Aion (Open Beta, Launch Day Info too!)

[Nebu]

Sorry to place what is probably a stupid question in here, but how are the tank classes playing. 

That's a very good question.  One I'm interested in as well, particularly as far as PvP is concerned.  I know that the beta hasn't allowed much access to pvp yet, but a severe problem in pvp balance lies in the balance between ranged and melee dps classes.  With the addition of flight, being a melee player could really be a nightmare. 

[DLRiley]

Basically same old same old.

[tmp]

Thanks for that, it doesn't seem to offer a whole lot of options sadly.

Well, getting 5 additional skills picked from ~15 available (some more were added since that guide was posted as level cap was raised to 50) does allow for some decent customization. Although obviously some skills will be deemed must-haves but that's par for the course.

[Malakili]

Sorry to place what is probably a stupid question in here, but how are the tank classes playing. 

That's a very good question.  One I'm interested in as well, particularly as far as PvP is concerned.  I know that the beta hasn't allowed much access to pvp yet, but a severe problem in pvp balance lies in the balance between ranged and melee dps classes.  With the addition of flight, being a melee player could really be a nightmare. 

Keen has a post here: http://www.keenandgraev.com/?p=2625 in which he shows some low level PvP footage as a tank class.  Looks kind of meh to me, but it might tickle someone's fancy.

[Falconeer]

Stigma System Guide

Thanks for that, it doesn't seem to offer a whole lot of options sadly.

No, not really. 4-5 skills out of 10-12 sounds piss-poor. If they were class altering would be one thing. If they are not, it's my biggest MEH so far.

About melee classes and flying PvP, there's an option you can turn off but it's on by default that automatically zeroes in on the target of your current action. If someone flies away, as long as you have him/her/it targeted you should auto-follow him until you are in range to unleash your attack.

Malakili: that PvP video looks bland to me too, but I still have to see a good PvP video, from any game. My vote, of course, goes to some AoC ones but they are still in the meh-zone.

[DLRiley]

Just realized that their are tank classes. Am I suppose to expect this game to be balanced?

[Falconeer]

Someone define troll for me, pronto!

And:

Flight was the most interesting part of the pvp.  It’s going to take a lot of practice as a melee to get good at this (for me anyway) because of the three dimensions.  Players can really avoid being hit by flying up, down, left, right, and juking like crazy.  Being rooted in the air is a huuuuge problem because your flight time is being eaten up and you can’t do anything about it.  Lots of CC in Aion and it really shows even at level 10.  DAOC players will feel right at home here but those who hate CC will loathe it.  A group of 6 utilizing crowd control will easily stomp 2x+ their numbers like the oldschool roaming 8-mans in DAOC.  Anyway, back to flight.  This is where ranged really shines and where I hope that melee’s get more useful abilities.

This sucks.

[Numtini]

The only customization you get in WoW is one of three cookie cutter specs. Yes, you could put your 70 points into some new unique variety. But more or less, you're a prot-war, a shadow-priest or whatever. So 5 skills could be large or small depending on how significant they are. And the fact they're drops could add diversity as people take what they get or it could end up as a camp-a-thon.

However, arguing about what should go into those specs is an important part of WoW's out of game that you play at work on the forums and that builds a lot of hype and interest in the game. Even when 90% of the players just go and copy the stock specs off of wow-wiki anyway.

[tmp]

That's a very good question.  One I'm interested in as well, particularly as far as PvP is concerned.  I know that the beta hasn't allowed much access to pvp yet, but a severe problem in pvp balance lies in the balance between ranged and melee dps classes.  With the addition of flight, being a melee player could really be a nightmare. 

It seems that at least some melee classes have skills which can pull enemy from range right in front of them. There's also sprint skills and such.

[Nebu]

Flight was the most interesting part of the pvp.  It’s going to take a lot of practice as a melee to get good at this (for me anyway) because of the three dimensions.  Players can really avoid being hit by flying up, down, left, right, and juking like crazy.  Being rooted in the air is a huuuuge problem because your flight time is being eaten up and you can’t do anything about it.  Lots of CC in Aion and it really shows even at level 10.  DAOC players will feel right at home here but those who hate CC will loathe it.  A group of 6 utilizing crowd control will easily stomp 2x+ their numbers like the oldschool roaming 8-mans in DAOC.  Anyway, back to flight.  This is where ranged really shines and where I hope that melee’s get more useful abilities.

Ouch, that does suck.  Having played melee in DAoC, it seems to be similar to water fights in NF.  A good group can exploit the z axis in crazy ways rendering melee pretty worthless and allowing ranged classes to have a field day.  This will be problemmatic with cc being available as well. 

As for the abilities that melee get, I'm getting visions of Magus pulls in WAR.  Noone likes them.  Let's hope that the devs at Aion find a better implementation mechanic. 

[Falconeer]

Having played the game, I like what I see in KeenandGraev's video.

[BitWarrior]

Wow Draegan you seem real excited to play Aion. I'm counting on you to take one for the team.

Basically same old same old.

Just realized that their are tank classes. Am I suppose to expect this game to be balanced?

Troll more.

[Nebu]

Having played the game, I like what I see in KeenandGraev's video.

Looks like DAoC with a z axis and stylized graphics.  The UI is also cleaner.  

Can anyone recommend a fansite where I can read more about the specifics of the mechanics and class balance?  

[DLRiley]

I'm sorry I stopped being Charlie brown when I was 14.

[Draegan]

They are adding more stigmas apparently in a few of the newer releases.  Customization comes in the form of manastones.  You can make yourself have a magic defense sets or evasion sets or crit sets or whatever.

Templar's are your sword and board tanks.  They have a pulling ability I think.  But they are very useful in mass PVP.  Gladiator's are awesome with giant two handed weapons.

As for websites, aionsource is the biggest community but it's like reading WOW general.  But you can find some decent posts if you have patience.

I also read the beta boards as well.  Other than that.  I have no idea.

[01101010]

Having played the game, I like what I see in KeenandGraev's video.

Looks like DAoC with a z axis and stylized graphics.  The UI is also cleaner.  

Can anyone recommend a fansite where I can read more about the specifics of the mechanics and class balance?  

http://www.aionsource.com/

Is fine if you can get past the kiddie talk and the anti-WoW bitching. Seems a lot worse on those boards than before, but this is just about the time for the suck to start on a forum for a new game.

And as for CC and flight... Nothing better than waiting for someone's flight timer to run out and CC them high enough so they are in for a nice fall from grace. I used to love drowning asshats in WoW.

[BitWarrior]

..They have a pulling ability I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-xwNeuNwaM&

Skip to 0:34. (Borat Voice) Very nice.

[Ashamanchill]

Lots of CC in Aion and it really shows even at level 10.  DAOC players will feel right at home here but those who hate CC will loathe it.

Uh oh.  I didn't get to play DAOC, so my only other experience with completely ridiculous CC was with Mythic's other title.  Maybe it's just me, but can we have one titile of late where CC isn't the deciding factor in who wins in PvP? 
That being said, I will still be trying this one and hoping for the best.  It certainly gets a gold star for realease date.  It doesn't have to be good, it just has to not badly suck after the first month is up.

[Draegan]

I think he was being a little dramatic with the CC stuff but I never played end game pvp so who knows.

[Morfiend]

Is it still possible to get in the Chinese open beta?

[Draegan]

Is it still possible to get in the Chinese open beta release?

yes

[WayAbvPar]

I'm sorry I stopped being Charlie brown when I was 14.

Fine. You don't want to play. So get the fuck out of this thread and quit being a cockholster.

[DLRiley]

I'm sorry I stopped being Charlie brown when I was 14.

Fine. You don't want to play. So get the fuck out of this thread and quit being a cockholster.

So your telling me that only the people interested in buying this game when it launches can post in this thread?

[Falconeer]

 I know he's trying to get banned so hard, but can't you people make him happy just this one time?!!!

[UnSub]

I'm sorry I stopped being Charlie brown when I was 14.

Fine. You don't want to play. So get the fuck out of this thread and quit being a cockholster.

So your telling me that only the people interested in buying this game when it launches can post in this thread?

You need to wait 30 days post-release for the honeymoon period to wear off. Then the bitching can begin in earnest.

[NiX]

So your telling me that only the people interested in buying this game when it launches can post in this thread?

We get that you don't like it, stop shitting up the thread.

[BitWarrior]

Well, the game now has official release dates set.

North American Release: September 22, 2009
Europe Release: September 25, 2009

Additionally, and this I'm personally excited about, they're releasing on Steam (and their own site apparently, plus Direct2Drive).

[sam, an eggplant]

Yeah, but the steam and direct2drive versions will either cost exactly the same or cost more than the retail SKUs, and when you buy from gamestop or amazon etc you get a free hat or slow mount or whatever. As well as a physical box, a DVD so you don't have to spend an entire day downloading 20+ gigabytes interrupting your interracial midget bukakke torrent empornium downloads, and maybe even a laughably inaccurate manual.

[Ashamanchill]

and maybe even a laughably inaccurate manual.

Only if I'm lucky.  The translation errors in that alone could be worth the box price.

[Tale]

To anyone who got an Aion beta key as compensation for Tabula Rasa shutting down - apparently it's also a live key that entitles us to the Aion digital download for free, plus preorder benefits and more.

The email they sent us seemed to imply we only had one beta weekend's access, but according to the old Planet TR forums, we have access to all beta weekends without having to preorder. When Aion launches we can get the client free from our PlayNC accounts, plus we get 30 days' free access and in-game items.

Someone posted that they received this follow-up email. I didn't, but my "TR victim" key seems to be the same deal: http://www.planettr.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11072&page=7

As a dedicated Tabula Rasa subscriber, you were promised a cornucopia of Aion benefits:

Aion beta event access

Aion preorder benefits

30 free days of Aion, including digital client


To be specific, you will receive all the same benefits as someone who has preordered the Aion game:

Access to all closed and open beta events

Headstart access

Character and server preselection access

Several in-game digital items, including the Black Cloud Hat, Amulet of Lodas,
and the Ancient Ring of Wind


For complete details on the preorder benefits, see http://www.aiononline.com/preorder.

You will also receive 30 days of Aion game time and the digital client.

An access key for all of the above has already been applied to your NCsoft Master Account. If you haven’t done so already, all you have to do is log in to your NCsoft Master Account and activate your code! The next beta event is this weekend, starting on June 19, 2009.

[Draegan]

Thats cool of them.

[BitWarrior]

That's quite the compensation, considering they realistically could have done absolutely nothing and no one would have noticed/cared. From an outside perspective, they seem fairly confident in this game.

[Tale]

I think we (former players) would still rather have a Tabula Rasa server up and the client sold to the shooter-heavy audience on Steam. The order of events was they closed their MMOFPS-ish title TR, then announced all their remaining games were going onto Steam, the one place that would have been a good environment for selling TR.

[Lantyssa]

If I can find an old TR box and enter the key, can I get the compensation package?

[NiX]

Theoretically you shouldn't be able to find a game box, but if you did, I'm sure they've stopped accepting keys for it.