Aion MMO

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…)

Aion Magazine - click here to download it for free!

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…)

Waiting for Aion to go open beta while relaxing in the sun.

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…)

Don't even think about soloing that monstrosity.

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…)

You can collect Abyss points for completing quests or killing the opposite faction.

Welcome to the Abyss, your new PvP haven from level 25 upwards. Well, there is more than PvP to enjoy in the Abyss but it’s certainly one of best reasons to visit the area. I thought I’d post a brief introduction on a few of the factors that make the Abyss so exciting.

The Abyss is the core of Atreia which joins both Elysea and Asmodae together. Torn apart from the Millennium war, the Abyss not only inhabits Elyos and Asmodians but also a third race called the Balaur. While the Elyos and Asmodians are player controlled, the Balaur are an AI controlled race. They appear in the Abyss, attempting to take control of the many castles dotted around the 3 tiers. (continue reading…)

The leader of the group can assign special icons to its members.

From firsthand experience I can honestly say that playing an MMORPG with no one else is very, very boring! Okay, I lie a little. At first it was awesome, I no longer had to put up with the usual irks of online gaming. No one was around to take that precious boss away from me or jump on the plant node I was extracting, things were good.

It’s just as soon as you hit a heavily aggro area or have a quest that requires a group, you start to struggle and it starts to become quite a grind to get anywhere safely. This is why MMOs try to focus on grouping and team work. (continue reading…)

When you open a store in Aion your avatar waves to attract attention from shoppers.

Aside from visiting the auction house or ‘Broker’, as it’s dubbed in Aion online, you can also open private stores to sell your loot. Private shops are the best way to avoid the placement fee a broker charges as well as have an open shop anywhere in the world, of course make sure you are somewhere safe!

Opening your store menu will pop up a box with slots to place items from your inventory into the store slots. You can even make a store name to market your goods to other players online. Slotting an item into the store will come up with an auto price the game sets but you can change it right there to make a profit or sell cheaper. (continue reading…)