Hello Everyone,

As some of you may know I have been following Aion very closely and impatiently might I add. Now I had the opportunity to play the Korean and the chinese beta's but I purposely did not (didnt want to ruin the surprise). I have a very simple question that perhaps requires a complicated answer for some.

For everyone that played/tried Aion over the last few months, and to those still playing the Korean/Chinese release.

Were you surprised with how good or bad the game was and why?

Is this a game you can see yourself playing several years down the road?

Most importantly, Id like to thank everyone that has been posting their reviews (both good and bad) and their experiances with this game. I think its great that alot of people are taking the time to help others that are anxiously waiting for this. So id like to thank everyone that has been supporting the Aion Forums with all your videos,pictures and stories on the gameplay. I realize that alot of people like to read these forums for information so its nice to have those individuals that take time out of their day to help out.

Also, I will probably be picking this up on release day because by that time I would have pulled out all my hair waiting in anticipation. I plan on making an Elyos so if there are any guildleaders that are going to be looking, im currently between a Sorc,Ranger,SpiritMaster.

I am fortunate enough to have played the chinese beta a bit. I have a level 11 gladiator, and so far can say these few things. I love the art, the music, and the world itself. It's jaw dropping. Also the combat mechanics, they remind me a bit of those from Vanguard where you have certain skills that you can only use once you've started the skill chain. Going back even futher, it even reminds me of the combat system from Xenogears, for the PS1. So, to wrap up that thought, the skill system works from what I've seen, and the combat looks quite face paced, and fluid, which is a nice change.

The one thing that is starting to irk me about the game is the solo aspect to it. From what I've experienced so far, you could get to max level soloing, as a majority of your exp is gained from doing the missions and side quests. If you like the WoW quests, you'll be right at home, as most of them consist of collect x, and find such and such.

If you can put aside the repetitiveness of the quests it's an amazing game. The graphics are stunning even on lower end computers, the music is fun to listen to, and the character creation tool gives you thousands of options on how you want your character to look. Also, the game has a very solid lore, which is nice. You can also dye any piece of armor that you have. Also, you can put "manastones" into slots on your items to make them more effective which is nice. The game also has an AH, although I haven't really tried to use it, so I can't say much about it.

The reason for me putting other, is because if I can force myself past the repetitive quest system of the game, I could see myself playing it. Right now I'm playing EVE and I could really see the questing in Aion becoming a bore.

Your 100% right that questing eventually becomes boring. Then again you can say that about every MMORPG out there, and eve is no exception (as far as its missions are concerned). I am glad that you posted your thoughts because eve players I have come to find have certain expectations of games, so the fact that you are enjoying it to some extent is good news to me. I was considering a close combat dps class like the glad, but I am a long range playstyle at heart.

very good fast combat mechanics good looking world.  from the little i have played though the world is very liniar.  Graphics are good would put them slightly above warhammers.  They run very well also,  get 70 fps at points.  Quests are semi well written.  Have not gotten past level 8 but seems like it will be a wow leveling game with a good pvp game throne on top of it.

Originally posted by gotha

very good fast combat mechanics good looking world.  from the little i have played though the world is very liniar.  Graphics are good would put them slightly above warhammers.  They run very well also,  get 70 fps at points.  Quests are semi well written.  Have not gotten past level 8 but seems like it will be a wow leveling game with a good pvp game throne on top of it.

The starter zones are rather linear, once you get out and about in the larger zones it becomes a little less linear.

To be honest with you.

I don't really care how Aion plays as long as it is popular and it is and as long as it has great end game content and it does, the abyss. All MMORPGs are FUN! Except for LOTRO, I hate it; but more or less, Aion is fun too.

Especially after watching all the game play videos, the lore, setting, lush environments are just fantastic.

I am really looking foward to a new game where everyone will be level 1 all over again. I also hope this game will grow in popularity and has alot of players on it.

I noticed that people were describing the leveling in this game similiar to WoW. To be completely honest that's very dissapointing to here. I have this one question though. Even if it is viable to solo to max level is it necessarily the most efficient way to do so? Also in later levels are the quests still setup as kill this mob and bring back x amount of its teeth, fir, droppings or whatever? I really hate that stuff, I've always been one to like group oriented games and have no issues grinding away killing thousands of blue crabs as long as there is good company along the way. If there were quests with a little more story and involvement that aid in leveling and take groups to complete I would be all for it though.

But like somebody mentioned earlier I'm really able to put up with most crap in games as long as the endgame is amazing so if that's the case i'll probably do the Aion thing because most of what i've been reading has me very excited.

to me, its exactly what i expected so far. a slightly prettier version of most other korean point&clicks, with a little more of the WoW level by quest grinding thrown in.

its not going to be a new big thing, but will attract those of us looking for another time killer until the next decent game comes along. no more, no less.

I dunno what ppl are doing but if you played Aion point and click then you are doing something wrong to begin with, direction and movement is very important in combat and you just cant do that with just point and click, its good for when you wanna scratch your ass while moving about but thats about it.

i just hope grouping is not a detriment to playing. my wife and i duo all the time and in many games if we go solo we get much more exp than grouping up.

Originally posted by rav3n2

I dunno what ppl are doing but if you played Aion point and click then you are doing something wrong to begin with, direction and movement is very important in combat and you just cant do that with just point and click, its good for when you wanna scratch your ass while moving about but thats about it.

I disagree.  As far as I can tell, you can't run around and dodge a monster. Hell, even if I'm running past a mob and it aggros me from a distance, I still get hit.

Separately, I'm most disappointed with the amount of time you can stay in flight. I was really excited about PvP or at least combat while flying, but if you can only stay up for a minute or so, what's the point? I'm only level 17 so maybe the time limit grows when you get to a higher level? The amount of cut-scenes for quest objectives I think are annoying also. If the quest states what I'm supposed to kill/collect, I don't really need a mini-movie to show me what it looks like as well, unless it's about scouting out a specific location or something to that degree.

Originally posted by stawr

Originally posted by rav3n2

I dunno what ppl are doing but if you played Aion point and click then you are doing something wrong to begin with, direction and movement is very important in combat and you just cant do that with just point and click, its good for when you wanna scratch your ass while moving about but thats about it.

 

I disagree.  As far as I can tell, you can't run around and dodge a monster. Hell, even if I'm running past a mob and it aggros me from a distance, I still get hit.

Separately, I'm most disappointed with the amount of time you can stay in flight. I was really excited about PvP or at least combat while flying, but if you can only stay up for a minute or so, what's the point? I'm only level 17 so maybe the time limit grows when you get to a higher level? The amount of cut-scenes for quest objectives I think are annoying also. If the quest states what I'm supposed to kill/collect, I don't really need a mini-movie to show me what it looks like as well, unless it's about scouting out a specific location or something to that degree.

Hes talking about the fact that you get stat buff depending on which way you move while in combat like moving back would raise your defense, moving forward would raise attack, and left and right would raise evasion rate.

Originally posted by stawr

Originally posted by rav3n2

I dunno what ppl are doing but if you played Aion point and click then you are doing something wrong to begin with, direction and movement is very important in combat and you just cant do that with just point and click, its good for when you wanna scratch your ass while moving about but thats about it.

 

I disagree.  As far as I can tell, you can't run around and dodge a monster. Hell, even if I'm running past a mob and it aggros me from a distance, I still get hit.

Separately, I'm most disappointed with the amount of time you can stay in flight. I was really excited about PvP or at least combat while flying, but if you can only stay up for a minute or so, what's the point? I'm only level 17 so maybe the time limit grows when you get to a higher level? The amount of cut-scenes for quest objectives I think are annoying also. If the quest states what I'm supposed to kill/collect, I don't really need a mini-movie to show me what it looks like as well, unless it's about scouting out a specific location or something to that degree.

As you level, your flying time increases not to mention that the Abyss has unlimited flying time.

I've been singing the praises of this game since before there were any praises to be sung.  So I'll definitaly be getting this on release.  I honestly do wish the game wasn't as solo friendly but thats how mmo's are now.  I'd love to get in on the ground floor of a game like FFXI, but I'm not sure that there will be any more mmo's like that.  I've already written a review for this game so I don't need to go into details, I loved my time in the beta and look forward to the state side release.

None of those statements are true, Arataki.

You don't get flying time just for leveling, you have to buy some stuff for that.

And the abyss doesn't have unlimited time, it has, however, unlimited flight in the sense that you can fly everywhere, unlike on the main worlds where flight can be restricted depending on the zone.

To the OP's question, I can't say I'm surprised, mainly because I've been reading a lot about it before getting to test it, and the game had the elements I've been looking for.

It still remains a question for me now.

The game is undoubtly designed well, but as it turned a p2p game, the numbers of ppl has decreased to a certain extent.

As a paying player, i should say if there's a monthly paying way for Aion, my answer to this title will certain be "yes"

I played the Chinese beta and I really liked Aion. I will be playing it on release in the US.

Well I will for sure be buying and play this game. It has sold me. Who knows how long I'll be playing it but I'm going to get it for sure and probably have fun and love it and play it for years... Funny but I will probably play Aion by NCSoft and then when GW2 comes out I will probably play that and since it's suppose to be free I can play both and they are both from NCSoft so... go NCSoft!

I am gonna play this when it comes out to NA and play it till TOR comes out.