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Wings Over Atreia: Bribing for Balance
Nope, this isn't a new game show on a cable network but rather the idea behind the latest program from NCsoft to help increase and balance the populations of the servers in Aion. In a game heralded for its PvPvE, keeping enough enemies around to ensure PvP is more than just a passing fancy -- it's vital to the welfare of the game. And of late, on some servers it almost seems as if Asmodians are just mythical creatures that Elyos tell stories about. Although I won't speculate (here at least) on the decline, Asmodian populations have dwindled across many servers as has their participation in PvP. Besides the universal events that celebrated the release of patch 2.5, Aion has aimed some new (or revamped) events specifically at reversing this population trend. The basic premise is this: If you bribe them, they will come. The plan, unveiled in May, would encourage players to return to their furry-backed roots or even try some claws on for the first time by offering special faction incentives. Couple this with the free trial and the hope was that servers would see an influx of Asmodians and a return to the days of faction warfare glory. Just what exactly are the incentives and -- more importantly -- how well are they working? Glide past the cut for details and to join in a discussion on the matter.
Aion fortress sieges to follow set schedule
Aion's Assault on Balaurea expansion has wrought more than a few notable changes across the sundered face of Atreia, in addition to opening up several new areas for intrepid daevas to explore. Among these are four new fortresses to conquer and, along with old familiar names like Siel, Krotan, and Asteria, each of these mighty forts will now be subject to a recurring vulnerability schedule. This is in contrast to the pre-Balaurea system of random fortress vulnerability times, a mechanic that left legions and alliances somewhat unsure as to when to marshal their forces in anticipation of sacking certain fortresses and accessing their rewards. NCsoft has posted the current fortress vulnerability schedule on the official Aion website, though they do note that it is subject to change based on the final integration of the new forts into the rotation.
Wings Over Atreia: First impressions of the assault
With the launch of Aion's long-anticipated expansion, Assault on Balaurea, NCsoft has laid out a spread of goodies, from tasty little morsels of fluff to meatier content fare. What all did this free expansion bring to the plate? Solo instances, pets, ground assault PvP in new zones, higher-level materials and crafting, and new travel methods are just a few of the goodies that awaited Daeva when they first logged in last Tuesday. Hungry Daevas have had almost a full week to either nibble at or just plain dive into the buffet of new offerings in the world of Atreia. Even with a glitch (seriously, is there something in the MMO rulebook that says a launch cannot go off without a hitch?), a number of Daevas have been scarfing up everything they can get their wings on. The release even brought back many old faces, who stopped in to sample the new goodies. So how did all this taste? Grab a napkin and munch your way through the cut to savor the new flavor of Aion for yourself.
Aion: Assault on Balaurea zone trailer -- Inggison
Today, NCsoft unveils a video tour of Inggison, a new zone introduced in Aion's upcoming expansion, Assault on Balaurea. No longer confined to Atreia on the interior of the planet, players will venture forth to the lands on the outside. Filled with a variety of new plant and wildlife, Inggison is the Elyos foothold in Balaurea. Even as they bask in direct sunlight (a treat not possible in the sundered lands of Asmodae and Elysea), Daevas in Aion will encounter new foes -- such as the Balaur-worshippers of Undirborg -- and fight old ones, as the Asmodians try to claim the Temple of Scales and Altar of Avarice Fortresses. After watching the video, Massively asked Chris Hager, Producer of Aion, NCsoft West, a few questions about this new area. Check out the video after the cut, as well as Chris' comments.
New developer Q&A looks at the next stage of WAR
Some things in life are so regular as to be dependable: the eruption of Old Faithful at Yellowstone, the frenzy of Black Friday shopping, and a Mythic developer Q&A Ventrilo session when a new patch goes up on the test server. Following a similar Q&A session from a week ago, Mythic devs returned to chew the fat with Warhammer Online players about anything and everything under the virtual sun. Mythic's Carrie Gouskos, Nate Levy and Mike Wyatt fielded a large range of questions, from class balancing to destructive environments. A lot of focus was given to the upcoming 1.4.X patch, the next major step for the game. Mythic was coy about topics like player housing and improved crafting, offering up a "no comment" when the devs were asked about them. One player wondered if fortress sieges would ever return, to which Mike replied: "Hopefully, at some point. There's a lot of problems with how we would like to implement it, usually with population density and the server not being able to handle the load. So we're looking at ways to bring them back in some fashion, at some point." The full transcript is available at Gaarawarr Gabs.
Aion's first fortress falls to the Origine legion
So for those of you who have been counting the days, Aion has been out for about a week in the North American / Europe regions. And, in this short, short, week, we've already got a legion who has gotten into the Abyss and accomplished one of the main objectives -- capturing a fortress.Origine, a legion making its home on the [FRA] Suthran server in Europe, has taken a level 25 raid to a level 35 objective and has laid claim to the fortress. The entire siege took over 1 hour and 15 minutes from the door of the fortress to the downing of the boss inside. Control of the fortress gives Origine access to a special dungeon, which the legion has already cleared as well.Sebastian "Ayase" Streiffert, the community manager of Aion, managed to catch up with Gwarf, Origine's leader, for a short interview regarding the event. You can check out Ayase's full interview over at Aion's main site. If you're interested in seeing the siege for yourself, you can see Origine's stream of the event at their website.
WAR producer's letter details major 1.3.1 changes and lays out plan for near future
The newest Warhammer Online producer's letter starts off by detailing all the major changes coming with patch 1.3.1, including revamped city siege, open RvR enhancements, and social improvements. Basically, it's a lot of stuff we've heard about already. However, things get really interesting when Jeff Skalski starts talking about what is on the horizon for patch 1.3.2. There are some gems.It sounds like Mythic is planning on uncoupling the fortresses from zone capture. This is a major RvR campaign design shift but the details are pretty vague at this stage. They will also be reworking the earlier tiers of the game in an effort to retain newbies and make alting more pleasurable. This could work quite nicely with the sidekick/buddy system they are working on as well. Finally, they're continuing to tweak crowd control and hint at a potential new Live Event tied to the "Daemon Moon." Maybe it will involve the Khorne Daemon Prince in the image above.
Counterpoint on Warhammer Online's Fortress siege population caps
We reported earlier this week that Warhammer Online has been having some issues with Fortress sieges, and opted to implement a solution -- population thresholds. That solution has led to fewer Fortress-related crashes and overall improved performance, but not everyone is as enthusiastic about the changes Mythic has made to Warhammer Online. A good example of this type of dissent among the WAR ranks can be found at MMOCrunch in a criticism written by Paragus. He takes aim at the Tier 4 campaign changes to Fortresses and states that imposing population thresholds diminishes the very thing WAR bills itself as -- a massive realm-vs.-realm game. He doesn't pull any punches when he states, "The fact that they are trying to spin this by saying 'to allow even more players to participate' by capping population in a given area only makes me feel better about pulling my guild out of this game. I'll be waiting for the flames from Warhammer fans."
