Preview: Aion

[maddog015]

This is a game my wife wants to play (mostly because our old guild is considering joining up). It does look pretty and I'm on the fence about joining. I'm concerned of it becoming too much of a grind--or at least, feeling like one. I barely made it to 60 in WoW (pre-expansion) and stopped WAR 6 months.

 

[haruvister]

Another sidestep in the evolution of MMORPGs, it would seem. It looks desperately uninspired.

 

[ASnogarD]

Having played a beta event weekend of Aion, I found it to yet another Korean style MMO in the same styles as Rose, Luna and Ether Saga but with much better graphics.

The opening sections of the game were lacking in any real danger, you can walk through all the mobs without attacting attention...only when you attack do the monsters fight, although there was a few mobs at the later levels that had a aggro range and would attack you but then when I ascended the first area after acension returned to the non hostile mobs.

The flight mechanic is intresting, mostly due to the time limit which adds a level of strategic flight rather than just rendering flight as a new place to stand while fighting (I recall a rumour that mentioned the rift fights featured unlimited flight time which would take out the flight time stategic element).

The game looks good and performs well at the stage I tested it, there was little pop in of the scenery but not so noticable as some of the more recent high profile western mmo's like AoC and WAR.

My experience in the combat at the begining levels lead me to believe that it is the usual generic stuff of using a set of attacks with the only variations dictated by the cooldowns... however I wasnt plauged by 'you cannot move while...' or 'you need to ...' limitations of some other MMO's...it was relatively smooth.

All in all Aion is a solid MMO that doesnt bring any new elements to the genre but does what it does well.

AS TO WOW ... WoW is actually a rather bland MMO with crude graphics but developed its state as the MMO king by the simple fact it brought in a lot of gamers that would of never have tried a MMO.
It brought in a lot of RTS fans because of its brand name and made a MMO accesable to those players that were not used to MMO's that pre dated WoW, and as such its the first MMO of a large majority of new MMO gamers that see WoW in a more favourable light...and see any other MMO with a distictly harsh view that is hostile unless the MMO can prove its worth.
I still have fond memories of Ironforge and the outlying snow covered areas by Kharus etc etc and no other MMO has had the same effect since.

 

[Frizzle]

I'm in on the beta as well, and so far I love the game. It looks absolutely stunning, and the animations/style of the game is really nice. Mr. Funk, there are a few things I wish you would have mentioned:
1- You get different bonuses for moving while fighting. Side to side= better dodge/parry chance. moving forward makes you hit harder, and moving backwards decreases the damage you take. This prevents it from standing in one spot and spamming a button over and over to kill (which you can't do anyway, because pretty much every special move has a cooldown.

2- Although it does make you seem like the "hero" (ala AoC), it does a good job to make sure you're not THE hero. It tells you that you're part of a larger movement of immortals and it's your job to do your part in the fight. It sets you up very nicely.

2a-I only played to lvl 10, but you felt part of a bigger story from the beginning. Even the quest log is (very nicely) divided up into regular missions, and story arch missions that are essential to leveling. If i'm not mistaken, some of them are even required to progress, I think.

3- This game looks and sounds beautiful. The music is dynamic and changes when you're in/out of combat. There is also lots of customization thus far, even with level 10 and below gear. You can "socket" your gear with mana gems to give you different stats. It's really nice.

I have already pre-ordered, so now i gotta find time for this, EVE, and even Second Life.

 

[Syntax Error]

to all you beta users ; is aion like guild wars in the way that is a single player game whit zones where you can talk to other people or like almost all the others where you share the world

Nope.. there's a lot of pve content, but it's mostly open world, which means you're able to do it with other people. And after level 20 the open-world becomes pvp open-world, where asmodians/elyos can come to your land through 'rifts' and do some mayhem.

And, just like RF, I can see massive griefing potential there. Don't get me wrong. Open-world PvP is good in paper, but if you're just a starting level 20 character when there are already a lot of high-levels (which will be the case if this proves to be popular), it will just mean that your sorry level 20 ass will get whupped time and time again, until some of your fellow race repels the attacker/s, or the attacker/s get/s bored.

EDIT:
Reviews: Aion: The Tower of Eternity Preview Supplement. Really? Do you have to break the very fabric of time and space just to give this one a title? Wouldn't First Impressions: Aion: The Tower of Eternity Preview Supplement, be a better title?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I was pondering over this for some time, and having loved flight in CoH, I might give it a shot.

(It's out on Steam btw)

The idea of people cheering you as you do things always appealed to me, (narcissist as I am) but I'm confused how people write it off as "just" GuildWars as if that's a bad thing.

The key to toppling WoW is for some WoW players to actually try some other games rather than sitting on their uberlevel characters talking about how it used to be good before "(insert whinge here)"

 

[Xerosch]

Is it just me or is the music and characters in creation mode like Final Fantasy?

 

[solsticesins]

I've been waiting a while for the mainstream gaming media to finally take notice of Aion, glad to see it finally getting a little attention. After playing the beta for the last 5 events and getting a Chanter to lvl 30 I have to say there's a lot of potential in this game. It plays like World of Warcraft, but... smoother, without need for all the addons that you have to update every patch. Want a quest helper? It's got that, the dictionary locates mobs, NPCs, quest objectives, whatever you need. Want a map overlay that doesn't interrupt your game play? It's got that too, with all quest markers intact.

The combat is also relatively the same but flashier, more reactive than routine. While the attack combos you can pull off are mainly on rotation it still keeps you actively in the fight, if you slack and just auto attack, the mobs at your level will do more damage to you than you do to them, almost a guarantee on that unless you're a Templar. The defensive maneuvers are almost all reactive so you have to stay sharp to survive with high damage classes like Assassins and Sorcerers. And... it's just really, really pretty, the attacks, the combos, they just flow together so well.

Questing is... well, questing takes a lot of exploration. There are quest nodes everywhere, you just have to find them. Some times you have quests leading from one quest node to another, which is helpful, but you'll have to walk back and forth between multiple quest nodes over the course of your leveling in order to get all the quests, as each quest node has quests for a wide range of levels and the quests all have level requirements that must be met before you can take them. Also, the quest reward experience is... relatively low, you will have a few grind sessions in order to level up, most of the time you will not be able to just subsist on questing alone. However, there are plenty of quests that are repeatable (blue exclamation marks, if you will) that gives you decent rewards, gold, and coins which can be traded in for random gear from special quartermasters stationed all over the place. This at least gives you some grinding incentive.

As for the world PvP, I finally got a taste of that questing in the Abyss at lvl 25-30 on the most recent beta that just ended a few days ago. In the Abyss... it's harsh, totally open PvP, no where is really safe from a gank team of the opposing faction, but if you stay in groups, questing is still more than doable. Also, the mobs in the Abyss grants much more experience and loot than their counterparts at the same level outside the Abyss, which further promotes the teamwork that is essential for your survival. Outside the Abyss, in the world, your faction has to find portals in order to travel from one half of the world to the other. The portals are not hard to locate, but once you're on the other side there's no way back until you find another portal, and you're most definitely in enemy territory. They will far out number you so you have to stay in groups, big groups, in order for your infiltration to be successful enough to complete specific infiltration objectives from quest givers, and the rewards are really worth it. The thing is though, if you die during an infiltration, you're kicked back to the grave yard you're bound to, which is on your half of the world. Return time is long so infiltration groups do not really have staying power unless you have a portable obelisk (grave yard) that you bound to... of course, the portable obelisk is destructible by the opponent faction so it's still balanced.

As for flight, while it is mainly used to get around (and get away from mobs) in the outer worlds, still very useful, mind you, it is truly essential in the Abyss. Flight is enabled everywhere in that zone of floating islands, getting around the zone without it would be impossible. Moreover, it's a great tool for PvP combat, yes, you can fight on the fly, rain death on your enemies from above (and if you're a Templar there's an ability that allows you to pull an enemy to you with a chain if lightening... which looks fantastic when you're yanking them into the air with you), and if you're questing, you better be paying attention around you AND above you because a gank can happen at any time. To be honest... aerial combat is really pretty, but you have to watch your flight timer, because fall damage is high in this game and if you miss the land and fall into the empty void of the abyss, it's instant death.

The one thing I haven't seen yet is a siege where you capture nodes in the Abyss, first taking it from the NPC mobs and bosses (your classic WoW raid) and then defending it against opponent teams of the opposite faction (your AV) both of which is suppose to grant you loot (boss loot and PvP loot from PvP points). I'm really hoping that the boss fights are innovative and fun to figure out... hopefully reminiscent of WoW boss fights, one of the few things I still enjoy from the blizzard production team.

Anyway, to sum up... this is basically WoW on next generation graphics, tuned up, smoothed out, and polished with absolutely gorgeous graphics, backdrops and music, can't wait for the release

Sil

 

[GingerBiscuit]

No its not, other players are with you in almost every zone, like WoW.

 

[SirSchmoopy]

It's just guild wars repackaged.
There is zero innovation and the appeal of the game won't last past it's leveling curve.


There is NOTHING under the hood of this game if you have played NCSoft titles before but I mean if you haven't then you might have some fun with it but don't expect it to last.

I've played GuildWars for four years and I find it different enough to enjoy. GuildWars was pretty much Weapon/8 Skills/Team build, and that's your lot. Aion played MUCH differently.

The only thing that seems to cling it's claws in from GuildWars was the skillbar, and even that is larger, more complex and the fact you have 9(and then sub-bar things) of them instead of one.

Aerial combat does exist Funk. It's a whole different style, but it's dragged down by the flight limit (though it is immensely amusing to watch some guy you've been duelling in the air suddenly run out of steam and plummet to his death.

I only played to level 22, but it was a good experience. From what I've seen in previews of the 1.5 patch and the Korean updates, the endgame stuff is better than the beginning stuff. Flying over erupting volcanoes before jumping over rivers of lava to chase down a flying mob? Yes please.

See but you played guild wars for FOUR years. I'm sure you will love the game as will anyone else who currently plays NCsoft titles full time but for every other online gamer this is beyond skip worthy if you played Guild Wars or even a Lineage title. NCsoft just can't innovate they can only rinse and repeat as they show time and time again.

 

[SirSchmoopy]

And whoever said something about WoW above, don't make assumptions. WoW is in-fact an MMO supergiant, but it's getting old in years. It's been around for awhile, and I've met a lot of people in game in Aion that left WoW for this.

And I will meet even more people that will play Aion for 2 months and come back to WoW.

Just like Vanguard
Just like Age of Conan.
Just like Warhammer Online

The saddest thing is I keep seeing these bland MMO titles that bring nothing to the table but manage to completely miss the key points as why Warcraft is so popular even after all this time. The only MMORPG coming out in the distance future that will be worth looking at will be whatever the hell Blizzard makes next and that makes me really sad because it tells me the MMORPG industry has done nothing but move backwards for the last 10 years.

 

[Midniqht]

And whoever said something about WoW above, don't make assumptions. WoW is in-fact an MMO supergiant, but it's getting old in years. It's been around for awhile, and I've met a lot of people in game in Aion that left WoW for this.

And I will meet even more people that will play Aion for 2 months and come back to WoW.

Just like Vanguard
Just like Age of Conan.
Just like Warhammer Online

The saddest thing is I keep seeing these bland MMO titles that bring nothing to the table but manage to completely miss the key points as why Warcraft is so popular even after all this time. The only MMORPG coming out in the distance future that will be worth looking at will be whatever the hell Blizzard makes next and that makes me really sad because it tells me the MMORPG industry has done nothing but move backwards for the last 10 years.

Sortof right and wrong at the same time though. It's not that WoW does any thing particularly "better" than other MMOs, it's the fact that Blizzard had the marketing capabilities and popularity already before WoW was even out. People knew of Warcraft and Starcraft and crap like that - it gained an advantage just by already having popular games before it. Play Aion before saying that it's "moving backwards".

 

[solsticesins]

>.> WoW is what it is, you can't beat it, just chip away at its player base. I'm not saying that Aion is a WoW Killer, it probably won't be, and I don't htink it was ever made to be. People who play WoW have way too much invested in it (I know I did), and it's probably true that people who quit WoW for Aion will most likely come back to WoW after a few months. But for people who wants a change from WoW, or, more importantly, for people who are playing their first MMO, I think Aion's flashy exterior and ease of game play will be more attractive than trying to get into an established MMO with years under its belt and millions of players that you are playing catchup to. After all, there's plenty of gamers in the world, WoW doesn't own all of them, with an expanding player base, Aion doesn't have to take players away from WoW in order to be just as successful, because it definitely has the potential to be.

 

[John Funk]

to all you beta users ; is aion like guild wars in the way that is a single player game whit zones where you can talk to other people or like almost all the others where you share the world

Nope.. there's a lot of pve content, but it's mostly open world, which means you're able to do it with other people. And after level 20 the open-world becomes pvp open-world, where asmodians/elyos can come to your land through 'rifts' and do some mayhem.

And, just like RF, I can see massive griefing potential there. Don't get me wrong. Open-world PvP is good in paper, but if you're just a starting level 20 character when there are already a lot of high-levels (which will be the case if this proves to be popular), it will just mean that your sorry level 20 ass will get whupped time and time again, until some of your fellow race repels the attacker/s, or the attacker/s get/s bored.

EDIT:
Reviews: Aion: The Tower of Eternity Preview Supplement. Really? Do you have to break the very fabric of time and space just to give this one a title? Wouldn't First Impressions: Aion: The Tower of Eternity Preview Supplement, be a better title?

That would be limitations of our automated system, unfortunately.

 

[Emperorpeng]

The idea of getting massive bat wings is enough to make me want to try this.

I haven't played many MMO's, but my main problem is the "press button, wait for creature to die" combat. To be more involving the combat should mimick a fighting game where you hit a specific button for each strike.

 

[Rathy]

Aion seems pretty solid from the times I actually got to try the game out. I've not put a ton of time into getting higher thanks to not having the will to level and have it wiped, but from what I've seen its pretty solid in the gameplay department. And its graphical direction is amazing, which definitely helps tilt the the game's favor.

I love the way that they do the cut-scenes. The one improvement I really liked seeing in WoW's expansion was you suddenly having relevance as a character, and I'm glad to see this as baseline in Aion.

 

[Joshimodo]

See but you played guild wars for FOUR years. I'm sure you will love the game as will anyone else who currently plays NCsoft titles full time but for every other online gamer this is beyond skip worthy if you played Guild Wars or even a Lineage title. NCsoft just can't innovate they can only rinse and repeat as they show time and time again.

Granted, I played GuildWars plenty (although I haven't racked up much time this year, since it's old and boring), but the point is that Aion isn't a cut/paste job, at least not of GuildWars.

The two games play virtually nothing alike, besides the obvious MMO click enemy/use skills bit.

 

[Doug]

Ok, so, my question is this - is Aion worth trying if I've not really got into MMORPG's before? I did play Guildwars for abit before getting bored, and City of Heroes/Villains for a time too - but they've not really keep me beyond a week or 2.

 

[obex]

i have been playing Aion for a while now both in the previews and in the Chinese open beta which would seem like a set back but as there are loads of other English speaking people doing roughly the same its fun enough. As Mr Funk says Aion is not trying to re invent mmos in fact apart from the flying its not allot different however what Aion is, is attractive, the entire world feels so fleshed out with all the environment looking beautiful all the scenery is lovely and most of the monsters are cool mainly being amalgamations of two real life animals like the armadillo elephant this is allot better than your standard high fantasy orcs and goblins.

Also the combat has a nice little twist to it some skills are chain skills which can only be used in sequence chain 1 spells can be used at any time after you have used a chain 1 spell you can use one chain 2 spell like a sort of combo system the cool thing is the chain 2 spells are usaly either a damage spell and a defence spell meaning you have choose whether you cast a high damage spell or a good defence spell dependant on the situation its not revolutionary however it means you have to pay attention.

The game has all your standard crafts and stuff but it also has lots of little "oh isn't this cool" things such as ( it hasn't been implemented yet) a system were you can make all your armour look like the same style as one piece so you don't have mis matched gear and the fact that you can buy your abilities in book form at any time so you don't have to go back to town to get new abilities you just wait until your the right level to use the ability book.

Also level is quicker than in most mmos with an excellent levelling curve which helps keep you interested.

The one thing i don't think it does well is it doesn't inspire multi player there are no group quests or dungeons and i don't know how this will translate to top end PVE but it seems like WAR to be a pvp focused end game.


TL;DR version

Beautiful game which doesn't re invent the mmo but certainly pads it out with cool little additions however PVE may fall flat at end game due to lack of multi player encouragement chance end game will be dull.

 

[obex]

It's just guild wars repackaged.
There is zero innovation and the appeal of the game won't last past it's leveling curve.


There is NOTHING under the hood of this game if you have played NCSoft titles before but I mean if you haven't then you might have some fun with it but don't expect it to last.

I don't think its guild wars repackaged apart from the story stuff and some small similarities like armour dye, its more like if wow and guild wars had a love child yes the guild wars inspiration is there but it seems to take more after wow you can certainly see were they took what they learnt from GW though but i expect it will have more life to it than guild wars which was like more like co-oping a RPG than a mmo.

Although as i mentioned in my last post it doesn't seem to have set its self up for a particularly long lasting end game with the main disadvantage of a story driven game is that a story has to end, but we will just have to see how that pans out.