The following content contains spoilers from BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense, Season 2, episode 6, currently streaming on Crunchyroll. Maple's whole M.O. Is right there in the title: BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. To circumvent any suffering experienced in this all-immersive VRMMO, Maple decides not to throw caution to the wind and fully commits to the Shield Hero experience by directing all available stats to the [VIT] slot, increasing her defense as much as possible.
This strategy initially has detrimental consequences; however, thanks to the help of some friends, she manages to overcome them, and then some! Maple has grown significantly since her first days online and is morphing into a broken butterfly with little to fear.
Maple's Almighty Arsenal
Apart from her unfathomable defensive stats and capabilities, Maple has a few tricks up her sleeve that allows her to dominate in every arena she has faced so far. More often than not, Maple can be seen donning her Black Rose Armor, although she also has a set of Ghost Clothes on hand (for special occasions), along with a spare set of glittering white Archangel Holy Armor. Exploring every one of Maple's various powers would take far too long, so only her most favored skills will be up for discussion.
Body Modifications:
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Machine God+ Deploy Armaments |
Maple's Mecha upgrade, with all the bells, whistles, and overpowered weaponry. |
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Loving Sacrifice + Self-Offering Love |
The defensive, all-healing, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed angel. Damage inflicted on anyone within the AOE gets reflected onto Maple instead. |
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Throne of the Heavenly King |
essentially enhances the effects of Loving Sacrifice but limits movement (in terms of both wielder and AOE effect.) |
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Atrocity |
Maple can transform into a giant, demonic, Ridley Scott-inspired monster once a day, with increased HP, strength, and agility. |
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Wooly |
Becoming a cute cotton ball reduces the risk of sustaining damage (in proportion to the user's defense stats), although reduces maneuverability substantially. |
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Invitation to the Ocean Floor |
Maple sacrifices an arm to gain a powerful bunch of Kraken-like combat tentacles (and one strange-looking eyeball.) |
Passive Skills and Equipment:
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Devour |
Absorbs the magical energy of anything consumed, which had to be nerfed after Maple discovered (yet another) boss-defeating loophole. This skill is embedded in Maple's Archangel White Shield. |
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Stout Guardian |
Grants the user the chance to defy death with only 1HP left in reserve. Limited to a single use per day. |
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Unbreakable Shield |
Damaged received is reduced by 50% for a 30-second duration. |
Creature Summons:
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Hydra |
Maple's first significant offensive skill gained, which produces venomous wyverns that have paralyzing or poisonous abilities. |
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Predator |
As a result of Seeping Chaos, two tentacled demons can be summoned into battle. |
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Pandemonium |
Maple can call upon a hoard of Oni accompanied by a large pair of Red and Blue "leaders" to fight in her honor. |
Syrup's Boosters:
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Psychokinesis |
The ability to levitate and fly. |
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Megamorph |
A supersizing skill that also doubles Syrup's HP. |
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Spirit Cannon |
A Kamehameha-type effect used in conjunction with Megamorph. |
Maple has made herself even more unpredictable due to her strange attack combinations, which are so random, bizarre, and incredibly overpowered that getting over the shock in time to counter them is virtually impossible! Even the game masters are regularly caught off-guard by Maple's alternative gaming style, and have seemingly devoted all their attention to ensuring that this one broken player doesn't smoothly sail through every challenge. By the time Season 2 comes around, these meddlesome "bunnies" are creating bosses specifically to counter Maple, and essentially give up and begin cheering her on instead. Games are meant to be played, enjoyed, and ultimately won, after all!
Maple's Personal Progress
Despite being one of the most formidable forces in NewWorld Online, Maple's greatest attribute is the fact that she hasn't allowed her status to get to her head. She is still the goofy, fun-loving girl who started her VRMMO adventure with clueless inhibitions, never claiming to be superior to another player. She has, however, developed a healthy competitive nature, and isn't willing to sit back and watch when powerhouses such as Mii or Payne swoop in to steal the show. Maple has subsequently learned the value of surprising her competitors with a newfound skill, using the element of surprise to her advantage.
The whole reason for maxing out her defense in the first place was to avoid pain at all costs; however, if her friends are in danger, that concept goes straight out the window. While battling the Lvl 6 Final Boss, Maple, who has been warned of potential suffering, launches herself into the path of the monster's attack. She protects Sally by putting herself in harm's way, taking strain and pain due to [Cover Move]'s detrimental double-damage kickback. Despite not always fighting side-by-side, this pair has become quite efficient at combining their skills to complement each others' strengths and weaknesses, creating an unstoppable, deadly duo in the process.
Leading The Maple Tree Guild
Maple shows more confidence when it comes to making friends; although she has always been very likable, her efforts to make allies with Mii and Payne's clans requires a great deal of initiative and trust. Furthermore, Maple seemed to have made up her mind about opening her doors to her competitors before seeking approval from Sally, which goes to show how she is not as reliant on her bestie as before. When NewWorld Online began and Sally couldn't play for several days, Maple felt like a fish out of water, alone in this strange new world. She would've preferred to depend on Sally's experienced strategy when designing her avatar, but thankfully, Maple's ignorance has paid off in the end; maxing out her defense instead of balancing her stats has been rather advantageous.
Maple always ensures to help out her guild members as often as possible, often accompanying them on adventures, even when she has nothing to gain from the scenario. When she first started out, Maple's limited movement speed and offensive abilities rendered her almost useless and made her quests unnecessarily difficult. Nowadays, solo missions are a breeze, even against seemingly undefeatable hidden monsters; however, it can get a bit lonely, so Maple prefers to team up whenever possible. When she isn't in a party with her clan, Maple is now regularly seen alongside Mii, for whom she holds a closely guarded secret (full of cuteness and false facades.) Maple routes for every NewWorld player, boosting her ranking even further, over and above her own, broken abilities, by arguably accumulating the most allies, too.