Aion Online


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Trial accounts are probably going to be awhile.

And I have only ever played WOW, LOTRO, AOC, WAR. And of those I only ever really played LOTRO for a long time, others were less then a month. So I am not one to ask lol

Out of curiosity, what is the overall verdict of this game. I know its not been out for very long but would you guys recommend it over other MMO's? And is there any way to get a free trial account?

Eh, wouldn't recommend it over WoW exactly, as they're both really decent games. It's just that, right now after having played WoW for so long, this game is a lot fresher. Not to mention this has to be one of the first times where, aside from being excited about the graphical aspect of the game, that I've actually gotten caught up in the environment. I've never been able to do that with WoW honestly, simply because the graphics are limited. Sure, in WoW, there are places I like, but not this much. Hell, you can ask my girlfriend too as I wasn't able to shut up about it last night when we got to a new area. :p

As for the gameplay though, it's great. The way DoTs and HoTs don't stack really ensures that a group will want to diversify their party's DPS which keeps people from being left behind simply due to class stacking in other games. Of course, that doesn't mean it will hurt you too much for bringing 2 of the same class either, but it feels simply like a bit of an incentive to really.

Honestly, when I first looked at the game, I thought it was gonna be just another Korean MMO where everything is pretty, and the gameplay / leveling is boring. After playing the open beta though, my perspective has really changed. The combat system is pretty reactive, with chained attacks that become quite fun as opposed to simple rotations and mashing Overpower or something in WoW. The chains can also split, for example with a Warrior's early choice being to follow up with an additional attack or a defense boost. Overall though, it seems to be a really fun system.

I could go on, but my thoughts are kind of scattered this morning. Plus, I'm AFK in game writing this, so lemme get back to my character. :happy:

Oh, and for those that may need help while questing, or just want to look something up, I've found this site to be quite useful:

http://www.aionarmory.com

So far this weekend I haven't managed to even play one char. I understand that things are going to be manic at the weekends but it still doesnt stop it from frustrating me. Oh dear.

aion0004t.jpg

aion0005d.jpg

I've been waiting for like an hour so far and I'm still 318/2000. What are the producers doing? I mean people don't pay to wait in hour long queues. Not to mention the lag in towns. If it weren't for these things it would have been a great game.

Uh it's weird that you are waiting that long, they changed some settings and added servers, max wait time is 15 minutes now. You must be having bad luck or something.

They're in the EU which as far I understand it hasn't had new servers added yet. But they were supposed be putting up 1 or 2 new English servers and another for each language, at least that's what I remember reading.

my god, suprising that the Personal Store patch didnt help things, did somewhat in US, there is still a queue on Azphel ( one of the popular servers ) but its about 400atm w/20 min queue.

im currently 182 w/10 min

So far this weekend I haven't managed to even play one char. I understand that things are going to be manic at the weekends but it still doesnt stop it from frustrating me. Oh dear.

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I'm a World of Warcraft player thinking about trying Aion what should I know? - I've looked at reviews and some 'Aion from a WoW players Perspective' videos on Youtube but these are focusing mainly on the early beta with the level caps and such so they don't really go in to depth.

I'd like to know off the bat, how many Servers are there (In the EU)?

How many users do they have roughly on each server?

What can you buy with the games currency? (Epic Gear, Mounts ?)

How does Flying work and at what level does it begin?

Does the game support Add-ons?

PVP is it fun?

Do they have 'Battlegrounds' like in WoW?

Thanks (Y)

Hah, oh dear. With 5 minutes to go, windows decided to install automatically an update for my ethernet, resulting in a loss of internet and Aion just quit. 90minutes wasted, all I want to do is play the ****ing game. Goodie another 60 minute wait. If I hadn't of spent so much money on it (?45) I would of given up and came back in about a year.

I hate the fact that some people are having a bad time, it's really a good game.

And the weird thing is the past 3 days I can't play, keeps crashing within 5 minutues, been working since closed beta perfectly, and the first couple days of launch, but for some reason it's not working and NCSoft Support and AionSource are horrible are answering my questions. Yet I am still loving Aion. I hope everyone gets there issues resolved.

I'm a World of Warcraft player thinking about trying Aion what should I know? - I've looked at reviews and some 'Aion from a WoW players Perspective' videos on Youtube but these are focusing mainly on the early beta with the level caps and such so they don't really go in to depth.

I'd like to know off the bat, how many Servers are there (In the EU)?

How many users do they have roughly on each server?

What can you buy with the games currency? (Epic Gear, Mounts ?)

How does Flying work and at what level does it begin?

Does the game support Add-ons?

PVP is it fun?

Do they have 'Battlegrounds' like in WoW?

Thanks (Y)

I'd like to know off the bat, how many Servers are there (In the EU)?

Here is the server list for the EU:

http://uk.aiononline.com/livestatus/server/

Please note that they have certain servers for certain languages and they are labled as such in game(eng,french, and german languages), but I'm not sure on which is which. Also, at this point (Sunday) queues are quite bad in the EU, so you're better off waiting a few more days as they are in the process of adding new servers.

How many users do they have roughly on each server?

Unknown really, 4000-5000 players per server on at a time would be my guess.

What can you buy with the games currency? (Epic Gear, Mounts ?)

Almost anything gear wise, skill books, crafting materials, and so on, there are no mounts in the game.

How does Flying work and at what level does it begin?

It's pretty easy really. I mapped the flight take off and land buttons to my extra mouse buttons but they aren't by default. You can only fly in certain areas but you can glide anywhere, which is just jumping and then tapping the space bar again to pull out your wings.

Does the game support Add-ons?

None yet, please god none ever other than cosmetic ones like changing the UI.

PVP is it fun?

From what I've seen, yes, quite. And pretty well balanced, as someone else said, the way the game is set up it promotes somewhat tactcial pvp with how you set up your groups by not allowing dots and hots to stack, from the same class type. Some see this as a bad thing and it definitely has it's cons, but it also has it's pluses too as it doesn't encourage people to zerg.

Do they have 'Battlegrounds' like in WoW?

Not technically. They have duels and arenas in your factions main city where you can fight your own people, but no battlegrounds like WoW. The main focus for pvp in this game is open world pvp.

I hate the fact that some people are having a bad time, it's really a good game.

And the weird thing is the past 3 days I can't play, keeps crashing within 5 minutues, been working since closed beta perfectly, and the first couple days of launch, but for some reason it's not working and NCSoft Support and AionSource are horrible are answering my questions. Yet I am still loving Aion. I hope everyone gets there issues resolved.

Do you get an error message? If so what does it say?

my god, suprising that the Personal Store patch didnt help things, did somewhat in US, there is still a queue on Azphel ( one of the popular servers ) but its about 400atm w/20 min queue.

im currently 182 w/10 min

Seriously, it didn't fix anything? Three days ago at this time the queue would be 3+ hours... To each their own I guess. The queue is now actually waiting for people that are playing the game to log off, instead of *******s afking in a store because they wanted to bypass the queue.

Edited by trag3dy

The two new European servers should be up tonight if they aren't up already at the time of this post already. Remember that the game has only been officially out for roughly 2 days going on 3 in Europe. Hope this certainly helps those of you in the EU.

Those in the US really shouldn't be complaining at all. There are 3 servers not counting the new West coast server or the oceanic server that have zero queues during peak hours. If you're unwilling to move, that's your problem.

Yea I did, didn't read it though. Will do that next time.

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No offense, but seriously, you're on a tech site. That's like... :rofl: the first step you take. :rofl:

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No offense, but seriously, you're on a tech site. That's like... :rofl: the first step you take. :rofl:

Well I wasn't really asking for help, just stating my issue. I have been looking up on it with the AionSource forums and such. So I knew the log would be important, just have not looked at it yet because many people are having similar but different issues, I assumed those would be fixed and mine would go away lol

Being a long time WoW player, here is a list of the things I think that Aion improves and indeed fails on. In my e-pinion of course :p

Pros:

  • The ability for the quest to mark on your map exactly where to go and provide almost wiki style links to find out further information. Finding someone or something needed in a quest is so much easier and reduced the need to alt-tab out to the internet to get anwers.
  • Love the notepad feature. Someone in the main chat window could find someone you need to kill (the quest failed to point it out, Tutty anyone?) so they can post links which when clicked show you on the map. But you can right click and save these links to your personal notepad to get later. Really nice touch.
  • Your own private store. Great idea, although being abused at the moment, I saw a guy selling level 4 belts, for 999 just so he could stay logged in. Hope they fixed that by now.
  • An interesting downtime idea. In WoW if you were injured badly in a fight you would have to eat/drink to restore energy. Here you just sit down. Its quite funny actually when by just sitting on the floor your whole health is restored to max in mere seconds. Not sure how that works in later levels but its fun now. Saves tonnes of food/water etc. Its no fun as a mage to keep drinking to restore mana and this idea from Aion improves things alot.
  • Instant mail. Someone sends you a mail in game and in WoW you have to find a postbox, but here can click a button and the mail is literally delivered to your feet no matter where you are. Very handy, but it feels like we are being lazy :p

Cons:

  • Money. Now, ive only played to level 8, but there seems to be one currency. Not Copper, silver and gold but one. So instead of an item costing 1g 20s it will cost you like 1200 kinah. Not too bad, but I feel its going to get worse later on, after all paying 190 kinah to fly from A to B, imagine what a max level weapon would cost?! 10000000000 kinah? You make alot of money from the start but in the grand scheme of things its not alot since items all cost alot too. Wow I have 900 kinah! Yea, you can spend all that on a level 5 chest peice.
  • Gathering. From what I've seen you can gather plants/ore etc just by clicking on it, saves the need for picks etc. But I don't like the way that you have to click on the resource about 3 times to get all from it. In WoW you can mine ore once and get all items and skills. Here you have to hope that somebody doesn't swoop in the take it from you, which I found a problem starting off. It was a bedlam trying to gather that first plant, with about 6 people around it all right clicking like idiots.
  • The collectors edition items. Now don't get me wrong, its nice to have items not many other people will have, but lets me clear, the items suck. Regardless of what bonuses they bring to your char, a pork pie hat, purple dye and black wings I can't use until much later on in the game aren't my idea of great things. I would prefer a cool cloak, black or indeed any colour you want dye any cooler buffs would be better. Its a small gripe but it does annoy me. Hip-Hop emote? lol

Lets be clear, I like the game, I think it takes WoW polishes it and trims off alot of the fat and your left with a solid fun game which stands alone amongst the other MMORPGS. It's early days and can only get better, and I hope the server issues and such are sorted with haste. If you have never played WoW I think you will enjoy this game alot more as unlike me, you won't be making comparisons all the time.

Just my 2 cents.

[*]Gathering. From what I've seen you can gather plants/ore etc just by clicking on it, saves the need for picks etc. But I don't like the way that you have to click on the resource about 3 times to get all from it. In WoW you can mine ore once and get all items and skills. Here you have to hope that somebody doesn't swoop in the take it from you, which I found a problem starting off. It was a bedlam trying to gather that first plant, with about 6 people around it all right clicking like idiots.

Probably you don't play WoW long time. Gathering ore, herbs only by one click was implemented few patches ago. Gathering using more clicks is also implemented in another games, like Runes of Magic. I don't like some changes they make in WoW (like this one).

Cons:

  • Money. Now, ive only played to level 8, but there seems to be one currency. Not Copper, silver and gold but one. So instead of an item costing 1g 20s it will cost you like 1200 kinah. Not too bad, but I feel its going to get worse later on, after all paying 190 kinah to fly from A to B, imagine what a max level weapon would cost?! 10000000000 kinah? You make alot of money from the start but in the grand scheme of things its not alot since items all cost alot too. Wow I have 900 kinah! Yea, you can spend all that on a level 5 chest peice.
  • Gathering. From what I've seen you can gather plants/ore etc just by clicking on it, saves the need for picks etc. But I don't like the way that you have to click on the resource about 3 times to get all from it. In WoW you can mine ore once and get all items and skills. Here you have to hope that somebody doesn't swoop in the take it from you, which I found a problem starting off. It was a bedlam trying to gather that first plant, with about 6 people around it all right clicking like idiots.
  • The collectors edition items. Now don't get me wrong, its nice to have items not many other people will have, but lets me clear, the items suck. Regardless of what bonuses they bring to your char, a pork pie hat, purple dye and black wings I can't use until much later on in the game aren't my idea of great things. I would prefer a cool cloak, black or indeed any colour you want dye any cooler buffs would be better. Its a small gripe but it does annoy me. Hip-Hop emote? lol

Lets be clear, I like the game, I think it takes WoW polishes it and trims off alot of the fat and your left with a solid fun game which stands alone amongst the other MMORPGS. It's early days and can only get better, and I hope the server issues and such are sorted with haste. If you have never played WoW I think you will enjoy this game alot more as unlike me, you won't be making comparisons all the time.

Just my 2 cents.

Being that you're a WoW player, you should certainly know that starting a new character without any previous characters to help you means you're starting at the very bottom basically. That said, the armor prices on white quality items is certainly relative for the most part. Kinah is pretty easy to get in the game, even better later, and just like WoW though, you probably don't want to spend your money on vendor priced white quality gear. The first thing to do would be to check the AH, which you will see in Pandaemonium or Sanctum, depending on your faction as well as the next town you level around. You can easily level without buying new gear 1-10, even as a squishy (yet powerful) sorcerer or something. Usually, I find someone selling green quality items at reasonable prices via a Private Store throughout that level range though. I usually have between 15-20k by the time I'm level 9 or 10. Of course, remember to not spend that before you buy your level 10 skills.

There is also a bit of dependency on the server you've chosen. I'm on a smaller populated server, and prices in AH are quite high. This is both good and bad, as it makes it harder to get gear initially through the broker, but real easy to make money off of materials and gear you pick up on the way. High populated servers like Azphel (which I played on) have tons of gear up and quite low prices. Still, this makes it hard to make money selling even uncommon items when people are selling them for say... 100 kinah over vendor price. Really makes the whole point kind of questionable. There is also a decent aspect to the broker though: you can only sell 10 items at a time. While this may seem bad to the individual, this certainly helps prevent auction monopolization that exists on WoW, where the prices end up getting marked up to insane levels.

Gathering is a bit slow, but there's an abundant supply of nodes around and, while it does take time, at least you get XP from doing it, so it's not a total drag. Friend of mine spent a couple hours farming Aether, only to find himself level gaining 80% and leveling around level 12-13 or so. My biggest concern for gathering is that it's a bit too sensitive. Targeting someone while gathering for instance stops the process, which also sucks because you essentially lose that hit. :/

As for the CE items, they're not meant to be overpowering, but really just to help you out throughout leveling. Having a blue hat you can use at level 1 (which I'm still wearing at level 17 btw), earrings you can use at 20, and wings you can use at 30... Makes it a bit more useful throughout the game rather than just at one point or another. I do get what you're saying though in terms of appearance. Personally, I wish they chose a different color that purple for the dyes. Oh, and the cloak idea can't really be done I wouldn't think, since when you become part of a legion, you wear a cloak with your legion symbol much like Guild Wars. They look pretty damn cool too, by the way. ;)

-----

Right now, I'm pretty pumped about one single "feature" I guess you'd call it alone: THERE IS NO DURABILITY IN THIS GAME!! Seriously, for some reason, I just noticed this the other day and, as a healer, it makes me happy knowing that my tank isn't going to have a ridiculous repair bill while we blaze through a group of guys, do some quests that normally call for a "group", and such. Takes a lot of pressure off as a healer. :yes:

Edited by dead.cell
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Up next we have the features under normal rollout: [Secure Boot] With this update, Windows quality updates include additional high confidence device targeting data, increasing coverage of devices eligible to automatically receive new Secure Boot certificates. Devices receive the new certificates only after demonstrating sufficient successful update signals, maintaining a controlled and phased rollout. [Authentication] This update improves Netlogon secure channel connections between domain controllers, enabling successful connections from member servers to domain controllers set up before 2025. [Emoji Panel Update] The emoji panel (Windows key + period (.)) now uses GIPHY for GIF content following the deprecation of Google’s Tenor API. Starting June 30, 2026, install the latest Windows update to continue using GIFs in the Emoji panel. If you don’t update, you will see a "GIF service is not available" error in the panel. Installing the latest Windows update will restore access to GIFs. [Networking] This update improves how your device connects to shared network resources. Connections used by apps and system features, such as the NetUseAdd function, now work more reliably, including unauthenticated (null session) connections. [Recycle Bin (known issue)] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where the confirmation dialog might display an internal Recycle Bin file name instead of the original file name when permanently deleting a file. This issue might occur after installing the June 2026 security update (KB5094126). [Taskbar] This update improves notification badge display across your apps. Notification counts and badge visuals now update correctly, helping you stay up to date with new activity. You can choose to manually download the update from Microsoft's update catalog website at this link.
    • Hands-on with BOOX Tappy: cute little reading accessory by Taras Buria Page turners are quite popular accessories for e-readers, as they enable a hands-free reading experience, which is particularly useful with large readers featuring 10-inch or larger displays. The BOOX Tappy is a new accessory that was introduced earlier this year, and we took this cute-looking thingy for a spin. The Tappy comes in a small box, with two additional buttons and a user manual. The device is made of glossy green plastic and resembles old appliances from the nuclear age. Material quality is great, and each part feels quite premium. Plastic is high-quality, the switch is nice to flick, and the buttons are not rattly. At the bottom, four rubberized feet prevent slipping when used on a desk. Unfortunately, there are no color options, and the Tappy is only available in green. It looks good, but I wish there were other options as well. There are two removable buttons, an on/off switch, and an LED indicator that displays connection mode, charging status, and more. The buttons resemble those of an old typewriter, with quite a long travel distance and a pleasant clack. In the box, you have four buttons with different icons: heart, coffee, O, and X. You can easily swap buttons by simply pulling them upwards. Tip: buttons come with plastic covers, but they are quite tricky to remove. It is hard to call the Tappy the most ergonomic remote control, but after fiddling with it for a few hours, I managed to find a comfortable hand position. Attaching a lanyard to it can make it more comfortable in use without the fear of dropping it, but unfortunately, the Tappy does not come with one. The Tappy connects via Bluetooth 5.2, and it works in three modes, which you can toggle by pressing and holding both buttons for about five seconds: Reading Mode Multimedia Mode Browsing Mode Next / Previous page Next / Previous Track Up / Down scroll If you pair the Tappy with a BOOX device (I tested it with the BOOX Go 10.5 Gen 2 Lumi), you will get small pop-ups indicating the current mode. Plus, you can customize what each button does when pressed one time, two times, or held for a few seconds. The list of available actions and features you can use is massive, and I like that BOOX lets you map stuff like brightness adjustment, app launching, screenshot-taking, screen rotating, navigation, and more. Note, however, that while you can use the Tappy with other readers, its customization is only available on BOOX devices running firmware version 4.2 and newer. I could not connect the Tappy to my computer (Windows 11 claims a driver error when I try), but it worked with the DuRoBo Krono that I recently reviewed. My Kindle Paperwhite refused to work with the Tappy, though, just like my iPhone. The Tappy uses a non-removable Li-Ion battery, which can be recharged with a Type-C cable. BOOX rates the remote for "weeks of use," and I can say that it indeed has very good battery life. While there are no battery indicators on the remote, you can see the current level in the status bar or in Input settings in the BOOX firmware. After a few days of active use, mine still shows about 95%. Overall, the Tappy left a nice impression. It is well-made, and the integration with BOOX devices is great. I also like that BOOX decided to have some fun with its design and swappable buttons. I cannot say I am a fan of its odd shape, though. Still, I managed to find a way to use it comfortably. And when not in use, it just looks neat sitting on the table doing nothing or serving you as a small clacky fidget. Buy BOOX Tappy - $29.99 on Amazon US As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • AdGuard Family lifetime deal now only $14.97 by Steven Parker Today's highlighted Neowin Deal comes via our Apps + Software section, where you can get a lifetime subscription and save 91% on a lifetime AdGuard Family Plan. AdGuard is a unique program that has all the necessary features for what they claim to be "the best web experience." The software combines the an advanced ad blocker, a privacy protection module, and a parental control tool—all working in one app. This software deals with annoying ads, hides your data from a multitude of trackers, protects you from malware attacks, and even lets you restrict your kids from accessing inappropriate content. Install AdGuard and see the internet as it was supposed to be: clean and safe. Get rid of annoying banners, pop-ups & video ads once and for all Hide your data from the multitude of trackers & activity analyzers that swarm the web Avoid fraudulent and phishing website and malware attacks Protect your kids online by restricting them from accessing inappropriate & adult content Good to know Family Plan Length of access: lifetime This plan is only available to new users Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 30 days of purchase Max number of devices: 9 Access options: desktop & mobile Software version: AdGuard Family Updates included A lifetime subscription of AdGuard Family Plan normally costs $169.99, but this deal can be yours for just $14.97, that's a saving of $157.02. For full terms, specifications, and license info please click the link below. Get this AdGuard Family lifetime deal for just $14.97 (was $169.99) Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support! Support queries If you have queries or need support for any of the Neowin Deals, please use the contact form here. Neowin Deals are managed and sold by StackCommerce who represent Neowin on an affiliate basis. Why we post these deals We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. So for those that keep moaning and complaining, be thankful we're still online for you to even do that. Other ways to support Neowin Whitelist Neowin by not blocking our ads Create a free member account to see fewer ads Make a donation to support our day to day running costs Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: Neowin benefits from revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site powered by StackCommerce.
    • Sadly "beats Steam Machine" isn't much of a brag.
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