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Wings Over Atreia: Socket this
Ooo them's fightin' words! Any time you bring up the subject of manastones, it's like twisting a hot serrated knife in the collective bellies of Aion's community. It isn't the manastones per se, with their little tempting pluses to different stats, but rather it's the actual process of socketing them into gear that brings pain, frustration, and despair to the masses. If you operate under the premise that a game is a form of entertainment to be, oh I dunno... entertaining (dare we hope fun and enjoyable also?), then you have to wonder what exactly transpired to bring about this particular feature. Seriously, who kicked the dev's dog to make him retaliate with a thing like manastone socketing? Despite NCsoft's initial attempt to assure players that manastone socketing isn't that bad (that Shugo obviously works on consignment), the company appeared to about-face by recently offering no-fail supplements in the cash shop for a limited time. While socketing is a repeat headache for many Daevas, this particular move brought the subject (and the whole pay-to-win argument) to the forefront of community discussion. However, what really drew me back into the fray was the fact that I finally got myself a Stormwing armor drop and -- masochist that I seem to be lately -- I actually tried to socket it. I couldn't even get the first one in let alone the other four! Seraphim Lords help me if I have to do another six-slotter! So what's with this game mechanic? Why is it even in Aion? This week, Wings Over Atreia theorizes on the motivation behind this arguably flawed feature and offers some healthier alternatives.
Aion fail-proof manastone supplements available in the cash shop
Hey Aion players, want to do away with the frustration inherent in socketing your manastones? NCsoft has answered your prayers with the new fabled and eternal felicitous socketing supplements. The catch? They're only available today through October 11th. The other catch? They're only available in Aion's item shop. If you've never played Aion, here's a run-down: Socketing manastones into your gear grants considerable bonuses and is basically required for competitive PvP and PvE. Unfortunately, the random number generator that governs the process is notoriously unfriendly to players, many of whom have blown their entire in-game fortunes trying to socket a single suit of armor. Five of the new fail-proof supplements are also available as part of Aion's 24-month veteran reward package. You can read the details on the new promotion at the official UK Aion website. NCsoft has not confirmed whether the promotion is also happening on the American servers. We'll update the post as that info becomes available. [Thanks to Indeterminatus for the tip!]
