Aion, SWTOR, and other upcoming MMOs

[Seiga]

This is a fundamental design flaw that Mythic persistently has built into the game. Individuals get rewarded for behavior that hurts the realm (since losing the scenario by points counts against us in VPs for capping the zone). No rational game designer would let something like that occur. And this game is full of such inconsistencies. That is what I mean when I say that Mythic doesn't "get" community, and that this game is far worse than DAOC in that respect.

I don't think they do it deliberately, as some sort of perverse test of overall realm will. I think they are just plain incompetent on this crucial aspect of MMO design. Their design staff consistently shows that they don't understand people in general. I think it simply never occurs to them that they need to think consciously about how game factors will make people behave, and how that affects community.

A lot of folks share the same issues. Now it's all about waiting for the next big game. Whether that be Aion or SWTOR. After playing some Beta the yesterday, I'm fairly convinced that Aion will be WAR killer (pending actual PvP combat in the Abyss). Quests are fun there, not concrete, but fun and Arial combat provides a third dimension combat that hasn't been seen in a while. Downside is that there are no scenarios/battlegrounds.

It's true, the design staff doesn't understand what the playerbase craves. Due to job cuts/layoffs and other issues with EA, WAR just doesn't have the support that they need to really make viable competition in generating subscriptions. Did you know that EA Proxies their WAR servers? Indeed they do. At the moment they can't afford to provide new support or new servers to maintain this game and we will see the second major downfall come September.

I could go on and on about Aion and SWTOR, but i'll save that for another topic :D .


~Seiga.

[Vasan]

A lot of folks share the same issues. Now it's all about waiting for the next big game. Whether that be Aion or SWTOR. After playing some Beta the yesterday, I'm fairly convinced that Aion will be WAR killer (pending actual PvP combat in the Abyss). Quests are fun there, not concrete, but fun and Arial combat provides a third dimension combat that hasn't been seen in a while. Downside is that there are no scenarios/battlegrounds.

It's true, the design staff doesn't understand what the playerbase craves. Due to job cuts/layoffs and other issues with EA, WAR just doesn't have the support that they need to really make viable competition in generating subscriptions. Did you know that EA Proxies their WAR servers? Indeed they do. At the moment they can't afford to provide new support or new servers to maintain this game and we will see the second major downfall come September.

I could go on and on about Aion and SWTOR, but i'll save that for another topic :D .


~Seiga.

Glad to hear Aion may have some fun to it. Think we all know SWTOR should be pretty awesome when it comes out. As long as we can be droids!

Personally have very little interest in Star Trek, not a big fan of tactical ship combat.

Also have to agree the dev's behind warhammer didn't really think of the big picture, and constantly over estimated their own abilities and knowledge of what players wanted.

[Fhuul]

/R2-D-Fhuul steals Vasanwalker's Lightsaber


Hmm.. could work...



As for Aion, all the mechanic stuff that I'm reading (not to mention game engine performance!) is pretty exciting, but I just have a hard time stomaching the anime art style. I'll probably give a trial a shot, but this one's not going to be a pre-order/launch day thing for me.

It'd be like everyone here rerolling Archmages and comparing man dresses... :(

[Aoann]

/R2-D-Fhuul steals Vasanwalker's Lightsaber


Hmm.. could work...



As for Aion, all the mechanic stuff that I'm reading (not to mention game engine performance!) is pretty exciting, but I just have a hard time stomaching the anime art style. I'll probably give a trial a shot, but this one's not going to be a pre-order/launch day thing for me.

It'd be like everyone here rerolling Archmages and comparing man dresses... :(

well the zealots sure do have pretty man dresses too.

[HesH]

well the zealots sure do have pretty man dresses too.

Except all the ones i seem to acquire right =)

[Seiga]

/R2-D-Fhuul steals Vasanwalker's Lightsaber


Hmm.. could work...



As for Aion, all the mechanic stuff that I'm reading (not to mention game engine performance!) is pretty exciting, but I just have a hard time stomaching the anime art style. I'll probably give a trial a shot, but this one's not going to be a pre-order/launch day thing for me.

It'd be like everyone here rerolling Archmages and comparing man dresses... :(

One of the more amazing things that Aion has to offer.... ABSOLUTELY NO LOAD TIMES OR LAG (so far)!!!!! Yeah, if you have even have the slightest lag, you can simply change to a different channel (one of the good things they carried over from Guild Wars). I'm assuming though, once you're ready for The Abyss, then everyone will be put into the same channel for massive PvP battles.

Now, here's the one downside I have about the game so far. I can't friggen Pan my camera angle when running :mad: .


~Seiga.

[Gisli]

Split the topic. Seiga, let's hear it! :)

[Vasan]

Classes

Aion offers a choice of four classes for starting players, who then at level 10 advance to two further specialized classes.

Warrior (http://www.waronphoenixthrone.org/us/game_guide/classes/the_warrior.html)
Warriors specialize in close combat, utilizing their great physical strength and prowess. They exhibit a wide range of dazzling battle skills other classes cannot perform, though Warriors are relatively easy to play.

Gladiator
A Gladiator lives and dies by the sword. They are skilled in using a variety of weapons and can master a mixture of fighting techniques tailored to the characteristics of their weapons. Templar
The Templar acts as a guardian, fighting with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Templars can use a chant or incantation to protect and heal allies, but also serve as front line fighters.
Scout (http://www.waronphoenixthrone.org/us/game_guide/classes/the_scout.html)
Scouts provide the best variety of play styles of all the basic classes. They benefit from great agility and can make speedy attacks, though how well they perform varies, depending on the player. The scout is an extremely versatile class.

Ranger
Rangers are expert archers and are a natural with a bow. They are also capable of using other weapons like swords and daggers, and are adept at observing and utilizing their surroundings. They can survive in the harshest of environments. Assassin
The assassin is an expert in silent movement and quick termination of the given target. Though not considered true warriors, Assassins are valued for their deadly skills and stealthy nature. Their skills are considered formidable.
Mage (http://www.waronphoenixthrone.org/us/game_guide/classes/the_mage.html)
Mages rely on their mastery of magic to deal large amounts of damage at long range. They are comparatively weak at close combat, and it is important for them to learn how to divert and evade the enemy.

Sorcerer
The Sorcerer follows the path of magic, mastering the elements of water, fire, air and earth. They channel powerful magic in combat through their understanding of the true nature of the Aether. A Sorcerer's talents have single-handedly turned the tide of battle.
Spiritmaster
Spiritmasters use the power of the Spirits to strike fear in the enemy’s heart, and have the capability of summoning pets to turn the tide in combat. By all accounts, the path of the Spiritmaster is one of the more testing paths to journey.
Priest (http://www.waronphoenixthrone.org/us/game_guide/classes/the_priest.html)
Priests specialize in healing magic and can use long-range spells to help allies and hinder the enemy. While Priests are more than capable of engaging in melee combat, they can use healing and protection spells to aid allies in battle.

Cleric
Clerics follow the path of healing, using the power of magic to fortify an ally’s body and heal their wounds. They even have the power of resurrection, and are formidable opponents in close combat with a mace and shield.
Chanter
A Chanter’s ethos is duty and faith. Infused with a fierce discipline, Chanters use mantras to strengthen allies and raise their morale, and can grow powerful enough to affect the outcome of an entire battle.

[Athelstaine]

Does sound interesting. I have pretty much lost my will to play WAR. I only log in just because there is nothing out there i like. T4 RvR is just an abomination. I was looking forward to stargate,but it seems they are having issues. Other than that,guess i will have to see what DC heroes will look like. Hopefully have some pvp that is/was better that city of heroes.

[Cerah]

I played Aion this weekend, and even though I hate you too ( ;) ), I agree that Aion will be the death nell for WAR. After playing it, I am simply keeping WAR around for something to do. But I cannot wait for Aion to come out, it was everything a release should be. It pissed me off at Mythic all over again.

Azmodian FTW.

[Vasan]

I played Aion this weekend, and even though I hate you too ( ;) ), I agree that Aion will be the death nell for WAR. After playing it, I am simply keeping WAR around for something to do. But I cannot wait for Aion to come out, it was everything a release should be. It pissed me off at Mythic all over again.

Azmodian FTW.


It's not all pve right with simple classes that instant heal the entire time? Note my subtle jab at wow! And let's hope, no elfs.

And we have to fly around with white angel wings, gah. Let's hope it's not a simple pve quest game with tacked on end lvl pvp, no end game and a tacked on flight ability.

[Drakhon]

And we have to fly around with white angel wings, gah.

The Asmodians have black wings.

[Vasan]

The Asmodians have black wings.

Now if they only had an eye patch, a peg leg and a parrot to go with those black wings.

We could all be pirate angels. Or Angel Pirates.

[Fhuul]

Welp, my 10 day "Call To Arms" trial convinced me that the game is done for, unless Mythic pulls a new engine out of their arse. Think I'm done taking breaks and coming back to the game, time to enjoy the summer and see what this Winter brings in new MMOs.

Drop a line here wherever you guys end up, so that I can look you up if we're in the same game. :)

[Vasan]

Yep, head over to the new star wars game for sure.

Still iffy about angel wings.

[Athelstaine]

Yep,i unsubbed last night myself. Just tired of the pve keeps for rvr mechanic. I am kind of interested in SWOR as well. I never played the Sony Star Wars MMO,never really heard anything good about it. Aion sounds okay,but i am not that big into the anime style of games.

I am actually thinking of going back to DAOC. Was looking at pop last night. Devon Cluster was over 2k, i know not much,but it is enough for some good rvr battles and relic takes. Will just have to restart from scratch though. Ughh..

[chatie]

Previews for Aion look promising but the thing is that it may be all early hype. I recall many including myself thinking Age of Conan was going to be the next great MMORPG but after the first 20 levels (which is still probably one of the best beginning level experience in any MMORPG I've seen), the game just fizzled despite gorgeous graphics. Aion graphics are said to be pretty good. I probably will try. Hopefully, somebody will name out a potential server.

[joven]

Based on my past experience with any NCsoft products, and sorry I don't buy the line about botters and farmers, they tried telling us the same crap in Lineage 1 & 2... The mechanics of Aoin are exactly the same as Lineage 2... Hell even the graphics engine is the same...

This is just Lineage 3... I have no interest in any game that was made by farmers for farmers...

[Fhuul]

I'm with Joven and Chatie on this - unfortunately recent MMOs kinda left me wary of the hype surrounding upcoming launches. Mythic, Funcom, NCSoft and a few of the indie houses really screwed things over for themselves and others looking to launch new AAA titles.

It'd be nice if there was a decline in preorder madness, and developers were actually forced to put out polished products on launch day - MMOs always need work, but the basics should be damned near 100% when the credit cards start getting hit for monthly fees.

In AIONs defense, they've been out for a while already in other markets, and the feedback all around is good. Leery of the bot/farmer issue, so we'll how that goes - definitely good for a trial sometime after Western launch. Like a lot of folks, I don't see myself diving into anything on Day 1 anymore though, which is a shame as I said for new up and coming companies looking to test the market.

[Jalec]

Im playing freeshard UO again :) the wild west of pvp...

[joven]

In Lineage 2 NCsoft promised time and time again to do something about the rampant botters/cheaters and the fact that from day one farmers controlled every spawn spot that was 1/2 way decent. They infact did nothing.

Trust me you cannot compete against farmers. Maybe for a day or two you can raise the forces necessary to 'disrupt' their operations, but they will just wait you out... they really do play 24/7.

I wish you the best, but you can already see the writing on the walls, if you look deep enough... Aion really is Lineage 3.

[Vasan]

I've changed my mind on the whole Aion thing what with the last lazy mythic patch, which just brings in the focus the whole neglectful last 10 months of warhammer commerical beta.

Even if the patch works wonders on the whole ae mess, just the way mythic operates just makes me think Aion looks better and better as, not Warhammer.

If they get the bots under control, which alot of people indicate won't happen, think I will overlook the lack of ambition displayed by Aion and give it a shot.

Hell any class I pick, even randomly has got to be better than a zealot.

Any pvp action has to be better than just slamming our faces against keeps nightly while people all around you lag the hell out.

And any dev group has to be better than mythic.

[Asharra]

I was on Aion for the 4 day closed beta as well... I do believe that i will prolly find a new home in that mmo.. And, as Cerah said AZMODIAN FTW!

[Trul]

Farmers don't play beta, they have been training for a year where the game was actually released...

[Vasan]

Yeah bots and farmers are a big concern for me.

AZMODIAN's have the black wings right <.<

[Fhuul]

I've played some in C-AION, and have been talking regularly with some long time friends who've been playing the higher levels of the game. All had great things to say, just based on the Chinese version which is several patches behind what's coming to NA. NCSoft seems to be putting in an effort to address the concerns of Western audiences, and maybe learning from the mistakes of Lineage 2. Judging a game based on the developer's previous titles is turning out to be a huge mistake lately it seems.. take each one as it comes and without any preconceived notions! Mythic did a fine job of sullying their RVR reputation..

As for the art style in AION, once I stopped looking at all the critters and whatnot with a critical eye, and let myself step into the 'suspension of disbelief' stage, the game was pretty damned enjoyable. Very detailed animations, things run smooth and I feel "connected" to my avatar while playing - something that's lacking in WAR with the lag and delays.

I did run into bots in the C-AION servers, but it was really no different than any other MMO I've played. WAR does have the edge here, but mainly it's because there's nothing of value for the farmers to farm, and no one to sell to! :p In the Abyss, I don't see a bot being all that successful, as they themselves will be easily farmed for points by the opposing faction.

Dunno, I'm cautiously optimistic, and will be playing with some friends in the Fall. End game might turn out to be bland, but at this point, anything is better than WAR.

[Cali]

I also was on the beta this last weekend. I had a great time no lag, no one yelling, things seemed to move right along. Found some things I liked alot about the game. The Warehouse ( bank) with the two areas of storage was nice. One for the Char and one for the Account, this one all your chars could access when they log on. played two chars both Azmodian's one a priest to level 12 the other a Sorc to level 13. Again both where fun to play the priest had a little more staying power than the Sorc but you expect that. I saw a lot of ppls playing a scout...I hear this is a slow char to level up to 40 but once you get there it is a force in the endgame PvP, if you can hang in there.

[Warseth]

In Lineage 2 NCsoft promised time and time again to do something about the rampant botters/cheaters and the fact that from day one farmers controlled every spawn spot that was 1/2 way decent. They infact did nothing.

Trust me you cannot compete against farmers. Maybe for a day or two you can raise the forces necessary to 'disrupt' their operations, but they will just wait you out... they really do play 24/7.

I wish you the best, but you can already see the writing on the walls, if you look deep enough... Aion really is Lineage 3.

True about the bots.... I made it to level 60ish blade dancer....

NC soft has been improving over the years. Aion is a result of learning from there mistakes. From what I get from feedback about Aion.... Lets hope they can get a hold on farmer problems.

I wish there was a way to outlaw virtual sales like that by those companies. Totally outlaw there solicitation on web,email, and in game. Its hurting the PC gaming world.

[Drakhon]

It's Asmodian, people. And yes, (generally) darker skin, red glowy eyes, claws, manes and black wings. Also, the Siel server is where it's at!

Also, here's some gratuitous eye candy (http://www.aionsource.com/forum/images-art-video-sound/14701-items-you-will-probably-never-get-ingame.html) for you.


I wish there was a way to outlaw virtual sales like that by those companies. Totally outlaw there solicitation on web,email, and in game. Its hurting the PC gaming world.

Well, China did recently make gold selling (and similar) illegal, though not for the reasons we might put forth, of course. It's unlikely they'll be able to enforce it with much effectiveness, though.

[Twistdsoul]

Already pre-ordered the CE.
Not getting stuck on a rock and taking 7k dmg from it, is what sold me.

[Vasan]

Already pre-ordered the CE.
Not getting stuck on a rock and taking 7k dmg from it, is what sold me.

Heh think I was sold by the fact last night I got both stuck on a keep stairs then later had warhammer freeze up my pc.

10 months after release.

Plus I play a zealot so, there is all that baggage.

[Korasia]

I played beta as well, and my experience can be sumed up by these 8 words:

I forgot what a fun game felt like!

Everything ran smoothly; I didn't crash, I didn't lag, and I logged into the game right when everyone else did to start the beta. Even when the newbie area was seemingly maxxed to the limits, I had both no lag or performace issues and didn't have problems with the quests or finding something to do.

I don't know what PvP will be like, but adding a Z axis to move around on will be a new battlefield to learn. I also like that there is the 3rd 'realm' that helps keep things in balance.

In the back of my mind, I'm imaging how it was to grind lvls in Emain from 40-50 back in the first months of DAoC when there wasn't high level content in Midgard. Wiping a group of dirty Hibs when they try to gank you while pulling a group of mobs was always fun :-)

[Seiga]

Regardless of the grind fest, reality is, WAR is done. This patch proved that Mythic has no effing clue about how to produce a good product. What's amazing is for fun, Shrewd makes a post to show what could effectively make a good balance to classes based on the players that feel will make the game that much better. Alas, Mythic won't listen. They haven't listened to me during PTS testing for the past 6-7 PTS reports. Oh yeah, and I'm still waiting on my mount that they were supposed to give me because of my report.

Oh, the other reality, Bioware doesn't want to improve this game. They know it's dead. So take the resources from WAR and apply them into SWTOR. Support for the game will slowly fall. Eventually there will be no new content, and maybe.. just maybe you'll get lucky with an expansion.


~Seiga.

[Narg]

These aren't my words, but a guildies.. I thought I would share with you:

"Okay, I've been putting this off because I'm lazy, but I need to post an Aion update before anyone rushes out to buy it. After having played the Chinese version for a couple of months, many of the game's flaws began to overshadow its virtues. A breakdown:

1) Aion is chinese gold farmer's paradise (xxxxxxx insists: wet dream). Everything in the game costs kinah (game currency): travel, death, gear, goodies, crafting, skill training, etc. This is all compounded by...

2) Aion is a gear based game. Gear = win. There are four "tiers" of gear: white, green, blue, orange . Aside from the base stat improvement with the higher tiers of gear, each tier upgrade grants an additional slot for "manastones." Manastones are slottable items with a bonus to abilities, e.g. +10 Blocking, +15 spell damage, +8 physical crit. So, for example, a pair of white gloves has one manastone slot and can be outfitted with +15 spell damage whereas a piece of orange gear has 4 slots and can allow +60 spell damage. Multiply the increase in uberness times the number of pieces of a gear on a toon (hands, feet, chest, shoulders, weapon, shield or dual wield) and you begin to get the idea how unbalanced things can get.

In addition to manastones improving gear, there is a "godstone" slot (read: too expensive for you to ever dream about), and enchantment stones--which add fixed bonuses to weapon damage, blocking, etc. Rather than slotting these enchantment stones, you use them in a gamble to gain a fixed gear bonus. The higher the stone level vs. the gear level, the better chance you have at successfully enchanting it. Enchants can be stacked up to 10 times, with each enchant either being successul (+1 to current enchant level) or failing (-1 to enchant level). Therefore a +10 enchanted weapon may have required as many as 20+ stones.

3) Back to point #1, COIN IS EVERYTHING. Since orange gear is most easily acquired through crafting, and crafting requires a massive amount of coin (both for leveling skill and buying components) it creates an economy where you have two player bases: the first set of players is outfitted in mostly green and possibly blue gear and scrapes together just enough coin for training and flying around. They probably haven't enchanted their gear at all. The second set of players is outfitted in all orange gear (so 2-4x the bonuses of a normal player) and has +10 enchanted weapons. In short, his gear just screams: I BUY KINAH!

4) All this emphasis on gear (and drops to make gear) leads to a huge imbalance in the player economy. When the game first opened a certain drop component used for crafting gear was being auctioned at <1k. When we left the Chinese servers, these components were selling for 20-40k each. You need dozens of these components to make orange gear--level 20 orange gear. To put that in perspective, an average level 20 player might have 200k total to his name. In short, gold farming = ridiculous inflation.

5) Questing > Grinding (unless you're hitting all elites in a good group).

6) PvP is more gank than RvR. This is for anyone who has played the current betas that restrict your max level to 20: Beware the Tortage factor! After 20, players are required to level in zones that are PvP accessible. Random "rifts" open in the game world allowing the enemy realm to port in to PvE areas. As with every open PvP game since the dawn of time, these rift jumpers are not looking for a fair fight. They are looking to find your lowbie ass engaged in killing a quest mob and gank you before you can say, "Ni hao!"

7) PvP is more Warhammer than DAoC. The high level "RvR" zone is a series of keeps on *shudder* lockout timers. This results in people waiting for a keep to become attackable and then everyone rushes in to zerg it down. These keeps are mostly situated on floating islands separated by large gulfs of space (bear in mind that in most cases being snared while flying will instantly drop you out of flight to your death--so you can imagine the ganking possibilities) or more islands filled with aggro mobs. I don't see much in the way of roaming possibilities, but I could be wrong. Max level RvR was not in full swing on the Chinese servers yet.

In short, while Aion remains a very polished and at times quite beautiful game, its long term playability is severely hampered by gear twinking, gold farming, PvP ganking, and Warhammerish RvR.

*looks over at her friend and former zealot* Anything to add xxxxxxx? (xxxxxxx with a sigh: "Questing is exactly like WoW--kill this, kill that, collect this, collect that. It's very linear.")

Anyway, that's my revised perspective after having taken a couple of characters to level 30+."

Hope that helps some folks with their decision.

Narg

[Fhuul]

The gold/farming thing is really my only concern at this point. I'm told money can be made relatively quickly and not to get overwhelmed by the giant costs of things.

When I played, I didn't notice the coin having various values - it was all straight up "kinah". No copper, silver, gold to convert up to, so imagine doing your shopping in WAR with nothing but copper pieces to spend.. course things would cost thousands!

Excited that there's the potential for a real economy with items that need to be purchased and traded. We'll see if NCWest does something about RMT to limit the impacts.

As for the ganking? FINALLY. I can quest in fear. I can assemble a group and attack the types that would hide out of the "lake" all day. Being ganked sucks, but it's a part of leveling up - once you move beyond it you can exact your revenge. Or be a nice guy and protect your side from gankers. Whatever - it adds another dynamic to PVP besides blobbing up, camping a BO, then beelining for the next blip on the map.

[Broggle]

Finally my super casual gaming life style can be rewarded by RL work ethics and i can buy coin to excel in game :) i tried in Warhammer but it seems the orders never get filled!!

[Azgrum]

I think Aion is going to be filled with farmers and greifers, but we shall see. Hearing that it is done by NCSoft, the makers of Lineage doesn't make it very appealing considering that was the largest grind fest/compete for mobs/deal with farmers game ever. And flying? It sounds more and more like some silly asian anime cartoon. I will have to try it out, at some point, but overall, it sounds silly and kiddie to me so far.

I am mainly looking forward to SWTOR and the Warhammer 40k MMO THQ is working on. But those won't be out for a long while from what I understand :)

[Fhuul]

I think Aion is going to be filled with farmers and greifers, but we shall see. Hearing that it is done by NCSoft, the makers of Lineage doesn't make it very appealing considering that was the largest grind fest/compete for mobs/deal with farmers game ever. And flying? It sounds more and more like some silly asian anime cartoon. I will have to try it out, at some point, but overall, it sounds silly and kiddie to me so far.

I am mainly looking forward to SWTOR and the Warhammer 40k MMO THQ is working on. But those won't be out for a long while from what I understand :)

What if the only WAR clips you saw before launch were Archmages casting Radiant Lance over and over again? Man dresses and rainbows.. But only a small portion of the game's art direction. :D

It's also no less kiddie than pretending you're the right hand of some demonic entity, shooting lightning out of your arse or commanding a mouth with legs to go chew on people you don't like. :) All about suspending disbelief for an hour or so and having some fun!

As for the lineage comparisons, it's been done to death. So far it's about as accurate as comparing WAR to DAOC.

[Chaelyn]

I played the Aion beta, and can honestly say I won't be buying it when it comes out.

Yes, the game is fun, but I too can see the potential for farmers, etc making the economy all wonky.

Also, unless there is some sort of RP server with name rules, I'll be skipping it. Too many retarded and crude names such as "Titwhore" (no I'm not kidding) running around for me to want to play it. Call me crazy, call me a prude, but I generally play on RP servers for a reason. Even my 11 yr old avoids the general arsehattery like that. He's always played on RP serves as well, because he doesn't like seeing the leet speak and griefing that generally happens on regular servers.

[Azgrum]

What if the only WAR clips you saw before launch were Archmages casting Radiant Lance over and over again? Man dresses and rainbows.. But only a small portion of the game's art direction. :D

It's also no less kiddie than pretending you're the right hand of some demonic entity, shooting lightning out of your arse or commanding a mouth with legs to go chew on people you don't like. :) All about suspending disbelief for an hour or so and having some fun!

As for the lineage comparisons, it's been done to death. So far it's about as accurate as comparing WAR to DAOC.
I will reserve judgement until I try it, but I tend to look more negatively at a game at first ... as then I am usually pleasantly surprised when I do try it out :)

But WAR didn't have archmages casting radiant lance over again in the trailer. This game has been out for a year and none of the trailers look that impressive, lol.

As far as the flying thing, I was reading up on some of the lore and stuff and I guess the 2 races have wings, so I guess that works. When ever I hear about flying I just think of some stupid ass anime show with flashing backgrounds and twitching eyeballs, and little people with big boobs and pointy ears flying around on surfboards. But it appears to be nothing like that, so that is good, lol.

I will be interested to try to Open beta, if it truely is open. Do you have to pre-order the game for the open beta, or is it open for all?

[bluucandi]

It's Asmodian, people. And yes, (generally) darker skin, red glowy eyes, claws, manes and black wings. Also, the Siel server is where it's at!

For those curious who've not seen the mane, or its commonly referred to, "the backhair":

my little Asmodian (http://www.warhammeralliance.com/forums/album.php?albumid=233&pictureid=10141)

She's like a kitten. :p