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[Aion] Is Now Completely Free To Play. 3.0 Is Now Live.

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Posts

  • RyadicRyadic Registered User regular
    Ok. Sorry to whoever it was that invited me. Please reinvite. I hate not being able to whisper.

    steam_sig.png
  • XerephXereph Registered User regular
    No worries. Pushing through the starter zone only takes an hour or two. Then you can harass everyone you want in LFG chat

    PSN - Xereph
  • RyadicRyadic Registered User regular
    So far I really enjoy this game. What are the problems with it?

    steam_sig.png
  • XerephXereph Registered User regular
    Grindy Korean MMO... that is really about it

    PSN - Xereph
  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Huh, I still had a older version installed. Might as well fire it up and see what's new.

    Huh, it can't patch from the version I have installed, so it's going to do a repair.

    Huh, it's gotta download 14 GB's. D: At 110KBs/sec.

    PMAvers on
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  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    Awesome. Finally get it downloaded, and start wandering around Sanctum to look at the new shinies.

    Try to cross the bridge heading to the north island... and my client crashes. And it crashes every time I try to load the character now too. Woo.

    persona4celestia.jpg
    COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
  • RizziRizzi Sydney, Australia.Registered User regular
    Well.. Shit.
    650 ping.

  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    So, just tossing it out there; 3.0 is live and the game is 100% free to play now.

    For anyone just wandering into the thread, the US version of Aion (you can access it from the EU too, just with some latency; the EU version is crappy) is 100% free to play.

    It's no joke. 100% of the content in the game is fully accessible with zero restrictions for everyone without paying a single cent. There is no faux subscription system like the EU and some other F2P mmo's have; there are no "tiers" of accounts, nothing. If you have an account you can access everything in the game that you could before (and all future content), that required a subscription, for absolutely nothing.

    There is a pay store, but what you can buy from it are mostly aesthetic items (like dyes, equipment skins) or buffs (xp, ap, item drop rate, etc increases). These are above and beyond what is in the base game. Nothing is reduced for people not paying a dime, there are no arbitrary limits on things (that didn't already have limits, like lockouts on instances and such).

    Things added in 3.0 include player housing (everyone gets a base free house at level 20+, higher tier houses are costly both in initial investment and recurring fees), mounts, level cap increase to 60, tons of systems upgrades for various things including a vastly more useful map, quest tracking (via the map) and more, new instances, better timers on existing instances, level range changes and much more.

    Someone above said Aion is a typical Korean Grindy MMO, and while I'll grant that there is more grind than, say, WoW, what grind there is has been significantly reduced from what it used to be, and the leveling rate is drastically better than it used to be. For example, many players managed to get the 5 levels increased with 3.0 on the day it was released. It isn't a situation where you have to grind all day for a single level or any of that nonsense, but people still cling to that stereotype from launch.

    It's 100% free folks, no drawbacks to making an account and just checking it out. A lot has changed over the years, so even if you played before, give it a go again. Your old accounts are free too, so no need to start over.

    Re: old accounts, I should note that there was some serious hacking going on back early in the games lifespan, so if you played way back when and never touched it again, there's a high probability your account was hacked/banned. But it's a simple matter of contacting support for NCSoft and working with them to get your account back. Many people get it back the same day plus many who have gotten their account back have the bonus of having tons of kinah left on the account from farmers before it was banned. I personally got about 20m Kinah; others have reported getting 50m+ so hey, not bad right? :lol:

    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
    Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
    Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand

  • RhapsodyRhapsody Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    In the process of downloading the client and giving this whirl. I know there isn't an official PA server, but I was wondering which ones you guys were playing on.

    EDIT: Ew Pando Media Booster D:

    Rhapsody on
  • heenatoheenato Alice Leywind Registered User regular
    Well, the PA guild for the game is Israphael, Elyos characters.

    And yeah. Pando. They didn't USE pando before it went free.

    M A G I K A Z A M
  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    Much of the OP is out of date. Sometime soon I'm going to sit down and revamp the whole thing. For the most part the info is all launch stuff from years ago.

    So don't take the OP at face value.

    What heenato said, what PA presence there is in the game is in Israphel, Elyos. The Legion is named Seven Nation Army, but iirc Elimination was toying with changing it.

    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
    Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
    Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand

  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    Much of the OP is out of date. Sometime soon I'm going to sit down and revamp the whole thing. For the most part the info is all launch stuff from years ago.

    So don't take the OP at face value.

    What heenato said, what PA presence there is in the game is in Israphel, Elyos. The Legion is named Seven Nation Army, but iirc Elimination was toying with changing it.

    Push to bring back the Sorcelators, IMO.

    Still getting the crash bug, so going to try to just do a clean install. Woo, get to download 13 gigs again.

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  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    Well the Legion was handed to him by some guy quitting, so the name was out of his hands.

    I'm not sure if there's anything about the legion that would warrant keeping it over just making a new one (i.e. they've invested kinah to expand it etc), you'd have to ask him.

    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
    Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
    Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand

  • RyadicRyadic Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    What's the simplest class to play? What's the most fun?

    Right now I have a SpiritMaster, but I don't think I like how he plays.

    And the presence in the guild is very lacking. Probably about a total of 6 people that have logged on in the past week.

    Ryadic on
    steam_sig.png
  • grouch993grouch993 Both a man and a numberRegistered User regular
    Solo or grouped? Solo, priest or chanter have limited downtime. dps blows stuff up faster. Typical mmo stuff.

    SM got pretty impressive once you got past the mid 20s. Priests were surprisingly effective as dps and healing. Chanters were rough on their own, but had some pretty good survival skills and with the buffs and heals were needed late game. Sorcs were rough at first, but were great paired with most other classes.

    Is melee still at a disadvantage for pvp?

    Steam Profile Origin grouchiy
  • Hunter_KillersHunter_Killers Registered User regular
    Melee feels like it is heavily dependent on your latency and/or having an extendable weapon (60 Gladiator). I don't know about assassins but apparently rangers are pretty simple.

    4efe575fea51ec35.png
  • RyadicRyadic Registered User regular
    Can all classes solo to level up? Or is this like FFXI?

    steam_sig.png
  • grouch993grouch993 Both a man and a numberRegistered User regular
    All classes can solo. Some are faster than others. Things used to get messy in the 20s when the rifting and pvp would happen.

    Steam Profile Origin grouchiy
  • flammiebcflammiebc Registered User regular
    On the new server, Kahrun, all the (anti-)rifting buffs are gone, so it's pretty much constant fighting from the moment you hit Eltnen on. Not so bad now since everyone's mostly on even ground due to starting fresh, but I'm pretty sure forts are beginning to get taken this week.

    Switch: SW-7753-7176-1119
    PSN: LucidStar_BC
  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Don't suppose there's been any word in regards to when character transfers will be coming back? My Elros characters are stuck on Tiamat ATM.

    EDIT: Although it's interesting that Israphel is locked in regards to making new Elros characters. Can't even just roll a new one over there to get started.

    PMAvers on
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    COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
  • RhapsodyRhapsody Registered User regular
    Yeah, I can't make Elyos characters either. I may just start up on Kahrun since it's a new server. Sucks that I probably won't be able to meet up with you guys.

    I'm still debating between trying gladiator, assassin, and chanter.

  • RyadicRyadic Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    What level are you Flammiebc?

    I'd probably jump on that server with you if I was going to have someone to level up with so the game does become an online single player game.

    Ryadic on
    steam_sig.png
  • flammiebcflammiebc Registered User regular
    Powered to 26 over the weekend, but haven't had time to play since then. I could probably mentor you some for the coin quests, but i'm basically restricted to evenings pacific time thanks to work.

    Also, tera beta starts on Thursday, so Aion is likely going on the back burner through the weekend for me.

    Switch: SW-7753-7176-1119
    PSN: LucidStar_BC
  • RyadicRyadic Registered User regular
    Tera open beta? I was wanting to try that out to see if it is any good.

    steam_sig.png
  • flammiebcflammiebc Registered User regular
    Yeah, open beta. Thursday for preorders, Saturday for everyone else, iirc. Not sure how keys are being distributed, as I've been in since the beginning.

    Switch: SW-7753-7176-1119
    PSN: LucidStar_BC
  • sidhaethesidhaethe Registered User regular
    So I've been playing for around a week now, just casually checking things out with a level 17 Elyos on Kahrun and level 12 Asmo on Tiamat, both SMs. I'm wary of the PvP, which is much of what kept me from trying the game when it was P2P, but I've been really pleasantly surprised by things that I don't hear people make much mention of when they talk about Aion: not only the graphics, which IMO hold up exceptionally well against most of the current MMO crop, but the quality of the quest writing is better than most of the other MMOs I've tried, the ongoing campaign missions means the story doesn't fizzle out as soon as you get off the starter island, niceties like the occasional cutscene and the endearing idle animations such as reactions to rain and heat, etc.

    Add the pet system and housing to that and I've really been enjoying myself despite my skepticism going in. I'm surprised this game doesn't get more praise, but I guess in the world of rushing to max level and PvP ganking these kinds of things get overlooked? All I know is I had more fun this week than I did at Rift's launch, and I thought that game was pretty great.

  • McWhatMcWhat Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I've been playing this game again for the last two days. I've got a few Elyos characters on Tiamat in their 20's. I make no promises about my continuing to play as I've also told some RL peeps I'd give ST:O another shot, and I was debating the heartbreak of DCUO. Battlefield 3 has not been as bad as I was led to believe. I still have an unused TOR timecard, so I'm really just reviewing my options. I'm pretty disgruntled at Bioware right now, and it may be midsummer before I drop my grudge.

    I'd be willing to try out the new rifting server, if there was something resembling a PA presence on it.

    McWhat on
    I will not be held responsible for any decrease in your IQ
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoawUotNFmFBFMC5glWqYOg
  • Romantic UndeadRomantic Undead Registered User regular
    So I'm downloading this as we speak but I'm also trying out the free copy of Rift I got at PAX East. I'll be making a character when I get home tonight.

    I usually like making a variety of characters before settling on one, so I'll post with my char name once I get a good feel of which one I like best.

    3DS FC: 1547-5210-6531
  • FandyienFandyien But Otto, what about us? Registered User regular
    So I dug this game at launch

    How freemium is this? Irritatingly so or can you ignore the cash shop pretty effectively like in STO?

    reposig.jpg
  • TTODewbackTTODewback Puts the drawl in ya'll I think I'm in HellRegistered User regular
    I reinstalled this last night, I didn't get a chance to play because the install errored like 4 times and had to re-download like 4 GB of data each time. I bought the collectors edition on release day but never renewed my subscription because it got so incredibly grindy. Hell I don't think I even did many quests because it was quicker to level just killing monsters (And you got better loot)

    Bless your heart.
  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Fandyien wrote: »
    So I dug this game at launch

    How freemium is this? Irritatingly so or can you ignore the cash shop pretty effectively like in STO?
    So, just tossing it out there; 3.0 is live and the game is 100% free to play now.

    For anyone just wandering into the thread, the US version of Aion (you can access it from the EU too, just with some latency; the EU version is crappy) is 100% free to play.

    It's no joke. 100% of the content in the game is fully accessible with zero restrictions for everyone without paying a single cent. There is no faux subscription system like the EU and some other F2P mmo's have; there are no "tiers" of accounts, nothing. If you have an account you can access everything in the game that you could before (and all future content), that required a subscription, for absolutely nothing.

    There is a pay store, but what you can buy from it are mostly aesthetic items (like dyes, equipment skins) or buffs (xp, ap, item drop rate, etc increases). These are above and beyond what is in the base game. Nothing is reduced for people not paying a dime, there are no arbitrary limits on things (that didn't already have limits, like lockouts on instances and such).

    Things added in 3.0 include player housing (everyone gets a base free house at level 20+, higher tier houses are costly both in initial investment and recurring fees), mounts, level cap increase to 60, tons of systems upgrades for various things including a vastly more useful map, quest tracking (via the map) and more, new instances, better timers on existing instances, level range changes and much more.

    Someone above said Aion is a typical Korean Grindy MMO, and while I'll grant that there is more grind than, say, WoW, what grind there is has been significantly reduced from what it used to be, and the leveling rate is drastically better than it used to be. For example, many players managed to get the 5 levels increased with 3.0 on the day it was released. It isn't a situation where you have to grind all day for a single level or any of that nonsense, but people still cling to that stereotype from launch.

    It's 100% free folks, no drawbacks to making an account and just checking it out. A lot has changed over the years, so even if you played before, give it a go again. Your old accounts are free too, so no need to start over.

    Re: old accounts, I should note that there was some serious hacking going on back early in the games lifespan, so if you played way back when and never touched it again, there's a high probability your account was hacked/banned. But it's a simple matter of contacting support for NCSoft and working with them to get your account back. Many people get it back the same day plus many who have gotten their account back have the bonus of having tons of kinah left on the account from farmers before it was banned. I personally got about 20m Kinah; others have reported getting 50m+ so hey, not bad right? :lol:

    tl;dr: 100% free. There is nothing in the game that is limited or locked off for anyone. The entirety of the entire game is completely and utterly free. It's no joke, no sales pitch, it is. There are no "tiers" of subs, there are absolutely no subs. The pay store is completely "bonus" stuff, xp bonuses and such on top of what is normal; weapon skins etc. They didn't reduce drops or xp or anything like that for the F2P conversion, the game is there in its entirety, free. You can't buy gear, you can buy bonuses to XP/AP etc, but you still have to go and earn it yourself.

    Like the game or not; fair enough, but they're offering something pretty impressive here.

    EDIT: As usual I'm referring to the US version; which you can play from anywhere. The EU version is a shitty tiered sub model that no, just avoid it. Other than the hardcore who don't want to lose their characters, since you can play from anywhere really, I can't imagine how the EU version is going to sustain itself since people can just play the astronomically better US version.

    The Dude With Herpes on
    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
    Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
    Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand

  • McWhatMcWhat Registered User regular
    Fandyien wrote: »
    So I dug this game at launch

    How freemium is this? Irritatingly so or can you ignore the cash shop pretty effectively like in STO?

    Some of the bonus stuff I would describe as "quality of life" items. Pets with 30 slot bags, buffs so you don't lose exp on death & only spend one kinah on flights/teleports, cube/warehouse expansion, things like that. Oh, and some wings with buffs, but my friends who still play tell me that there are better wings available as drops. I would describe "Bonus" items as the dyes, the not-so-vanity pets (they all have some functionality now), the animations, etc. I have perused the entirety of the cash shop, and there is not one single bit of content for sale. The closest I could find was lockout reset tickets. I did notice they're selling some variations of the Inquin candy, but at least the psychopathic penguin will be easy to identify. Also, he'll be adorable as he murders you.

    A couple of interesting things I've noticed since returning, you now need a pin. The pin pad has to be clicked, can't be keyed from a keyboard device. The pad pops up in different spots, and the numbers re-arrange themselves. So key and click loggers should be useless. I realize this is old hat to some of you, but this is infinitely better than having to call CS because my phone took a dump on me, or having to not lose another keychain. Yes, I tend to lose keychains. I always find my keys, but the keychains can't stand me.

    Also, my friend Ashley discovered she can't spend more than $100 a month on ncoin. This is fantastic for a number of reasons, and makes her husband very happy. I personally like the fact that the broker won't be (overly) flooded with cash shop items, if the pin system ever fails me I'll also be very happy that my CC bill only went up by a $100.

    I will not be held responsible for any decrease in your IQ
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoawUotNFmFBFMC5glWqYOg
  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    I...I don't even know what you could buy right now that would cost over $100 a month to begin with. That's insane that someone figured that out.

    She must love her uh...pets? Or something?

    EDIT: and everything the CUBE store is QoL stuff; like you said, nothing in there is actual content.

    Here's a rundown of what you can buy:
    Boost Items
    50% XP Increase 1hr
    20% Item Drop Increase 1hr
    No XP Loss on Death 7days
    20% Empyrean Point Increase 7days
    AP Boost (no clue how it works) 7 days

    Style
    Emotes (all permanent, none have durations)
    Dyes (The "True Dyes" may be the only thing unobtainable in game in the store; except they can be gotten during special events.)
    Equipment Skins (Various types, weapons, wedding stuff etc)
    Wings. There are better wings in game, but I think they're unique graphics. Could be wrong

    Supply
    Instance Reset Scrolls (Likely single use, not sure)
    Potions (unlimited use, 15 day duration)
    Penguin Candy; no clue what the fuck it does. Looks like fancy buff food. The buffs aren't amazing.

    Pets
    Several temp pets with various bonuses that pets in game can also grant.
    2 Permanent pets. One warns you of enemies, the other loots for you.

    And that's it. So far. They insist they're never going to sell content this way; all future patches should be the same "full" content everywhere for free. Unless they change their mind, no actual equipment either; just skins.

    The Dude With Herpes on
    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
    Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
    Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand

  • McWhatMcWhat Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Well, her first cube purchase was during the "pre-order phase", so her large cube purchase came with a bonus weapon, along with the other large cube bonus items. Current bonus items are a box of random manastones (quite a few of them), a box with some random enchant stones, and a box with a completely random item. She then decided to purchase another large cube. And then she wanted another, and was denied buying anymore ncoin. I haven't actually asked her what she bought, because I'm afraid of the answer. I do know she has at least one shugo, and an ap boost.

    And the penguin candy turns you into a penguin. The buffs are meh, but some people make a big deal out of them. I've been selling off the ones I got from the summer heat event in '10. At one point in time they went for 700k kinah on Vaziel. I sold one the other day for 285k on Tiamat, and then got undercut.

    The AP boost does not work on players according to my addict friend. I would also point out the bonus weapon was exactly that, and only before the game went f2p. They're also available in game as drops I believe. I really want this to succeed, games that actually are "free to play".

    EDIT: I've now sold a total of 4 In 2 days. And I've still got stacks of soulbound buff food from other events, so I don't feel like I'm losing out on anything.

    McWhat on
    I will not be held responsible for any decrease in your IQ
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoawUotNFmFBFMC5glWqYOg
  • FandyienFandyien But Otto, what about us? Registered User regular
    TDWH you just made my day. Totally downloading this to play with you farts, since I can't seem to find my disks from launch anywhere. :( That's a shame, they came in a nice metal case and stuff, too.

    reposig.jpg
  • The Dude With HerpesThe Dude With Herpes Lehi, UTRegistered User regular
    Well, to temper your excitement a bit, there's really not many PA people playing. There's a Legion on Israphel, Elyos; but I'm not sure if the server is unlocked for new character creation.

    Either way, yeah, there's not many people on really. I've only hopped on myself once or twice since it went F2P, as my entire gaming time has been taken up by xenoblade.

    There certainly isn't a lack of game to play, for sure, but if you find an active legion or group of people, don't be afraid to go that way.

    Steam: Galedrid - XBL: Galedrid - PSN: Galedrid
    Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
    Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand

  • McWhatMcWhat Registered User regular
    Alienware got some more keys for free pets. It's a random Worg or Phoenix. It follows you and loots for you. You will need to register at the alienware site.

    http://www.alienwarearena.com/giveaway/aion-ascension-exclusive-grab-bag-pet-giveaway

    1700 left as of this post.

    I will not be held responsible for any decrease in your IQ
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoawUotNFmFBFMC5glWqYOg
  • KrathoonKrathoon Registered User regular
    I will probably jump back in. I liked the light side in this one. The dark side was kind of dull.

  • StrikaStrika Registered User regular
    Man, I had so much fun as an asmodean sin. Rifting in the level 30 range was an insane amount of fun. Unfortunately I hit the grind block right around then, where you are going into that furbolg-type outdoor zone repeatedly to level, just after grinding Fire Temple, and just kinda lost interest. I would definitely stack those couple months up against any MMORPG experience I've had though.

  • PsychoishPsychoish Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    Strika wrote: »
    Man, I had so much fun as an asmodean sin. Rifting in the level 30 range was an insane amount of fun. Unfortunately I hit the grind block right around then, where you are going into that furbolg-type outdoor zone repeatedly to level, just after grinding Fire Temple, and just kinda lost interest. I would definitely stack those couple months up against any MMORPG experience I've had though.
    It's much easier to level now. Exp gain (especially through campaign quests) was boosted a lot and mentoring definitely helps.

    If you started playing with PA at launch, you should have ended up with both your Asmo and Elyos on Tiamat due to several merges over the last couple years.

    You can only have one faction on a server, so on April 11th everyone will have to choose if Tiamat is going to be Asmo or Elyos for them. At an unknown date (hopefully relatively soon) they will give server transfers to your other faction, as they'll be locked from being played.

    Here's what I recommend. Make Asmodian your "active' faction for Tiamat. That way when you get a free transfer you can move your Elyos to Israphel, where the PA Legion was made during the last reactivation.

    It's the best way to make sure the few of us that are still around will have their characters on the same server(s).


    It means you'll be out of your Elyos on Tiamat till NCSoft gives you the transfer, but it is, in my view anyway, the best solution so an already small playerbase (here) isn't still so separated.

    I know I'm pretty late on this, but back at launch the Asmos were on Ariel, which was merged into Siel - people who played Asmo at launch with us would have ended up on Siel, not Tiamat.

    I was BG of Witchaloks back then, and I've resettled on Siel Asmo after a ton of server/faction hopping. If anyone wants to roll a Siel Asmo (though there is no more legion; it's just me here) or if anyone has any general questions, I've been around since the beginning and I've played both factions to max level. I don't really play much anymore, but I can still give advice. ;p

    Psychoish on
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