[Arcana]

Apparently there's been an early release of Aion already and the general game is opening in a couple of days. I currently play WoW but a lot of people are talking about this game and I'm wondering if anyone has tried it yet.

I would like to know if it's worth putting effort into a different variety of game like this one. I've read a few reviews already but I'm more interested in factors like the community and so forth.

Regards,

[EdgeCrusher]

My wife preordered it before the closed beta started, and has been playing it since then, and got her CE version at gamestop yesterday. It looks like a decent game I guess. Unforunately just about any thread about it on any forum turns into WoW fags saying that WoW is better/ripping off ideas/etc.

[Vilecat]

Originally Posted by EdgeCrusher

My wife preordered it before the closed beta started, and has been playing it since then, and got her CE version at gamestop yesterday. It looks like a decent game I guess. Unforunately just about any thread about it on any forum turns into WoW fags saying that WoW is better/ripping off ideas/etc.

Nah. The only thing I'm wondering though is if it'll be another of those games people will quit WoW for during a few weeks to a few months then come back because it wasn't all that great or something along those lines. Just like when Age of Conan came out. I just find it silly.

You can't really compare WoW to most MMO coming out. I mean, the game already had a very solid lore/story because of the 3 RTS and the game itself has been out for 5 years now. Blizzard had plenty of time balancing things out or improving them (there's still work to be done ofc). They have a rather big team working on it too compared to a good amount of the MMO out there.

[Skummel Maske]

Almost here? My neighbour has been playing it religiously for at least one day already. Are there different launch dates in Europe and the US?

[Arcana]

The official date of release was the 22nd I believe, but I think there was a two-day preopening and they opened up the servers early.

Predictably, there was no way they could handle the burst demand and the launch was pretty crowded.

I'm a WoW player. What I want to know is if this game is worth putting some time into. I'd have to do more work than most to get it running (I'm on a Mac and I haven't installed Windows yet) so I want to know if it has some lasting power and is relatively solid coming out of the gate.

I can't rename this thread myself unfortunately

[atmuh]

after someones played it for a week id appreciate a DETAILED breakdown of the game because im seriously not gonna throw down $50 and then pay monthly unless this game is REALLY GOOD

[Bleck]

Originally Posted by atmuh

after someones played it for a week id appreciate a DETAILED breakdown of the game

grind

grind

grind

look that guy has pink hair

grind

grind

grind

idle

idle

idle

idle

raid or something

idle

idle

idle

idle










ALL THIS FOR THE LOW LOW COST OF FIFTY DOLLARS A MONTH

[Nick Hyral]

Okay.. been wondering if anyone would start a topic like this.. been playing Aion since Open beta.. and played it religiously during headstart.. I must say I'm rather impressed with it so far.. Interesting storyline.. played both Elyos and Asmodean.. currently and Asmodean on the Nezekal server. But I guess I can give a breakdown...

Graphics are gorgeous, Not even on it's highest settings it's looking great.. very fluid animations and such.. environments suit the setting of the game very well.

Music.. is fantastic.. you get your standard orchestrated fanfare.. at times you get something that belongs in a Tim Burton movie... Think Edward Scissor Hands or Batman. The battle themes change on zone.. Asmodean get more of a rock themed battle theme.. then more a techno style from what I've heard thus far.. Elyos are a bit more.. tribal I suppose is the word I'm looking for.. Definately something I won't turn off for awhile.

Game mechanics.. It's standard MMO fanfare here. Done the same in EQ.. WoW... Lineage.. etc.. You set up your hotkeys similar to WoW... the game introduces you to a combo system.. which you end up starting with one skill.. leading into another.. then another. It's easy to learn.. and the best part about it.. It's free for experimentation.. my damage rotation might turn out far differently than yours.. and work just as well for me as yours does for you.. not making mine.. or your superior or inferior to the other.. It's about skill in this game and I love it.

Balance was something I was worried about at first.. But class balance is extremely well in this game.. You start out picking one of four classes.. Warrior, Scout, Mage, and Priest. At level 10 you choose 1 of 2 classes available to your base class.. For more information on classes feel free to check the wiki page for it. Each class has strengths and weaknesses making all viable.. but not overpowered.

The standard story is pretty much you wake up from a dream of a huge battle in a mercenary unit.. From there you piece together who you are bit by bit. Won't go into detail but I enjoyed it. It being a Korean MMO it honestly surprised me with a healthy balance of questing for exp.. or grinding similar to Ragnarok. Grinding for equipment isn't a bad pace as if say an enemy has a .01% drop chance.. every kill increases the drop chance slowly till said item drops.. Granted it's both a blessing and curse as I've spent hours farming for a side quest giving item... however it was a reward in itself as again.. grinding for leveling is 100% okay to do in this game.

Where the game really shines... Castle Siege.. If you've played Ragnarok's War of Emperium... well.. you're in for a treat. The PvP in this game is heavy.. and a blast. You fight in the abyss for castles that give benefits to those who own it in the abyss. Fight through the keep taking objectives leading to a Keep Lord.. beat him down and the castle is yours.. fighting the other faction ofcourse.. However to balance it out, NCsoft added in the third faction the computer controlled Baluar to come rocking in and attacking the faction with the greater numbers making it a bit more fair.. not to say the other faction is safe, but it does help even out the odds.

Overall my gripes with this game are few and far between. Cleric for example rock as healers.. but offensively bug me as 98% of the time my smites are resisted making it a slow work killing enemies.. but with my mana pool that never runs dry.. not like I die anyway.

A break down of the common stuff I guess would be.. Max level is 50.. getting to 20 is easy enough.. however 20 to 50 it grows tedious like any Korean MMO.. Ofcourse the levels you gain feel more rewarding as everything about you grows a bit.. Even the skill set is pretty nifty as a mage you get a standard fireball that you chuck like Mario does.. But as you become a sorcerer you get a rank 2 that when thrown you hurl two spheres that collide into each other at the enemy and explode on impact..giving you a feel of progression of skill and development.

Opposite of WoW this game sits as more competitive PvP base than raiding.. Not to say there is no raiding.. but if you're looking for another WoW.. This is and isn't it. They have their similarities and differences.. the big differences are the PvE content vs PvP.. WoW is a PvE game with PvP.. Aion a PvP game with PvE.. so the gaming experiences as such are different. If you are competitive and in the mood for a challenge in PvP with a long grind that rewards dedication.. go for it. If you're into something more basic and casual go WoW.. I mean as Cataclysm is proving.. they're taking away everything to make it complex and promoting the basics so everyone can play.. If you consider yourself a gamer who has longed for a challenge in gaming.. Aion is all you.

Should anyone pick it up.. again Nezekan is my server.. Asmodean.. my characters are:

Nick
Samantha
Shawna

Those are it currently. Send me an ingame message sometime.

[Arcana]

If I played this I'd play it with my girlfriend and she doesn't like playing PVP. Hmmm.

[SoulinEther]

How does it compare to Lineage 2? Nick, you're saying it's got its fair share of grinding. Can you quest to gain levels? Or is questing more about getting gear/money?

How well can you solo this game? Do you run out of mana fast as a mage? Can you recover health quickly as a fighter? I'm usually playing support - you're saying clerics have a smite nuke that often fails: does it work well against undead or does it flat out suck?

Do you level skills individually, or do you level up attributes that power up skills (like Guild Wars)? Do you get stat points to distribute upon leveling, or do your stats just increase automatically every time you level?