WOW for 4 years, after they nerfed everything and made it candy land I stopped playing it. During that time i tried LOTR and hated it, AOC a couple of times it blows, Vanguard blaa, EVE pretty cool but couldn't get my rl friends into it, and the one that i thought would grab me, WAR. I'm seeing a lot of people wanting Aion to be like WAR, PQ's and things like that and I dont understand why. PQ's were a cool idea that sucked, standing there with nobody around to help do a PQ so you just move on with the grind, doing quest and Queing for BG's to level. Some open pvp was pretty cool but drug out way too long. I hope and I'm saying this as someone that has never seen Aion other than Youtube and website, that they balanced PVP and PVE. PVP over and over gets old as does PVE, running the same dungeons over and over gets old also. There needs to be a game with balance and i hope Aion has that. I love to PVP, open world and BG's but after i get that out of my system i want to run a dungeon or two with friends. This is what WOW has done right, it keeps everyone playing for long periods of time. Plus adding new content as the month go by and with most of that being endgame. With that said i believe AOC is smart by not adding levels right off the bat with their expansion. Look at what WOW did and now they are going back to the old world like they should have long ago. It just kills what they've done in the past, AQ was a  very cool dungeon raid. Give that to a group of 10 or 25 80's with good loot and WOW will be around for a few more years. Anyway i just hope Aion keeps my attention because i have nothing else to go to if they dont. The new Star Wars game looks so  bubble gum and if Aion doesn't save me i'll have to spend hours listening to my gf talking..Saaaave meeeeeeeee

I dunno bud, from what I saw Aion was the most bubblegum, linear mmo I have had the pleasure of playing. The SW game doesn't look so appealing to me either. But so far Aion takes the cake as a game that is straight and narrow. I've played just about every MMO you pay money for since UO and Aion was the first time I absolutely hated an MMO  from the start. Hell even AoC provided me with more fun for the first few months.  Maybe you'll have more fun and other people seem to like it, so cool. I don't disrespect that at all.

You are looking for a game that doesn't exist. No MMO is ever balanced unless only 1 person plays it.

Coming to Aion with such high expectations will only lead you down the road of disappointment. Will it be a good game? I think so. Will it be fun? I hope. Will it resolve me of all the MMO baggage that I carry with me from other games? Not a chance. Alot of gamers are like boats that have collected barnacles on their undersides from all the MMOs that they have floated through. As hard as they try, those barnacles of discontent cannot be scraped away, and are carried into their next game.

My best advice is to stop thinking about the MMOs that you've played before and just play Aion on its own merits. Enjoy what the game provides and don't get hung up on why it doesn't fulfill all of your gaming needs, because it won't.

Just give up and save your 50 dollars then. Aion is good but not what you are searching for sadly.

You are looking for a MMO game that doesn't exist. No MMO is ever balanced unless only 1 person plays it - Arcade or console. Not to mention bot, speedhack and RMT are waiting to erode your fun and money away shortly

Sadly you are of the other millions of gamers who are now experiencing the burn out of the mmorpg genre, same sh!t - different title.

It does not matter what new features never before seen in past mmorpg's are in a new title, you will still get burned out after a while.

Everyone has certain mmorpg's they like and don't like, but most of us move on to new titles over and over looking for a new thrill.

It's always the same for most of us, tired of the same crap over time. It's not just the game mechanics itself, it's also dealing with the same type of community in every mmorpg's. 

You have your annoying players, scriptors, exploiters, scammers, back-stabbers, griefers, kill stealers and world chat whores that rather talk than play the game making everyone else read their BS.

Sometimes it's just worth it to play a single player game and remove yourself from that environment for a period of time. If you have a few friends that play the same mmorpg title as you then you are lucky because most don't and that can enhance the game experience for those that do. 

Everyone has their own opinion on the mmorpg genre and everyone has a right to their opinion but one thing is fact, that I am reading more and more post of gamers who have grown tired of this genre and are hoping for a miracle that is not remotely possible.

Sheesh, such naysayers who should just leave the genre all together if they're that unhappy with it.

Your best bet is to get an open beta key and try it for yourself.  Asking for advice on this site is rarely helpful.

We can tell you all day how good or bad the game is. But unless you try it yourself you will never know. 

Take a break from MMO's, go out with ur gf, listen her, suport her... in the end u get a better reward then from any raid boss/siege in any MMO  ;)

Originally posted by JonMichael

Sheesh, such naysayers who should just leave the genre all together if they're that unhappy with it.

Nah, it's not about being a naysayer, it's about tempering your expectations and not thinking that one game is the answer to all your gaming/MMO needs.

Here's an idea. Take an evening to be honest with your girlfriend. Tell her you think she is annoying and drives you to crawl into virtual space to get a mental break from her. Kick her to the curb, then go find a new game.

You might be amazed on your new perspective in ANY new game.

If aion is your last hope, then you shouldn't be playing. Nobody will want his last hope being blown off.

Originally posted by Boardwalker

Originally posted by JonMichael

Sheesh, such naysayers who should just leave the genre all together if they're that unhappy with it.

 

Nah, it's not about being a naysayer, it's about tempering your expectations and not thinking that one game is the answer to all your gaming/MMO needs.

That's probably true. I am a fan of Aion and it will be "my game" but from what I read of the op's likes/dislikes, Aion might not be for him.

Let's put it this way. The game he really liked was eve. Eve is veeeeerrrry far from Aion.

I was burned out from MMORPG's until I played the AION CB, I'm hooked, line and sinker. 

Originally posted by spikers14

Here's an idea. Take an evening to be honest with your girlfriend. Tell her you think she is annoying and drives you to crawl into virtual space to get a mental break from her. Kick her to the curb, then go find a new game.

You might be amazed on your new perspective in ANY new game.

You're suggesting the dude dump his gf...so he has more time for MMOs.

That's just...pathetic. 

Thanks again for reminding me of how many losers play this genre.  

I'm sorry, but when you see words like "hope" in the context of a video game you know something's amiss.

[quote]Sheesh, such naysayers who should just leave the genre all together if they're that unhappy with it.[/quote]

Many of us have, including myself and most of my former guild. But that doesn't mean we don't check in here to keep up on "the buzz" as it were.

So far, the whole of my mmog experience in the last two years was trying to play AoC.  Three months after I had returned the game I got an e-mail from Funcom saying that the issue with my game codes have been corrected and welcome to AoC.

Bwhahaha.

I don't even have high hopes for the Bioware game. I'll believe it, or anything for that matter, when I see it.

Carry on.

Originally posted by david361107

. PVP over and over gets old as does PVE, running the same dungeons over and over gets old also.

You're doing it wrong... or you're just playing bad pvp.

Originally posted by qotsa

I dunno bud, from what I saw Aion was the most bubblegum, linear mmo I have had the pleasure of playing. The SW game doesn't look so appealing to me either. But so far Aion takes the cake as a game that is straight and narrow. I've played just about every MMO you pay money for since UO and Aion was the first time I absolutely hated an MMO  from the start. Hell even AoC provided me with more fun for the first few months.  Maybe you'll have more fun and other people seem to like it, so cool. I don't disrespect that at all.

Exaggeration.  If Aion was the first linear mmo you've played then you would not think this way.  My point is linear should not matter to the quality of a game, if you are bored of linear, just say you are bored of linear games in general.

Sorry, if you truly played all the P2P games since UO, you really would not even make that statement.  There are plenty of much worse hyped and/or linear mmo out there in that time period.

I do respect your opinion though, but I find alot of your comments based on how which type of game design you hate, and not even about Aion.  Well, if I game hopped as much as you, I wouldn't be able to make a proper judgement on any game either.

If the word "linear" can be used to judge gameplay value, then I probably will be better off stop gaming all together.

I dont think you'll see many endgame Aion players stating it's linear. Not more than most games at least. Cant believe how many self called experienced gamers judge a game by its tutorial area. One of the things experience should have taught them is not to judge a book by its cover.

If you are looking for quality of gameplay then I doubt you will ever find an online game with better game play than single player games.

The enjoyment of playing an online game is largely found in the people playing them: you, your friends, the people you group with and the broader server community.

If you are happy with your life then you won't have the need to put so much dependency in a game to fill any void you may have. This enhances your gameplay as you can take the game for what it is - recreation, rather than making it an extension of your life.

My advice is to respect your girlfriend (after all I am sure you, like everyone else, has some faults) and appreciate that she wants to share her time with you. If you really don't believe you are compatible then talk to her about why you feel then need to escape into cyberspace rather than deal with a living person right next to you.

Also.. never EVER take advice from a GAMES FORUM cos we all live in our mother's basement and haven't seen sunlight  or a member of the opposite sex in like NEVER.

Mmm Twinkies...

Aion IS very linear.

What contributes to it being very linear?

1. There are only three post-level 20 zones per race, excluding the three shared levels of the Abyss.
2. These zones are roughly the size of a large WoW zone.
3. The zones are only connected via teleport.
4. With in each zone, things are very compartmentalized, with content following a set, some times very narrow, path.
5. 75%+ of the quests you can get are segments of longer quest chains, that have to be completed in order, most of which you can't even grab until the previous step is completed.
6. Even with quest additions in the latest patch, there is not enough quest material to level with out also grinding. This means that even if you have a small amount of freedom as to what order you do some of the content for your level, there is no redundancy. 

What are some major factors that will be found to be negatives by many players?

• Linearity. (Spelled out above).
• Forced PvP (post level 20), Ganking and Griefiing. (Only a negative for some, others will love the PvP atmosphere).
• Very small, closed game world. (Touched upon above).
• Limited customization of your character with in it's class. (No full skill trees. Limited number of viable builds, with little major differentiation. You can check out this stigma calculator to get an idea of what I'm talking about: http://terhix.com/stigma/assassin.html ).

Originally posted by Evolon

If you are looking for quality of gameplay then I doubt you will ever find an online game with better game play than single player games.

The enjoyment of playing an online game is largely found in the people playing them: you, your friends, the people you group with and the broader server community.

If you are happy with your life then you won't have the need to put so much dependency in a game to fill any void you may have. This enhances your gameplay as you can take the game for what it is - recreation, rather than making it an extension of your life.

My advice is to respect your girlfriend (after all I am sure you, like everyone else, has some faults) and appreciate that she wants to share her time with you. If you really don't believe you are compatible then talk to her about why you feel then need to escape into cyberspace rather than deal with a living person right next to you.

Also.. never EVER take advice from a GAMES FORUM cos we all live in our mother's basement and haven't seen sunlight  or a member of the opposite sex in like NEVER.

Mmm Twinkies...

Hey thanks for the Good Housekeeping tip of the day. :/

Stopping flames saves lives.

Now keep it on topic.

Originally posted by Boardwalker

You are looking for a game that doesn't exist. No MMO is ever balanced unless only 1 person plays it.

Coming to Aion with such high expectations will only lead you down the road of disappointment. Will it be a good game? I think so. Will it be fun? I hope. Will it resolve me of all the MMO baggage that I carry with me from other games? Not a chance. Alot of gamers are like boats that have collected barnacles on their undersides from all the MMOs that they have floated through. As hard as they try, those barnacles of discontent cannot be scraped away, and are carried into their next game.

My best advice is to stop thinking about the MMOs that you've played before and just play Aion on its own merits. Enjoy what the game provides and don't get hung up on why it doesn't fulfill all of your gaming needs, because it won't.

I couldnt agree more from November 05 through till Jan of this year I had a giant barnacle of discontent centering around Pre-cu SWG and everything I ever played always got compared to that through my pre-cu tinted glasses.

I then off the cuff dived into SWG with a complete fresh approach and enjoyed the current incantation of it for a few month and found myself not once thinking of Pre-Cu and then I joined the Aion chinese retail and everything felt so fresh so new that giant shackle of the pre-cu around my leg had been removed and suddenly I was viewing everything in a new light.

System's wern't compared with every game out there, a quest didnt feel like I had done it 1000 times before,  I wasnt shouting at the screen for how linear the early levels are whilst thinking back to the freedom of pre-cu  everything felt so new so alive I was enjoying MMO's again not going into a game ready just to tear it apart for how much it was different to my beloved pre-cu.

Scrape those barnacles and release the shackles of your previous MMO only then will you enjoy the new MMO of your choice.

MMO's are not unlike relationship's you can't move onto the next until you have truly got over your ex :)