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Aion: Version 2.5 Overview
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Aion players in North America and Europe have been playing Aion v2.1 for awhile and will see the second half of the update arrive in early 2011. Korean Aion players, however, are taking on the 2.5 update that will bring significant changes to the game. MMORPG.com Community Manager Michael Bitton had the opportunity to sit down with Associate Producer Sean Neil to talk about what 2.5 will bring to the table. Check it out and then let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Players looking for new content to tackle won’t be disappointed with version 2.5, as NCsoft will be introducing two new instances to the game. Version 2.0 “Assault on Balaurea” moved the game’s storyline towards all-out war with the Balaur and the introduction of version 2.5 will mark another change in the game’s storyline, as the Daevas pull back in order to resupply and retrain. To that end, two new instances will reflect this change in storyline, the first, will send Daevas out to cut off the Balaur supply line, while the second is an arena-style instance where players will test their mettle against waves upon waves of enemies.
Read more of Michael Bitton's Aion: Version 2.5 Overview.
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Comments
This update looks like it will bring me back, it's not a bad game and NCSoft seems to be improving this mmo.
moving in the right direction.
I think I will be ready to play it again when it gets to 3.0 by the rate they are travelling.
Sadly, none of these changes will fix the broken pvp, combat mechanics, or the fact that they caved to PvE whiners that failed to read up on the game they were purchasing.
Steam: Neph
I'll do ya one better.
General overview of the 2.5 updates
A link to NCWest translation of the Korean 2.5 patch notes
And a 3.0 trailer because you turn me on.
http://www.aionsource.com/topic/124040-patch-25-translated-live-from-korean-by-ncwest/?s=55b0f75b5eee00f1560a90d691e95343
P.S. the video is titled 2.5 trailer, but at the end of the video the projector or whatever of the video says 3.0.
I was seriously thinking of giving this a try a couple of days ago but then I heard Rift was out in early March and it did'nt seam worth it . Maybe will have a look in the future sometime though . It sounds OK .
What broken PvP? I've beaten good players of every class, but the real good players of class-A can wipe the floor with me no problem. LIkewise, I've seen other real good players of class-B wipe the real good player of class-A no problem. I personally think the problem is more specifically Faction PvP. They screwed up with the Balaur. They said many times that the Balaur faction of NPCs were there to help keep BALANCE in the Abyss. Truth is the Balaur NEVER posed a threat and the balance shifted to Elyos the majority of the time on nearly all servers.
Not sure what you mean by combat mechanics. The only combat mechanic I had a problem was flight combat for melee. I loved flight combat regardless, but getting that "cannot reach target" message unless you were having intercourse with your opponent in air was really annoying which gave ranged/casters advantage in the air.
I agree with you on the PvE whiners complaining about PvP, getting ganked (though they have no problem jumping one guy with their friends when the opportunity presents itself), that class is OP, or that guy is hacking. Then, I go and find that so called "hack" and kill him and I'm thinking....what's the big deal?
I presume you folks are still able to go and gank the guy running around in his own lands trying to pve level though.
Has that changed ?
Broken PvP in Aion has nothing to do with balance. PvP is broken due to the combat mechanics implemented by the developers. Here is why pvp is broken and it's the same thing that causes the aerial pvp problem. Whenever your character uses a skill in Aion they stop, frozen in place, to perform the skill animation. This is also why in order to kite a ranger must repeatedly jump in order to cancel out the skill animation (look up Aion, Ranger jumpshot on Youtube if you don't know what I'm talking about it's laughable). Despite how silly it is to watch in action and for someone to literally lose control of their character while fighting other players the devs have repeatedly stated this is how the game is supposed to be. I'm glad they are fine with that mechanic, but myself and many other pvpers have left due to this and other reasons.
I think it's also worth mentioning that you can get all the top PvP gear by running PvE only instances and never setting foot in PvP. You might have to show up to some fort raids for medals, but once again you don't even have to kill players in order to receive medals.
Also, IMO Sins are completely useless since 1.9. Certainly this is debatable and I am not saying that good player can't win with one. However, logically there's no reason to choose to play an assassin over any other class which would be more useful (all of them) because the assassin offers nothing that another class can't do better (they lost the uniqueness of dual-wield and any advantage their class received because of it and stuns were nerfed to hell due to the PvE whiners we both acknowledge).
I left after 6 months of play with a lvl 50 cleric in full fenris. I like the game, I like aerial combat, but that one mechanic ruins the possibility that I and many others will ever return. I'm not saying they should change the game to suit me. There are millions of players around the world playing the game and I'm sure it will continue to do fine without me and those who left due to the aforementioned reasons.
Steam: Neph
Depends on the zone. They never stated the game to be PvE. It was PvPvE. Some zones allow PvP and others don't.
I went to the new Asmo area and got jumped by 3 Asmos.
But complaining about PvP in a PvP oriented game is like complaining about cheese on a pizza. Not saying you are complaining, but that's the impression I get from your message.
The player housing shown in the vision trailer looks amazing and that alone could give me reason to buy Aion once it is released.
Have they ever done anything to fix the character sounds? I remember back in beta everytime my character did an attack it played some annoying Haaaiii-yah! sound that made me keep the game sounds turn off at all times.
Can you level by PvPing yet? I never understood why a game that offered so much PvP at the end game forced you to level via PvE.
No housing.
No character sound fix outside of turning it off.
No leveling by PvP.
Steam: Neph
I'm had a gladiator and the majority of my attacks I could perform while moving, but there are a few where I have to stop to peform the skill. So, saying "whenever your character uses a skill in Aion they stop" isn't entirely accurate. But I understand what you mean how it applies in the air. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "someone to literally lose contorl of their character while fighting other players."
I agree on the PvP gear. I was not a fan of the Fort Instances where you can take a 6-man group to a PvE instance and get items that rewarded you with Abyss Points to get PvP gear.
I don't agree with Sins being useless since 1.9. I've seen a Sin tank Bollvig and even tank the Dark Poeta S grade boss. Sins pretty much out-dps every other melee class so I wouldn't call them useless. I agree a lot of Sins weren't happy with the skill that allowed you to escape from a stun effect and gave you a high resistance for 7 seconds. But, that skill affected everyone not just sins. Ranger stuns, caster stuns, templar stuns, gladiator knock-downs/aerial lockdown. Sins were just especially pissed because they lost a move that was close to the Sorcs old I-Win button. Being able to come out of stealth and keep a person locked in stun until they die is broken PvP just like the Sorcs 4k dp move which allowed them to do 80%-instant kill dmg to a player. I personally would prefer them not to have implemented that Remove Shock ability, but I understand it was necessary due to Sins stun locking players to death.
Keep in mind in the link I provided with gives you the summary and has an additional link to the translated 2.5 notes specifically says "Initial" 2.5 notes. It is also mentioned in the summary that the final 2.5 patch notes will be posted in hopefully a few hours meaning housing could still be listed with version 2.5.
I'd like to change Haaaiii-yah! to Judo-chop!
I don't know if it's already been implemented or if it's coming with the patch (read it somewhere), but they have/are increasing the experience you get from PvP. However, even so you're still going to level faster kill mobs.
According to an interview with NCsoft east 2.5 is just a stepping stone to 3.0 coming this year as well. Most of the major gameplay changes will happen then. I don't know if I'll try the game out again, or not I guess only time will tell but I intend on playing Rift until GW2 or ToR comes out.
I went back in December, which was a mistake if you ask me. They have improved the game very little. The ganking is back in the pvp zones you have to level in. What is it you Aion players don't get when posters complain about getting killed multiple times in fights they have no chance of winning? Please explain to me where there is a fun factor for the leveling player?
NCSoft is clueless when it comes to designing a pvp game of any sort so that pretty much leaves out all hope for this game.
BTW don't give me that I don't know how to pvp crap, I survived happily in Felucca for 5 years.
Those chibi models are just plain creepy... and I thought Terra was bad in it's sexualisation of minors
Unless the PvP isn't balanced, then we have every right to complain. When I played back in beta, it was just about impossible to lose if you rolled a Sorceror. In other cases, Cleric and Chanter.
To the people stating it's just a "few spells." Watch this ranger video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXttiRDWLN0 it is old, but this has not changed) the ranger has to jump after EVERY skill in order to cancel out the animation. I am certain that there are skills that are the exception to this rule, but they are outliers and exceptions while the majority force a skill animation. The devs have stated this is the game working as intended. Someone else stated they don't understand what I mean by "lose control of your character." I mean that your character literally stops, you are unable to move them or do anything but watch the skill animation. Maybe you only lose control for a fraction of a second, but it is still noticable and affects pvping. In addition, while playing a cleric this happens with EVERY skill as well. This was pointed out as early as CBT when I first started and has not changed (you can go back and look at the CBT reviews on Youtube).
If the player who posted earlier's glad did not stop to do skill animations there would be no problems with aerial pvp, which they admitted still has not been fixed. The problem is that you are close enough to activate the skill, activate it, freeze in place to do the animation, and by the time it completes and executes your opponent is out of range. The same thing used to happen with casters spells, but I believe they fixed that. The problem here is not about not being able to move while casting a spell, generally speaking most games do not allow you to cast spells with cast times while moving. However, most melee skills are instant, but still require freezing in place and performing a skill animation, and IMO that ruins pvp.
Again this is just my opinion. I'm not saying Aion is a crap game or anything. It's a great title. That's just my issue.
Steam: Neph
I like PvP and I don't have a problem with ganking. My friends were generally PvP players so if I got ganked I would just message them and tell them there's fun to be had at this location. We'd group up and start the hunt.
However, I can the frustration from a person who likes a little PvP, but it generally PvE oriented. I've been in legions where the majority of players were PvE mainly and when someone got ganked and announced it in the legion chat the other members just stayed quiet and went about doing their PvE.
So, there is an obvious flaw here and I for one would be willing to compromise. My personal solution that I wish they'd implement would be to use the map a little more as a radar in the elyos & asmo homelands where rifting is allowed. THey could put a 10min timer on the map that changes the color of the different regions depending how many of the enemy faction are in that area. (EX. Western Desert turns Yellow on the map if 1 asmo, Red: 2-3 asmos, Purple: 4+ asmos; the areas would adjust colors every 10 minutes)
PvErs/carebears/whiners/people who just happen to be not in the mood for PvP at that moment will have a small leg up on how dangerous it is in the zone. Rifters generally want to PvP and this would make it easier for people that want to PvP to find it. Rifters who are just doing quests and don't want to PvP....10min is plenty of time to be somewhere else. And, you're in enemy territory...it shouldn't be a cake walk.
I'm not saying the idea is flawless, but I think it would make finding PvP easier and lower the volume of people who hate getting ganked or don't like PvP in general.
I miss the days of Felucca where people actually had keys to their houses and you could take it off their corpse and rob their house if you knew where it was.
I don't really think this is an issue of people hating PvP, but just that they can't find people or friends to do it with, so they're stuck alone, getting ganked by large groups who do nothing but that.
Here's my problem with Aion
Pros-Great Graphics, decent music, Great Character creation
Cons-PvE is poor at best, pretty much just tank and spank, quests are boring, story is weak. PvP is just a gank fest or a "Who has the bigger group" battle and fortress battles ae just Zerg Rushes that take no skill. Combat is alright but has a very jerky flow to it honestly, and moving straight to your target when you click a skill is really lame from a PvP standpoint
Overall, Aion at the very least needs to add organized PvP(Arenas, Battlegrounds, etc.) to make PvP something that's just not a gankfest that takes no skill. Also, the PvE REALLY needs to be improved, Dungeons are boring and some are just things that give no EXP just gear grind(FT). Most dungeons are just tank and spank, no scripting, so interesting abilities that enemies use or anything. BORING
Couldn't have said it better myself
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.
none of it even matters if they haven't fixed the crap ping to the servers for most, or added servers on the west coast.
what armor is the elf wearing?
Well one thing for sure Sukiyaki, you don't play Aion either because many of these posters nailed the problems, which are not small and they all exist in the game at this very moment. If you can put up with all these issues, more power to you, but attempting to ridicule posters who post current problems does not help your believeability at all.