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My 12cents
13
Apr

Sup. So basically AION is in Open Beta in China at the moment. My ISP hosted the client files for this, so I downloaded it to have a play around and pass some time. Basically, the game is a cross between Lineage 2 (Eastern MMO graphic style + PvP sieges) and WoW (Quest based levelling + Dungeon instances). Release is scheduled in the US for August/September 2009.



“Aion: The Tower of Eternity is a fantasy MMORPG, chronicling an epic conflict between the Elyos, the Asmodians and a server-controlled NPC faction, the warlike Balaur.”



Lore

Once their world was whole; a perfect union joined at the centre by The Tower of Eternity. When a great catastrophe shattered The Tower of Eternity, it split the world into two halves (literally) and left an empty void (the abyss) –The catastrophe awoke the Balaur, a warring race exiled within the Abyss. The Balaur now seek revenge on both of these new worlds, sparking an epic conflict. The conflict between those 3 races is about Aether, a substance needed for flying, and the Abyss is the only region where you can find this material in huge quantities. The inhabitants isolated to their own parts of the planet, figuring they were the only survivors.



It wasn’t until recently that they met each other in the abyss, and they blame each other for the destruction of the tower of eternity. There is no good or evil despite appearances.



The Asmodians evolved differently due to them living on the top half of the planet. Being devoid of sunlight and warmth changed them. They have claws, weird manes on their backs, and their eyes glow red when in combat.


The Elyos lived on the lower half of the planet, with the sunlight and warmth. They resemble a normal human. They believed AION (god) had blessed them after seeing the twisted appearance of the Asmodians.



Classes

When you create your character, can only choose from 4 classes. At level 9, you will have the decision of which path to go down. (Similar to Lineage 2 in this respect).

Elyos character select screen


Warrior:
-> Gladiator (Meele DPS)
-> Templar (Tank)

Scout:
-> Rogue (like L2/WoW Rogue with stealth)
-> Ranger (Ranged DPS)

Mage:
-> Sorceror (Magic DPS)
-> Spiritmaster (Magic DPS + Pet)

Priest:
-> Cleric (Healer)
-> Chanter (Support Healer + Buffer)

There are no skill talent trees, you will have to customise your build with gear and the "stigma" system. This allows you to slot 4-5 different skills out of 10-15 skills, kinda like a mini-talent tree.

Skills have combos. Certain attack skills/spells only become available after you successfully land a particular skill/spell. You're able to chain 2-3 skills in succession which leads to extra damage.


Laying some smack down with the Combo system


There is also a Divine Power ability (basically the same as WAR Morale ability) allowing you to use crazy skills when the gauge charges up.


Beta Impressions


I've levelled a ranger to level 10 so far, on Elyos side. No PvP at my level yet, so can't comment on that. The factions cannot talk to each other, like WoW, their speak shows up as gibberish.

The game's character customisation is impressive. You can basically make anything from some sexy super bitch to a deformed abomination.




The armour in the game looks fucking sexy as hell compared to WAR or WoW.



Performance is smooth as silk, playing at 1920x1200 with 4xAA and 16AF. Graphics are also sexy as hell compared to other MMO's (except AoC, but its performance sucks). Animation is fluid.


Flying is the "big" thing in this game. You can fly from level 10 onwards. However, many zones are flight restricted and there is a 1 minute flight time and 30 sec cooldown. Flight time can be increased with items/potions as far as I know.


In Summary:
AION is quite nice. If you've played Lineage 2, its an improved version of that, without the grind. Armour looks cool as hell and characters look completely different thanks to the customisation system. There are castle sieges, and a dedicated open world PvP area (the abyss). Flying is quite cool, maybe more of a gimmick, but we will see how it comes into play later on.

I'll be picking this game up on release with a group of friends.

For those of you interested in the game, here is some further reading: http://www.aionsource.com/forum/general-discussion/10873-ultimate-aion-faq.html

Trailer:

{watch in HQ)


More Screens:


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