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Aion kicks off 2.1.0.5, Artisan's Expo event
Early bird Daevas looking to get a head start on their Wednesday were thwarted by the patch gods this morning as Aion servers were briefly offline. The good news is that the downtime was in service of the new 2.1 patch (or more accurately, the second portion of it). Today's update shines the spotlight on crafting, and citizens of Atreia will be enjoying bonus crafting, essence-tapping, and aether-tapping gains courtesy of the Artisan Expo event that runs through February 2nd. As for the patch itself, it features a bevy of tradeskilling tweaks, chief among them reduced material requirements for high level recipes, increased drop rates on some rare Balic materials, and an increased chance at rare gathering drops. The patch also addresses the long-standing issue of the Balaur taking over Kysis Fortress during normal siege times. Check out NCsoft's announcement post as well as the full patch notes for all the details.
Aion 2.1.0.5 update tweaks crafting difficulty
Part two of the Aion 2.1 update is on the way to servers across Atreia, and the dev team has posted the official 2.1.0.5 patch notes to the game's website. The build debuted on the public test servers yesterday and is scheduled to take a bow on the live servers next Wednesday, January 26th. The second half of the 2.1 patch focuses on Aion's crafting, and many new recipes are included in the mix. NCsoft has also upped the drop rates for many crafting materials (including desirable Balaur components like hearts and balic items). Your chances of snagging a "greater" version of the resources farmed from harvesting nodes have also been increased, and many crafting quests will see reduced difficulty (including the wince-inducing expert crafting quests as well as the Miragent Holy Templar and Fenris Fangs quests). The 2.1.0.5 patch also brings a number of tweaks to instances, NPCs, and items, and you can see the full list of updates via the official website.
NCsoft planning more Aion rifting tweaks
The month-long rifting experiment begun by NCsoft in early December has apparently given the Aion devs enough data to continue with a trial aimed at revisiting the decision to nerf the PvP mechanic with last fall's 2.0 update. Players were recently asked to complete in-game surveys relating to the new changes (which boiled to down a removal of Heiron/Beluslan protections and changes to the large protective defender buffs), and NCsoft reports that the majority of survey participants responded favorably to the change. In a post on the official Aion website, NCsoft says it will continue the rifting trial "a few more weeks," and the devs will also tweak lower level player protection in Morheim and Eltnen. Finally, a new player survey will be sent out and the rifting protections will be "restored to their previous levels" while feedback is collected and analyzed.
Aion Myth Breakers examines crafting DP and manastones
After failing to proc master crafting and miragent armor recipes on multiple occasions, Aion players naturally gravitate towards superstition, luck, and the equivalent of in-game urban legends in order to deal with the nightmare that is high-level crafting in the world of Atreia. One of those legends concerns the supposed effects of a full Divine Power (DP) bar on crafting success. This particular myth is thoroughly debunked in the second installment of Victor Shugo's Aion Lab: Myth Breakers, an ongoing series that provides statistical data regarding some of Aion's mechanics. In addition to laying the crafting DP myth to rest, this edition examines the loot drop rates for Draupnir Cave and Commander Bakarma and also provides a success rate table for level 50 and 60 manastones. So the next time you shake a fist at the Seraphim lords over a failed socketing attempt, rest assured that statistically speaking, you're bound to do better next time.
NCsoft hypes Aion double crafting XP and holiday events
Happy Solorius Festival, Daevas! Yes, the Atreian equivalent of Christmas is back, and you can join the ongoing Aion celebration through January 5th. You'll find new quests in both Sanctum and Pandaemonium, as well as rewards that include decorative hats, gift bundles, and buff consumables. Mid-winter and New Year's marks the Year of the Ribbit celebration, and festivities include even more quests and rewards (including new ribbit outfit pieces). The party starts December 22nd and lasts through January 12th. Finally, NCsoft is turning on the double XP spigot again, this time in honor of Atreia's crafters. Friday, December 17th through Monday, December 20th is a prime time for catching up on any artisan activities you may have been neglecting, as double XP for crafting, essence-tapping, and aether-tapping will be in full effect.
Aion experimenting with temporary rifting changes
Rifting is a sore spot for many Aion players. On the one hand, some folks no doubt felt that the mechanic was intrusive and forced PvP on people who simply wanted to quest, gather, and otherwise PvE. On the other hand, the drastic changes introduced in the Assault on Balaurea expansion all but killed most of the rifting in the game, causing some to question NCsoft's all-or-nothing approach. Starting today, the devs are experimenting with a month-long trial designed to bring an element of risk back to Atreia and also strike a balance between rifting and PvE. The protective buffs placed on homeland defenders will remain in place for the low-level Morheim and Eltnen zones but will be significantly reduced. Protection buffs for defenders in the higher-level Heiron and Beluslan zones are going away entirely. What does this mean for you? In a nutshell, you'll have an easier time completing those spy quests that have been clogging your journal for weeks, and you'd also best keep an eye on your radar for incoming reds.
Aion surveys feature in-game presents
Looking for some free loot to welcome you back to Aion? Look no further than the new Solorius festival and the 10-day account reactivation promotion recently begun by NCsoft. Whether you're a loyal veteran or you've just returned to the fight, be sure to fill out the random in-game surveys that the Aion team will be sending your way at various times throughout the day. In addition to doing your civic duty and providing valuable game feedback, you'll receive a present with your survey. Possible presents include boxes of enchantment stones, colored dyes (including rare blacks and whites), candies and food, a Watchful Ailu pet egg, swimwear, and more. Check out the full announcement on the official website for all the details.
NCsoft reactivating Aion accounts, doubling XP
Time to dust off your wings, former Daevas, as you're invited back to the world of Atreia on NCsoft's dime. If your account was inactive as of December 1st (and you've got a retail code applied and haven't been banned), you're eligible to play Aion for free through 8:00 a.m. PST on December 13th. NCsoft has also extended the double XP period for the entire duration of the reactivation event (as opposed to two weekend periods). Soul healing discounts of 99% will still happen on the weekend as originally announced. Finally, instance timers have been considerably reduced. For example, Kromede's Trial now features a four-hour lockout timer (in place of the usual 22). Check your timers with the /checkentry command for more details.
Aion producer letter talks account security, transfers
Aion's been getting a decent amount of press this fall, first for September's Assault on Balaurea expansion and lately due to the uproar surrounding the 2.1 patch. Among other things, 2.1 substantially increased the game's loot drop rates, leading to huzzahs on one side of the aisle and raised eyebrows on the other. Not to be outdone, NCsoft producer Chris Hager recently posted an open letter on the official Aion website, summarizing both the aforementioned changes and hinting at a few things to come for the world of Atreia. Hager gives a heads up regarding the final day for the free character transfers that have been ongoing since the summer. January 5th is last call, so make sure you've got your Elyos or Asmo where you want him. Hager also mentions the fact that NCsoft is taking steps to increase account security, an issue that has plagued Aion since its launch in 2009. "We are stepping up our efforts and introducing a new secondary PIN system to Aion that will provide an additional layer of security to our players. This service will go live on December 1, 2010, and we will post a full FAQ in the coming days explaining exactly how it will work," he writes.
NCsoft explains Aion siege timer changes
Amidst all the G-Star news coming out this week, as well as Aion's own upcoming double XP bonanza, you might have missed a fairly significant gameplay change that NCsoft has slipped onto the live servers. In a very brief news blurb on the official site (which links to an image graphic hosted on Flickr), the Korean MMO developer answers the question that many Daevas have been asking of late, namely, what are the new siege times. As it turns out, they're quite different and will no doubt affect Abyss PvP in numerous ways. For example, prime time fortress sieges used to happen in a three-hour window, which pretty much meant that if you committed to attacking or defending, you missed out on Dredgion groups and basically any other content going on for that particular night. Now, the siege timers are staggered. In addition to the timers being reduced to two hours, there's also an hour block in between, which should give players time to do things other than siege on any given night. Additionally, the previous fortress vulnerabilities were a convoluted mess, with a mixture of upper and lower forts going on at once. Now, the vulnerable forts will be on a single layer, and there will also be five vulnerable forts simultaneously as opposed to three. This should lead to new strategies, as the zerg will no longer be able to bum-rush three locations at once, and there will theoretically be more sustained fighting going throughout the Abyss.
Double your pleasure with Aion double XP
Thinking of dusting off one of your Daevas? If you've got a long-neglected alt, if your main has stalled on the cusp of level 55, or if you've just been away from the world of Atreia altogether, you'll probably want to take advantage of Aion's upcoming double experience weekends. From December 3rd through December 6th (beginning and ending at 12:00 p.m. PST on both days), you can double your pleasure with double XP on both mobs and quests. If that's not enough, you can also enjoy 99% off soul healing costs from December 4th to December 5th (12:00 a.m. PST - 11:59 p.m. PST) as well as December 11th to December 12th (at the same time slot). Check out the official Aion site for all the details.
NCsoft reveals juicy details on Aion 2.1, item drop rates substantially increased
Aion is the lucky recipient of "the single biggest change ever implemented by NCsoft across its entire portfolio of games." Version 2.1 is hitting the Public Test Server (PTS) today, with a launch date for the live shards currently scheduled for November 17th. What's so special about 2.1, you're probably asking? In a nutshell, loot, and lots of it. More specifically, significantly increased drop rates are the order of the day. Now, we've heard the jokes as well. "Significant" means an increase from .01 to .02 percent, right? Wrong, as this time NCsoft means business. Aion's devs have offered up some specific statistics via press release, and you'll want to check out the tables after the cut for all the details. If you've spent much time in the lands of Atreia, you're probably familiar with Beshmundir's Temple and the named bosses contained therein that players often farm for loot. Over a period of 20 Perilous Path Temple runs, testers collected 138 total loot items. Of these, 121 were fabled quality (including wings), and 17 were eternal. Similarly, NCsoft testers cataloged 20 runs through the famed Dark Poeta dungeon, recording all loot items acquired from Spiritmaster Atmach to Brigade General Anuhart. A total of 68 fabled items dropped, which averages out to 3.4 per run. This was also sans the final boss, so the actual numbers will likely be higher. Finally, NCsoft is also gifting players with the new Aion Adventure Guide. According to the press release, the guide will "give players advice on where to find level-appropriate in-game content that will help with progression and reward them with items along the way. Crafted in-game messages and guides let players know where to go to find game content (quests, instances) that help progress them to the next level and give them hints on how to use new areas, such as the Abyss, and systems, such as Stigma Stones to their advantage." Don't forget to fly past the cut for a detailed breakdown of the Beshmundir Temple runs in table format.
Win a spiffy graphics card in Aion's PvP event
NCsoft is teaming up with Alienware to light a fire under Aion's PvP game. While recent changes to rifting have curtailed much of the open-world conflict, the "red equals dead" mentality is alive and well in the Abyss. This weekend (November 5th to November 7th), bring your best gear and you could win one of three ATI Radeon 5850 graphics cards. You'll need to register for the contest and then score 15 PvP kills before 9:00 pm Sunday to be eligible to win. You can also follow the competition via the Alienware Arena Competitors webpage. Check out the news posting on the official Aion website for all of the details and requirements.
NCsoft's Stites talks Aion anniversary
NCsoft's Lance Stites has weighed in on the one-year anniversary of Aion. Stites, Executive Vice President of Game Operations and Production, has quite a lot to say about the land of Atreia and the eternal war between its winged denizens. From thoughts on the launch-day server queues that were enraging prospective players this time last year, to the free content updates featured in version 1.9 and the more recent Assault on Balaurea, Stites summarizes a year of tweaks in a post over at AionOnline. In addition to his mini-retrospective, Stites also hints at the future, which includes "new western-specific events, continuing refinement to drop rates and experience, a 64-bit client to make performance better than ever and expanded pet functionality." Finally, he mentions the special one-year anniversary presents available to active players via the in-game survey system, as well as the unique Aqua Griffo pet gifted to loyal subscribers who've stuck with the game since launch.
Waging WAR: RvR packs, the "wait and see" edition
This week Waging WAR rides the double rainbow of gameplay customization via downloadable content and takes a cursory glance at the RvR packs being teased by the folks behind the development of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Let's follow along and see what Greg can unleash this time. It is difficult to talk about the future of WAR right now. Not because it doesn't have a future, but because the availability of information regarding it is not exactly easy to find. Actually, information on the future of WAR is all but non-existent, surrounded by controversy on all sides, and steeped in rumor, speculation, assumption and misinformation. The best I can put together is that we, as players, can look forward to some sort of set of three different "RvR Packs" allowing us to "customize" our gameplay experience moving forward. The packs have been called "Power," "Progression," and "Personality." What exactly each contains is a mystery, although the few talking points I was able to find regarding these RvR packs are speculatively disappointing at best. Although Carrie, Andy, and anyone else involved with the Mythic development team have said time and time again that they are not discussing moving toward the free-to-play business model, what they're proposing with these customization packs looks suspiciously like the item shop established by Turbine, implemented in Dungeons & Dragons Online and soon in Lord of the Rings Online as well. V.I.P. membership, anyone? Although concrete information is scarce and difficult to find, let's take a look at the most commonly referenced points of interest after the break.
One Shots: Getting used to her wings
While there is some swirling controversy about various things within Aion, many people are still thrilled with how beautiful the game is. While it isn't the next step in MMO innovation, it does combine gorgeous graphics like the ones above with well-known game mechanics and an interesting story. Today's Aion One Shots comes to us from our regular contributor, Veng, who snapped this shot just before release. She writes in: [This is a] player character hovering in flight at Altgard Fortress, one of the first areas a young Asmodian travels to after ascending to be a Daeva.Screenshots from all games from small to large, and MMOs of all genres are welcome! Just email those in to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the game it's from, and a quick note about what we're seeing. We'll post it here and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-9798%
One Shots: Good catch
While it's all very well and good to have nice graphics, one of the things we've noticed about the games that seem to do best is that they don't take themselves too seriously. Pop-culture references, silly asides, or just things that make us laugh serve to endear games to us. Today, we have a fairly silly thing that Seagull of the Ariel server in Aion noticed while getting some game time in. We'll let him explain: Idle animations in [Aion] are great. I was standing in a pool of water, and my avatar attempted to catch nearby fish with his bare hands. After succeeding, the fish is playfully thrown back into the water. (Insert token mining for fish joke here.)If you've run across something strange or funny while you're out adventuring, we'd love to learn about it. Just send a screenshot of it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. Please try to make sure your images are at least 1024px wide and have as few UI elements as is possible. We'll post them out here and give you the credit for pointing that amusing bit out to us!%Gallery-9798%
Everything Aion: Transportation 101
Transportation is important to any MMO, especially one like Aion which doesn't include the option of a mount. Yes, there are no cats, no horses or flying creatures to ride. It's just you, your feet, your wings and a little magic. Now the starter zones might look small but the main areas are ten times the size which can take a good half an hour to cross, not including time spent dying. Today we're going to have a look at transportation and what you need to know to navigate around. Elysea and Asmodae so join us after the jump to find out the secrets of travel in Aion.
Everything Aion: Flight 101
Flight is probably the thing which has drawn most people to Aion. The idea of soaring high above the cloud on a pair of white/black-feathered wings is a universally appealing one. The reality, however, is a little different. Flight in Aion is not something you can do immediately nor indefinitely and the rules for this are not just to be annoying, they are a part of the game's world and lore. Join us after the jump when we look at everything you need to know about using your wings.
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Everything Aion: Five things you need to know about surviving in Atreia
With NCsoft's release of Aion coming up on the 22nd and 25th September in North America and Europe, we thought we had better give you the basics on the land of Atreia ahead of the open beta which begins today. So, we're going to give you all the info you need to dive into their beautifully detailed world. After the jump, we're going to look at the five things you need to know if you've never played Aion before.
