I actually went back to this for 3.0. Played maybe the first 6 months at launch, but it wasnt really worth the sub to me. But for free, its a better deal than any other F2P ive tried and theres no P2W to  it at all, it really is "Truly Free". As far as the graphics, I agree they are better than some games, like TOR and the Heroengine. Tera is alittle smoother, but the art style is pretty much the same. 

On that note, Tera took the questing and crafting directly from Aion, even the harvesting. They only improvement Tera introduced was in the combat itself. Tera = Aion-wings+better combat. There ya go. And considering one is free and the other youre paying for... well you can decide how you want to spend your money, noone else can do that for you.

As far as 'story' and how TOR has introduced it into the genre. All SWTOR proved was that "story" told with cutscenes and dialog wheels has no future in MMOs, or anywhere outside of a single player game. I really doubt any company will ever make the "story" mistake again. Thats a huge pro to any game that doesnt copy TOR, not a con. 

Overall, yes Aion is dated, as it should be. In a constantly moving forward industry, it still easily holds its own up against games like TOR and Tera. And unlike both of them, they do it better and for cheaper. You will be hard pressed to find a better value game...at least until GW2 launches :P

I've been really impressed by Aion's f2p launch as well. I, too, was kind of disappointed with the release product, but have jumped in since the relaunch and really like all of the new features and polish.

Interesting. it might be a fun game to play casually then.. while listening to some podcasts or music perhaps.

i tried version 2.0 a while back and i agree. music was drab. 

3.0 had an amazing announcement video trailer a long time ago. but that vision trailer is not like how the game is now right?

My first post *waves small flag*

I've never tried this game... I may give it a go. :)

Originally posted by Belly1974

My first post *waves small flag*

I've never tried this game... I may give it a go. :)

 

Welcome :)

So you better try it. It's really great. But thats just an opinion.

LOL.  Look at that tiny head i nthe first pic.  I really don't like asian art style in MMO's.  Major turn off.

Originally posted by elrusoloco

Am I the only one who found Aion's combat to be unbearably slow?  Having to go through the full skill rotation 5 times on every single mob was enough to get me to stop playing around level 22.  Or was I doing it wrong?  This was the case both on a templar (socketing +block for tanking) and a cleric (socketing +crit).

 

Ok... 2 diferent things. To try a game, you choose the 2 most important support classes?! Hummm ok it's a choice, i would choose a Glad or even a SM, but ok.

Even with these, Temp and Cler, you have 2 options to play it.

As a Temp, when you want just to grind quests alone, you probably need a great sword, with all the set equiped with crits. And when you become a true tank on a party, thats the game with sword and shield with block/crits or even hp.

With the Cleric, you can do the same, with a staf and equipping the set with magic boost. On a party as a true healer, you probably need much HP and a mace with shield.

My opinion :P

Originally posted by FrodoFragins

LOL.  Look at that tiny head i nthe first pic.  I really don't like asian art style in MMO's.  Major turn off.

 

Head size is controlled completely at character creation. The tiny head you speak of is the product of the player who created it.

I may actually give Aion another go seeing as how dissapointing Tera is...So Aion doesnt have ACTION combat...at least it has a decent story and deep gameplay along with it.

Originally posted by Durray

I agree the visuals have aged slightly and it is beaten by: TERA and....? And that is worth 7?

Also explain how it is worse then SWTOR's hero engine given that was given 9/10 and is absoultely hideous. http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/view/reviews/load/178

 

Aion beats TOR in animations and character models; barely.  But Aion's textures are some of the worst I've seen. The textures in that game get stomped by games like WoW, TOR, and many others. People have been over-hyping Aion's graphics since it was announced... It never had good graphics, only decent character models. Want proof? Play the game... Those that preach about Aion having some of the best graphics, are nothing but fanboys. It was never a top 3 mmo in graphics, even at launch.

This game looks just as fruity as I remember it being.

AION CONS (END-GAME):

- RNG (GEAR ENCHANTING & MANASTONE SOCKETING)

- ENDLESS PVE GRIND FOR KINAH TO BUY SUPER EXPENSIVE ENCHANTMENT STONES AND MANASTONES

- ENDLESS PVE GRIND FOR AP & MEDALS TO BUY PVP GEAR

This might be a good game to play until Guild Wars 2 is available. Never really thought about it until this review. Is there a huge population due to the F2P? I know Lineage 2 grew substantially since it changed.

I was one of the big fans of aion when it released, I got it the first week and played the first free month, I really loved it alot.

I since recently just patched my client and jumped on my old character which was nice to see it was still there after all this time.  The game really looks amazing with the graphics turned up and DX10 enabled.

When I originally played Aion I was looking for a long-term MMO home.  I played to level 30, but I was hearing so much screaming and moaning and rage about the upper levels that I decided it wasn't worth investing a ton of time and subscription cash in a game that was ultimately going to piss me off.  I hadn't found anything that I didn't like about the game, but I moved on to avoid the rage that other people were feeling.

Now that Aion is free to play and I am much more broke than before, it is a whole new situation.  I feel like I am quietly sneaking in to an MMO and no one has noticed that I am not paying the monthly subscription fee.  I am enjoying it much more just based on the fact that I am getting for free what I once paid for.  Besides, it is not a bad game at all.  I am just hitting level 40, so I haven't experienced much PVP yet, but I hear that it is pretty decent.

Just in case...

The first cry engine is 10 years old not 8... it was finished around 2002 and the game took around 18 months to be finished...

2 words...TRULY FREE.

My husband and I always play mmo's together which before the recent change to the aussie dollar used to involve about $40 a month to play, well...anthing.

We still cannot get over the fact that we are playing this game that has decent graphics, a HUGE world, crafting, housing, a large community, decent PVE, Decent PVP, not too much ganking because its realm vs realm...and ITS FREE!..Totally, completely free.

No other game out there at the moment beats that.

Aion 3.0 is the first F2P MMO where I feel immersed.   I played MUDs for years and as I play Aion 3.0, I find myself becoming excited again.  So much to explore and achieve.  Aion is even getting me interested in delving into some PvP and I'm generally more of a PvE gamer.

I agree with the reviewer that one of its strengths is that Aion offers a player so much CHOICE.   I don't see myself becoming bored with this game any time soon.  

Also, I don't like action style combat, so I'm quite happy with the combat system that Aion offers.  For me, the combat controls are smooth in comparison to most other F2P MMOs I've tried.

This is a fantastic game for not having to pay a thing to play.

Best F2P mmo ever!

Nobody should miss this