<> I'll agree that Aion has some of the best character models, but the environment could use some work. Some of the environment in Aion seems to use some very low-res textures.
Think for a second. There's a reason for this. Of course they could push everything even more, graphically...BUT...
Yes I'm aware that they did it to improve game play performance. However, they should include an optional hi-res texture pack like LotRO. I actually might consider LotRO to be superior to Aion in terms of environmental detail....
Playing - FFXIV, ESO Played - FFXI, WoW, Lineage 2, Guild Wars, Aion, SWToR, LotRO, GW2, TERA, Rift, ArcheAge, TSW
Hi gang. I have narrowed down my choice of games to play atm to LOTRO or AION. I like pve and interesting content. I dont mind to grind a bit as long as its not in the Lineage 2 mould . I dont mind PVP but its not my main focus. I play a majority of my time solo due to work hours and living in the Oceanic region. Thanks for any feedback. (played wow, aoc pvp server, EQ2, DDO, GW)
If you like PvE more than PvP then go Lotro. Game has SOOOO much PvE content and its good, really good. You can solo as much as you like, you can group as much as you like, you can raid some but PvP is a sideshow where you fight your server mates that take on roles of orcs, goblins, spiders, wargs and trolls.
Lotro also have some of the best social aspects of any MMO. You can play real music in the game and I have seen concerts. You can spend eternity getting hold of special clothes for your character, outfit your home and there is often special events in the game like horse races, chicken fights and of course you can sit and fish ..
The crafting system takes a lot of time but the gear you learn to make is some of the best stuff in the game, just dont exepct to be able to make anything really good the first few months of playing.
Turbine also expands the game over time, mostly its free expansions but they also have one paid expansion so far. The playable game area is 2-3 times larger now than it was at release and it takes more than an hour of running to cross from one side of the playable area to the other by now.
Aion has the advantage that its new but be warned you cannot lvl past lvl 25 without open PvP, all lvl 25+ content is in PvP areas so if you dont like forced pvp then dont play it. Lotro otoh you can pvp if you like but its a side game to move over to from time to time to have fun and its mostly about big groups fighting for control of area and not small group skirmishes.
"You are the hero our legends have foretold will save our tribe, therefore please go kill 10 pigs."
What sort of instancing are we talking about in Aion? The kind where you have Starter Zone A1 with 178 people and Starter Zone A2 with 150 people? In other words the zone splits into a copy of itself once the population gets too high?
Yes, it works mostly like in AoC but I think there are a fixed number of channels depending on the area with starter maps with the most(7-10). Even with instances every area felt very much populated in the beta.
Edit:
OP as much as I may want you to play Aion, If you don't mind the game getting grindy at several levels and focus heavily on pvp later on, you may find more in enjoyment LOTR with a limited playtime.
the best advice I can give u is try each out. if the start zones are fun and you make it to lvl 30 are absorbed into if cus your having fun then you found your game.
I tried LOTR but I had a hard time in it due to having to constantly be grouped for the storyline type quests. I did like it but it just did not pull me in. (If I new more folks on it then I would not mind playing it.)
I play WoW (which I am bored of) and enjoy both PvP and RP. Played WoW since 2004 off n on while also trying other games that would come out. Not sure if the upcoming exp would be enough to lure me back. I am really craving updated graphics with better character customization and something different from what I have been playing.
I played Open Beta on AION and really had fun. I even found myself up super late cus I let time get away. It has been awhile since I had that kinda fun on a MMO.
If cost is an issue I would recommend Perfect World International which is a free game. It has the flight ability really cool character customization (better then AION) They really made the character you play to have that updated graphics that alot of the new games offer; however, you will notice that the mobs and landscape are not as polished but it is free. The catch is to get certian items you have to buy cubi gold to use in the cubi store.
Tried Conan AoC. Was disappointed, Tried Warhammer, was disappointed. Tried Vanguard, not enough players to interact with so it took away from it. Tried a few others., Each try I would play for atleast 3 months. Lineage II sucked to me.
It appears alot of the new MMO games coming out have the high end looking graphics now. Guild Wars 2 is promising to have similiar character customization as AION with the Lore continuing 250 years in the future from the lore of the Guild Wars games currently out. They are updating the graphics engine and revamping this series. I will be watching it. (as with all new game hype there is a possibility that some of this is rumor)
If you can afford both an account on LOTR and on AION you could go back n forth between them. No one can really make the choice for you.
If you want to focus on PvE, and want a game you could play mostly solo, I would choose LoTRO over Aion at the moment. It's a prettier game, in my opinion, has interesting classes, gives room to explore and quest, and you can solo all the way to 60 if you choose. alan
I cant help but disagree with this guy about the "prettyness". Aion, to me, has the nicest visuals of all MMOs to date.
True, if you like asian anime hermaphrodites in plastic armor beating on teddy bears and mushrooms, the visuals are just awesome. For everyone else, LOTRO will probably be an overall better experience.
You really shouldn't post about games you obviously haven't tried. You are basing your opinion on the emo looking characters in the ads. If you had tried it you would have found you can make your avatar look like whatever you want. You want an ugly avatar no problem. You can make an ugly little gnome or dwarf or giant looking character. Anything you want. You can make them fat or skinny, you can swap any graphics for your armor or weapons. Some people will create anime characters which you obviously hate, but if you want a traditional D&D looking character you can do it easily.
It's worth noting that Turbine has a long history of sucking too. They made 3 attempts to make a good fantasy MMO and have failed 3 times. AC sucked, AC2 sucked so bad it's gone. LOTR is meh, It's a decent game but been there done that. EQ2 and DAOC are much better traditional fantasy MMO's.
I liked Asheron's Call, granted it was my first and didn't try AC2 and yes DAoC is still today imp the fantasy MMO god of all time but I would not say AC sucked it was a solid game till they jacked up the caster side of it.
As to the OP, try the free DL of Lord of the rings its a solid game lots of fun all PvE to me the PvP they have is intresting but it feels like an after thought to me. 1 note last I tryed the trial the cleint you get for free does not have all the eye candy you get when you pay so dont judge the look off that its a very prity game. Aion is the game I will be playing though, more PvP than LotR though thats not my reason for going to Aion, I have played a lot of MMOs and am just done with whats out at the moment Aion is the winner of the new-ish MMOs to come out. I do think Aion is an intresting title, I for one like the art style but I am not anti anime either (personaly dont think of it as an anime game) the flight and combat is fun and it some what reminds me of the fun I had in DAoC (not the same game just the same level of fun I had so long ageo)
Comments
Think for a second. There's a reason for this. Of course they could push everything even more, graphically...BUT...
Yes I'm aware that they did it to improve game play performance. However, they should include an optional hi-res texture pack like LotRO. I actually might consider LotRO to be superior to Aion in terms of environmental detail....
Playing - FFXIV, ESO
Played - FFXI, WoW, Lineage 2, Guild Wars, Aion, SWToR, LotRO, GW2, TERA, Rift, ArcheAge, TSW
aion for one reason thats where the gaming comunity will be this year(ya i know kids)
2 good choice would be wow
3 guild wars
me i hung my hat in eq2
If you like PvE more than PvP then go Lotro. Game has SOOOO much PvE content and its good, really good. You can solo as much as you like, you can group as much as you like, you can raid some but PvP is a sideshow where you fight your server mates that take on roles of orcs, goblins, spiders, wargs and trolls.
Lotro also have some of the best social aspects of any MMO. You can play real music in the game and I have seen concerts. You can spend eternity getting hold of special clothes for your character, outfit your home and there is often special events in the game like horse races, chicken fights and of course you can sit and fish ..
The crafting system takes a lot of time but the gear you learn to make is some of the best stuff in the game, just dont exepct to be able to make anything really good the first few months of playing.
Turbine also expands the game over time, mostly its free expansions but they also have one paid expansion so far. The playable game area is 2-3 times larger now than it was at release and it takes more than an hour of running to cross from one side of the playable area to the other by now.
Aion has the advantage that its new but be warned you cannot lvl past lvl 25 without open PvP, all lvl 25+ content is in PvP areas so if you dont like forced pvp then dont play it. Lotro otoh you can pvp if you like but its a side game to move over to from time to time to have fun and its mostly about big groups fighting for control of area and not small group skirmishes.
"You are the hero our legends have foretold will save our tribe, therefore please go kill 10 pigs."
What sort of instancing are we talking about in Aion? The kind where you have Starter Zone A1 with 178 people and Starter Zone A2 with 150 people? In other words the zone splits into a copy of itself once the population gets too high?
Yes, it works mostly like in AoC but I think there are a fixed number of channels depending on the area with starter maps with the most(7-10). Even with instances every area felt very much populated in the beta.
Edit:
OP as much as I may want you to play Aion, If you don't mind the game getting grindy at several levels and focus heavily on pvp later on, you may find more in enjoyment LOTR with a limited playtime.
well i am playing LOTRO and i can asure you wont be disapointed. I dont know about Aion.
the best advice I can give u is try each out. if the start zones are fun and you make it to lvl 30 are absorbed into if cus your having fun then you found your game.
I tried LOTR but I had a hard time in it due to having to constantly be grouped for the storyline type quests. I did like it but it just did not pull me in. (If I new more folks on it then I would not mind playing it.)
I play WoW (which I am bored of) and enjoy both PvP and RP. Played WoW since 2004 off n on while also trying other games that would come out. Not sure if the upcoming exp would be enough to lure me back. I am really craving updated graphics with better character customization and something different from what I have been playing.
I played Open Beta on AION and really had fun. I even found myself up super late cus I let time get away. It has been awhile since I had that kinda fun on a MMO.
If cost is an issue I would recommend Perfect World International which is a free game. It has the flight ability really cool character customization (better then AION) They really made the character you play to have that updated graphics that alot of the new games offer; however, you will notice that the mobs and landscape are not as polished but it is free. The catch is to get certian items you have to buy cubi gold to use in the cubi store.
Tried Conan AoC. Was disappointed, Tried Warhammer, was disappointed. Tried Vanguard, not enough players to interact with so it took away from it. Tried a few others., Each try I would play for atleast 3 months. Lineage II sucked to me.
It appears alot of the new MMO games coming out have the high end looking graphics now. Guild Wars 2 is promising to have similiar character customization as AION with the Lore continuing 250 years in the future from the lore of the Guild Wars games currently out. They are updating the graphics engine and revamping this series. I will be watching it. (as with all new game hype there is a possibility that some of this is rumor)
If you can afford both an account on LOTR and on AION you could go back n forth between them. No one can really make the choice for you.
Go lotro, nice game.
Greetings,
Pardie
mm seeing 5 server loched just in america i will go aion ,i was suppose to play eq2 but i ll try aion honestly at least
I cant help but disagree with this guy about the "prettyness". Aion, to me, has the nicest visuals of all MMOs to date.
True, if you like asian anime hermaphrodites in plastic armor beating on teddy bears and mushrooms, the visuals are just awesome. For everyone else, LOTRO will probably be an overall better experience.
You really shouldn't post about games you obviously haven't tried. You are basing your opinion on the emo looking characters in the ads. If you had tried it you would have found you can make your avatar look like whatever you want. You want an ugly avatar no problem. You can make an ugly little gnome or dwarf or giant looking character. Anything you want. You can make them fat or skinny, you can swap any graphics for your armor or weapons. Some people will create anime characters which you obviously hate, but if you want a traditional D&D looking character you can do it easily.
It's worth noting that Turbine has a long history of sucking too. They made 3 attempts to make a good fantasy MMO and have failed 3 times. AC sucked, AC2 sucked so bad it's gone. LOTR is meh, It's a decent game but been there done that. EQ2 and DAOC are much better traditional fantasy MMO's.
I liked Asheron's Call, granted it was my first and didn't try AC2 and yes DAoC is still today imp the fantasy MMO god of all time but I would not say AC sucked it was a solid game till they jacked up the caster side of it.
As to the OP, try the free DL of Lord of the rings its a solid game lots of fun all PvE to me the PvP they have is intresting but it feels like an after thought to me. 1 note last I tryed the trial the cleint you get for free does not have all the eye candy you get when you pay so dont judge the look off that its a very prity game. Aion is the game I will be playing though, more PvP than LotR though thats not my reason for going to Aion, I have played a lot of MMOs and am just done with whats out at the moment Aion is the winner of the new-ish MMOs to come out. I do think Aion is an intresting title, I for one like the art style but I am not anti anime either (personaly dont think of it as an anime game) the flight and combat is fun and it some what reminds me of the fun I had in DAoC (not the same game just the same level of fun I had so long ageo)