Aion (Open Beta, Launch Day Info too!)

[Secundo]

Early PvP is awesome. Horrible grind is not awesome. Gankrapezz is not awesome either.

Aion is like WAR except worse grind and no early pvp.

[tmp]

What game has introduced low level PVP and NOT had it been a huge success? (the PVP I mean, not the game). I am thinking of Thid in DAoC, WAR T1 BGs and even T1 RVR. AoC was fun also.

Hard to determine, imo -- the advancement speed at early levels means generally people don't get to spend really much time in that particular bracket (so they're less likely to get bored with it) and the initial rush of newbies at game launch ensures the early PvP areas are packed no matter how large fraction of the players actually find the activity fun for more than a handful of matches/encounters.

[Ixxit]

I'm enjoying Aion more than I expected to, but the thought of rerolling terrifies me.  I'm already completely sick of the starting zones.  

This is definately an issue.  I played an Elyos warrior to 10, then decided I wanted to develop a Chanter (currently 14).  Playing the same content again was pretty brutal.  Also dabled on the Asmodian side, and despite the look, everything is pretty much the same.  I am suprised though, the first run through was pretty fun.

[Threash]

I'm glad i never roll alts or that would drive me nuts too.  Not having a separate bag for quest items blows too, specially since i give up on about half the quests.  Other than that im very impressed with this game and i predict its going to do incredibly well.

[Morfiend]

I have a feeling the grind is going to make a lot of people /ragequit. Hell, I am getting frustrated with it, and I am only level 17. I heard it doesnt really kick in until 25, and then again ramps up at 35.

Already at level 17 I need to kill around 350 mobs for a level.

[Tarami]

What strikes me as a really, really strange business decision is that they have grind in a tried and tested MMO. Typically, grind (in modern MMOs) is there to briefly keep the majority of players from reaching all the unfinished, broken stuff in the endgame. But that's not the case here, it has had its fifth patch, it's smooth, polished and possibly quite fun in the endgame. I understand that some MMOs patch in massive grind just days before release to give them a few more weeks/months to get all the needed stuff up to standards, but here...

How did they rationalize it? Did they feel it was that vital to the gameplay? Anyone who hasn't had their head in a hole in the ground the past ten years knows that most Korean MMOs are grindy as hell and that few people in the west appriciate that. Presumably a "Westernization" should take that into account. It has been said before, nobody has ever quit an MMO because they levelled too fast.

[Morfiend]

If they increased leveling speed by about 30% to 40% it would be a fantastic leveling experience.

[LK]

It's a fucking Korean game, man. Koreans start their days by grinding coffee in the most excruciatingly painful way possible because it wouldn't be worth it otherwise. 

[DLRiley]

You guys are soft they need to at least increase leveling speed by 80% before I'm interested.

[gryeyes]

Just got out of the noob zone,some of their chain quests are so fucking bullshit. Even using a bind spot in the most effective manner possible, still being forced to walk over the same circuit 4-5 times is pretty horrible. Thats something I liked about WoW, once you cleared a zones quests you could almost entirely eliminate the need to back needlessly backtrack. I think I would have hit level 10 faster by just grinding with someone to heal.

[LK]

I'm starting to get annoyed at artificial inflation tactics like travelling across an area of interest. Experiencing that pretty heavy with Far Cry. The objective is ALWAYS on the opposite side of the game space and 75% of my time is spent trudging across an uninteresting world.

[gryeyes]

Are you out of the first zone? And if so, does it get better?

[Falconeer]

Origine, a French legion on the [FRA] Suthran server, is by no means a new name to the MMO scene, having years’ worth of experience. Late Friday night September 25, 2009, it was the first Legion in North America and Europe to lay claim to a fortress in the Abyss.

[Ard]

You know, that's interesting, given that the Elyos on Siel have managed to take two fortresses this weekend, and have a much lower average level than the Asmodian side, and almost no one in the level 30+ range.  I really want to know how they did it short of exploiting, because I haven't seen any information on it at all.  They had a bunch of artifacts also, but that alone wouldn't make up for the missing levels.

http://na.aiononline.com/livestatus/abyss/sub?serverID=1

From what the other guild was saying, it sounded like they needed a level 35ish raid to accomplish it. 

[Tarami]

I'm starting to get annoyed at artificial inflation tactics like travelling across an area of interest. Experiencing that pretty heavy with Far Cry. The objective is ALWAYS on the opposite side of the game space and 75% of my time is spent trudging across an uninteresting world.

It's acceptable, but it's very reliant on the quality of the world. I don't mind in LotRO, for example, because I really like how that world feels and it makes sense to travel (by foot, horse) in it. There's a limit to it, but backtracking once or twice is no problem. In LotRO's case that's also much thanks to the way the quest hubs work and how they're placed; most of the time you follow a narrowish corridor through the zone and branch out and explore through doing quests. That means you're seeing new things and questing at the same time.

What I experienced from the Aion beta was that I ran through everywhere I was later supposed to go, or where I was going was visible from the quest giver. That was very disenchanting, I felt. The world was never larger than I could throw a rock from somewhere questy (that is, a point the game led me to through breadcrumbs) and hit its borders. Even worse, there was no reason to go back because essentially there wasn't something there I hadn't already seen from every possible angle. Maybe this gets better later on, but like in Age of Conan, this is a dealbreaker to me. MMOs typically start by feeling vast and unfathomable, then proceed to shrink as you learn your way around. Aion was feeling really tiny all the time.

[DLRiley]

I heard the pvp open things up mainly your asshole. 

[Senses]

If your only connection to the game of Aion was this thread, you would just assume it really sucked.  But i guess thats what happens when the people enjoying the game, are enjoying the game, and the ones that aren't come here to whine about it.  Seriously, when will we reach the point as a civilization where people who don't like something quietly abandon it and try something else, rather than spending as much time as possible vocalizing to complete strangers how much it sucks and why they shouldn't like it too.  Maybe someday a company will embrace the growing niche of 40-70 year old crowd by creating a game just for you.

[Gorky]

If your only connection to the game of Aion was this thread, you would just assume it really sucked.  But i guess thats what happens when the people enjoying the game, are enjoying the game, and the ones that aren't come here to whine about it.  Seriously, when will we reach the point as a civilization where people who don't like something quietly abandon it and try something else, rather than spending as much time as possible vocalizing to complete strangers how much it sucks and why they shouldn't like it too.  Maybe someday a company will embrace the growing niche of 40-70 year old crowd by creating a game just for you.

Damn, Senses has just made me feel how worthless I am, come on guys, if you don't like aspects of this game, just shut up and go do something else. Why are you discussing an MMO in the MMO forum in a discussion board? And Schild, listen to the guy above me, just shut down the site, STOP THIS MADNESSSS!!!111 

[DLRiley]

If your only connection to the game of Aion was this thread, you would just assume it really sucked.  But i guess thats what happens when the people enjoying the game, are enjoying the game, and the ones that aren't come here to whine about it.  Seriously, when will we reach the point as a civilization where people who don't like something quietly abandon it and try something else, rather than spending as much time as possible vocalizing to complete strangers how much it sucks and why they shouldn't like it too.  Maybe someday a company will embrace the growing niche of 40-70 year old crowd by creating a game just for you.

Actually quickly leaving the game in disgust is what most people do. 90% of the people who leave a game don't stop and check the forums to see if there complaints can be heard, appropriated, discussed about, or simply to troll. They leave, uninstall go back to playing whatever else they was playing. 10% of the people who left the game but have enough time to troll the forums generally was following the game since beta and are more than willing to resub if the one or two, in some cases ten features are changed. Of course that rarely happens so they can spend their time trolling till they do, ie forever. Most people who complain about a game on the forums and actually have played will probably still play it for a long stretches of time anyway all the while complaining about x feature or y gameplay. Some end up leaving the game mostly because their friends left who don't read the forums or simply don't post. Others leave out of personally disgust but that is again rare.

So if you DO hear a complaint about a game on the forums its either A. from a guy who never played said game, or B. From guy who did. If you heard a complaint from guy B. It is from someone who generally cares about the game and generally wishes to see it get better hence he complains. Sure you can say that guy B. is doing guys A. job of dissuading people from playing, but most likely if guys B. complaints are legitimate the games only holding on to a hardcore fanboys only player base anyway. However there is a high probability that guy B. IS part of hardcore fanboy group in which case the game is fucked. Look at AoC and WAR. AoC only listened to the non-fanboys of group B. and their subs are increasing. While WAR insisted from day one to filter out everyone but the hardcore fanboys who constantly whine about the wrong things that are wrong about WAR.

[Falconeer]

At level 22, while questing in Morheim, PvP officially started for me. I've been jumped on more than once and so far I managed to repel ALL the attacks (thank to the fact that the zone is PACKED with allies, hah). Adrenaline was there, and satisfaction and reward for the kill were also there. Fighting in the sky proved to be very cool too.
I am 23 now and 2 levels away from the Abyss. So far, Aion delivers. I wasn't expecting much and I haven't been disappointed, actually positively surprised on a few minor details. Now that Abyss and PvP are about to start I can only see the fun ramping up.

[Falconeer]

I heard the pvp open things up mainly your asshole. 

Quality posting.
Validation is hard, dude. Keep trying, eventually with slightly less informations about your past trauma.

[IainC]

If your only connection to the game of Aion was this thread, you would just assume it really sucked.  But i guess thats what happens when the people enjoying the game, are enjoying the game, and the ones that aren't come here to whine about it.  Seriously, when will we reach the point as a civilization where people who don't like something quietly abandon it and try something else, rather than spending as much time as possible vocalizing to complete strangers how much it sucks and why they shouldn't like it too.  Maybe someday a company will embrace the growing niche of 40-70 year old crowd by creating a game just for you.

I'm enjoying the game so far but there are a lot of areas where I think the design is poor. Should I have stopped playing instead despite the fact that, overall, I'm enjoying myself or should I not point these things out and pretend that enjoyment is a binary state where if I'm having fun then there can be no issues at all?

Please help me out here, I'd hate to think I was doing the internet wrong.

[amiable]

I have a feeling the grind is going to make a lot of people /ragequit. Hell, I am getting frustrated with it, and I am only level 17. I heard it doesnt really kick in until 25, and then again ramps up at 35.

Already at level 17 I need to kill around 350 mobs for a level.

'
Yeah I hit 18 and then I decided it just wasn't worth it.  The thought of slaughtering 100's of more turtles/flamingos/furries and the relatively low kill speed for a DPS class just sucked out all of my interest in playing this game.

[Jerrith]

I like Aion overall.  My main complaint is with some of the translation.  In particular, the combat text seems to have quite a few spelling errors and grammar mistakes that bother me.   I've got a templar up to 26 now (and an assassin at 13).  I liked the first group instance, NTC, quite a bit.  As for grinding, I've done worse...  At 24, I was getting just over 12.5% per hour, grinding non-stop.  At 25, the pace picked up quite a bit, because you can now grind in the Abyss.  It seemed like there was basically a 50% exp boost there, and while I did run into some PVP, it wasn't bad.  (2 deaths, 2 kills over a couple hours)

[DLRiley]

I heard the pvp open things up mainly your asshole. 

Quality posting.
Validation is hard, dude. Keep trying, eventually with slightly less informations about your past trauma.

From the guy who trolled around the AoC threads asking the "carebears" to join the ffa server? Falc your getting too easy.

[Ashamanchill]

The actual pvp in this game is fucking fun, once you find it. It just seems like you have to jump (or fly) through hoops to get to it.

[Threash]

The actual pvp in this game is fucking fun, once you find it. It just seems like you have to jump (or fly) through hoops to get to it.

If thats true this game will be a massive success.  As much as we bitch about grinding this is as fast leveling as any other game, i'm 25 now and its been 9 fucking days, there's people in my guild in their 30s.

[waylander]

We staged an organized PVP event using that quest mechanism, and had a blast and we're getting some steady PVP in the 20+ zones.  We're too busy leveling so we're saving a lot of Abyss stuff until later.

Personally I am level 19.5, I ran out of quests at level 18, and I've been grinding my ass off.  If you don't grind a little during your quest chains, you end up having to grind a bunch of mobs to push into the 20+ area.

To me this game isn't very solo friendly, and getting in grind groups isn't optimal unless you have 2+ hours in one sitting.  If this game was more solo friendly, the quest chains rewarded more gold/exp, and you had to grind less then it would be a much much better product. Considering that WoW has done nothing but speed up exp gain, its a bummer to go back to a game that feels like an EQ1 era grindfest as well as not being extremely solo friendly.

[Falconeer]

From the guy who trolled around the AoC threads asking the "carebears" to join the ffa server?

Oh really? You roll d20s to decide what kind of supid things post on the forum everyday ot you just ask mainly your asshole the magic 8-ball?


Dear DLRiley,

The most pathetic thing about you is that you think you are smart, but none of your trolling is ever smart, or fun. As I said, you have a problem with validation and because of it you keep assuming that as long as you can post and be obnoxious people will be forced to recognize your existence. You are the problem child that keeps being an ass in school because it's better to be scolded than ignored, the class clown that craves to be invited at parties to be mocked on, cause home alone sucks.

You are the worst troll around here, and a shame for these boards in my opinion, because you don't even try to debate with people. You only - a) make fun of everything while being terrible at it. Your oneliners are sad, your opinions completely random, and when you go over two lines we need a translator (that is quite funny actually), and - b) twist facts and make up things about other posters to use them for your very incorrect and disgraceful oneline-y humour. You can't even show us on the doll where you've been touched because you probably touched the doll everywhere until the doll itself got sick and touched you back with a hammer in all the sensible places. A few hits in the head would at least explain how can you be such a dunce.

It's obvious that you use f13 for therapeutical reasons, and I'm surprised you have not been banned yet since the last few lonely men who did it are not among us anymore. Since I'm easy then, I'll treat you accordingly (which means I am going to ignore you forever) as I am kind to people with issues. But remember, while a random flame on a faceless message board can make up for a few minutes of entertainment, professional help is what you really need.

Keep it up, Timmy. You're almost there.

Sincerely,

your friend Falconeer.

[IainC]

We staged an organized PVP event using that quest mechanism, and had a blast and we're getting some steady PVP in the 20+ zones.  We're too busy leveling so we're saving a lot of Abyss stuff until later.

Personally I am level 19.5, I ran out of quests at level 18, and I've been grinding my ass off.  If you don't grind a little during your quest chains, you end up having to grind a bunch of mobs to push into the 20+ area.

To me this game isn't very solo friendly, and getting in grind groups isn't optimal unless you have 2+ hours in one sitting.  If this game was more solo friendly, the quest chains rewarded more gold/exp, and you had to grind less then it would be a much much better product. Considering that WoW has done nothing but speed up exp gain, its a bummer to go back to a game that feels like an EQ1 era grindfest as well as not being extremely solo friendly.

I'm 20.5, only grouped once and there hasn't been a time ever where I've had no quests to follow. I have probably got 3/4s of a level or so from the repeatable coin quests in the Holy Grounds but other than that, everything I've killed has been for a quest or random travel aggro.

[waylander]

I'm 20.5, only grouped once and there hasn't been a time ever where I've had no quests to follow. I have probably got 3/4s of a level or so from the repeatable coin quests in the Holy Grounds but other than that, everything I've killed has been for a quest or random travel aggro.

Cool. I'll have to figure out what I'm doing wrong then, or I'm missing some NPC's somewhere.

[01101010]

I'm 20.5, only grouped once and there hasn't been a time ever where I've had no quests to follow. I have probably got 3/4s of a level or so from the repeatable coin quests in the Holy Grounds but other than that, everything I've killed has been for a quest or random travel aggro.

Cool. I'll have to figure out what I'm doing wrong then, or I'm missing some NPC's somewhere.

I have noticed a few "outta the way" quest hubs and random camping NPCs out in no man's land with a quest or two. That said, I just grinded a repeatable quest in Imp on water spirits from 19 to 20. at least i got my water spirit out of it as well as a ton of money. There are a few points in leveling where you just stop in questing and go on a mad killing rampage. Its those times when I like to cut myself after every mob.

[Sobelius]

I'm 20.5, only grouped once and there hasn't been a time ever where I've had no quests to follow. I have probably got 3/4s of a level or so from the repeatable coin quests in the Holy Grounds but other than that, everything I've killed has been for a quest or random travel aggro.

Cool. I'll have to figure out what I'm doing wrong then, or I'm missing some NPC's somewhere.

There is a slight XP optimization you can do just before hitting level 10, which might help stretch out quests/leveling rate farther along. The ascension quest opens at level 9 -- fulfill the requirements for any open quests you have up to that point but don't complete them. Do the ascension quest - you will get promoted to level 10 no matter how far you were into 9. Now turn in/complete any quests you had. This gives a nice post-10 bump in XP. Otherwise, you lose out on the free XP bump from the ascension quest.

That said, it may just be hard to avoid a couple of grindy bumps along the way to 25.

[Threash]

I don't see a whole lot of difference in between questing and griding, at least not with this type of quest.  The main difference is you spend time running rather than fighting, personally i LOVE the combat in this game so i find myself doing a lot more killing than questing, i do grab every quest because the big ass rewards on some of them are hard to pass up.  Find out from your local crafter about recipes for your level and try to grind mobs that drop the rare parts for them, that way your equipment doesn't fall behind.

[Morfiend]

I'm 20.5, only grouped once and there hasn't been a time ever where I've had no quests to follow. I have probably got 3/4s of a level or so from the repeatable coin quests in the Holy Grounds but other than that, everything I've killed has been for a quest or random travel aggro.

Cool. I'll have to figure out what I'm doing wrong then, or I'm missing some NPC's somewhere.

I would say what your doing wrong is grouping. I found this out about 2 pages back. What happens is this; If you group while you quest, since mob kills give the majority of the EXP you receive not the quest turn ins, you can rip through quests in a duo or trio, but in the end, you have far less exp, because the quest turn ins are so small, and there is not enough quests to alone level you with the exp cut you receive from grouping.

Im not sure if that made sense. Lets see.
 
Say you have a quest to kill 10 foozles. Each foozle is worth 1,000 exp. And the quest its self is worth 5,000. Solo you would have 15,000 exp total for that quest.
Now lets say you duo that same quest. Each mob is now worth 600exp. So you will finish that quest with 11,000 exp instead of the above 15,000.

Now do this 15 times and you end up out quite a bit of exp and no more quests to do. Also if you group with someone higher level than you, they will really suck the exp. Say you grouped with someone 2 levels higher than you, that would probably bring the exp per mob down to around 350. That would then bring your quest exp total to 8,500, which while faster than solo is significantly less total exp provided by that quest.

The moral of the story is, if you dont want to have to grind much, solo most of the time.