AionSource.com - Articles - Hellrose's Articles

Twelve Lords of Aion

Hellrose — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:19:29

A bit of lore to change up the pace. Enjoy.
Note: All names are temporary and are likely to change. At this time I've presumed that all the 'Lords' are male.. because, well, they're supposedly 'lords' and lords are generally male. However many of the images definitely seem to hint that they're female -- I just don't have a way of confirming this because the Korean descriptions are genderless.
EDIT: Empyreal changed to Empyrean. 'Ode' changed to 'aether'. Thanks lyana <3
----------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Official Korean Aion Site
----------------------------------------------------------------

The Drakens were Atreia's first beings, but as they grew stronger and prouder they challenged Aion and became a destructive force to Atreia itself. In order to protect the Tower of Eternity, twelve Empyrean Lords were sent as guardians against the Draken warriors who had named themselves the Balaur. After a long war however the Tower was destroyed, and the world of Atreia was split in two.

A brief introduction to the twelve Empyrean Lords:
(Note: These names will also be the names of the Servers for open beta -- in Korea and presumably in the west also)

[Guide] Mage Classes (Sorcerer, Spiritmaster)

Hellrose — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 13:31:25

Guide to Mage Classes

----------------------------
last updated: Oct. 11th 2008
This is a compilation of info found on various Korean sites as well as forums.
Key skills are based on forum posts of players identifying the most often used skills.
Note: All skill names are temporary, and are likely to change in the official release of the game.
----------------------------

1. Introduction

Mages are at once powerful and fragile, using crowd control skills or summons to keep enemies at a distance while using ranged magic spells to attack. If a high-risk offensive class that requires a lot of skill juggling sounds fun to you, than this path is your fit.

You will start the game in the Mage class with a spellbook as your weapon. At level 9 you will be given the Daeva quest, during the course of which you will be able to choose between the Sorcerer and the Spiritmaster as your specialization path (this is the same quest that gives you your wings). Upon completing the quest, your level will be set automatically to 10 in your new class.

The Sorcerer specialization follows a traditional mage path, further focusing on high damage magic spells and crowd control abilities such as sleep and shackles.
The Spiritmaster learns the ability to control spirit summons, and is the only pet controlling class in the game.

----------------------------

2. Mage Base Stats

Strength: 90
Constitution: 90
Agility: 95
Accuracy: 95
Intelligence: 115
Spirit: 115

----------------------------

3. Gear

Armour
Both mage classes can only wear cloth armor, and that's all they should want to, since cloth armor provides the MP and concentration bonuses essential to both classes.

Weapons
While Sorcerers can only use spellbooks, Spiritmasters will have the option of using orbs which have higher attack stats than spellbooks overall.

(Note: In CBT3, stigma skills allowed players of any class to gain mastery of any weapon or armour, so yes it was possible for a mage to wear heavy armour and swing 2H swords around if they so wished. However this is very likely to change for open beta as the lead dev expressed that there were too many balancing issues with this feature. )

Legend
3 Stars: Primary
2 Stars: Useful in certain situations
1 Star : Almost never used
No Star: Unequippable

----------------------------

4. Sorcerer

Playstyle
Damage Dealer, Crowd Control
Sorcerers deal high amounts of magic damage, and use numerous shackle and sleep skills that keep their opponents at a distance.
Comparable classes from other games: WoW Mage, L2 Spellsinger/Sorcerer

Popular Builds
Sorcerers are all about the magic damage, so if you've got the ninja skills to keep your fragile self alive, then by all means max it out. Aion's resident 'glass cannon' class is especially weak to physical attacks though, even more so than you may be used to in other MMOs, so you might decide to trade in some of that damage for HP.

1. Max Damage Build
Gear: +Intelligence Cloth Armour (bonus available on certain Abyss armour)
Enhancements: +Magic Spell Damage
Cooking trade skill highly recommended for +Intelligence food

2. Survivability Build
Gear: + HP Cloth Armour (bonus available on certain Abyss armour)
Enhancements: + Max HP, + Max MP
Cooking trade skill highly recommended for +Intelligence food

Key Skills

See Sorcerer skills on the Wiki

----------------------------

5. Spiritmaster

Playstyle
Damage Dealer
Spiritmasters summon elemental spirits or imbue it within themselves, and is the only summoner class in Aion. They are unique in their role flexibility which can change depending on the spirit they use, but unless in a small casual party Spiritmasters will most likely take a damage dealing role.
Comparable classes from other games: WoW Warlock, L2 Warlock/ES/PS

Popular Builds
Because so much of their abilities come from summons, Spiritmasters are the least gear-influenced class in the game.
With the smallest HP pool in the game however, PvP players will want to get some padding on their health bar to outlast their enemies.

1. Survivability Build
Gear: + HP Cloth Armour (bonus available on certain Abyss armour)
Enhancements: + Max HP
Stigma: Enhanced Health

Summons

1. Fire Elemental

2. Wind Elemental

3. Earth Elemental

4. Water Elemental

Key Skills

See Spiritmaster skills on the Wiki

----------------------------

6. Current State: CBT3

Current State of Sorcerers

Sorcerer players have always been expressing mixed opinions on the class since the beginning of closed beta. Many players complain of mana downtimes and feel frustrated that their low HP and cloth armour make them easy targets in ganks and mass PvP.

Most will agree, though, that in PvP Sorcerers are second to .. well, second to rangers.. :o
In any case, the sorcerer is a strong PvP class. The combination of sleeps and nukes, or shackles/pushbacks and nukes (depending on your playstyle) mean that as long as you're paying attention and constantly watching your back, you have a very good chance at coming out on top.

Mixed reviews also mean that Sorcerers haven't been on NCsoft's radar as a class to neither nerf nor boost -- which, as Spiritmaster players would tell you (and L2 vets will tell you) is a positive thing.

Current State of Spiritmasters

The story of Spiritmasters is a bitter one, from their CBT2 glory to their CBT3 demise.
It's hard to imagine that in CBT2, Spiritmasters were regarded as the most powerful class in Aion - fast to level, great in PvP. The summons always had terrible AI but their high damage and utility made up for the lacks.
Unfortunately, the nerf hammer came down hard, and in CBT3 they were reduced to becoming the least played class in the game. Worst part was, the summons still had the IQ of 'Starcraft dragoons' (whatever that means.. I'm like the only Korean to have never played SC).

It's hard to say what open beta will look like for Spiritmasters. Although NCsoft's lead developer has said that there will be changes, balancing for summoning classes is notoriously tricky and it's likely that NCsoft will tread carefully as to not repeat their mistake in CBT2. As possibly the most complex class in Aion, however, there will always be players that are up for the challenge that this class presents.

----------------------------
Sources: Gamemeca, Thisisgame, Gamechosun, Playforum

Post-CBT3 Developer Interview

Hellrose — Sun, 5 Oct 2008 19:52:21

A lengthy interview with Aion lead developer Yong-chan Ji; it summarizes all areas of concern that remain since closed beta phase 3 (CBT3) and gives insight into the direction Aion is headed for open beta (OB).

-------------------------------------------------
Source: Playforum
Writer: Arusin
-------------------------------------------------

It's already been a month (note: this article was posted August 14th) since the 3rd wave of Closed Beta has ended. The Abyss - the key update of CBT3 - was met with mixed reviews. On one hand there was the underlaying concept which felt fresh and exciting; on the other hand were all the issues that come with an untried feature. How is the Aion dev team interpreting all the tester feedback they've received from CBT3, and more importantly, what will they do with it? We had a chance to speak to Yong-chan Ji, the lead developer of Aion, to get a glimpse into Aion's future.

Aion's Lead Developer Yong-chan Ji

Q: Hello.
A: Hello.

Note: Epic intro.

No More Closed Beta Tests

Q: At the last media event we were told that there will be an Open Beta by Q4 this year. Can you share any details on that yet?
A: Details still haven't been decided on, but the plan is still set to start an open beta test between October and December of this year. We will not be holding any more closed beta tests.

CBT3 : A Success

Q: Now that CBT3 has been over for some time, how would you rate CBT3? Did it meet your targets in terms of what you wanted to test?
A: As a beta test it was extremely satisfactory. Many areas of the game that we thought might be problematic, or we weren't sure of, were clarified. It's providing a lot of help and direction in our development.

Changes in the Abyss

Q: The Abyss was the center of attention in CBT3. In the case of Fortresses, the rewards were Legion-centric and many players that weren't a part of large legions felt somewhat left out. What can these players expect for open beta?
A: We're taking much of those concerns into account; changes will be made so that Fortress sieges are more accessible. For one, fortresses will no longer be owned by a single legion, but by multiple legions or groups of players. Our benchmark is to make sure that all players could have a meaningful experience in a Fortress siege, even in a small group with few friends. Secondly, siege objectives will be modified so that it's no longer as simple as taking down the siege boss. We'll be adding a system that gauges various player efforts on the siege, and reward those players appropriately.

Q: Many players found that the 9 Fortresses were all too similar. Can you comment?
A: We're aware of this, in fact, I'd go further and say that I agree. The differentiating elements were there but they were either undiscovered or unused. We are working at exaggerating these elements so that they have more of an effect.

Q: Another disappointing factor was that all the siege bosses were the same. Will this be changed?
A: We will not be changing their appearance, but we will add variances to their behaviour.

Q: Siege weapons seem to be underpowered, especially considering the difficulty in crafting them. Can we expect changes in those as well?
A: We haven't been able to gather proper metrics for siege weapons yet, since they weren't used very often. But we do plan to address some of the issues that were brought up, such as the duration time being too short.

Raising Balaur

Q: The Balaur were met with a lot of criticism. It seems they lack the AI to be a true third faction.
A: We're seeing two sides of the issue with the Balaur. On one hand, players that do not have ownership of a fortress are finding them simple; on the other hand, fortress owners are complaining that they come attacking their fortresses far too often. Some of the Balaur units are strong enough to take on the siege boss 1:1, so that is part of the second complaint. We will find the right middle ground between these two sides and optimize the Balaur as a balancing faction that has enough flexibility to change based on the server's dynamic.

Q: So the fact that the fortresses occupied by the Balaur are easy to take over - this is on purpose?
A: Balaur occupied fortresses will always be easier than player occupied ones, but we are still tuning the difficulty. For example, the current system allows for stronger Balaur units to spawn depending on the server's faction balance - we will be exaggerating this system to strengthen the effect.

Optimization

Q: Are you making progress on dealing with lag issues in mass pvp?
A: This is something we're working on on an ongoing basis. We're also discussing the idea of having a 'mass pvp mode' where we would sacrifice some of the visual elements for smoother gameplay.

Special Stigma Skills

Q: We saw armour and weapon items as well as consumable items as Abyss rewards in CBT3. What else can we expect in open beta?
A: We will be adding stigma items as rewards, which players can use to get new skills. In addition to rewards gained from gathering Abyss points, we'll be adding unique drop-only stigmas. Skills acquired through these stigmas will be especially useful in the Abyss. They won't add massive amounts to your damage or anything like that - but instead they might allow you to put a group of enemies to sleep for 1 minute, for example. These skills will be PvP-focused rather than PvE, so a unique stigma skill will be a highly coveted piece of content for core players.

Class Balancing

Q: What changes do you foresee in terms of class skills?
A: Starting with Templars, we're eliminating the cooldown time on the 'Prey' skill to make it more useful against ranged classes. Gladiators will get additional skills that add to their AoE specialization, such as AoE knock-back skills. Scouts are all about the single target kill, so we'll adjust their skills to further accentuate that specialization. By giving each class more of its own identity, we expect players to enjoy the game in a much more strategic manner. For example, we expect to see Templars pulling in the Gladiators using 'Prey' and Gladiators countering with a knock-back - and this is just within the Warrior classes.

Q: CBT3 saw the rise of a strange hybrid build: polearm-wielding Assassins... and they were unreasonably effective. How is the dev team dealing with this?
A:First of all, we are eliminating all stigma skills that essentially allowed players to wield any weapon they wished. We're switching direction instead to stigmas that heighten the unique qualities of each class. You won't see any polearm Assassins in open beta, at least for a while.

Q: The reason polearm Assassins were so effective was because of knock-back and push-back effects from the polearm, and these effects seemed excessive even on Ranger skills. Will we see a change on these effects?
A: Crowd control effects such as knock-backs and push-backs were proccing far too often, even just from regular hits. This is going to be fixed. We'll reduce the chance percentage of these effects significantly on regular hits, but the chance will be heightened in class skills. Crowd control skills will generally always be a result of explicit control, rather than random chance.

Q: Any more thoughts on class balancing in CBT3, and further balance changes?
A: The two most common reports we received in CBT3 was that the Spiritmasters were too weak and that heal amounts were to small. The healing issue was brought up quite often internally so I played a cleric extensively myself, and I came to agree with the complaints. Some players commented that Priest classes needed stronger offensive abilities, but just from looking at their leveling speeds, we're being careful in balancing them upward in that aspect - in CBT3 Clerics and Chanters leveled faster than any other class. In any case, all these issues are being looked at holistically. Cleric's heal amounts will be increased, and Spiritmasters will be improved. Like I've already mentioned, all changes will occur to reflect the unique qualities of each class.

XP, Drops and Rewards

Q: Hunting in the Abyss areas gave significantly more XP than in other areas, can you explain the reason for this?
A: The Abyss is a much riskier hunting area because of possible PvP attacks, so it makes sense that the rewards are greater. This is a design direction we will continue to take, although we will adjust the balance of risk and reward continuously. For example, our estimates of the difficulty for elite monster areas were off - XP and rewards in these areas will be adjusted upward.

Q: Elite areas were found to be extremely difficult due to linked mobs. Was this intended?
A: Those areas were far more difficult than we had accounted for, and will be adjusted. They will still be party-oriented, but reasonably so.

Q: Aion features prices and taxes that fluctuate with Faction control, but we found that some items differ in price even when the tax and currency rates are the same. What causes this?
A: Prices can differ based on the area. Generally, item prices will be higher in areas where PvP warfare takes place, so it comes down to player choice. Players can choose the convenience of buying close by or they can take the time to travel for lower prices.

Q: Crafting was deemed useless in CBT3 due to drops in the Abyss. Will this change in open beta?
A: Yes, definitely. More crafting-only items will be added, including Drakonic items. The cap on crafting levels will also increase.

Accuracy vs. Critical Rate

Q: Of the player stats, does Accuracy have an effect on the rate of critical damage bursts?
A: No, accuracy has no correlation with critical rates, and only determines how often physical attacks miss or land. The critical rate bonuses indicated on certain Accuracy scrolls are additional bonuses that have no relation to the accuracy bonus itself.

Quest Content

Q: We were told that there will be a new area added for open beta. Can you tell us about the area?
A: Both factions will be able to explore new areas with level 30~50 content. These areas have storylines that integrate to regular areas, as opposed to the Abyss storyline, and feature plenty of hidden content. We're also adding areas with level 20~25 content - and these areas do not spawn dimensional rifts, and therefore will be safe from PvP.

Q: Players have been commenting that there wasn't enough quest content available in CBT3. How much more can we expect for open beta?
A: We still have a large amount of quest content waiting to be implemented, and we're continuously adding to the pile, always with variety in mind. This is more a matter of time than anything.

Racial XP Gap

Q: There was a difference in XP levelling requirements for the two racial factions. Will this change?
A: Yes. The change was there for testing purposes so that we could gauge player patterns for some of the content. We experienced some backlash from it, and since we're done testing what we needed to test, that gap will be removed for open beta.

Aion to Return: Bigger and Better

Q: Thank you for giving us so much of your time. Any last words for the fans?
A: I'd like to thank all the closed beta testers for their feedback. I can personally promise that all the input from the fans are being taken into account. At this point, Aion is already ready to go in terms of quantity of content. We now aim to reach the quality we've been striving for with the help of our testers.

[Rumour] Aion Open Beta: Why it will happen before Nov. 13th

Hellrose — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 13:43:07

I'm translating this by request, but please keep in mind this is one dude's opinion. It is in no way official..
It's still an interesting glimpse at what the Korean market looks like around November though.
--------------------------------------
Source: Thisisgame
Writer: GoryuhMoosa
--------------------------------------
We can easily predict that NCSoft's next MMORPG Aion will open for public beta testing by November - November 13th at latest.

November 13th is not only the day highschool students finish their university entrance exams, but it's also the first day of Gstar 2008 (largest game convention in Korea). Since it's rumoured that NCSoft is planning a large Gstar event for Aion which is said to include an 'open beta experience', it is most likely that open beta would start by this time.

Also, if NCsoft doesn't begin their OB by the beginning of November, Aion will have to go head to head against WoW's expansion title 'Wrath of the Lich King' which begins service on November 18th.

NCsoft is declining to give us details, saying only that "it is difficult to quote a specific date still. We are carefully considering our options."

Meanwhile, Blizzard Korea will not be participating in Gstar this year, concentrating instead on their homegrown Blizzcon which takes place in Anaheim California on Oct. 10th.

[Guide] Warrior Classes (Gladiator, Templar)

Hellrose — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:02:08

Guide to Warrior Classes

----------------------------
last updated: Oct. 08th 2008
* Reworded +Dmg Enhancement to + Physical Attack
This is a compilation of info found on various Korean sites as well as forums.
It should provide a good starting point for those of you browsing Aion info for the first time.. and if you're a regular, well, hopefully you'll learn something new too.
Note: All skill names are temporary, and are likely to change in the official release of the game.
----------------------------

1. Introduction

If you like the taste of melee combat and enjoy being the first to jump into a fray, this is the path for you. Warrior classes are the most resilient in the game, possessing the greatest amount of strength and constitution.

You will start the game as a Warrior and begin your adventures equipped with a 1H sword as your first weapon. At level 9 you will be given the Daeva quest, during the course of which you will be able to choose between the Gladiator and the Templar as your specialization path (this is the same quest that gives you your wings). Upon completing the quest, your level will be set automatically to 10 in your new class.

The Gladiator can wield a wide range of weapons, but mainly uses 2-handed weapons to deliver AoE melee attacks.
The Templar is the primary tanking class of Aion, and should never be without a shield.

----------------------------

2. Warrior Base Stats

Strength: 110
Constitution: 110
Agility: 100
Accuracy: 100
Intelligence: 90
Spirit: 90

----------------------------

3. Gear

Armour
Warriors equip chainmail armour before specialization, after which they switch to plate armour.
Shields in Aion do not add to defense stats, but are used instead for shield blocks (% based) and shield skills.

Weapons
Currently the most popular weapon for Gladiators is the polearm. Templars stick to the usual tanking combo of sword and shield.

Legend
3 Stars: Primary
2 Stars: Useful in certain situations
1 Star : Almost never used
No Star: Unequippable

----------------------------

4. Gladiator

Playstyle
Damage Dealer, Off-tank
Gladiators will see their role shift to output more damage, but with the option of moonlighting as off-tankers or substitute tanks.
Comparable classes from other games: WoW Arms Warrior, L2 Warlord/Destroyer

Popular Builds
Although most players will want to focus on enhancing the Glad's damage dealing ability, more experimental players may want to take advantage of the Gladiator's large range of wield-able weapons and try hybrid builds.

1. Damage Dealing Build
Gear: Polearm/2H Sword
Enhancements: + Physical Attack, + Crit Rate

2. Tanking Build
Gear: 1H Sword/Mace + Shield
Enhancements: + HP, + Shield Rate

3. Dual Weapon Build
Gear: 2 x 1H Sword/Mace
Enhancements: + Physical Attack, + Crit Rate
Stigma Skill: Dual Weapon Mastery

Key Skills

See Gladiator skills on the Wiki

----------------------------

5. Templar

Playstyle
Tank
Templars are the ultimate tanks of Aion, using the shield for both defense and offense while protecting its party members.
Comparable classes from other games: WoW Prot Warrior, L2 TK/SK
View Templar Gameplay Video

Popular Builds
Templar players will want to keep their shields close for shield stun skills and blocks, though PvP players may want to have a 2H in their inventory for initial gank attacks.

1. Tanking Build
Gear: 1H Sword/Mace + Shield
Enhancements: + Shield Rate, + HP

2. PvP Build
Gear: Swap between 1H Sword/Mace + Shield and a 2H Weapon
Enhancements: + Physical Attack, + Crit Rate
Stigma Skill: Prey

3. Offensive PvE Shield Build
Gear: 1H Sword/Mace + Shield
Enhancements: + Physical Attack, + Crit Rate
Stigma Skill: Increased Critical Rate

4. Offensive PvE 2H Build
Gear: Polearm/2H Sword
Enhancements: All + Crit Rate
Stigma Skill: Increased Critical Rate

Key Skills

See Templar skills on the Wiki

----------------------------

6. Current State of Warriors - CBT3

As you might be able to tell from the user ratings, Warriors took a hard hit in popularity in CBT3 with the introduction of the Abyss RvR area. Melee classes were found to be at a disadvantage in PvP (which makes perfect sense when players have the option to fly off) and the few stigma skills that were added to neutralize this (Templar's Prey skill, for example) came with long cooldown times. The slow attack speed both Warrior classes suffer from didn't help either, and at the moment Warrior class forums on Korean sites are flooded with complaints.

Class balancing is on the way for open beta however. In a post-CBT3 dev interview, Ji mentioned some of the Warrior changes to come, a positive sign that NCSoft is actively addressing widespread player concerns. For the Templar, the cooldown on the 'Prey' stigma skill may be removed entirely, while Gladiators will see more knock-back AoE attacks in their arsenal.

PvP balance challenges aside, Warriors remain a staple choice for PvE as the only tanking branch of Aion, and should be the unquestionable first choice for players that enjoy protective roles in parties.

----------------------------
Sources: Gamemeca, Thisisgame, Gamechosun, Playforum

The Best and Worst of CBT3

Hellrose — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:02:45

This is my fav of the CBT3 review articles so hope you guys enjoy it too.
Please keep in mind that most names (of skills, items etc.) are inaccurate, since atm all I can do is take a best guess at how NCsoft will anglicize them.

-----------------------------------------
Source: Playforum
Writer: Arusin
-----------------------------------------

This is a summary of the best and worst moments from my 20 days of Closed Beta testing. I wanted to keep it lively and somewhat objective - so I took into account various opinions I'd come across on forums... though I couldn't help but be subjective at parts. ^^

Best List

Best 1. The graphics... not bad, not bad at all.

Aion's always enjoyed hype over its eye-catching graphics since the game was first announced. What's different in CBT3 is that character customization was much improved - it finally felt like my character had an identity! Many complain simply that all the characters are too... well... too pretty, so as long as you don't have problems with having a 'pretty' character you're in good hands. If NCsoft could diversify the models to include, say, a stocky wrestler type, or a creepy old man, that would be the icing on the cake.

I would say the environment art was also well done. Lots of detail, especially in the cities; beautiful forests and lakes.. it all helps you sink comfortably into the game.

Best 2. Easy breezy interface

Aion's interface is polished, and gives you plenty of freedom in the placement of different windows. The chat window is especially flexible as you can configure it to display exactly the information you want. Quest descriptions were accessible, and the flagging feature on the map is a nice touch. The skill descriptions were puzzling at times, but other than that, the interface is more than adequate.

Best 3. Combo system - FTW

A unique feature in Aion's combat is the combo system. Each class has their own set of combos to play with and overall it's a system that adds a lot of fun to what could easily become a chore. The feature is easy to learn as well, which is a big part of what makes it fun in the first place. Combo activation is chance-based (% depends on the skill) so if you really wanted to, you could spam a single skill until a combo opportunity opens up. As an added element of strategy, some combos are branched so that players will have to make split second decisions during a fight to get the right results.

Best 4. Ready, set, PvP!

PvP has definitely improved since the last CBT, although mass PvP always has a way of coming down to class balancing so some classes may feel better about it than others. But generally I think we can agree that the gap between melee and ranged classes has been dealt with to some extent (although the gap is still there) and damage amounts in PvP have been brought down so players can at least have a chance to react before a fight ends.

Of course there are still those times when you quietly burn in rage as you watch your opponent fly off to safety, and get frustrated from ridiculous knock-back effects certain pole and bow skills have, but the game seems to be headed in the right balancing direction and there's no doubt that more improvements are in the works.

Personally I'd like to see Aion develop more arena-based PvP activities as well, and in addition to the existing arena... perhaps an aerial arena without flight limitations? It's a thought!

Best 5. Flight of the Chicken

Flight is another key feature of Aion that's been enticing us since the beginning. Not just flight, but aerial combat. With the addition of the Abyss in CBT3, we finally had a chance to see aerial combat in its full glory - and yes, we did experience much of that glee we expected in high-speed flight chases.

Aerial combat is an area that still needs a lot of work though. Some of the skills are limited to ground combat, and there are other such restrictions that aren't properly communicated so the flow between air and ground feels clunky and confusing. But separation between two travel modes being inevitable, perhaps aerial-only skills should be added so that we at least don't feel less powerful in flight. In anycase, these are small complaints when put in perspective of how unique the feature is in general.

A 'glide' mode has been added to flight in CBT3, and most players are responding positively to it. It's hard to explain, but the mode just feels.. right, so I found myself using it often, even when I didn't necessarily need it.

As an Asmodian, I always got a kick out of Asmodian players calling the Elysea 'Flying Chickens'. In CBT3 though, the Asmodians got new wings that look like black variations on Elyos' wings... and thus 'Burnt Chickens' were born.

Best 6. Spawn Markers ('Kisks')

CBT3 saw the birth of a new consumable item - 'kisk's. Kisks let you mark a temporary resurrection point so it's an important item to keep with you for missions, PvP, you name it. The system is not without its problems but NCsoft's already mentioned that they're working on improvements.
(Please fix the bug that lets me place kisks in out-of-reach places..)

Best 7. Stigma - because variety is the spice of e-life

The stigma system is a great feature that adds that lil' somethin to your character. The system still needs balancing but it's a great start that allows players to further differentiate their play styles.

Best 8. Parody quests

Some of Aion's quests will have players scratching their heads going "where have I seen this before...". OK, maybe they won't quite scratch their heads, because some of the references are plain obvious - like the Lord of the Ring references, or Gyunu and Jiknyuh (Korean version of Romeo/Juliet) messenger quests. These quests add a quirky tongue-in-cheek humour to the game that might just make you smile.

Best 9. Weapon Enhancements

Aion gives us not one, not two, but THREE ways of adding to our weapons. Three different kinds of stones add either an effect to the weapon or modify its stats. The success of these enhancements are based on chance, so you might shed a tear once in a while (in my case, often) but the success rate isn't ridiculously low and the penalty for failing isn't enough to make you tear your hair out. Basically, the system was one that I enjoyed rather than dreaded.

Worst List

Worst 1. Lag

An issue every MMO faces is the problem of lag, but the problem is amplified when the game revolves around mass PvP. Again in this CBT, many wars broke out in the Abyss, and every time I scrambled to bring down my graphics settings. My poor computer barely kept up.

NCSoft maintains that this is an optimization issue that is being improved continuously so I hope for the best in Open Beta.

Worst 2. The Balaur

The Balaur NPC race launched with hype and soon fizzled. The AI of these guys borders on embarrassing and as it stands, neither player factions are able to take them too seriously. At least NCSoft is now aware of the challenges they face with PvPvE. We can only hope that they find a working solution by open beta.

Worst 3. Abyss environment art

Although I still think Aion's graphics are superb overall, the newly revealed abyss left much to be desired. I understand from the narrative that it is meant to be a bit of a void.. but honestly, voids are no fun. It won't make or break the game, but it did definitely break my experience.

Worst 4. Mob difficulty... here comes the train!

Mob AI and spawn rates still need a lot of tweaking. Especially problematic are ones with linked aggro. As an example, I've had times where an attack on a single mob aggroed all the mobs I saw on screen at once. Even with a full party these kind of situations were impossible to deal with. This is a tweaking issue however, and I'm sure changes will be made.

Worst 5. Different XP pools - why?

Elysea had bigger XP requirements compared to Asmodians for no known reason, attracting complaints from some players. Either the requirements should be the same for both factions, or there should be a systematic/story reason for the differentiation.

Worst 6. Crafting - a lost art

Aion has a typical crafting system that involves choosing a crafting path and gathering material for items, but CBT3 all but eliminated any need for training crafting skills. The reason is obvious - with the addition of the Abyss and Abyss items, it became much faster, easier and entertaining to acquire abyss items rather than tediously gather and create a crafted one.

Crafting skills that are oriented towards consumable items and accessories - such as alchemy and cooking - are still popular, but ones that build armor and weapons have been rendered useless. In the future however, NCsoft will be introducing more crafted items (Drakonic items) so we'll see how that shifts the crafting system.

Worst 7. Quests - just can't get enough

Lower levels are a breeze in Aion, and following quests are enough to have your levels (and time) fly by. Higher level quest content is still sparse though, and as we leveled we found less and less to do to gain XP, resorting to farming mobs and repeatable quests (a.k.a. the old fashioned way).

Having the option of farming as opposed to questing is good. Having to farm because of lack of quests is not so good.
Lets hope that open beta comes with a lot more higher level content.

Worst 8. Spawn more rifts!

Even with the Abyss around, players still fought in wars that broke out around 'Morheim' and 'Eltenen' areas. Problem is, rifts to get to these areas were far too hard to track down. Plus there was also a balance issue of Elysea having easier access to wormholes (through quests etc.) wheras Asmodians were often left to their own devices. Level requirements placed on wormholes were also unintuitive. Since a lot of the quests require players to traverse through rifts, and since the wars that occur through them are fun to begin with, allowing easier access to rifts seems like a pretty good idea.

Worst 9. Minimap

Aion's minimap is, in a word, useless. The 'map' aspect of the minimap is so indiscernable that it really doesn't give me enough information to be of much help. A crisp, more detailed map is needed, and if we could adjust the size and direction of the compass, that would be great too.

-----------------------------------------

Thank you Arusin for a great summary.
Note to those of you porting translations over to other sites: please add a link to the original post, as I often go back and correct mistakes whenever I find them. Thanks.

Aionsource meets Playforum

Hellrose — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:14:15

(Yay, first translation... on Aionsource anyway!)

So, as most of us know, Mark had a chance to chat with some peeps at Playforum.net (a Korean game news site). It seems they were just as excited as he was over the bridging of East and West. Here's the gist of what went down -- from their perspective.

Warning: This post is heavy on recursive cross-referencing, also known as referring to self in the third person.

-------------------------------
Source: Playforum
Reporter: Hah Young Lee (Josh)
-------------------------------

It should first be noted that AION hasn't quite been revealed in North America or Europe. The promotional websites are up, but the community there have yet to experience the closed beta craze. Even NCSoft Europe could tell us only that they are targeting an early 2009 closed beta for that region.

A screenshot of www.aionsource.com, the largest AION fansite in North America

Yet still, serveral fansites have sprung up over the game and are enjoying healthy numbers of visitors. Of these sites, Aionsource.com is by far the largest, and at the Leipzig Game Convention I had the chance to speak to Mark who acts as the administrator of the project. He'd flown all the way from Florida USA to get a glimpse of AION.

Mark Wilhelm (www.aionsource.com's administrator and webmaster)

Playforum: Your website is based out of USA. What motivated you to travel all the way over to Germany?

Mark: I'm sure I will get a good chunk of information at next week's PAX, but I doubt the content would be as diverse as what I can experience here. At the moment this is the biggest gaming event as far as AION is concerned so I didn't want to miss the chance to be a part of it. AION has proven to feature the same great quality graphics that we've come to expect from Asian MMO games, but also promises the action and the systems that are needed to make up a great game. Many online gamers including myself are excited over the title.

Playforum: AION hasn't opened for beta yet in North America or Europe. How are you able to collect the information you need for the fansite?

Mark: I try to find a way to participate in the Korean beta. I can swap out some of the files to display the interface etc. in English. I can't translate the quests though, so it's not optimal. We get the rest of the information from Korean game sites. There are programs that translate the articles to a certain extent, so although it's not perfect we can get quite a bit. Playforum is one of the main sites that provide us with information. We're constantly surprised at the amount of information Korean sites are able to pump out.

Playforum: What is your impression of AION so far?

Mark: I believe it will be a game that strikes a balance between PvP and PvE. THe PvE content seems to follow WoW's questing style, but with a deeper narrative. The PvP system remind me of Dark Age of Camelot, like the two systems are brothers. I'm personally looking forward to the latter aspect of the game.

Playforum: I'm told that Aionsource is the largest AION fansite in the west. What is your greatest focus in regards to running the site?

Mark: A lot of players in the west have been burnt by past NCSoft games, and presume AION to be a hardcore grinding game like Lineage2. This is something that we're actively trying to change through our site.

Playforum: Do you have a word for the Korean fansites out there?

Mark: I'm very much impressed with the information we find on Korean fansites. I'd love to try for a joint project with them at some point in the future.

Mark writing that I might write an article on him on Playforum... that article which is now wrote.

-------------------------------

Now some words of thanks to Playforum's writer, presuming he visits back:
이하영님 기사 감사드립니다.. 제가 영문으로 님 이름 바꿔 올렸는데요, spelling틀렸으믄 말씀해 주셔요.
참고로 저는 앞으로 이 사이트의 한국정보 번역을 맡기로한 헬로즈입니다. 마니 부탁 드립니다~ *꾸벅*