Any idea on how it will work? Meaning, will it be like Guild Wars where you pay for the game/expansions and have no monthly fee and there’s not much grind involved, or will it be like Lineage, where grind seemed to be everywhere?

If it’s like Guild Wars, I am so there.

“At the moment the game is priced, according to NCsoft, at $14.99/month flat fee but this may be subject to change.”

I don’t mind monthly fees. I already am a slave to Blizzard’s money machine, heh.

Anyway I will wait and see what comes out and then decide.

hope you like it though!

As far as skills are concerned, NCSoft just posted a new video (class preview) with updated skill effects. It seems like they have been working really hard to make a great game better as we impatiently wait. You can see the video in HD here: http://media.curse.com/dl2/47/50/31.wmv/aion_classes_hd.wmv It may take a min or two to dl but is well worth the wait.

It is true that this game will likely be set up like L2 with monthly fees but free expansions bi-annually. I prefer this as I usually have multiple accounts and prefer not to have to go buy an expansion for all of them. Also the content in any single update in L2 contained as much content as you would expect out of a true expansion, so it’s not disappointing.

Leveling has been stated as being a bit tougher than WoW but nothing like L2. This seems to be a good curve because any decent gamer could cap out in WoW and only a select few could ever claim the same for L2. They have said the quest content will attribute to leveling quite a bit and PvPing also gives you exp, so it seems you will have many options for gaining those levels. They have made a point of saying that you can make it to max level both inside and out of the Abyss (RvR PvP zone) as well, although they have been adamant in saying that the PvE inside the Abyss will be better and provide its rewards.

“The gameplay looks like a wrapper on WoW from the e3 video, to be honest.” -vlion

I could not disagree with this more. Although they share similar structures, as almost all MMOs do, it is unfair to say this game is anything like WoW. This game has a much more immersive and mature gameplay in a pretty unique high fantasy world. I will however agree that PvP is a very large part of the game, I don’t see how you can consider it endgame. The PvP will begin as soon as you start leveling in the Abyss and will be integral to not only provide personal growth but legion (same as clan and guild) growth. The points accumulated through PvP, and possibly various other ways, is required to gain PvP rank which will open up rank specific skills, as well as legion levels which allows expansion and abilities for you and your legion mates, and lastly it will allow you to earn Draconic Items which are said to be equivalent to high end gear. There will be plenty of PvP end game, but it is also a major means throughout the game to get to that end.

A couple of things that were not mentioned were skills that have been designed specifically for aerial combat, such as rocketing off and intercepting a flying enemy, then slamming him into the ground, as well as a dive bomb type move to strike a non flying opponent from the sky.

The second feature, which is also the most unique, is the Stigma System. This system, which has been compared to the Materia System in FF7, will allow players to add proficiencies and possibly skills to their character that they would not normally have. They have kept this system in the dark so we are unable to determine its affect on the game, but it is a very fun idea with almost endless possibilities for making your character more dynamic and being able to tweak yourself into a hybrid of sorts to fit your own playstyle.

I hope this helps those interested in Aion. If you want a lot more info and healthy discussion of the latest and most correct info, then you should check out AionSource.com.

-Matt

I never even heard about it before I read this (n00bzor? hehe) but now I’m all about trying to find out more about it. I’m not even an MMORPG player AT ALL.. never played WoW or any of the other games that are frequently mentioned on this site XP

But this game.. something makes me want to try it.