Information on Aion

[Vasan]

Class and Game Links!

http://powerwiki.na.aiononline.com/aion

http://www.aionarmory.com/

[khaoticia]

I do know that I won't go there... way too much similar to LineageII, which I hated cause you had to fight with the farmers and griefers for spawn point, etc.... If Mythic ever pull the plug for Warhammer, I will probably go back to WoW until something new catch my interest, right now nothing in the future does...

[Vasan]

I do know that I won't go there... way too much similar to LineageII, which I hated cause you had to fight with the farmers and griefers for spawn point, etc.... If Mythic ever pull the plug for Warhammer, I will probably go back to WoW until something new catch my interest, right now nothing in the future does...

I've got more than a mild interest in the new star wars game but that's pretty far away at this point. <.<

Still think SWTOR the safe bet for next big game even if it's Bioware's first online game and even if some detestable mythic people are associated with it

At any rate just wanted to have a place to consolidate any current/future Aion related links. =)

[Gisli]

Reposted from Erishum:


Myself and Alustriall have both preordered the CE of AION. I rolled up both factions to see what the toons looked like and get the feel of the game from that sides view. The Azmodian by far "felt" better to play in, flying around was very cool but to begin with you have a 60 second timer and when it runs out...down you go (and quickly make a splat I might add) it warns you when your almost out of flight time so you can get to ground or use a potion to delay your fall by a few more seconds. There are zone restrictions on flight ability and how high you can go. Zoning into another zone is prevented if flight is not allowed in it, just tells you that you cannont enter this zone while flying. You can just go down and walk in though. The flying ability recharges slowly, not sure if this changes as you gain levels yet, downtime can be several minutes between flights when your levels 10-15. That being said it is cool to note that once you can fly you can then gather resorces from floating objects, fly up or down to floating city's-portals-rocks-etc..., aviod pesky terrain issues, charge into the fray from above. I like to fly up to a floating object, land on it and recharge, then find another object up there to explore, repeat. Crafting I have not gotten into but the guides that I have looked at tell me you can only master one field but you can skill the others up to expert (the level below master). The chat system, in-game mail, and party functions are what I plan on looking at during the July 31-Aug 03 CB if she lets me. She likes to sight see alot =

[Drakhon]

Flight recharges at a 2:1 rate, so it takes 2 minutes to fill up with the starting 1 minute flight time. Some later gear has +flight time on it and there are potions that refill your meter - the first one replenishes 12 seconds with a 24 second cooldown and they go up to replenishing 60 seconds (though I don't know if the cooldown remains 24 seconds). From what I'm told, it's not a huge deal in the Abyss because there are world objects (rings of some kind) that you can fly through to replenish flight time.

Flight in the PvE leveling areas is limited to relatively small areas around "shards" of the Tower of Eternity - the bigger landmarks such as the main city in each zone - which, lore-wise, are where the concentrations of aether that power your flight are located.

Crafting is a bit more interesting than WAR's, but not by a whole lot. Getting them skilled up (especially mastering one) is actually an achievement of effort and money, at least, and the gear products are in line (or nearly so) with PvE and PvP rewards, even at the top end.

General Crafting Procedure:
1(a). Gather/acquire raw materials such as iron ore and aether powder.
1(b). Purchase/acquire additional raw materials that are sold by a vendor such as charcoal briquettes.
2. Combine some raw materials into intermediate materials (Iron Ore + Charcoal Briquette = Steel Ingot).
3. Combine some raw and/or intermediate materials into intermediate components (Steel Ingots + Iron Dissolving Agent = Steel Rod).
4. Combine raw and/or intermediate materials and/or intermediate components into final product (Steel Nails + Steel Rods + Weapon Refining Stones + Aether Powder = Steel Dagger).
5. If you crit, another crafting bar will come up and you will produce the "combo item" for that recipe, which is a better version of the item.

Not everything can crit - potions, for example. Crit rate varies between trades, but is supposedly somewhere around 20%-30% for Weaponsmithing and Armorsmithing. Note that because the crit starts a new casting bar, you have another chance of failure at this point too.

[Vasan]

So, generally it seems:

Templar = Main Tank, Melee DPS
Gladiator = Off Tank, Melee DPS

Cleric = Main Healer, Ranged DPS
Chanter = Assist Healer, Melee DPS, Buffs

Sorceror = Ranged Magic DPS (burst damage)
Spirit Master = Ranged Magic DPS, Pet Class

Ranger = Ranged DPS, Traps/Support
Assassin = Melee DPS (burst damage), Stealth

Subjective Solo Leveling Speed:

FASTEST
Glad
SM
Sorc
Templar
Chanter
Cleric
Ranger
Sin
SLOWEST

Seemingly some powerful end game classes, that level slowly, take awhile to get going while all classes, despite their style of play, are fairly well balanced and useful.

[Gisli]

In my opinion, the fewer classes there are, the more likely that all of them will be useful. Limiting things to eight classes strikes me as a good idea. Looks to me like it covers most of the bases.

I am glad to hear that there is little difference in classes between the two sides. The less difference the better. I've spent 8 years listening to constant whining about balance, and I am pretty sick of that issue dominating most discussion of DAOC and then Warhammer.

I am most interested in the Cleric. Sounds a lot like my EQ cleric, and I find that I am liking the healing role again as a Warhammer Shaman. I don't mind if it solo levels slowly, I can be group oriented then. Aion sounds like it is a lot more group oriented than Warhammer, anyway. That might be a good thing. In retrospect, the complete lack of need for a group turned out to be one of the pervasive "anti-community" aspects of Warhammer.

Chanter sounds like an EQ shaman or possibly a DAOC shaman.

[Warseth]

I am taking the Plunge into AION also. Would you those who are going to try it out like to all land on the same server and maybe one of you lead a guild?

It would be nice to have a decent sized guild from the start with people I am already familiar with to some degree.

Though I will roll every class:
Glad, Spirit, and Assasin are on my to do list to find out which will be my main.

[Gisli]

Don't worry. I am sure that there will be an effort to coordinate a server and guilds. We need more information about the game, though. See other posts here about guild size limits. That might have a big impact on planning. We also need information about multi-guild cooperation (the term "alliance" is already taken to mean what Warhammer means by "warband").

[Vasan]

I am taking the Plunge into AION also. Would you those who are going to try it out like to all land on the same server and maybe one of you lead a guild?

It would be nice to have a decent sized guild from the start with people I am already familiar with to some degree.



That's a grand idea Warseth and a good goal to strive for.

That aside, the cleric seems to have a fun array of heals, ranged dps and other tools that make them quite attractive.

Still, the enchanter, doesn't seem to be a throw away warhammer class (like the zealot). Looks like it functions as a fun staff using, melee debuff fighter who heals and also uses very nice buffs. I hear they can hold their own with parry upgrades even.

Still glad to see, on the outside, both playstyles seem useful, and well, different. Who doesn't considered a fun melee style healer class that solos well?

[Cali]

The big down fall of a Cleric, when the he uses his stun the mob is building aggro on him all the time. It takes the other in the group to be taunting him while he is stunned and the ranger to set traps inbetween the mob and cleric. If this is not done stun = one dead cleric.

[Cali]

On the size of guilds we could start two guilds with the idea of folding one into the other when they both hit that level. Maybe setting it up to where you have a main in one and an alt in the other but not have it just an alt guild. Players could move back and forth in the guilds to keep the guild point moving.

[Drakhon]

Chanter sounds like an EQ shaman or possibly a DAOC shaman.

Possibly, if you look at the (DAoC) Shaman's shears as making them a buffer/debuffer, but the melee nature also needs to be taken into account.

They get up to 10 Mantras and can have up to 3 toggled on at any given time (though a character can only have 4 Mantras affecting them at a given time, so Chanter stacking is of limited use). They also get short duration group buffs that last 15 sec with a 10 sec cooldown with higher delves than Mantras but cost a lot of MP.


Still, the enchanter, doesn't seem to be a throw away warhammer class (like the zealot).

It's just Chanter because they, you know, chant. It's not short for Enchanter. :)

[Vasan]

What they can run three at once?

That's nice.

[Isak]

Translated patch notes for those interested:
http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/20946-patch-notes-v1-5-update-shadow-balaur.html (1.5)
http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/16426-translation-aion-update-1-2-a.html (1.2)
http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/16195-translation-aion-update-1-1-a.html (1.1)

[Tenomuli]

I do think in my humble opinion if everyone posting here moves on to aion im gonna hang up my mmo gaming boots all together i dont have the patience to pay to play another game getting to old for it and need all the money i can save.

[Knight_Marshal]

Here is some updated information.

http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/Paragus1/062007/4306_Aion-Updated-Impressions-and-the-Abyss

[Vasan]

Thanks!

Updated Class Roles Pulled from a Random Forum
(short blip on top, random chattering below)

TEMPLAR
Strengths: Best Tank in game(best defense, best skills for holding aggro), Wears Plate and shield, High HP, Some self healing(Devine skill I believe)
Weaknesses: Only moderate DPS, Little ranged or AOE skills

Even though they only have moderate DPS, this won't affect those interested in PvP. Their ability to pull targets from 15m away up to them allows them to keep their targets in reach. Their base HP is actually starts out lower than the gladiator (as you can see in the Profile Window, but I believe they get a passive that increases is greatly and some nice buffs that boost it greatly as well, so if you're discouraged about not having the highest "Health" stat, you still have WAY more than everyone else endgame

GLADIATOR
Strengths: Good Off Tank, Wears Plate, High HP, Best AOE in game, Good DPS, Have only snare that can't be removed with potion
Weaknesses: Can't hold aggro as well as Templar, Little/No ranged abilities, Sin/Sorc/Ranger are better DPS options

I've seen this guys in action (I've also beaten one, yay healing, but anyways) they can definitely hold agro for the group as long as your healer doesn't go crazy on the heals. I have to say their level 10 DP skill is one of the coolest, you hook the target onto your weapon, spin them around, and SLAM them into the ground. (very disorienting for the target, the screen gets flung around as your character does x.x) Having the highest base HP in the beginning definitely helps start off your character


CLERIC
Strengths: Best Healer in game, Self Ressurection, Decent ranged/magic attacks, Can wear chain & shield(survivability)
Weaknesses: Low DPS, No AOE, Only one lower level CC ability(maybe two with stigma)

Not going to lie, I'm very jealous of some of skills Clerics have, as I'm a Chanter. They get an instant cast, with no cool down, debuff removal that can remove, I believe, all CCs (Snares, Roots) on the target. Not to mention that self resurrecting buff allows them to pop-back after a death. Other than the instant cast heals, I don't really see the other heals they get as anything really special. Healing Light seems to still be the the heal, since it has no cool down (I might be wrong) Clerics should be in every 6man party in Aion PvE or PvP

CHANTER:
Strengths: Good Off healer, Best Buffs in game, Best Hots & Good AOE heals, Above Average melee DPS, Has alot of stuns, knockdowns, and slows, Can wear chain & shield if needed
Weaknesses: Little CC ability, no AOE DPS, Can't heal as well as Cleric, Few ranged attacks so need to be in melee range to be effective (puts them in line of fire)


Chanter's really bring a lot to the group. A chanter can increase just about every stat in the game. Crit Rate, Attack, Defense, Magic Boost, Speed; these are just from constant Mantras. Chanters also provide powerful buffs that raise the party's stats for a short duration (15~30 seconds) but some can be maintained, but at a high mana cost. Another important note on chanters most of their physical attacks have inherent debuffs, these include reducing physical defense, slowing flight speed, and lowering attack speed.


SORCERER:
Strengths: Best CC in game, Best Ranged DPS, 2nd best AOE Damage in game
Weaknesses: Squishy(can only wear cloth), Low HP, Dependant on Mana, No/Little melee ability, Magic can be resisted(especially at higher levels)

It's not even funny how many ways a Sorcerer can control you. Just at level 20 they have two roots, a sleep, a snare, and to top it all of can turn you into a tree. A Sorcerer has the power to take down a whole group (it's been done, but then was nerfed some xP) as long as he masters his abilities. Though they are squishy/soft targets, a sorcerer can stay alive with just Healing Light (though one heal is like 75% of their health, lol) so long as he's not getting hit by too many targets at once (CC any unwanted damage you're taking and you'll live ) The Sorcerer is indeed a glass cannon HP and Defense wise, but as long as you're intelligent with your skills, you'll survive.

SPIRIT MASTER:
Strengths: Good CC, Can Debuff/Dispell/Reflect enemy buffs, Pet (splits aggro and can off tank), has ability to improve enemy drop rates
Weaknesses: Low burst DPS, Squishy (Cloth only), Low HP, No/Little melee ability, Pet does not follow them in flight

I feel Spirit Masters were left out of PvP when they were first created, but NCSoft has given them a lot of Debuffs since Korean Retail. Buff stripping, attack prevention, attack speed reduction, spell silencing, flight reduction are all in the Spirit Masters arsenal. PvE Spirit Masters have no problem soloing and in a group have multiple sources of damage, Pet, DoTs, direct damage (though DD is limited)


ASSASSIN
Strengths: Best DPS in game, Stealth, Very mobile/Fast, Can wear leather(only somewhat squishy), Stuns
Weaknesses: Draw alot of aggro if not careful, Still somewhat squishy, Little ranged ability

Assassins' have skills that carve 'stigmas' into their targets. When the desired 'stgima' level is carved, they can use them in several ways, from dealing additional damage to healing them self. Daggers have a high critical rate, 100 per dagger with 10 rate equal to 1% change to crit.

RANGER:
Strengths: Good ranged DPS, Some melee skills, Some AOE skills, Has decent CC (Traps, sleeps, etc), Can wear leather, Less dependant on Mana, Mobile/Fast, Mostly physical damage(doesn't have to worry about magic resistance)
Weaknesses: DPS Fluctuates, Still somewhat squishy, CC not as good as Sorcerer, Arrows cost $, melee fairly weak

Rangers have the best range in the game. Starting at 25m base, they get a 10% increase while in flight, and at level 25 there's a range increase passive. I kind of compare the Ranger to a Sorcerer that's given up their raw damage for better mana efficiency. Rangers have snare, sleep, and silence arrows, but they cannot be used as often. Do note, it's a tough start for rangers, getting very few bow skills until level 19/20. Ranger is not at all like other MMO Bow classes.

[Fhuul]

Thanks!

Updated Class Roles Pulled from a Random Forum
(short blip on top, random chattering below)

TEMPLAR
Strengths: Best Tank in game(best defense, best skills for holding aggro), Wears Plate and shield, High HP, Some self healing(Devine skill I believe)
Weaknesses: Only moderate DPS, Little ranged or AOE skills

Even though they only have moderate DPS, this won't affect those interested in PvP. Their ability to pull targets from 15m away up to them allows them to keep their targets in reach. Their base HP is actually starts out lower than the gladiator (as you can see in the Profile Window, but I believe they get a passive that increases is greatly and some nice buffs that boost it greatly as well, so if you're discouraged about not having the highest "Health" stat, you still have WAY more than everyone else endgame

GLADIATOR
Strengths: Good Off Tank, Wears Plate, High HP, Best AOE in game, Good DPS, Have only snare that can't be removed with potion
Weaknesses: Can't hold aggro as well as Templar, Little/No ranged abilities, Sin/Sorc/Ranger are better DPS options

I've seen this guys in action (I've also beaten one, yay healing, but anyways) they can definitely hold agro for the group as long as your healer doesn't go crazy on the heals. I have to say their level 10 DP skill is one of the coolest, you hook the target onto your weapon, spin them around, and SLAM them into the ground. (very disorienting for the target, the screen gets flung around as your character does x.x) Having the highest base HP in the beginning definitely helps start off your character


CLERIC
Strengths: Best Healer in game, Self Ressurection, Decent ranged/magic attacks, Can wear chain & shield(survivability)
Weaknesses: Low DPS, No AOE, Only one lower level CC ability(maybe two with stigma)

Not going to lie, I'm very jealous of some of skills Clerics have, as I'm a Chanter. They get an instant cast, with no cool down, debuff removal that can remove, I believe, all CCs (Snares, Roots) on the target. Not to mention that self resurrecting buff allows them to pop-back after a death. Other than the instant cast heals, I don't really see the other heals they get as anything really special. Healing Light seems to still be the the heal, since it has no cool down (I might be wrong) Clerics should be in every 6man party in Aion PvE or PvP

CHANTER:
Strengths: Good Off healer, Best Buffs in game, Best Hots & Good AOE heals, Above Average melee DPS, Has alot of stuns, knockdowns, and slows, Can wear chain & shield if needed
Weaknesses: Little CC ability, no AOE DPS, Can't heal as well as Cleric, Few ranged attacks so need to be in melee range to be effective (puts them in line of fire)


Chanter's really bring a lot to the group. A chanter can increase just about every stat in the game. Crit Rate, Attack, Defense, Magic Boost, Speed; these are just from constant Mantras. Chanters also provide powerful buffs that raise the party's stats for a short duration (15~30 seconds) but some can be maintained, but at a high mana cost. Another important note on chanters most of their physical attacks have inherent debuffs, these include reducing physical defense, slowing flight speed, and lowering attack speed.


SORCERER:
Strengths: Best CC in game, Best Ranged DPS, 2nd best AOE Damage in game
Weaknesses: Squishy(can only wear cloth), Low HP, Dependant on Mana, No/Little melee ability, Magic can be resisted(especially at higher levels)

It's not even funny how many ways a Sorcerer can control you. Just at level 20 they have two roots, a sleep, a snare, and to top it all of can turn you into a tree. A Sorcerer has the power to take down a whole group (it's been done, but then was nerfed some xP) as long as he masters his abilities. Though they are squishy/soft targets, a sorcerer can stay alive with just Healing Light (though one heal is like 75% of their health, lol) so long as he's not getting hit by too many targets at once (CC any unwanted damage you're taking and you'll live ) The Sorcerer is indeed a glass cannon HP and Defense wise, but as long as you're intelligent with your skills, you'll survive.

SPIRIT MASTER:
Strengths: Good CC, Can Debuff/Dispell/Reflect enemy buffs, Pet (splits aggro and can off tank), has ability to improve enemy drop rates
Weaknesses: Low burst DPS, Squishy (Cloth only), Low HP, No/Little melee ability, Pet does not follow them in flight

I feel Spirit Masters were left out of PvP when they were first created, but NCSoft has given them a lot of Debuffs since Korean Retail. Buff stripping, attack prevention, attack speed reduction, spell silencing, flight reduction are all in the Spirit Masters arsenal. PvE Spirit Masters have no problem soloing and in a group have multiple sources of damage, Pet, DoTs, direct damage (though DD is limited)


ASSASSIN
Strengths: Best DPS in game, Stealth, Very mobile/Fast, Can wear leather(only somewhat squishy), Stuns
Weaknesses: Draw alot of aggro if not careful, Still somewhat squishy, Little ranged ability

Assassins' have skills that carve 'stigmas' into their targets. When the desired 'stgima' level is carved, they can use them in several ways, from dealing additional damage to healing them self. Daggers have a high critical rate, 100 per dagger with 10 rate equal to 1% change to crit.

RANGER:
Strengths: Good ranged DPS, Some melee skills, Some AOE skills, Has decent CC (Traps, sleeps, etc), Can wear leather, Less dependant on Mana, Mobile/Fast, Mostly physical damage(doesn't have to worry about magic resistance)
Weaknesses: DPS Fluctuates, Still somewhat squishy, CC not as good as Sorcerer, Arrows cost $, melee fairly weak

Rangers have the best range in the game. Starting at 25m base, they get a 10% increase while in flight, and at level 25 there's a range increase passive. I kind of compare the Ranger to a Sorcerer that's given up their raw damage for better mana efficiency. Rangers have snare, sleep, and silence arrows, but they cannot be used as often. Do note, it's a tough start for rangers, getting very few bow skills until level 19/20. Ranger is not at all like other MMO Bow classes.

Gah.. this isn't making my decision any easier..

[Vasan]

Gah.. this isn't making my decision any easier..

Try to focus on what you enjoy doing. Do you like dps? Do you like healing? Melee or stand back fighting? Pet? Magic damage? Shooting people with bows and arrows? Carving your name in people's livers?

I like playing weak backup healers that promise variety but end up with totally underpowered abilites! So hrm, looking at you en-chanter!

[Fhuul]

Try to focus on what you enjoy doing. Do you like dps? Do you like healing? Melee or stand back fighting? Pet? Magic damage? Shooting people with bows and arrows?

I like playing weak backup healers that promise variety but end up with totally underpowered abilites! So hrm, looking at you en-chanter!

I like it aaallll!!! :crybaby:

I've played a resto-druid and a rogue (WoW), an Assassin, Swashbuckler, Fury, Inquistor and Berzerker(EQ2), Shadowblade, Hunter and Spiritmaster (DAOC), Minmatar Frigate pilot (EVE), Shaman, Squig Herder and Blackguard (WAR). Oh, and a Necromancer, Daemonologist and Guardian in AoC. I'm not stuck on one particular role in an MMO anymore, it usually comes down to how the class feels in a particular game. Hated rogue types in WAR, yet love them in other games.

Dunno. Maybe I make a sneaky-stabby, but I kinda got hooked on playing support/healer in WAR. I've never given a tank class a real serious go as my main though.. hmm..

Now I'm back at square 1 again. :confused:

[Gisli]

Fhuul -- Just to make your life a bit more miserable...

It appears that this game is very anti-alt. Guilds have severe limits on how many characters can be guilded. Even if you don't guild your alt, that doesn't really help. Because if you are playing an alt then your main toon is still tying up one of the limited slots in the guild, thus keeping somebody else out. Playing an unguilded alt means that you aren't helping your guild.

(On the other hand, there is the quest line that requires you to make and level like 5 alts, but that's another story.)

[Fhuul]

Fhuul -- Just to make your life a bit more miserable...

It appears that this game is very anti-alt. Guilds have severe limits on how many characters can be guilded. Even if you don't guild your alt, that doesn't really help. Because if you are playing an alt then your main toon is still tying up one of the limited slots in the guild, thus keeping somebody else out. Playing an unguilded alt means that you aren't helping your guild.

(On the other hand, there is the quest line that requires you to make and level like 5 alts, but that's another story.)

Yeah, that's the other downside I see to it.. WAR was very alt friendly, but in Aion, devoting time to an alt can really slow down progress on your main, plus limits your guild options.

Gaaah...

[Overking]

Well the Chanter is like a DAOC Friar meats a Skald and they are very nasty in 1 on 1s. You can go staff and they have a huge parry bonus. You can add gems which will give +abilites, just like SCing, where you can get +parryt items.

For the Assassins, they have the basic dual wielding mechanics you see in DAOC, where the lead hand is the speed and the off hand is the damage base. So you can min/max with them using a dagger as your main and a nasty sword as your off hand. They are a bit like Witch Elves and a load of fun at high levels.

Clerics are just great healers and are like Healers from Midgard.

So far I have only played as a Cleric, Chanter and as an Assassin but it has been fun. We will see what happens but the end game has been decent so far, with my limited play time that is.

[Drakhon]

For the Assassins, they have the basic dual wielding mechanics you see in DAOC, where the lead hand is the speed and the off hand is the damage base. So you can min/max with them using a dagger as your main and a nasty sword as your off hand.

Not really how it works at all, unfortunately.

Speed is a strange combination of both weapons - adding an off hand weapon actually slows your attack speed down even if the additional weapon is faster (sword/dagger is the only possible situation of this type for Assassins). While daggers are all 1.2 speed, a dagger/dagger combo comes out to 1.5 before +attack speed, for example.

Crit rate and skill damage are determined entirely by the main hand in 1.5 (NA release version) and there is only a minor carry over from the off hand in earlier versions.

Dagger/sword is specifically the way to go before level 25 because you actually auto-attack due to not having enough abilities to fill out your time and you'll have the crit rate of the dagger (either both crit or both don't for auto-attack) with the extra damage of the sword on your off hand attack. After 25, you only auto-attack unintentionally or by being lazy, so the only deciding factors on your off hand choice performance-wise are the bonus stats it provides (the ones below the horizontal rule after the section with the speed and such).

Once you can reach the crit soft cap (~450) with a sword in your main hand, then you can choose if you want a dagger for slightly faster skill chains (faster speed = faster animations = faster chains) or a sword for more damaging ones. Off hand is still about the stats.

[Twistdsoul]

Solo lvling while possible is not a viable option in my opinion. Some of the quests that a few of us were doing in the Chapter line, were barley completed even as a FULL group. Plus lvling solo... that's never fun.

[Vasan]

Solo lvling while possible is not a viable option in my opinion. Some of the quests that a few of us were doing in the Chapter line, were barley completed even as a FULL group. Plus lvling solo... that's never fun.

Interesting, the quests really were that difficult were they?

Have heard it is more of a group centered game. so we will see how that pans out.

[Jalec]

So for the upcoming beta test, do we have anyone organizing anything?

[bluucandi]

What server(s) are people doing the NA CB on? I've been on Siel.

I'm also curious as to what server the majority of you will roll on at release.

[Gisli]

Is there information available about release servers? If its like WoW or Warhammer releases, there won't be anything about servers until very close to opening day.

[bluucandi]

Is there information available about release servers? If its like WoW or Warhammer releases, there won't be anything about servers until very close to opening day.

Found this list Aion Servers (http://vnboards.ign.com/aion_online_general_board/b23118/111291178/r111293225/) on the VN Boards but the OP didn't quote his source.

[Drakhon]

Presumably they would stick with naming the servers based on the Empyrean Lords, at least until they get beyond the 12.

My characters are Asmodian/Siel. They are opening two new servers for this coming CBT, though, and character creation on the four previously existing servers will be disabled at the beginning unless you already have a character on them in order to get new people to spread to the new servers. No information on how long that lasts, though.

[Fhuul]

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/29666-what-class-will-you.html

Interesting how things are currently polling on Class selection - everyone pretty equal, except for Spiritmasters. Maybe I make one of them, just to be that odd one out!

[Vasan]

http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/29666-what-class-will-you.html

Interesting how things are currently polling on Class selection - everyone pretty equal, except for Spiritmasters. Maybe I make one of them, just to be that odd one out!


What's not to like about a pet class?

Believe people don't like the lack of burst damage on the class, and how the pet functions in pvp. They got buffed recently, with those numbers they need to be buffed again looks like.

Anyway check out any videos of sm's playing, looks fun.

Interesting to see the cleric and sorc numbers, believe those are the strong classes.

[Fhuul]

What's not to like about a pet class?

Believe people don't like the lack of burst damage on the class, and how the pet functions in pvp. They got buffed recently, with those numbers they need to be buffed again looks like.

Anyway check out any videos of sm's playing, looks fun.

Interesting to see the cleric and sorc numbers, believe those are the strong classes.

From what Xusia told me, SMs are the arseholes of the skies, ripping people from flight and kiting around dotting everything up. Sounds like it could be fun. :)

[Chaelyn]

I'll be trying the game for the first time tomorrow, so I'll roll up a SM and see how it goes; I was rather interested in them as it was....

[bluucandi]

I'll be playing my Ranger, Murbella on Siel server.

[Drakhon]

Interesting tidbit: once your Legion gets to rank 3, you can upload your own artwork for your emblem.

[Twistdsoul]

And the scarves are actually kind of cool looking. A nice change from cloaks, IMO.

[Ooey]

What might be putting people off the SM is the lack of pet flight. When you fly up, the pet at certain distances A) cannot attack and B) will eventually unsummon if you get too far away. Typically I play a pet class so this is disappointing. I'll have to see if they either make pets fly or eventually see if the PvP isn't more than 75% high in the air. I can deal with pets not being there a lot of the time, but if it is much higher percentage than I won't deal with it.

Actually, my wife is getting excited about the game so that is what is making me interested as well. Looks like PvP will last a long time giving fights a good nice epicness feel to them. I love long fights and WAR had it until T4.

[Erishum]

Try to run the patcher at least several hours before the game goes online at 3PM est today for CB 5. There is at lease a 500 meg update I pulled last night for the new english audio files and their patchers seem kinda slow, might just be cause its in beta and there is only one patcher server atm. Was a CB server picked so we can get together?

[zarman]

New Servers:

Israphel
Nezekan
Trinial
Vaizel

[bluucandi]

From what Xusia told me, SMs are the arseholes of the skies, ripping people from flight and kiting around dotting everything up. Sounds like it could be fun. :)


Ok, I'll bite. I'm making an SM this weekend on Siel named Skaramoosh. I'm afraid too, if I play too much of the Ranger I'll be sick of her. Everyone seemed to be having fun with them last CB.

[Aoann]

Haelle is on Vaizel playing Haelkath.

[Haelle]

Haelle is on Vaizel playing Haelkath.

Yeah, what my sister said :p

Trying the templar. Of course, I'll have to try one of the priests :D, so she'll probably be a Haelle

[Erishum]

Anyone else getting the lag/rubberbanding?

[Isak]

One thing I found out this weekend, is at least with the PvE zones they have multiple "channels" or instances and you can switch between them. This makes getting some of those quests done much easier since you don't have 30 people fighting over 10 mobs that spawn once every 5 minutes. You can switch from the support menu. Still didn't help with the awful lag spikes on some servers this weekend.

[Athelstaine]

I actually got to play some this morning. The lag spikes were frequent and disruptive.Hopefully they will get a handle on it. This is going to be weird,but War runs smoother for than Aion at this time. The lag wasn't so bad that i could not play,but just darn annoying.

[Isak]

I've played the previous two weekends and I didn't notice near the amount of lag, it was more of a once every couple hours thing then the once every 5min. Granted the previous weekends were on a different server so that may or may not mean anything besides the older servers may have less people on them since they all went to the newer servers to play with friends just starting.

[Vasan]

Well hopefully the lag is merely a result of servers thrown up quickly to meet recent pre-order demand. Personally I have zero interest in spending any time in yet another game where the servers cannot handle the load.

[Gisli]

Odd, I never encountered any lag in about 10 hours of play this weekend.

[zarman]

The lag seemed somehow to be related to internet path there or location. I actually did the first day in Florida and had horrible lag. The next day I did from SC and had no lag. When I was horribly lagging Kepi/Braik were teling me they had zero lag.

So it wasn't actually the servers.

[Drakhon]

Tell Braik to tell Gisli that using the name "Ravensflyte" is ok.

[Vasan]

The lag seemed somehow to be related to internet path there or location. I actually did the first day in Florida and had horrible lag. The next day I did from SC and had no lag. When I was horribly lagging Kepi/Braik were teling me they had zero lag.

So it wasn't actually the servers.

Shouldn't SC and Florida use the same path to the west coast?

[Drakhon]

Internet routing does not necessarily follow the most direct or obvious physical route.

[Haelle]

One thing I found out this weekend, is at least with the PvE zones they have multiple "channels" or instances and you can switch between them. This makes getting some of those quests done much easier since you don't have 30 people fighting over 10 mobs that spawn once every 5 minutes. You can switch from the support menu. Still didn't help with the awful lag spikes on some servers this weekend.

I like the channel change option. I had horrible lag whenever in high pop areas. At start of beta I also had a lot of CTD's, which abated after a total reboot...go figure.

[Erishum]

I did alot of reading on the lag issues and there seems to be two camps. The first is server or internet pathing issues while the second revolves around the GameGuard software NCSoft uses as it seems to conflict with other applications/devices such as the Logitech G15 Keyboard software as an example. I'm leaning towards the first camp being the culpret, but thats just my two cents.

[bluucandi]

I did alot of reading on the lag issues and there seems to be two camps. The first is server or internet pathing issues while the second revolves around the GameGuard software NCSoft uses as it seems to conflict with other applications/devices such as the Logitech G15 Keyboard software as an example. I'm leaning towards the first camp being the culpret, but thats just my two cents.


Interesting, I use a G15 keyboard.

I did call up my ISP, Embarq, and they said things looked fine.

[ripert]

I was having random lock-ups while in game for a bit till I figured out my online backup program was thrashing my CPU when it checked to see if the files were current.

Once I disabled that, all was good.

[Erishum]

Interesting, I use a G15 keyboard.

I did call up my ISP, Embarq, and they said things looked fine.

Did you have the lag/rubberbanding with the G15?

[bluucandi]

Did you have the lag/rubberbanding with the G15?


Oddly, I don't recall any rubber banding in CB4 but it was clearly evident in CB5. So, I'm unsure if I can pinpoint the problem via my keyboard.

Tech support at my ISP suspected it was Gameguard conflicting with my antivirus program (Norton). Said it was a huge resource hog. Still doesn't explain why I didn't have issues in the previous CB.

[bluucandi]

The lag seemed somehow to be related to internet path there or location. I actually did the first day in Florida and had horrible lag. The next day I did from SC and had no lag. When I was horribly lagging Kepi/Braik were teling me they had zero lag.

So it wasn't actually the servers.

I live in Florida... :(

[Erishum]

They stated on the AionSource forums that if you closed the G15 software package down from the system tray it would fix your lag. I use a Saitek keyboard and was curious if that, like the G15, could be the culprit on my end; however it does not have a software package like the G15.

[bluucandi]

They stated on the AionSource forums that if you closed the G15 software package down from the system tray it would fix your lag. I use a Saitek keyboard and was curious if that, like the G15, could be the culprit on my end; however it does not have a software package like the G15.

I'll try that out next beta and let you know how it goes.

[Gisli]

I have a G15. I don't do much special with it, other than use the screen to see who is talking in Vent. I didn't notice any lag.

[Erishum]

Hummm, whatever it is that was causing that issue it was not present in the last CB...so hopefully it will not be in the next CB and those that had issue will get a better look at the game and its early PVP action. I had a great deal of fun playing even with the lag/rubberbanding but had to stop at level 11 because of that (mobs like to nibble on my armor). The emotes are fun, try the taunt =)

[bluucandi]

The audio emotes took some time to get used to - I wound up making pet phrases for each of my SM's emotes. I fancy she's shouting things like:

"Bananna puddin'!!"

Only its actually some kind of Asian fantasy language. I guess.

Then there's an utterance I hear from clerics that sounds something like:

"gigidigigidigig"

or something along those lines. /shug

[Fhuul]

The audio emotes took some time to get used to - I wound up making pet phrases for each of my SM's emotes. I fancy she's shouting things like:

"Bananna puddin'!!"

Only its actually some kind of Asian fantasy language. I guess.

Then there's an utterance I hear from clerics that sounds something like:

"gigidigigidigig"

or something along those lines. /shug

On the C-Aion client voices (not sure if they are same cast voices as NA beta) you would hear the following from my SM and Notwife's Cleric:

Flame Bolt - "MylittleHONda!"
Smite - "Sickofdaghetto!"

Hoping the voices are Westernized for launch, needless to say. :)

[Chaelyn]

LOL Don't start me on the "Wtf did I just say" thing, even my husband was leaning over going "What'd you just say?" I replied "I'm not sure, I DO know it's not Japanese though!" (Japanese being the only language I speak even a little of, besides English).

[bluucandi]

Smite - "Sickofdaghetto!"


By george... that's what I was hearing. Only, it's uttered at the speed of sound pumped up on caffeine. I had such a difficult time wrapping my head around it. :p

[Drakhon]

Information from the GMs:



Aion was designed from the ground up to appeal to a global audience. I understand that you might feel North American customers are not heard because we (North American players) don't have our own special, different version. The entire point to this game is to NOT have 10 different versions of the same game. If North America desires a change, that change will be made to all versions of the game for all territories. Since you have played Aion already I am sure you have noticed this is not like ANY other Korean game out there. We (North American Developers) have been playing alpha versions of this game since 2006. We have definitely added and changed things for the North American players. Well... we changed them for everyone.

Suggestions for changes made during our closed beta events will not be made immediately as that is not what we are working on. We are working on getting our service up and running with what content we already have. North America and Europe have already made a major impact on how this game is already played and will continue to be a major factor in future updates to the game.

Your feelings on GameGuard are justified and known to the North American and European teams. As it stands now GameGuard does provide a certain level of protection. If and when we find a better hack/cheat/bot prevention system we will use it. GameGuard will be improved or removed before launch.

The Preorder and CE items are account based. Every character you create will be able to "claim" those items. You heard it here first!

NPCs being able to attack and cast through walls is a combination of purposeful design and possible bug. This mechanic is used to prevent characters using topography to kill monsters without the player characters being hurt. It is common in other games to glitch NPC on walls and trees so they can be killed without fear. If PCs are blocked and NPCs are not, this stops people from purposefully glitching mobs. This system also helps detect bots. In some areas this could be a possible bug depending on the skills being used. I would suggest that when you run into an issue with mobs attacking through a wall that you report it as a bug so it can be investigated.

Preventing and removing bots/hackers/gold sellers is our number one priority for Aion in North America. We will have zero tolerance for such things in our game.

Thank you,
HGM spam


Source (http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/33125-important-news-gms.html)

[Drakhon]

Thulf, formerly of Stunty Stomper now has an Aion blog (http://impetusium.blogspot.com/). He's got some good information on there about the Abyss and Stigmas in particular.

[Drakhon]

Interview (http://twitvid.com/D4CF7) with Aion's Lead Designer Yongchan Jee. Haven't watched more than a little yet, but it looks like pre-submitted questions. The questions are translated for him and then his answers translated for the audience, so it's a bit slow.

Also interesting is that 1.5 will be distributed through BitTorrent (http://twitter.com/aion_ayase/status/3449238022).

[Drakhon]

Minor transcription from that interview in regards to mounts:



"we are actually planning to add mounts...
...they are usually used for transportation, but in Aion we don't need them because we have wings
...we'll probably have a mount system but other meanings [uses for them]"

[Vasan]

Huh, other uses for mounts. Suppose you could carry stuff in them, or run people down with them, or eat them mabbe.

[Trul]

By mounts they are referring to sheep. By other uses, well, use your imagination.

[Vasan]

You could shear their wool and make a nice fluffy blanket for one!

[Fhuul]

WTS Sheep - 3000 Kinah for sweater-wool, 15000 Kinah for mutton-meat, 2200 Kinah/30 minutes for buff-bot.

[Drakhon]

Transcription of an interview with Brian Knox (http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/38058-transcript-interview-brian-knocks-21-08-2009-a.html).

Heh, 1.5 will be a 4-5 GB download for people with the previous beta client.

Also:


Q: When and how is the preselection going to work, and maybe you can describe a bit what preselection is?
A: So preselection is for everybody that preordered the product and there'll be actual * create their characters, pick their servers and basically get everything in order so day 1 they can just, bam, hit start *

[Vasan]

Huh?

Hopefully they will be more forthcoming on how preselection works, since not many of us can rush in and start playing from 12 to 3 on what ever day of the week it launches.

So far I quess they will leave the servers around after open beta for people to reserve names and server location.

Let's hope we can all decided on a server in advance far enough to enjoy this feature eh?

[Drakhon]

The asterisks are there because it's a transcription of a live feed that didn't have super great audio, so some parts couldn't be heard.

Essentially you get to do everything that occurs before you join the game world - create your character(s) on whatever server(s) you choose - prior to the Head Start. They haven't said how far in advance, but as long as it's at least like 24 hours, it doesn't really matter much functionally.

[Gisli]

Don't worry -- we will definitely have our server picked in time for the preselection. My assumption is that we will use what the Aionroleplayers pick, unless there is a good reason not to. My main priority is that we end up on a high-population server, preferably without any of the mega-goon guilds.

[Korasia]

I was thinking about the unofficial RP server thing the other day...
I've come to the conclusion that I rather deal with stupid names then the unoffcial server that is known will have WAR people that we know who are asshalts. (I remember Gisli madea comment someplace....). I'm saying this beacuse 90% of the time the people with stupid names are generally really young folks who think they are being funny and are almost always harmless.

Well, just a personal note.
I'll end up going where the guild goes anyways.

[Scarr]

I vote high pop, anything else is pretty pointless. The games I have played that are labeled "unofficial RP" usually turn out to be a big arguing chatbox, with those wanting to RP trying to FORCE their rules onto players that have no idea of anyone "unofficial status" of the server.

[Drakhon]

According to the Gamescom demo done with GameTrailers.com (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/gc-09-aion-the/54878?type=flv), character names in 1.5 require an upper case first letter with the rest lower case. Also, the name that he enters while illustrating this is "Gametrailer", which is 11 characters.

[Drakhon]

For those always wondering about mob difficulty, I present you with this Powerwiki entry (http://powerwiki.na.aiononline.com/aion/Targeting#hd50513).

[aishrod]

while I would like the RP server because I think more people will know of our guilds, i would prefer a high pop server as well. I think names like "bobthebuilder" "Leeeeroy" and such will actually be at a minimum, plus poeople can jsut turn off the names.

On the otherhand if the AionRP picks a server, our alliance goes there, and "We of PT" goes there.... it will be a high pop server :D