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/
