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Aion: The Aion 3.0 Review

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129

Aion 3.0 was officially released not that long ago and brought some significant changes to the game. We've been checking out what's new in our latest review. See what we think and then leave us your thoughts in the comments.

When Aion hit South Korea in late 2008, it was using an old engine. The CryENGINE was four years old to be precise, coming from that surprise-hit FarCry. It was a pretty piece of software if you recall - a palette of bright colours, nice effects, and lovely draw-distance, and it served NCSoft's game well, up until a point.

Read more of Adam Tingle's Aion: The 3.0 Review.

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Comments

  • SlickShoesSlickShoes Member UncommonPosts: 1,019

    Cons - Still quite???? what does that mean?

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  • marz.at.playmarz.at.play Member UncommonPosts: 912

    Everyone should look at Aion and learn from thier F2P transition. This is how F2P should be. It's not P2W, everything is unlocked except for fluff items. This is why Aion will be more successful then Age of Conan which did the F2P completely wrong.

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  • DurrayDurray Member UncommonPosts: 182

    I agree the visuals have aged slightly and it is beaten by: TERA and....? And that is worth 7?

    Also explain how it is worse then SWTOR's hero engine given that was given 9/10 and is absoultely hideous. http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/view/reviews/load/178

  • DurrayDurray Member UncommonPosts: 182

    Deleted due to double post



     

  • SlickShoesSlickShoes Member UncommonPosts: 1,019
    Originally posted by Durray

    I agree the visuals have aged slightly and it is beaten by: TERA and....? And that is worth 7?

    Also explain how it is worse then SWTOR's hero engine given that was given 9/10 and is absoultely hideous. http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/view/reviews/load/178

    Different reviewers is probably the most logical reason.

    I always thought AION looked good and I did try it at release, always fancied trying it again so maybe worth installing it to see if this F2P is as good as people suggest.

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  • teakboisteakbois Member Posts: 2,154

    Originally posted by marz.at.play

    Everyone should look at Aion and learn from thier F2P transition. This is how F2P should be. It's not P2W, everything is unlocked except for fluff items. This is why Aion will be more successful then Age of Conan which did the F2P completely wrong.




     

    Aion's model wont work for most games though.  For the reason being that games like LOTRO, EQ2 and EQ that went f2p with player bases well over 100k (200k in LOTROs case) if you dont give people an incentive to sub you will lose tons of money as your subscribers go f2p.

     

    Its hard to imagine Aions NA population was over 50k, so its possible they come out ahead with this.

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726

    Personally, I think the combo f2p/subscription model works best.  The 2 faction pvp though dooms the game in that respect though.

     

  • TheDarkrayneTheDarkrayne Member EpicPosts: 5,297

    I to think Aion should have at least an 8 for graphics. The design is there and the visuals are pretty original in terms of theme. The ground textures are really bad but thats the only area that is immediately noticable as being bad. AA goes a long way for the character models and if the bright haze over everything bugs you then it's easy to adjust in the options.

    I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
  • yurigrinshteynyurigrinshteyn Member UncommonPosts: 3

    Am I the only one who found Aion's combat to be unbearably slow?  Having to go through the full skill rotation 5 times on every single mob was enough to get me to stop playing around level 22.  Or was I doing it wrong?  This was the case both on a templar (socketing +block for tanking) and a cleric (socketing +crit).

  • skydiver12skydiver12 Member Posts: 432

    Funny part is not until 2.0 did they even unleash half the potential of the cryengine.

    Early videos of 2006 showcase (When there was only one faction) how great everything could have been. Footprints, diving, HDR rendering.  Well even the LAA fix and 64bit exe (!). something the initial way scaled down version didn't remotely reproduce. Huge AOE effects, a casting chant "indicator" instead of a poor square castbar.

    Even in 2.0 they did not fully unleash everything. anyone remembers the "Solo Boss fights" they did remove and look just all too familiar in TERA? Whatever happened between 2006 and 2009, it did change the game a lot and not for the better. 

    But still aion deserves at least an 8 with 3.0 in Graphics. Aside from few games with DX10 / 11 nothing DX9  can compare to godrays and HDR rendering / DOF in Aion. And textures are pretty much not worse when it comes to stretching as with any other current released MMO (Aside from Archeage probably). Even GW2 has ugly stretched textures which will not disappear with dx10 / 11 either!

     

    Innovation should be at 9 if not even 10. Aion perfectly demonstrated what a PAINFREE interaction is. 

    Want toshow someone on a map? Mark it and POST it in chat so they can click it AND SEE IT on their map.

    Want to find a Tank? POST your group into the chat and get a message window of class and level to anyone who applies by clicking on the chatlink.

    Transparent map overlay was a first one too. Hell playing other MMOs makes you just notice how much of a pain a simple task is.



     

  • mattic65mattic65 Member UncommonPosts: 191

    Originally posted by elrusoloco

    Am I the only one who found Aion's combat to be unbearably slow?  Having to go through the full skill rotation 5 times on every single mob was enough to get me to stop playing around level 22.  Or was I doing it wrong?  This was the case both on a templar (socketing +block for tanking) and a cleric (socketing +crit).




     

    Nope, I did too, and it was also the reason I quit playing. Don't think I remember combat being that slow in the early days of the game. I could be mistaken though.

  • alkarionlogalkarionlog Member EpicPosts: 3,584
    Originally posted by elrusoloco

    Am I the only one who found Aion's combat to be unbearably slow?  Having to go through the full skill rotation 5 times on every single mob was enough to get me to stop playing around level 22.  Or was I doing it wrong?  This was the case both on a templar (socketing +block for tanking) and a cleric (socketing +crit).

     

    yeah you are doing a crazy wrong, templar are the tank based, but even so you will want crit on it, and cleric crit? please use hp or block, but even so you should only worry about it after lvl 50 before is just a waste you will be changing gear fast. also I'm a templar, back when I started I take like 30 sec to kill mobs, and its was enough since I use IJ to open combat, right now I take like 2-5 sec to kill a lvl 60 balaur, but even so sometimes time more others less, also you have several skills and they are not global CDs with is very nice, and for slow combat tera is slow aion is a little faster

     

    in case of the f2p, I feel less likely to play it now its f2p then before, it could have brought new peeps or old ones back, but all the otehr who played are less inclined to continue now, pretty much half the aion player base are waiting for GW2

     
    FOR HONOR, FOR FREEDOM.... and for some money.
  • Half_Man_Half_ToonHalf_Man_Half_Toon Member Posts: 156
    Originally posted by alkarionlog
    Originally posted by elrusoloco

    Am I the only one who found Aion's combat to be unbearably slow?  Having to go through the full skill rotation 5 times on every single mob was enough to get me to stop playing around level 22.  Or was I doing it wrong?  This was the case both on a templar (socketing +block for tanking) and a cleric (socketing +crit).

     

    yeah you are doing a crazy wrong, templar are the tank based, but even so you will want crit on it, and cleric crit? please use hp or block, but even so you should only worry about it after lvl 50 before is just a waste you will be changing gear fast. also I'm a templar, back when I started I take like 30 sec to kill mobs, and its was enough since I use IJ to open combat, right now I take like 2-5 sec to kill a lvl 60 balaur, but even so sometimes time more others less, also you have several skills and they are not global CDs with is very nice, and for slow combat tera is slow aion is a little faster

     

    in case of the f2p, I feel less likely to play it now its f2p then before, it could have brought new peeps or old ones back, but all the otehr who played are less inclined to continue now, pretty much half the aion player base are waiting for GW2

     

    I just Pop Up hey did someone say Guild Wars 2?    ooooooooohhhhh Thumbs Up

  • gilgamesh42gilgamesh42 Member Posts: 300

    lol how is the gameplay dated lol? and graphics are some of the best in any mmo ~.~


    also if you think aion is grindy you probably dont play mmos other then wow ~.~

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  • AdiarisAdiaris Member CommonPosts: 381

    The graphics rating and review caught me a bit by surprise? I'm not a huge fan of the art direction, but even taking that into consideration I don't think it has aged at all that badly especially compared to what is still coming out today *cough* TOR *cough* 

    Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

  • PsychowPsychow Member Posts: 1,784

    One day...the servers where down for 2 hours when I wanted to play...therefore...the game deserves a ZERO!!!!!!!!!! Just like Diablo 3!! /Rage

     

    I like the new AION and will continue to play off and on for a very long time.

  • TwiPhoenixTwiPhoenix Aion CorrespondentMember Posts: 19

    Originally posted by elrusoloco

    Am I the only one who found Aion's combat to be unbearably slow?  Having to go through the full skill rotation 5 times on every single mob was enough to get me to stop playing around level 22.  Or was I doing it wrong?  This was the case both on a templar (socketing +block for tanking) and a cleric (socketing +crit).




     

    Yeah, as said, you should have slotted crit on your Templar instead and likely used a great sword for soloing stuff.  Cleric should have slotted Magic Boost, crit does nothing for that class' spells.

    However, you did pick the two lowest damage classes for the low levels.  You'd want to play something like a Sorcerer or Spiritmaster if you wanted to kill everything ASAP right out of the gate.  Assassin and Ranger start off a bit slow but very quickly pick up too.

  • korat102korat102 Member Posts: 313
    Originally posted by Psychow

    One day...the servers where down for 2 hours when I wanted to play...therefore...the game deserves a ZERO!!!!!!!!!! Just like Diablo 3!! /Rage

    Slight difference between two hours and two weeks...

    Anyway...I tried Aion, I'll probably go back for a play every now and then. It looks nice but to be honest it doesn't do a great deal for me. Can't see any difference between it and any other MMO. Except you get to fly but only in specific places...when I want to fly I'll pop onto Champions Online where I can fly anywhere at any time.

  • Rizzen00111Rizzen00111 Member Posts: 11

    hey, what area did you play your level 22? in some areas there are areas ment for groups, so yeah i can see why you went through 5 skill rotations. but if you follow the path ment for soloing, you wont have so slow of a combating time. hope this helps :D and just give Aion a chance agian.

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  • aslan132aslan132 Member UncommonPosts: 619

    I actually went back to this for 3.0. Played maybe the first 6 months at launch, but it wasnt really worth the sub to me. But for free, its a better deal than any other F2P ive tried and theres no P2W to  it at all, it really is "Truly Free". As far as the graphics, I agree they are better than some games, like TOR and the Heroengine. Tera is alittle smoother, but the art style is pretty much the same. 

    On that note, Tera took the questing and crafting directly from Aion, even the harvesting. They only improvement Tera introduced was in the combat itself. Tera = Aion-wings+better combat. There ya go. And considering one is free and the other youre paying for... well you can decide how you want to spend your money, noone else can do that for you.

    As far as 'story' and how TOR has introduced it into the genre. All SWTOR proved was that "story" told with cutscenes and dialog wheels has no future in MMOs, or anywhere outside of a single player game. I really doubt any company will ever make the "story" mistake again. Thats a huge pro to any game that doesnt copy TOR, not a con. 

    Overall, yes Aion is dated, as it should be. In a constantly moving forward industry, it still easily holds its own up against games like TOR and Tera. And unlike both of them, they do it better and for cheaper. You will be hard pressed to find a better value game...at least until GW2 launches :P

  • sominatorsominator Staff WriterMMORPG.COM Staff UncommonPosts: 53

    I've been really impressed by Aion's f2p launch as well. I, too, was kind of disappointed with the release product, but have jumped in since the relaunch and really like all of the new features and polish.

  • KalferKalfer Member Posts: 779

    Interesting. it might be a fun game to play casually then.. while listening to some podcasts or music perhaps.

     

    i tried version 2.0 a while back and i agree. music was drab. 

     

    3.0 had an amazing announcement video trailer a long time ago. but that vision trailer is not like how the game is now right?

  • Belly1974Belly1974 Member Posts: 20

    My first post *waves small flag*

    I've never tried this game... I may give it a go. :)

  • Lord_AthonLord_Athon Member UncommonPosts: 165

    Originally posted by Belly1974

    My first post *waves small flag*

    I've never tried this game... I may give it a go. :)




     

    Welcome :)

    So you better try it. It's really great. But thats just an opinion.

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  • FrodoFraginsFrodoFragins Member EpicPosts: 5,898

    LOL.  Look at that tiny head i nthe first pic.  I really don't like asian art style in MMO's.  Major turn off.

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