In the ever changing massively multiplayer gaming market,
it’s easy for an individual to miss an important detail about
a relatively new game and therefore misunderstand the gameplay style of
the title in question. To alleviate this risk, the developers at NCsoft
have put together a Q&A for their upcoming game, style="font-style: italic;">Aion: The Tower of Eternity.
This talk with Senior Game Designer Kyoung Won Choi answers a variety
of questions, and the Ten Ton Hammer staff has included several new
screenshots as well!




How extensive will Aion
character customization be?



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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15428"
title="Combat with a scorpion-squid"> src="/image/view/15428/preview"
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style="font-style: italic;">Players will have
lots to choose from during character creation.

Kyoung Won Choi: In
the game client, which
was being shown at the Games Convention Leipzig ‘07
,
the player had the ability to choose between several different
hairstyles, colors, shapes of their face, skin colors, character height
and voice. It is also possible to alter eye colors and to add tattoos
to the character face. A character build feature is currently being
planned, which will affect the size of the character, ranging from
skinny to big.



“Tradable
wings” have been mentioned. Exactly what does that mean?




Choi:
It was most likely a misunderstanding. Wings are not bought in Aion,
but changed by other factors such as a rising PvP-rank.



What will you do in order
for Aion to appeal to casual players?




Choi:
We want to have short-term goals in the game, such as quests fitting
within shorter timeframes. There will also be appropriate rewards for
completing those. Very powerful game items (weapons and armor) will be
attainable in different ways, making it easier for casual players to
gradually work towards them.



Are the Asmodians
significantly different from the Elyos?




Choi:
It is possible to see that the Asmodians and Elyos come from the same
origin. They have the same, fundamental humanoid shapes. An analogy
would be to compare elves with dark elves.



Will there be player
housing?




Choi:
Not at launch, but definitely as soon as possible. It is likely to be
in the first expansion.


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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15424" title="One on One"> src="/image/view/14183/preview"
width="200">

style="font-style: italic;">According to Choi,
there won't be any mounts in Aion.

Will there be mounts in
Aion?




Choi:
No. There are currently no plans to implement regular mounts in Aion.
Transport will be done by foot or by flying. There will also be a
long-range teleport system and short-range travel-services in which you
let the game control the flight to your destination.



Will flying timer and
cool-down change with character level?




Choi:
No, probably not. There will, however, be items and skills which can
enhance these abilities. In practice, this could mean that as the
character progresses to higher levels – it also gains access
to these skills and items.



How do sieges work in
Aion? Are there any guild-specific advantages to controlling a castle?




Choi:
The main PvP area in Aion is the Abyss. There are several castles in
Aion, all which can be captured by player guilds on behalf of their
faction. A siege is in its very fundament a raid. Initially, each
castle is controlled by the Balaur, who will not gladly give it up. A
guild leader would gather his or her troops and initiate an attack on
the castle and its defenders. After defeating the NPC defenders, the
castle changes ownership. Since the battles take place in the Abyss,
it’s always possible that the other PC faction might
interfere to either defend or attack. Once the castle has a new owner,
there are a few hours during which no PvP can take place on the island.
After this period, however, the castle is again open to attacks from
the opposing faction.



There are many benefits to be gained from controlling a castle. The
castle will have NPCs who vend unique items, whose sales the
controlling guild may put taxes on in order to gain a bit of extra
income. Guilds will also have direct access to the hunting grounds and
resources surrounding the castle.


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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15429"
title="Character Art 2"> src="/image/view/15429/preview"
width="200">

style="font-style: italic;">There will be
sieges and battles in Aion similar to what's seen in Lineage 2.

Will Aion battles and
sieges be as massive and monumental as in Lineage II?




Choi:
The Abyss is an open area with many strategic points. There are no set
times for sieges or battles, but instead something that the players
themselves may decide. It was one of our goals to not require the vast
amounts of players as sieges in Lineage II did. While there are no
technical limitations and a charismatic leader could well gather
hundreds of players for a siege, 2 or 3 groups should be enough too, if
circumstances are right.



What role does PvP have
in Aion?




Choi:
PvP is very important in Aion. To get out most of the game, one should
definitely participate in PvP at some point. We want to gradually
introduce even non-PvPers to the PvP.



It is, however, not necessary to participate in PvP. One can go from
level 1 to 50 without participating in a single PvP-battle. It will
take a little bit longer, though, as the most rewarding hunting grounds
often are those found in the Abyss.



A feature that is currently on a planning stage is to randomly open
teleportation portals in the Elyos and Asmodian lands. This would allow
for very random, occasional battles where even lower level players get
a chance to experience PvP, without it being a constant threat and
presence.



What are the rewards and
encouragements for PvPvE?



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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15432"
title="Arid Landscape"> src="/image/view/15432/preview"
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style="font-style: italic;">Players will get
experience for killing other players in Aion.

Choi:
The basic reward in PvPvE is the same as in all other combat,
experience. You will gain experience from killing both mobs and PC
opponents in the Abyss. By collecting “PvP-points”,
players can also gain access to very good high-end items, which
otherwise can only be crafted.



There are also indirect benefits, since PvPvE in a way is a method to
gain control of castles which come with a wide array of benefits
themselves.



Will there be potions in
Aion? If so, how will they work?




Choi:
There will be health and mana recovery potions with instant effect.
They will, however, have a re-use timer to prevent an excessive usage.
There will also be foods with different effects on your character. Food
will practically work as a buff, of which only one can be active at the
same time.



How will larger game
updates be implemented?




Choi:
There will be big, regular expansions once or twice a year. How they
are to be distributed depends on the area.



Will weather be affecting
game play?




Choi:
This feature has unfortunately been dropped. Weather will however
affect some NPCs and monster spawns.


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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15427"
title="Lone Warrior"> src="/image/view/12343/preview"
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style="font-style: italic;">Aion is hoping to
not be another "grind" type game.

In terms of content, what
will be done to prevent Aion from being “just another
grinder”?




Choi: The
problem with Asian games, we believe, have been a design which is
not overly complicated - very basic. With the exception of Japan,
RPG’s have until recently not been a mainstream game type at
all in Asia. In order to introduce players to the genre, games were
deliberately made rather simple in their design. At the time, it was
probably the right decision, as it introduced many new players to the
genre. The demands on a game and its amount of content have, however,
risen substantially lately in Asia. To survive on the market today, a
very high amount of content is required. Due to this, it’s
not an option to make “just another grinder”.
Players need other things to keep them occupied while developing their
characters. We have approached this issue partly by putting more focus
on quests, allowing people to pursue professions and gather resources,
and by incorporating an advanced combat system.



What will be done for
Role-players?




Choi:
Except from the extensive character customization, Aion will have a
wide array of emotes to be used in various situations. We also plan to
put some fun and cute “items” in there that
don’t have much actual value except for role-playing. Other
activities that could appeal to the role-players out there are resource
gathering, crafting and of course cooking.



Will there be specific
Role-play servers?




Choi:
Not in the Asian market, but if this is deemed a good addition in a
specific area, it’s up to the service provider in that area.


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href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15430"
title="Character Art 1"> src="/image/view/15430/preview"
width="200">

style="font-style: italic;">Specific quests for
guilds are being considered.

Will there be specific
quests for guilds?




Choi:
Yes, it is being considered.



Will there be statistics
available online, outside the game?




Choi: We
are still working on what information will be available for others
to see. Character stats, guild status and castle/guild hall control are
some of the things that probably will be available to see online. There
might also be some sort of “score board”, with
player scores reflecting many different game aspects.



Although not entirely related, we are also working on a
“Hero” system. Becoming a hero will require a lot
of work. Heroes will act as human boss mobs, much more difficult for
enemies to kill than ordinary players. People will know when a hero
enters an area.



What did you think of
Choi’s responses? Did he answer most of your questions about
Aion? If you have any more, href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?p=188408#post188408">let
us know on the forums!



Ten Ton Hammer is your unofficial source for Aion href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/254">news
and articles!

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Aion Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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