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Don't bother picking it up now.
I picked this game back up due to a few reviews I read on here and was let down by Aion in it's current state.vI played from 1-30 on a new character and my impressions are below.
1-10 - semi interesting, learn about the game a little bit and test out your character. Flying and stuff is cool.
11-15 - GRIND. This is where the boring grind starts. I don't find the quests in this game to be entertaining, it's basically run to point X, run back and turn in quest. A lot of the time I wouldn't even be paying attention to what was happening, and just having my character run back and forth.
16-24 - I was about to give up at level 15 but the game is actually fun here. You get to do the first dungeon, get some double XP from the event NPC, and level up quickly using new skills. At level 20 you also get to have a house which is a plus. This was the pickup I was looking for in the game and was hoping it would continue.
25-30 This is where the game dies again, you're stuck the grind again. Worst part about it is that they have dungeons and "PVP" during these levels but they are worthless to you because it's hard/impossible to find ppl for lower level dungeons and no one does PVP around lvl 25-46. I can't really understand why they don't have "solo" modes for the instanced dungeons.
To conclude, if you came to this game for PVP, you're out of luck until lvl 46. If you came to this game for PVE get ready for grind spots and having to run the same quest over and over again to get out of it as fast as possible. (everyone runs the bronze coin quests).
Another major issue I had was that for some apparent reason they bounce you back and forth between the server your character is on, and a server for 2x XP. The main problem with this is that in PVP zones you get taken off the the 2x XP zone and put into your solo server, aka it's empty.
I'm not saying the game is horrible, and it has a lot of interesting features like flying, having pets and having your own home, but you would be better off paying for something like ESO where crafting actually matters, the quests are more involved, and you actually see people in the PVP zone.
Comments
I will agree Aion has some grind but compared to how it was at release it is nothing.
Plus, I wouldn't even try to pvp until you hit 55 or 60 as most pvpers are at max level with best gear so it is almost impossible to be even the least bit effective at 10+ levels below them.
It does have some interesting features but the game has been out now for over 4 years, the economy is trashed and as a new player, unless you buy gold then getting anything from the auction house is almost out of the realm of being possible. Plus if you wish to get a house that isn't the very small free one they give you it is rediculous. Last time I played, about 2 mths ago, the small houses, which the game starts auctions out at around I think 45-50 million, ended up selling for over 500 million which is still almost 4 times more expensive then the opening price for mansions.
Anyway, if you don't care about the houses and just play the game for the pve it can be fun, but each day there is less and less to do.
I played aion a bit back, but I have no need to defend it these days, but anyone who says 11-15 is a grind isn't a player that I have anything in common with as a gamer or would listen to.
When was the last time you played? It only takes around 30 minutes to go from 11-15 nowadays.
Early game grind has pretty much been eliminated. It shouldn't take more than 4-5 hours to hit level 30 right now. They've increased the primary campaign quest rewards and solo dungeon exp gain so much that you barely need to run anything now to level up.
The problem is they didn't really boost the blue quests that much, so people who are new to the game will probably stick to doing blue quests instead of just doing the story campaigns. That will still take a while, although still significantly shorter than launch.
If you focus mainly on the campaigns and instance dungeons, it shouldn't take more than 10 hours to hit level 50. That's when things start slowing down as the campaigns alone are no longer enough to level. 55 is probably where the real grind starts, since most experienced vets start 2 manning a specific instance and repeat until level 63, as it is by far the fastest way to level).
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
Edgar Allan Poe
Fine, we'll compromise. I'll get my way & you'll find a way to be okay with that.
for new players i can understand your review. but if you talk to any veteran player the game does not start until max level. thats when it is most interesting and you start to progress your character. many different type of arenas, to owpvp in many different zones, or plentiful dungeons & raids to grind
any person leveling in a korean mmo will say the same, espcially old ones like this, if you get through that, the game is really fun