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How does WAR compare to...
mmoguy43
Member UncommonPosts: 2,770
Aion. Aion seems to be the most similar to it as far as pvp goes but how do you think they compare? Which is more balanced, fun for pvp or pve, has more enjoyable classes, etc. Also I wonder which is more likely to be a round longer or if Aion is going to fall of the map just the same. What do you think?
Please only post if you have played both for a few months and no short "both suck" posts.
Comments
Aion isn't really a new game, so if it was going to fall of the map it would have already done so months ago. It's going to be around as long as NCsoft want it to, as it's a massive success in the East, and a mild/moderate one in the West. Both upcoming patches (one that is expansion-like) don't suggest the game is going anywhere though.
PvP is a bit similar only in that both games have fortresses to be conquered. Aion's fortress mechanics are much better as there's a timer on when such fortresses are available for attack (when the deity spawns), that filters most of the players into battles for this specific fort/forts. You can't just wait for the enemy to desert the fort so that you control it and get reward it like in WAR. There are artifacts to control that you use to swing the battle in your favor, shields to disable to be able to enter the fort, high ranked player transformations that also help a lot in taking/defending a fort. There are instances inside these forts that you can run to get AP, so it is extremely beneficial to actually own a fort.
Class balance in Aion is not too bad, seeing as the classes are exact mirror of each other and there are 8 classes in total. You know a game is somewhat balanced (at endgame) when you got every class complaining about the OPness of another. Balancing WAR on the other hand is still a nightmare from what I've been reading (I haven't played for months), bcause there is a big number of classes, and none of them are mirrored.
Apart from that they are really different. WAR is a more "fun" game for a casual player, you can log for 30mins and get into the thick of the action as soon as you do, provided the servers are active ofc. You got alot of scenarios, you join warbands without asking any permission and just go and bash skulls. you can't get ganked in this game (you turn into a chicken), and zones are divided into tiers to keep an even playing field. This has its positives obviously, but also negatives in that it takes away the feeling of playing an MMO, and everything feels restrictive. Aion on the other hand has a "nearly" open world PvP, and the zones aren't restrictive, but you got ganking and while leveling its best to stay out of these zones, especially if you play solo. You got a PvPvE instance in endgame, but that's it PvP wise.
Aion is a more complete MMORPG. Currency is extremely important, there is meaningful crafting, there are all kinds of time-sinks and money-sinks, it takes considerably more time to level, social interactivity and legion alliances and relations are pretty important, quest attunements, PvE dungeons for all level ranges, there's a death penalty for both PvP and PvE etc... All of these are MMO elements, and WAR lacks most of them. To enjoy Aion to the fullest you have to be playing it with friends or with a decent legion, because you need the help, and because it gets boring alone IMO (and alot of others). Another MMO trademark.
WAR on the other hand is for the PvP casual. No need to chat with anyone to get the most out of the game, and no need to do anything on your part in order to enjoy it. From PQs in PvE, to warbands and scenarios in PvP, there is no need to utter a single word or put in any kind of "grind" or anything to enjoy them. No death penalty leads to more PvP, however that's the only reason people play WAR, to PvP.
Each game caters for a different segment. WAR is for the PvP casual who wants to log for a "quickie" to have fun and log out, or log and keep doing battles for hours before logging off. It's instant fun, but you don't play it to improve your char or anything. It's reminiscent of games such as TF, and not really MMOs. Aion on the other hand is a much better MMORPG as a whole. While nowhere as fun in the short-term, it's a medium to long-term investment providing you liked it and played it with friends ofc.
In a nutshell: WAR is more fun for PvP, just like every free multiplayer game is more "fun" than any MMO. Each game caters to a different type of players though.
Personally I don't play MMOs just for the "instant fun" part. I play them to be social and to group up with people, to be part of a community of gamers, to have game-play diversity, to work on and improve my character in whichever way that is available to me.
Not bashing WAR because I really enjoyed my time there, but it didn't feel like an MMO at all.
I evaluated and discussed both these games extensivly
Warhammer Review
Aion Review
Briefly
IN the end, Aion has better graphics and more eye candy.
There are still graphic and pathing glitches in WAR.
I would say the PVE content between the two is comparable. Neither reaches the calibre found in PVE oriented MMOs like WoW.
Classes are balanced more on Aion because they are basically the same with minor racial/title adjustments.
There is discrepency between individual classes in WAR (DoK vs WL for example). HOwever in the end, the class types (Healers vs healers/melee dps vs melee dps) even out and the 2 factions as a whole are very stable.
HOwever, if you ask me, Aion lacks a soul. I play it and .... It feels very generic ..like shopping at Walgreens. There is an attitude to be found in WAR ...nothing that reaches the realm pride found in DAOC.... but when you play you begin to hate the enemy and smile evilly when you stand over their corpses.
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
Thanks for the replies! I got a better idea where the two stand now.
Simple version;
WAR: pvp & rvr
Aion: pve & grind
They both are spin-offs of the DAoC pvp system. Aion and Warhammer both failed in this attempt.
Just my opinion.
A man or "gamer" should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.
there is no more pride in rvr in daoc anymore sadly. no one really cares what side and more. so it sucks alot. it lost its soul but thats just me.
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OK, Change the above to
"....Realm pride once found in DAOC...."
However, I will tell ya, a lot of old DAOC players still hold tight to their past DAOC allegiance even though they havnt played the game in years
DIE HIBBIES!
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
I don't agree with that. "Realm pride" is still there. You gotta remember, DAoC is mostly populated by the same people who played it years ago before the ToA crash, they just drift in and out of it now.
OP, it depends on what you want.
It comes down to this
If you want PvP / RvR from level 1, throughout your time in the game...Warhammer
If you can tolerate hundreds of hours of pointless PvE grind to get to the PvP / RvR...Aion
If you want a better PvP / RvR experience... DAoC.
Honestly you will have more fun taking a actual warhammer and PvP'ing baby rabbits with it... then play War or Aion.
WAR is better in most every way.
The end-games for both are poo.
Classes in WAR are much more fun from top to bottom, although Aion's assassin and sorc are fun.
my votes for WAR also.WAR could have been a great game if it hadnt been rushed and Mythic/EA still hasn't bothered on pve content at all which is a shame good pve content would bring loads more players in which would play there pvp.
The biggest difference for me between the two games, from a PvP point of view, is that in WAR I could do almost all my leveling by doing instanced PvP areas and thus solely by PvP. Aion 99% of your exp will come from PvE grinding which is quite extreme, I never got higher than level 25 in Aion because I simply got bored of the PvE grinding and the PvP that occured was few and far between.
Never got into sieging in Aion so the only PvP I saw was ganking in the Abyss. In WAR, on the other hand, PvP occurs mainly in instanced PvP areas or in the open where you fight for keeps. Ganking is quite uncommon in WAR and probably why I like it much more than Aion.
About PvE I dont have much opinion either way as I find it boring regardless of game. However I do find Public Quests in WAR to be less boring than the quest/mob grinding of Aion.
Gfx Aion is superior, hands down and no contest. Economy in Aion also feels more real as the money has alot more value than in WAR where gold is more or less meaningless beside for buying talismans and potions.
Finally you need to take into consideration that WAR is more or less on life support and most likely will never see an expansion where as Aion already has one going. Sad but that is what happens when the company behind the game dont believe enough in their own product to spend resources developing it.
My gaming blog
If Aion 3.0 really live up to the video, than it have a very high chance of getting a huge populations increase.
War on the other hand...
RIP Orc Choppa
I never played Aion.
My guild however did... they left WAR to play Aion and came back. Universally they ALL disliked the grind (i've got some 40+ ppl saying that).
On the flipside however Aion is predominantly an Eastern style MMO I would almost say on a par with how Lineage was in terms of leveling. If you EVER see a game published first in the Eastern market you can more than likely expect to spend a craptacular amount of time in PvE. If that's your thing, then hey by all means, if not... well than it's more than likely not for you. I already know my answer!