Aion: An Overview of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

If you're a fan of online gaming, chances are you've heard of Aion. This massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) has gained a loyal following since its release in 2009, thanks to its immersive world, engaging gameplay, and stunning graphics.

Aion is set in a fantasy world called Atreia, which is divided into two opposing factions: the Elyos and the Asmodians. Players choose to align with one of these factions at the start of the game and are then tasked with completing quests, battling enemies, and leveling up their character. As they progress through the game, they unlock new abilities and equipment, which helps them to take on more challenging content.

One of the standout features of Aion is its combat system, which is fast-paced and action-oriented. Players can choose from a variety of classes, each with its own unique playstyle and abilities. For example, the warrior class is a tank-style character with high defense and the ability to absorb damage, while the ranger class is a ranged damage dealer with the ability to attack from a distance. The game also features a robust crafting system, which allows players to create their own gear and consumables.

Aion also has a strong player-vs-player (PvP) component, with various arenas and battlegrounds available for players to test their skills against one another. The game also has a player-vs-environment (PvE) focus, with a variety of group-based dungeons and raids available for players to tackle together.

In terms of visuals, Aion is truly a feast for the eyes. The game boasts gorgeous, highly detailed environments and character models, and the world of Atreia is rich with lore and history. The game's soundtrack, composed by the renowned Jesper Kyd, is also a highlight, adding to the immersive and atmospheric feel of the game.

Aion is a subscription-based game, with players required to pay a monthly fee in order to access all of its content. However, the game also offers a free-to-play option, which allows players to access a limited selection of content for free.

Overall, Aion is a well-rounded and highly polished MMORPG that offers a unique blend of action-packed combat, rich storytelling, and stunning visuals. If you're a fan of online gaming and are looking for a new virtual world to explore, Aion is definitely worth checking out.

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Aion on the western market and why there is no WoW killer

Over the course of over a decade, many video games, more precisely MMO-RPGs were marketed as "WoW killers" yet, to this day, none of their predictions came true and World of Warcraft is still an undisputed king and reigning champion to this day.

As another internet user eloquently put it, "World of Warcraft is like a massive dam and every other MMO-RPG is just a salmon trying to swim and cross the damn, only to end up being smashed on its walls". With WoW recently launching its Vanilla server and starting everything from scratch, this debate came back to life once more. Turns out nostalgia is a big deal and servers were flooded when retail classic World of Warcraft launched once more. 

People came back running to play the game many of which grew up with. While we can agree that a lot of this popularity came riding on that sweet nostalgia, with people reminiscing the good old days of questing and playing with friends with no worries on their minds, 

that couldn't be the only thing making WoW this popular. It wasn't only nostalgia that made more people come to play reboot of the old franchise more than any other MMO-RPG on the market today. There are a couple of problems anyone who tries making a game to compete with WoW is going to run into. Firstly, simply the fact that every new game markets itself as a "WoW killer" is a nod to WoW's popularity and marketing for them on its own. Making a fresh MMO is a huge feat and requires plenty of resources. 

It's not as simple as making free online porn games. Once such an MMO launches it markets itself offering something new, fresh, innovating and tries to quickly create a huge player base off of that. However, what usually happens is that the initial hype quickly dies off. The game quickly loses a large portion of players and, considering that MMOs are all about large number of players, that number simply continues to drop. 

At that point, the game ends up in one of a couple of scenarios. Some companies go bankrupt and games are abandoned, some break even, going on for some time before pulling the plug before losing any money and then there are those who keep going. 

Aion falls in the third category and is still going strong, which is a success on its own. This third category, even though it doesn't take over the throne, pushes on. Sometimes budget cuts are being made to keep the business going, they might reduce staff, cut on advertising but keep everything afloat. Now, apart from having a competitor, there are multiple minor reasons why Aion wasn't as popular in the western market. Some disliked forced PVP, some didn't enjoy the type of grind to which Asian players are used to or found flying lackluster. 

Others prefer different art style or less RNG and some people simply enjoy playing best lesbian sex games instead.

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Let's go back to the beggining. I first started on Gorgos server as an Elyos and frankly, Gorgos was a pretty decent and balanced server. Then, when other servers started to get unbalanced, NCS decided to merge some of them, so I ended up in Spatalos, were Elyos were already dominating Asmodians, which in my opinion, kinda ended up breaking the balance that existed on Gorgos before the merge. As the server started to fall for a single side, people started transfering, thus making the server less crowded and "forcing" even more people to migrate to better crowded servers.

As patches came by, servers started to get inbalanced and people started to get fed up and left. I ended up moving to the Asmodian on Telemachus about 2 years ago.

So here's where NC/GF or whatever failed a bit.. Server balance. Telemachus used to be fun also (I even was Elyos there in the first place), but everyone was just making more and more Elyos characters. And that happening on an already Elyos dominated server is not a good option.

So here's what I think would be some good ideas, to at least try to restore some order to the servers and maybe make the game more interesting again:

• Restrict Character Creation on the Dominating Faction on EACH server (Kinda like what NA has) and rewarding new and low level players on the weaker faction with Consumables, Gear (also kinda like NA has);
• Once a month (for maybe a week) give an extra PvP buff to the weaker faction (ye, cuz it's not fun to PvP when the opposing faction has Abyss 65 +15 and we're still using strife, cuz we can't have enough number to win Katalam Forts);
• ADVERTISE!! C'mon, you guys are a freaking Big Company, I'm sure you have the means to it.
• Have a look on how Instances Resets work on NA or in Korea... I think it's a bit simpler than having to wait 2 and half days to go Katalamize, for example. (I know, you gotta make money somehow, but trust me, your store as enough of tempting stuff to buy already)
• Make some fun PvP events (1 for All in a specific Map/Area for example)

These are just some raw ideas, feel free to contact me if you want to hear more of what's on my mind.

I guess you guys have a lot of stuff to do, specially when dealing with a lot of multi-languaged servers, but if that's the case, hey, I'm studying translation, I can help a bit.

So please, read this, and everyone else make this thread up to the top. We need to support those who can make Aion more thrilling again for us. Blaming never takes us anywhere. I get frustrated with GF a lot of times too, but maybe they need some community love instead of community rage.

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