Massive Nerd

Yesterday I previewed Gathering. Now, what to do with all that stuff?

Craft!

Aion has 6 main crafts:
Cooking - Food buffs are very important in Aion, even moreso than in WoW and other games.
Alchemy - The same can be said for potions. Alchemy can also make Spellbooks and Orbs, Sorcerer and Spiritmaster weapons.
Armorsmithing - Makes Plate and Mail Armor, as well as Shields.
Weaponsmithing - Swords, Maces, Daggers, Greatswords and Polearms
Handicrafting - Jewelry, Bows and Staves
Sewing - Cloth and Leather Armor

For this preview, we're going to use Weaponsmithing, an awesome choice for my Beta Gladiator.


First off, find your trainer. In Pandaemonium, all the crafting trainers are in one section of the city. A small amount of Kinah will teach you the skill of your choice up to level 99.


To start crafting, simply right click on the appropriate table.


This will open the Crafting window. The window displays all recipes you know, and clicking on the recipe will display the necessary ingredients.


Starting a craft will open the same Pass/Fail Window as Gathering. Once the craft is started, the materials are consumed. You are also locked out from any actions while the Craft is working. So, if the Fail bar starts growing, you're stuck.

After a successful craft, many recipes will have a chance for a High Quality outcome. If this happens, a SECOND Pass/Fail Window will open, and attempt to create your HQ item. A White item will attempt to create a Green, Green to Blue and Blue to Gold. Some recipes can even "Double HQ."


Work Orders are the primary method of leveling your Craft. These are special quests you pick up fro your trainer. You can obtain the first one at Level 1, and gain a new one at 10, 20, etc. In these quests, the trainer will give you a special quest item, and ask you to make something out of it. This involves picking up a reagent or two from the nearby vendor and cranking them out. The crafting itself will raise your skill, not the quest. Instead, turning in the quest will grant you random reagents and even recipes!

I like this. Instead of cranking out random worthless items to level up, the Work Order system is much smoother. The only limit to your leveling is time and money. Also, since crafting items in Aion is a much more in-depth process, it makes your ACTUAL craft that much more special.

You CAN level any Craft in the game up to 399 skill. However, you can choose only two to "Master" beyond that. You can create 95% of available items at 399 skill, but only Master can make the best stuff.

That being said, I would not recommend attempting to level more than one Craft at a time. The Kinah investment required for each craft is overwhelming.

Bottom line: Aion's Crafting system is incredibly robust. Much more fun, intricate and rewarding that WoW's, without being as mind-numbingly complex as Final Fantasy XI. I enjoy it greatly.

Two epically awesome things about Gathering in Aion:

-All methods of gathering are shared within one skill
-You gain small amounts of experience with each success


This is the first Gatherable item you will come across in the game. Although, it is called "Azpha" in the current translation. It shows in the mouseover that it requires 1 Point in your Collecting Skill.


After Right-Clicking on the plant, a window will appear. In this window, the "Pass" and "Fail" bars will fill up semi-randomly, depending on your skill level. Pass? You get it. Fail? Try again.


Once you ascend to Daeva status, you're above gathering with your bare hands. Instead, your Collecting skill becomes "Extract Vitality." It functions exactly the same, although you can no longer gather in the starter zones.


In addition to Extract Vitality, you also gain the Extract Aether skill upon ascension. Aether is used in every craft, and functions slightly differently that Extract Vitality. Vortexes are only found in midair, and require flight to gather. The higher in the air a Vortex is, the higher level of Aether it contains, and the higher skill it requires.


Also, some items are obtained through old-fashioned farming. The pictured Refining Stones (now called "Fluxes") come in Weapon, Armor and Accessory varieties. They are random drops of just about any enemy, with higher-level enemies dropping higher level stones. Skins, hides and other goodies also drop off the appropriate enemies. In this way, you must balance mob-farming and straight-up gathering to be successful in Aion.

This part of the preview will take a look at all the nifty items and goodies that make Aion unique.


Power Shards are random drops off just about any mob in the game. They can also be bought from certain vendors.


You equip Power Shards in the small slot just above your weapon. At any time, you can press the 'B' key (default) to activate them, and increase your melee or ranged damage. This only affects autoattacks, and will consume one shard with each one. This is by no means a method for steadily increasing your DPS, due to the cost factor. Rather, it provides a nice boost when you need it. More powerful shards will drop at higher levels.


The two greatest buttons ever. First there's the "Sell all misc" button you see in shops windows. This will automatically add any gray, useless items in your inventory into the Sell window. Second is the one I've circled in the image. That is an "Automatically organize inventory" button. For people plagued with cluttered inventories, this button is a savior.


What about that inventory? You only have one "bag," a Horadric Cube that is able to defy the laws of physics through magic, of course. The default cube only has 27 slots, but can be expanded up to 54 by speaking to NPCs like this guy. This costs an ever-increasing amount of Kinah with each expansion.

Have I mentioned Shugos yet? Shugos are the most awesome race in any game I've ever played. Nyerk!


Manastones are a great mechanic that allows you to further customize the stats on your gear, much like the Gems in WoW. EVERY weapon or piece of armor in the game has sockets in it. 1 Socket for a basic piece of gear, and more as quality increases. There's a catch, though! Manastone socketing can FAIL. If it does fail, ALL Manastones in that piece of gear will be lost. This mechanic really bothers me. It seems to have no purpose other than to drive the cost of the more popular stones up. Nothing sucks more than dropping a bunch of Kinah on Crit Stones, socketing 3, then having the 4th fail and losing them all. Just like Power Shards, Manastones are random drops.


What's this?


It's a Private Store.


While us Western gamers love our Auction House, Eastern gamers prefer Private Shops. Aion, like some games before it, offers both options. Now, for many instances, the Auction House will be the better place for selling goods. All those Private Shops crowding the entrance to Pandaemonium? Once their owners realize nobody is going to stand around and look at random junk in 50 different shops, they'll dwindle out. However, they can be useful. Have a bunch of herbs you want to unload fast? Set up shop in the Alchemy Lab!


Another interesting innovation is Extraction. Buying a set of Extraction tools allows you to basically "Disenchant" one of your items.


This will create an Enchantment Stone. The level of the stone depends on the level of the item. Then, you can apply these stones to your current equipment to make it more powerful.


As you can see here, my Spear of Karma is now a +1 Spear of Karma, with +4 additional damage. Again, beware! Just like Manastones, Enchanting can fail. Unlike Manastones, a failed Enchant will not drop you back down to nothing. Instead, it will drop your level by 1. If I failed to Enchant the spear a second time, it would drop back to its basic state. A failure at +9 will drop it to +8. The failure rate is affected by the level discrepancy between the stone and the item. This is to prevent someone from Extracting a bunch of cheap, low-level items to max out a high-level one.

Yes, yes. You can fly. Let's start off a bit more... basic.


Yay! It's a map. Just like everything else in the game, Aion's map is beautiful to just sit and look at.

But wait, there's more!


If you press the 'N' key instead of 'M' (defaults) you get a cool translucent menu. Very handy.


Now, check this out. I have this Karniff selected. Check out the minimap and you'll see a small orange circle around his dot. That is his aggro radius. This is an excellent tool to have.


Not content to just sit your butt on a bird, Aion's flight paths are a little more... dramatic.

In addition to flight paths, Teleporters exist in the game in major cities and certain towns.

Flight will be a post of its own. See you tomorrow.

Throughout Aion, you will fight, quest and gain experience. You will grow in level and gain new skills. Let's take a quick look at some of the interesting takes Aion has on advancing your character.


This is what you'll see when you first log in. Basic skills, basic gear, basic everything.


In the starting areas, and later the capital cities, you will find Class Trainers. Instead of teaching you skills directly, they will instead sell you manuals that you can then use to teach yourself the skill. While this may not seem terribly fantastic, there is no level requirement for actually BUYING the manuals. Have you ever found yourself in town one or two bubbles away from leveling? How much of a pain is it to go out, then come back for training? In Aion, you can just buy your manuals, then use them in the field immediately after reaching the correct level.


Notice how brave Samo is now Treasure Hunter Samo? Finishing certain questlines, exploring the world, advancing your character and even crafting will grant you titles in Aion. Hold on, there's more to titles than just looking cool.


Titles also grant stat bonuses! As you can see, my "Treasure Hunter" title grants +4 Accuracy, which increases my chance to hit and critically hit. As you progress through the game, you will accumulate a wealth of titles, that you can change out as the situation demands. That is, you will unless you just power through the game, plowing headlong to the level cap. If you want those stat bonuses, you actually have to experience all that the game has to offer. I LOVE this idea.

Of course, there is one thing that separates Aion from its competitors.


Upon completing your level 9 Ascension questline and choosing your advanced class, your character becomes a full Daeva, complete with wings.

In my last preview post, I mentioned that combat is more difficult in Aion than in many other MMOs that most are used to. You will die. It's going to happen. I'm the freaking man, and even I went down a couple times.


This is what you'll see when you die. Once again, I've used my expert image editing skills to point something out. See that little part of your experience bar that's darkened a bit? Yeah, that's the experience you lost from dying.

I know this may seem insane to some of you out there, but look at it this way. EVERY game needs some sort of penalty for death. Otherwise, why let players die at all? For example, WoW had its players lose Durability on their equipment, requiring them to spend money repairing it back. Fine, die too much and it hurts your pocket.

Now, Aion's equipment does not have Durability, so that's out. On the bright side, it's not as unforgiving as Final Fantasy XI, where your lost experience was just *poof* gone, even causing you to LOSE A LEVEL occasionally. No, in Aion, you can get your lost experience back, for a price. So, while the direct penalty for death is a loss of experience, the only lasting penalty is a loss of Kinah, Aion's currency, just like WoW.


When you enter a new town, you will usually find an Obelisk. Paying a small fee will allow you to bind your soul. After death, you will resurrect back at whichever Obelisk you are bound to. Additionally, you can purchase items called Kisks, which will serve as temporary Obelisks.


Nearby Obelisks, you will usually find a Soul Healer. For a price, they will return your lost experience.

So, yes, for someone who has not played any MMO other that World of Warcraft, Aion's death system can seem unforgiving. However, if you take a closer look at it, and compare it to other games in the genre, it fits the game it was designed for nicely.

It's been a while since I've done an Aion Preview post. My apologies, I am a fail blogger.

At least I'm getting back in the saddle with a good one! The meat and potatoes of the game, Combat!

Aion's combat is heavily skill-based. However, it is not a spam-fest. Rather, the most successful way to play is through careful timing of your skills, using the right ones at the right times, in the right situations.

One of the great features of Aion's combat is the Skill Chaining system.

Opening up your skill menu, you will find a button labeled "Chains." Clicking on it displays your available Chains.


For my Warrior, Ferocious Strike is the first skill in the basic Chain.


Once Ferocious Strike has been used, it then makes Robust Blow available. Note that Robust Blow cannot be used by itself, it MUST follow a Ferocious Strike.

As you continue to level and gain skills, the Chains will grow longer, as well as branch. You have options. Would you rather follow the Chain that does more damage, or results in a possible Knockdown? There are certain skills that can only be used against Knocked Down, Stunned or Staggered enemies. Again, it's all about situational awareness and using the right skills at the right time.

Another interesting aspect of Aion's combat is the Combat Movement system. No, that's not its exact name, that's what I'm rolling with since I can't recall the exact term. >.>


See that little arrow I've oh-so-expertly pointed out? That indicates that you have a movement buff active.

If you are moving forward while in combat, you will have additional Damage at the cost of Defense. This affects both Physical and Magical combat.

Backing up will increase your Parry and Block chances, while lowering your Physical Damage.

Strafing increases Evasion at the cost of Physical Damage.

The third piece of Aion's combat is Divine Power. Killing enemies grants DP, which fills up the gauge below your Mana:


This gauge has three levels: 0-2000, 2000-3000 and 3000-4000. Each level grants your character a visual glow effect, letting you know that you're OVER 9000! Err... yeah. Anyway, When over 2000, you can use your DP skill!


Explosion of Rage deals a moderate amount of damage and leaves the enemy in a vulnerable state. It looks amazing, on top of that. With the exception of Spiritmaster, none of the DP skills that I have seen are game-changing, but it could be the difference between victory and defeat.

That's because combat in Aion is HARD.

An even-level enemy is not a pushover. A single unplanned add could be fatal.

I'll cover death in a follow-up post, since that merits a discussion of its own.

This weekend was the fourth Aion Closed Beta event.

I got my Gladiator, Samo, up to level 16. I got my first tastes of grouping up for a couple small quests. Very fun.

Here's a pic of Samo when I logged off today:


I also got to spend a hefty amount of time with the crafting system. I first got my Weaponsmithing up to level 50, in order to make my level 15 Polearm. Later, while questing, I got a rare recipe drop. I decided to spend some of my saved-up Kinah to buy the rare materials needed. After working my Weaponsmithing up to 75, the Spear of Demon was mine!

Here's a quick look, comparing the stats to my current weapon:


Now, last event weekend, I commented on some issues people were having with the game. I figured I'd do the same this time around.

Most of the issues I was seeing around the community were nicely summed up by this post on Aion Source.

Aion is too linear. There is no stray path that you can take to level your character.

True, but then again, this is based on the first 20-ish levels of the game. Later on, the progression is still rather linear from quest hub to quest hub, but the zones become more expansive. You're no longer just "following the road." Additionally, you can quest in The Abyss, the PVP zone, if you want to spice things up.

There is nothing you can do to customize your skills to make you have different skills than other players.

Starting at Level 20, your character starts to gain access to Stigmas. These allow you to gain new skills, customizing your character however you'd like. For example, by level 22, Samo would have access to Dual Wield, Improved Stamina and Crippling Cut. With only one slot available, that allows you to customize your character 3 different ways right off the bat.

Non-existent connection to the main plot in quests. Quests are like this: go chop off this mob's arm, or go tell Bob that Linda is a nyerk and likes him. Ect.

No. Just, no. The regular quests may be rather pointless, plot-wise. However, as I discussed in my questing preview, the Campaigns are directly tied in to the overall story of the game. While some of them may seem like any other quest, if you READ THEM, you will see the difference.

Flight is a gimmick that stops being amusing in the first five minutes of trying it out. There are no mounts in this game, either. It's actually worse off than other games as you have to run from place to place and you have no mount. 95% of the game is restricted and you can only glide. No point to flying, then.

First of all, flight is not a gimmick. It is an integral part of PVP later in the game. True, flight is limited in many places, but I see that as a good thing. Flight kind of ruined WoW for me. I actually enjoy experiencing the game world instead of flying past everything. Secondly, learn to Glide. The gliding mechanic allows you to quickly traverse the game world, and is FUN on top of it.

Poor class balance. Some classes just overshadow and stomp other classes into the ground. For instance, a ranger will never have a chance against a sorcerer. Fireball > wooden flying stick. An assassin will never have a chance against a non-assassin. They get 1hit.

And? The game is balanced around group PVP, just like damn near every other game. Of course, there will be mismatches in 1v1, but that doesn't matter. If you spend all your time in PVP battling solo, you're doing it wrong.

Now, I'm not blindly defending the game. It's not perfect, no game is. However, please don't make suppositions based on inaccurate information. I'm not even going to touch his last comment. Pointless.

Anyway, who else out there played this weekend? What did you think?

Here's a quick look at the questing system in Aion.

First, the icons. Aion doesn't use the usual Question marks and Exclamation Points.


This Arrow indicates an NPC with a quest for you.


This is a turn-in.


This is an interesting one. These quests involve dialog options. For this one, the answers you give determine the quality and quantity of the rewards.

Now, the log.


Quests are divided into three tabs. Standard, Campaign and Work Orders. Campaign we will get to in a bit. Work Orders are crafting quests, and I will cover those in a future post.

See the blue text in the quest description? Click it and another window opens up.


This is the in-game Dictionary. It gives information, and you can continue clicking through, learning more about the game world. See the "Locate" button?


Locating creates a marker on your map, leading you right to the objective. Now, this doesn't completely take away the fun of exploring. For quests where you actually have to FIND something, you're on your own!


This is the campaign tab of the Quest Log. Campaigns are the central storyline quests of the game. Campaign NPCs are differentiated by their gold quest icons instead of the usual blue. Many Campaigns are started just by entering the correct town. As you can see, each Campaign is made up of several legs. Each leg is a chain of its own, and completing legs will unlock the later ones. The major difference between Campaigns and Standard Quests is CUTSCENES. Each leg of a Campaign is accompanied by one or more in-game engine cutscenes. These range from a brief glimpse of your objective to full-on, Wrathgate-style mini-movies.

Upon reaching Level 9, you automatically gain the "Ascension" Campaign.


This questline is nothing short of epic. I don't want to spoil anything, but it is, thus far, the highlight of the Beta. This allows you to upgrade to your chosen class. For example, it allowed me to take my little Warrior to a full Gladiator.


When Aion first released in Korea, it was a bit of a grinder. That's what Eastern audiences are into. As the Western release grows closer, NCSoft is expanding the questing system. By release and Version 1.5, there will be many more quests available in the game, accounting for a much higher percentage of experience gained. That's not to say you can avoid grinding ENTIRELY. There may be points later where you'll have to grind a BIT, but nothing worse than the early days of WoW. This is not another Lineage. Of course, if you choose to avoid some of the Group Quest chains, you'll have more grinding to do, but that's your decision.

Part 2 of my preview of Aion focuses on the 8 classes available in the game.



During character creation, you select from one of 4 "archetypes." These show you the basic abilities of the full classes, and teach you the basics of each playstyle. At level 9, you gain a quest to "ascend" and are able to select from one of two classes available to each archetype.

Warrior Classes

Warriors start off with the ability to wear Chain armor and equip Swords, Maces and Shields. Warriors gain a basic combo, a physical debuff and a couple defensive skills.

Gladiator: Gladiators are all about massive damage. They can wear Plate armor and equip Daggers, Swords, Maces, Greatswords, Polearms, Bows and Shields. They are the only class in the game that can use Polearms. They specialize in large, flashy, sweeping attacks, AOEs and knockdowns, leaving their enemies vulnerable for a short time. With the ability to equip shields and access to some basic defensive skills, Gladiators make excellent offensive tanks. They will take more damage, but also deal more. At level 20, Gladiators can Dual-Wield, sacrificing their AOEs and Knockdown abilities for increased single-target DPS.

Templar: Templars are Aion's preeminent defensive class. They can wear Plate armor and equip Swords, Maces, Shields and Greatswords. With a few self-healing abilities, survivability is the name of the game, making Templars the game's only true tanking class.

Scout Classes

Scouts wear Leather armor, and wield Daggers and Swords. They gain a Stealth ability and Dual-Wielding, in addition to Counterattacks and a Backstab-type maneuvers.

Ranger: Your standard ranged class. Adds Bows to the Scout's equipment abilities. Rangers excel at keeping enemies at range, with many slowing attacks to stay at range. Rangers can lead enemies right where they want them, into their powerful Traps. While they prefer to rain arrows from afar, by stemming from the Scout class, Rangers are not useless at melee. Rangers also take camouflage to the next level, using items to take the form of trees or rocks.

Assassin: Assassin is a direct upgrade from Scout, keeping the Leather, Daggers and Swords. Assassin's have the unique ability to use Signets. Certain special attacks will carve Signets into your enemies, which can then be "detonated" for damage, as well as stuns and other effects. With Poisons and many abilities that take advantage of weakened and helpless enemies, Assassins are true to their name.

Mage Classes

Mages are all about destruction. With the lightest defense in the game, with only the ability to wear Cloth armor, it's all Glass Canon gameplay, dishing out massive elemental damage. The only weapon a Mage can equip is the Spellbook.

Sorcerer: Sorcerers gain the ability to equip Orb weapons. They are an all-out offensive spellcaster. Snaring your enemies with Ice and searing flesh from bone with Fire is standard Sorcerer warfare. Sorcerers also possess some Crowd Control spells.

Spiritmaster: Spiritmasters can also equip Orbs. Spiritmasters are one with the elements, able to summon creatures of Earth, Fire, Wind and Water to their aid. The Fire Elemental is solid melee damage, Wind is about speedy attacks, Earth for tanking, and Water for ranged damage dealing. Spiritmasters are all about letting their Elementals do the bulk of the work, while using Damage-Over-Time spells and maintaining high efficiency.

Priest Classes

Healers in Aion are not wimps. Priests can equip up to LEATHER armor and use Maces and Shields. Standard buffs and heals, with some decent offensive output.

Cleric: Clerics are the strongest healers in Aion. In keeping with the "hard to kill healers," Clerics can wear up to CHAIN armor, as well as Staves. Massive heals, raising the dead and cleansing of effects are the realm of the Cleric.

Chanter: Chanters are an offensive take on the Priest, keeping the same equipment options as the Cleric. Chanters bring buffs, buffs, buffs and more buffs. Chanters are a Bard-like class, making sure to be in the right place, with the right buff, at the right time. Not all buffs can be active at the same time, so much like a WoW Shaman's Totems, they're highly situational. That's not all, though. Chanters can dish out some decent damage with their Staves, adding debuffs to enemies with their Chain skills. Add in some healing capabilities and Chanters are invaluable in any situation.

So, what classes will I be playing? I'll likely start off with a Spiritmaster. They are a very Warlocky class, and that's how Sam rolls. I'd like to try out Templar, as well. However, the more I read about Chanter, as well as watching my girlfriend play it, I am growing increasingly interested in the class.

Part 1 of my in-depth Aion coverage breaks down the character creation process.

Server Selection

Why detail this? Simple, it's a Korean-developed MMO. Eastern games have an interesting standard. The servers at the top of the server list are considered the "best." Those servers are where all the most serious PVPers will be. American gamers that have played these types of games will know this, and follow suit. I believe the servers are listed alphabetically, so any server beginning with 'A' will be the one with the most hardcore PVP crowd. If that's your thing, go for it. Myself, I'll be somewhere near the bottom of the list!

Race

Taken from Aion's homepage:

Elyos: "The Elyos occupy the lower half of Atreia, known as Elysium. After the Epic Cataclysm, they found themselves bathed in sunlight for over 750 years and, as a result, have transformed into a beautiful and radiant people. However, their splendor has also led to the Elyos becoming arrogant; they see themselves as blessed by Aion, while the Asmodians, cast into darkness by the Epic Cataclysm, are seen by the Elyos as cursed creatures."

Asmodian: "The Asmodians are a brave and hardy people, separated from the Elyos by the Epic Cataclysm and plunged into a world of darkness and despair. To survive such desolation is one thing, but to thrive and prosper is quite another. The scars of their history are still exposed for all to see; as the Asmodians sank into their cold and sombre world, their bodies started to change. In the darkness, their skin fell pale, and as their eyes adapted they developed an otherworldly glow about them."

While classes gain some unique skills depending on race, it all comes down to preference.

Personally, I'll be playing Elyos, if for no other reason than I can make a Dwarf!

However, for the Beta, I'll be playing Asmodian. I don't want to ruin all the Elyos content before the game even launches.

Class Selection

You're next taken to the Class Selection screen. This gives a short description of each class and a peek at what you'll look like in high-end armor.

For the Beta, I'll be playing a Warrior.

While those stats may seem high, your base stats do not change as you level, only your HP and MP. Any other stat increases come from upgrading armor.

In-depth discussion of the various classes is an entire post of its own.

Customization

This is where Aion really sets itself apart from most other MMOs.

You can choose from many hairstyles, over 30, I believe. Also, there is a nice selection of other facial features. Not pictured is Eye Color selection. That will be added in a patch before the game goes live.

Now HERE'S the real insanity. That is a staggering number of options that will allow you to make almost anything you can imagine. For the Beta, I just hit "Random" a couple times until something non-grotesque came up. No sense in putting too much time into a character I'll only play for a couple weeks.

Again, a massive amount of options for the body. Again, I did not spend a great deal of time with it. I made him a little taller and gave him some Warrior-like bulk.

Now that you've wasted several hours creating your character, you can finally go PLAY it. Gameplay discussion is coming up soon!