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Looking at screenshots of the Scouts, it seems that the female character’s armor is a bit skimpier than the male’s armor. Aesthetically, this makes sense, but will female characters have the option of adorning themselves in the bulkier armor?

LB: “Aesthetically, this makes sense.” That makes me chuckle. That issue is something that has always bothered me in many games I’ve played. The short answer is that a player does have the ability to equip bulkier armor on female characters. Aion offers a variety of armor choices for the player. We want characters to look like the way that players want their characters to look like, not be driven by game statistics. The game allows you to take two pieces of armor and combine the game statistics of a piece with the look of another piece of armor you want. This way you can achieve a look unique to your character.

There are some constraints, though. The amount of bulk that a piece of armor has is driven by the armor type. Cloth is lighter, while plate gets more bulky and gives more defense.

Assassins are thought of as being the dark, stealthy, and dangerous sort of class that uses shadows and mystery to take advantage of his opponents.  What abilities and tricks does the Aion Assassin have that make this class one you want to look over your shoulder for?

LB: I’d want to stay as far away as possible from their poisoned dagger tips, myself. Seriously, though, the class’s greatest strengths are in its skills that cause brief unconsciousness, Pattern Engraving, and cloaking. In particular, Pattern Engraving is an Assassin’s trademark skill. The more patterns an Assassin can engrave on an enemy, the better ability the Assassin has to land blows and the more hurt it can deal.

Does the Assassin have the ability to maintain some sort of stealth while in flight or is this an ability that they may only use while grounded?

LB: Yes, Assassins can maintain stealth while they are flying. This can be incredibly helpful when infiltrating different enemy areas and hard to reach zones, however players will have to keep a close eye on their stats as stealth flying burns up a lot of “flight fuel”. Bottom line?  When you’re cloaked in the air, attacks need to be timed extremely well.

What special abilities will the Assassin have for aerial combat?

LB: In the Abyss, Assassins are built for speed and freezing their opponents in place. They learn skills that increase their critical hits and their flying speed, power, and accuracy. They also have a ranged skill that immobilizes a target in mid-air. This is a good class to play if you're interested in aerial combat.

What are the Assassin’s weaknesses that other classes will be able to exploit in order to succeed? Will there be other classes that have a distinct advantage against the Scouts?

LB: An Assassin’s defense is relatively low, but it possesses exceptional evasion skills, and it uses cloaking to engage the enemy from behind. Assassins don’t have any skills to heal themselves, so during solo play they have to rely on bandages and potions to heal. Assassins don't have efficient range attacks, and since their defense is low, they can get into trouble when attacked from both sides. So if your character is a healer, wear an Assassin down. If your character is a tank or highly armored Warrior, don’t let an Assassin get behind your character. If your character is a Ranger or other ranged DPS, attack from range. If you really want to take down an Assassin for sure—attack in a small group.

Not all players enjoy PvP. With the Assassin and other classes, will PvP be a pivotal part of character progression or are PvE players able to gear up and compete without having to participate in PvP?

LB: PvPvE allows players to compete in both PvE and PvP and not be funneled to choosing one over the other in order to succeed. We like to think of it as a reward-based system, not a punishment-based system. I believe players will find PvPvE incredibly engaging, and not what they would normally expect when they hear the word “PvP.” When characters play in the Abyss, Abyss Points are collected from both PvE and PvP. Players can use them to purchase high-end gear and items that are useful in world PvP and in PvE raids.

We want to allow players to play Aion in a game style that they find fun and engaging, and PvPvE is a big part of it.