Game Culture

Platform: PC Publisher: NCSoft Developer: NCSoft Rating: G Players: Thousands Genre: MMORPG/Fantasy Released: September 18, 2009

Website: http://na.aiononline.com/

Our first look at Aion revealed some of the basics of the game including races, tradeskills, classes and general gameplay up to level 25. After level 25, the game has the potential to really change especially if you’re a pvp player who enjoys hunting other players down in battle.

We’re almost at the level now where PvP gameplay is an integral part of the game and is actually one of the main motivators for playing Aion. So if you’re keen to find out exactly what game play for Aion is like after you get your ‘wings’, read on…

Once you’ve got your wings, there’s no turning back…

So you’ve reached the pinnacle level 25 and you’ve done the quest to enter the Abyss (you’re given three quests to choose from). You’ve heard all about how level 25 changes everything and you can finally PvP and kick some serious Elyos (or Asmo) butt! Afterall, what good are wings if you can’t kill people using them?

Having your wings is great but if you were anything like me and you didn’t read any of the previews of the game prior to release, you’re probably going to be just a little disappointed. You’ll get wings and you’ll be able to fly but none of it comes free. Your first initial set of wings will be free upon access to the abyss but everything else (including staying airborne) is going to cost you – big time.

Look ma, I can fly!

Flying comes with consequences, the biggest of which is running out of flight time in the Abyss. And unless you were one of the special people that forked out for the Collectors Edition of the game, you will have to pay something close to 1 million kinah to gain your upgraded wings after level 30. This in itself is a huge downer… especially when you’re in a group situation and you’re hunting Elyos or Asmo enemies. You’ll really feel it when you can’t keep up with your party because you either a) don’t have as much flight time as they do due to not having upgraded wings or b) you lack the money to buy pots (potions) that can boost your flight time.

As we previously mentioned, Aion is very much a traders game. If you’re not into selling and buying items you collect in-game on the broker, you’re going to find life extremely challenging in Aion without the monetary support to keep pushing to the next level.

PvP in the Abyss – all it’s cracked up to be?

In short, the answer is yes… and also no. In other MMOs such as Warhammer, worrying about having to fly to keep up with your pvp guildmates was not an issue so Aion is very much a unique game as far as PvP experience is concerned. You’ll be challenged with raiding parties of Elyos or Asmo hunting you down anywhere you decide to go in the Abyss (as it’s a freely accessible area for all players over level 25) which can be both exciting and extremely frustrating.

If you’re a lower level ‘noob’ trying your wings for the first time and grinding xp, you’ll be constantly reminded of the fact that it’s not only the wandering or respawning mobs you need to be careful of. If you forget to keep your eyes on the map (like a ‘radar’ that shows incoming threats as red dots) as you grind away, it’s likely that you’ll be jumped by a raiding party of Elyos or Asmo’s looking for easy Abyss kills to rank up their AP (Abyss Points). This in itself is not so great and could potentially be a flaw in the game much like the consistent class imbalances were in Warhammer.

I eat green berets for breakfast!

It would be nice to see NCSoft introduce something similar to the ‘Chicken’ affect in Warhammer which prevented high level enemy players dropping in on you at any time and pwning you without even a second thought. As this has happened to me many times, I can tell you that after dying consistently for an hour or so this way, you soon lose the taste to level up in the Abyss alone. It may sound like a whole lot of whinging but at the end of the day, keeping the game balanced will only enhance the player experience, not hinder it.

Revenge however, can be oh so sweet, especially when your raiding party has used a ‘rift’ to access the enemy territory. If a rift between the two areas opens up and you can locate the rift, you are free to access enemy territory. This of course offers plenty of opportunities for you and your hunting party to ‘gank’ (destroy) as many of the enemy as possible without them even putting up much of a fight. The element of surprise is particularly handy in such situations.

So although being consistently hunted in the Abyss has it’s downfalls, there are always ways in which you can get revenge if you truly feel the need. However, introducing level restrictions may help to make the game a little more balanced as far as PvP is concerned.

Advancing tradeskills

At higher levels, tradeskills can become ridiculously expensive. Players have reported to have spent more than 1 million kinah on one tradeskill alone just to level up. I find this extreme to say the least and overall, I’m not too impressed with the expensive cost of everything. Travel alone can be expensive and forget buying items – everything in the way of items is horrendously over-priced. Unless you’re into buying your kinah online illegally through a gold selling website, you’re going to find it difficult to even get close to rare items in the game (other than scoring one yourself from a raid or a group PvE situation).

LFL (Looking for Legion)

As a New Zealander playing primarily on a US based server, finding the right type of legion (guild/clan) has been tedious. At level 31 I am still without a legion to call home despite being offered to join a legion several times a day everytime I play. I’ve avoided it for the most part because joining a legion based in the US is going to be a major bummer in terms of playtime. Not to mention raids when you are 16 – 18 hours ahead of everyone else. It’s just too difficult to manage the time around other people located so far abroad. There are however some Aussie guilds on the server I play on so there is hope for me, yet.

Being part of a legion definitely has its rewards. You will more than likely find gear is easier to obtain through a legion, and grouping up with guildmates is far more enjoyable than having to go ‘LFG’ everytime you need help with a quest or want to level up in difficult areas. If you’re into raiding and PvP gameplay then you should definitely consider joining a legion. Solidarity in numbers will always have its advantages over solo gameplay, especially in the Abyss.

Imagine how much these wings cost...

Do all roads lead to Aion?

Aion is definitely a game developed with the true MMO gamer in mind. While casual MMO gamers may enjoy the experience of Aion, it’s doubtful whether the true essence of what Aion is all about could be enjoyed without dedicating a serious amount of time to the game. That means that unless you’re really sure of being able to be ‘hardcore’ enough to play on a consistent basis, you’re probably not going to get the full enjoyment out of what Aion has to offer.

So it’s safe to say that after my experiences in the game, Aion is a very good MMO but not without it’s potential ‘flaws’ or perhaps areas for improvement. On that note though, it’s good to see that the Aion community has a direct link to the developers of the game via the official website and even better to see that NCSoft listen when the gamers speak. The gold spamming issue we spoke of in the first part of this review has more or less been resolved and the queuing system that was set up on some servers to help with the overloading has too. As far as the future of the game is concerned, it’s really anyone’s guess but I’d like to harzard one and say that Aion has a fairly bright future if the NCSoft staff continue to listen and work with the Aion community on future improvements.

Game Culture Rating:

[starreview tpl=16]