Chanter
Able to heal and attack. A hybrid class that isn’t completely useless like many other RPGs.
They also possess mantras that buff not only themselves but other party members.
Whilst they possess the characteristics of a spell caster they possess many melee attack skills. Thus they use less MP than other casters.
Chanters focus on buffing and aiding the party. There is a large difference in the effectiveness of a party depending on whether a chanter is present or not.
Soloing
Chanters are effective solo players. They are able to equip chain armor and shield. They also possess effective healing magic.
Party play
Whilst the chanter's healing magic is less diverse and weaker than cleric's, they are acceptable and they also possess the ability to be fill the role of a damage dealer.
Mantras boost the stats of party members in the surrounding 20 meters and up to three can be active at once. There are nine mantras and at level 25 you can learn the skill to increase the mantra range to 25 meters.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Clerics
Cleric
Able to heal multiple target's HP and remove stats effects, they are crucial to the party. They are the ones who keep the party alive.
While soloing they have their own ranged spells and are able to heal themselves. They are able to wear up to chain armor and can equip either a staff or mace and shield.
Clerics are focused to keep their party alive and protected. Most of their skills are those that either heal or remove status effects but they also have enough spells to protect themselves and cause satus effects on the enemy.
They can be called the 'moving potion'. As each skill has a different amount of MP used you must familiarize yourself with all the spells. Also as most spells take 1 to 3.5 seconds to cast, knowing the flow of the battle is crucial. An experienced cleric is capable of predicting the damage that his or her party is to take and cast their spells so that as soon as your party takes damage the cleric is able to heal you back.
As they are capable of wearing chain armor they have a relatively high defense.
Thanks to their offensive spells and ability to heal themselves they are able to hold their own in PVP. However their ability to hunt is admittedly slower than others.
Soloing
Clerics are relatively slower in leveling if soloing. Most of their offensive skills are ranged thus it is advisable to deal as much damage as you can from a range before engaging them with melee attacks.
Party play
It is advisable to level a cleric with a party. Their role is to be at the back, healing the tanks and the damage dealers. They can also revive party members, allowing fallen friends to join the battle once more.
Whilst it may seem that it is a disadvantage that clerics dont have as many offensive spells, it can be an advantage as there are not as many spells to clutter and confuse the beginner.
In 1:1 situations whilst clerics do not have a high burst capability as other classes they are quite stable. In 1:1 situations if both sides are equally skilled and gears are of similar level clerics are often stronger of the two.
Whilst clerics may be difficult to level at first, they are highly sought after at all levels so it may be worth the task.
Able to heal multiple target's HP and remove stats effects, they are crucial to the party. They are the ones who keep the party alive.
While soloing they have their own ranged spells and are able to heal themselves. They are able to wear up to chain armor and can equip either a staff or mace and shield.
Clerics are focused to keep their party alive and protected. Most of their skills are those that either heal or remove status effects but they also have enough spells to protect themselves and cause satus effects on the enemy.
They can be called the 'moving potion'. As each skill has a different amount of MP used you must familiarize yourself with all the spells. Also as most spells take 1 to 3.5 seconds to cast, knowing the flow of the battle is crucial. An experienced cleric is capable of predicting the damage that his or her party is to take and cast their spells so that as soon as your party takes damage the cleric is able to heal you back.
As they are capable of wearing chain armor they have a relatively high defense.
Thanks to their offensive spells and ability to heal themselves they are able to hold their own in PVP. However their ability to hunt is admittedly slower than others.
Soloing
Clerics are relatively slower in leveling if soloing. Most of their offensive skills are ranged thus it is advisable to deal as much damage as you can from a range before engaging them with melee attacks.
Party play
It is advisable to level a cleric with a party. Their role is to be at the back, healing the tanks and the damage dealers. They can also revive party members, allowing fallen friends to join the battle once more.
Whilst it may seem that it is a disadvantage that clerics dont have as many offensive spells, it can be an advantage as there are not as many spells to clutter and confuse the beginner.
In 1:1 situations whilst clerics do not have a high burst capability as other classes they are quite stable. In 1:1 situations if both sides are equally skilled and gears are of similar level clerics are often stronger of the two.
Whilst clerics may be difficult to level at first, they are highly sought after at all levels so it may be worth the task.
Spirit Master
Spirit Master
They summon spirits to fight for them. They assign melee attacks to spirits and the spirit master is able to attack from a range with magic, applying damage over time spells and lowering their stats. If need be a spirit master can take on elite monsters alone.
In PVP they are able to cast a variety of debuffs on the target or cast fear on them, preventing any control over themselves. In abyss they can use the spell to lower the target's flight time, making them plummet to their deaths. A truly fearsome foe.
They have a choice of four elemental spirits, Water, Wind, Earth and Fire. Whilst their selection of spell is lower than that of the sorcerer, their spirits make up for this.
Each elemental spirits have different abilities and it takes a while to familiarize yourself. You can also directly control your spirit so it is even more crucial to know everything that your spirits are capable of.
You can also cast a number of debuffs on the enemy, including stopping them in their tracks or slowing them down. However these also create a lot of aggro so you must be careful.
HP and armor are both low so it takes a lot of careful control but thanks to its supportive magic they excel in both solo and party play. Whilst you may not have the burst capability of assassins or rangers spirit masters possess a variety of spells that can help the whole party.
Soloing
Spirit masters specialize in soloing. They are able to rotate spirits based on the enemy.
However as most of spirit master's spells are debuffs with a high aggro you must be careful not to draw the aggro to yourself. Whilst it is easier to manage your HP compared to the sorcerer, to heal your spirit you must sacrifice your own health.
Stigmas play a vital role if soloing, especially those that allow you to recover HP more efficiently.
Party play
Spirit masters have a number of debuffs at their disposal. Whilst they do not possess the burst damage of other classes they can confuse the enemies with their debuffs. They can also erase the target's buffs (including some boss') and increase the chance for a target to drop an item
when in a party it is advisable for the spirit master to concentrate in weakening the enemy. It is best to rotate your spirit as need but if you wish to just concentrate on DPS just keeping your water spirit out is acceptable.
It is advisable to gear towards increasing your magic damage and HP. Spirit masters also possess a lot of instant cast spells and thus they specialize in chasing and escaping from the target while slowly whittling their HP away.
They summon spirits to fight for them. They assign melee attacks to spirits and the spirit master is able to attack from a range with magic, applying damage over time spells and lowering their stats. If need be a spirit master can take on elite monsters alone.
In PVP they are able to cast a variety of debuffs on the target or cast fear on them, preventing any control over themselves. In abyss they can use the spell to lower the target's flight time, making them plummet to their deaths. A truly fearsome foe.
They have a choice of four elemental spirits, Water, Wind, Earth and Fire. Whilst their selection of spell is lower than that of the sorcerer, their spirits make up for this.
Each elemental spirits have different abilities and it takes a while to familiarize yourself. You can also directly control your spirit so it is even more crucial to know everything that your spirits are capable of.
You can also cast a number of debuffs on the enemy, including stopping them in their tracks or slowing them down. However these also create a lot of aggro so you must be careful.
HP and armor are both low so it takes a lot of careful control but thanks to its supportive magic they excel in both solo and party play. Whilst you may not have the burst capability of assassins or rangers spirit masters possess a variety of spells that can help the whole party.
Soloing
Spirit masters specialize in soloing. They are able to rotate spirits based on the enemy.
However as most of spirit master's spells are debuffs with a high aggro you must be careful not to draw the aggro to yourself. Whilst it is easier to manage your HP compared to the sorcerer, to heal your spirit you must sacrifice your own health.
Stigmas play a vital role if soloing, especially those that allow you to recover HP more efficiently.
Party play
Spirit masters have a number of debuffs at their disposal. Whilst they do not possess the burst damage of other classes they can confuse the enemies with their debuffs. They can also erase the target's buffs (including some boss') and increase the chance for a target to drop an item
when in a party it is advisable for the spirit master to concentrate in weakening the enemy. It is best to rotate your spirit as need but if you wish to just concentrate on DPS just keeping your water spirit out is acceptable.
It is advisable to gear towards increasing your magic damage and HP. Spirit masters also possess a lot of instant cast spells and thus they specialize in chasing and escaping from the target while slowly whittling their HP away.
Sorcerer
Sorcerer
Strong ranged magic attack but low HP and armor as they are able to wear only robes, the glass cannon. Thus all battles involves attacking from a range with magic and slowing the enemy or disabling the enemy. Requires a lot of micro management, recommended for those with experience.
When in a party they are able to put a number of enemies to sleep or stop them from moving, giving an edge to their allies.
Whilst they do not have many chain skills each skill has high damage potential and thus able to kill quickly. If you choose the hunting area well it can arguably be the quickest class to level.
The basic is to know what attack that you will be using and preparing for it. If you wish to use fire magic to defeat the enemy cast a debuff on the target lowering their resistance to the fire element and then proceed to roast them with fire attacks.
Also you are able to put the target to sleep and begin casting a magic with cast time or a count down for it to activate as the enemy wakes, followed by a spell with a long casting time, allowing you to wake the target up with the long casting time, high damage spell followed by another high damage spell once the count down ends.
Status effects cause a high aggro thus you must be careful to lower the aggro using skills.
Soloing
Sorcerers do not have skills to recover HP and thus must always keep an eye on their HP. Due to their low HP it is advisable to tackle one monster at a time.
It is advisable to begin 1:1 PVP with a skill that lowers the target's movement speed. If you are handling more than one enemy at once it is advisable to disable one and quickly finish off the other. Whilst it is true that sorcerers have low HP it is no problem as long as you keep your distance.
It is crucial to know your the cooldown and effects of all your spells.
Party play
Sorcerers take on the role of both a DPS class and disabler. It is crucial when monsters are linked to one another to disable the extras, allowing your party to handle the number of monsters they are most comfortable with. thus they are highly sought after during party quests with high difficulty or entering an area with many monsters.
They also have many AoE spells. But due to the high damage of each spell, it is possible to create too much aggro so you must always be cautious.
It is advisable to use the Spheres as they have a higher spell boost than tomes. However tomes have higher hit thus if you feel that you are missing your spells too often it is not a bad idea to switch to tomes.
Strong ranged magic attack but low HP and armor as they are able to wear only robes, the glass cannon. Thus all battles involves attacking from a range with magic and slowing the enemy or disabling the enemy. Requires a lot of micro management, recommended for those with experience.
When in a party they are able to put a number of enemies to sleep or stop them from moving, giving an edge to their allies.
Whilst they do not have many chain skills each skill has high damage potential and thus able to kill quickly. If you choose the hunting area well it can arguably be the quickest class to level.
The basic is to know what attack that you will be using and preparing for it. If you wish to use fire magic to defeat the enemy cast a debuff on the target lowering their resistance to the fire element and then proceed to roast them with fire attacks.
Also you are able to put the target to sleep and begin casting a magic with cast time or a count down for it to activate as the enemy wakes, followed by a spell with a long casting time, allowing you to wake the target up with the long casting time, high damage spell followed by another high damage spell once the count down ends.
Status effects cause a high aggro thus you must be careful to lower the aggro using skills.
Soloing
Sorcerers do not have skills to recover HP and thus must always keep an eye on their HP. Due to their low HP it is advisable to tackle one monster at a time.
It is advisable to begin 1:1 PVP with a skill that lowers the target's movement speed. If you are handling more than one enemy at once it is advisable to disable one and quickly finish off the other. Whilst it is true that sorcerers have low HP it is no problem as long as you keep your distance.
It is crucial to know your the cooldown and effects of all your spells.
Party play
Sorcerers take on the role of both a DPS class and disabler. It is crucial when monsters are linked to one another to disable the extras, allowing your party to handle the number of monsters they are most comfortable with. thus they are highly sought after during party quests with high difficulty or entering an area with many monsters.
They also have many AoE spells. But due to the high damage of each spell, it is possible to create too much aggro so you must always be cautious.
It is advisable to use the Spheres as they have a higher spell boost than tomes. However tomes have higher hit thus if you feel that you are missing your spells too often it is not a bad idea to switch to tomes.
Assassin
Assassin
Able to stealth past the enemies' eyes and pounce with strong attacks. With their ability to engrave patterns and duel wield they have a strong burst attack potential and are highly sought after in party play.
However they are able to equip only leather armor and thus lack in HP and defense but this is helped slightly thanks to their high dodge and skills enabling them to dodge an attack or magic.
They specialize in PVP and whilst they have no skills to recover HP they can recover a portion of the damage dealt as HP and thus arguably have the fastest leveling speed.
They can equip long swords, daggers and bows. By engraving patterns on the target they are able to stun them and the follow up skill's damage depends on the number of patterns engraved on the target.
Due to the sheer number of skills available much practice is required to fully utilize the assassin's potential.
Soloing
Whilst they have a high burst damage their low HP makes it undesirable to take on multiple targets. It is best to sneak behind a target and attack first. Whilst their single target damage may be higher than the gladiator's, they possess no AoE damage skills and due to their low HP and armor if there are multiple enemies it is very difficult to win.
Their normal attack damage is lower than the gladiator's but their crit percentage is higher.
Party play
Assassins have many skills to stun the target so when the party's in danger it is up to the assassin to disable the enemy.
Pattern engraving and following skills can greatly increase aggro so it is advisable to manage your aggro carefully, knowing how much damage you can deal before pulling aggro through experience. If you generate too much aggro then that is extra stress on the healers, leading to aggro jumping to the healer.
Daggers have lower attack but higher attack speed and crit chance while long swords are the opposite.
Able to stealth past the enemies' eyes and pounce with strong attacks. With their ability to engrave patterns and duel wield they have a strong burst attack potential and are highly sought after in party play.
However they are able to equip only leather armor and thus lack in HP and defense but this is helped slightly thanks to their high dodge and skills enabling them to dodge an attack or magic.
They specialize in PVP and whilst they have no skills to recover HP they can recover a portion of the damage dealt as HP and thus arguably have the fastest leveling speed.
They can equip long swords, daggers and bows. By engraving patterns on the target they are able to stun them and the follow up skill's damage depends on the number of patterns engraved on the target.
Due to the sheer number of skills available much practice is required to fully utilize the assassin's potential.
Soloing
Whilst they have a high burst damage their low HP makes it undesirable to take on multiple targets. It is best to sneak behind a target and attack first. Whilst their single target damage may be higher than the gladiator's, they possess no AoE damage skills and due to their low HP and armor if there are multiple enemies it is very difficult to win.
Their normal attack damage is lower than the gladiator's but their crit percentage is higher.
Party play
Assassins have many skills to stun the target so when the party's in danger it is up to the assassin to disable the enemy.
Pattern engraving and following skills can greatly increase aggro so it is advisable to manage your aggro carefully, knowing how much damage you can deal before pulling aggro through experience. If you generate too much aggro then that is extra stress on the healers, leading to aggro jumping to the healer.
Daggers have lower attack but higher attack speed and crit chance while long swords are the opposite.
Ranger
Ranger
Specialising in ranged attacks using a bow, they can root a target in place with their diverse skills, followed by powerful skills. However their HP an defense are both low being able to equip only leather armor.
They also have traps, activated once an enemy walks over it and can cause a number of status effects on the target.
Arrows and traps are depleted with every skill used so you always need to keep track of your inventory.
Unlike assassins, rangers are specialized in the use of bows. They are the only class that can use traps to stop the target and if situation calls, sneak behind an enemy and catch them unawares.
However they also need to purchase arrows and traps so they are more costly to maintain.
Much like assassins they have high dodge but due to the low attack speed of the bow once an enemy gets close they are at a disadvantage. Thus when fighting you must maintain distance. Thankfully they have a number of skills to prevent an enemy closing in and can equip daggers and long swords.
Soloing
Rangers are able to attack at a range and able to prevent or slow down the enemy's movement.
The most basic style is to damage the target with your ranged attack and keep your distance while slowly whittling away the target's HP or if the target somehow manages to close the distance, switch to your melee weapons.
However rangers lack the melee attack ability of assassins and don’t have many skills to aid when escaping so the use of traps is highly recommended.
Party play
In parties rangers take the role of a ranged damage dealer. They are also able to pull monsters.
However they have low defense and thus must be careful when managing aggro.
Generally speaking rangers have a lower dps than assassins or gladiators. However they also have a higher burst potential and can inflict a variety of status effects and can even replace sorcerers if the situation calls when disabling enemies.
Specialising in ranged attacks using a bow, they can root a target in place with their diverse skills, followed by powerful skills. However their HP an defense are both low being able to equip only leather armor.
They also have traps, activated once an enemy walks over it and can cause a number of status effects on the target.
Arrows and traps are depleted with every skill used so you always need to keep track of your inventory.
Unlike assassins, rangers are specialized in the use of bows. They are the only class that can use traps to stop the target and if situation calls, sneak behind an enemy and catch them unawares.
However they also need to purchase arrows and traps so they are more costly to maintain.
Much like assassins they have high dodge but due to the low attack speed of the bow once an enemy gets close they are at a disadvantage. Thus when fighting you must maintain distance. Thankfully they have a number of skills to prevent an enemy closing in and can equip daggers and long swords.
Soloing
Rangers are able to attack at a range and able to prevent or slow down the enemy's movement.
The most basic style is to damage the target with your ranged attack and keep your distance while slowly whittling away the target's HP or if the target somehow manages to close the distance, switch to your melee weapons.
However rangers lack the melee attack ability of assassins and don’t have many skills to aid when escaping so the use of traps is highly recommended.
Party play
In parties rangers take the role of a ranged damage dealer. They are also able to pull monsters.
However they have low defense and thus must be careful when managing aggro.
Generally speaking rangers have a lower dps than assassins or gladiators. However they also have a higher burst potential and can inflict a variety of status effects and can even replace sorcerers if the situation calls when disabling enemies.
Crafting
Crafting
There are six crafting skills
Weapon Smithing
Armor Smithing
Tailoring
Jewel Crafting
Alchemy
Cooking
To create you go through a number of steps
1. Learn the skill
2. Learn the blue print
3. Collect material
4. Craft
Not all craft attempts will succeed so beware.
The higher your skill, the lower the chance to fail.
Very rarely you will make green level item.
You may also very very rarely be able to create Shining (blue level) item when creating Expert Craftsman level items. Not only are the stats much better but they also look different.
There are six crafting skills
Weapon Smithing
Armor Smithing
Tailoring
Jewel Crafting
Alchemy
Cooking
To create you go through a number of steps
1. Learn the skill
2. Learn the blue print
3. Collect material
4. Craft
Not all craft attempts will succeed so beware.
The higher your skill, the lower the chance to fail.
Very rarely you will make green level item.
You may also very very rarely be able to create Shining (blue level) item when creating Expert Craftsman level items. Not only are the stats much better but they also look different.
Templar
Templar
Templars have high HP and armor. Not only that but they are able to increase their defense even further and protect allies. Thus they are assigned the role of the tank in party play. They specialize in skills used while equipping a shield.
They are able to equip swords, maces and great swords. Whilst their damage output may be lower than that of the gladiator, it is nothing to scoff at.
They have a variety of chain skills. Up to four different skills can be used after you block an enemy's attack.
They are able to solo easily thanks to their high armor and many skills. However they do not have as many highly damaging skills so hunting may be slightly longer.
In parties templars take most of the work. They tank, control aggro, protect party members, learn the ways and position the monsters.
Templars mainly use either the long sword or mace. Whilst the mace may have higher damage, their crit % is lower and the options maybe geared towards casters.
Templars have high HP and armor. Not only that but they are able to increase their defense even further and protect allies. Thus they are assigned the role of the tank in party play. They specialize in skills used while equipping a shield.
They are able to equip swords, maces and great swords. Whilst their damage output may be lower than that of the gladiator, it is nothing to scoff at.
They have a variety of chain skills. Up to four different skills can be used after you block an enemy's attack.
They are able to solo easily thanks to their high armor and many skills. However they do not have as many highly damaging skills so hunting may be slightly longer.
In parties templars take most of the work. They tank, control aggro, protect party members, learn the ways and position the monsters.
Templars mainly use either the long sword or mace. Whilst the mace may have higher damage, their crit % is lower and the options maybe geared towards casters.
Gladiator
Gladiator
Aside from castor weapons, gladiators can use all the weapons. They have high attack and can wear plates, boasting a high defense. With the two they are able to fulfill their role, fighting the enemy in the frontlines.
If Assassins can be specialized in 1:1 battles, Gladiators can handle both 1:1 and 1 against many. Whilst they do not have as high damage as assassins or sorcerers, they have defense second only to templars.
Gladiators have no problem soloing thanks to their many attack skills and high defense. They also have a diverse selection of weapons, allowing them to switch weapons depending on the situation.
However they have no way to heal themselves thus they must always keep an eye on their HP. Duel wielding swords or using great sword or halberd is also a good idea. However if you duel wield you may be able to achieve high attack at the cost of not being able to use certain skills and unless the swords improve your attack speed, it won’t be as impressive a gain.
Gladiators also shine in party play thanks to their AoE skills. Not only that but they are able to tank if the situation calls.
Whilst some may bring up the fact that gladiators are out dps'd by sorcerers and assassins and templars have higher defense, if a gladiator knows the skills available to him and choose his weapons wisely the ability of a gladiator will surely impress. Gladiator's performance is also highly influenced by their equipment.
Aside from castor weapons, gladiators can use all the weapons. They have high attack and can wear plates, boasting a high defense. With the two they are able to fulfill their role, fighting the enemy in the frontlines.
If Assassins can be specialized in 1:1 battles, Gladiators can handle both 1:1 and 1 against many. Whilst they do not have as high damage as assassins or sorcerers, they have defense second only to templars.
Gladiators have no problem soloing thanks to their many attack skills and high defense. They also have a diverse selection of weapons, allowing them to switch weapons depending on the situation.
However they have no way to heal themselves thus they must always keep an eye on their HP. Duel wielding swords or using great sword or halberd is also a good idea. However if you duel wield you may be able to achieve high attack at the cost of not being able to use certain skills and unless the swords improve your attack speed, it won’t be as impressive a gain.
Gladiators also shine in party play thanks to their AoE skills. Not only that but they are able to tank if the situation calls.
Whilst some may bring up the fact that gladiators are out dps'd by sorcerers and assassins and templars have higher defense, if a gladiator knows the skills available to him and choose his weapons wisely the ability of a gladiator will surely impress. Gladiator's performance is also highly influenced by their equipment.
Stigmas and Titles
Stigma
Stigmas are the hidden skills that each class has. Each class has a limited number of stigmas and thus you must choose the stigmas and the playstyle that you desire.
How to acquire the Stigmas
For your first Stigma, you must be level 20 and complete your faction's stigma quest. You may acquire additional stigmas in the future by looting it from monsters you defeated.
How to equip your Stigma
First you must visit your faction's capital city. Then visit the Stigma NPC with Stigma Shards. You may acquire stigma shards by killing opposing faction's guard NPC or abyss monsters.
Title
Titles not only add a fancy line to your name, it also boosts your stats. Titles can be earned through quests, certain items, missions and also vary depending on your race.
Stigmas are the hidden skills that each class has. Each class has a limited number of stigmas and thus you must choose the stigmas and the playstyle that you desire.
How to acquire the Stigmas
For your first Stigma, you must be level 20 and complete your faction's stigma quest. You may acquire additional stigmas in the future by looting it from monsters you defeated.
How to equip your Stigma
First you must visit your faction's capital city. Then visit the Stigma NPC with Stigma Shards. You may acquire stigma shards by killing opposing faction's guard NPC or abyss monsters.
Title
Titles not only add a fancy line to your name, it also boosts your stats. Titles can be earned through quests, certain items, missions and also vary depending on your race.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Legions, Parties and Forces
Legions
Equivalent to Clans and Guilds.
Once you become part of a Legion you have access to the Legion’s Vault. You are also able to wear the robe with a symbol of your Legion and even engrave your Legion’s symbol onto shields once you reach a certain level.
Legion’s Growth
Legion’s Achievement Points
When a member of the Legion completes a quest or obtains Abyss Points through PvP or RvR this is also counted in the Legion’s Achievement Points. This reflects the activities of the Legion’s members and also determines the Legion’s level and rank.
Legion’s Level
To begin a level 1 Legion you need 10,000 Kina and can have up to 30 people. To reach level 2 you need 100,000 Kina , at least 10 people in your Legion and can have up to 60 people. To reach level 3 you need 1,000,000 Kina, have at least 20 people in your Legion and have t least 20,000 Achievement Points. You can also have up to 90 people in a level 3 Legion.
A level 1 legion has 24 slots within their legion’s vault. A level 2 legion has 32 slots and can use one of the premade emblems. Level 3 legions is able use their own emblem, purchase legion-only equipment and increase their legion vault to 40.
Party
Standard Party fare. I’ll explain the way looting works however.
There are three ways to choose the looting. Free for all, taking turns and all loot to the group leader. But there’s also three different ways to loot the rare drops. First is where you loot depending on the loot priority decided as mentioned above. Second, you roll for a number between 1 and 100. Another is Transaction on the Spot. This is where you have 30 seconds to put in the amount of Kina you are willing to pay for the item. The person who is willing to pay the most loots the item and then the money is divided evenly between the party members.
And then there is Force where you can have up to 24 people together.
Equivalent to Clans and Guilds.
Once you become part of a Legion you have access to the Legion’s Vault. You are also able to wear the robe with a symbol of your Legion and even engrave your Legion’s symbol onto shields once you reach a certain level.
Legion’s Growth
Legion’s Achievement Points
When a member of the Legion completes a quest or obtains Abyss Points through PvP or RvR this is also counted in the Legion’s Achievement Points. This reflects the activities of the Legion’s members and also determines the Legion’s level and rank.
Legion’s Level
To begin a level 1 Legion you need 10,000 Kina and can have up to 30 people. To reach level 2 you need 100,000 Kina , at least 10 people in your Legion and can have up to 60 people. To reach level 3 you need 1,000,000 Kina, have at least 20 people in your Legion and have t least 20,000 Achievement Points. You can also have up to 90 people in a level 3 Legion.
A level 1 legion has 24 slots within their legion’s vault. A level 2 legion has 32 slots and can use one of the premade emblems. Level 3 legions is able use their own emblem, purchase legion-only equipment and increase their legion vault to 40.
Party
Standard Party fare. I’ll explain the way looting works however.
There are three ways to choose the looting. Free for all, taking turns and all loot to the group leader. But there’s also three different ways to loot the rare drops. First is where you loot depending on the loot priority decided as mentioned above. Second, you roll for a number between 1 and 100. Another is Transaction on the Spot. This is where you have 30 seconds to put in the amount of Kina you are willing to pay for the item. The person who is willing to pay the most loots the item and then the money is divided evenly between the party members.
And then there is Force where you can have up to 24 people together.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Skills
Skills
Translated from http://power.plaync.co.kr/aion/%EC%8A%A4%ED%82%AC
Normal skills
From levels 1 to 9 you learn a new skill every two levels
From levels 10 to 40 you learn a new spell every three levels
From levels 40 to 50 you learn a new skill every level
Stigma skills
From levels 20 to 28 you can have up to two Stigmas
From levels 31 to 40 you can have up to three Stigmas
From levels 41 to 45 you can have up to four Stigmas
At level 50 you can have five Stigmas
Skill tomes which teach you new skills can be attained from your class trainers. However a few rare skills and Stigmas are dropped by certain monsters.
Skill Growth
Skills may advance in two ways, level and rank. New rank skills must be learnt but your skills also level with you. Ranks have a bigger impact on the effectiveness of a skill than the level.
Types of Skills
Passive skills
Which are always active when you learn them
Chain skills
Usable when certain conditions are met. When you are able to use chain skills you are able to see the usable skill as an icon on both your field screen and skill bar, glowing red.
Conditional Skills
Usable when certain conditions are met, such as target being stunned, you have blocked, dodged or ensnaring your target.
Stigma Skills
Usable when you equip corresponding stigmas.
Divine Power Skills
Uses your Divine Power. You can store up to 4000 DP but lose them when you die or log out.
Translated from http://power.plaync.co.kr/aion/%EC%8A%A4%ED%82%AC
Normal skills
From levels 1 to 9 you learn a new skill every two levels
From levels 10 to 40 you learn a new spell every three levels
From levels 40 to 50 you learn a new skill every level
Stigma skills
From levels 20 to 28 you can have up to two Stigmas
From levels 31 to 40 you can have up to three Stigmas
From levels 41 to 45 you can have up to four Stigmas
At level 50 you can have five Stigmas
Skill tomes which teach you new skills can be attained from your class trainers. However a few rare skills and Stigmas are dropped by certain monsters.
Skill Growth
Skills may advance in two ways, level and rank. New rank skills must be learnt but your skills also level with you. Ranks have a bigger impact on the effectiveness of a skill than the level.
Types of Skills
Passive skills
Which are always active when you learn them
Chain skills
Usable when certain conditions are met. When you are able to use chain skills you are able to see the usable skill as an icon on both your field screen and skill bar, glowing red.
Conditional Skills
Usable when certain conditions are met, such as target being stunned, you have blocked, dodged or ensnaring your target.
Stigma Skills
Usable when you equip corresponding stigmas.
Divine Power Skills
Uses your Divine Power. You can store up to 4000 DP but lose them when you die or log out.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Character Status and what the numbers mean
Translated from http://power.plaync.co.kr/aion/%EC%8A%A4%ED%85%8C%EC%9D%B4%ED%84%B0%EC%8A%A4
Henceforth referred to as Stats
There are six Primary Stats and these six stats affect the Secondary Stats.
Primary stats are dependant of your job and can be improved using skills and items. Your level does not affect Primary Stats but does affect Secondary Stats.
Secondary Stats shows a deeper more detailed numbers affected by level, skills, Title and Stones. Especially Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Defense stats are heavily influenced by your items.
Strength affects your Physical Attack. Vitality affects your HP and HP recovery rate. Accuracy affects your Hit and Critical hits, Dexterity affects your Dodge, Shield Block, Weapon block and Concentration, Intelligence affects your Magic Attack, Magic Critical hits and Will affects your MP and MP recovery rate.
The stats that are affected by your level are; HP, MP, Hit, Magic Hit, Dodge, Shield Block and Weapon block. For Spirit Masters’ summons their level and skill level are both factored in their stats.
Henceforth referred to as Stats
There are six Primary Stats and these six stats affect the Secondary Stats.
Primary stats are dependant of your job and can be improved using skills and items. Your level does not affect Primary Stats but does affect Secondary Stats.
Secondary Stats shows a deeper more detailed numbers affected by level, skills, Title and Stones. Especially Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Defense stats are heavily influenced by your items.
Strength affects your Physical Attack. Vitality affects your HP and HP recovery rate. Accuracy affects your Hit and Critical hits, Dexterity affects your Dodge, Shield Block, Weapon block and Concentration, Intelligence affects your Magic Attack, Magic Critical hits and Will affects your MP and MP recovery rate.
The stats that are affected by your level are; HP, MP, Hit, Magic Hit, Dodge, Shield Block and Weapon block. For Spirit Masters’ summons their level and skill level are both factored in their stats.
Flight
Translated from http://power.plaync.co.kr/aion/%EB%B9%84%ED%96%89
Flight
After level 10 one of the first things you can do once you are a Daeva is to fly. This allows you to explore regions easily, extrude Odes and move around the Abyss. You can click the flight button on the lower right or press Page Up key to start flying (in certain areas). In flight restriction areas the icon’s color dulls. You can get information about your flight if you hover your mouse over the flight icon.
Controls
It is similar to when you are on the ground but you can ascend or descend with the ‘R’ and ‘F’ keys.
Page Up opens your wings and Page Down folds them. Press R to rise and F to lower yourself. Press the Space Bar to begin or end gliding.
Pay special attention to your flight gauge when flying. When you run out of your flight time you will plummet to the ground and it is never a pleasant experience. Make sure you carry some flight potions for emergencies. There is a 10 second cooldown after you open your wings. You lose HP once if you fall more than 10m and the amount you lose depends on how high you were when you fell. If you fall over 50m you are dead, no matter how much HP you have.
Gliding
While jumping or falling from a certain height, you can begin gliding by pressing the Space Bar. You can glide every 10 seconds and can be used even in flight restricted zones. In order to descend press F or use your mouse to move by controlling the camera. In order to stop gliding press the space bar once more or Page Down key. If you wish to glide further press ‘R’ before landing.
Improving Flight
1. By completing your Abyss entrance quest you get a passive 33% increase in flight speed
2. Through equipment
3. Purchasing wings
4. Eating food
5. Using potions
6. Titles
7. Stones
Flight
After level 10 one of the first things you can do once you are a Daeva is to fly. This allows you to explore regions easily, extrude Odes and move around the Abyss. You can click the flight button on the lower right or press Page Up key to start flying (in certain areas). In flight restriction areas the icon’s color dulls. You can get information about your flight if you hover your mouse over the flight icon.
Controls
It is similar to when you are on the ground but you can ascend or descend with the ‘R’ and ‘F’ keys.
Page Up opens your wings and Page Down folds them. Press R to rise and F to lower yourself. Press the Space Bar to begin or end gliding.
Pay special attention to your flight gauge when flying. When you run out of your flight time you will plummet to the ground and it is never a pleasant experience. Make sure you carry some flight potions for emergencies. There is a 10 second cooldown after you open your wings. You lose HP once if you fall more than 10m and the amount you lose depends on how high you were when you fell. If you fall over 50m you are dead, no matter how much HP you have.
Gliding
While jumping or falling from a certain height, you can begin gliding by pressing the Space Bar. You can glide every 10 seconds and can be used even in flight restricted zones. In order to descend press F or use your mouse to move by controlling the camera. In order to stop gliding press the space bar once more or Page Down key. If you wish to glide further press ‘R’ before landing.
Improving Flight
1. By completing your Abyss entrance quest you get a passive 33% increase in flight speed
2. Through equipment
3. Purchasing wings
4. Eating food
5. Using potions
6. Titles
7. Stones
Combat
Translated from http://power.plaync.co.kr/aion/%EC%A0%84%ED%88%AC%EB%B0%A9%EB%B2%95
You may wish to skip to Advanced as Simple has basic information which you should be familiar
with if you played RPGs.
Combat
Simple
Step 1. Starting combat with a target
There are three ways
- Select target and press the attack (C button) and begin combat
- Select target and select a skill to use on your skill bar
- Right click on target to move within range and begin combat
You can also use the tab key to target monsters instead of using your mouse. You will be able to differentiate your target by the red circle beneath them.
Step 2. Combining both normal attack and skills in combat
Through one of three methods mentioned above, you begin combat. Once combat starts the background music changes to the battle music and your character draws his or her weapon. Keep an eye on your HP as once it hits 0 you die.
Step 3. End of combat
Once the target's HP hits 0 your target dies and combat ends. With this you gain experience (XP) and are entitled to loot the monster. Your combat status lasts for a while even after the target is dead and if you wish to force cancel out of combat motion, press 'X' to sheathe your weapon.
Step 4. Looting
Double clicking or right clicking the fallen target will let you loot it. You may also hold shift while double clicking or right clicking in order to loot everything.
Step 5. Sitting to rest
You may press comma (,) in order to rest your character. This increases the HP and MP recovery rate.
Death
Once you die you lose all your buff and debuffs. You are also unable to chat outside of Legion, Group and Whisper. Once you die you may be revived through spells or items, you are able to locate the party member's body with the radar and map.
Advanced
There are three positions you can be in. Battle, Normal and Rest.
Battle
When you are ready for battle and have drawn your weapon. You can enter battle position when you attack a target or use a skill but not when you are attacked. You are unable to use Mana Stones or its variations, upgrade items, trade, talk to NPCs or do any non-combat action.
When you are in 'Battle' position you have all the stats listed in your Status. There is no passive HP recovery and your MP recovery rate slows down.
Normal
Once you are out of combat you will enter the normal mode. In order to begin combat you must enter the 'Battle' stance. Your stats are as listed and passive HP and MP recovery is activated.
Rest
Increases your HP and MP recovery rate. Press comma (,) in order to enter Rest state. Increases the chance to be hit with a critical attack and lowers your defense related stats. Unable to enter Rest while flying.
Attack
Final damage = Your final Attack - Target's final Defense
Effect of weapons
There are nine types of weapons in Aion. For physical attacks there are Long Sword, Dagger, Mace, Staff, Great Sword, Bow and Halberd. For magical attacks there are Tomes and Spheres.
Physical weapons are affected by target's defense and magical attacks are affected by the target's magical resistance. Tomes have a water elemental attack and Spheres have fire elemental attacks. This is just the elemental affiliation of the normal attack using these weapons and have no effect on the elemental alignment of your spells.
The most balanced weapon is the Long Sword. The stats are very balanced but does not excel in any. For two handed weapons when you get a critical hit there is a 25% chance for you to disable the target. Great Sword, Halberd and Staff trips and Bow stuns.
Attack speed and the number of hits differs depending on your weapon. The number of hits are random as well as the value. For example if you use the Halberd with four hits, it may hit an extra 2 to four times randomly. Just because the hits is high does not mean the damage is high but it is used to augment the weak attack so there is no great affect on balance between weapons.
Range
There are set ranges for skills and weapons. For example for the Sorcerer's Fire Arrow the target needs to be within 25 meters. If the target leaves the 25m range casting in canceled.
Skills used by monsters also have ranges but even if you exceed the range the skill still hits so beware.
For bows they also have a 25m range. However if they learn the skill to extend their range it increases to 26m. Range weapon damage increases the further away you are and the damage also drops the closer you are to your target.
Defending
The damage you take depends on your defense and magic resistance. There are four actions available to defend yourself. These do not happen simultaneously but the order depends on the order of priority, depending on your status.
Dodge
You completely dodge the enemy's attack but your attack delay also applies. To put it simply if you dodge your attack motion is cancelled and you experience delay depending on your weapon speed.
As you completely dodge the attack it can be the best defense. Your chance to dodge depends on the attacker's Hit and your Dodge. Your job also influences your dodge.
Blocking with your Shield
Only available when you have equipped a shield. Your chance to defend using a shield depends on your dexterity, Shield Defense stat and any skills you may use. The amount of damage you can block depends on your shield's stats and any skills you may use. Better than Parrying.
Defending with your weapon
Defending yourself with your equipped weapon(s). The chance to defend depends on the stats of your weapon and armor stats, dexterity and any skills you may have. If you dual wield a part of the stats from your left hand is also added. Unlike blocking with your shield there is a flat rate of damage reduction (around 40%) so be aware.
Expert
Attack from behind
There is only front and back, so the entire 180 degrees region can be considered the back.
Take advantage of the Movement Bonus
This can be divided into three broad movements. Forward, Back and Side. The bonus doesn’t stop instantaneously but lasts around 0.7 seconds after you stop moving.
Moving Forward: Increases physical damage by 10%, Increases Magic damage by 10%, lowers your physical defense by 20%, lowers your magical resistance by 20%
Moving Back: Increase weapon block by 500, Increases Shield block by 500, Lowers your attack speed by 70%, Lowers your movement speed by 40%
Moving Sideways (Left and/or Right): Increases dodge by 300, Lowers physical attack by 70%, Lowers movement speed by 20%
You may wish to skip to Advanced as Simple has basic information which you should be familiar
with if you played RPGs.
Combat
Simple
Step 1. Starting combat with a target
There are three ways
- Select target and press the attack (C button) and begin combat
- Select target and select a skill to use on your skill bar
- Right click on target to move within range and begin combat
You can also use the tab key to target monsters instead of using your mouse. You will be able to differentiate your target by the red circle beneath them.
Step 2. Combining both normal attack and skills in combat
Through one of three methods mentioned above, you begin combat. Once combat starts the background music changes to the battle music and your character draws his or her weapon. Keep an eye on your HP as once it hits 0 you die.
Step 3. End of combat
Once the target's HP hits 0 your target dies and combat ends. With this you gain experience (XP) and are entitled to loot the monster. Your combat status lasts for a while even after the target is dead and if you wish to force cancel out of combat motion, press 'X' to sheathe your weapon.
Step 4. Looting
Double clicking or right clicking the fallen target will let you loot it. You may also hold shift while double clicking or right clicking in order to loot everything.
Step 5. Sitting to rest
You may press comma (,) in order to rest your character. This increases the HP and MP recovery rate.
Death
Once you die you lose all your buff and debuffs. You are also unable to chat outside of Legion, Group and Whisper. Once you die you may be revived through spells or items, you are able to locate the party member's body with the radar and map.
Advanced
There are three positions you can be in. Battle, Normal and Rest.
Battle
When you are ready for battle and have drawn your weapon. You can enter battle position when you attack a target or use a skill but not when you are attacked. You are unable to use Mana Stones or its variations, upgrade items, trade, talk to NPCs or do any non-combat action.
When you are in 'Battle' position you have all the stats listed in your Status. There is no passive HP recovery and your MP recovery rate slows down.
Normal
Once you are out of combat you will enter the normal mode. In order to begin combat you must enter the 'Battle' stance. Your stats are as listed and passive HP and MP recovery is activated.
Rest
Increases your HP and MP recovery rate. Press comma (,) in order to enter Rest state. Increases the chance to be hit with a critical attack and lowers your defense related stats. Unable to enter Rest while flying.
Attack
Final damage = Your final Attack - Target's final Defense
Effect of weapons
There are nine types of weapons in Aion. For physical attacks there are Long Sword, Dagger, Mace, Staff, Great Sword, Bow and Halberd. For magical attacks there are Tomes and Spheres.
Physical weapons are affected by target's defense and magical attacks are affected by the target's magical resistance. Tomes have a water elemental attack and Spheres have fire elemental attacks. This is just the elemental affiliation of the normal attack using these weapons and have no effect on the elemental alignment of your spells.
The most balanced weapon is the Long Sword. The stats are very balanced but does not excel in any. For two handed weapons when you get a critical hit there is a 25% chance for you to disable the target. Great Sword, Halberd and Staff trips and Bow stuns.
Attack speed and the number of hits differs depending on your weapon. The number of hits are random as well as the value. For example if you use the Halberd with four hits, it may hit an extra 2 to four times randomly. Just because the hits is high does not mean the damage is high but it is used to augment the weak attack so there is no great affect on balance between weapons.
Range
There are set ranges for skills and weapons. For example for the Sorcerer's Fire Arrow the target needs to be within 25 meters. If the target leaves the 25m range casting in canceled.
Skills used by monsters also have ranges but even if you exceed the range the skill still hits so beware.
For bows they also have a 25m range. However if they learn the skill to extend their range it increases to 26m. Range weapon damage increases the further away you are and the damage also drops the closer you are to your target.
Defending
The damage you take depends on your defense and magic resistance. There are four actions available to defend yourself. These do not happen simultaneously but the order depends on the order of priority, depending on your status.
Dodge
You completely dodge the enemy's attack but your attack delay also applies. To put it simply if you dodge your attack motion is cancelled and you experience delay depending on your weapon speed.
As you completely dodge the attack it can be the best defense. Your chance to dodge depends on the attacker's Hit and your Dodge. Your job also influences your dodge.
Blocking with your Shield
Only available when you have equipped a shield. Your chance to defend using a shield depends on your dexterity, Shield Defense stat and any skills you may use. The amount of damage you can block depends on your shield's stats and any skills you may use. Better than Parrying.
Defending with your weapon
Defending yourself with your equipped weapon(s). The chance to defend depends on the stats of your weapon and armor stats, dexterity and any skills you may have. If you dual wield a part of the stats from your left hand is also added. Unlike blocking with your shield there is a flat rate of damage reduction (around 40%) so be aware.
Expert
Attack from behind
There is only front and back, so the entire 180 degrees region can be considered the back.
Take advantage of the Movement Bonus
This can be divided into three broad movements. Forward, Back and Side. The bonus doesn’t stop instantaneously but lasts around 0.7 seconds after you stop moving.
Moving Forward: Increases physical damage by 10%, Increases Magic damage by 10%, lowers your physical defense by 20%, lowers your magical resistance by 20%
Moving Back: Increase weapon block by 500, Increases Shield block by 500, Lowers your attack speed by 70%, Lowers your movement speed by 40%
Moving Sideways (Left and/or Right): Increases dodge by 300, Lowers physical attack by 70%, Lowers movement speed by 20%
Monday, August 24, 2009
Introduction
Aion is a MMORPG from NCSoft. Live launches on 22nd of September.
Most of the information will be from me browsing aion.ncsoft.co.kr. Class descriptions will be based on the impression I get from browsing the class forums. Of course, as all class forums are, some elements if not all will be exaggerated, so I'll be posting these after taking a large grain of salt.
Full game starts on 22nd of September, if you preorder you get a two days head start with extra exp gain. Europeans start on 25th or so but also start on the 22nd.
Having participated in the beta, I am enjoying it.
System requirements are pretty low from what I have read. Game looks great, especially after I was tired from the looks of another certain game (to be fair, I was looking at it for four years or so). Even the NPCs are varied, great change after seeing the same model over and over in another certain game.
Character customization is ridiculous variable. You can change height (hitbox is still the same) and there are like 20 premade faces and hair alone. You can customize pretty much all aspects of your character, eye size, neck, eye slant, nose, mouth and yes, even how well endowed your female character is.
The grind isnt bad until the 40s from what I hear and reportedly will get further 'dumbed down' for Europe/NA release (higher exp from monsters, higher exp from quests.)
The game is geared towards partying, especially end game for the better items. It is definitely possible to solo grind to 50, but you'll have a much easier time doing it in a group.
You can jump and fly and it just feels a lot more free. You are able to glide in areas where you are unable to fly, which is also great fun. Gathering gives you exp and there is a built in NPC and monster locator. It will be $15USD/month and you have to make the initial purchase for the game
And of course, no one really expects it to be the top MMO. Doubt there will ever be one, with the years the other game has been in the market and 11 million subscribers or some other ridiculous number. Still, the reviews are quite positive and I for one am tired of the other game after all the changes.
Classes
http://powerwiki.na.aiononline.com/aion/Classes
There are two faction/races. Asmodian and Elyos were originally human. In order to fight against the dragon race, a select few were able to Awaken, granting them wings and powers far exceeding those of a normal human. However due to events the world of sundered in two and the people evolved in different ways. After generations the humans began evolving in different ways, leaving us Asmodians and Elyos.
That's the basic story. Your race determines what special 'Divine Point' skill you get to use with your class. Diving Points are accumulated by killing monsters or using special consumables.
First you pick one of the following characters, then at level nine you advance into one of two choice
The Warrior -> Templar or Gladiator
The Scout -> Assassin or Ranger
The Mage -> Sorcerer or Spirit Master
The Priest -> Chanter or Cleric
Templar
The tank class, bread and butter of attempting dungeons. Decent damage and great survivability. Uses a sword and shield and can self heal. Pretty good in PVP too.
Gladiator
The dps branch of the warrior. Great AoE damage and control.
In patch 1.5 they get a role to play with their high AoE damage and skill to lower enemies' damage, as well as monsters hitting harder so some prefer taking gladiators instead of assassins
Assassin
Can kill really really fast, has the highest DPS. However, their HP is quite low and so unless they pounce first, there is a very real chance that they may lose. Nerfed slightly in patch 1.5 and they're no faceroll class.
Rangers
Second least played class. Can function decently in both melee and range. Has a very good chance to win in a PVP if you spot the other guy first. Of course, they have hide so you do get a nice chance to pounce the guy. Buffed in patch 1.5 and arguably has the highest burst damage. Lots of happy rangers post 1.5
Sorcerer
Your standard mage. Lots of pew pew and binds. Lots of disables too. With 1.5 they got items to shorten their casting time and a few extra AoE spells.
Spirit Master
Least played class in the game. You need to manage four elemental spirits and you dont quite excel in anything while taking a lot of micromanagement. However you can put up DoTs and status effects, with your pets being nothing to laugh at. Great help during siege. Also highly sought after in end game content. Buffed in many areas so they are worth playing. Whilst you cant use your spirits in air battles you have other spells to make up for it.
Chanter
One of the few rare cases where a class can DPS and heal while not being completely useless in both. Their buffs are great and DPS is nothing to scoff at either. Can heal well as mentioned.
Clerics
Your standard healer. Buffs, can revive and heals. Always popular as everyone needs a healer. They can hold their own in VP
So is this really hard?
Yes it's hella hard. Like, you will weep blood hard. Yeah, EQ, UO was hard. Maybe even harder.
But this isnt for your typical game that holds your hands.
Will it pick up?
The biggest hurdle for the game in my opinion would be the userbase.
In the Korean Aion, griefers are known server wide, not necessarily your personal details, but your username and such that no one will take invite you into a group.
You lose exp when you die. Save points are far between (though you are able to create personal respawn points with limited use). PVP is everywhere.
A possible problem is that it will be too hardcore for those used to a certain game, making the 'casuals' leave and leaving only the griefers and elitists.
I'm desperately hoping this doesn't happen
Also the amazing thing about the (Korean) servers is, the factions seem balanced. The official site lists the number of players and the most skewered number I've seen was 54% vs 46%. Most were 51 vs 49 and there were quite a few 50/50s
Crazy considering the ridiculous imbalance in another certain game. This is achieved because once one side has too many players, they restrict character creation.
I hear that this game has some awesome PVP
PVP is something you can look forward to in this game.
You get 'Abyss Points' for killing people and with it can purchase better items. There are realm vs realm battles, battles between parties, between legions and of course good old sneak up and kill that poor chap gathering material without a care in the world. Not all classes are good in one on one situations but they all have their uses, none of them are useless.
Okay so PVP sounds fun. What about PVE?
PVE is nothing to sneeze at. There are 'named mob', monsters with name that are basically raid bosses that just walk around the map. You need a party to even think about attempting it in most cases, they range from starting area to the Abyss.
Loot distribution is quite difficult. No free epics like another certain game. NCSoft said that the Hero Items, items you get from the new dungeons once you get an 'S' rank will be picked up by very few players (no one in the 1.5 test server has managed to get one, they just recently managed to get an S rank. That should give you an idea about how hard it is).
Many speculate that only the top 1% will eventually manage to pick it up.
So yes, PVP is everywhere and you will PVP in order to get the better items. However you can also gather Abyss Points from Abyss monsters and dungeons are a good source of Abyss Points.
Game Depth
Certain weapon such as bows, spears, greatswords and maces have a special effect. On crit there is a 25% chance that disables the other character.
Your movement affects your stats. Moving forward increases your damage by 10% but reduces armor by 20%. Moving left or right increases your dodge but you lose attack, moving back increases your block and armor but reduces your damage and movement speed
World pvp rank does something. If you are in the top percentage not only do you get hella awesome armor with sweet look, you get ridiculously awesome skills
Stretchy weapons. It's not all aesthetics, it actually adds to your range.
Stronghold for you to capture from both the opposing faction as well as NPCs (which are ridiculously strong). Easy way to gather Abyss points.
Night and day, hours actually matter. Can affect the location of NPCs and which monsters spawn.
Crafting and gathering that's actually fun and gives you exp. While you are crafting, there is a small chance to create an item that has better stats.
Being able to alter item looks. Transfer stats of one item to another.
You get stigmas from level twenty. Basically they either improve or give you extra skills to use.
Patch 1.5 trailer. Shows the three new end game dungeons
Last one, Dragion, is PvPvE. So you fight monsters and other players within the dungeon in a 6 v 6 matchup
Patch 1.5 changes
Lots of balance changes, mostly achieved through 10% reduction in PVP damages. They lowered the crit multiplier from 2.8 to 2.5 or so for long swords, nerfing templars, gladiators and assassins. Healers are demanding better scaling and more heals as the end game content is much too difficult.
Templar: Reportedly has trouble holding aggro end game, new shields give you +aggro. Their pull got buffed so went from 60% success to around 90%. Weaker, but they were strong to begin with and everyone needs a tank.
Gladiator: Buffed such that they can hold their own against other classes now. Great swords and Spears have been buffed. Highly sought after in end game dungeons for their AoE damage.
Assassin: Slightly nerfed. Still sought after for their high DPS output.
Rangers: Buffed. One of two classes that can detect advanced stealth of assassins, the other class being assassins themselves. Bow critical multiplier also increased slightly. Arguably has the highest burst damage.
Sorcerer: Buffed. Items that increase their casting time introduced.
Spirit Master: Buffed. Highly sought after for Dragion runs for the AoE disable.
Chanter and Cleric: Chanter buffed, Cleric not as much. Their heals didnt get as buffed so many are having trouble keeping up with the end game content.
Official English site http://na.aiononline.com/en/
Most of the information will be from me browsing aion.ncsoft.co.kr. Class descriptions will be based on the impression I get from browsing the class forums. Of course, as all class forums are, some elements if not all will be exaggerated, so I'll be posting these after taking a large grain of salt.
Full game starts on 22nd of September, if you preorder you get a two days head start with extra exp gain. Europeans start on 25th or so but also start on the 22nd.
Having participated in the beta, I am enjoying it.
System requirements are pretty low from what I have read. Game looks great, especially after I was tired from the looks of another certain game (to be fair, I was looking at it for four years or so). Even the NPCs are varied, great change after seeing the same model over and over in another certain game.
Character customization is ridiculous variable. You can change height (hitbox is still the same) and there are like 20 premade faces and hair alone. You can customize pretty much all aspects of your character, eye size, neck, eye slant, nose, mouth and yes, even how well endowed your female character is.
The grind isnt bad until the 40s from what I hear and reportedly will get further 'dumbed down' for Europe/NA release (higher exp from monsters, higher exp from quests.)
The game is geared towards partying, especially end game for the better items. It is definitely possible to solo grind to 50, but you'll have a much easier time doing it in a group.
You can jump and fly and it just feels a lot more free. You are able to glide in areas where you are unable to fly, which is also great fun. Gathering gives you exp and there is a built in NPC and monster locator. It will be $15USD/month and you have to make the initial purchase for the game
And of course, no one really expects it to be the top MMO. Doubt there will ever be one, with the years the other game has been in the market and 11 million subscribers or some other ridiculous number. Still, the reviews are quite positive and I for one am tired of the other game after all the changes.
Classes
http://powerwiki.na.aiononline.com/aion/Classes
There are two faction/races. Asmodian and Elyos were originally human. In order to fight against the dragon race, a select few were able to Awaken, granting them wings and powers far exceeding those of a normal human. However due to events the world of sundered in two and the people evolved in different ways. After generations the humans began evolving in different ways, leaving us Asmodians and Elyos.
That's the basic story. Your race determines what special 'Divine Point' skill you get to use with your class. Diving Points are accumulated by killing monsters or using special consumables.
First you pick one of the following characters, then at level nine you advance into one of two choice
The Warrior -> Templar or Gladiator
The Scout -> Assassin or Ranger
The Mage -> Sorcerer or Spirit Master
The Priest -> Chanter or Cleric
Templar
The tank class, bread and butter of attempting dungeons. Decent damage and great survivability. Uses a sword and shield and can self heal. Pretty good in PVP too.
Gladiator
The dps branch of the warrior. Great AoE damage and control.
In patch 1.5 they get a role to play with their high AoE damage and skill to lower enemies' damage, as well as monsters hitting harder so some prefer taking gladiators instead of assassins
Assassin
Can kill really really fast, has the highest DPS. However, their HP is quite low and so unless they pounce first, there is a very real chance that they may lose. Nerfed slightly in patch 1.5 and they're no faceroll class.
Rangers
Second least played class. Can function decently in both melee and range. Has a very good chance to win in a PVP if you spot the other guy first. Of course, they have hide so you do get a nice chance to pounce the guy. Buffed in patch 1.5 and arguably has the highest burst damage. Lots of happy rangers post 1.5
Sorcerer
Your standard mage. Lots of pew pew and binds. Lots of disables too. With 1.5 they got items to shorten their casting time and a few extra AoE spells.
Spirit Master
Least played class in the game. You need to manage four elemental spirits and you dont quite excel in anything while taking a lot of micromanagement. However you can put up DoTs and status effects, with your pets being nothing to laugh at. Great help during siege. Also highly sought after in end game content. Buffed in many areas so they are worth playing. Whilst you cant use your spirits in air battles you have other spells to make up for it.
Chanter
One of the few rare cases where a class can DPS and heal while not being completely useless in both. Their buffs are great and DPS is nothing to scoff at either. Can heal well as mentioned.
Clerics
Your standard healer. Buffs, can revive and heals. Always popular as everyone needs a healer. They can hold their own in VP
So is this really hard?
Yes it's hella hard. Like, you will weep blood hard. Yeah, EQ, UO was hard. Maybe even harder.
But this isnt for your typical game that holds your hands.
Will it pick up?
The biggest hurdle for the game in my opinion would be the userbase.
In the Korean Aion, griefers are known server wide, not necessarily your personal details, but your username and such that no one will take invite you into a group.
You lose exp when you die. Save points are far between (though you are able to create personal respawn points with limited use). PVP is everywhere.
A possible problem is that it will be too hardcore for those used to a certain game, making the 'casuals' leave and leaving only the griefers and elitists.
I'm desperately hoping this doesn't happen
Also the amazing thing about the (Korean) servers is, the factions seem balanced. The official site lists the number of players and the most skewered number I've seen was 54% vs 46%. Most were 51 vs 49 and there were quite a few 50/50s
Crazy considering the ridiculous imbalance in another certain game. This is achieved because once one side has too many players, they restrict character creation.
I hear that this game has some awesome PVP
PVP is something you can look forward to in this game.
You get 'Abyss Points' for killing people and with it can purchase better items. There are realm vs realm battles, battles between parties, between legions and of course good old sneak up and kill that poor chap gathering material without a care in the world. Not all classes are good in one on one situations but they all have their uses, none of them are useless.
Okay so PVP sounds fun. What about PVE?
PVE is nothing to sneeze at. There are 'named mob', monsters with name that are basically raid bosses that just walk around the map. You need a party to even think about attempting it in most cases, they range from starting area to the Abyss.
Loot distribution is quite difficult. No free epics like another certain game. NCSoft said that the Hero Items, items you get from the new dungeons once you get an 'S' rank will be picked up by very few players (no one in the 1.5 test server has managed to get one, they just recently managed to get an S rank. That should give you an idea about how hard it is).
Many speculate that only the top 1% will eventually manage to pick it up.
So yes, PVP is everywhere and you will PVP in order to get the better items. However you can also gather Abyss Points from Abyss monsters and dungeons are a good source of Abyss Points.
Game Depth
Certain weapon such as bows, spears, greatswords and maces have a special effect. On crit there is a 25% chance that disables the other character.
Your movement affects your stats. Moving forward increases your damage by 10% but reduces armor by 20%. Moving left or right increases your dodge but you lose attack, moving back increases your block and armor but reduces your damage and movement speed
World pvp rank does something. If you are in the top percentage not only do you get hella awesome armor with sweet look, you get ridiculously awesome skills
Stretchy weapons. It's not all aesthetics, it actually adds to your range.
Stronghold for you to capture from both the opposing faction as well as NPCs (which are ridiculously strong). Easy way to gather Abyss points.
Night and day, hours actually matter. Can affect the location of NPCs and which monsters spawn.
Crafting and gathering that's actually fun and gives you exp. While you are crafting, there is a small chance to create an item that has better stats.
Being able to alter item looks. Transfer stats of one item to another.
You get stigmas from level twenty. Basically they either improve or give you extra skills to use.
Patch 1.5 trailer. Shows the three new end game dungeons
Last one, Dragion, is PvPvE. So you fight monsters and other players within the dungeon in a 6 v 6 matchup
Patch 1.5 changes
Lots of balance changes, mostly achieved through 10% reduction in PVP damages. They lowered the crit multiplier from 2.8 to 2.5 or so for long swords, nerfing templars, gladiators and assassins. Healers are demanding better scaling and more heals as the end game content is much too difficult.
Templar: Reportedly has trouble holding aggro end game, new shields give you +aggro. Their pull got buffed so went from 60% success to around 90%. Weaker, but they were strong to begin with and everyone needs a tank.
Gladiator: Buffed such that they can hold their own against other classes now. Great swords and Spears have been buffed. Highly sought after in end game dungeons for their AoE damage.
Assassin: Slightly nerfed. Still sought after for their high DPS output.
Rangers: Buffed. One of two classes that can detect advanced stealth of assassins, the other class being assassins themselves. Bow critical multiplier also increased slightly. Arguably has the highest burst damage.
Sorcerer: Buffed. Items that increase their casting time introduced.
Spirit Master: Buffed. Highly sought after for Dragion runs for the AoE disable.
Chanter and Cleric: Chanter buffed, Cleric not as much. Their heals didnt get as buffed so many are having trouble keeping up with the end game content.
Official English site http://na.aiononline.com/en/
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