MapleStory Classic Weapon Reach Guide: Attack Range by Weapon

Quick summary

• Spears and polearms reach farthest in melee: their longest basic attack reaches 133 px, and both share the same hit zones, so neither out-reaches the other (NiaMeowDB).
• Wands and staves reach least: a mage's melee swing reaches 69 px, only a bit more than bare hands at 64.
• Bows beat stars: arrows start at 300 px and reach 420 px with max Eye of Amazon. Throwing stars start at 200 px and reach 400 px with max Keen Eyes per NiaMeowDB. The wiki's Keen Eyes table tops out lower.
• Basic attacks are random: a normal melee attack swings 60% of the time and stabs 40%, and each presentation has its own box. That's why a spear sometimes "whiffs" at the edge of its range.
• Some attacks go through walls: basic shots, Energy Bolt, Fire Arrow, and Holy Arrow check terrain, but Magic Claw, Slow, Cold Beam, and Thunder Bolt ignore it.

Checked against the Founder's Access build on October 13, 2026. Grand Launch is October 21, 2026; see the end of the guide for what may change.

Read the reach table

Each number is the farthest a weapon's normal basic attack reaches, in game pixels, and the attack that reaches it (NiaMeowDB weapon reach guide and targeting formulas, levels 1 to 99).

Weapon	Max basic reach	From	Max height	Final Attack swings
Spear, Polearm	133 px	Overhead swing	125 px	144 and 124
2H Sword: Scimitar, Lion's Fang, Sparta, Doombringer	127 px	Thrust 2	95 px	116 and 135
1H Axe; most 1H Swords; Zamadar daggers, Cass, Shinkita	102 px	Swing 3	62 px	123 and 110
2H Axe, 2H Blunt	99 px	Swing 1	90 px	114 and 116
Other 2H Swords	98 px	Thrust 1 and 2	81 px	92 and 123
1H Blunt	94 px	Swing 3	61 px	118 and 108
Bow (close range)	92 px	Crouched attack	81 px	—
Crossbow (close range)	86 px	Overhead whack	81 px	—
1H Swords: Long Sword, Gladius, Traus, umbrellas, others listed	85 px	Swing 1	51 px	100 and 95
Other daggers	85 px	Swing 1	51 px	Not used
Wand, Staff	69 px	Swing 2, their only normal attack	55 px	Not used
Bare hands	64 px	Punch 1	33 px	—

NiaMeowDB lists the short 1H sword group by name: Long Sword, Beginner's Long Sword, Gladius, Old Gladius, Hero's Gladius, Traus, Jeweled Katar, Sky Blue Umbrella, and Yellow Umbrella. Check a weapon's item page on NiaMeowDB before you buy, because two swords with the same speed can differ by 17 px.

Height matters too. A spear's Side swing reaches 125 px above your feet, but thrusts stay near body height, about 30 px up (NiaMeowDB). Swings hit monsters on a step above you; thrusts don't.

Understand why melee attacks whiff

A normal attack picks one presentation at random: 60% swing, 40% stab (NiaMeowDB). Each has its own box. For a spear:

Spear attack	Reach (near–far edge)	Height
Overhead swing	51–133 px	120 px
Side swing	52–120 px	125 px
Short swing	47–116 px	122 px
Thrust 1	36–130 px	33 px
Thrust 2	24–111 px	46 px
Crouched attack	23–113 px	17 px

So a monster standing 125 px away only gets hit by the Overhead swing and Thrust 1, and one at 133 px only by the Overhead swing. NiaMeowDB says "at 133, only Overhead swing connects." Step in to about 110 px and every basic attack lands. The near edge matters too: a monster pressed right against you can sit inside the gap a swing doesn't cover.

Hit rule: NiaMeowDB says the attack box and the monster's box must overlap. "Touching at an edge does not count," and the weapon and monster artwork are ignored.

Know how skills use reach

Skill	Reach	Source
Power Strike	Your weapon's normal reach	NiaMeowDB targeting
Slash Blast	Needs a monster inside your weapon's reach, then extends to 130–150 px	NiaMeowDB targeting, Spearman guide
Rush	Its own box: 200 px ahead and 50 px tall, 220 px from skill level 11	NiaMeowDB Spearman guide
Final Attack	A wide swing or deep thrust, 124–144 px depending on weapon, one target	NiaMeowDB Spearman guide
Basic spells	300 px	NiaMeowDB targeting
Energy Bolt	350 px	NiaMeowDB targeting
Arrow Blow	350 px + Eye of Amazon	NiaMeowDB targeting
Three Snails	300 px with any weapon; not extended by either range skill	NiaMeowDB targeting

The Slash Blast rule matters for Fighters: "with no monster in weapon reach, the extension never happens" (NiaMeowDB). Lead with a monster close enough to touch. Our Fighter guide covers when to use it.

Extend ranged reach

Skill level	Eye of Amazon (bows, crossbows)	Keen Eyes, NiaMeowDB	Keen Eyes, wiki
1	+50	+50	+10
5	+70	+90	+50
10	+95	+140	+100
14	+115	+180	+140
15 (max)	+120	+200	+150

NiaMeowDB's formulas: Eye of Amazon = 45 + 5 × level, and Keen Eyes = 40 + 10 × level, jumping to 200 at level 15. The wiki's Eye of Amazon table matches NiaMeowDB at every level. Its Keen Eyes table adds a flat 10 per level. That's a real conflict, shown below.

Character	Base range	Max range	Source
Bowman (bow or crossbow)	300 px	420 px	NiaMeowDB
Thief with a claw	200 px	400 px (NiaMeowDB) or 350 px (wiki table)	NiaMeowDB, wiki
Magician (basic spells)	300 px	300 px; Energy Bolt 350	NiaMeowDB

Shot shape: basic shots and ranged skills check "widening bands" that start 65 px in front of you (50 px for spells). Each band's half-height is a quarter of its distance from you, so bands get taller the farther they are. Close monsters must be near your height; distant ones can be a little above or below you.

Shoot around walls and platforms

NiaMeowDB says "only basic ranged attacks and projectile skills check terrain." A blocked monster is dropped from the attack and its slot isn't filled by another.

Blocked by walls	Ignores walls
Basic bow, crossbow, and claw shots	Magic Claw, Slow, Cold Beam, Thunder Bolt
Energy Bolt, Fire Arrow, Holy Arrow

Two more rules from NiaMeowDB: you can't shoot down through the platform you stand on, but you can shoot up through one. Magic Claw is the first-job spell that ignores walls, which helps a young Magician on uneven maps.

Know who gets hit first

When more monsters are in range than a skill can hit, NiaMeowDB says the game picks targets in this order:

Attack	Order
Basic attacks, Power Strike, Double Stab	Nearest first; ties go to the monster that appeared first
Rush, Steal, Savage Blow	The monsters that appeared on the map first
Projectile skills	Nearest first
Multi-target spells	Nearest picked, then shuffled

For a Bandit, this means Savage Blow and Steal may not hit the monster right in front of you if older spawns are also inside the box. Our Thief guide covers the early Thief skills.

Pick a weapon with reach in mind

1. Melee: check the weapon's group in the table. A 102 px one-handed sword out-reaches an 85 px one by 17 px at the same speed tier.
2. Two-handed swords: only Scimitar, Lion's Fang, Sparta, and Doombringer get the long 127 px set. Every other two-handed sword uses the Wooden Sword set at 98 px (NiaMeowDB).
3. Spearmen: spear or polearm doesn't matter for reach. Pick by speed and W.ATK; see our Spearman guide.
4. Then check speed: reach doesn't change how often you attack. Our attack speed guide covers that.
5. Then damage: see the damage formula guide.

NiaMeowDB's Spearman guide says reach "has a direct effect on DPS in practice," because monsters are easier to hit at a distance and can't get close enough to hit you.

Avoid the common mistakes

• Counting Final Attack swings as normal reach. The spear's 144 px Full sweep only plays on a Final Attack proc (NiaMeowDB).
• Standing at the edge of your range. Only some basic attacks reach that far.
• Using Slash Blast with nothing in reach. It won't extend.
• Shooting through walls with a bow. Basic shots are blocked; move or jump.
• Leveling Keen Eyes halfway. NiaMeowDB says the final level jumps from +180 to +200.
• Assuming all two-handed swords are equal. Only four use the long set.

Plan alts and returning players

• Returning players: NiaMeowDB measured these numbers from the Classic World client. Old private-server and modern MapleStory hitboxes don't carry over.
• Alts: a Bowman alt gets the longest basic attack range in the game at 420 px, and Arrow Blow adds 50 px more (NiaMeowDB). A Thief alt can choose a dagger (102 px with the right model) or a claw (up to 400 px). Our Assassin and Hunter guides cover when to put points into Keen Eyes and Eye of Amazon.
• Late levels: NiaMeowDB says two-handed axes and blunt weapons reach 110 px from level 100, and crossbows 88 px.
• More guides are on our leveling page and the MapleStory Classic hub.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather skip the grind that goes with this, 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 may change at Grand Launch

This guide describes the Founder's Access build as it was on October 13, 2026. Re-check these against Nexon's Grand Launch notes on October 21: whether crafting still stops at craft level 8, whether Forgotten Hollow, Orbis and third jobs stay closed, KPQ channel limits, NPC shop stock, and any Founder's Access-only events or packages mentioned here. Nothing here assumes a closed area or feature will open.

FAQ

Which weapon has the longest melee reach? Spears and polearms, at 133 px. They share the same hit zones (NiaMeowDB).

Do bows out-range throwing stars? Yes. Bows reach 420 px at max Eye of Amazon. Stars reach 400 px at max Keen Eyes per NiaMeowDB, or 350 px using the wiki's table.

Why does my spear miss monsters it looks like it should hit? Each basic attack uses a random presentation, and some reach less far. At 133 px only the Overhead swing connects.

Does Slash Blast reach farther than my weapon? Yes, up to 150 px, but only once a monster is inside your weapon's normal reach.

Can Magic Claw hit through walls? Yes. NiaMeowDB lists it among the spells that ignore terrain.

Does a two-handed sword reach farther than a one-handed one? Only Scimitar, Lion's Fang, Sparta, and Doombringer (127 px). Other two-handed swords reach 98 px, less than many one-handed weapons.