So I'm one of those people who just couldnt wait and started playing the Korean Retail. Despite the fact that I cant read Korean, and youve heard this before, this game is a-mazing!! Theres plenty of guides online to help figure things out, quests are easy to figure out since they tell you exactly where to go, and the graphics are gorgeous. Its actually surprising how manageable the game is even in another language..

Best advice i could give to those who are frustrated they have to wait - don't wait. Go google "buy korea aion". Just fork out the money, spend the couple days downloading/updating the client. Go to mmosite.com's forums for some guides on how to read the screen. It's worth it. I will say this for those who are resolute in waiting - they patch this game A LOOOOT. Seems like everyday I go to log-in and I have to wait 15-30 minutes for a patch to download, so by the time it hits the Western Hemisphere, it should be pretty polished.

Also if you're a non-Korean playing the Korean retail like myself, shoot me a PM and we can meet up.

edit: and also, I learned the hard way that GameGuard does not work with Windows 7. So if you have W7, you're SOL

double edit: heres a link to those guides. For those of you who are teetering on the edge of whether or not to pull the trigger, this should be a push in the right direction

http://forum.mmosite.com/list.php?id=244&sid=245&cid=1

Must resist.... must resist.... your tempting me.... damn you.....

Yep, pretty tempting. I think  I will wait for the NA/EU Retail since 30gb +  is alot to download for my current internet connection and i think i  cant enjoy the game at very good graphics with my current laptop.

Too bad =/

Originally posted by uberluber90

Yep, pretty tempting. I think  I will wait for the NA/EU Retail since 30gb +  is alot to download for my current internet connection and i think i  cant enjoy the game at very good graphics with my current laptop.

 

Too bad =/

That's true - I have an 8600GT Superclocked edition. It runs very smooth, but after about 3 hours of play, the GPU is hot as fire.

As far as waiting to download the 30gigs, it'll take a few days to download from Korea - but it'll take months before its out in the EU/US

edit: and actually, my total client/folder size is ~11gigs. They just say allow 30 for expansions

Keep in mind that if someone walks up to you and starts talking.  Be respectable and reply, don't just stand there.  Most people that I have run into can speak shoddy English and are respectable.  Plus, if you do not reply and continue with your business more than likely your account will be flagged as a bot account.

I have been playing the Korean client since open beta and I am having a pile of fun.  Who knows how long it will take for the NA/Europe clients to be released, plus I am learning bits and pieces of Korean. 

Wow, you purchase time cards by the hour??

Hrmm....  This is tempting lol.

Originally posted by GoldenDog

Wow, you purchase time cards by the hour??

 

Hrmm....  This is tempting lol.

Yes, but to exhaust the time limit, you would have to play 10 hours a day for 30 days straight. However, at the end of 30 days, your left over hours dont carry over (no rollover hours - this is NC Soft, not AT&T). Still, It's ample amount of time, and it cuts down on the 'bot' factor. I got the 900 hours for 90 days time card to last me a few months.

Originally posted by GoldenDog

Wow, you purchase time cards by the hour??

 

Hrmm....  This is tempting lol.

They come in 300 hours (1 month) and 900 hours (3 months).  It is more of a way to limit the bot farmers than anything.  I don't know of anyone that could put more than 300 hours into a game in one month.

Ok...  So what site exactly is the best to go and pay for these timecards?
And, is it an easy process to download and get into the game, once the timecard is purchased?

Also... I've been reading that you can't activate your account w/o a Korean SSN and Phone #, is this true?  If it's not true, how did you guys get past this?

Promoting a 3rd part site for account purchasing would be highly frowned on.  You will just have to good around and you should be able to find one.

When you purchase the account it is part of the deal that they set it up for you.  Using a Korean SS number is illegal if it does not belong to you just as a heads up.

Originally posted by Locklain

Promoting a 3rd part site for account purchasing would be highly frowned on.  You will just have to good around and you should be able to find one.

When you purchase the account it is part of the deal that they set it up for you.  Using a Korean SS number is illegal if it does not belong to you just as a heads up.

I got the download site, so i'm all set there... and I would not dream of using an actual SSN that isn't mine. I only asked to see if there was a way people were creating an account that didn't use such a method... of which you have answered that question (thanks!) :-)

i would luv to play Aion NAU! but, the main question is. how im going to do to communicate with korean folkes....do they speak english? do my keyboard actually type in english.... because there is no point playing an online game and not being able to com with any1 around... unless there is like a small portion of NA/EU people playing in one server....im temptet but not being able to socialize kills the game for me  atm.

Originally posted by rasmijn

.... not being able to socialize kills the game for me  atm.

Most likely will be the deciding factor for my wife and I. We don't mind paying $ to play a game, and wouldn't even mind playing a game were we couldn't read anything on the screen. All that is something we can get used to...

But, not being able to accurately communicate with others in the game... that would make the game a bit dull currently.

Of those that ARE playing it already... what are you comments as far as the community goes?
 

Best to download the TEST server client,  the test server gives 7x exp, 7x gathering / crafting exp, Higher drop rate.

Originally posted by GTRchameleon

Originally posted by rasmijn

.... not being able to socialize kills the game for me  atm.

Most likely will be the deciding factor for my wife and I. We don't mind paying $ to play a game, and wouldn't even mind playing a game were we couldn't read anything on the screen. All that is something we can get used to...

But, not being able to accurately communicate with others in the game... that would make the game a bit dull currently.

Of those that ARE playing it already... what are you comments as far as the community goes?
 

There are a few big english speaking guilds that are playing Aion, best to hook up with one of them (Hellbound and Reign) Most play on the test server.

I'm not going to say that a ton of English speaking people are on the game, but from my experience, I've been able to socialize with someone everytime I login.

Still, couldnt wait 9-12 months for the game to come out here. The screenshots/videos made me salivate too much. Turns out, pulling the trigger on this purchase and waiting the xnumber of hours for the download was WELLLL worth it

edit: again, if youre english speaking and playing the game now, shoot me a PM. I dont mind jumping servers and rerolling to team up with someone. SO much better than playing alone

Now the big question for me would be. Would I need to play through some Korean VPN in order to not get banned after purchasing and patching, Or would using just my normal connection be fine.

see my guide here

http://forum.mmosite.com/topics/245/200903/03/339,1.html?time=1236108187

khutch thank you so much for the guide man!  I have been dying to play and I'm now in .  Quick question to anyone, I tried googling and looked around but are there any in-game menu guides?  I've just been getting by from trial-and-error but a guide or a picture of menus and what they do would be a big help.  Thanks!

Well, if you dont find any kind of translation by the weekend, PM me.. My wife(who is korean) and I are going to sit down this weekend and translate as much as possible of the menu's. Wish us luck!