Things I like:

• The main campaign line and story of the game is embedded into many quests and I get a good feeling of the state of the world from the start.  Ex. In one measly meaningless quest a mini story unfolds about how his love had ascended and returned a wedding ring to him and told him that he could give it to her when she came back, but she never returned.  The quest really gave a good feeling about how special the ascended are, and how detached those on the ground were from the rest of the race.  (The quest was to kill these monsters until you got the ring back.)
• The world, monsters, map layouts, story, and campaign quests are all quite unique and interesting.  I feel familiar playing the game, but I am eager to explore the inside of this planet and develop the story farther.  I don't normally care to do this as most MMO's as it sems like the devs don't really care to create this in the first place. 
• I like personal shops, and have always been a fan of this method of exchanging goods.
• The sounds.  I really like how distinct and crisp the sound effects are for everything. 
• The graphics.
• The fact that even my Nvidia quadro 135m craptastic laptop can run the game on low settings, and run it smoothly.
• The fact that I can play with only a mouse when convenient, or use the keyboard and mouse combo for total control.
• The two races/factions.  This includes character designs and background story.
• The World is very cool and creative.  I love that you play on the inside of a planet and the Abyss/main battleground is the center of the planet.
• Cutscenes.
• Gliding.  I like flying too, but I really like gliding.
• Flight time management and skills to adjust it or bring enemies to the ground.  I think this adds a nice layer to PvP combat not only with the extra axis of movement, but with manipulation of flight times.
• The devs direction.  If I knew Blizzard was going to do everything they could to guide players out of world PvP and into the stupid instanced battlegrounds I would have never bought the game.  I like that I can see what the devs are doing and what their direction is from the Korean version.  I like that they are expanding on the whole Abyss experience and not just adding on crap to the end of the game that further distances new players and veterans. 
• The speed of combat and quick reaction times required.
• The combat from animations and sounds to the reaction of the enemy is all very fluid and easy on the eyes.  Nothing jumps out as being out of place really.
• The auto sort inventory.
• The font in game.  (Not the chat, but the stylized font that displays town names and things.)
• The itemization.  The large array of items you can acquire and mix and match to make your character unique.
• The armor swap system which allows you to combine one armors looks with anothers stats.  I really, really like this. 
• Character creation.
• The combo system. (Sort of, see dislikes)
• The manes on Asmodians.

Things I like that I have yet to experience:

• The fact that a group of 6 who are skilled and organized can take out a full force (24 people).  If you haven't seen kilkil2's post here or videos of this then find it and watch it. 
• The abyss being a pretty dangerous place which encourages grouping.
• The falloff of quests as players advance in the Abyss.  Like I stated I don't like linear quest grinds.
• The incentives for holding a fort in the Abyss.  The new fort instances sound great, and overall the ease of defending over assaulting means that forts may actually be fought over which sounds nice after the crap that is RvR in WAR.
• The timed instances they are adding.  I LOVED this type of stuff in FFXI.  Timed instance with scores where bosses are adjusted based on score.  Trying to find the right party combinations to defeat the instance in the best way possible.  Not to mention a lot of the timed stuff seems to be attached to controlling a fort.  I really like this.

Things I don't like that I have yet to experience:

• I think by now you can see that I am a big fan of the Abyss and the latter part of this game in concept.  I haven't experienced much of it so I am going by what i've researched and learned from talking to level 50 players.  There isn't much I have heard or learned of the Abyss that I don't like so there won't be much listed here.  I know better than anyone that there are things I won't like as I progress, but I haven't come across anything to expose it to me yet. 
• I may dislike the current state of the Abyss point system.  I like the system, but there are some aspects I might not like such as the gear associated with it and the way it is structured.  I like rank and having a few godlike chars on the server who fight for it, and are skilled over just having 20 hours a day to grind points in some meaningless manner, but I would probably prefer for awesome items to drop as a percent chance for killing guys like this and not bought with points. 

Things I don't like:

• Classes are restrictive and lack a bunch of customization from a skill perspective.
• Classes are, for the most part, unoriginal which is a shame because it contradicts with the originality in the setting, theme, and races.
• The linear nature of the game up to level 25.  (I don't mind it leading to the first major city in a game, but in general I prefer for huge cities as a major hub where all levels spend time.)
• The first 25 levels being largely a safe soloable quest grind through linear zones.
• Crafting is once again just bleh.  I can't hold this game accountable in particular because it is just bleh in almost every MMO out there, but it is.. bleh. 
• Clear indicators of who has quests and who to turn quests into via UI.  I prefer to determine this from talking to random NPC's and quest text.
• How crowded the screen gets with text, and the text style.  Luckily I can turn almost all of it off, but this won't always be viable.  I guess I prefer a system where names aren't displayed above heads, and even though I can turn it off it puts me at a disadvantage to those who have it on in some instances of world PvP/RvR.
• World does not hold enough secrets, mysteries, and riddles.  No world does really except for Vanadiel, the greatest virtual world ever.  (No arguments please you lose)
• The Asmodians and Elyos quests being largely recycled, and sometimes almost completely mirrored.  This could be good too though.  I thought I would want to roll a character of each faction to experience everything, but now I feel that would be a waste of time.  This is sort of a relief to me in a way because I am usually pretty thorough, but I only want to play 1 character over the entire life of this game and I feel better about it now.
• Lack of named world mobs on ridiculous timers with a small chance of dropping awesome loot.  I guess i'm a glutton for punishment.
• How easy it is to execute combos with the skill just upgrading itself on the toolbar.  I would prefer for more random elements to be thrown in to make it more difficult, and then maybe scale these to be more powerful.
• The lack of group based combos and chains that require a good deal of tactics, timing, and group harmony.
• There is no moghouse where I can change my job.  WTF.

Overall:

• Really like the game, but wish for more sandbox type elements.
• Look forward to playing this until FFXIV, and i'm confident the Abyss will hold my attention for some time.
• Will only make 1 character to avoid having to go through the first part of the game more than 1 time.
• I am really impressed with the story, style, and setting which surprises me in an NCSoft/Korean MMO.
• I can't wait for launch.  Love MMO launches.
• This is a solid game, with great entertainment value, and I will be preordering.

Disclaimer:

This is all largely based on my opinion.  On a scale of -10 to 10 my bias level is a 2 or 3.  I don't only post facts because I am not a robot, and this is not the news. 

I generally agree with your points, but I want to add a few things that I don't like:

1)  For a game featuring flight and angelic races, I can't grasp why each race WALKS around in its capital city.  I mean, c'mon....  If all of us here were to imagine heaven, angels, and a city full of angels going about their business... Honestly, what do you see?  Are they all WALKING around everywhere?

Ugh... I just find it stupid.  I'm aware there are probably practical reasons that they had to do it, but still... It's an immersion killer for me.  However, I like the game a lot and I know I will play it like crazy until FFXIV is released.  Still, the lack of flight ability in capital cities = puzzling and a bit ridiculous. (And sorry, but gliding doesn't count though I agree it's cool).

2)  Another thing that bugs me, and some others, is the minor complaint about how the Asmodians stand and lean back.  I don't really mind how they run, though.  I was going to roll Asmodian, but simply cannot do that now and will go with the boring, vanilla Elyos look.... all because it just looks awful when Asmodians lean back like that.  Asmodians look so much better in all other aspects (I like dark and sinister things), but stuff like how they slump back bothers me I guess.

----------------------------------------

Still, I really mean it when I say that I like Aion and will enjoy playing it.  However, I haven't been playing MMO's 24/7 for the past couple of years, so it's not as "standard" feeling to me as it apparently is to others.  I don't fault them for feeling that way, but it's a pity.  I think it is an enjoyable game to explore and the lore and world have held my interest so far too.  I'm weird, though.  Spent a lot of the first beta weekend reading the "books" in the Elyos libray.  Now that I think about it, need to go back with my Asmodian toon and check out the Asmod library and see if I notice differences in how the lore is described in each race's libraries.  I'd bet there is plenty of bias. (;^.^)

That might seem strange to spend time in game reading books, but for those interested in this kind of thing, I think it's an example of a cool aspect of this game.  I know that type of stuff is in other MMO's, but ProfRed is right to mention that it is enjoyable to explore and learn about this place.  At least I agree with him. The world feels "complete" and "real" to me... well, real enough to make you wonder about things like bias in virtual books in a virtual library about fictitious historical events, that is.

P.S.  Plus... @profred your post is a good, thorough account of your impressions of the game.  It is nice to read considering some of the ridiculous "I played until level 4 and then quit because it's boring" crap that's out there. (;-_-)

Originally posted by ProfRed

Things I don't like:

• Classes are restrictive and lack a bunch of customization from a skill perspective.
• There are 96 new class stygmas in 1.5, and 48 new high grade stygmas (6 per class).

• Classes are, for the most part, unoriginal which is a shame because it contradicts with the originality in the setting, theme, and races.
• The linear nature of the game up to level 25.  (I don't mind it leading to the first major city in a game, but in general I prefer for huge cities as a major hub where all levels spend time.)
• The first 25 levels being largely a safe soloable quest grind through linear zones.
• Crafting is once again just bleh.  I can't hold this game accountable in particular because it is just bleh in almost every MMO out there, but it is.. bleh. 
• Clear indicators of who has quests and who to turn quests into via UI.  I prefer to determine this from talking to random NPC's and quest text.
• How crowded the screen gets with text, and the text style.  Luckily I can turn almost all of it off, but this won't always be viable.  I guess I prefer a system where names aren't displayed above heads, and even though I can turn it off it puts me at a disadvantage to those who have it on in some instances of world PvP/RvR.
• World does not hold enough secrets, mysteries, and riddles.  No world does really except for Vanadiel, the greatest virtual world ever.  (No arguments please you lose)
• The Asmodians and Elyos quests being largely recycled, and sometimes almost completely mirrored.  This could be good too though.  I thought I would want to roll a character of each faction to experience everything, but now I feel that would be a waste of time.  This is sort of a relief to me in a way because I am usually pretty thorough, but I only want to play 1 character over the entire life of this game and I feel better about it now.
• Lack of named world mobs on ridiculous timers with a small chance of dropping awesome loot.  I guess i'm a glutton for punishment.
• There are daily spawns, those start in tier 3, where the channels end.
• How easy it is to execute combos with the skill just upgrading itself on the toolbar.  I would prefer for more random elements to be thrown in to make it more difficult, and then maybe scale these to be more powerful.
• The lack of group based combos and chains that require a good deal of tactics, timing, and group harmony.
• There are combos, you can use a skill that produces knockback/air hook and other classes might use their conditional skills. In fact, you'll notice how some combos are pretty important, actually.
• There is no moghouse where I can change my job.  WTF.

Overall:

• Really like the game, but wish for more sandbox type elements.
• Look forward to playing this until FFXIV, and i'm confident the Abyss will hold my attention for some time.
• Will only make 1 character to avoid having to go through the first part of the game more than 1 time.
• I am really impressed with the story, style, and setting which surprises me in an NCSoft/Korean MMO.
• I can't wait for launch.  Love MMO launches.
• This is a solid game, with great entertainment value, and I will be preordering.

Disclaimer:

This is all largely based on my opinion.  On a scale of -10 to 10 my bias level is a 2 or 3.  I don't only post facts because I am not a robot, and this is not the news. 

Cool dude.  Thanks for info Eph.  I thought I read about some world mobs with good loot somewhere but couldn't dig it up.

I also should have noted with class restrictions that it can also be a great thing in terms of balance which is very important.

@mustapha - Man I love the libraries and stories in game. 

Originally posted by ProfRed

Cool dude.  Thanks for info Eph.  I thought I read about some world mobs with good loot somewhere but couldn't dig it up.

I also should have noted with class restrictions that it can also be a great thing in terms of balance which is very important.

I agreed with you in almost all your post, but then again, I think NCsoft's priority here was to release a stable and balanced game, and introduce sandbox elements/themepark elements as the patches came by to get its own identity, while other games try to get their identity from the go, but fail to deliver.

With the recent examples of AoC and WAR you can notice how, patch after patch, devs had to focus on game's performance and getting their promised features ready, while Aion devs can focus in coding things like the dreadgion instance, new bosses or "groundbreaking" features, without worrying about performance issues or balance excesively. The core of this game, imho, has way more potential than the rest.

Originally posted by Ephimero

I agreed with you in almost all your post, but then again, I think NCsoft's priority here was to release a stable and balanced game, and introduce sandbox elements/themepark elements as the patches came by to get its own identity, while other games try to get their identity from the go, but fail to deliver.

I respect this method and it is how I would do it if I was a dev. 

Originally posted by Ephimero

The core of this game, imho, has way more potential than the rest.

Agree 100%.  The core is very solid.  It is a very tight and comfortable experience playing the game from booting it up to exiting.  The balance is really important too and it seems to be pretty spot on.  I look forward to seeing what they add in future patches.  I am a huge fan of 1.5 and the things they are releasing with it.

Overall, Aion is pretty solid.

My top three issues with the game:

-It starts out very slow for Warriors and Scouts. The real depth of the combat isn't apparent for a good while. This is good from a game design perspective, but bad for veteran mmo players.

-Automatically centering camera. It's easy to avoid, but I hope an option is introduced later to prevent it. This may have already been solved.

-Lacking character development. Apparently this is being addressed already, which makes me feel good, because it tells me the devs are in tune with the wants of the community.

Originally posted by Tykero

Overall, Aion is pretty solid.

 

 

My top three issues with the game:

-It starts out very slow for Warriors and Scouts. The real depth of the combat isn't apparent for a good while. This is good from a game design perspective, but bad for veteran mmo players.

-Automatically centering camera. It's easy to avoid, but I hope an option is introduced later to prevent it. This may have already been solved.

-Lacking character development. Apparently this is being addressed already, which makes me feel good, because it tells me the devs are in tune with the wants of the community.

Yeah I agree with those somewhat.  I don't mind the camera, and I have never tried warriors or scouts and probably won't so i'm unsure of it.  At least it would be more rewarding for those who tough through the start.

 "The first 25 levels being largely a safe soloable quest grind through linear zones."

Good luck soloing the Tursin area at lvl 17-19.  

Originally posted by ProfRed

Things I don't like:

• How easy it is to execute combos with the skill just upgrading itself on the toolbar.  I would prefer for more random elements to be thrown in to make it more difficult, and then maybe scale these to be more powerful.
• The lack of group based combos and chains that require a good deal of tactics, timing, and group harmony.

I will say this:

When I played my scout to level 4, I had 4 skills (of which the names I do not remember).  Not sure if you've played the skill, but it required a bit of timing and positioning.  First I would use my normal attack skill that does 90 damage or whatever, and then I'd pop off the skill that allows me to dodge the next attack (I will usually try to do this 2nd since mobs fight a bit before they try to cast something); which then brings up the counter-slash combo that I execute.  Then the mob is stunned from counter-slash which then allows me to move behind him and backstab him. 

Even at lvl 4, I already had synergy with 3 of my 4 skills, which I was really impressed about.  That's how I knew I would like this game.

Originally posted by ProfRed

Yeah I agree with those somewhat.  I don't mind the camera, and I have never tried warriors or scouts and probably won't so i'm unsure of it.  At least it would be more rewarding for those who tough through the start.

Scouts start a little slow but at lvl 5 you get dual wield wich is a nice boost at 7 you get another pair of nce skills and your first chain and at 10 its really starting to get form with some nice DPS.

Crit hits make all the difference in this class, iv'e seen alot of scouts running around with dual sword but thats not the way to go till later in the game

I will have to check out scout in one of the betas.  Really enjoying playing everything besides what I want to roll at launch.  Trying to keep that saved up.

I can imagine towards end game with a scout the combo management could get pretty awesome so I don't want to say that I hate the system they have.  Sometimes with some classes I just wish it was more in depth, but I know they are continuing to expand upon their success.

Thanks for shedding light on some of my misconceptions though seriously.  Still loving the game and can't wait for launch. 

Interesting insight. Thanks for sharing. But I must say, I passionately, vividly HATE personal stores. They litter the area and look unbelievably ugly.

Originally posted by ProfRed

I will have to check out scout in one of the betas.  Really enjoying playing everything besides what I want to roll at launch.  Trying to keep that saved up.

I can imagine towards end game with a scout the combo management could get pretty awesome so I don't want to say that I hate the system they have.  Sometimes with some classes I just wish it was more in depth, but I know they are continuing to expand upon their success.

Thanks for shedding light on some of my misconceptions though seriously.  Still loving the game and can't wait for launch. 

Well i couldnt resist trying scout/asassin first, played the oposite race i want to play though :p

Always played the rogue kinda class in every mmo since the asassin in Guild Wars (which imo is exactly how a sin/rogue should work)

hide is on a random timer between 30 and 50 seconds in wich you must make your move before you loose your stealth  wich i find rather interesting, i prefer short stealth above the endlong hide past everything and everyone kinda thing. Makes the sin a much more tactical character then for instance the wow rogue.

Originally posted by Elikal

Interesting insight. Thanks for sharing. But I must say, I passionately, vividly HATE personal stores. They litter the area and look unbelievably ugly.

Not to mention they create a lot of lag when everyone is clumped together. I do admit though, curiosity gets the better of me when I see someone selling a green item.

I agree with some of the other points brought up about the game as well. Overall though, I really like Aion and am glad I pre-ordered. I'll be seeing you all on release day.

Dungeons/World Mobs

A list with some of the dungeons and world mobs. Doesn't really start until lvl25 it seems when you head into the abyss.

Well I should expand on my love for personal shops.  I don't always love them, but I do love them in some instances.  FFXI where you couldn't have it open in cities and little areas became known as player markets I loved.  I really liked Mabinogi where only parts of cities allowed setting up your shop, and they took up an area greater than the visual shop took up which limited the shop number and placement, but also kind of created designated player markets.  I really like that aspect of MMO's.  I loved player markets in SWG too which was the best.

I don't like in Aion how it seems like they can be all over the place, but I haven't experimented to know enough.  I do like player shops over auction houses though for sure.

Personal stores seem most useful to me when you are a crafter who consistently opens shop in the same place, for the same time periods each day.

I loved in FFXI that I had frequent customers buying my goods day after day.  Sometimes when logged in but chatting to LS mates, I'd see a person run up and buy from me, then run off to level (I was a cook selling food).  Time and time again people would buy from me becasue they remembered it was a fair value compared to buying off of AH.  The problem with Aion = in both cases, personal store + AH, you don't really know who is buying from you.  In FFXI, it would say "So-and-so bought XXX from you." or something like that.  Aion, it just says it sold, no info. about who bought it.  Unless you're at your PC watching, there's no way to track buyers.

I know that might not be important to some, but it's the reason stores give people those "Value Savings" cards that you scan before check out.  It's useful to know who your customers are, whenever possible, and having an idea if you have frequent buyers or not.  Knowing stuff like that helps you decide how much stuff to craft/bazaar for the amount of time you're going to have your personal store open.  This lack of knowing who your buyer is = one reason I don't like the personal store system specifically in Aion.  I wonder if the lack of notification is by design, or just something that devs thought wasn't worth bothering with.

I will still sell stuff on both AH and personal store when I play, though.  It will just bug me not to know who is buying from me, especially if suddenly I come back to my PC after just setting up my store and a ton of my inventory sold.  Sometimes in cases like that, I was able to strike up high volume/low cost deals with the other player and we both benefitted (I moved excess goods, he got cheap wares).  But, with Aion, it appearst hat unless you're sitting there watching people when they are next to your character and "you earned xxx" message pops up, you won't know who bought your junk.

Oh well...

Originally posted by MustaphaMond

Personal stores seem most useful to me when you are a crafter who consistently opens shop in the same place, for the same time periods each day.

I loved in FFXI that I had frequent customers buying my goods day after day.  Sometimes when logged in but chatting to LS mates, I'd see a person run up and buy from me, then run off to level (I was a cook selling food).  Time and time again people would buy from me becasue they remembered it was a fair value compared to buying off of AH.  The problem with Aion = in both cases, personal store + AH, you don't really know who is buying from you.  In FFXI, it would say "So-and-so bought XXX from you." or something like that.  Aion, it just says it sold, no info. about who bought it.  Unless you're at your PC watching, there's no way to track buyers.

I know that might not be important to some, but it's the reason stores give people those "Value Savings" cards that you scan before check out.  It's useful to know who your customers are, whenever possible, and having an idea if you have frequent buyers or not.  Knowing stuff like that helps you decide how much stuff to craft/bazaar for the amount of time you're going to have your personal store open.  This lack of knowing who your buyer is = one reason I don't like the personal store system specifically in Aion.  I wonder if the lack of notification is by design, or just something that devs thought wasn't worth bothering with.

I will still sell stuff on both AH and personal store when I play, though.  It will just bug me not to know who is buying from me, especially if suddenly I come back to my PC after just setting up my store and a ton of my inventory sold.  Sometimes in cases like that, I was able to strike up high volume/low cost deals with the other player and we both benefitted (I moved excess goods, he got cheap wares).  But, with Aion, it appearst hat unless you're sitting there watching people when they are next to your character and "you earned xxx" message pops up, you won't know who bought your junk.

Oh well...

I agree.. hopefully this will be something the devs look at in a future patch.