The official magazine is a new magazine dedicated to the game.

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.

The response from NCsoft was very clear. They hadn’t been talking about Aion expansion packs at all: “the content updates Cristian-Peter Heimbach referred to in that interview are digital, free content updates, on the same level as almost all MMOs do these days.”

They go on to clarify how content updates will be rolled out and other bits and pieces. You can read the clarification of the Aion expansion packs here on the GamerZines main website which includes fuller details of the story.

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. We’ve also put a page explaining the Aion magazine on the main site.

It starts out as a really handy Beginner’s Guide, taking new players through the character creation process and how to make the most of the early zones, but it also has information on Ascension, where you get your wings and going beyond level 10, as well as an introduction to PvP and an interview with the Associate Producer of Aion along with her tips for getting ahead in Aion. Hopefully, it’s something of real use to the Aion community and a great way to introduce new players to the game to help the launch later this month.

Share, and as they say, enjoy.

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.

The first thing you need to do is bookmark the server status page which will give you a count down to open beta as well as a retail release countdown. That page also gives server status, so you can tell what server is up or down if you are having issues logging in on the day.

Download the client and patching it prior to the beta starting is a must. The latest patch is quite large and the Ncsoft launcher does not have the fastest upload speed, so getting the client now is essential.

If you do not have the client yet you will need to download the whole program from FilePlanet or GamersHell. If you’d like to try an alternative source then you can also use the torrent file (via bit torrent / readme) that will be very active right now and most likely offer the fastest download speed.

If you already have the client from closed beta but do not wish to download the new client, you can download the new patch via torrent as well the Ncsoft launcher. The torrent will be a whole lot faster.

All you need to do now is secure a beta key, Fileplanet will be giving keys away so keep an eye on this page. If you pre-order Aion you will be guaranteed beta access.

That should be all you need for open beta. To give yourself a good head start why not check out my new player guide.

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.

The video also shows off a more advanced version of the Stigma system with 3 more stigma slots to truly customise your class and make sure that you are not just the same as any other same class character. This is something a lot of players had requested prior to 1.5 as you have no control over the default stats of your class. It’s interesting to see now with the manastones and additions to the stigma system how much control and customisation you have now.

Also note worthy was the new tier for armour called ‘Eternal’. Armour tiers work in the colour of armour you pick up. Obviously the usual armour you purchase will be common (white). From drops you can get Superior (green), Heroic (blue) and Fabled (yellow/gold). Eternal, the new tier, will obviously be dropped only from high level bosses and be extremely rare. The drop shown during the video demonstration had 7 Manastone slots, so you can understand why they would be well worth getting your hands on.

]]> http://aion.blogs.gamerzines.com/gameplay/patch-15-instances/feed/ 0 http://aion.blogs.gamerzines.com/gameplay/patch-15-starting-video-walkthrough/ http://aion.blogs.gamerzines.com/gameplay/patch-15-starting-video-walkthrough/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:41:24 +0000 aionlauren http://aion.blogs.gamerzines.com/?p=220

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.

Selecting your class type at the start has not changed but the character creation system has had a meaty update for the 1.5 patch. This is mainly updates with faces, which was originally a strong collection of around 25 pre made faces and now around 40 pre created faces have been added. Most of these new additions are westernised styles for the new audience; you can play around with all the new hair styles and faces and change them up in the advanced editor. The other facial change was that eye colour can now be edited which was previously not available.

There has been an update to the body type selection as well. Instead of numbered styles you know have descriptions of body changes as well as the advanced editor has options to change leg and arm height meaning you can fully customise your characters body rather than just resizing certain areas.

Character names have been changed to now auto capitalise the first letter and keep the remaining in lower-case, mainly because of the sheer amount of users who add numbers and random capitals which really ruin the feel of the game.

Prologue videos have been added which start after creating your character and entering the game. These were available in the last closed beta weekend but are essentially a 1.5 feature. The purpose of the video is to purely give you an idea, a roll and purpose in Aion. During my closed beta experience I felt that my character was a very important to the story line even though I knew that everyone else was getting the same treatment. Cut scenes and narrative really are one of the more entertaining aspects of Aion, reminding me I was playing a story game rather than just some other MMO.

One of my favourite additions in 1.5 is the tutorial system. From levels 1 to 20, you’ll be taught various things in the world of Aion. Of course, reading a wall of text on how to play a game gets quite tiresome and I can honestly admit I skipped a bunch of information that would have been helpful. The new tutorial system highlights every time you do something new and then brings up a video explanation, which is fantastic as you are no longer trying to find what button that tutorial was previously going on about and are being shown exactly what you need to do.

A lot of these new features are very welcome and have truly improved on closed beta. I’m very interested to see the new western faces and video tutorials.

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.

There are also elite mobs that can be the same level as you but are too tough to beat alone. This is indicated by the style of the frame that holds the monsters name once selected.

This shows a normal mob frame, one that can be tackled at at your level. The frame is pretty basic so you can easily solo it at the same level or even 1-3 below.

This frame is larger in size and more intricate design. You will notice this time it has two stubs at the end and also 2 more starts in the circle. This means the mob is an elite mob and would require a team of 2-4 to kill it efficiently.

A hero mob will have a name frame like this one. Hero mobs are obviously a lot tougher than normal monsters and would require 2 groups (12 players) to alliance and defeat it.

Legendary Mobs have this frame and are obviously the toughest kind of monsters. Legendary mobs are usually bosses and require a legion (around 24 players) to defeat it.

Hopefully this would of given you a better idea of what to attack and not to attack when venturing around in Aion. I made the simple mistake of attacking an elite mob when I reached level 15 (Krall) and it was a very shocked experience indeed.

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.

The Elyos Legion in this video are not on home ground but rather Asmodae. Grouping up to complete an infiltration quest. The first two minutes show off the Elyos spirit area in Morheim. This area is full of usually aggressive spirits which attack the Asmodians but are passive to the Elyos. You get a good view of how PvP works too. The team later make their way closer to the ice fortress for another quest to speak to an Asmodian spy. Opposing faction avatars are highlighted in red, so it’s always easy to make out who to attack.

Fast forward to the 3 minute mark and you will see the Verteron Citadel event. Balaur start to attack the city and the Elyos must protect it. Some nice items were given out for the end of the closed beta including some dyes for armour.

The rest of the video shows the legion protecting Eltnam from an Asmodian attack, showing off even more PvP action.

At level 30 you can obtain new wings for your avatar.

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.

The catch is that it costs a massive 774,400 Kinah, which is a lot to pay for 30 seconds of flight time but they change the appearance of your current wings, so it also shows off your achievement of getting to level 30. If you brought the special edition of Aion then you will get these wings for free, I’d advice you try pre-order now.

Your wings can be upgraded again at level 40, which increases the time to 60 seconds and costs 9.6 million Kinah. At level 50, the current level cap, you can upgrade once more. The wings do not cost any Kinah but require you to finish a level 50 quest which you gain after hitting the cap. The wings offer only 35 seconds to flight time which is a downgrade to the level 40 wings but they also offer 120 bonus HP (hit points) for your avatar. You might find yourself holding onto your level 40 wings to swap over for when you need the boost in flight time.

After splashing some red dye on my Elyos rangers armour.

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.

You already have a rather customisable character from body type, hair style and facial features. Then the Legion cape colour and logo design are entirely adjustable. Now add the dye system that allows you to change the colour of your amour, just really goes to show you how much individual touches to make your character truly unique.

The colours so far known are Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Pink, Silver and Gold. If you check out the image above you’ll see I rocked out the free red dye that was given out. Looks amazing with my legions red cape too!

It’s very easy to apply as well and works just like a manastone. You select the dye you wish to use, then just click on the piece of armour that you want to colour and then take a look at your character rocking out the new look. You can even remove the dye by talking to the sewing NPC located at the artisan hall in your main city.