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Aion - Open Chinese beta w/english patch, been playing for 60 hours so far. It is a killer APP, you guys still got 2 days to get involved, go to Naomi Cheungs' myspace page and follow her instructions.

Any MMO fan should take this oppertunity to test this game out.

*ps it's a bit of a beast on specs.


Well worth it.

Anyone played the beta for this? I missed it >.<

can i play it on my mac?

Played one of the closed betas.

Not a fan.

It's just a typical Korean grind-fest MMO. Bored the hell out of me and I haven't tried it again since.

pay to play or no?

It's pay to play, yeah.

Basically, if you like WoW or Perfect World you might like this. If not...don't bother.

Originally posted by Peach
Played one of the closed betas.

Not a fan.

It's just a typical Korean grind-fest MMO. Bored the hell out of me and I haven't tried it again since.

I was worried it would be one of those -_- Knowing me, I'll buy it, play it for a month then it'll sit on the shelf next to WoW, Warhammer Online, Galaxies and Guild Wars.

Played in the closed beta event. Only one thing bothered me and that was you can fly but only in the most useless of places like in one of the three towns I went to and no where else on the maps. I would hope they get rid of that and just allow you to fly every where. Started to get pissed off having to run back and forward to places since the maps are so big.

Originally posted by Peach
Played one of the closed betas.

Not a fan.

It's just a typical Korean grind-fest MMO. Bored the hell out of me and I haven't tried it again since. This game is far from Korean rice farmer territory, exp gains are fast, quest exp is a lot. You can easily lvl on quests alone and faster than just grinding on mobs for hours.

Originally posted by Hazardous
I was worried it would be one of those -_- Knowing me, I'll buy it, play it for a month then it'll sit on the shelf next to WoW, Warhammer Online, Galaxies and Guild Wars.

Hey, don't even group GW in with the rest of those

Originally posted by Magee
Played in the closed beta event. Only one thing bothered me and that was you can fly but only in the most useless of places like in one of the three towns I went to and no where else on the maps. I would hope they get rid of that and just allow you to fly every where. Started to get pissed off having to run back and forward to places since the maps are so big.

This game is far from Korean rice farmer territory, exp gains are fast, quest exp is a lot. You can easily lvl on quests alone and faster than just grinding on mobs for hours.

Quests that consist of nothing other than "go kill xxx numbers of yyy" (which is all I came across in Aion while I played) is grind. Doesn't matter that they lessened the amount of it present in the western release (I have heard that the Chinese/Korean version is much, much worse), it's still a grind-based game.

Played the closed beta. It was cool, but nothing special. Won't pursuit.

Has WoW beat.

The hidden player stats combined with the look of the armour not necessarily having to match the armour stats creates for a far superior PVP experience, where you can't be entirely certain how powerful a certain character might be; it adds a greater sense of risk to PvP combat.

The character customisation allows for far more diversity, which is important in giving the player more of a sense of individuality in an MMORPG.

And lastly, it actually has an underlying storyline that directs and drives the player through the contents of the game - fundamental for any kind of RPG (and something that WoW lacks).

Not to mention the far superior graphics and more captivating artistic design.

Originally posted by Peach
Quests that consist of nothing other than "go kill xxx numbers of yyy" (which is all I came across in Aion while I played) is grind. Doesn't matter that they lessened the amount of it present in the western release (I have heard that the Chinese/Korean version is much, much worse), it's still a grind-based game. Are all mmorpg not basically grind based? You need to spend a considerable amount of time leveling to get any where in them. Really this is one of the least intense mmorpg I've played, I just wouldn't class Aion as a no lifer grind fest.

There were many quests that didn't involve hunting mobs and they were the ones that pissed me off, running back and forward between NPCs some times on opposite sides of the map. I got to lvl 13 in the three day beta event just playing casually a few hours a day but I prefer to lvl on mobs while doing only the main story line quests. I just think this will be one of the best out there for a while and can't wait till it's released.

Not really. Most are, though, which is one of the things I tend to dislike about MMOs (well, one of many things). Grind sucks.

The only one I play is Guild Wars, which is pretty much grind-free. You can fully level up a character in a dozen hours without much of a problem, and that can all be done while just playing the story and doing sidequests and not killing mobs at all.

Looking forward to see what's the new questing concept with TOR when it's coming

I only thought this game would be good because of the fighting system.. but when I played the chinese beta, I wasnt so impressed..

customization, check

prettiness, check

Lineage 2 mob grind?.... check... -_-

I'm waiting on FF14 atm.. I'm excited to see how they plan to change MMOs

Originally posted by Peach
It's pay to play, yeah.

Basically, if you like WoW or Perfect World you might like this. If not...don't bother. meh must be more grinding, i didn't like WOW that much.

I'll wait for SWTOR instead.

Originally posted by Peach
Not really. Most are, though, which is one of the things I tend to dislike about MMOs (well, one of many things). Grind sucks.

The only one I play is Guild Wars, which is pretty much grind-free. You can fully level up a character in a dozen hours without much of a problem, and that can all be done while just playing the story and doing sidequests and not killing mobs at all. Well I can understand why you don't like Aion if you're not really in to MMOs. Although what do you do once you reach lvl cap on Guild Wars? I've always seen lvlin to be a slow process where the max shouldn't be reached in a couple of days, weeks or even months. It's the main part of the game that once you finish theres not much left other than pvp and getting better items for pvp.

Originally posted by Peach
Hey, don't even group GW in with the rest of those


Its an MMO that I never play, it goes on the pile mhm

I'm definitely getting The Old Republic though, if they made that free to play it'd probably make a massive dent in the MMO market.

Originally posted by Magee
Well I can understand why you don't like Aion if you're not really in to MMOs. Although what do you do once you reach lvl cap on Guild Wars? I've always seen lvlin to be a slow process where the max shouldn't be reached in a couple of days, weeks or even months. It's the main part of the game that once you finish theres not much left other than pvp and getting better items for pvp.

You actually play the game. There's, you know, an actual plot and storyline to play through and levelling is very much non-important

^ sounds like SWTOR

Yes, in Guild Wars, levelling up is really just a training mechanism. I do worry when people consider grinding to be the dominant gameplay mechanism of a genre, seeing as grinding is essentially brainless.

The thing is, people will do repetitive, pointless tasks if put in front of them, it seems, and so monthly fee MMOs need grinds to keep people paying. Hence a lack of interest from thism poster.

Originally posted by Peach
You actually play the game. There's, you know, an actual plot and storyline to play through and levelling is very much non-important Well I don't play these kind of games for there interesting story lines, thats what consoles are for. I didn't even bother reading the quest dialogue in Aion.

Man, that's depressing...

Seriously. I play games for the storyline, pretty much.

Originally posted by Magee
Well I can understand why you don't like Aion if you're not really in to MMOs. Although what do you do once you reach lvl cap on Guild Wars? I've always seen lvlin to be a slow process where the max shouldn't be reached in a couple of days, weeks or even months. It's the main part of the game that once you finish theres not much left other than pvp and getting better items for pvp.

Guild wars was not about PvE and leveling, it is a PvP game.

Not really. The PvE to it is huge. It's just that leveling is not at all an important part of the game.

Originally posted by Magee
Well I don't play these kind of games for there interesting story lines, thats what consoles are for. I didn't even bother reading the quest dialogue in Aion.

Oh lawdy, NO!

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Man, that's depressing... We all play for different reasons. Seriously show me one morpg with a good story line, there all just boring filler there to tie the quests together. If I want to be entertained by fiction I will read a book or watch a film, some thing meant for the job that will actually entertain me and not just bore me with cliche plots and twists.

RPGs, even the MMO type, are also intended to tell a story that captivates the player. It's just something that a lot of Western Developers seem to forget, which is why we have jokes like WoW running around.

It pains me to admit that you people are right. WoW's story is a joke. Or rather it's a really bad joke what it did to Warcraft story.

At least fans have The Sunwell Trilogy to feel good about.

Originally posted by Omniverseria


At least fans have The Sunwell Trilogy to feel good about.

*Rocks back and forth with his copy of Warcraft 3 clenched tightly to his chest*

Originally posted by Magee
We all play for different reasons. Seriously show me one morpg with a good story line, there all just boring filler there to tie the quests together. If I want to be entertained by fiction I will read a book or watch a film, some thing meant for the job that will actually entertain me and not just bore me with cliche plots and twists. FFXI did have a pretty good story.

Problem is for the better and more interesting missions you needed to be high level and need a damn team/part of you won't complete it.

Originally posted by Omniverseria
RPGs, even the MMO type, are also intended to tell a story that captivates the player. It's just something that a lot of Western Developers seem to forget, which is why we have jokes like WoW running around. What story did WOW have anyway? I agree with you because the game isn't that great story wise and gameplay wise.

Originally posted by Wolverine2179
FFXI did have a pretty good story.

^^

FFXI has easily had the best storyline for an MMORPG.

Originally posted by Wolverine2179
FFXI did have a pretty good story.

Problem is for the better and more interesting missions you needed to be high level and need a damn team/part of you won't complete it. Never played it, I would like to think there are a few mmo's which at least have a captivating story but it's just not important to me, It's never been the reason I enjoy these kind of games.

I would personally say a balance of story and gameplay for an MMO would be good.

FFXI did have good balance, and the leveling isn't mindless grinding like other typical MMO's. You actually have to fight in parties to gain experience points and every time you get in parties you learn how the system works, you learn how each job(samurai, white mage, paladin etc etc) plays a major role in parties.

The story is also pretty good for an MMO and the game is relatively difficult requiring you to form teams/parties when undertaking most of the quests and story missions.

I have a great feeling that the only game that is going to surpass this kind of quality is the old republic from what i have seen.

I have played many MMO's and many of them fail to actually impress me and keep me interested, FFXI was the only MMO ever to succeed in doing that.

FFXI I couldn't stand. I played it for about a week and quit after I only got to level 5 in that timespan. And I couldn't even party up with my friends as they were much higher levels than I am.

Guild Wars is the only MMO that's ever kept my interest. Good, long storylines, minimal grind, and it's just plain fun.

FFXI requires extreme patience and a crap load of time to play.

And thats why i quit after wasting so much of my life in that game.
As awesome as the game was in its prime, it just took too much time to do anything and there is alot more to real life that living in a fictional world.

Seriously, i have met people in that game that has played for 4-5years + and they told me "This IS my life".

They actually believe they are their character and that they look like them, their eyes only fixate on the monitor infront of them.

Originally posted by Magee
We all play for different reasons.

Do you actually play FOR the grind?

I klnow people are going to have varying interests in storyline, but I am very much left in the dark about what you are playing monthly for.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Do you actually play FOR the grind?

I klnow people are going to have varying interests in storyline, but I am very much left in the dark about what you are playing monthly for. Yes I enjoy grinding. I play to reach lvl cap, get the best items, pvp, craft and any thing else the game offers. It may be hard for you to accept but we are all different, the story line is never the main selling point of these games. Most people I know are the same, they play with there friends, they want to lvl up fast mainly to pvp. It's all about the pvp for me.

The reason it is hard for me to accept is because, as I say, the grind is brainless.

If you were just given all the best stuff for free, would you enjoy it? No. The implication is that you have earned it.

Except grinding is not a skill-based task for which 'earning' is really appropriate; it is just so much mouse-clicking, effectively hazard free.

If there was actually any skill, imagination or genuine gameplay involved it would be fine. As it is... you are effectively being duped into thinking it is a worthwhile experience to pay money to do nothing but click a mouse button thousands of times in order to get stuff which will do nothing other than make your mouse clicks slightly more efficient.

Without things like storyline, setting and atmosphere, these games are creatively bankrupt, and that is why support for grinding and ignoring everything else worries me. The ONLY part I understand- even though I dislike it myself- is doing it as a competitive edge, as something to play against other people. But even there, Guild Wars quickly realised- after heavy demand by its players- that GRINDING to get better at PvP was insane (because it simply imbalances PvP immediately, like having a chess game where one side has two queens), and instead let everyone imemdiately do PvP on the same power level, separate from their role-playing characters, if they wanted. All the super-powerful stuff you get from storyline in Guild Wars is actively unavailable in its PvP, which is a purely skill-based activity, which is partly why it is so enormously popular.

So again, I see no intelligent justification in what you say. There is, in fact, a very high demand for a more interactive experience and better storylines from these games. Warhammer said it would do it (not sure how successful it was), SWTOR is doing it, FFXIV purports to be doing it, and the Guild Wars franchise has always done it (even though Arenanet was surprised by how popular the storylines were). So don't go saying that the mindless grind is actually what everyone wants, because that basically insults all of humanity. These games would not be one fraction as popular as they are if they were just grind and nothing else.

In short- saying that Aion is grind-heavy is a legitimate criticism. It is likewise understandable to be completely aghast at people that ignore all the setting and background of the game in favour of glorifying the gameplay void that is the grind.

I definitely have to agree with Ush there, though I tend to like PvP a little bit more. Just the really casual stuff, though, competitive missions and random arenas and the such - another thing GW wins at, in having different levels of PvP.

(and I absolutely love how you can make PvP-only characters in GW and just jump straight in with everything you've unlocked. I can't even count how many of those I've made, played with, deleted when I got bored, and then remade. It's fun )

Originally posted by Ushgarak
The reason it is hard for me to accept is because, as I say, the grind is brainless.

If you were just given all the best stuff for free, would you enjoy it? No. The implication is that you have earned it.

Except grinding is not a skill-based task for which 'earning' is really appropriate; it is just so much mouse-clicking, effectively hazard free. It is earning, more time devoted to lvlin up = more reward. Who would want every thing handed to them? You would just quit since theres nothing to aim for. The goal is high lvl items, the motivation is to pvp. I can't comment on the Aion pvp since I only did 1v1 duels.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
you are effectively being duped into thinking it is a worthwhile experience to pay money to do nothing but click a mouse button thousands of times in order to get stuff which will do nothing other than make your mouse clicks slightly more efficient.
Yes that is the general idea although no ones being tricked to do any thing.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Without things like storyline, setting and atmosphere, these games are creatively bankrupt, and that is why support for grinding and ignoring everything else worries me. Aion has a good setting and atmosphere, I'm sure the story line is fine from the parts I read.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
So again, I see no intelligent justification in what you say. There is, in fact, a very high demand for a more interactive experience and better storylines from these games. Warhammer said it would do it (not sure how successful it was), SWTOR is doing it, FFXIV purports to be doing it, and the Guild Wars franchise has always done it (even though Arenanet was surprised by how popular the storylines were). So don't go saying that the mindless grind is actually what everyone wants, because that basically insults all of humanity. These games would not be one fraction as popular as they are if they were just grind and nothing else. I never said any thing about every one wanting any thing. I'm sure there are lots of people who want those things, I'm not one of them. You are the one implying I'm an idiot for not being interested in the quest storys. I've never played MMOs or wanted to play one thinking wow I bet they have a great quest line. The gameplay and general feel is what makes me play. For me it's about competition, I would not play any MMO full stop if I didn't have friends to do it with.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
In short- saying that Aion is grind-heavy is a legitimate criticism. It is likewise understandable to be completely aghast at people that ignore all the setting and background of the game in favour of glorifying the gameplay void that is the grind. It's understandable with people like you, I must look pretty small from up there. You don't know me, my situation or any thing yet you are very quick to judge. Why does how some one play a game matter so much? I do not play MMOs to be mentally stimulated it is simply some thing to pass the time and enjoy with friends.

In Lineage 2 you get most of the story from reading the lore on their website.. I don't know if aion is similar..

if people can hit "Random Name" and "Generate Random Character" and be happy with that for god knows how many levels, I don't see why its unbelievable that someone can enjoy grinding

Bump.

Thoughts on the game, from those that have tried it, so far?

I'm currently playing this game right now, and I feel it's pretty solid thus far, obviously you have to grind, like nearly 98% of the rpg's out there, so this isn't anything new.

My buddy who played WoW who's now on Aion stated that it does feel a bit like that game, however with 1000000000x better looking graphics. I can attest to that, since WoW's models look like they were made by a hired 7 yr old kid who spent a total of 3 hours on them.

At this point, it's solid, and currently I'm level 30 with my Templar, I previously had a lvl 25 Sin but gave up on them, since I didn't like their play, Temp ftw baby!

My buddies character (Male in the back with the Collection Wing's, I also have those as well, since we both got the collector's edition version) and my female Templar up front.

We Are Ready to Rumble!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v84/Larly/Aion0244.jpg