05.21 scoring update
Build for the highest stable score, not only a single rank spike.
Guild Boss Battle now decides the matchup by total boss score dealt. A run that keeps all buffs, stays alive, and enters both groggy windows cleanly usually beats a greedy run that dies while chasing the last orb.
Every guild member should chase the best repeatable damage total.
Revives do not save the attempt if Hexagon stacks and orb buffs disappear.
Save the strongest companion and cooldown timing for the boss stun windows.
Fight timeline
Use the 100-second loop to plan summon and burst timing.
The fight cycles through breath orbs, smoke attacks, and stun windows. Discord testing from SLEAK points to a consistent stun around 1:10 left, so plan the first major cash-out around that timing before deciding whether your account can support a later second-window summon.
Collect up to six Boss Damage orbs while keeping HP and MP safe.
Save big cooldowns or companion summon for the 1:10 stun timing when possible.
Do not die after the first cash-out. Revive loses the run's stacked value.
Stack another six orbs when possible. Avoid MP starvation from the right snake.
Only chase late Shadower, Dark Knight, or duration timing if the companion stays active for the damage window.
Spend the remaining burst while keeping enough HP and MP to finish casting.
Breath and orbs
Take the breath only when the orb is worth the HP or MP cost.
Getting hit by a breath creates a Boss Damage orb on the opposite side. The left snake pressures HP. The right snake pressures MP. Both can make potion timing worse, so the target is not always all 12 orbs; the target is the most orbs you can keep without dying or going empty on MP.
Creates the orb on the right side. Take it only while potions and survival are stable.
Creates the orb on the left side. Empty MP is a full damage loss even if the character survives.
The glowing side tells which breath is coming. Both eyes glowing means a different transition is coming.
Standing near the middle makes the orb pickup and next bait easier to control.
Companion choice
Use Marksman as sub companions, then choose the main by your account.
Marksman is the clearest sub-companion signal from the English testing notes because Evil Snake Brothers can be stunned twice. Main companion choice is more account-specific: Peach, Shadower, Dark Knight, Paladin, Buccaneer, Night Lord, or your strongest boss companion can all move depending on level, summon duration, and whether Peach already covers the buff-removal check.
SLEAK's May 23 Discord testing called 3x Marksman good because Snake gets stunned twice. If your Marksman pages are weak, fill the missing slots with stronger boss-damage or account-stat companions.
When Peach Tree Herb Pouch is equipped and the run keeps its timing, your main companion can shift toward the strongest built boss companion instead of forcing a low-level Shadower or Dark Knight.
Use them when their level and summon duration actually reach the target window. Shadower needs the relevant buff-removal level check before it can cover the second-window plan reliably.
Korean comments are split after Peach enters the setup. Buccaneer, Night Lord, Paladin, Bishop, or another high-level boss companion can win if it outperforms a weaker utility companion on your account.
Marksman x3
Sub-companion stun value
Night Lord
Boss Damage
Bishop
Skill Damage
Bow Master
Attack Speed
Buccaneer
Main Stat %
Start with Marksman subs when they are built because the fight has stun windows. Fill the remaining slots with the strongest missing stat mix, not a perfect chart made of weak companions.
Hero Power and ability page
Treat it like a boss fight, then test Defense Pen against your boss page.
The current signals are mixed. SLEAK's Discord testing found Defense Pen and a Boss Monster page close, with Defense Pen slightly ahead in that run. Korean comments do not cleanly settle the point for every account, so use your normal boss setup as the baseline and compare Defense Pen, Boss Damage, and damage-taken routes against your own score.
Use the page you normally trust for single-target boss scoring.
Move it up when the boss target's Defense is the wall, even if the CP read looks worse.
Run both versions and keep the one with the higher repeatable Guild Boss Battle score.
Artifacts
Start with fight-specific checks, then test normal boss damage pieces.
Peach Tree Herb Pouch changes the companion decision because it can remove a target buff once. Hexagon Necklace is strong only if the run keeps its stacks. After those two, fill for Crit Rate, boss damage, attack-speed scaling, survival, and MP stability.
Peach Tree Herb Pouch
2
Hexagon Necklace
3
Book of Ancient
4
Bottle of Emotion
5
Old Music Box
6
Athena's Gloves
7
Star Rock
- If the character dies, move survival up. A full revive loses buffs and Hexagon stacks, so a lower-damage artifact can still score higher.
- If Crit Rate is already capped, move Book down. Book is strongest when it solves a real Crit Rate gap.
- If companion timing misses the second stun, test Arwen's Glass Shoes. Companion duration can beat a generic damage slot when the summon falls off before the window.
- If Old Music Box does not trigger cleanly, cut it. It only belongs when the debuff removal and Attack buff actually show up in the run.
- If MP drops to zero, fix the right-snake route. Icy Soul Rock or MP-aware play can beat another damage slot when skills stop casting.
Execution route
Make the run boring before making it greedy.
Turn ally effects off or set them to minimum so the smoke phase, breath direction, and stun window stay readable.
Bait the breath side, take the hit only if the cost is manageable, collect the opposite orb, then return to center.
Lower the orb target if the left snake kills the run or the right snake leaves the character unable to cast.
The first stun timing is coming. Avoid spending the key summon or burst before the real score window.
Use your chosen main companion and skills while orb buffs, Hexagon stacks, and the stun window overlap.
If the main companion is for the second groggy, summon when its remaining duration covers the last 10 seconds.
If dash skills or aggressive movement keep killing the run, simplify the manual preset for this fight. A cleaner 10-orb run can score higher than a 12-orb run that loses buffs before the end.
Job notes
Use these as timing notes, not universal class rankings.
Use summon-after-orb timing only when Shadower is strong enough to cover the buff-removal job. If level and duration cover the final window, a late summon can outscore an early summon.
Summon before the target window when using Dark Knight for utility, because the charge needs time to connect before the real damage window.
Turn on full buffs before companion summon. Cooldown reduction changes whether the second buff cycle naturally lines up.
Use as sub companions. The main Discord testing note points to three Marksman pages when they are built because Snake can be stunned twice.
Guide changelog
Updates
- Nexon Mar 19, 2026 Patch Notes for Guild Boss Battle and Evil Snake Brothers release context.
- Nexon May 21, 2026 Patch Notes for total boss-score Guild Boss Battle scoring.
- DCInside May 22 Evil Snake Brothers setup guide, checked May 25, 2026.
- MGF Evil Snake Brothers mechanics note, checked May 25, 2026.
- MapleStory Idle Discord strategy-lab discussion, including SLEAK's March 21 and May 23 Evil Snake Brothers testing notes and video demo, checked May 26, 2026.