Aion MMO

It’s been under wraps for months, but we’re now really excited to be able to reveal Aion: The Official Magazine. This is unlike anything that’s been produced before. For a start, it’s a regular magazine, published every 4 weeks. Secondly, it’s subscription based. The GamerZines are advertising supported, but this magazine is like a regular print magazine in that it’s a subscription model. Unlike GamerZines, the Aion magazine will be published via a secure account for each subscriber and will be readable online, rather than as a download.

What makes it even better is that each issue will come with a unique in-game item for every reader, and there’s a selection of subscription offers that include packs of extra in-game items, as well as substantial savings off the full price. All the information, and pre-orders, are now available from http://www.aionmagazine.com/

Yesterday we all got a little excited after one of the NCsoft spokesmen appeared to announce that Aion would be getting an expansion pack every year. It looked like this was in addition to content updates, but GamerZines decided to contact NCsoft directly and verify what exactly he had meant. (continue reading…)

As long time readers of this blog will know, the reason we’ve been playing Aion so much and posting about what we found out is that we’ve been working on a digital magazine for NCsoft, and I’m pleased to say that it’s now available. Like all the GamerZines magazines, it’s a free download, so all you need is Adobe Reader.

It’s pretty big, more than we’d originally intended, but we got so caught up in the game, we couldn’t stop writing, so it’s a twenty page magazine dedicated entirely to Aion, which is hopefully something you’ll all enjoy. Download the Aion magazine here. (continue reading…)

Fed up of hearing about Aion rather than playing it or maybe you got too addicted during closed beta? The retail release of Aion in Europe and North America is starting in 23 days, but there will be an open beta for everyone to participate in.

The open beta will run from the 6th to the 13th of September, the level cap will remain at 30 but the client will be running at 1.5, which means all the new quests, instances, western changes are implemented. (continue reading…)

I thought I’d also post this video from gamescom that shows off a bit of information about upcoming instances for Aion. This above video is a preview for a some of the new high level instances in patch 1.5 that will take place in the Abyss and all across Aion. I didn’t get a chance to try out any of the instances during closed beta, so it’s interesting to see the above video on how it all works. (continue reading…)

NCSoft have been very busy showing off Aion at this years Gamescom. The most interesting part of what they were presenting at the show was the 1.5 update to Aion, which contains a huge array of additions and changes for the September launch. A lot of the changes talked about were westernised faces for avatars, western references for quests, a large array of video tutorials leading up to level 20 and so much more. Hit the jump for some commentary on the video and comparisons to closed beta. (continue reading…)

The bulk of playing any MMORPG is spent killing monsters to level up, gather items and complete quests. So it should be noted very early on what you can and can’t kill from an early level. The last thing you want to do is waste thousands of Kinah in soul reviving for experience. It’s too expensive and could cost you travel expenses to an area you really need to go.

The colour of enemies names will change colour to give you an idea if they are safe to attack or not, depending on your level. These colours are white for very safe, yellow for safe, a dark orange for a challenge and red for dangerous. (continue reading…)

Aions servers have officially shut down in preparation for the big wipe and open beta. Thankfully, the Divination Legion I joined compiled a video of various events and group quests they did during the last closed beta.

The video above gives you a good preview on PvP, quests and grouping within Aion. I’ll be analysing the video to give you an idea on what is going on and linking to relating blogs that offer a more detailed explanation. (continue reading…)

After hitting level 10 and becoming a Deava, you also unlock the first set of wings. These are the default wings which are angel styled for the Elyos and Bat liked for the Asmodians.

At level 30 you can upgrade your wings for the first time. The wings do not simply upgrade as you level however, the level 30 wings increase your flight time by 30 seconds and can be purchased from a vendor in your races main town. (continue reading…)

For the end of the closed beta, everyone who logged into Aion received some free goodies. This was a small treat given to the closed beta testers as, when open beta begins, the servers will be wiped, removing all closed beta accounts and hours of hard work!

Items ranged from a seed that turned you into an angry looking corn, resurrection stones and even red & blue dyes. This is something I wanted to touch on as it’s what makes Aion one of the more customizable MMOs out there. (continue reading…)