Aion Review
By Xenosaiyan
Server Stability:
After a great launch, NCsoft has done an excellent job with server stability. Not once was I kicked out of the server when it was under a huge load. The ping is a bit laggy, but otherwise the stability is great for launch. As you branch out into other zones with less people, stability tends to increases a lot. There’s traditional lag here and there, but issues are fixed and dealt with as they appear.
The Setting:
As the title suggests the game takes place a few centuries after destruction of the tower of eternity. Aion is the God of this world and he is the tower of eternity. The Asmodians and Elyos have lived in peace for a few hundred years on two sides. The world is actually divided into two halves, the dark side for the Asmodians and the light side for the Elyos. Soon after this peace passed the Abyss opened up, the Asmodians discovered the Elyos and visa versa. However, they both also discovered their enemy the NPC third faction, the Balaur. After this meeting of races, everyone discovered that the Abyss would destroy their worlds, leaving nothing behind. The Elyos have worked together in order to destroy the Asmodians and the Balaur, setting the stage for an epic PvPvE zone. The Abyss is home to some serious destruction and crazy PvP; it is not only against the other side, but also against the NPC faction Balaur. There is cool voice over cut scenes which really immerse you into the world of Aion.
The Graphics:
The game has been reported to be playable on an integrated graphics card. However, you only get a few frames per second; 10 FPS to be exact. I suggest at least an Nvidia 6800GT or ATI x1600; minimum; at least 1GB RAM and a dual-core CPU. However, most people say that you don’t need to have a high-end cutting edge computer to play this game. The game runs smoothly no matter what system you’re running as long as it wasn’t made in 1998 because those are outdated. Aion runs on the CryEngine 1, which is a predecessor of the most advanced graphics engine to date, the CryEngine 2. No PC, no matter how fast, can run this engine perfectly. The CryEngine 1 does not take as much graphics power, but, the engine has been modified in order to create a beautiful world filled with lush environments and engaging art. This is the type of game where performance meets beauty. The second you step into this world, you’ll realize that you’ve just entered into something phenomenal; the graphics shine beyond words and beauty. Aion is one the most beautiful MMORPG around. Ironically, they’re still Korean style graphics and have been modified. Most of the in-game backgrounds are pictures of art, the ground is art, and the environment itself is being rendered in real time.
The Customization:
This is where Aion shines, and I know most people bought this game because of it. You’ll be able to customize your characters to look and feel anyway you want them to be. At the start of the game you can pick and look different from anyone else. The characters can be super tall, short, muscular with big eyes or have small noses. The game lets you customize you character with almost anything you can imagine. One player has even gotten his character to look like the legendary Cloud from Final Fantasy XII.
There is a great deal of armor in the game, plenty to craft and choose from. The customization of crafting rivals that of Final Fantasy XI. There is plenty of armor to choose, craft, and wear. You can also combine armor to make it look truly unique from the rest. There are options to change the color of your armor so that it can all match and make you look truly unique. There are hundreds of thousands of combinations, and millions of outcomes. From the time you step onto the earth of Atriea, you don’t just look cool, you actually are cool.
Levels 1-10:
The game begins in your home area. For the Elyos it is called Poeta. These first new minutes introduces you to the world around you. You learn how to fight and kill easy monsters and do easy quests. There’s a variety of quest ranging from combat, to delivery, gathering materials and crafting, collecting materials, and what not. The game offers a variety of quests in order to keep you entertained throughout these first few levels. At this point, the game gets extremely addicting. The graphics are smooth and amazing combat. There are a number of interesting and engaging quests that will keep you occupied for these first few levels. You will learn your basic skills, level up pretty quickly, but you don’t have wings during this stage of the game. You have to walk and mange without wings; whether that is a drag or not. During this area, you will engage in the main story of Aion. Some people just grinded through this area, but others paid attention to the story and the way Atriea has shaped and formed. To get from level 1 to 10 only takes 4 or 5 hours. It is really simple, super quick, and a ton of fun. Some players classify this area as the linear grind.
Levels 10-20:
By now, you’ll understand the areas on the maps are open and filled with beauty. These maps won’t make you feel as if you’re trapped in just one place. You are free to go anywhere you would like in the game and can travel from one map to another through teleportation. Traveling can be done by flying from one zone to the next. Both can cost a moderate amount of Kinah, or gold. The maps are enormous, there may not be a lot of them, but they are all massive. The game itself consists of 6 areas plus 3 levels of the Abyss. Each area is at least 10 square miles in game.
At this stage of the game it is learned that you are an immortal Daeva, and learn how to fly. Right at level 10, you do a quest in the main city of Elyos, which is called Sanctum. These wings are phenomenal because they will help you with combat in the Abyss where you can fly anywhere and everywhere you want. After you finished a few quests in Sanctum, you are needed in another area where you will start you official journey through Aion. In this area, you continue the story of Aion, and are opened up to a variety of new quests ranging from collecting manastones, crafting, and gathering. This area is a lot more challenging as you have to fight bosses and rigorous monsters. Soon if you aren’t careful you will die and lose experience. It can be gained back just by paying kinah or gold. The levels slow down quickly as you start realizing that you’ll have to grind a few monsters in order to level up. I can say now, that the grind is only going to get worse from these levels on. You’ll progress in combat and get stronger, opening up to a new variety of armor and weapons. You can either buy armor from the NPC or from the “Broker” or Auction House. Both of these places prove to be right, but the economy in Aion is amazing. You’ll find some serious deals in the Broker. At level 17, you’ll be able to team up with other players in order to fight monsters that are much stronger to solo. The incentive is to discover the storyline of Aion. Aion’s story revolves around you teaming up with other players and fighting and destroying bosses. Finally, at level 19, you’ll be able to leave this area, and travel elsewhere.
Levels 20-25+:
At level 20 you’ll be able to go to another area. This area lasts until level 41 and offers a wide range of quests. In short, you’ll be able to gather more materials for crafting and learn more of Aion’s story. This new zone will expose you to new dungeons and areas to advance your character. One of these dungeons is called the “Fire Temple”. Here you’ll be able to participate with other characters in order to get epic armor for your level. This area is HUGE, taking at least 40 minutes to walk from one side to the other. The ability to fly in various areas of the map with the cost of a little kinah is very helpful.
The Abyss:
At level 25, you are introduced to the Abyss. A area like no other in massive online role-playing games. This place is filled with chaos and what not. It is a killer to lower level players; no one can survive the Abyss when you first are introduced to the zone. You will get ganked by other players who are higher than you. There is a lot of PvE instances in the Abyss, the first one is the training grounds. You can repeat this instance every few hours and gain a lot of experience just by running the instance with other players and leveling up. There are NPCs in the Abyss which you can kill for Abyss points. The world of the Abyss is dangerous and any player can sneak up and kill you in a matter of seconds if you aren’t careful. There are also PvPvE dungeons and instances. You have to decide if you don’t want to fight all the way or go through it and defeat the boss. Another option is to fight half way, and send some people down the other hall in order to kill the other opposing faction. to slow them down, so that you can win. These PvPvE dungeons are Player vs. Player and Player vs. the Environment. The first team to reach the end of the dungeon and defeat the boss wins.
There’s also keeps you can capture to gain points for your side. These keeps are colossal. They involve 200 people battling in and out until to decide who is going to win and lose. It takes a great deal of strategy and is fantastic fun indeed. Combat is fast paced with no breaks and all fighting. If you’re looking for a challenge, PvP is head on head and fast paced. If you are into insane PvP, than Aion Online is the game for you. The only blemish of the game is the estimated 400 hours of nothing, but grinding monsters in order to get to max level.
Crafting:
Crafting is a bit of a grind as well and consumes a great deal of kinah. The first step to crafting is to accept the various crafting quests that you want to specialize in and crafting ranges from cooking and potions to making weapons and armors. Crafting materials is essential part of the economy of Aion. As you can craft a great deal of armor from materials that you’ve bought or gathered and sell them to the Broker or in the Auction House. It earns a great deal of kinah and is something to do when you don’t want to spend all of your time grinding monsters in the upper levels. You do have to buy notes or scrolls in order to learn how to craft an item. Buying in the broker or killing the mobs that drop them obtains scrolls. However, when it comes to gathering, all you have to do is gather the materials, and you don’t need a scroll that will permit you to do that. In conclusion, Aion’s crafting is fun, relaxing, in-depth, and takes a lot of dedication to master.
Combat:
As I’ve said before, the combat is fast, in-depth, and requires a great deal of skill to master as well. Do not write mages or summoners off as the boring class. Every class is balanced in the game giving us the most intense PvP combat of any MMO I’ve seen. It isn’t the classes that are unbalanced, but the skill that takes to operate the class is unbalanced. For instance, there are many good templar tanks, but they wouldn’t stand a chance against a sorcerer who is skillful and mindful. Combat takes a great deal of skill for a few reasons. For Example, there are chain attacks that cause you to have to be quick with your reflexes in order to master. This combined with the fact that whether you are close, far, or the way you move will change your temporary stats. This offers a new field of skill called strategy. Strategy plays a big role in Aion’s combat system as you have to pick and know how your class will specialize. You must be aware of your weaknesses and maximize your strengths. A close range assassin won’t stand a chance against a long-range sorcerer. And, that sorcerer won’t stand a chance against a ranger. Understand your weaknesses and put them in your strategy. There are chain attacks, defense attacks, and even destructive attacks. Picking and choosing the time to put these attacks in play will be critical in your success in combat. With many hours of grind, you will learn how to develop and master your skills and strategy that will help you in PvP and PvE.
Levels 30-40:
As you advance in levels, combat will become progressively harder and will take more time to master new techniques. Also, the quests will start to run dry at the beginning of level 30. At this point, quests are for gathering items, material, armor, and gaining a great depth of the world of Aion. Quests at that point will not be for gaining XP because one quest will only raise your level by .2%. You’ll have to rely on grinding, and a lot of grinding. I tend to grind monsters 3 or 4 levels ahead of me and use buffs, potions, and treatments to keep my HP and MP up. Pick a grind spot that no one knows about and start grinding until you’ve leveled up. Then pick another grind spot with mobs 3 or 4 levels ahead of you. At this level you’ll have access to more instances and you’ll be able to travel to the upper part of the Abyss.
Levels 40-50:
At level 40, you’ll be grinding 98% of your XP, 2% will be from quests. To have reached this level will mean that you are a dedicated player. However, here at level 40 you are introduced to skills that will help you in PvP. These skills will be the base of your specialty, whether you want to be short range, long range, or in-between. Most skills are based off of timing and other things that are important. For Instance, if someone gets too close to a sorcerer, they can unleash a very powerful short-range attack. Every class has some type of attack for a place and time. During these last few levels you’ll be able to go to additional raiding areas and particulate in PvPvE that is unlike any other. It is very competitive and rigorous. You’ll be finishing up the PvE part of the story and moving onto the Abyss. During the last few levels, the story really focuses on the Abyss and its role in Aion. Don’t want to spoil the storyline so you guys will have to play to find out..
After level 50:
Things to do after level 50:
-Massive PvP; taking keeps, 200 vs. 200 battles, instances, dungeons.
-PvPvE instances and dungeons
-Helping others out
-A great deal and a variety of crafting
-Making kinah
However, endgame takes place in the Abyss’s core, when you log on, all you’re doing is battling it out. Destroying the other side in hopes that one day you’ll be able to gain victory and save your faction’s life. It is a struggle that won’t come easy. The game will feature monthly updates. NCsoft is adding more and more instances and dungeons for players to participate in. It is exciting, this MMORPG will have many expansions, and with plenty of things to do when you’re bored, Aion will expand to a greater success.
