Healer at Heart I just can't get enough of that healing power.

23Dec/090

Happy holidays!

Just a quick post before the Christmas mayhem begins in full force.

My Cleric just hit level 38 (with no new gear to show for it) as well as a couple of my alts reaching new levels.

As much as I love my Ranger I think I've found the class I love almost as much as my Cleric, if not more: the Chanter.  The skills, the buffs, the graphics, and the healing!  What could be better?  And yes, this character is an Asmodian ...

Pandaemonium (Asmodian home city) in all it's holiday glory:

19Jul/090

Aion CB4: Elyos Levels 1-10.

Yesterday I was able to get through the first 10 levels of the Elyos faction.  This time I chose the Scout/Ranger class.

Scout Combat Stance

The starting zone for Elyos is very much alike the Asmodian starting zone.  There were even quests that mirrored each other.  Kill the same creature (with a slightly different name) and even one of the end chain quests (the Abyss Gate) was almost exactly the same.

Scout Combat

That didn't take away from enjoying my playtime there though.

The Hide ability as a Scout is an awesome tool to have.  And though it doesn't last forever, it made it easy to sneak past a few creatures to get to the ones I needed.

I usually don't buy gear at low levels in MMO's because I'm outleveling them soon enough.  However, I broke down and bought a second dagger for dual-wielding purposes.  It didn't feel like I was doing enough damage.  I also noticed that I had to bandage more often than my Warrior.  Now I know a Warrior can wear chain and eventually plate but I would have thought in the beginning levels the Scout class would have put out a little bit more DPS to make up for it.  I'll have to keep an eye on this.

Asrai - Level 10 Daeva

All in all, I enjoyed my leveling on the Elyos side and I can't wait to get in and play some more.

18Jul/090

Aion CB4: Asmodian Levels 1-10.

Last night I logged into Aion for the 4th closed beta event.  This was my first trip into an Aion beta and I was excited all week about it.

I chose to create a Warrior in order to not burn out on the class I'll most likely play at launch (Priest).  The character creator had plenty of choices for hair styles, different faces, and colors that I was satisfied.  Though I noticed once in game that people had made really tiny players and that made me wonder what else I missed in the creator.  One thing I didn't find was a way to change eye color.  I'm going to have to look around to see if I just missed it or it's not there at all.

First action in Aion.

First action in Aion.

Once in I got right to it.  The combat was easy to pick up as well as using the quest interface.

Certain quests will trigger a cut scene when accepting them to show you what exactly the quest giver is asking for.  They're anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds and don't really interrupt the flow of the game.  I could see them getting old though if you were to create multiple characters.

My future.

My future.

There was one quest that really stood out for me during these first 10 levels.  You go talk to a fortune teller and after doing a couple tasks for her she shows your a bit of your future.  Another cut scene comes up and you have to walk up to someone and as you pass soldiers are calling you Lord and saying how I'm going to help save them.  Once you talk to the guy at the end you suddenly run and jump off the cliff behind him.  Of course in that future you're a Daeva and take wing.  So even though I wasn't controlling it I felt awesome.

Newly Appointed Level 10 Daeva

Newly Appointed Level 10 Daeva

Knowing that at level 10 I get to do the ceremony to become a Daeva I played until I reached that point in the story before heading to bed.  During those hours of play I could already feel the grind of leveling.  Usually in other MMO's the first few levels are a breeze and only takes about an hour of your time.  This takes a bit longer and it is pretty much go kill this many of that and collect x number of this.  But it was enjoyable.

Gathering in Aion.

Gathering in Aion.

The creatures in this game are mostly unique and the landscape you play in is very visually appealing.  Each zone flows together and captures the feel of the story you're playing through.

Now on to play the starting zones of the Elyos.