Quote (Gimpnation @ Sat, Aug 29 2009, 11:07pm)

My big questions:

Is it already botted like l2 and should i just wait for free shards?

I heard it was strongly botted already in beta.

How is the grind?

Is the PvP meaningful?
- What do you gain?
- What do you lose?
- What are the goals?


PvE:

How are the encounters?  Alot of instances?  Very gear centered?

Air Combat:

How does it flow?  Is it awkward?  Can I just fly from combat on ground and take it to the air?  What are the benefits/negatives?
IMO - Air combat seems retarded

Aion looks cool, Loved lineage 2 on private servers where it wasn't a bot fest.

Looking for honest answers.

Quote (TechOpie @ Sun, Aug 30 2009, 12:12pm)

Very Good Questions, I will answer a few of these.

I have been playing on the China Servers for a few months and sadly, yes, they are botted to hell just like Lineage.  However, China Aioin is ran by a different company in fact they just now upgraded to 1.2.  Everyone is hopeful that NCSoft will be more diligent on the NA/EU servers but they do still use GameGuard so who knows.

The Grind isn't near as bad as Lineage, but it is probably enough to keep most WoW fan boys from playing long term.  Which is a good thing imo.

The PvP is really the main reason to play this game, it has a somewhat Unique concept and ranking system.  There is one complete zone designed for PvP, the Abyss.  While in the abyss any quest you complete, mob you kill, or PvP kill grants you Abyss Points.  These points are the baseline for PvP ranking in the game and as you accumulate Abyss points you go up in rank.  These points also allow you to purchase the best PvP gear in game, however once you spend the points you go right back to square one.  For example, You want to buy the level 30 Unique Boots, you save up the 58k Abyss points (Very difficult for this level) then you purchase them.  After you purchase your boots you have zero abyss points remaining and therefore your Rank drops back down to the bottom.  It is way more complex than this, but this should give you an idea.  There are also world PvP objectives such as capturing forts and artifacts that can be quite fun, but i haven't participated in enough to really give you any insight, other than to say they can be Massive in terms of people attacking and defending.

I'll leave the PvE questions for someone else, as i play on the China server and can't communicate with the core player base, i mainly grind in the abyss and PvP. 

Regarding Flight, it is certainly a new mechanic to MMO's and a frustrating one at first.  Until 30 when you can get a pair of "wings" (Just a slot item that increases flight time), flight can be tedious because the lack of flight time.  It adds a whole new element to PvP, where in my experience Sorc / Rangers have a great advantage in the air due to their ranged attacks on a 3 Dimensional battle field.  I play assassin and really enjoy all aspects of PvP including the flight.  And yes you can fly at any point during combat PvE/PvP if you are in a fly enabled zone.  I don't know if retarded is the best description for the flight PvP, but it does have to grow on you that is for certain.

Hope this gives people a small amount of insight into the game, i personally hope enough people from D2JSP play so that we can have a dedicated forum for trades because believe me In Game Gold (Kinah) is needed big time!

Tech

Quote (TechOpie @ Sun, Aug 30 2009, 04:12am)

Very Good Questions, I will answer a few of these.

I have been playing on the China Servers for a few months and sadly, yes, they are botted to hell just like Lineage.  However, China Aioin is ran by a different company in fact they just now upgraded to 1.2.  Everyone is hopeful that NCSoft will be more diligent on the NA/EU servers but they do still use GameGuard so who knows.

The Grind isn't near as bad as Lineage, but it is probably enough to keep most WoW fan boys from playing long term.  Which is a good thing imo.

The PvP is really the main reason to play this game, it has a somewhat Unique concept and ranking system.  There is one complete zone designed for PvP, the Abyss.  While in the abyss any quest you complete, mob you kill, or PvP kill grants you Abyss Points.  These points are the baseline for PvP ranking in the game and as you accumulate Abyss points you go up in rank.  These points also allow you to purchase the best PvP gear in game, however once you spend the points you go right back to square one.  For example, You want to buy the level 30 Unique Boots, you save up the 58k Abyss points (Very difficult for this level) then you purchase them.  After you purchase your boots you have zero abyss points remaining and therefore your Rank drops back down to the bottom.  It is way more complex than this, but this should give you an idea.  There are also world PvP objectives such as capturing forts and artifacts that can be quite fun, but i haven't participated in enough to really give you any insight, other than to say they can be Massive in terms of people attacking and defending.

I'll leave the PvE questions for someone else, as i play on the China server and can't communicate with the core player base, i mainly grind in the abyss and PvP. 

Regarding Flight, it is certainly a new mechanic to MMO's and a frustrating one at first.  Until 30 when you can get a pair of "wings" (Just a slot item that increases flight time), flight can be tedious because the lack of flight time.  It adds a whole new element to PvP, where in my experience Sorc / Rangers have a great advantage in the air due to their ranged attacks on a 3 Dimensional battle field.  I play assassin and really enjoy all aspects of PvP including the flight.  And yes you can fly at any point during combat PvE/PvP if you are in a fly enabled zone.  I don't know if retarded is the best description for the flight PvP, but it does have to grow on you that is for certain.

Hope this gives people a small amount of insight into the game, i personally hope enough people from D2JSP play so that we can have a dedicated forum for trades because believe me In Game Gold (Kinah) is needed big time!

Tech

Quote (TeH SaNdMaN @ Fri, Aug 28 2009, 03:35am)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59lvzeDDFmI

What is Aion?
If you already are familiar with the game scroll down for the open beta information it will be in blue.

Aion Online is a PvP centered MMO with a side of PvE taking place in the world of Atreia. The story is centered around the two warring factions of The Elyos and the Asmodian. They weren't always warring if you're interested in the story line leading up to current events you can read the lore from each factions point of view.

Elyos - http://na.aiononline.com/en/about/lore/elyos/
Amodian - http://na.aiononline.com/en/about/lore/asmodian/

There are 4 classes each with 2 subclasses to play.

Mage

Sorcerer - The sorcerer follows the path of magic, mastering the elements of water, fire, wind, and earth
Spiritmaster - Summoning elemental spirits with less magic damage done compared to the Sorcerer.

Warrior

Gladiator - Melee attacker with a good variety of AoE attacks.
Templar - A more defensive character, protecting allies while still able to hurt enemies you will see these guys tanking during PvE Encounters.

Priest

Chanter - is primarily a buff provider, but also has access to healing and damage spells.
Cleric - Healer class. Able to raise the dead, provide protection and obviously the most efficient and powerful  healer in the game.

Scout

Assassin - You typical stealthy type melee character. Agile and sneaky this is the typical rogue character you see in the game.
Ranger - Your ranged agility damage dealer. Has a variety of traps and special abilities to control, damage and protect part members.


What separates Aion from other games?

Flying combat - Fight in the abyss and other areas of the world while taking flight. There are different bonus' and restrictions on certain abilities such as reduced armor for some and better maneuverability for others. Group fights will have characters both on the ground and in the air. This concept is always used in PvE situations as well.

Skill chains - As a character progresses in the game, they will learn additional skills, some of which form part of a Skill Chain. A skill chain is a group of skills that as each skill is used, unlocks the next skill in the chain. Generally the skills at the end of the chain are much more powerful. This adds another new element to PvP reduces the amount of 1 button mashing you often see in mmo's.

Customization - Now many of you wont give a crap about this feature but to many it is important. The ability to customize your characters body and facials appearance like no other game before it. In addition have you ever like the way a piece of armor looked but because of stats had to upgrade to a much uglier less appealing items? Well in Aion you are able to combine the stats of one items with the skin of another.

Open Beta

The open beta for this game will take place September 6 - 13 you can download that client here.

http://www.fileplanet.com/201991/200000/fileinfo/Aion-Game-Client
http://na.aiononline.com/en/news/open-beta-client-now-available-for-download.html  (this just links to the first link but i know many of you are weary of keyloggers.

F.A.Q.

Q: When will the game be released?
A: Sep 22nd for the US and Sep 23rd for EU

Q: How much will it cost to buy the game?
A: $50  for the regular and $70 for the Collector's Edition as well as a $15 a month subscription fee.

Q: What are the system requirements?
A: Minimum: Pentium 4 2.8GHz, AMD Athlon 2800+; 1 GB RAM; GeForce 6600, Radeon X1550; Hard Drive 15GB; DirectX 9.0c(2008,6)
    Recommended: Pentium Dual Core, AMD Athlon 64 X2; 2 GB RAM; GeForce 7600, Radeon HD 2600; Hard Drive 15GB; DirectX 9.0c(2008,6)







This is just a quick rundown of the game. I've been watching this game for over 2 years and have been playing Korean, Chinese and US/EU betas for over a year so i am more then happy to answer any questions you may have. I know there are others out there who have played/watched the game as well so If you feel I missed anything post or pm me about it and if I think it's necessary to add I will.