Aion available!!!

Well, I've spoken in length to some who have been in beta and been involved for quite some time with the game, what I'll try to do is cut and paste some stuff over from a forum where they play another MMO. As I said, hopefully this stuff will be sorted before release.

One guy was concerned and posted on a forum about his concerns, this is some of the replies he got back......

Here's some advice he got:

So basically you're nyerked off because you suck and people are better than you.
Please quit the game right now, you going to whine about this its only going to get worse.
Get the **** out!
Never post on the internet again! EVAR!
/facepalm Pls go die carebears

Another player then jumped in and said:

I mean seriously, what kind of screwed up mindset do you have to be in where you actively want to cause frustration and annoyance to people who can't compete? I prefer my PVP competition to be on a level playing field where I know that I beat the opponent because I was better than he was. When was the last time you saw an NFL team camping in front of a high school football field challenging the junior varsity team to a game?

and got feedback:

I still find this so fken hilarious lmao
u know what?
if u cant handle it, quit

There's even a legion (guild) entirely focused on "ganking newbs", called Rage Quit. They are in many MMOs and issued a statement on the forum:

Games are made to PvP. You kill monsters, to get items, to kill other players. Anyone who can't handle that deserves to be killed on sight, and will be. I want you to get mad, I want you to hate my guild. I want you to "try" and get back at me, because you know what? You just aren't good enough.
Enjoy the flowers, nyerking losers.

and with a nice motto:

Make kids cry, kick some ass, and have fun.

I sent a note to one of the mods and asked if people who are this rude shouldn't be banned, but he said this is a PvP game and it's only part of that.

There's also a lot of talk about bots and hacks and how to get to level cap in four days. People just aren't interested in the story, or questing. It's all about PvP and bragging rights, and that's not for me. They say that in 'C-Aion' (Chinese version) everybody's using speedhacks or you won't stand a chance and that these hacks are being developed for the NA and EU versions. Bots like "Walker" used for levelling are already in development and a Swedish forum I visited had plenty of tips on how to use them.

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There is a lot of other stuff there too, but this gives a taste of what's been happening.
I just hope that NCSoft does address some of the issues that are happening in the beta events. Given their aggresive approach to bots etc in GW, I certainly hope so.

I was about to pre-order but will give it a miss until it's gone live for awhile and see how it's going.

Tam

I agree with you there, been in enough beta's in my time and seen it all. As far as I can tell, it's all closed beta's over a w/e period, maybe if they did an open beta in the run up to release a lot of this stuff would be sorted out.

One of the problems encountered was as soon as you become lvl 20, pvp is allowed everywhere and NOT consensual, hence folks are lining up and 'ganking' players who have no chance. Speaking to a Dev, he was told in the 'live' game there would be 'rifts' allowing anyone to move into a 20+ area and that there would be a penalty system in place to punish those who persisted in 'ganking'. This is the concerning bit though......... when my friend then asked if they would really follow that through in the 'live' game, the Dev's reply was staggering, and I quote along the lines of 'We will do our best to try to balance play, but they will make a load of money from the pvp'ers so will not worry that much'.

Ok, I appreciate that's just one Dev shooting his mouth off, but if true, very concerning. I'm hoping sense will prevail and they introduce some form of strict 'zoning' so if you want to pvp you enter these and those who just want to play pve are given the chance to do so without fear of being ganked.

I'm sure a lot of things will be sorted before going 'live' but for me, as it's 'pay to play' I'll now leave it and see how it pans out. It would be a shame as overall the game is getting some very good reviews regarding graphics, gameplay, questing etc, even the crafting system is looking good. Would be a shame if the pvp'ing issue were to overshadow all of that.

Tam

Guys, this is not unprecedented or unexpected in a NC Soft game. Let me pass out some of my experiences as an old NC Soft gamer.

Lineage 1....starting area for Royalty and Mages was called Talking Island. It had a number of non pvp "safety" zones. But once you hit about level 15-20 there was just no point in staying any longer. Only way off the island...in the early days....was a 20 minute boat ride that dropped you in a general zone about a 30 second run from the safety of a town called Gludin. Problem.....droves of pvp'er would camp out the dock and obliterate players coming off the boat. also they camped the exits to towns to catch people wandering outside of the town to hunt. Since it was impossible to have attained full law by that stage of the game, not only were you going to lose xp...you had good chances to drop items as well.

They eventually added a teleportation NPC but that cost you about as much money as you had made up to that point, so now you were a safe...broke newbie surrounded by pvp'ers. Every zone in the game is pvp open....the only place safe was in town. Needless to say there were a number of clans devoted to killing players so every venture had a roughly 1/3 chance of you ending up dead or "venzing" (using an escape scroll) and ending up back in town and trying to start all over to hunt to make some money.

Another Lineage 1 story.....I and my pledge(clan) had an on going fued with a clan of pvp'ers called FCA. It was a kill on site situation instigated by them. Krist, my son, was about 4 years old at the time and loved the sound dwarves made when you killed them. I think I was about level 40 at the time and he wanted to play a little. I set him up for a hunt and moved him to a very out of the way unfrequented area to kill dwarves to his content.
After about 30 minutes he runs to me and says someone killed him. i recognized the name immediatly as one of the FCA members. I whispered the guy and explained to him it was my 4 year old son goofing around. He said no problem. I set Krist up again...the guy came back and killed him again anyways.

Thats the mindset you will run into if Aion is set up the way Tamuril says he is seeing.

Lineage 2.....similar setup to Lineage 1....get off the newbie area and get to the first real town. you are about level 20. you venture out of town and suddenly you get shot by an arrow that does 3500 hp damage. Ummm you only had 500 to begin with. you are now dead. You did'nt even see the other guy. He was roughly level 50+. This happens to you about 1 out of every 4 times you try to leave town. If you say anything you are a cry baby or a carebear. you may get some higher players that are willing to come hunt down these people....but not usually. You are at their mercy.

So this game is likely to follow the lineage 2 theme. Fight for your life and as you try to hunt you will be constantly turning the view to look over your back. it can be thrilling but at the same time it gets very old fast. So expect to eat a lot of HP potions and be running alot.

Everyone needs to understand that this is the way Koreans think and like their games. NCSoft is a Korean company. the only reason GW was so carebearish is because ArenaNet was involved and they are a western based company.

i have nothing against pvp'ers myself. But there are so many classless pvp people out there. When you get killed by someone and he moves on...or says.."nothing personal" or says "nice fight" or does'nt bother you when you come back out to hunt....thats classy and fun. Unfortunatly they are the minority.

The majority are known as Grief Killers or pvp'ers. They will kill you endlessly. they will call you loser....fag...and a host of worse names. They will trick you into letting them res you and then kill you again. They enjoy the torment they cause. many of them want casual or carebearish players to quit altogether. They are pimply faced morons that have no social skills in real life and have the IQ of a hamster. This is what you are going to face if Aion goes the way that Tam seems to indicate.

lol, have fun. I already got Lineage 2 for that. don't need another game of the same ilk.

JR

Wow, thx for that reply Gunter, you have basically described EXACTLY what is happening in Aion now. My friends were telling morealess word for word what you have said. Those who complain of being ganked over and over are subjected to severe verbal abuse in various forms. One really has to feel quite sorry for them if that is the only form of enjoyment they seek.

I've been subjected to similar stuff in other games, and while they are free you put up with it for awhile, but no way would I ever consider paying for that honour. It's sad to see this kind of thing, especially as the game does look promising but you can see where it's heading straight away. Definately one to cross off the list then, just want to see this go 'live' and hope they get on with GW2.

Tam

Hey Guys,

I know!! I've not been around and only logged in a few times since joining the Cherubim's. Appologies for that, but the reason is I've been focussed on this Aion we speak of! It's just, enchanted me.

I've played the beta's and studied the forums etc. To my understanding, the PvP ganking thing won't be as awful as you think. Well, maybe at the start, for a month or so, but it will settle down. Why you ask? Because the Devs are implementing incentives to leave levellers alone. When you PvP you gain points, more if you kill someone higher than yourself, less if you kill same level, less still for lower level. Apparently, if you kill a much lower level, you lose points! Yes, you actually lose, so there is no point in killing them at all. So, what about the inevitable kids that just kill for the sake of it? After so many kills (not sure how many) of lower levels, your points not only go down but so does your ability to take damage. Eventually, you become a walking mashmellow and can be strod on by the lower levels you have been ganking. Fun yes?

In addition, if you really are being bothered by some idiot, simply change channels and they can't see you. Then go about your business. There are a number of chanels, to prevent server lagg. You may group up with someone and be standing on top of them but can't see them, because they are on chanel 2. You simply have to switch chanels and presto, there they are. Changing chanels is painless, and takes a sec....no need to relogg or anythng like that. So, my secret weapon for escaping a PvP gank camper, is to switch chanels and go about my business.

For the most part, this game is wonderful. I'm not going to let a few idiots spoil my fun. And, there is always the get even strategy. If I hate their game play enough, I might just create the biggest, most epic toon of all time and gank them back! Revenge is so sweet For the record I hate PvP, not into it at all, but can see myself doing it for the sake of my sanity if need be. lol

Hope this helps somewhat. It would be a shame to give up on a game, that is so, well, pretty!

Ok, found these patch notes from patch 1.2. The game we play live upon release will be version 1.5, so it may even have more added by then. But this seems to address the ganking problem at least for now.

I love the way the ganker becomes a walking target for all, with rewards for killing him! Gather your lanterns and pitchforks everyone, we are going after a gank pig! lol


cut & paste from Aion notes:

11. Penalties of PvP in Low Level Areas

If you go on a killing rampage in enemy territory (does not apply to the Abyss), you will receive penalties for doing so. This is called the Slayer System. The effects are as follows:

1. Depending on the amount of killings you will receive points. If your penalty points go over a certain limit, you will receive the penalty effects. If you kill lower leveled players than you, you will receive more points.

2. The penalty effects are categorized into two. One is a ?Curse? and you cannot use rifts. The second is a ?Judgment? and under this effect you cannot be resurrected in any Kiosk placed in the enemy territory, as well as use rifts.

3. The name of the Curse/Judgment depends on the race. If you are Elyos, you will receive Curse/Judgment of Asphel. Asmodians will get Curse/Judgment of Ariel.

4. Once you come under Curse or Judgment, your location will be revealed throughout the local map for the entire opposing faction members. Also, even if you are under a hiding skill, your title will be seen, making it even easier to be spotted.

5. You must go back to your own lands or the Abyss and wait for a certain amount of time for the Curse or Judgment to disappear.

6. If you or someone else kills a slayer, 12 nearby players of the dead body will receive buffs.

7. The killer of the slayer will be announced throughout the area chat under the format of ?[Race]?s Hero [Killer of the Slayer] has defeated [Slayer] while he was under [Judgment or Curse] of [Ariel or Asphel].

Hmmmmmm, that's a novel way of dealing with the ganking problem and this indeed does find it's way into the released game then I hold my hand up to NCSoft and say 'Well done'. Although I still can't see why they don't follow the normal route and make seperate areas so there is NO need for ganking to raise it's head anyway.

At least it seems they are trying to redress the issue and for that they have to be congratulated. Maybe the feedback now is so great they realise they could eventually end up with a dodo of a game that no one will play except the gankers who will soon tire of it. I've not played it yet but it has been getting very good reviews so why spoil it for a great many folks who will ultimately be put off it.

I'll still stick by my decision of playing the waiting game until it's been out awhile and then re-think on the decision from feedback. So any of you guys who do take up the cudguel, just keep us updated and if promising then I'll jump in. I also echo GN's comments about getting a Guild up and running.

Tam

I played a game a few years back called Silkroad (terrible game by the way, don't bother with it) with my buddy. Similar to Aion and Lineage (according to you guys), everywhere was pretty much a PvP area. However, you didn't have to participate in PvP if you did not wish to. They had this "cape" system, where capes were sold by a merchant NPC in several colors. I don't remember the exact colors, but it was something like orange, blue, red, and black. The capes provided no stat benefits of any kind but equipping the cape allowed you to attack anyone else that was wearing a cape of a different color (except black capes I think, which were basically free-for-all) as well as allowed anyone to attack you.

I'm sure a system like this would disappoint the mannerless cult of kids who gank other players for fun, but it would definitely bring some sort of balance. Since capes were only sold in the first main town, newbies who wouldn't even know what they were for wouldn't have access to them. Oh, and capes required a level of 15 to be equipped, and anyone by that level would have stepped out of town and watched level 70+ throwing fire balls and meteors at each other and should know what they're for anyway.

Remember it well, awful, awful game!!!! (shudders)

Tam