Wings Over Atreia: The twelve days of Solorius
Aren't I thoughtful? As my present to you, I am going to help banish those Solorius tunes that got stuck in your head a couple of weeks ago. How shall I accomplish this? No, not with a home-delivery amateur lobotomy or a plethora of psychotropics (though these could alternately be helpful I concede) but by replacing them of course! Yes, let's round out the season with a rousing rendition of The Twelve Days of Solorius.
Last year, I shared my first ever Aion holiday wish list. Although nothing from that hopeful list was granted in 2011, there is promise of at least two of those items being introduced to Atreia next year! So while some may have considered my brazen declarations of wants an exercise in futility, I shan't abandon hope! After all, what is a holiday season without hope?
Is there a little something special you'd like to see in Aion? Make your list then check mine twice past the cut.
On the first day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: housing!
"There is no place like home for the holidays... " You guessed it. I want housing. Regardless of the fact this was on last year's list, it is still my number one wish. And hey, thanks to the announcement in October, it may be the one wish I'm actually granted! In all honesty, this is the one feature that will add the most to the game for me -- a place to hang out, a place to customize, and a place to store all those extra things. Thanks to the wardrobes, it will be granting me housing and extra storage space at the same time!
On the second day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: separate pet bags
I totally get that people can't have two of the same pet; what I don't get is why we can't have two of the same pet function. If I spend the money/get the reward, why can't my decidedly different pack animals have their own separate bag spaces? There is no good reason that one animal with an eight-slot bag should be carrying the same exact items that a different animal is. To each pet its own bag!
On the third day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: stackable arena tickets
I think it is just a little bit of sadism on NCsoft's part to make a big deal out of the fact that Daevas can save up their arena tickets to use on a more convenient day but then make every single arena ticket use a separate cube space! Inventory space is already seriously lacking, and this just compounds the issue. If it is too much of a hassle to keep track of the separate timers for each ticket, then...
On the fourth day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: quest item and currency cubes
Let's add separate inventory space for all quest items and currency! Instead of clogging valuable cube space, all tokens from daily quests and mentoring, coins, Crucible and courage insignias, and all quest items can go into this separate cube that you can easily access by clicking a tab on the bottom of your regular cube. And since my suggestion of stackable major ancient crowns was shot down, this would be perfect for AP items as well! Stacking arena tickets too difficult? Add them here too! Trust me, if you want players spending in the cash shop, they are going to need somewhere to put things, so more cube space really equals more revenue! Really!
On the fifth day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: the ability to trade everything in account warehouse
I hate bind on equip, I really do. And even though it was on last year's wish list, I know that it isn't going to go anywhere. Fine. So let's just tag everything account tradeable so I can share anything between my own characters on the same account. We know this is totally possible -- look at Daeva armor. Bound items can still be a money sink, but this gives players just a little more freedom.
On the sixth day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me:silence
Another wish making its second appearance on the wish list (but the umpteenth plea throughout the year) is the removal of forced emotes. I cannot beg any more sincerely! Not only are these immersion-breaking, but they get me into trouble when I am trying to stealth through enemy territory!
On the seventh day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: fixed manastones
OK, so maybe you can see a trend in some of these wishes -- I have expressed them before. So, the best way to get me to shush up about them is just to give them to me, right? I know I do not stand alone in the desire to alter the mechanics of manastones; stop, I repeat, stop making every single manastone break when one fails! Hook this right into the enchantment stone system and allow for just the loss of the last stone socketed.
On the eighth day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: lower instance timers for vets
While this wish doesn't affect me personally (yet), I would like to see veterans get some acknowledgment for their past patronage of Aion in the form of lower instance timers when it goes free-to-play in Europe. I totally understand the need for the paid members to get the best benefits, but reducing those horrendous instance timers by as little as 1/4 would go a long way toward making veterans feel appreciated for the investment they have already put into the game. And appreciated gamers are more likely to invest more!
On the ninth day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: sticky movable windows
I would really like a more customizable UI and UI windows that stay where you put them even after you log out instead of constantly resetting to default spot (which is usually totally in the way, especially of the side toolbar). I get tired of moving everything to a more convenient place every time I play. I also would like to be able to move all of my toolbars to where I want them, not just two. I'd like to be able to move my health bar and target bar to where I want them. An uncomfortable UI can be a deal-breaker for people -- after all, it is one aspect that you deal with constantly.
On the tenth day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: character slots
Eight slots per account? Come on, at least give me eight per faction if not per server. There are so many more things I would like to try out, but I don't want to delete to do it. If you want me spending more money in the cash shop, give me more characters that I need to customize. Win-win!
On the eleventh day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me:alliances
Another feature I love that helps build communities is the ability to form an alliance. This is especially helpful for those smaller legions that want to maintain their own unique ideals and leadership but still want access to a larger pool of compatriots to do things with (leaving the dreaded LFG chat as a last resort). Include a dedicated chat channel and perhaps even a legion page listing everyone in the alliance who is currently online. Connect people more to their community and you bind them even more to the game.
On the twelvth day of Solorius I want NCsoft to give to me: pet customization
This may seem a silly thing, but it bugs me each time I hatch a pet and see that tease in the pet minder window where it asks me to choose the color for my pet but there are no options possible. You have it there, you obviously intended for it... so give it to me already! I'd love to have my cute little companion look even a little bit different than all the others running around.
Are there more things that could be added? Sure, so share what's on your list in the comments below!
Happy holidays to all! Since I know not everyone will appreciate having The Twelve Days stuck in his head, I will leave you with the following alternative (available in both factions): I'm dreaming of a dead Asmo (Elyos)... just like the ones I killed before...
Soaring through the Aionosphere, MJ Guthrie touches down weekly to bring you Wings Over Atreia. Featuring tips, guides, and general snippets of life in Aion, the column is better than Tutty-on-a-stick, ackackackackackack! Have a suggestion to share? No need to bribe a Shugo -- just send mail to mj@massively.com.
