just curious about this game. I recently started leveling a new character in WoW and am still enjoying the game very much but looking to maybe expand in to something new. I tried Rift and just didnt care for it too much, not sure what I really didnt like about it but just wasnt my cup of tea I guess. I hear mixed things about Aion from Horrible to Great with recent patches. Is it worth giving it a shot? is the population good and community accepting of new players? Any feedback is appreciated

I played it and I enjoyed it. Quit because of the fee, just didn't want to spend more money on a game. Beautiful graphics. Best played with someone, like any other mmo IMO: Try the free trial ;)

Originally posted by Tyrxz

I played it and I enjoyed it. Quit because of the fee, just didn't want to spend more money on a game. Beautiful graphics. Best played with someone, like any other mmo IMO: Try the free trial ;)

I would love to but I dont see the free trial anywhere

It's different from WoW or Rift.

Most people make the mistake of assuming WoW and Rift type gameplay in aion

Aion demand skill and patient from it's player. I find the game world and lore quite interesting and unique.

Themepark mmo nowadays created a segment of player looking for instant gratification. Aion is not catered for those type.

That's my 2 cent. From me.

Aion does not have a free trial, they only have buddy keys. i belive there is a "budy key request" thread in these forums were you can maybe get lucky requesting one. otherwise you have to spend the 30$ (on Steam) and buy the game.

very pretty Asian themed (anime) game, very flashy and shiny with pretty cool animations and character models. the eviroment is cool but not nearly as detailed as the characters. music is nice, sounds are ok.

gameplay is a bit grindy especially once you get to level 35+, the grind however has been greately reduced from launch. flying combat is cool but only for ranged classes, it's insanely annoying for melee. i'd have to say that flying pvp is definately the best most distcinctive part of Aion. pve is fun but the selection of dungeons is a bit limited.

the only game i'v seen so far that is prettier then Aion is Tera but you'll have to wait a few more months for that one.

Aion is a beautiful, well-polished, well-presented game that introduces a new combat mechanic in fantasy MMOs, fighting on wings. In fact, it's such a lovely game that we wish there were more of it. While it offers something for both PvE and PvP-oriented players, it will only truly appeal to those who enjoy both, as the full Aion experience can only be achieved both by leveling up through quests and by playing in the Abyss when you're strong enough. The developers have actually added a great deal of PvE content in the process of localizing it for the North American/ European market and the potential is definitely there for the game to grow in that aspect but as it stands, ultimately the heart and soul of Aion is the Abyss. So obviously, if you enjoy both aspects in an MMO, Aion is definitely for you. If you lean towards PvE, there is enough content for you to enjoy for a few months but longevity may be an issue. Of course there's always a chance that more content will be introduced before you get tired of it, and who knows you might even enjoy PvP-on-wings.

I'm not playing any MMOs atm (busy with sc2 :p), but as soon as I feel like playing one again it's going to be Aion for sure.

It's one of the games you actually 'miss', and that doesn't happen too often. I mean as far as MMOs go it's one of the few games in which I've enjoyed my stay on the whole, though that's just me.

It's definitely worth giving it a shot, and your first reaction might well be "Wow this game is surprisingly good". It's so polished and beautiful, animations look great, flying is cool, combat is fun and engaging depending on the classes (some more than others obviously), each class serves its own purpose. Also every few levels something new opens up to you, such as wings @lvl10, stigmas @ lvl20, Abyss @lvl25, new wings @lvl30 etc. (I hope I'm right about the levels 'cause it's been a while :p).

The most important thing though is to make little goals for yourself instead of the big one such as "GETTING TO LEVEL 55", because it takes considerably more time than say WoW and it will get boring if you don't vary your game play options and do a bit of everything for maximum enjoyment, and there are ALOT of different things you can do (group instances, solo instances, group quests, solo quests/grinding, group Pvp, crafting/gathering, fortress battles) and the higher your level the more stuff there is to do like raiding world bosses, rifting into the enemy lands as a guild (this has got to be the most fun I've had in any MMO ever).

Having said that note that some people actually enjoy playing solo the entire game and ganking the shit out of others, it's just that Aion isn't particularly designed for that type of game play.

Getting into a cool active guild is vital as well, you cannot imagine how different the game is when played with guildies/friends.

Basically Aion is not for everyone (cliché I know :p), it all depends on your point of view: Are you against mob grinding? Do you hate Asian art style? Are you in it for the journey as well or mostly the destination (aka 'endgame')? Are you a solo gamer or prefer group play? etc.

The game is a very good game for what it is, it simply cannot disappoint the players who know what they're getting, it's not a 'flawed' game that sucks. It can however disappoint the players who get into it expecting something else, and that's their own fault for getting something they would never have liked.

Hope this helped ;)

Aion seems to take aspects of other MMOs and do it a bit differently.  If you have played other simlar MMOs this can be either refreshing or irritating.  The game is indeed polished and has it's own "high fantasy" look to it.  Graphics and sound are tight, combat is engaging and reletivly intuative (note: you don't get a high number of skills to begin with, it's part of the design).

If you are a person who likes to try out different games from time to time, Aion should be on the list.  It's up there with WoW, LotRO, etc. in respect to production quality.  I took a burnout break for a few months and now that I'm back I wished I had never left (go figure).  My advice to new players is try to enter in without any preconcieved notions.

Originally posted by channel84

It's different from WoW or Rift.

Most people make the mistake of assuming WoW and Rift type gameplay in aion

Aion demand skill and patient from it's player. I find the game world and lore quite interesting and unique.

Themepark mmo nowadays created a segment of player looking for instant gratification. Aion is not catered for those type.

That's my 2 cent. From me.

odd, one of the  things that burned me out the fastest about the game was how boringly easy most of the content was (with the exception of time investment)  most of the encounters were much easier than WoW, the biggest skill was being able to put up with the significantly longer grinds.

that said, I think Aion has the absolutley most gorgeous graphics, and polished game engine and combat mechanics.

its a shame that one of the primary insances (dredgion) which was quite fun, was only availble two times a day, noon and midnight, both times that I was unable to play the game due to work (or sleep)

its a great game, epecially if you have limitless time to invest in it,  if however you are balancing a professional and personal life along with gaming, its probably going to be hard to make much progress.

I'm not sure where the notion of time required equating to skill comes from, although I have heard 2.0 introduced more techncally challenging conented and I have been considering re-subbing to give it a try.

I really do think AION is a gorgeous and polished game, I had high hopes for it and played from Beta till burnout.

perhaps Ill take another look.

Originally posted by sycofiend

Originally posted by channel84

It's different from WoW or Rift.

Most people make the mistake of assuming WoW and Rift type gameplay in aion

Aion demand skill and patient from it's player. I find the game world and lore quite interesting and unique.

Themepark mmo nowadays created a segment of player looking for instant gratification. Aion is not catered for those type.

That's my 2 cent. From me.

odd, one of the  things that burned me out the fastest about the game was how boringly easy most of the content was (with the exception of time investment)  most of the encounters were much easier than WoW, the biggest skill was being able to put up with the significantly longer grinds.

that said, I think Aion has the absolutley most gorgeous graphics, and polished game engine and combat mechanics.

its a shame that one of the primary insances (dredgion) which was quite fun, was only availble two times a day, noon and midnight, both times that I was unable to play the game due to work (or sleep)

its a great game, epecially if you have limitless time to invest in it,  if however you are balancing a professional and personal life along with gaming, its probably going to be hard to make much progress.

I'm not sure where the notion of time required equating to skill comes from, although I have heard 2.0 introduced more techncally challenging conented and I have been considering re-subbing to give it a try.

I really do think AION is a gorgeous and polished game, I had high hopes for it and played from Beta till burnout.

perhaps Ill take another look.

 

Odd you say that.  I wished they killed the AP instances and added more BG like instances.  Earn the AP through fighting no with PvE. 

Although you said the game was easy.  I still don't know many groups that beat Tahabata and none that I know that could beat Sematariux (or the other one forget name).   But that was the nature of the game.  It wasn't a gradual difficulty it was just either too easy or too hard.  Not much in between.   There was a couple bosses that were mid-level but they offered no real upgrades so they were never really killed much. 

The game had some great innovations but messed up armor progression a lot.  Most people found it easier to just do Fenris or Miragent quest lines simply cause it was at one point the better gear for some classes even after 2.0.   I remember reaching L55 and had no desire to really get the L55 gear cause my lower level gear stats and such were still just as good for the most part.  The limited play of Dredgion and such further killed the desire to farm anything more.

I could nitpick the game to death.  I really expected a lot better things from this game and is why I stuck with it so long.  When the limited and slow patches and nerfing of the game persisted and the killing of the only reason I played the game (PvP) happened. I finally just let my sub run out.