There are a lot of great additions that I’m starting to enjoy in Aion (I recently discovered it’s pronounced aye-on…).
First off, I’m finally 50! There’s a bunch of stuff I’m playing catch up on, crafting included.
I've realized how important food can be later on, so... I've turned into a kitchen slave.
The biggest hurdle I have in this game is getting gear and making that gear… worthwhile. There’s a large experience gap between me and players who are in my level bracket. I’ve done very little instance wise and don’t have the knowledge required to confidently gallivant around to every available denizen of baddies. Hope exists! There are two great implementations to the game that provide rather simple, though time consuming, opportunities for better equipment. One of these is the mentor system. This consists of me traversing the various lower level zones and assisting (mentoring) a player in quests that usually take place in an area filled with elites. I acquire tokens from finishing quests given to me in these zones and turn them in for gear. The best thing is, this method in particular really appeals to me. I love helping newer players with quests, reconquering lower level areas and scoffing at the mobs. It’s just a shame that the mentor quests are dailies. =\
The second method is participating in the Empyrean Crucible. An endurance style instance that throws enemies at you in stages. Each stage is consistently harder. You go until you either beat all the stages (10 in total) or you all wipe. You get points for everything you accomplish and these points are converted into a certain number of tokens. So, the more you succeed the more tokens you get. I have yet to participate in one of these, as I will most likely go for the Mentor gear first. The general mood for players in Aion’s “endgame” is success or gtfo. This is a mood that doesn’t encourage newer players to attempt new things.
This removes the larger hurdle of acquiring the gear. The next step is making this gear “worthwhile”. Which will probably get it’s own rant some time in the future, because I think the system is horrendous and needs a complete revamp. >.>
p.s. - I’m burning up on our first hot day of the summer.
