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Aion patch 2.5 goes live, free trial program introduced
It's time to spread your wings and take to the skies once again as Aion's patch 2.5 (which we were fortunate enough to personally explore not long ago) goes live today. The new update from NCsoft introduces two new areas of content: the new Esoterrace instance and the Empyrean Crucible. Players will be conquering both of these new areas in style with the addition of stunning graphical updates and new character customization options. New skills and PvP gear will help players to triumph over their enemies with finesse, while the new mentor system allows low-level players to get a helping hand from their elders. If you're not a current Aion player but you're still dying to take these new features for a spin, then you're in luck -- NCsoft is celebrating the new update by introducing a free trial program. Players in the program will be able to jump into the world of Atreia for 10 days and experience 20 levels' worth of content, all for free. You can choose your side and join the battle at the Aion official site.
Aion 1.9 patch details teased while videos of 2.0 dance in our heads
Thanks to one crazy community manager that likes to tease information, we've gotten a sneak peek at the upcoming patch information for Aion -- patch 1.9. The patch is hosting a wealth of enhancements and updates to the game that includes a new looking for group system, quest updates, a brand new daily quest system, changes to the endgame dungeon Dredgion, a decrease in transportation and soul healing prices, increased experience gain, a two-handed weapon merge system, and much more. The whole thing actually totals over 26 pages of patch notes which NCsoft West are still translating for Western audiences. Tomorrow, however, we've got a special look into some of the deeper mechanics of the patch, so be sure to come back and visit us at 11 AM Eastern time for all of the gritty details (as we need to be all hush hush until then.) But, for now, enjoy some beautiful concept art in the gallery below (in the form of desktop wallpapers) and a video of Aion's "update 2.0" patch stored after the break. %Gallery-87201%
NCsoft scrambles to reduce server queues: Private store tweaks incoming
If one thing has marred the otherwise polished launch of Aion it is the extremely long server queues players face when trying to log in and play what they paid for. NCsoft responded a couple days ago saying that they are aware of the problem and working on solutions such as increased server caps and even opening a new server in both North America and Europe. Today they just announced a maintenance patch that addresses a major cause of their queue problem: Private stores will now have 30-minute timer to prevent them from being abused.Private stores are a great concept. Players can set up shop anywhere in the world to sell their spare goods and make a pretty penny. Unfortunately, a feature of these stores is that they prevent you from idling out of the game. This feature really compounds the current server queue problem. To avoid going through the queue process again, many players simply set up a private store and go AFK for hours at a time. One store we came across had this description set: "AFK at work, making you queue." This is even more evidence that MMO players will often take the path of least resistance for personal gain. Devs really need this hammered into their heads.
Aion: Say goodbye to GameGuard (for now...)
"Hark! The Herald Daeva Sing. NCsoft casts GameGuard out from under its wing." Many an Aion player are rejoicing at the latest news out of NCsoft. The game will not be launching with infamous anti-cheating software GameGuard (GG). If you're unfamiliar with this software, it comes packaged with many Asian MMOs. Think of it as Warden from World of Warcraft or Punkbuster from your favorite FPS... on steroids. GG has probably been the number one complaint about Aion throughout beta and it appears that NCsoft is unwilling to put off any customers on launch day by potentially inconsistent performance.However, this removal of GG will be only temporary until they can figure out a way to re-enable it without causing major issues. NCsoft just released one last patch before launch to banish GG and include a few more updates to the client. The level cap has been raised from 45 to 50. Players can now reserve 2 characters during preselect and create 8 characters in total during the head start period and beyond. Finally, channels will be set at 10 instances for the first two zones of each faction. This number will be reduced once players settle in, likely to reduce farming potential and maintain critical mass.
Aion open beta patched and extended... by six hours?
We wrote about some of the issues players were experiencing in Aion open beta a couple days ago. We also mentioned an upcoming patch that aimed to fix it all. Well, it looks like that patch arrived last night. The patch isn't just performance related though -- it also addresses issues with classes, combat, quests, instanced dungeons, and much more.As a reward to all beta testers for being so helpful and patient, NCsoft has decided to extend Aion's open beta... by six hours. This means open beta will now end Monday 9/14/2009 at 8 a.m. BST (5 a.m. EST). What's that we're hearing? The collective murmurs of "Yeah... um, woot?" Well, it's better than nothing, that's for sure. Some players have urged NCsoft to extend the beta even longer for testing purposes, but we're sure many of them don't want to let go of their characters before the week-and-a-half wait to release.
