The New Aion.

[Lyricss-DN]

What's up Aion Community.

After coming back to Aion from a 2-year-long hiatus, I have some constructive criticism which I feel it is my duty to share, though it may not be well received by most. To provide some backstory, the first time I played Aion was in 2011 in EU servers which were managed by Gameforge. Around 2013 I moved to NA Servers and have been playing in NA since then. In these past 7 years of Aion I have taken several breaks, and came back recently to see how new patches had developed the game as well as to join a community I enjoyed so much long ago.

Unfortunately, my perspective on this game over the last several years has worsened due to bad decision-making by game managers, thus resulting in a gaming experience which is no longer fun or welcoming to both new players and returning players (the few which still remain). I am one of those players who used to love Katalam, Danaria, Tiamaranta, Full Sanctum Map, and Full Pandemonium map as well as all of the other maps which have unfortunately been discontinued. Sanctum has been reduced to half of what it was along with all things you could do in the game. Instances that takes only 10 minutes to complete, since those who are level 80 can simply rush through them, are time gated based in weekly resets. Additionally, players can only play certain instances 4,3,1 times per week, and players are not able to play other instances since it requires players to have that  previous instance gear to progress. As an example, people say if you want to do FM, players must have to have full CoE gear maxed to 5. However, doing only all the 4 CoE runs that you are allowed to per week, what you can actually do it in one day if you play for 1 hour long, does not guarantee that you will get 4 different pieces of the required armor because you may get the same piece of gear 4 times in a row. Other than that, as they say, you will be carried in an instance in a non-friendly game. If you don't have the gear which is required, you may not be able to join a group  for other dungeons or you will be at risk of being kicked from the group. I remember when people would perform a gear check to let players join groups for certain instances.

In addition to poor individual gaming experience due to the way NCsoft manage things, the community itself has been unhelpful and even toxic at times. When questions are proposed in chat, there are seldom any answers or other players are downright hostile. If any constructive criticism is shared about the game or current gameplay, numerous players in the community will tell you to either leave the game or to “stop whining" after only making a comment, thus further encouraging dedicated and faithful players to quit the game and thus further reducing player- and fan-base. This is extremely disappointing and disheartening, especially when I reflect on my previous experiences years ago when the community was bigger than it is right now. Unfortunately, it seems that this game has been reduced to almost nothing, a mere skeleton of its former self.

In addition to the above, a common consistency with all games managed by NCsoft is that players must either spend a huge amount of money on the game or play an unreasonable amount of time in order to be successful in-game. Even then, this time, effort, and money does nothing to guarantee that your gear and other important things will become outdated few months after purchasing/achieving it due to all often changes that always requires a new farm/money to obtain another set of new gear/or endless enchantment that can just fail over and over like gambling with your hard work, time spent or money invested to acquire that piece. Although the games boast that they are “free-to-play” it seems that NCsoft has found other ways to financially gouge their player-base. I personally do not mind putting money into a game, and have definitely been one to invest money in games I enjoy playing. I play Guild Wars 2 (developed by Arena Net, NCsoft subsidiary) and a FPS game through Steam, and have spent real-life money in both as well as in Aion, Blade & Soul, MxM, which are all NCsoft games. The concept of spending money in games is not a problem for me, especially if supporting a company that produces games well while caring about user experience. However, the way a gaming company wants you to spend your money is what makes the game worth it or not.

Some may say that this game is not akin to real life and therefore should not be as impactful. However, as an avid life-long gamer across multiple gaming platforms, there have been numerous observations I have made regarding how some games are able to remain successful and relevant while others unfortunately fall by the wayside. One example is the following and is regarding Game Stylish, Fashion Wars, Cosmetics shopping, Cosplay, however you would like to call it. In Aion, if you purchase an outfit and you want to use it on one character, you will place it in your armor and if you need change the armor afterwards, you are unable to use that look anymore. Or, you have to keep numerous of armor chests in your inventory only to wear certain skins which may disturb all of your builds. In a game like Aion, especially, you always have to change your end game gear for another better end game gear. The other option you have is to use your Luna wardrobe. To use that, you have to spend money with your outfit, spend money to unlock a slot to put this outfit, and spend money to wear that outfit in your character. So, you have to spend money 3 times if you want certain outfit, if you want it to be permanent, and if you want to wear it in your character or change between outfits you already own in your Luna wardrobe. So, in the end, you have to keep spending money to use something that is already yours. Can you imagine if, in real life, you had to pay the store you buy your clothes every time you need to change them? Alternatively, in Guild Wars 2 and other games I’ve played, once you bought or unlocked an outfit, it is yours forever to change whenever you want. In GW2 you can even use the same outfit you bought through all characters whenever you feel like it without a monetary penalty. Even though Aion and GW2 are both owned by NCSoft (but different subsidiaries), it seems that there are major inconsistencies between the two regarding how spent money is valued and maintained. In Aion, it seems that money spent acquired from your real life hard work or from your parents real life hard work, has the potential to lose its value and thus gives the impression that it may go down the drain as easy as water. In my most recent experience after coming back, I lost one of my rare outfits earned by playing another game just because my previous gear on what I used the skin had become obsolete and different from this current game system.

You may ask with this bad review, why I still care about logging into Aion. My answer to this question is simple: I have always loved the Aion concept and story. It is still one of best PVP systems have found in games, where the PVP is actually relevant to the story and to daily gameplay. I also have enjoyed the wings, the flying system (what was reduced a lot now since they destroyed Reshanta), the characters, and the skills. I love playing Songweaver as well as all other classes, as their skills are relevant to the class and also help to complement each other in a group. They all have something to add in a group instance.

Despite all this, I have to congratulate NCsoft for the sense that they have let one of its subsidiaries, Arena Net, run one of their games in a totally different way than they are used to. It is obvious that Arena Net cares passionately about game play as well as the wishes and desires of their gaming community, as they listen to players and read what players write on forums and in game channels. Area Net was able to create a very respectful community where everyone feels relevant and where respect for other players and opinions is valued and upheld. In addition, people can discuss other games and make comparisons and have dialogues without becoming emotional or negative. I was elated when I found Guild Wars on the NCsoft website, which led me to Guild Wars 2 on the Arena Net website. My hope is that the same expectation, focus, and work can be put into Aion in order to make it more welcoming and more desirable to play in, where all levels and dungeons gain back their importance in the game, and players can help other players regardless of level and it still feel like a rewarding and dutiful experience. I don’t mean to say that things should be just recklessly and easily given away, but the barriers between the player behind the computer and the fun inside the game should be reduced through addressing game-structure difficulty, game management, player challenges, and incentivizing players helping others. MMORPGs should be all about multiple online players working together to have fun and create a satisfying gaming experience, and less about elitist groups who knowingly create hostile environments.

 

[Aftershocktwo-DN]

Just touching on the end, I think a combination of wholesome MMO experiences and hostile atmospheres are what make a good MMO a good MMO... save FF14 I dunno how they did it but as a PvE orientated game I gotta say they nailed that crap lol.

 

Anyway, as I was saying, a hostile atmosphere is not only beneficial but for an MMO like Aion is CRUCIAL to its survival. During it's hayday, I'm sure you may remember, Aion was filled with competitive rivalries, hatred, rubbish talk, groups large and small, individuals, going back and forth creating drama for each other in and out of game with little respite... and it boasted a glorious pvp seen, community activity and gave many of us a reason to dive in, head first, and try to fight ourselves....

 

It was, in fact, the beacon of light that constantly drew me to Aion.

Now everyone wants to faction hop and gangbang every female song weaver they can find that's 4* plus and give a wee lil' baby macro instead of talk some real crap and get things going again- oh wait most of us can't....

 

 

[Lyricss-DN]

11 minutes ago, 2s30B77F-DN said:

Just touching on the end, I think a combination of wholesome MMO experiences and hostile atmospheres are what make a good MMO a good MMO... save FF14 I dunno how they did it but as a PvE orientated game I gotta say they nailed that crap lol.

 

Anyway, as I was saying, a hostile atmosphere is not only beneficial but for an MMO like Aion is CRUCIAL to its survival. During it's hayday, I'm sure you may remember, Aion was filled with competitive rivalries, hatred, rubbish talk, groups large and small, individuals, going back and forth creating drama for each other in and out of game with little respite... and it boasted a glorious pvp seen, community activity and gave many of us a reason to dive in, head first, and try to fight ourselves....

 

It was, in fact, the beacon of light that constantly drew me to Aion.

Now everyone wants to faction hop and gangbang every female song weaver they can find that's 4* plus and give a wee lil' baby macro instead of talk some real crap and get things going again- oh wait most of us can't....

 

 

When you talk about elyos/asmos, I totally agree with you. but I am talking about a different matter. I am talking about you, talking with your faction, asking for information. or just making a comment about something that you think could be different and people feel so sensitive or offended from what you just said, that they tell you to quit the game, or stop "talking" just because you made a comment. About the rivalry the rubbish talk between factions, the competition, the hostile enviroment. Thats one thing I always loved in Aion. When I was asmodian in EU I used to hate Elyos, and being Elyos in NA, I hate asmodians. But besides all that, why can't your own faction be helpful and nice ot each other? So you came back, and people are telling you to leave. Ofc you won't even bother to stay when the game itself isn't being attractive and the community is telling you to leave. In a game like aion that used to be huge, and now it is clearly falling to pieces, wiht less player, almost empty even after reducing several servers.

[Tyrhund-DN]

On 12/28/2018 at 5:04 PM, Lyricss-DN said:

When you talk about elyos/asmos, I totally agree with you. but I am talking about a different matter. I am talking about you, talking with your faction, asking for information. or just making a comment about something that you think could be different and people feel so sensitive or offended from what you just said, that they tell you to quit the game, or stop "talking" just because you made a comment. About the rivalry the rubbish talk between factions, the competition, the hostile enviroment. Thats one thing I always loved in Aion. When I was asmodian in EU I used to hate Elyos, and being Elyos in NA, I hate asmodians. But besides all that, why can't your own faction be helpful and nice ot each other? So you came back, and people are telling you to leave. Ofc you won't even bother to stay when the game itself isn't being attractive and the community is telling you to leave. In a game like aion that used to be huge, and now it is clearly falling to pieces, wiht less player, almost empty even after reducing several servers.

Agreed.  I'm back after 4 years away. I just like to see how things are going now and again.  I loved Aion but the toxic community is discouraging. I'm not thin skinned but the constant toxicity in chat wears me out and I just lost interest. There are plenty of MMOs that have trolls but, there is no reason for it to be so toxic. ESO has far more players then Aion and it is decidedly NOT toxic. Yeah, there are trolls like everywhere, but they don't flood chat with toxicity.  Their more of the sarcastic kind that add a bit of fun to the conversation. I believe its the kind of players it draws, however I don't know WHY the people drawn to Aion are the kind that make things miserable for those of us who just want to play a game with others.

On 12/28/2018 at 4:37 PM, Lyricss-DN said:

What's up Aion Community.

After coming back to Aion from a 2-year-long hiatus, I have some constructive criticism which I feel it is my duty to share, though it may not be well received by most. To provide some backstory, the first time I played Aion was in 2011 in EU servers which were managed by Gameforge. Around 2013 I moved to NA Servers and have been playing in NA since then. In these past 7 years of Aion I have taken several breaks, and came back recently to see how new patches had developed the game as well as to join a community I enjoyed so much long ago.

Unfortunately, my perspective on this game over the last several years has worsened due to bad decision-making by game managers, thus resulting in a gaming experience which is no longer fun or welcoming to both new players and returning players (the few which still remain). I am one of those players who used to love Katalam, Danaria, Tiamaranta, Full Sanctum Map, and Full Pandemonium map as well as all of the other maps which have unfortunately been discontinued. Sanctum has been reduced to half of what it was along with all things you could do in the game. Instances that takes only 10 minutes to complete, since those who are level 80 can simply rush through them, are time gated based in weekly resets. Additionally, players can only play certain instances 4,3,1 times per week, and players are not able to play other instances since it requires players to have that  previous instance gear to progress. As an example, people say if you want to do FM, players must have to have full CoE gear maxed to 5. However, doing only all the 4 CoE runs that you are allowed to per week, what you can actually do it in one day if you play for 1 hour long, does not guarantee that you will get 4 different pieces of the required armor because you may get the same piece of gear 4 times in a row. Other than that, as they say, you will be carried in an instance in a non-friendly game. If you don't have the gear which is required, you may not be able to join a group  for other dungeons or you will be at risk of being kicked from the group. I remember when people would perform a gear check to let players join groups for certain instances.

In addition to poor individual gaming experience due to the way NCsoft manage things, the community itself has been unhelpful and even toxic at times. When questions are proposed in chat, there are seldom any answers or other players are downright hostile. If any constructive criticism is shared about the game or current gameplay, numerous players in the community will tell you to either leave the game or to “stop whining" after only making a comment, thus further encouraging dedicated and faithful players to quit the game and thus further reducing player- and fan-base. This is extremely disappointing and disheartening, especially when I reflect on my previous experiences years ago when the community was bigger than it is right now. Unfortunately, it seems that this game has been reduced to almost nothing, a mere skeleton of its former self.

In addition to the above, a common consistency with all games managed by NCsoft is that players must either spend a huge amount of money on the game or play an unreasonable amount of time in order to be successful in-game. Even then, this time, effort, and money does nothing to guarantee that your gear and other important things will become outdated few months after purchasing/achieving it due to all often changes that always requires a new farm/money to obtain another set of new gear/or endless enchantment that can just fail over and over like gambling with your hard work, time spent or money invested to acquire that piece. Although the games boast that they are “free-to-play” it seems that NCsoft has found other ways to financially gouge their player-base. I personally do not mind putting money into a game, and have definitely been one to invest money in games I enjoy playing. I play Guild Wars 2 (developed by Arena Net, NCsoft subsidiary) and a FPS game through Steam, and have spent real-life money in both as well as in Aion, Blade & Soul, MxM, which are all NCsoft games. The concept of spending money in games is not a problem for me, especially if supporting a company that produces games well while caring about user experience. However, the way a gaming company wants you to spend your money is what makes the game worth it or not.

Some may say that this game is not akin to real life and therefore should not be as impactful. However, as an avid life-long gamer across multiple gaming platforms, there have been numerous observations I have made regarding how some games are able to remain successful and relevant while others unfortunately fall by the wayside. One example is the following and is regarding Game Stylish, Fashion Wars, Cosmetics shopping, Cosplay, however you would like to call it. In Aion, if you purchase an outfit and you want to use it on one character, you will place it in your armor and if you need change the armor afterwards, you are unable to use that look anymore. Or, you have to keep numerous of armor chests in your inventory only to wear certain skins which may disturb all of your builds. In a game like Aion, especially, you always have to change your end game gear for another better end game gear. The other option you have is to use your Luna wardrobe. To use that, you have to spend money with your outfit, spend money to unlock a slot to put this outfit, and spend money to wear that outfit in your character. So, you have to spend money 3 times if you want certain outfit, if you want it to be permanent, and if you want to wear it in your character or change between outfits you already own in your Luna wardrobe. So, in the end, you have to keep spending money to use something that is already yours. Can you imagine if, in real life, you had to pay the store you buy your clothes every time you need to change them? Alternatively, in Guild Wars 2 and other games I’ve played, once you bought or unlocked an outfit, it is yours forever to change whenever you want. In GW2 you can even use the same outfit you bought through all characters whenever you feel like it without a monetary penalty. Even though Aion and GW2 are both owned by NCSoft (but different subsidiaries), it seems that there are major inconsistencies between the two regarding how spent money is valued and maintained. In Aion, it seems that money spent acquired from your real life hard work or from your parents real life hard work, has the potential to lose its value and thus gives the impression that it may go down the drain as easy as water. In my most recent experience after coming back, I lost one of my rare outfits earned by playing another game just because my previous gear on what I used the skin had become obsolete and different from this current game system.

You may ask with this bad review, why I still care about logging into Aion. My answer to this question is simple: I have always loved the Aion concept and story. It is still one of best PVP systems have found in games, where the PVP is actually relevant to the story and to daily gameplay. I also have enjoyed the wings, the flying system (what was reduced a lot now since they destroyed Reshanta), the characters, and the skills. I love playing Songweaver as well as all other classes, as their skills are relevant to the class and also help to complement each other in a group. They all have something to add in a group instance.

Despite all this, I have to congratulate NCsoft for the sense that they have let one of its subsidiaries, Arena Net, run one of their games in a totally different way than they are used to. It is obvious that Arena Net cares passionately about game play as well as the wishes and desires of their gaming community, as they listen to players and read what players write on forums and in game channels. Area Net was able to create a very respectful community where everyone feels relevant and where respect for other players and opinions is valued and upheld. In addition, people can discuss other games and make comparisons and have dialogues without becoming emotional or negative. I was elated when I found Guild Wars on the NCsoft website, which led me to Guild Wars 2 on the Arena Net website. My hope is that the same expectation, focus, and work can be put into Aion in order to make it more welcoming and more desirable to play in, where all levels and dungeons gain back their importance in the game, and players can help other players regardless of level and it still feel like a rewarding and dutiful experience. I don’t mean to say that things should be just recklessly and easily given away, but the barriers between the player behind the computer and the fun inside the game should be reduced through addressing game-structure difficulty, game management, player challenges, and incentivizing players helping others. MMORPGs should be all about multiple online players working together to have fun and create a satisfying gaming experience, and less about elitist groups who knowingly create hostile environments.

 

You eloquently summed up my issues with this game.

[Raiuken-KT]

It really does make you wonder what the devs are smoking. The game used to be awesome, but it's like the more content they try to put out, the worse it gets, as soon as they decided to delete whole maps everyone loved to engage in that's when they messed up.  And I can't for the life of me understand why they would do that. an MMORPG is supposed to get bigger over time, not smaller.

[Timmain-KT]

They nuked it to make it "manageable" for their f2p crowd (since it went f2p in Korea with 6.0), but they never modified the mechanics of 6.0 for the existing f2p markets.

Game is internally toxic, definitely, especially in situations where you have no business being so toxic. I have LFG on a separate tab and haven't been afraid to block truly toxic players. I'm bitter at Aion as much as anyone, but I try to not take it out on my fellow players.