More info on comparisons

Originally posted by Rhoklaw

Ok, I recently read a thread that Aion is what DAoC fans are looking for since Mythic let us down with WAR. So with that in mind, I have a few questions.

1) DAoC was best known for its end game RvR. Is it true that Aion has Keeps / Towers that can be controlled and upgraded by guilds?

Yes, there is currently not much incentive to defend them, so next patch they are increasing the rewards for defending.

2) What is the drive behind Aion's PvP? DAoC had 2 relics of power for each of its 3 realms that you could fight over for control. Which in turn gave realmwide bonuses in both PvE and RvR. Does anything like this exist in Aion?

Bragging rights, rewards. Clans own castles and get rewarded for their ownership, you gain abyss points (for open world pvp only! so no arenas) which you also lose when you die, so you cant just farm them over time if you suck. You can buy gear, special consumables with them, and your PvP rank is based on your AP...so it sucks to lose them. As you increase in PvP rank (set amount of each rank per server) you get special abilities and items to make you stronger).

3) It was also stated that Aion has something similar to DAoC's Realm Abilities. Which are basically abilities purchased with points earned while killing enemy players. Is this true?

Not abilities, but gear, potions, consumables and things like that.

4) DAoC was smart enough to keep about 95% of its PvE separate from any form of PvP so that if you needed to level in peace you could and if you wanted to fight, there was plenty of action in the Frontier. Can you hit the level cap in Aion strictly through PvE or do you have to PvP at some point to reach max level?

You could do it with out PvPing, but it would be slower, the game is designed on PvP integrated into other parts of the games, even the end game WoW-style instances have 1 party from each faction inside so there will be competition. All of the best PvE mobs/bosses/spots are always in PvP zones...Some may not, but I love it like that.

5) DAoC had issues in RvR with Crowd Control such as, whoever mezzed / stunned the other person / group first usually won the battle. Is the CC in Aion overwhelming or did they manage to minimize it to shorter durations vs. DAoC's 9 sec stuns and 60+ sec mezzes.

I dont think there are mass CC's in Aion, so I wouldnt worry about that, most of them are removed by any damage, and there are lots of AoE's.

6) Classic Server DAoC, you know, the ones without the stupid ToA expanions BS usually had some lengthy fights that could last for hours and were entirely too fun the whole time. How long is the average battle in Aion for say an 6 vs 6 encounter and also for all out zergs.

Not entirely sure, PvP damage is 50% of PvE damage to encourage longer fights, there are also classes that have resurrection with 0 cooldown time, but 4 second cast time, however each time you die you rez you get a short debuff, that increases in time with each death (by 20 seconds). And you lose your buffs.

7) DAoC was fairly dependant on gear to be any good in RvR / PvP. How important is the gear in Aion when it comes to PvP?

I would say its just as dependant on gear as daoc, difference being the physical defence makes a very noticeable difference in damage reduction compared to most games I've played...its one of the first things i noticed while upgrading armor.

8) Leveling in DAoC was a snap which for PvP / RvR games is the best way to go. No one wants to wait 3-6 months to get into the meat and potatoes of the game. Aion has been labeled a grind, yet compared to Lineage and most other asian marketed games, its been rumored to be a lot less of a grind. Is this true and what is the level cap by the way?

Its probably equivalent to WoW in leveling up, 1-3 months to max depending on how much you play.

9) DAoC is like 1 of maybe a handful of games with the intelligence of allowing players to customize the color of their gear. Dyes in game were ranged from ugly colors at cheap prices to more desired colors for a good chunk of change. How easy is it to dye your gear in Aion and is it Merchant sold or drop only?

There are dyes, that are merchant sold, crafted, quest items, etc...rare ones are harder to get. You can also change the appearance of any (non abyss) piece of gear to look like another piece of gear...So you can make an awesome, but ugly sword look like a terrible, but nice looking sword.

10) Healers / Buffers in DAoC definately made leveling and RvR a lot easier, but potions were available that eventually gave every class easy access to healing and buffs. Aion supposedly has long timers on potions / bandages which means Healers are once again a high demand class, as they should be. Is this true?

Yes they are, there will probably be 1 healer and 1 buffer per party (of 6).

Originally posted by Rhoklaw

Flying doesn't bother me really but I kinda like not knowing my enemies level and vice versa. Keeps things interesting and provides sense of caution before charging into battle.

You are a very curious kind of fellow Mr Rhoklaw, will you buy me dinner and buy me a new dress pwease?

Originally posted by Rhoklaw

Hi Rhoklaw I am a bit tired so if you don't mind short answers to your interesting questions

Ok, I recently read a thread that Aion is what DAoC fans are looking for since Mythic let us down with WAR. So with that in mind, I have a few questions.

1) DAoC was best known for its end game RvR. Is it true that Aion has Keeps / Towers that can be controlled and upgraded by guilds? YES

2) What is the drive behind Aion's PvP? DAoC had 2 relics of power for each of its 3 realms that you could fight over for control. Which in turn gave realmwide bonuses in both PvE and RvR. Does anything like this exist in Aion? Similar but not called relics, each enemy keep has the equivalent of a relic. Remember though there is a third AI realm.

3) It was also stated that Aion has something similar to DAoC's Realm Abilities. Which are basically abilities purchased with points earned while killing enemy players. Is this true? Very much so but you also earn Abyss points to buy specialist RvR gear

4) DAoC was smart enough to keep about 95% of its PvE separate from any form of PvP so that if you needed to level in peace you could and if you wanted to fight, there was plenty of action in the Frontier. Can you hit the level cap in Aion strictly through PvE or do you have to PvP at some point to reach max level? Possible but hard to do this because AION is very much end game (RvR oriented)

5) DAoC had issues in RvR with Crowd Control such as, whoever mezzed / stunned the other person / group first usually won the battle. Is the CC in Aion overwhelming or did they manage to minimize it to shorter durations vs. DAoC's 9 sec stuns and 60+ sec mezzes. Crowd control is smart but not overwhelming Clerics and Chanters have de-buff abilities for CC.

6) Classic Server DAoC, you know, the ones without the stupid ToA expanions BS usually had some lengthy fights that could last for hours and were entirely too fun the whole time. How long is the average battle in Aion for say an 6 vs 6 encounter and also for all out zergs. Hard to say because no Chinese server has yet to advance to a level where there is evidence. Zergs have started to emerge but I am not in a Korean clan so had little experience. Language is a problem on Chinese servers even though Eng Language patch is available.

7) DAoC was fairly dependant on gear to be any good in RvR / PvP. How important is the gear in Aion when it comes to PvP? Exactly the same as DAoC, getting the right template for RvR is critical

8) Leveling in DAoC was a snap which for PvP / RvR games is the best way to go. No one wants to wait 3-6 months to get into the meat and potatoes of the game. Aion has been labeled a grind, yet compared to Lineage and most other asian marketed games, its been rumored to be a lot less of a grind. Is this true and what is the level cap by the way? No Grind Fest at all because it is mission based for every ten levels (e.g. 11-20). AION is nothing like Lineage. You get into RvR at level 25, but you can experience it earlier through something called The Rift which is based on a similar concept to Darkness Falls. Effectively you are temporarily allowed into enemy territory (differential levels for this 10-19, 20-29)

9) DAoC is like 1 of maybe a handful of games with the intelligence of allowing players to customize the color of their gear. Dyes in game were ranged from ugly colors at cheap prices to more desired colors for a good chunk of change. How easy is it to dye your gear in Aion and is it Merchant sold or drop only? Dyes have been introduced but as special drops, AION will introduce dyes into US/Europe release.

10) Healers / Buffers in DAoC definately made leveling and RvR a lot easier, but potions were available that eventually gave every class easy access to healing and buffs. Aion supposedly has long timers on potions / bandages which means Healers are once again a high demand class, as they should be. Is this true? Healers are in high demand for RvR and higher level PvE. You can craft potions and they also come with drops.

Thanks to anyone who can answer these questions as I am an extremely miserable but huge fan of DAoC which is basically on life support. Unfortunately, WAR was a complete letdown and so I'm looking for an MMO that I can pick up where DAoC left off. I was also extremely disappointed with WAR and delighted to discover AION. Will transfer to US/Europe servers when released in September, and have pre-ordered premier box

Originally posted by Ruckup

Ehh hate to burst your bubble but it is not and NCSOFT always releses content to Foriegn countires prior to NA getting it and does not do anything without Koreas approval.

 

Not true. Are you seriously suggesting that with Guildwars and all developments that NCSOFT run everything through Korea for approval?

Originally posted by Fadedbomb

Sorry, but NO.

 

AION is nothing but Lineage III, MOST of the DAOC community has already tried AION (see vnboards) and already concluded it's not worth their time. ENOUGH with trying to over hype this piece of garbage.

 

 

Origins FTW!!

Simple question Mr Faded? Have you played AION? and if so, to  what level? Second simple question, where is the evidence that the DAoC community have already conlcuded its not worth their time? I doubt very much that ex DAoC players have even played AION yet.

  Pure genius. You can fight in the air... unlike DAOC... It's elitist... unlike DAOC... 6 man groups... unlike DAOC... No PVE grind for gear (Trials of Atlantis anyone...)... unlike DAOC.
 

Yes indeed, you must have truly exercised your single brain cell. DAoC was the most elitist game ever (especially around RR levels, guild membership and RvR guild ranking) , and with the classic version and prior to ToA there are no PVE grind in DAoC since for RvR (which was pretty much the end game) it was down to obtaining a finely tuned template and having your gear crafted at extortionate prices. I wonder what RR level you actually achieved in DAoC? I did say UNLIKE DAoC with AION you have flight winged battles.

 

 What does that mean?

Other than that it seems like AION is the game WAR should have been. Too bad it has that weird Anime style, really hate that and probably the main reason why I wont like the game.

 

Gotta admit the anime thiing is a turn off for me too. I really do not want to be this guy:

Gotta cringe every time some Caucasian talks about something being "too 'Anime"

'Anime' refers to Japanese animation, and it consists many different visual styles, from Dragonball to Witch Hunter Robin. It wouldn't bug me as much if specific artists or studios were mentioned, but people tend to generalise too much.

Saying Aion is too 'Anime' is like saying Warcraft is too 'Disney'. Actually AION is not anime at all. It's much closer to Guildwars and I aint heard that called anime. And one thing is for sure the graphics are way ahead of Warhammer, Chronicles of Spellborn or AoC. There is huge diversity of charcter creation in Aion. The character creation system uses slider values similar to the one used in Oblivion. You can create a character that looks like Gandalf or Aragorn if you like.

There are 20+ premade faces but each face can be manipulated. Eye shape, eye height, nose shape, nose height, nose protrusion, ear shape, lip shape, jaw shape. The list goes on and on. So you could start with an anime charcter and turn it into anything you want. If your fancy takes you, you can make Barak Obama with angel wings!

Are these AION images anime?

http://img151.imageshack.us/i/aion0003j.jpg/

http://img205.imageshack.us/i/aion0011m.jpg/

Originally posted by Forumfall

I am also playing chinese aion. What he said is true.

Is my post count enough?

ha ha ... cute, thanks my dear. But *cough* what she said is true would be preferable :)

Originally posted by solareus

Aion is NOTHING like DAoC, and this is probably the worst comparison I've ever seen.

I offered some good reasons why AION is the best option for ex DAoC veterans and a couple of reasons why it is better than DAoC. I don't see ANY reasons at all from you why Aion is NOTHING like DAoC. Why bother with such a vacuous comment?

Originally posted by Kurush

We'll see. While I don't believe post count measures the merit of a poster, I do believe it can be a good counter-indicator toward simply being a shill. I'm not saying you are, but I am saying that I will likely take your opinion with a grain of salt. To date, you've had 3 posts. Two of them are glowing recommendations of Aion, and one briefly talks about DAoC.

Is this a new account? I could have sworn there was another poster with a very similar name on the forums not long ago.

My old account "Keridwan" which I had for 3 years was password hacked by a supposed "friend".  :(

Here are a few reasons why AION is the best option for EX DAoC Veterans. Been playing on the Chinese server (with English language patch) and this game is immense. Reached Level 38 with a Gladiator and have a Level 22 Cleric. Ignore all those who say its a PVE grind. This simply is untrue.

(1) AION has a RA system like DAoC. With passive stat boni as well as powerful abilities on timers. People get a real sense that their characters grow stronger through RvR. You can save up Abyss Points gained from RvR kills for uber gear.

(2) There is no PvE grind for gear and AION has DAoC-style crafting, and spellcrafting. You can craft or gain RVR reward gear for the "ultimate" template based on a mix of crafted and RVR earned gear.In AION there is real crafting. Armorcrafting, weaponcrafting with secondary skills like woodcrafting that allows you to reinforce keep doors and repair them.

(3) AION has 'The Rift' is in-game PVP dungeon that is very similar to Darkness Falls.

(4) The layout and size of the "inner keeps" is very similar to the keeps in DAoC RvR zones and BGs. As with DAoC, AION has destructable walls and seige weapons

(5) AION has 6x6 combat - this rules. It is possible for strong but differentially balanced 6 man groups (e.g  tank groups or mage groups) to take out 16 man and even 24 man groups.

(6) RvR End game is immense, offering all kind of merit, status and rewards for individuals, clans and realms.

(7) CC is smart but not overwhelming and can be dealt with by good healers and other classes.

(8) Like DAoC, AION is extremely elitist.

(9) Unlike DAoC you can RvR in-flight mode, liked a Winged Angel or a Demon :)

DAoC was streets ahead of anything on the market for RVR (pvp). The ultimate even with New Frontiers. Currently the best PvP is AION, not only can you have in flight PvP but there is also in-game 'The Rift' which is similar to DAoC's rvr dungeon.

Originally posted by haggus71

Is it just me, or does this review sound like it was given as a plug by the Goldfarmers' Union of China? 

Yes it is JUST YOU, I really can't stand cynic trolls like you, who genuinely believe you have a smart mouth.