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Did you EVER like WoW? Why AION appeals to me so much more.
For those who are thinking "tl;dr" I'll sum this post up by saying Aion appeals to me for these 3 reasons:
1. PVP Factor - PVP in WoW felt like an afterthought, although I enjoy raiding and it is an essential part of end-game content... for me its just a bonus. The real thrill is PVP. I've mainly played lineage 1, lineage 2, EVE online, and Planetside. All these games have something in common... they are PVP Orientated! I have zero interest in "PHAT LEWT" or "SLAYING DA DRAGON". I enjoy raiding... but NOT as the primary end game content! PVP in WoW felt like an afterthought.
2. (Hopefully) Group factor - It seems AION won't punish you like WoW does for grouping with other players, its quite possible it might actually be beneficial to PLAY WITH OTHER PEOPLE! This is a big one for me... When I played 1-77 in WoW (Yah I quit at 77) I never once grouped with other players, you know why? Because every time I tried it slowed my leveling down HUGE, leveling was boring enough without it taking twice as long. Seriously I think its pathetic how anti-social people are when playing MMO's... which is why the developers are forced to cater to you social rejects who are afraid of interacting with other people even on the internet.
3. Graphics - WoW graphics made me sick from the very beginning, I read on the WoW forums people dissing Aion graphics... SERIOUSLY... WOW PLAYERS DISSING AION GRAPHICS... boggles my mind. No need to explain this any further.
I'd like to hear some stories from people about their first experience with WoW... and why it never caught on for them. Also why or why not AION Appeals to them.
This is mine.... My roommate suggests we buy WoW (this was 4-5 months before WotLK Release), so I say F*ck it lets play WoW (I had been avoiding the game since release). The first 2 months I had the game I could barely get myself to play it... I'd been there and DONE THAT... 2 feet away from me my roomate can't put the game down. Why? The dudes never even played an MMO before, or an RPG for that matter. WoW brought MMO's to the masses... william shatner, ozzie osbourne (seriously?)... but the reality is, theres nothing unique about WoW. I never hit level 80, I simply quit at level 77... because I realised the game felt like a chore for me, nothing pulling me along.
WoW was a game for the masses who had never heard of an MMO before... does anyone know what I mean? how many people can say WoW was their first MMO.. that is why WoW was so successful. Its blizzard... how many fans did they already have... how many kids knew what an MMO was before blizzard was developing one.
Comments
Good post, OP, but I see no reason to think Aion will be much better. Warhammer was the chance for us PvP fans. I refuse to grind through PvE to 'earn' the chance to PvP.
What IS Aion's end game like, anyway?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
No, I never liked WoW and I've never played it.
youtube.com/gcidogmeat
If you have "never played it" how do you know you "never liked" it?
If you have "never played it" how do you know you "never liked" it?
Because all the 'cool' kids say it sucks.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Well Lineage 1 & 2 was developed by NCSoft... ask anyone who's played the games through the grind and gotten to the end game... ITS AWESOME. It was all about the castle sieges (Same feature has been implented in AION "fortresses") It's not about the phat lewt, or the raiding ...although these are still implemented very well as a means to better yourself in PVP.
Its about making a name for yourself and your legion on the server, its about meaningful end-game, its about what MMO's really should be about. It's about being social and coordinating with your friends and legion to take a damn fortress from the opposing faction. No its not instanced, its a real damn fortress in the abyss that your legion (Guild) now has full control over and receives taxes from the entire player population through NPC vendors (well thats how the taxes worked in L2). Instead of posts of server "firsts" about raids, or PVP points and stats... there will be posts of victory over the opposing legion, reputations to be made and lost. Nobody really cares how phat your lewt is... only you do. But damn a lot of people care when you storm their fortress and seize it from them.
Basically PVP will mean something more than just stats, and more lewt. It will mean... Victory! Something WoW never had, there is no "victory" in WoW...... just an enlarged e-peen as you spin your character around in the selection screen and look at your digital armour. Its games like this where guilds are formed that are tight-knit and eventually move on to other games together, where you make true friends and feel like you've made tangible accomplishments. Where at the end of the day, you say HOLY SH*T THAT WAS FUN!
And the biggest reason I think AION will actually TRUMP wow in total subscriptions.... PVPVE. This is really revolutionary in my opinion... no longer is PVP and PVE seperate... AION is a united and fluid game.
I asked about Aion, not Lineage.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
If you have "never played it" how do you know you "never liked" it?
Because all the 'cool' kids say it sucks.
Who ask you?
Here's your question....
You're 29 and take advice from "cool" 'kids'?
No, all cool kids like wow, because its the game played most, so its cool to play it too )
Same answer, I've played Chinese version of AION to end game. Its the same type of end game as lineage. The difference between AION and lineage... is the game isn't a grind up to end game.
Tekkin: You were wise to avoid it as long as you did. I am sorry that you got pulled in for a time. You did escape, however, and that is good. I have no reason to believe Aion will be significantly different, sorry to say.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
WTF? No subscription fee?
If you have "never played it" how do you know you "never liked" it?
Because all the 'cool' kids say it sucks.
Who ask you?
Here's your question....
You're 29 and take advice from "cool" 'kids'?
I knew I wouldn't like WoW before I played it. Then I did play it... and I actually HATED it.
I've played chinese version to end game... I KNOW it is significantly different. And thats the chinese version... the NA 1.5 version on release will be another HUGE improvement.
Warcraft was an amazing game when it was first released and to some degree it still is now but for me its time to have a break from it or maybe even quit . For three reasons really
1 the community in warcraft is pretty childish these days . most of my old friends have left so the atmospheres gone to some degree
2 i find the gameplay far too easy now . i m not saying thats bad but i want more of a challenge
3 the boredom factor of going over the same old ground again and again .
The way i felt in the Aion beta was the way i felt in the Warcraft beta all those years ago . Its fresh and exciting . Cant wait .
My question to you, was WoW your first MMO... because by far it wasn't mine. Which is why I never had that "fresh and exciting" experience with WoW.
1. PVP Factor - PVP
PvP was an afterthought in WoW, because it was basically shipped without PvP. And I personally think PvP in MMORPGs is boring. If I want to play vs other players, then I prefer something like TF2, where the group with the better teamplay and higher skill wins, and not those who spend thousands of hours of grinding.
2. Group factor
In WoW you frequently group up with other players to do group quests or tackle dungeons. Grouping up for single player stuff doesn't make much sense. No idea why anyone should do that either, and it was this way for any MMORPG I played.
3. Saying that WoW graphics make you sick is weird. In general, every graphics artist and designer can tell you, that those working for WoW do a great job. Sure you can say the engine is dated, but graphics making you sick? That is no argument or opinion but just something you say to flame and troll
I think this whole "I'm a Aion fanboy and hate WoW" and "I'm a WoW fanboy and hate Aion" stuff is so silly, immature and childish. WoW is a good game. Aion might be a good game as well, it's not out yet in USA or Europe, so hard to say. Both games are rather shallow and aiming at the masses. Who cares as long as it's fun. But these fanboy-battles are just ridiculous.
Let's play Fallen Earth (blind, 300 episodes)
Let's play Guild Wars 2 (blind, 45 episodes)
I'm curious about the "shallowness" of these games. Care to elaborate?
here is a video link: www.youtube.com/watch
In this video, you will see a group of 6 take on a group of 12, and then later on a group of 24 people. How there is no skill involved in this? I think you just made up your PvP in MMORPGS doesn't take skill idea.
Many of the quest areas in Aion require you to group up. That's just how it is. I like when they incorporate more group content, makes me feel like there's a reason for all of these people to be around before endgame or dungeon content.
My question to you, was WoW your first MMO... because by far it wasn't mine. Which is why I never had that "fresh and exciting" experience with WoW.
i played ultima online briefly a few years before but yes WoW was my first major mmo . I m currently playing lord of the rings as a side game . I think thats rather good too .
I guess you're not familiar with sarcasm.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
1. If you don't like PVP in an mmorpg, I guess you would prefer WoW then. I can understand why people might prefer the PVE factor, but for me PVP is the best part. And there is skill involved, its not just about who grinded the most.
2. Fine by me if you don't want to group with other people while questing... but I play MMORPGs for the social factor... i mean come on its the entire point of an MMORPG. Why should I level slower while grouping with my friend than some lone wolf who levels SOLO. I played WoW too... I KNOW its primarily a solo game and unfairly biased towards solo players.
3. I simply meant I think WoW graphics are ugly as sin, again just a difference in opinion I guess. I'm not a troll.
Nor am I an AION fanboy, I think too many people throw the term fanboy out to ANYONE who makes an argument towards one side or the other. Yeah there is such thing as a fanboy... but they won't provide any intelligent argument.
Tekkin you forgot to mention Aion has their classes very balanced which helps in a pvp focused game :P
You are an ignorant kid, aren't you? I gave you links with Aion end game from players who have reached the max lvl and are enjoying the end game. I told you to FGI ( fucking google it ) if you want to know more about it.
But in the end, if you really want to know what Aion end game is, FPI ( fucking play it )!
Reporter: What's behind Blizzard success, and how do you make your gamers happy?
Blizzard Boss: Making gamers happy is not my concern, making money.. yes!
I can definitly agree with a couple of yall. WoW was and still somewhat is good. Yeah I'd rather be playing something that gives me more oppurtunities in leveling than soloing, but that was my choice. The graphics in Aion are beautiful, we can't doubt that, but WoW has taken its appeal of the cartoonish way before it's own creation. WoW is based of the original Warcraft series and the original code Blizzard worked with GamesWorkshop for on the original Warhammer MMO (which is a whole story by itself). Now that's all I can really say about the two games to compare. I have played WoW off and on the last 2 years. Mainly because I drifted with friends. I don't play video games for boredom etc. Its ussually not the game itself that causes boredom, but the players interest. In your case Tekkin, you already hated the concept and theory of the game. It isn't hard to loose interest in something you already disliked. My background in MMOs is FFXI, COH, COV, MxO, Guild Wars, Dekaron, Mu Online, Everquest 2, Lineage 1, Lineage 2, Anarchy Online, ROSE Online, Archlord, WAR, and World of Warcraft. WoW was most definitly not my first MMO. I liked it. Liked it enough to get to lvl 47 before BC released, lvl 70 when BC was out, and lvl 80 when WOTLK came out. I'm not majorly into PvP mainly because of WoW's brutal slaughter of it. I picked up WAR last december and truely saw that specific games have some kickass pvp. I have always loved forms of PvP, but it thought MMOs never had decent pvp. I've lead clans in FPS on 360 and PS3, and they were always fun. But it's something I've given no thought as a major role in MMOs. Its nice, but it can ruin the dev's thoughts on progressing the game. Warhammer especially, and Guild Wars. Both games lost sight of NPC end game content when they truely went after PvP features. That is what Aion truely appeals to me is their so called PvPvE. Or in simplistic terms World PvP. Something that was rarely seen in WoW after BC, but is definitly lots of fun. Taking a guild and stomping alliance near NAXX was fun. Also I must admit, Lvl 50>lvl 80 any day. It means less time your gunna spend just on a game. And hopefully less time you spend that alone. MMOs only break the mold by bringing people together. Otherwise we'd all just be sitting around playing Final Fantasy XII till FFXIII comes out.
Now set aside my random rambling. Aion definitly looks appealing. It looks like the fabled Guild Wars 2, but ... uhh.... better?. It has the unique setting that just sets itself up for some mind blowing situations. And wings at level 10 is just awsome. Something most MMOs forget is that lowbies gotta walk.... and walking is slooooooow. NCsoft definitly took that into account. Now I'm not in the beta, and this is a question to those of you who are: Is the loot system like L2 or is it similar to Guild Wars?. I do wish they would introduce, probably the best thing WAR had, public quests into it's mix. But of course that is not neccesary. In conclusion it seems AION has a lot of potential to be loads of fun. I can't wait till its launch so I can get a hold of it.
Playing: Guild Wars and Exteel
Loved: WoW, Guild Wars, FFXI, and Lineage 2
Liked: Exteel, WAR, and Lineage 1
Hated:City of Heroes, City of Villians, Matrix Online, Runescape, and D&D Online.
Waiting For: Aion, Guild Wars 2, FFXIV, and SW:TOR
Damn that's one good cleric. Aion, when it comes to character customization, is a little more shallow than wow (the "talent trees" are much much smaller, and more condensed). However, when it comes to skills there's a pretty wide variety of what goes into your arsenal. It may not seem like it at the start, but WoW is no different in this matter. Basically, instead of elaborate talent tress you get this small web of stigmas that grant / enhance certain abilities you tend to use often.
As for gameplay, that's all subjective at this point. The PvP IMO seems to be better. The PvE from what I've played isn't bad either, but I have yet to experience an elaborately scripted encounter (there may be some, I only played up to lvl 25).
According to my experiences and impressions, they do neither require much thought nor strategic thinking (or any kind of thinking in general). You have your basic rotations for PvE and a rock-paper-scissor thingy for PvP, and there you go. You need to be able to react every now and then, and that's it. In group situations, the most difficult thing is to make sure that your teammates at least try to play the game, and not simply watch TV and push a single button every 10 minutes. And in most MMORPGs, single player PvE is a joke in matters of difficulty, because the companies don't want to scare off the players.
Fine by me if you don't want to group with other people while questing... but I play MMORPGs for the social factor... i mean come on its the entire point of an MMORPG. Why should I level slower while grouping with my friend than some lone wolf who levels SOLO. I played WoW too... I KNOW its primarily a solo game and unfairly biased towards solo players.
The problem with that is following: if you team up to level with people, then you first have to find a common starting point, where you have about the same quests, level and whatnot. And then you have to make sure that you play the game for the same amount of time, so that you keep around the same level range and can do the same quests together. And that is for most people tedious, since they want to be able to play whenever they feel like it, and not only when their buddy is online as well. So most people level up alone and only group up every now and then.
Endgame content is different of course (well, even though you haven can/have to grind there a lot as well by yourself).
Let's play Fallen Earth (blind, 300 episodes)
Let's play Guild Wars 2 (blind, 45 episodes)
xx
"Forget the unwritten, uncollected works of the poet
You never were." - a song lyric from Saetia, my fave band in the world.