top of Construction Site each have 12 Octopuses with mob rates of ×1.9 and ×1.8 (MapleStory Quest).

Where is Chun Ji? In the Kerning City Construction Site. Chun Ji gives two Lv 47+ Kerning City citizenship quests (MapleStory Quest).

Related guides

• Kerning City guide: NPCs, shops and town quests
• Kerning subway guide
• Thief guide 1–30
• Henesys Hunting Ground guide
• Job advancement guide
• Training guide: levels 1–70
• MapleStory Classic hub