Aion worth playing?

[Chinch]

Sorry for the stupid thread title, I just didn't know what to put. I'm a big MMO fan, played WoW and FFXI for quite a bit and was just curious to see how Aion has been doing since its launch? I know it's still fairly new but how's the game like? Does the game have a solid player base? As in is it not deserted and empty? How's the PvE? Do you think the game will improve in the future and turn into a great MMO?

edit: What are the most populated servers? Specifically EST servers with awesome and active forums.

[Chinch]

Oh and if I start playing, say tomorrow... how good is the double experience weekend? If I play a good amount, how high of a level can I get to this weekend?

[Katlan]

If you like grinding like a Korean currency farmer and end game that is repeating the same 6 man instance over and over again outside of zerg on zerg fort wars, then yes.. this game is for u lol.

oh yeah, there are fort instances. 5 instances.. 3 of w/ are the same dungeon skin/mobs

[Rehont]

From what I understand .. if you liked the way WoW was you will like Aion. Everyone says Aion is WoW that looks better (I didnt play WoW so I really cant tell you)

With a double exp weekend and you seriously grind and quest .. you can expect to reach 25 (some classes 30 depending on the groups and such). If you are of a unusual calibur .. you might hit 35-40, but 25 is easily attainable

[Chinch]

Cool, yea I heard from lots of people that it's a grindfest but honestly I don't think I'd mind that much, as long as their is a nice, active community I should be good to go.

Some other questions, what are the most popular classes? What classes are wanted most in groups and in endgame?

[Katlan]

grinding didnt bother me until u reach 50... then there is NOTHING to do but grind. Only way to make real money is to grind and maybe RNG will favor u w/a drop lol. I stopped playing after Miragents shoulders took 30 medals to get, and each medal takes about 1 1/2-2hr+ of grinding depending on how lucky u are on mob drops

[Chinch]

What is good about RNG? I assume that's Ranger

[Trichocyst]

A lot of people like to complain about Aion, but I think it's a game with a lot of potential. I have a lot of fun playing it. I like that you can get a lot accomplished with a small dedicated group. I don't find it any more grindy than FFXI was and I like that you can do a lot by yourself or with a group. I like the new patch. It's made leveling easier, instances more fun.

I don't tend to visit or hang around any forums but BG.

[Pooky]

Cool, yea I heard from lots of people that it's a grindfest but honestly I don't think I'd mind that much, as long as their is a nice, active community I should be good to go.

Some other questions, what are the most popular classes? What classes are wanted most in groups and in endgame?

Rangers are Fotm. Templar, cleric and to a lesser extent chanter are the must haves in a group, they're few and far between however since eveyone wants to pew pew.


My advice: take advantage of the double exp weekend, level a few classes to 30, and take the one you like most to 50.

[Katlan]

What is good about RNG? I assume that's Ranger

RNG = random number generator

[Chinch]

RNG = random number generator

Oh, haha, FFXI in my brain.

How many instances are there while leveling? A good amount? Can anyone write a list of instances?

[Drex]

Commonly done instances for Elyos are:

Nochsana Training Camp (NTC): 25-28
Fire Temple (FT): 31ish-38, but usually 32-35 or so
Steel Rake (3 different parts - SR mid, lower, upper in order of levels): 40-50
Dark Poeta (DP): 50

And some lower/upper fort instances. Usually need to be 33-40 to do lower fort instances, and most upper fort instance groups want you to be 50 since they involve timed fights where faster time = more rewards. Your faction also has to have the fort to do the instances, and those don't change hands much.

There's also some less common instances like Draupnir Cavern and Theobomos Labs that can be rewarding, but you'd have to run them with a static or take a long time to fill your group. Not many people do draup, and theo labs takes forever.

[Chinch]

Cool sounds like a pretty solid game so far...

I hear from some people that Elyos is more popular than Asmo? Do more people play Elyos?

Also what servers for EST do you guys recommend?

[altwight]

Aion is both like FFXI and WoW at the same time. The quests are identical to WoW, go out kill x amount of shit come back turn it in. FFXI comes into play with the low drop rates, crafting system and notorious monsters. The crafting in aion is almost identical to FFXI just more user friendly.

If you play, I recommend playing a class that is not boring. Typically all spellcasters are absurdly boring to play until late levels. Maybe it's just be but avoiding interactions with monsters is just not my idea of fun. I'd rather take a beating than run away from a mob the whole time.

Classes I recommend playing as your first. (My opinions)

Assassin(45): This was my first class I picked on release day. Now 45 I'm pretty much happy with my choice. It's definitely my favorite class due to the variety of skills and strategy that needs to be used. Very hard to get the hang of during low levels as it's very squishy. I suggest socketing Evasion manastones at first. Sell your attack+1 and physical crit stones for money during your starting levels. Around 30+ is when you should stack crit. HP works too (less effective imo) Assassins require lots of healing potions/resting because you're always taking damage. Requires skill to be good at pvp (reason i like it so much)

Ranger(30): I've never really liked ranger at all. It's rather boring but it kills fast though it's even squishier than Assassins. Glass cannon pretty much. Honestly as a ranger you don't even need to socket manastones early level. Generally you want crit but as I said they sell for a lot and money at low levels is essential. Basic killing strat calls for snaring your enemy and kiting them around without getting hit (boring) Easy mode pvp just like rangers in WoW
Solos elites

Sorcerer(30): Explodes the shit out of monsters extremely fast, however you've to rest your mana back too often for my taste. Sorcerers are the CC of Aion. Your main job in a group is to usually sleep the adds and manage your sleep IF adds are present. Takes a while to level due to the excessive resting. I really hate this class. This class is another good for pvp though it requires a bit more skill than a Ranger however less than the Assassins. Use magic boost manastones or MP(low lvl)
Solos elites but requires more skill

Cleric(40): EXTREMELY BORING TO LEVEL. You kill pretty slow but because you're a healing you can continue to grind longer. Resting your mana is also required for the Cleric unless you have mana pots. This class is one of my favorite PVP classes. Just because if you do it right you can run away from a million enemy players and have them chase you around forever. Cleric has the widest variety of rolls in Aion. You can literally tank, heal and dps. They're basically the paladins of Aion without taunt (however healing = MASSIVE aggro so without a taunting class in your group you can definitely tank, I did from 33-39) Clerics are also like RDMs from FFXI, they can solo pretty much everything Aion can dish at you. Use HP manastones as a cleric. They're also great NM hunters.
Solos elites

Templar(33): Templars are fun if you liked paladins in FFXI or WoW (without so much of the healing aspect) They can take a beating but they kill relatively slow but not painstakingly slow if you keep your weapons up to date. Obviously you're a tanking class so you just let the mob bash you. Please though, if you choose this class TAUNT everytime you can. Aggro is additive in this game taunt everytime you can. Templars can use HP manastones at low levels however I see a lot socketing Crit and attack.

Those are the classes I've played personally

Spiritmaster: These are supposedly one of the top ranking PvP classes in the game. Fear, Fear, Fear, Fear = win. Spiritmasters are boring to level from what I've heard. You can solo elites on par with rangers for fast exp. Spiritmasters are the warlocks of Aion. They use dots and pets and kite mobs around. They use HP and magic boost manastones.

Gladiator: The DPS version of a templar. Imagine them like a fury warrior only with better tanking survivability. Gladiators are limited to single target taunts only. They're the pure PHYSICAL dps class of Aion. Typically they use Crit or attack manastones. They're easy to level because of the plate armor and large dps range. Easy mode leveling. They're meh in pvp until you get decently geared and then they become destructive plate armor wielding beasts.

Chanter: DPS/Healer think of them as RDMs only less RDM like. Typically if the tank is in a bind or you guys pull too many mobs by mistake you will want to start healing the tank if you're smart. Chanters who straight DPS during group encounters really annoy the piss out of me. They are really good in PVP after 41 from what I've heard though they get the short end of the stick at 50 also from what I've heard. They use crit manastones but low level I'd suggest HP.

Basically if you can get hp/mana potions you're set for leveling. I recommend leveling Alchemy no matter what class you choose. Crafting cost a lot of money in Aion but it can also make a lot of money if you're smart about it. As your first character, I recommend keeping your essencetapping up to par with your level as its used for pretty much every craft.

edit: i suggest alchemy cause it can make pots however it's very crappy at making money.

blah blah

[Trichocyst]

Azphel is a huge EST server. That's where I play (Elyos). Theobomos Labs is WAY more accessible now. We run it regularly in under an hour.

[Correction]

Everyone says Aion is WoW that looks better (I didnt play WoW so I really cant tell you)

Aion has Instanced dungeons.
Aion has a little action bar at the bottom.
Aion's quests reward money, gear and experience points.

The similarities to WoW end there, really.

[Grey Jorildyn]

Just quit Aion yesterday.

the game is really fun getting to 50. The instances are interesting, exciting at times, and can be rewarding (should be now anyway) in a number of ways.

Once you get to 50, there is really no endgame content. If you PvP a lot, then prepare to deal with a lot of QQing from butthurt morons. This applies to whether you are rifting (entering opposing faction realms), abyss (flying combat blows), or doing forts (some actual strategic stuff here, sorta cool). If you enjoy PvE, all you'll ever do is Dark Poeta because that's where the good gear for PvE is, and no one will ever want to do anything else anyway. Upper abyss fort instances are the only other thing you might have the opportunity to do and that is totally based on how well your faction does int he abyss.

Just prepare for a lot of the same awful community crap that you see on all other PvPvE games. Classes are unbalance in PvP and things change dramatically whether you are in flight or on the ground.

Anything else? PM me if you like, I've played since Beta.

[Trichocyst]

I don't really seem to be having the same experience at level 50 that other people are. I'm doing a lot of different instances regularly, making new friends, I'm enjoying helping my lower level friends, and I'm working on my gear at a pace I can live with.

[Pooky]

I don't really seem to be having the same experience at level 50 that other people are. I'm doing a lot of different instances regularly, making new friends, I'm enjoying helping my lower level friends, and I'm working on my gear at a pace I can live with.

This.

I was having the same problems as Merona when I was playing at launch, now that I'm taking my time and playing to have fun (read: shit on people) its a whole different game.

[Grey Jorildyn]

I was playing the game fairly hardcore. DP nearly every night for months, Krotan/Kysis/Miren as well, and sometimes Bakarma and Lannok (with princess). It was really taxing and we rarely came away with anything worthwhile.

My group kept me playing though. We had A-ranks every run (finishing with 2:30 left), and were missing only one chest each fort instance. It was hard to just walk away from them because finding amazing players on Lumiel was incredibly difficult. But in the end needed peace of mind. Graduate school and all.