Aion - The Tower of Eternity

[Draegan]

Isn't that game click to move?  I hate games that use it and will never play  one.

[Signe]

You didn't even bother reading the beginning of that stuff Schildy posted!   

[Ratman_tf]

They have Storks! I guess Blizzard can shut down WoW now.

[Soukyan]

I want to play, too.  It's Korean, it's grindy and has PvP.  My sort of thing, really.  Now and then I even miss Lineage!  Maybe I'll play that for a few weeks or so.  I love it at Christmas time, too.  You get to kill Frosty the Snowmen! 

We must have been separated at birth, Signe. I pine for Lineage every now and again and used to play it once a year for nostalgia, too. Weird.

[Hoax]

Sounds sort of s3xy to me too, what is the beta status?  No I didn't read everything Schild posted.  Just pvp, devil people, flight combat sort of like fps and then I was like 

[Mrbloodworth]

In one of the videos they showed aerial combat, as every one int he game seems to get wings... Seems impressive.

[Falconeer]

Weather is confirmed to effect the environment AND... Skills? Should be interesting. I would imagine weather effects Flight, too, but that's just my speculation.

I believe I recently read an interview with the lead who said the weather thing had to be dropped. He said it will probably affect the mobs or something but had to drop it from affecting players. Will look for the source.

However I am definitely in, as I am cheap and sold as soon as the word PvP is there more than once. But I wonder how come some of you are interested. Do you really believe that it will play so differently from Lineage 2 or RF Online?

[damijin]

Sadly, the large number of comparisons to L2 make me want to play it more.

No collision detection with players though? How is close quarters PvP supposed to be as inconvenient as possible? :/

I guess castle sieges will still be alright without spending most of the siege humping an orc who's blocking the doorway.

[Draegan]

Why would an L2 comparison make you WANT to play?

[Vinadil]

Because spamming power pots and taking 500 hours to reach max level is good times!  If you took the level grind and gear dependence out of L2 I actually enjoyed some of the other parts of the game.

[damijin]

Because spamming power pots and taking 500 hours to reach max level is good times!  If you took the level grind and gear dependence out of L2 I actually enjoyed some of the other parts of the game.

L2 was relatively low on pot-spam until recently, and even now it's only a PvP thing (though still stupid). RF Online was a big pot fest though, I don't understand why Koreans put that shit in PvP games. Do they not have macros in Korea? Do they not see that adding a feature where whoever can press a button fastest is going to give an advantage to whoever automates pressing that button?

Oh well.

[Falconeer]

They went a step further. In Archlord you can set a threshold to let the computer auto-pot you. You have a slider, so let's say you want to be potioned at 30% health? Just slide it there and it's done. Progressquest, huh?

[qedetc]

Why would an L2 comparison make you WANT to play?

Because L2 is great.  One of its greatest features is click-to-move.  I love click-to-move and so does everyone else.

I had some lengthy post written out the other day on another thread here defending L2 because haterzzzz wus all up on its grill.  I decided not to post it though.  I figure, if you couldn't appreciate the ultimate euphoria that was early Lineage 2, then you're already probably in a state of complete despair, and I shouldn't go around making you feel even more miserable by reminding you of just why the game was great.

[Rendakor]

Forget the green there qedetc?

[qedetc]

Yes.

[Falconeer]

I figure, if you couldn't appreciate the ultimate euphoria that was early Lineage 2, then you're already probably in a state of complete despair, and I shouldn't go around making you feel even more miserable by reminding you of just why the game was great.

What are you, the flame-fu champion from another site coming here to validate your street cred as a forum warrior by blatantly looking for a cheap fight?
You need to be a little more subtle on f13 I guess, or some old school ignore-fu will just make you blend with the background. Despair is up to you.

And this is coming from someone who appreciated and appreciates Lineage 2 much more than he likes to admit.

[UnSub]

Subtle? F13.net? Home of the term 'cockstab'?

[Xanthippe]

Nevermind.  I fell into the sarchasm again.

[Cryo]

Will probably be my next MMO, it looks georgous and some of the features are really interesting (flying combat, PvPvE).

But then, i'm a L2 fan so i'm biased.

[Falconeer]

No, you are biased because you are a NCsoft snitch. 

[Cryo]

No, you are biased because you are a NCsoft snitch. 

Hehe that too, but I was already itching to play it way before that 

[AcidCat]

Though the characters look kind of generic, the environments look amazing. If nothing else, I love exploring a cool looking world, so I'm definitely looking forward to this game.

[Simond]

Incidentally, the level grind to cap is supposed to take approximately a month according to my sources*
Now whether that's a month /played or a month real time hasn't been elaborated upon but either way that's not exactly in the L2 league....


(*Random bloke posting in the SA Games forum.  )

[Rendakor]

A month played is harsh. EQ2 at launch harsh.

[Falconeer]

Woot! 4 completely original classes! Worth a press release!

Wednesday 19th December/... Massively Multiplayer Online RPG fans can look forward to a wealth of career opportunities in NCsoft’s forthcoming Aion: The Tower of Eternity next year, with gamers able to literally choose their destiny thanks to the game’s two-tiered character class system.

Characters begin their journey by choosing one of four base professions – Warrior, Scout, Mage and Priest. This initial tier of development impacts on everything from a character’s strength, to their combat prowess, to their magical abilities, ultimately shaping the players actions throughout the game. However, higher-level players can tailor their character further still, with each profession offering two advanced classes, bringing the total number of character types available in Aion: The Tower of Eternity up to eight.

While the initial choice of character class will largely depend on each player’s personal style, the ability to develop a character through the advanced class system ensures that players have all the tools they need to create a character that is unique to them.

The Warrior
Bold, brave and possessing immense physical prowess, Warriors excel in close-quarter combat. Strong performers in a wide range of situations, Warriors are relatively easy to master and when fully realised can unleash a spectacular range of physically devastating skills.

Depending on how players prefer to approach combat, Warriors can specialise as either Gladiators, who concentrate on dealing damage through brute force, or Templars, who combine fierce fighting with defensive chants and techniques.

The Scout
The Scout combines great agility with swift attacks. Scout players require a deft and accurate touch to get the most out of this tricky class, however the rewards are great and offer the greatest variety in play style of all the basic classes.

Scouts that specialise in ranged combat develop naturally into Rangers, an advanced class equally adept in the use of blades and traps. For those Scouts who prefer to stay hidden and strike from the shadows, the Assassin class is the perfect choice of advancement.

The Mage
Mages compensate their weakness in physical combat with the ability to launch devastatingly powerful magic attacks. In addition, Mages must learn to divert and evade the enemy so that they’re able to attack from the relative safety of range.

As Mages advance, so their mastery over the elements of water, air, earth and fire increase, their choice of advanced class determining how that mastery is manifest. Spiritmasters can summon and control elemental spirits, while Sorcerers channel elemental power into fearsome magical bolts and missiles.

The Priest
Spiritual warriors, Priests can use healing and self-protection spells to excel in melee combat, and launch powerful ranged magic attacks too. This makes them not only useful support characters in a party of adventurers, but also powerful combatants in their own right.

Priests that specialise in healing and protecting their allies naturally progress to the advanced class of Cleric, the ultimate support class. Alternatively, Priests can become Chanters, pious warriors that boast both healing and ability-boosting powers.

Players will be able to experience all eight character classes for themselves while exploring the incredible world of Atreia when Aion: The Tower of Eternity launches later next year.

Oh no wait, 8 classes. Double the woot!

[rk47]

yawn. 

[Falconeer]

Don't get me wrong. I know I'll be playing Aion. But that stuff produces major yawning. And fuck the balance, I like lotsa classes.

[Koyasha]

* The weapon and armor system is fucking neat. Not only can they be dyed like Guld Wars, but if you find a weapon that has a look you like and a weapon later that has higher stats, it's possible to change the new weapon's look to the one you like. This means it's going to be damned hard to judge opponent's strength, I bet, since you can't just be like "drac bow o shi-". It'll be cool to see how this pans out.

For this alone I love the game.  I cannot count the number of times (in any games with actual visual distinction) when I have been forced to upgrade out of a kickass looking piece of armor into something I don't like the look of because it is just THAT much better.  That's one of the main things I liked about Phantasy Star Universe, except here, it sounds like you'll actually have to earn (read: grind/quest/level up to) the kickass stuff.  You just get to keep the look if you like it better than the next level of equipment.

I note it only specifically mentions weapon...I really hope this applies to armor.

If this game turns out to be essentially L2 with flying and less grind, I'm totally there.

[Signe]

One of the most fun new things about EQ2 is the appearance screen.  I love that I can have the gear that I want and still look like I want.  Of course, it means a lot of people will run around wearing Santa hats and pumpkin masks.... 

[Draegan]

Click to move?

[Koyasha]

* Air combat is confirmed to be very fast paced; it'll be WASD movement and mouse look only, much like a FPS. Normal movement can be click or WASD, whichever you like.

Read, people, read.

Not to mention...how, exactly, would you make a click-to-move game in which you can fly?  You can't click to define a point in 3d space unless you're limited to a single plane of motion.

[Draegan]

I goty off the lazy train and read the info.  Looks interesting.  Like the PVP aspects.

[Draegan]

Here's a review I found on the game.  Apparently a closed beta stage just ended a short while ago.

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/3586-cb-review-aion-season-1-aftermath-thisisgame-com.html

Source was a Korean website, this forum had it translated.  Lots of Engrish.  Some cool pictures.

[Simond]

Some of that review was mildly amusing - "Most of the members of each class are mostly the same! PvP is based on gear and levels! The sides are balanced against each other!"

Well, yeah. Welcome to diku-derivatives. Enjoy your stay.

L20 in twenty hours played. Hmm. Wonder how badly the levelling curve spikes upwards as levels increase?

[Draegan]

They mentioned something like 1-2 months (not /played) to reach max level and play time described as something between casual/hardcore.  Who knows what their definition is of that.