Aion was my entertainment of choice this weekend. I spent the better part of Friday evening and Saturday playing it. I’ve rejoined MMO comrades from the Casualties of War (COW) guild, first formed as a group of bloggers going into Warhammer Online. The guild has since branched out into a number of other MMOs, including Aion.
Community
Even if you prefer to solo, having a good in-game community is important. This is especially true in PVP oriented games. Being back among the members of COW is fun as always. They’re chatty, extremely helpful and generous. A good guild helps to offset the sometimes “Barren’s chat” atmosphere of newly released or heavily populated games. Your guild is your sanity buffer.
Exploration
I play MMOs largely to exist in fantastical settings ripe with natural phenomenon, myth and magic. Aion is nothing if not beautiful! On land, air and sea, every corner of the world has been detailed with care. Original World of Warcraft was pretty to me. I especially loved the quaint zones like Goldshire, impressive cities like Stormwind and themed zones such as, Booty Bay and Darkshire. It wasn’t until Burning Crusade (BC) that Blizzard added vivid exotic zones like Zangarmarsh, Netherstorm and Terokkar Forest. And while I loved those zones, the abrupt transitions of the BC landscapes seemed awkward. Aion manages to deliver the same variety in zone design but with more fluid and natural transitions. I find myself roaming around new zones to take in the scenery before I begin questing.
Progression
Leveling
I did quite a bit of leveling over the weekend. The “dings” come slower than in a game like WOW. The XP doesn’t flow as quickly and combat takes longer. I haven’t minded the difference so far. If this is the “Asian grind” then it’s fine by me. You don’t get new skills like candy in Aion. The drawn out combat allows you to use your brain - strategy and tactics, to win a fight. You can’t win simply because you got in the first hit. In fact, you can kick a pending-defeat in the teeth by staying composed, thinking ahead and using everything that’s at your disposal, including the terrain. This game is the least rock-paper-scissors I’ve played to date and feels very balanced. You’re not meant to stand toe-to-toe slugging it out until one of you drops. Somewhat similar to Age of Conan, directional movement during combat will increase blocking or damage output. Those directional arrows at your feet have a purpose. Smile
I’m doing more quests than grinding which is a compliment to Aion’s PVE content. I must now concede that perhaps, I don’t actually hate quests. Everquest 2 and Asheron’s Call 2 being the exceptions, where I started questing, and how I came to believe that I hate quests. WOW’s quests past level 30 didn’t do much to improve my opinion of quests, which is where I really reverted to grinding and instances to level. In Aion, I’m mostly doing quests, as was the case with Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and Runes of Magic. Aion PVE isn’t perfect but it’s definitely good. If I encounter a quest series that has me running back and forth, I bail once I’ve had enough and move on to something else. At this point there’s been more content in a zone than I need.
Group Content
I did my first group quests with COW this weekend. It was an experience not to be missed. Dealing with the Black Claw Tribe is the first content that really requires a group. It’s an outdoor zone with elites, patrols and treacherous named-bosses roaming the area. Just getting to the NPC Quest Hub can be a death march the first couple of times. The previous content doesn’t prepare you for a zone of tightly packed mobs, with strong social aggro and a long chase leash.
The first time I tried to reach the area I almost died. I was totally unprepared for how densely packed the mobs were and came running in with a train on my butt. It’s amazing how many mobs you can aggro trying to run just a few yards from the safety of the Altgard Fortress. It’s not a zone you can do at the appropriate level and solo.
I have to admit that I liked the heightened sense of danger you don’t typically experience outside of a PVP setting. Black Claw has named mobs roaming around that can and WILL wipe a whole group if you don’t burn them down before a patrol comes along, mobs re-spawn nearby or someone moves around too much and pulls another pack. People don’t like dying in Aion. I certainly don’t like dying. I was proud of my 14 levels with no deaths status. I didn’t want the XP debt. I didn’t want to pay to have the death de-buff removed which get more expensive as you level. Besides, I usually have a nice stash of DP points accumulated for my special skills which you lose when you die. Doing the quests with the COW group was a piece of cake. There was only once occasion when things got out of hand and a few of us died – oh wait, we wiped. Smile
Drama and Mayhem
Late Saturday evening, I was sneaking around Black Claw, trying to turn in a couple of quests. I noticed someone in trouble and healed them. He invited me to group, asking if I could just escort him up the road a bit. Sure, no problem. On the way he started attacking random lone mobs and was shocked at how hard they hit. I told him that most of the mobs in the area were elite and to stay as close to the path as possible. Even that doesn’t give you a free run through the zone but at least the mobs near the path aren’t elites. On our way, we ran into a patrol whose route intersects the path. It wasn’t a piece of cake but we successfully dispatched them. I guess he got over confident. He started zigzagging the area killing mobs for a different quest. We were doing okay so I didn’t complain. The coin and loot was dropping at a nice pace so what’s to complain to about? Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, we had our Leroy Jenkins moment…
It happened so quickly but felt like slow motion. I saw the Spellcaster biotch and her pet approaching (Elite mob pair). I started backing up while trying to type, “DO NOT attack her. Run!” But it was too late. Johnny Come Lately Gladiator ran in for the kill. Nooooooooooooo! I knew this was going to hurt. He was taking damage like stomped tomato. I de-buffed the Spellcaster with a couple of hits then start healing Johnny, which caused the pet to attack me. All I could spare for myself was a heal-over-time. Johnny was going down fast. I knew that if he went down, there was nothing between me and face full of dirt, so I kept healing. I drank a health potion and popped my BP shield (last-ditch-hail-Mary, on a loss ass regeneration that is based on building DP points that clear if you die or log out) skill, to soak up some damage while hoping to survive. “Stay alive! No matter what occurs, I will heal you!” Snicker
Other Players are Helpful
Another player noticed we were in trouble and joined the fray. I buffed the newcomer, applied more de-buffs the hell-raising Spellcaster and kept healing. A patrol arrived. Oh lord, we’re gonna die. Two more players rushed in to help. By this time my fairy sized character couldn’t see shit. Body blows and magic – BAM, kick, thrust, fire, smoke and block animations were flying every which way. They kept fighting. I kept healing. And we managed to survive. When the last mob feel we looted them quickly and scattered like rats. I jumped off a nearby hill and glided to safety. Immediately after my Gladiator friend whispered, “Damn, I guess BC is serious business!” I fervently agreed and got the hell out of the zone.
Our little escapade capped my Saturday evening in the game. I’d had all the excitement I could take for one session. I flew back to the capital city and began crafting myself into poverty, but that’s a tale for another day.
