Aion Open Beta Impressions

The last few days I've been diving into the open beta of the new MMO Aion. Right from the start I'll tell you that my experience so far is mostly positive. There are a few things early on that worry me, but for the most part its shaping up to be a great addition to the MMO space. A WoW killer it most likely will not be, as I feel the underlying mechanics may appeal to different audiences. Without attempting too much of a comparison, Aion is most like WoW was in the early days. It also bears a strong resemblance to the story structure of Lord of the Rings Online. But, ultimately, its based firmly in the architecture of previous NCSoft MMOs, most specifically Lineage II...

[taz8080]

Aion looks pretty interesting, a lot of games are starting to use WoW as their baseline.

[taz8080]

I wonder if any other MMO will ever catch up to WoW or if people will just keep waiting for expansions like Cataclysm

[Chadness]

It will take some doing to topple WoW, that's for sure. But, just because a game doesn't have a bazillion subscribers doesn't mean its not good!

[iiprotocolii]

As long as Blizzard keeps delivering the way they are, it's going to be hard to bring their numbers down or to even match it. They know how to "treat" their consumers.

[BROOKLYN N-M-E]

I don't really dabble in MMO but this one looks sick!

[iiprotocolii]

Damn MMO's! Too many good ones at one time!

[JonnyBigBoss]

Grind grind grind. I loved WoW for a while but fell out of it once I got tired of farming epics.

I'm looking forward to FF14 only because it's FF and they say it'll cater to casuals.

[robbo918]

I am curious about FF14 too and I am not a huge FF fan. I loved EQ1 in the day and have thought about going back to EQ2 at times. Everquest will always be my favorite MMO. I played WoW due to friends far longer than I should have. That game has simple written all over it and they keep making it easier every day.

The upcoming xpac looks interesting (honestly very interesting) but the fact they release a new xpac once every 2 years is the biggest reason I left. EQ2 has released nearly 5 times as much content in the same amount of time. Hope FF14 is good, I am pretty green when it comes to the FF universe honestly.

[Baka-akaB]

i'm more interested by FFXIV and gw2 as well . FFXI was actually pretty much the best available when it comes to pve .

it was just quite too hardcore , wich seems to be fixed with this one

[Torkith]

I've been playing the open beta and I'm really enjoying it, a nice change from WoW. However I do find it's a little slow, I've played for several hours (8+) and I'm only level 13, I don't mind slow leveling as long as it doesn't become boring.

I've pre-ordered the game, I'm not regretting it, but I'm not sure if I'm actually going to buy it now.

[Baka-akaB]

"Aion is a more “grindy”, Korean-style MMO (although not as bad as some) - none of this p*ssy-footing and hand-holding that is WoW."

Who is he kidding besides himself ??

Aion is actually even easier so far and holding your hands (especially with limited air traffic , and the feeling that the game is quite heavily instanced) .

You grind because at some point there is little else to do in pve , and a huge shortage or quest or stuff to do starting mid levels . it's hardly seems "by design" and because "duh it's 50% a pvp game" . Pvp is a huge part but doesnt explain every flaws of contents here .

That 1.5 isnt entirely for the benefits of westerners , it's pvp content is long overdue and has be requested for many by asians fans . And it's yet not enough .

As for pvp , for a supposedly pvp centric game , it isnt yet well balanced . Especially when accounting flight .

Of course there will be videos and reports about That XXX gladiator destroying others in arenas and improvised 1v1 ... but seriously it hardly means squat , and in RvR the underlying flaws and issues arise for some classes . Some are not so useful hybrids in both raids and pvp , some ranged or magic classes are overpowered , and some struggle to do what they were designed for , and yet keeps getting nerfed .

The again even Guild wars , the balance benchmark imo , wasnt balanced at first neither

Anyway , the game is good , and it's a decent start , but it's nothing awesome YET if you dont account the characters designs . It definitively got potential to be even great . but right now it's still wow lite with a lineage theme .

[Major_Tom]

Hardly open beta when you need to either pre-purchase the game or be a fileplanet subscriber.

[Xephon08]

open wallet = open beta

[risk]

negative, its open to everybody (all fileplanet members can get it now)

[Xephon08]

There is one thing that absolutely terrifies me about AION and its their lack of talents that WoW has (or something like it). They have stigma stones and i need to see more, but my worry is that all the classes will be same/identical with very very little way to differentiate them.

I need to see more stigma stones to know what it will be but it seems as though there will be the ones required to take so it essentially doesn't do much to differentiate classes (not like warrior vs priest, more like Gladiator vs Gladiator)

In WoW you can spec differently which is nice even if they have totally pushed people into the "best spec" option.

Tho if Aion was to take a page from EQ2 (don't laugh the AA system is very deep and allows for players to differentiate classes quite easily.) Basically its very deep and lets people define their class for more and better then I've ever seen before.

and Flying is sometimes just downright dumb, great concept but needs way more work.

My heart is set for FFXIV that's the MMO i want ot see more of before dedicating any of my time toward them.

[Chadness]

I agree with those of you who are waiting for FFXIV, that's what I have my eye set on for sure. Aion is a nice MMO that will likely keep me busy in the meantime. ;)

[majanika]

After playing wow for years I found aion and got into most of the closed betas and currently in the open beta. Aion is not Wow, there are some similarities but definately two different games. A few things ppl will either love or hate are...

1. alot of group quests...I like it, it adds a responsiblity on the player, your actions matter. There is no name change service to help hide your stint as an asshat. This also builds a good community which i enjoy.

2. restricted flight times and zones. You can glide everywhere and that ability shouldn't be underestimated. Some will feel cheated. The flight limit is explained in the lore of the game and adds depth to the immersion experience of the game. You can fly, but you're not god.

3. Stigmas vs talent trees...I raid in wow as a rogue and though the talent trees look great on paper in reality every raiding rogue pretty much has the same build so it's a bit misleading. I feel more freedom to make my character the way i like to play in Aion and still be viable in any group i've been in thus far. The options of gems/manastones and enchants are in both games as well.

4. Gear variety...they are about the same to be honest. For instance,every rogue in wow knows exactly which armor is best in slot and wear to get it. Aion you'll know where to get it and what you're after for best in slot as well. The best gear is harder to get in Aion then Wow but that adds to the feeling that you've actually accomplished something.

After playing both games I feel that AION is a more immersive game, where you get the feeling that you're taking part in a story, that your actions matter, there's a weight to the game that wow is missing.
That being said wow is still a great game and many will continue to play it long into the future.

Unfortunately I'm a bit absent minded at times and can't remember why I'm typing all this but I'm going to share it anyways :)

[memphis2]

i've been playing the game since closed beta, and i have to say i am loving it. it looks really nice and the design of the game is really cool (surreal). i played wow for a year straight and i got burned out on it. wow looks too cartoonish and the design looks childish. aion has that lineage and final fantasy look to it. i like how aion is simple, leaner and/or non leaner. overrall in my opinon aion is a wow killer, but it final fantasy xvi will take mmo to another level.

[likedamaster]

Was looking to get back into NCSoft games again so I checked out the beta. Beta refuses to load no matter what support says to do. You lost one more customer NC. Ain't touching it, don't care for it anymore.

[Motojass]

support doesn't always have the answer.error message? lockup at login? A few big things are Vista user accounts(turn off), Nvidia first packet causes problems, Nic interface teaming also causes issues.