So I went and pre-ordered a copy of Aion, a new MMO by NCsoft, and anyone who preorders gets to join the closed beta event every other weekend.

Let me just say....omfg.....this is amazing!

Fist let me tell you a little about AION :D

Aion is a multi man online roleplaying game developed by NCsoft, the makers of Guild Wars, using the Crytek Engine.

Reader: Wait! Doesn't that mean it has amazing graphics like Crysis......and that noone will be able to run it.

Yes and no! Aion scales down to lower computers, so even your grandmama on her commodore 64can enjoy :D

Aion takes place in a world torn asunder by a Great Cataclysm, causing the humanoid population to divide amoung the top and bottom half. The two populations then diverged into different species, the Elyos and Asmodians. As a player you choose one or the other and either the Warrior, Scout, Mage, or Priest class. Aion is a PvPvE game, the two factions ((Elyos and Asmodian)) are constantly at war with each other, and the Balaur. The Balaur are the third faction, a faction controlled by AI. These AI may jump into a battle at any time, helping one side or another, or destroying both. It really makes for exciting gameplay!!!

Aion has been a smashing hit in Korea, China, and most of Asia >.< It has already been there for a good while, and has already had most of the bugs ironed out. It will be releasing in North America and Europe in patch 1.5, so shiny and polished a release that I don't think America has ever had one to rival it. Even World of Warcrafts release has some problems if I can remeber correctly! But I think Aion will be just fine :D Anywho the Closed Beta I mentioned takes part every other weekend, servers opening at 12 PM PDT on Friday and closing on 12 PM PDT on Monday. The Closed Beta (CB) is actually more or a localization process, to help with translations and the such. So far the CB client is only patch 1.0, and even then it seems more polished then any Western MMO to date.

Ok....so yesterday was my first day in Closed Beta, and I'll tell you how it went down :D

As soon as I logged in to the character creation screen it gave me the choice: Elyos or Asmodian.....

Sooo being the happy sun loving type I picked Elyos.....((Asmodians live in the darker, more unhappy part of the world))

Then I was met with the class pick....Warrior, Scout, Mage, Priest....I was a little upset about the lack of choice, but then I remembered that at lvl 10 each class diverges into a new class......and since the Warrior had a large weapon....I picked him :P

Then I was hit in the face with the god of all character customization screens!!!!

There were base bodies and faces to choose from! A whole spectrum pallete of colors for skin, hair, ect ect. And once you choose a base face a large box of 10000 sliders popped up to customize it, I swear I could've spent the whole Closed Beta trying to perfect my character! And once I clicked the body tabe, it happened again!!! Sliders, from height to breast/package size! And there is no limit on your imagination, I saw some knee high chars running around who had played with the height >.< Some really feminine men, some gruff guys, some gals that made my jiz in my pants, and some that made me quake in fear!

So after about 20 mins in the char customization screen I came out with this:

http://www.box.net/shared/d9y3g672cd

So now, onto the game:

I logged into a world cram packed full of players and.....no lag!!!!

http://www.box.net/shared/ei1jkaqyi1

The world as you can see was very beautiful:

http://www.box.net/shared/1p0j5m0qxo

http://www.box.net/shared/o4c1q51dv6

And everything seemed alive, there were giant flying animals in the sky moving around random paths, and little detailed squirrels scurring around, a great deal of wildlife and plantlife abunded. And there were quests around every corner!!!

All the while the soundtrack was serene and unobtrusive, it set you in the mood, and was calming. It gave a real immersive feel!

And when a battle started, it was almost always unique and a challenge, I had to rest every so often to avoid dying! ((Something I only did once after I learnt there was a death penalty in exp, however any lost xp can be bought back from a soul healer))

At level 10, I ascended!!

And got to visit the most beautiful city of Sanctum!

Sanctum:

http://www.box.net/shared/lud9vhzae6
http://www.box.net/shared/ycfuvtud72

http://www.box.net/shared/3719y9lcal

http://www.box.net/shared/4pex6vri3u
http://www.box.net/shared/hk4kgmcirr
http://www.box.net/shared/lrzzxqs6e7
http://www.box.net/shared/pq58bqudq7
http://www.box.net/shared/co9jkd4vk9

THat's right, Sanctum is one of those castle-in-the-sky types! And its large, detailed, and gorgeous, complete with a dinosaur eating some leaves off a tree!

http://www.box.net/shared/kuclqpaeum

http://www.box.net/shared/lrzzxqs6e7 ----------- Seems I got his attention :D

After that I relentlessly grinded to get to 25.........never really got there.......I got to 13, but I got to catch a glimpse of what my goal at 25 was.....The Abyss!

http://www.box.net/shared/bee5anrx96
http://www.box.net/shared/fzgj83uasm

The Abyss is a full out warzone between the three factions! And winner takes all!!! Did I mention the better you do in the bayss, the more notority you gain with the opposing faction? Thus the more they'll be gunning for your head?

Wellt that pretty much sums up my first day!

Thanks for reading!

Very nice review. Looking forward to trying it out sometime. :D

Just wanna point out that Guild Wars was created by ArenaNet, and published by NCsoft, though.

Good review.

I am playing CB but not a lot since I have to work 8-10 hours a day these days that it is open. I have to say, it definitely passed the beginning check. You know, the one that gets your hook for the first 10 or so hours. The game is well made so far, which will hook many people. Kind of like WAR.

But the endgame will make it or break it for me. I hope they have it all together that far.

Yes, the game is full of awesome but there being no PvP at all for the first 20 levels of so is a massive pain in the ass and a disappointment. Until they get that sorted out I don't see myself (or my guildies) playing. I found myself repeatedly hitting the keyboard with my forehead after the 100th "kill 10" or "run here" quest. A PvP game with no PvP for the first 1/2 levels... utterly weird - i thought I paid my admission price by buying the box and now I see that I have to grind some thousands of mobs to get there..

This has to be sorted out somehow. If I were a regular Joe who just bought the game with no preconceptions I'd have a completely different view of what's it all about. If I were a PvP Joe I'd chuck it out by level 8. If I were a PvE Joe I'd chuck it out after 25. They need to get this PvPvE thing going from level 1 or there's going to be quite a load of puzzled unhappy customers.

Nice post ! Thanks for sharing.

I have a few questions for you :

1- How does the combat system feel ? I've already seen videos so I know it looks pretty good, but does it get repetitive, boring ?

2- Any chance to know at what settings you were running the game and what kind of computer you have ?

Thanks !

Originally posted by Kebeck

Nice post ! Thanks for sharing.

I have a few questions for you :

1- How does the combat system feel ? I've already seen videos so I know it looks pretty good, but does it get repetitive, boring ?

2- Any chance to know at what settings you were running the game and what kind of computer you have ?

Thanks !

1) I'm a Gladiator, so its intense! I do combos and it feels like a fighting game, and don't even get me started on DP Explosion, its like a special finishing move, it made me jizz in my pants the first time I saw it :D

2) I had at maximum settings all around, I play on a custom built, bought all the parts on newegg and put it together.

CPU: Pentium 4 Wolfdale 2.8Ghz

Graphics Card: PNY Nvidia GTX 275 @ 896 MB

Ram: 4 gigs of DDR2 @ 800Mhz

OS: Windows 7

Nice review.

I don't see not being able to PvP as a gamebreaker at all before 20. I'm usually figuring out my characters the first few levels anyways and coming up with beginning tactics against static mobs. Also, you don't have even half of the total skills you will be using for endgame PvP at level 10 or whatever so that's pretty stupid for someone to say it's a "gamebreaker".

Anyone playing Warhammer for the first two tiers (from level 1-20) will tell you that game is extremely fun. Then those same people will tell you all the PvP you do in the last two tiers (from 21-40) is like sleepwalking. Boring, slow, buggy, crashing, no enemies, etc etc etc etc... with no relief in sight from that time onward until you quit your subscription.

I'd rather have a game that started out without PvP, but kicked ass in the end where everyone will eventually be spending ALL of their time in the game anyways fighting loads of other people, with ALL their PvP skills available.

I would suggest anyone wanting to PvP "from day at level 1" stick with that piece of crap WAR. AION doesn't really need your type of gaming skills and whining. There are already over 4 million people playing AION, so you, your guild, your grandma or anyone else who don't like it don't have to play it.

You also don't have to log on here to tell us that either because we won't be heartbroken, lol. It's not like AION is going to crash or something in six months because it won't have your $15/month or the other 5 people still left in your old WAR guild. You and the other 150k people in Warhammer can have fun rerolling alts constantly down there.

Except now... you have to do it on less servers. WAR just shut down MORE servers this past week. AGAIN. (what are they down to now? Seven?)

How's that for day 1, level 1 PvP games?

I've got some wicked videos of me and a team mate owning things, if you know any hosts I can use tell me and I'll link them. Edit: I'm uploading them onto youtube. As I've recorded them in 1400 by 900, and they are at max settings, and at 100 fps recording rate, with ingame audio, it will take awhile, they are quite big. Oh I forgot to mention each file is well over a gig!

Once they finish uploading I will post them here :D

Originally posted by Kebeck

1- How does the combat system feel ? I've already seen videos so I know it looks pretty good, but does it get repetitive, boring ?

This really depends on the class and the person playing. Early one you hit the same few buttons just because you don't have alot of abilities at the start. As you get more chain abilities, this becomes less of an issue.
 

Combat is at slow pace, giving you time to react... also make you want to find someone to group with to speed things up.
Plus multiple mobs are deadly.
 

OP is still going thru the honeymoon stage of the game, that is clear. I've been playing the Chinese version and the NA beta to be pass that stage. I still love Aion, and forcing myself not to play anymore until release, so I don't burn myself out.

My biggest issue with Aion is the lack of different starting zones... doing the same starter quests the 2nd time around isn't much fun. It's a minor gripe, I know.

Originally posted by popinjay

Nice review.

 

I don't see not being able to PvP as a gamebreaker at all before 20. I'm usually figuring out my characters the first few levels anyways and coming up with beginning tactics against static mobs. Also, you don't have even half of the total skills you will be using for endgame PvP at level 10 or whatever so that's pretty stupid for someone to say it's a "gamebreaker".

 

 

Anyone playing Warhammer for the first two tiers (from level 1-20) will tell you that game is extremely fun. Then those same people will tell you all the PvP you do in the last two tiers (from 21-40) is like sleepwalking. Boring, slow, buggy, crashing, no enemies, etc etc etc etc... with no relief in sight from that time onward until you quit your subscription.

 

I'd rather have a game that started out without PvP, but kicked ass in the end where everyone will eventually be spending ALL of their time in the game anyways fighting loads of other people, with ALL their PvP skills available.

 

 

 

I would suggest anyone wanting to PvP "from day at level 1" stick with that piece of crap WAR. AION doesn't really need your type of gaming skills and whining. There are already over 4 million people playing AION, so you, your guild, your grandma or anyone else who don't like it don't have to play it.

 

 

You also don't have to log on here to tell us that either because we won't be heartbroken, lol. It's not like AION is going to crash or something in six months because it won't have your $15/month or the other 5 people still left in your old WAR guild. You and the other 150k people in Warhammer can have fun rerolling alts constantly down there.

 

 

Except now... you have to do it on less servers. WAR just shut down MORE servers this past week. AGAIN. (what are they down to now? Seven?)

 

 

How's that for day 1, level 1 PvP games?

Ok, how the feck is being able to pvp from level 1 in ANY WAY connected to the failure at higher tiers in WAR??!!?

You just said that "Anyone playing Warhammer for the first two tiers (from level 1-20) will tell you that game is extremely fun." So?!?!?! Wtf?! Why the heck shouldn't Aion be "extremely fun at lower levels" as well instead of this collosal farty PvE bore that you have to grimly fight your way through?!

Are you dumb or someting? Am I missing something here? Or are you?

As a PvPvE mmo Aion is an extremely boring, linear one and is a total fail at lower levels. Utter fail because it's not what it says on the box. THERE IS NO PVP AT LOWER LEVELS. IN A PVP GAME. NONE. You grind giant clams ffs so you can maybe, sometime in the future, maybe, if you grind enough clams do the fecking thing that you bought the game for. How the HELL can be this considered a good thing?!?!?

I bought the damn CE preorder for Aion because the endgame looks a fantastic improvement over the failure that is WAR's endgame. However, the leveling process is a total failure as far as I'm concerned. THERE IS NO PVP IN THE LOWER LEVELS. Wtf?!! If that is normal to you guys in a game that is supposed to be PvP centred then I am really left speechless.  What the hell? No PvP in a PvP game? WHAT?

Even WoW, the king of PvE, has BGs from level 10 and you'll be able to level through them... It is simply ridiculous that the new PvPvE game has NO option of leveling through PvP, none whatsoever. And what is even more ridiculous are the fanbois defending this so blatantly obvious flaw in the design.

This is the first time in my mmo career that I seriously considered renting leveling services. IT IS STUPID, JUST PLAIN STUPID. 

Hey it's good that you liked the game, it's definitely got so much to offer, and it gets better the further you dig in.

Even though I feel that Aion's first 20levels are a bit lacking and should contain some form of PvP and some other stuff for variety etc. I can't understand how people can complain so feverishly against it, especially when compared to the recent dross or MMOs. It's mind-boggling. Complaining is one thing, hating is another.

They bring the game down on the basis that it's the same old boring quest grind in the early levels (which is the genre's problem, NOT Aion's)  and overlook its obvious qualities. How many recent games have launched with NO performance problem together with great graphics, meaningful crafting that works, easy-to-use and good looking UI, working economy, good itemization, engaging and responsive combat, story-driven missions and cut-scenes with voice-overs, great music, many cool and neat features that liven things up etc. etc. the list is actually TOO LONG for me to continue.

Nope, some people discard them, they easily overlook them so they can complain, crawl all over the devs spitting poison at them and showing the rest how tw*ts behave. They keep demanding more and more at every opportunity and wanting everything right NOW, never knowing when to stop... Disgusting really.

Originally posted by Electriceye

Hey it's good that you liked the game, it's definitely got so much to offer, and it gets better the further you dig in.

 

Even though I feel that Aion's first 20levels are a bit lacking and should contain some form of PvP and some other stuff for variety etc. I can't understand how people can complain so feverishly against it, especially when compared to the recent dross or MMOs. It's mind-boggling. Complaining is one thing, hating is another.

They bring the game down on the basis that it's the same old boring quest grind in the early levels (which is the genre's problem, NOT Aion's)  and overlook its obvious qualities. How many recent games have launched with NO performance problem together with great graphics, meaningful crafting that works, easy-to-use and good looking UI, working economy, good itemization, engaging and responsive combat, story-driven missions and cut-scenes with voice-overs, great music, many cool and neat features that liven things up etc. etc. the list is actually TOO LONG for me to continue.

Nope, some people discard them, they easily overlook them so they can complain, crawl all over the devs spitting poison at them and showing the rest how tw*ts behave. They keep demanding more and more at every opportunity and wanting everything right NOW, never knowing when to stop... Disgusting really.

Oh I'm in beta atm and I can say plenty of good things about it... great graphics, great controls, story and setting are really original, PvPvE concept, the Abyss, flying, rifts.... all in all I'm more than satisfied with 90+% of what the game can offer and I'll definitely play it if I manage to get over my aversion to forced PvE grinding "so you can PvP". The game is really great and it deseves to suceed, no doubt about it.

However when I point out ONE thing that I percieve as a flaw I get immediately attacked that I'm trashing the game. Trust me, I really really want this game to succeed because I'm a real fan of living worlds in mmos and that definitely entails dynamic world PvP that mixes both PvE and PvP into a meaningful whole.. which Aions' endgame does seem to do well. If Aion were some average PvE grinder I wouldn't bother posting here because I wouldn't care. However since I do care about Aion and it's bold concept I'm naturally concerned about what I percieve as illogical and foreign to the game as it is supposed to be - the unnatural and contrived forced PvE grind at lower levels without any option to advance by PvP. Thankfully this can be easily fixed in the future and I certainly hope this will be the case sooner rather than later.

Originally posted by markoraos

Originally posted by popinjay

Nice review.

 

I don't see not being able to PvP as a gamebreaker at all before 20. I'm usually figuring out my characters the first few levels anyways and coming up with beginning tactics against static mobs. Also, you don't have even half of the total skills you will be using for endgame PvP at level 10 or whatever so that's pretty stupid for someone to say it's a "gamebreaker".

 

 

Anyone playing Warhammer for the first two tiers (from level 1-20) will tell you that game is extremely fun. Then those same people will tell you all the PvP you do in the last two tiers (from 21-40) is like sleepwalking. Boring, slow, buggy, crashing, no enemies, etc etc etc etc... with no relief in sight from that time onward until you quit your subscription.

 

I'd rather have a game that started out without PvP, but kicked ass in the end where everyone will eventually be spending ALL of their time in the game anyways fighting loads of other people, with ALL their PvP skills available.

 

 

 

I would suggest anyone wanting to PvP "from day at level 1" stick with that piece of crap WAR. AION doesn't really need your type of gaming skills and whining. There are already over 4 million people playing AION, so you, your guild, your grandma or anyone else who don't like it don't have to play it.

 

 

You also don't have to log on here to tell us that either because we won't be heartbroken, lol. It's not like AION is going to crash or something in six months because it won't have your $15/month or the other 5 people still left in your old WAR guild. You and the other 150k people in Warhammer can have fun rerolling alts constantly down there.

 

 

Except now... you have to do it on less servers. WAR just shut down MORE servers this past week. AGAIN. (what are they down to now? Seven?)

 

 

How's that for day 1, level 1 PvP games?

 

Ok, how the feck is being able to pvp from level 1 in ANY WAY connected to the failure at higher tiers in WAR??!!?

You just said that "Anyone playing Warhammer for the first two tiers (from level 1-20) will tell you that game is extremely fun." So?!?!?! Wtf?! Why the heck shouldn't Aion be "extremely fun at lower levels" as well instead of this collosal farty PvE bore that you have to grimly fight your way through?!

Are you dumb or someting? Am I missing something here? Or are you?

As a PvPvE mmo Aion is an extremely boring, linear one and is a total fail at lower levels. Utter fail because it's not what it says on the box. THERE IS NO PVP AT LOWER LEVELS. IN A PVP GAME. NONE. You grind giant clams ffs so you can maybe, sometime in the future, maybe, if you grind enough clams do the fecking thing that you bought the game for. How the HELL can be this considered a good thing?!?!?

I bought the damn CE preorder for Aion because the endgame looks a fantastic improvement over the failure that is WAR's endgame. However, the leveling process is a total failure as far as I'm concerned. THERE IS NO PVP IN THE LOWER LEVELS. Wtf?!! If that is normal to you guys in a game that is supposed to be PvP centred then I am really left speechless.  What the hell? No PvP in a PvP game? WHAT?

Even WoW, the king of PvE, has BGs from level 10 and you'll be able to level through them... It is simply ridiculous that the new PvPvE game has NO option of leveling through PvP, none whatsoever. And what is even more ridiculous are the fanbois defending this so blatantly obvious flaw in the design.

This is the first time in my mmo career that I seriously considered renting leveling services. IT IS STUPID, JUST PLAIN STUPID. 

a quick look at the most famous asian grinder "lineage 2"  from the same company (i think there is a trial period available and the client for downbload) could have spared you this "expierience".

as i had the "pleasure" to try out lineage 2 there is not much i expect from ncsoft :)

Originally posted by markoraos

Originally posted by Electriceye

Hey it's good that you liked the game, it's definitely got so much to offer, and it gets better the further you dig in.

 

Even though I feel that Aion's first 20levels are a bit lacking and should contain some form of PvP and some other stuff for variety etc. I can't understand how people can complain so feverishly against it, especially when compared to the recent dross or MMOs. It's mind-boggling. Complaining is one thing, hating is another.

They bring the game down on the basis that it's the same old boring quest grind in the early levels (which is the genre's problem, NOT Aion's)  and overlook its obvious qualities. How many recent games have launched with NO performance problem together with great graphics, meaningful crafting that works, easy-to-use and good looking UI, working economy, good itemization, engaging and responsive combat, story-driven missions and cut-scenes with voice-overs, great music, many cool and neat features that liven things up etc. etc. the list is actually TOO LONG for me to continue.

Nope, some people discard them, they easily overlook them so they can complain, crawl all over the devs spitting poison at them and showing the rest how tw*ts behave. They keep demanding more and more at every opportunity and wanting everything right NOW, never knowing when to stop... Disgusting really.

 

Oh I'm in beta atm and I can say plenty of good things about it... great graphics, great controls, story and setting are really original, PvPvE concept, the Abyss, flying, rifts.... all in all I'm more than satisfied with 90+% of what the game can offer and I'll definitely play it if I manage to get over my aversion to forced PvE grinding "so you can PvP". The game is really great and it deseves to suceed, no doubt about it.

However when I point out ONE thing that I percieve as a flaw I get immediately attacked that I'm trashing the game. Trust me, I really really want this game to succeed because I'm a real fan of living worlds in mmos and that definitely entails dynamic world PvP that mixes both PvE and PvP into a meaningful whole.. which Aions' endgame does seem to do well. If Aion were some average PvE grinder I wouldn't bother posting here because I wouldn't care. However since I do care about Aion and it's bold concept I'm naturally concerned about what I percieve as illogical and foreign to the game as it is supposed to be - the unnatural and contrived forced PvE grind at lower levels without any option to advance by PvP. Thankfully this can be easily fixed in the future and I certainly hope this will be the case sooner rather than later.

 

 

I wont play an MMO that doesnt offer PvP.  having said that, I am more then fine with learning the game and levelling up before jumping into PvP.  20 levels is nothing.  
 

As a grandmother, I'd just like to say that Aion gets my seal of approval. ;P

I'm not a Grandmother, but I play one in Aion, and it gets my approval as well...

huh?

Aion looks snazzy. Its not super innovative but its got alot of elements that lack in the current field of MMOs. It does seem to be missing some standard features, but it seems that they are rolling out more of those as time goes by. Will it fall into the Warhammer trap and drive players away with meaningless end game PvP? Hard to say.

Originally posted by markoraos

Originally posted by Electriceye

Hey it's good that you liked the game, it's definitely got so much to offer, and it gets better the further you dig in.

 

Even though I feel that Aion's first 20levels are a bit lacking and should contain some form of PvP and some other stuff for variety etc. I can't understand how people can complain so feverishly against it, especially when compared to the recent dross or MMOs. It's mind-boggling. Complaining is one thing, hating is another.

They bring the game down on the basis that it's the same old boring quest grind in the early levels (which is the genre's problem, NOT Aion's)  and overlook its obvious qualities. How many recent games have launched with NO performance problem together with great graphics, meaningful crafting that works, easy-to-use and good looking UI, working economy, good itemization, engaging and responsive combat, story-driven missions and cut-scenes with voice-overs, great music, many cool and neat features that liven things up etc. etc. the list is actually TOO LONG for me to continue.

Nope, some people discard them, they easily overlook them so they can complain, crawl all over the devs spitting poison at them and showing the rest how tw*ts behave. They keep demanding more and more at every opportunity and wanting everything right NOW, never knowing when to stop... Disgusting really.

 

Oh I'm in beta atm and I can say plenty of good things about it... great graphics, great controls, story and setting are really original, PvPvE concept, the Abyss, flying, rifts.... all in all I'm more than satisfied with 90+% of what the game can offer and I'll definitely play it if I manage to get over my aversion to forced PvE grinding "so you can PvP". The game is really great and it deseves to suceed, no doubt about it.

However when I point out ONE thing that I percieve as a flaw I get immediately attacked that I'm trashing the game. Trust me, I really really want this game to succeed because I'm a real fan of living worlds in mmos and that definitely entails dynamic world PvP that mixes both PvE and PvP into a meaningful whole.. which Aions' endgame does seem to do well. If Aion were some average PvE grinder I wouldn't bother posting here because I wouldn't care. However since I do care about Aion and it's bold concept I'm naturally concerned about what I percieve as illogical and foreign to the game as it is supposed to be - the unnatural and contrived forced PvE grind at lower levels without any option to advance by PvP. Thankfully this can be easily fixed in the future and I certainly hope this will be the case sooner rather than later.

 

 

Hey I'm sorry if you thought I was attacking you, because I wasn't. It was in general, the mini-rant was directed to the group of people who keep on trashing one part of the game whilst overlooking everything else. They take everything for granted and overlook all the positives thinking along the lines of "yea well, that's the minimum they had to do", which is true, however when compared to other recent games, it's relatively extremely good. You're actually closer to a fanboi than anything in my eyes lol.

I actually agree that the first 20levels are lacking as I said, and adding some sort of PvP goes a long way in rendering the early levels fun.

And I'm back, here is my link to a generic example of fighting a mob:

*no link cause youtube failed epicly*

I know its short, but thats cause fraps unregistered only allows 30 seconds of capture.

Anyways, I hope you like that.

So, continuing from where I left off....

The quests in Aion are structured so that there are main storyline quests, and then side quests. The main quests have interesting fmv movies and add to the fact that your a soldier, who can fly :P  In Aion if you want to lvl quickly you have to do the side quests, actually I think that may be the ONLY way to lvl as grinding mobs doesn't seem viable to me. Once I hit lvl 14 (oooohh I know, only one lvl from last night o.o) I realized I was now dying alot, and I found out why! I needed to start grouping. The mobs could easily one hit me, and I needed to try a group of 5 just to semi-survive. Now all you "But I play solo" kids are gunna start crying right.....about.....now......

But think about it! Aion in the end will be RvR, and what is the main component of RvR? Thats right Timmy! Group co-ordination! So I think the blokes at NCsoft are just trying to make you more group friendly before they throw you into the ring.

Lets see......what else did I learn today......Oh! DP, I really have no idea what it stands for but you earn it when you kill stuff! When I logout andI think when I die, it goes away. When I have enough, I do cool special moves. Problem is getting enough. Seems that now I've hit the part where team work is key, I have trouble retaining DP.

Well the day is far from over, and after leaving my group because I felt I was getting nowhere with the whole issue, I decided I would try and go for the easiest quests I have. Then I realized that those quests are in those areas where even groups were wiping......well I still have a few more loose ends to tie up in the quest department so maybe they will lead me to more hospitable grounds.

And thats about all I can think of in my update for now.

Anyways,

Thanks for letting me waste your time again :P

And now you know to take friends when you travel in Aion because:

DP simply means Divine Power.

Not only does DP give you the ability to use special skills, it also effects crafting.

The Chanters DP ability is kinda lame... 100% increase to attack for 30 sec.
same with the Cleric... gives you 50% of both a health and mana back .
Useful, if you remember to use them, but nothing mind blowingly cool.
 

Nice review, I liked the game personally aswell. My computer specs are NOT the greatest, after all, this computer is few years old. Still, I was able to run the game with mediocre graphics with no lag.

The quests were... the old stuff, but I enjoyed trying the new classes & customizing my character.

This surely does look promising.