Aion Online

[chevyordeath]

Thinking about pre-ordering this and getting into the beta.. But I haven't been able to get into MMOs for a long time.. I just don't have the time any more. Last MMO I played was AoC (which I enjoyed, they've fixed a lot since launch.. but that's a whole different conversation there). I've been looking closely at Star Wars: Old Republic.. I've been a huge BioWare fan for years and absolutely loved KOTOR.. Also I have been looking at Champions Online... I loved City of Heroes and this looks good too.

What do you guys think of Aion? Can a casual MMO player like myself get into it? Do you guys enjoy it so far?

[trag3dy]

I think that it's possible to play casually. If you only manage to play 5 or 6 hours in a month, that's still cheaper entertainment than going out to a movie. I guess it just comes down to what you want to do in the game.

[gigapixels Veteran]

Wow, I freaking love this game.

I just stopped after a 6-hour session. The first levels are kind of tedious, but once you ascend and actually get to Pandaemonium, it's extremely fun.

I started a new character on one of the new servers because I didn't want to deal with a ton of people running around. So anyway, I started a warrior and then went ascended to a gladiator. I'm loving it so far. I think I might try a mage -> sorcerer next.

I can't wait to get back on tomorrow. I wish I'd had this much time to play during the last beta weekend, but I was out of town almost the whole time, so I wasn't able to get to the fun part.

[Argi]

Would love to try this but I don't buy non-valve games off steam anymore. Any word of Open Beta?

[trag3dy]

Would love to try this but I don't buy non-valve games off steam anymore. Any word of Open Beta?

Open betas begin second half of August.

[vip]

So I'm very sad atm ... I have everything installed, load up the client, my CPU maxes at 100% ... then the launcher is NOT RESPONDING. Anyone playing AION in windows 7? I'm pretty sure all my equipment meets the requirements :l GeForce 9800 GTX+ 1GIG... 3 gigs of ram ATM, maybe my CPU is too weak ... Intel Pentium Dual CPU E2200 @ 2.20 GHZ, not the best CPU but it gets the job done until I can buy a newer one ...

[Scraggles]

You should be able to play it. It looks like your computer is more than capable. I'm on vista but I know there are people on windows 7. A reinstall might help but I'm sure someone will have a better suggestion.

[mokthraka]

Wow, I freaking love this game.

I just stopped after a 6-hour session. The first levels are kind of tedious, but once you ascend and actually get to Pandaemonium, it's extremely fun.

I started a new character on one of the new servers because I didn't want to deal with a ton of people running around. So anyway, I started a warrior and then went ascended to a gladiator. I'm loving it so far. I think I might try a mage -> sorcerer next.

I can't wait to get back on tomorrow. I wish I'd had this much time to play during the last beta weekend, but I was out of town almost the whole time, so I wasn't able to get to the fun part.

when can you acsend? I got to level 5 on my sin but yeah

on and a word of advice mages are really glass canons in this game

actually a glass knife I say cause if you shot a glass canon it would break

but a glass knife wouldnt break if used right till it was hit

what server do you play on? I play on Nezekan

ign is Mokthra level 5 scout right now

[gigapixels Veteran]

You choose your specialized class at 9 but you don't get any of those specific abilities until you get to level 10.

[mokthraka]

wow I just got my first item that had to be soul bound

the effect is so cool

im enjoying my mage in this game so much more then wow

[trag3dy]

You choose your specialized class at 9 but you don't get any of those specific abilities until you get to level 10.

To add to that however, once you get to 9 the quest to ascend takes you all the way from 9 to 10 though. And you get a nice new weapon with extra stats for your class too, not just your wings and new class.

[forster]

Must say that Im quite enjoying Aion, even though to me it still just feels like Im playing Lineage 2 with some extra dev time spent on it so that it can compete with WoW.

Graphically, it's lush, it all looks great, and the screenshots all look great too, but if you're stuck in the middle and not sure whether to drop the ?40+, please wait till it's out of beta in September. I dont have buyers remorse, and Ive enjoyed the beta weekend, but it still feels a bit wooden, I dont think it's "there" yet.

[gigapixels Veteran]

Must say that Im quite enjoying Aion, even though to me it still just feels like Im playing Lineage 2 with some extra dev time spent on it so that it can compete with WoW.

Graphically, it's lush, it all looks great, and the screenshots all look great too, but if you're stuck in the middle and not sure whether to drop the ?40+, please wait till it's out of beta in September. I dont have buyers remorse, and Ive enjoyed the beta weekend, but it still feels a bit wooden, I dont think it's "there" yet.

Well if somebody wants to get an experience for free right now... You can order from Amazon, get your key, try it out, and cancel if you don't like it. Amazon doesn't seem to care. Do NOT order from GameStop if you want to be able to cancel it after you get your key.

wow I just got my first item that had to be soul bound

the effect is so cool

im enjoying my mage in this game so much more then wow

Haha yeah, I LOVE the attention to detail in this game. There are so many things that I'm just "wow"ed by.

I love how on my gladiator the chain attacks are just so fluid (if you time it right). It just looks fantastic.

[Scraggles]

No matter what, this game is going to be big. I don't care if it beats out wow. It's got wow beat for me. Too bad I can't play this weekend. :-(

[Spookie]

No matter what, this game is going to be big.

I'm curious to know what you think big is: 200k subs? 300? 400?!

[Scraggles]

I don't care about the specific number of subs. Big to me is the overall fanbase. Probably half of the people playing wow right now have 2 or more accounts. All of my friends that still play, have 2 or more accounts. So when you think about it, 20 people, make up about 40-50 subs. As long as I can log on and find a group to play in, the game is big enough for me. I know the game is going to be one of the biggest of the recent MMORPGS without a doubt.

[Spookie]

I don't care about the specific number of subs. Big to me is the overall fanbase. Probably half of the people playing wow right now have 2 or more accounts. All of my friends that still play, have 2 or more accounts. So when you think about it, 20 people, make up about 40-50 subs. As long as I can log on and find a group to play in, the game is big enough for me. I know the game is going to be one of the biggest of the recent MMORPGS without a doubt.

Oh right one of those immeasurable levels of success huh. But we measure WoW by subs though? :p

Do you have evidence on half of the sub base having two active accounts? 'Your friends' aren't exactly a cross section of the wow population. :)

I don't believe it will be, I'm sure in it's niche it might rule, but in the over all scheme of things it'll pass by largely un noticed.

Edited July 19, 2009 by Spookie

[Spookie]

I was only attempting to get a discussion going. :huh:

As much as I don't like elements of the game. I'd love to see Aion succeed. WARs minor success, though they won't admit it, got WoW a new battleground and a focus shift away from arena. As well as a revamped resilience stat which is oddly enough... A lot like WARs. If Aion got a few subs and some recognition from the 'PvP 4 LYFE YO'. We might finally see blizzard get off their arse and force MMOs in production to follow suit.

[Valerus]

I'm looking forward to this

[trag3dy]

I was only attempting to get a discussion going. :huh:

As much as I don't like elements of the game. I'd love to see Aion succeed. WARs minor success, though they won't admit it, got WoW a new battleground and a focus shift away from arena. As well as a revamped resilience stat which is oddly enough... A lot like WARs. If Aion got a few subs and some recognition from the 'PvP 4 LYFE YO'. We might finally see blizzard get off their arse and force MMOs in production to follow suit.

You mentioned Warhammer Online, so if you play that game or browse forums for that game (yeah I know forums don't represent the whole) you'll know a good majority of players, at least the ones that post on the forums are waiting for Aion to come out because they don't have anything else to play until then. I think it's a good indication that people are looking for new mmos to play. No matter if Aion is just a "stop gap" until the new Star Wars mmo comes out. I personally think that people are doubting Aion because it looks similar to Lineage 2 and that's as far as they go in learning about the game. Oh yes, and they also don't take into consideration that the game we're playing now in these betas is not the same game that is going to go Live in September.

[Scraggles]

You mentioned Warhammer Online, so if you play that game or browse forums for that game (yeah I know forums don't represent the whole) you'll know a good majority of players, at least the ones that post on the forums are waiting for Aion to come out because they don't have anything else to play until then. I think it's a good indication that people are looking for new mmos to play. No matter if Aion is just a "stop gap" until the new Star Wars mmo comes out. I personally think that people are doubting Aion because it looks similar to Lineage 2 and that's as far as they go in learning about the game. Oh yes, and they also don't take into consideration that the game we're playing now in these betas is not the same game that is going to go Live in September.

I actually find it kind of funny that people doubt Aion just because it 'looks' like Lineage 2. Lineage 2 looked great for its time, and actually still looks better than a lot of MMORPGS, WoW included. Lineage did have it's flaws and it looks like if this is a sort of 'lineage 3' by all means, I don't care. The initial screenshots are what drew me in to begin with. So, I researched it a bit, and decided to preorder. It wouldn't be the first time I threw away 50$ on a game I only played a few times. I only played Warhammer online for about 3 hours before I gave up on it. What a waste of money that was for me. So I figured, why not give Aion a go. I loved the graphics in lineage, but yes, it was one hell of a grind. Private servers have been my best friends for years.

So, I preordered Aion, and in CB2, I fell in love with the game. Closed beta 3 was even better because I got to hit level 20 and the game just keeps me hooked. Unfortunately I didn't get to play more than 20 minutes on this beta, but I'm not concerned. The way I see it, is if I ended up playing for like 30 hours like I did in the last few betas, all that happens is I have withdrawls when they close the beta.It sucks. Bad. Right about now I don't even care to play any games because I've played Aion, and I know what game I'll be playing for the winter months.

[Spookie]

You mentioned Warhammer Online, so if you play that game or browse forums for that game (yeah I know forums don't represent the whole) you'll know a good majority of players, at least the ones that post on the forums are waiting for Aion to come out because they don't have anything else to play until then. I think it's a good indication that people are looking for new mmos to play. No matter if Aion is just a "stop gap" until the new Star Wars mmo comes out. I personally think that people are doubting Aion because it looks similar to Lineage 2 and that's as far as they go in learning about the game. Oh yes, and they also don't take into consideration that the game we're playing now in these betas is not the same game that is going to go Live in September.

Aye, happens to every game "OMFG THIS GAME SUCKS WAS BETTER IN VANILLA GOING TO PLAY <insert next big mmo> IT'LL ROXORZ.". Not so sure about WAR though. It has a fairly rabid fan base. Maybe even more so than DF. Or any of the other 'hardcore' MMOs. Most of the players came from DAoC and if Aion isn't their cup of earl gray. Will likely go back since EA are making a epic vanilla server for them to get stuck in to.

I don't know about Star Wars being the next big MMO for that crowd. From what I've read they haven't even mentioned any details in regards to PvP. I'm sure EA will force them to tack it in somewhere or ###### out some of the new Bioware studio (AKA Mythic) to teach them how not to do it! But yes, in general there needs to be another step on the rung of the evolution of the (theme park) MMO.

I think there is a fair bit of MMO racism going on. As people normally associate 'that look' with 'those games' and to a fair degree they are right. That's how Koreans like their MMOs and that's what Aion is marketed towards. No matter how much PlayNC try to bull**** us. That's the market they know and they know how to make their money there, fair game to them. You don't go from making weapons of mass destruction to making children's toys!

I actually find it kind of funny that people doubt Aion just because it 'looks' like Lineage 2. Lineage 2 looked great for its time, and actually still looks better than a lot of MMORPGS, WoW included. Lineage did have it's flaws and it looks like if this is a sort of 'lineage 3' by all means, I don't care. The initial screenshots are what drew me in to begin with. So, I researched it a bit, and decided to preorder. It wouldn't be the first time I threw away 50$ on a game I only played a few times. I only played Warhammer online for about 3 hours before I gave up on it. What a waste of money that was for me. So I figured, why not give Aion a go. I loved the graphics in lineage, but yes, it was one hell of a grind. Private servers have been my best friends for years.

I don't think people doubt Aion because it 'looks' like Lin 2. I doubt it because it comes from PlayNC, looks like Lin 2 and every other Korean MMO I've tried in the past.

You know, I complete disagree Lin 2 looks awful. You're telling me this looks better than this? While WoW might not have the best engine these days, Example- Wintergrasp having a profound effect on Northrend & Instance server, they do have a shockingly good art team and direction. If you've wandered round the area past Kologarn and where you can see Sara hovering over Yoggs pit you'll know what I mean.

Not only that but it's the things you can see. Such as a decent sense of humor ("XT - New toys? For me? I promise I won't break them this time!") much like Warhammer did. As anyone who played the orcs will know.

Aion feels to me like your average bimbo. Nice to look at, but once she opens her mouth she's as hollow as an easter egg.

[trag3dy]

As we all know, what looks good to one might not look good to another. Some things look really nice in Lineage 2, while some things look great in WoW. For example I like the looks of the armor in Lineage 2, but absolutely can't stand the way that the characters run in that game. On the other hand, WoW's armor while not looking bad doesn't compare, in my opinion. Also the running animations look better in WoW.

Aion beats both WoW and Lineage 2 in terms of armor and weapon design, in my opinion, and the running animations aren't bad, either. Anyways, looks are subjective. But graphics of a game don't make it good, however they are the first thing a person will see in the game, so yeah..

Also I think NCsoft is trying to do a lot to make the game fit into the American/European markets. They're "westernizing" it, and we haven't seen the full affect of what that means just yet. But what we do know is that they are changing (increasing) experience rewards, adding more quests and so on. Even giving us an entire area that from what I've read about it is designed to make high level characters level much faster. I'm not sure what they're doing with that zone but I'm guessing it will have a lot of repeatable quests that will give really good experience rewards.

[Spookie]

But what we do know is that they are changing (increasing) experience rewards, adding more quests and so on. Even giving us an entire area that from what I've read about it is designed to make high level characters level much faster. I'm not sure what they're doing with that zone but I'm guessing it will have a lot of repeatable quests that will give really good experience rewards.

That's not really a western MMO though. Western MMOs have strong storylines throughout the game. Not one 'epic' quest line and the rest are menial go here and kill this and fed-ex that quests.

Now before someone cries 'but WoW/LoTRo/etc do that!'. Of course they do. If I boiled down a shooter to it's basic ingredients we'd have you shooting someone in the face for 12 hours then killing a final boss. It's the way they hide the grind which makes it diffrent. WoW/LoTRo hide it by using phasing so they can change the world around you without having to redesign the zone each time they want to put in an epic quest.

What I'm trying to say is you can put quests in. But if they don't hide the fact they are nothing more than go here kill this. That's how people will see it. As a simple extension to grinding to level cap.

[trag3dy]

I'm not entirely sure the point you're trying to make with the quests. Yeah Aion has one main storyline quest that starts pretty much at level one and goes all the way to 50. WoW had nothing like from my experience. If that's not a strong story line I don't know what would be considered strong then. Also they have quests like WoW where you have to do long storyline to unlock certain things like dungeon access and so on. And I'm sure they both have their fare share of completely pointless quests. Also if you're having to grind mobs to level anyways when no quest is present, throwing a quest in there that has no purpose towards a larger goal is fine in my book, it will aid in the leveling and lesson the "grind". In that respect adding random quests that don't have much purpose can't really be considered bad.

Mostly though questing doesn't concern me to much, I see questing as a means to an end. I want to get to max level and kill people. Weather or not a quest has an important purpose isn't to much of an issue for me, although I won't complain if it rewards me with something cool at the end of the story line.