Aion
Ikuri - Tue, 07/27/2010 - 16:44
So just by way of explanation, part of why I haven't been on much is because I was feeling burnt out on WoW (and breaking up with my BF/gaming partner didn't help). I've committed myself to being here for raids and checking in when I can, but oherwise I've been playing other games just for the fun of it until Cataclysm. One of the games I've really been having fun with is Aion. I'm not sure if anyone else plays or is interested, but I have Elyos toons on the Siel server, and 've been leveling up slowly and learning about the game. It's been a lot of fun, and it is such a pretty game to look at. So if anyone wants info or has questions, let me know! :)
| Posts: | |
User login
Navigation
>:O
BLASPHEMY!
Dude...
My character does battle in a bustier, mini-skirt and thigh-highs.
On a seious note though, I have 4 80's, and a bunch of alts in the 40's. I'm tired of leveling, and Ikuri and Xi only get anything out of raiding at this point. When Cata releases I'll be back, full-force. In the meantime though...purple chainmail mini-skirts FTW. :P
I am so much prettier
Take that...
lol
Yes dear, whatver you say. *pets teh pretty*
Clearly you've never played Guild Wars
Tyria: Where men are men, and women are runway models.
I hear ya
It's funny you mention getting tired of lvling I was actually thinking to myself earlier, how does one become bored with WoW? I pretty much figured, well if you have a ton of 80s I guess it can be quite easy lol.
I'm coming close to my 2nd 80 and working vigarously on my rogue (mid 50s) so yaaaaa I got plenty of play left in me =P
But Aion does have some great looking graphics...mini skirts and thigh highs you say? So does Aion RP blow WoWs outta the water?
Honestly
I don't know that many people do RP in Aion - at least not that I've seen. If they do, it's kept pretty quiet. Aion is a PvP game, and that tends to take precedent over any RP/cyb0rz/etc. Once you hit 25 you go to the Abyss to start quests there and PvP. Even if you choose to level in the Elyos zones, you'll still encounter PvP from Asmodae that port over via rifts to gank questers.
The PVP was my favorite
The PVP was my favorite aspect when I played. I was in a rather active member in a fun-loving Legion (guild) like this one, when I played.
http://na.aiononline.com/livestatus/character-legion/search?charID=368191&serverID=1
I stopped playing due to the fact that the game had issues running on Heather's PC and also because she wanted to play WoW, etc. But yeah, the pvp aspect was really fast paced and could be dynamic in the Abyss area. It's considered PvPvE because of the NPC's role in the game. Fun fun.
DAoC
back when I played had some pretty sweet PVP.
I also remember it was very ceremonial..it was something like Wintergrasp in that it was every hour or two and npc mages came down and formed a circle to open the portal to the PVP area.
Hmm...
I figured there was RPing in every MMO...not that I've ventured outside of WoW...just an assumption. I'd like to TRY Aion, but I really don't wanna get hooked into another MMO besides ToR when it comes out...which btw I saw in some game magazine that Bioware said their shooting for Summer of 2011, a lot sooner than I had expected. I just hope they don't rush it and put out a sub-par game.
I'd give it a shot, but I
I'd give it a shot, but I can't justify 40 bucks for a game I may or may not like. Maybe if Steam puts it on special or something. :)
Tart
Actually
Steam did have it on sale over the Fourth of July summer sale, which is when I picked it up.
I'm sure they'll have it for sale again though.
To be fair, though, there is
To be fair, though, there is a very negative aspect to the PVE portion of the game. It's very tedious and 'grind-y' and therefore spurs on a HUGE market for botters. When I played, you couldn't go a full hour without encountering at least 2 of them. And then there were the gold spammers...
I know that AION lost a lot of initial players because of the fact that they were so slow (sometimes took months) at even trying to fix the problem. It really IS pretty though. And fun. :/
It was fun at times but wait
It was fun at times but wait until you hit level 25. While the abyss can be fun, it loses some flavor when you realize its the only place to level that is worth it. Then around 30 is when the grind really starts to set in and you find out the only way to gain your level is killing 1000 mobs while looking over your shoulder at all times to make sure you aren't ganked.
I did love parts of that game, and I don't mind having a long time between levels as long as there are things for me to do. Aion didn't have that though, it was just grinding.
Well
My Cleric is lvl30 now, so I've been to the Abyss already. One of the reasons I declined to play the game before was because of the grind you mentioned. Since then, they've added quests and increased XP all around. There's still times it feels like a grind, sure, but then what MMO doesn't?
At 30, the only grinding I've done in the Abyss was to move myself from rank 7 to rank 6. I've got tons of quests in Eltnen still left to do. I've barely touched Theobomos. And I just finally got to Heiron. Not to mention I've yet to touch any of the [Spy] quests.
I think the reason so many people grind, and thus complain about the grind, is because they're trying to get Abyss points, and one of the ways to do that is killing Abyss mobs (instead of, y'know, actually pvp'ing.) So yeah, grinding is there, but you can also quest for your levels. I like doing a mix of both. I grind on Abyss mobs and maybe pvp until I get bored of it since the XP is good and their loot tables ae nice. Then I head down to Elysea to quest, gather, etc. when I need a change of scene. They also give XP for everything - gathering, crafting, killing - and you can get rested XP bonuses AND a bonus if your progression is slow. Sometimes I can get as much as a 50% xp buff. Plus this weekend is double-xp weekend. :D
I'm sure things will slow down as I level further, but that's ok - I am not in a huge rush to get to end-game.
Wow
If that is your status and you are level 30 then they have improved the grind a LOT. At level 30 I was done with Theo, and struggling to find quests in the other two areas. At fourty I threw up my hands in despair.
Quests
I thought a screenshot might help. You can see my character is 30. I've got nearly a full questlog, not including the campaign quests (which give mad XP) and I have a bunch of quests in Theobomos I can still pick up, plus I haven't picked up any quests in Heiron yet, and I still have a lot of questing left to do in Eltnen. I haven't even bothered with the rep grinding quests, and there are tons of those. I also have two XP buffs. One is my rested buff - Energy of Repose - which gives me an additional 40% XP. The other is the "slow leveling" buff - Energy of Salvation - which is an additional 30% XP. And really the only time I've spent in the Abyss so far was to complete a few quests there, run the NTC instance from 25-28 (which that alone would get me over half a level from a full run), and then grind about 500 Abyss Points to move from being a rank 7 Soldier to being rank 6 (and even then I was getting like 13 AP per kill, as well as 13k-18k XP each kill).
So yeah, I mean there is still grinding, but it's not nearly as bad as when it first came out. Plus this weekend is double-XP weekend. Woot!
Oh and the next expansion is free, and comes out Sept. 7. So gives me something to do in between raid nights. :D
Other Games
I've never tried Aion but the graphics sure look good. I had avoided it because I understood it was a "pvp all the time" type game. I don't mind pvp, especially large-scale pvp ala Wintergrasp, but the possibility of being ganked at any moment while questing doesn't seem like fun to me.
I have been absent from WoW for a couple of months as I've been playing LOTRO, it's a good, solid high fantasy game with some nice atmosphere. I will be back in WoW for Cataclysm (or sooner if the Echo Isles/Gnomeregan patch has fun dailies) but it's nice to have an alternative or two.
I think we're hitting that point
I'm pretty much loogging in just to raid. There is very little I have left to do besides make some more cash, and buy a few things.....Get 100 cooking emblems for the chef's hat....Finish my Scholozar rep with the wolverines...Then I pretty much have done everything in lich king. i could log in and grind sha'tar rep, but it'll be even easier at 85...Why not just wait, ya know?
I gave up alts when Lich king hit. I'll level up Stor again just enough to get his alchemy up to full in Cataclysm, but I doubt I'll bring him to 85. My other alts are lagging even further behind, and I never play them and really have no interest.
I think it's a perfect time to play other games. Just be sure to log in for raids :P because the one thing I still want to do is kill Lich King at least once in 10 or 25 man.
Totally agree
Yeah I will definitely log in for our regular raids, and depending on my schedule may be able to raid other nights of the week. I really love raiding, so that's not an issue at all. But I am a bit burnt out on WoW and am waiting for Cata. In the meantime, other games have been a nice distraction.
I have a LOTRO account but haven't played it much since I have no one to play with. I am definitely a social gamer and having a play partner is usually what gets me hooked into playing something. Since Cacc came to play Aion with me, I've been hanging out there more than WoW.
As far as it being "PvP all the time" it can be, but it's not on a par with other PvP games. Part of it has to do with what zone you are in. The level 1-10 and 10-20 zones you won't find any PvP. The other zones you can, but it's sporadic. The other faction can only come to your side if a teleport rift opens int heir zone, and even then the rifts are limited on the number of uses as well what levels can use them. And if the enemy dies on our side, they have to revive back at their bind point unless they brought their own revive kisk with them, and even then those have limited uses and can be destroyed. Also, if you gank too many low level players, you get cursed.
This statement about the PvP system pretty much sums it up:
"Unless your in the Abyss, Its extremely limited that players will even be on your side, very few of them and far apart. Allow me to elaborate by explaining the Rift System.
Rifts Spawn Once an Hour in a Random Location, Allowing passage to the oppositions Zone corresponding with the same level range. However, The rift has a limited amount of participants it allows through, the further away from town it is, as well as difficulty to reach gives it a higher amount of charges. On top of that, Players are restricted by level, each rift itself has a specific level cap that cannot be breached. Lastly, there is the curse system, if a higher level manages to work his way to the entrance and starts killing lower levels, He is significantly debuffed, Marked on the Map. Slowed, and Announced to the zone.
In Short, It is near impossible for "Gank squads" To take place in zones. Given I have run around in Eltnen with 2 other friends for about 2 hours unchecked, But we weren't attempting to enter town and gank people ect, we chose our battles and fled when it got to hairy." (sic)
So the Abyss is the only true open PvP zone where you might have to watch your back. Plus, the enemy appears on your radar, which gives you an advantage in spotting them and being prepared.
Aion PvP
Aion's system is much better way to handle PvP. It basically removes the ability to do any serious griefing. The Abyss sounds kind of like Wintergrasp in that it's the free-for-all zone. I can think of some WoW gankers out there who really deserve Cursing.
If I weren't already playing LOTRO (and still have an EQ2 account I don't play) I might give it a try, MMOG addict that I am.
You did see the post I hope
that EQ 2 is becoming free to play.
Oh and Lord of the Rings Online is becoming free this Fall I think.
FtP
I didn't see that EQ2 had gone to a free to play model. They have had some re-organization recently and let some developers go. Maybe this can help them. Its not a bad game, there's lots to do and you can have an instanced apartement. My froggy paladin in his fancy armour is pretty adorable.
LOTRO free to play means you can level to 20 and see a couple of zones but beyond that you have to start paying. It seems to basically be a way of getting people to try the game more seriously.
OH. Looky what I
OH. Looky what I found.
http://na.aiononline.com/board/notices/view?articleID=340&page=
I'll try to download the updates for the game and log in to say hi to you guys, Ikuri. I've got a 36 Glad and 40 Cleric (all Elyos) as well as several crafters if you need 'em. :)
Sweet
Cacc and I are on the Siel server. They did server mergers recently, so not sure where you were before. Siel is an Elyos-dominated server atm, though I expect that will change after they open up free transfers in the near future. I'm typically on either Ikuri/Xova/Lysanne/Desraie. Let me know if you make it over there to say hi!
Yeah, all my characters are
Yeah, all my characters are on the Siel server. Guess you didn't check out my main character link. :P
http://na.aiononline.com/livestatus/character-legion/search?charID=368191&serverID=1
WoW has a terrile grind...
WoW has a terrile grind... terrible terrible terrible... The only game with a worse grind is SWG, and it was terrible terrible terrible terrible, but WoW is still terrible terrible terrible. Aion at least gives you xp for doing other things like crafting and gathering. The game needs to make some changes but they have a large scale expansion coming, and from what I've at least thought I read it will be free content. I'm sure many things will be addressed then.
It's still the same old kill 10 of those and 15 of these, but what grind isn't like that. Leveling in a pvp enviroment could help that too though if you're into that.
Regardless.. who isn't just holding out for SWTOR... not gonna lie I'm just coasting until then, I'm open to trying other things.
Starting another thread for
Starting another thread for other games people are playing. Look for "Other games you're playing" thread.
I got it
Repello and I got Aion at our GameStop. Couldnt pass up the sale. $20 is worth it just to make some supercuties and watch em wink at you when you zoom in. I couldnt make a character on Siel on the Elyos side. I guess the population is something like 20% Asmo vs 80% Elyos. I made a mage on Israphel named Trillianne, according to the forums Israphel seems the most balanced population wise. I read they are going to allow free server transfers as long as you don't load up into an unbalanced population server. If they allow this we should try to get together on the same server.
Definitely
Yeah after the server mergers, Siel became Elyos dominated. The Asmos have zero influence there in the Abyss. The other day, the Elyos controlled everything and it's to the point where they let the Balaur win forts just to have some kind of challenge. Cacc and I aren't particularly attached to the server at all so when they open free transfers we're totally up for moving to one where we can all meet up.
Well, I got Aion. Since Pox
Well, I got Aion. Since Pox let me know it was on sale at gamestop, I figured I'd pick it up since, even if I only play it for a month, it's worth it at 20 bucks.
I'll probably try it out for the first time tonight after the raid.
Tart
Groovy
Right now my server, Siel, can't have any more Elyos characters so if you make one of those, I suggest making it on Israphael since that's where Pox is. I think if they allow us to transfer at some point, we'll move off Siel and go join Pox there. :D
I bought Aion at release, and
I bought Aion at release, and the special edition to boot, and wasn't terribly happy with it. Now that it has been out for almost a year I may go back to it again. I wrote a couple reviews of it on my blog when I was trying it out.
http://sham-wows.blogspot.com/2009/10/aion-review.html
http://sham-wows.blogspot.com/2009/11/aion-review-final.html
So far it's sort of fun. It's
So far it's sort of fun. It's no WOW-killer, but it's pretty and fun so far. Of course, I'm like level... 8? Something like that.
Also, I'm very creative with my names.
?
=
?
I prefer
I prefer
I dunno
maybe
Soooo...
I check my mail this morning, the night after Malk has DL'ed the game. So he could play with Pox. *grinds her teeth* And I received TWO of these e-mails in my junk folder=cause nothing but stuff from my addressbook comes through via Inbox.
Thank you for contacting NCsoft(R) Support!
This is an automated notification regarding the recent change(s)
made to your Aion. Your password has recently been modified through the Password Recovery website.
we recommend you Login verify your password:
http://nc-aion.sceure-ncosft.com/cgi-bin/plaync_login/default.asp
If you are unable to successfully verify your password .
Account security is solely the responsibility of the account holder. Please be advised that in the event of a compromised account, NCsoft representatives typically must lock the account. In these cases the Account Administration team will require faxed receipt of ID materials before releasing the account for play.
Regards,
- NCsoft Team
Someone pretending to be NCSoft, wants me to log in with my information. And then to keep them from locking my account they want a photo copy of my ID.....uhuh. And look no fax # \o/.\o/ I don't have an account and unless Pox used my email addy to get Malk's account set up, they are just at random connecting email adresses with user accounts via contact lists......AWESOME. NOT.
So just be aware the spam and account stealers have already begun.
I get wow email like this
I get wow email like this weekly, and although I have gotten whispers in aion about gold, it hasn't been much.
Yeahhh but....
...you actually HAVE an account for the game it's emailing you about.
oh HA
oh HA
I'll be jumping on Aion
I'll be jumping on Aion tonight during the 24 hour maintanance
Update
Cacc and I are still stuck with our characters on Siel. Although the last time I checked, it seemed the population had balanced out a bit there, we haven't been able to queue for a transfer with any of our characters. Each time we try we either get messages about the transfers being down for maintenance or messages about the service not being available to us. So we'll keep trying, but it may be that we end up rolling new characters over on Israphel to play with you guys. We'll try again after the Wednesday maintenance and see if we get lucky in the meantime.
I don't know about malk or
I don't know about malk or Tart but I for the most part have not been playing. I kinda mmo'ed myself out I think which is fairly normal for me. I'm trying not to push it too much so that I have the will once cata comes out to level up to 85.
I've just been breaking for
I've just been breaking for the last week by playing Borderlands. I managed to get my templar to level 29. Just high enough to not be able to do the first instance. >_<
I'll probably start playing again next week.