MU Online Season 1: Where the Season Numbers Began
MU Online Season 1 is where MU's season numbering began. Korea launched it in August 2005 under the title Kundun's Counterattack: one update opened three hunting grounds at once (Aida, Crywolf Fortress and Kalima 7), and a second patch at the end of that month added the first gear that required a character level. Within a year the same season added the Fenrir mount, the Crywolf siege event and the SD shield. Global players received most of it in 2007, under a different name.
Season 1: the key facts
| Topic | Season 1 |
|---|---|
| Korean title | Kundun's Counterattack |
| Korean release | Test server from late July 2005, main server on August 17, 2005 |
| Global release | No Season 1 label; most of the content came with the Cry Wolf expansion in spring 2007 |
| New maps | Aida, Crywolf Fortress, Lost Kalima (Kalima 7) |
| New gear | A level-380 weapon and armor set for every class |
| Added during the season | Fenrir (December 2005), the Crywolf event (January 2006), the SD shield (spring 2006) |
| Classes | 5, no new class |
| Level cap | 400 |
Why is it called Season 1?
Before August 2005, Korea gave its updates software-style version numbers, which is where labels such as 97d, 99b and 1.02 come from. The August 2005 update switched to seasons, and Webzen later described every season as a large annual update counted from Season 1 in 2005. Season 2 followed a year later, in August 2006.
Global players never saw a Season 1 label. In spring 2007, K2 Network, which ran the global service under license from Webzen at the time, released the content as the Cry Wolf expansion for premium players: Aida, the fortress, Fenrir and new sets for every class, with the first Crywolf event on April 27, 2007.
What did Season 1 add to MU Online?
Three hunting grounds in one update
- Aida, reached through Noria, for low to mid levels.
- Crywolf Fortress, reached through Lorencia, a war map for mid to high levels.
- Lost Kalima, the seventh level of Kalima, aimed at levels 380 to 400 in the July preview.
For the first week, from August 17 to 24, Aida and Crywolf had no entry limits at all.
The first gear with a level requirement
Until Season 1, weapons and armor only asked for stats; level limits were for accessories. At the end of August 2005, Korea added a weapon and an armor set for each class that also required level 380:
- Dark Knight: Bone Blade and the Dragon Knight set
- Dark Wizard: Grand Viper Staff and the Venom Mist set
- Elf: Sylph Wind Bow and the Sylphid Ray set
- Magic Gladiator: Explosion Blade and the Volcano set
- Dark Lord: Soleil Scepter and the Sunlight set
Season 2 later gave these items extra PvP and HP options. Season 1 also brought a fruit that takes stat points back out, a Command fruit for the Dark Lord, and siege skills tied to each role in a guild.
How did the first Crywolf event work?
Korea switched on the Crywolf siege event in January 2006. It ran on Mondays and Thursdays at 21:30, and every defense followed the same script:
- Balgass and his army attack the wolf statue in Crywolf Fortress.
- Elves of level 350 or higher make a contract and hold the five altars.
- The server wins only if the statue survives and Balgass is killed.
For altar duty and defender roles in detail, see our Crywolf event guide.
Crywolf in Season 21 and Season 22
Nearly twenty years later the fortress is still standing. Korea reworked the event in Season 21 (November 2025): an elemental attribute on the attackers that changes every week, an earlier Balgass, rewards that go straight into the Gremory Case, and a start alert with a button that moves you to the battle. IGCN's server files picked up the renewal in their Season 21 Part 2-3 release, and our Season 21 article walks through it.
Fenrir and the SD shield: how did Season 1 change PvP?
Fenrir arrived in December 2005: a wolf mount crafted in three steps from monster drops, open to level-300 Blade Knights, Soul Masters, Muse Elves, Magic Gladiators and Dark Lords. It moved faster, gave its rider the area skill Plasma Storm, and could be upgraded into a Destruction type for more damage or a Protection type that absorbs damage. One rule stood out: no Fenrir in Chaos Castle. The same patch replaced the login and character-select screens.
The SD shield followed in spring 2006. In PvP, most damage now hit a new SD gauge before HP, refilled with SD and Complex potions. The same update gave the Muse Elf Infinity Arrow and set PK limits for entering Chaos Castle, Blood Castle and Devil Square. Global players met the SD shield in June 2007, as part of the Season 2 release from K2. Our PvP guide explains how SD damage works in today's duels.
Did Castle Siege come with Season 1?
No, although some community version lists put it there, together with ancient sets and Marlon's quest. In Korea all three came earlier: Marlon's quest in December 2003, the first ancient sets in 2004 and Castle Siege in March 2005. Of the features those lists file under Season 1, Crywolf is the one that truly belongs there.
Is MU Online Season 1 still around in 2026?
The label is still in use: on the server list we checked on November 3, 2026, Season 1 was the third most common season tag, behind Season 6 and Season 21. A tag cannot show what a server actually runs, though, so look at the map list. A server that really sits at Season 1 ends with Aida, Crywolf and Kalima 7 and has no Kanturu, which came with Season 2.
The content itself carried on into every later version, from Season 6 Episode 3 to Season 22, and Aida even gained a deeper, darker zone, Gray Aida, in Season 16. Our MU Online season history tracks each of these pieces through the later seasons.
Questions about MU Online Season 1
- When did Season 1 go live in Korea and worldwide?
- On August 17, 2005, on the Korean main server, after test servers from late July. Global players got most of its content in spring 2007 with the Cry Wolf expansion.
- How many classes did MU Online Season 1 have?
- Five: the Dark Knight, Dark Wizard and Elf from 2001, plus the Magic Gladiator and the Dark Lord. Season 1 added none; the next class, the Summoner, came with Season 3 in December 2007.
- Is Lost Kalima the same as Kalima 7?
- Yes. Lost Kalima is the seventh level of Kalima, added with Season 1 for characters around level 380 to 400.
- What level did you need to ride Fenrir?
- Level 300, as a Blade Knight, Soul Master, Muse Elf, Magic Gladiator or Dark Lord, in the original Korean version.
Aida, Crywolf and Kalima in SilverMU's Season 22
All three Season 1 hunting grounds survive in Season 22, and its Crywolf is the renewed version from Season 21. SilverMU's test realm runs that season's Part 1-1 from server-file version 22.1.1.0, and every one of the 16 classes is in it. The events page fills in when the realm goes live; before that, final settings will be announced in the news, and the client will be available for download once published. Creating an account is free.