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[Unknown Soldier]

There area also a ton of Chanters on the beta servers. Seems like every time I turn around I see one.

Chanter is easymode at lower levels. Around level 30's Chanter becomes the weakest solo class in the game and stays that way all the way through endgame. Lots of people are Chanters now in beta but the vast majority of these people will play their Chanters at retail until the 30's and then quit and reroll when Chanter suddenly becomes one of the hardest classes in the game to play. Chanter is not meant to be a solo class, period, and the early levels where they are invincible PvE solo-machines are a huge deception as to what Chanter is like at higher levels. Chanters are hugely gear-dependent because they are a melee class, plus they are fighting with Clerics for the same gear and let me assure you that a pure healing class like Cleric will always be richer and can outbid a Chanter for gear on the AH every time.

I actually rolled a Chanter in beta and then I've been playing an Assassin in C-Aion and the difference is night and day at low levels. Assassin is hardmode at low levels, but when you're in your 30's on your Assassin it becomes the gank machine and a great solo class. If you want to solo elites to farm drops, roll an Assassin. I intend to keep a Chanter alt just for large-group PvP where they are essential for their buffs, but my main is going to be an Assassin so I can find my Chanter gear and earn money.

 

[Kintaro]

I'm going to go Elyos. I wonder if anyone else will. North America seems to have a lot of emo kids who all want to be Emodians. :lol

From my early experience with both, Asmodians just had better areas and a better city in Pandae. However, Elyos areas are easier to level in and rifts are much easier to find. NA will actually side with Elyos if beta is any indication. Asmodians have some "ugly" traits people tend not to like. =/

Side balance is a concern of mine.

 

[Gallagher]

From my early experience with both, Asmodians just had better areas and a better city in Pandae. However, Elyos areas are easier to level in and rifts are much easier to find. NA will actually side with Elyos if beta is any indication. Asmodians have some "ugly" traits people tend not to like. =/

Side balance is a concern of mine.

Elyos: Easy to level in the beginning, harder to level in the end.
Asmodians: Harder to level in the beginning, easier to level in the end.

 

[Kintaro]

Elyos: Easy to level in the beginning, harder to level in the end.
Asmodians: Harder to level in the beginning, easier to level in the end.

Ah. Gotcha. Wait, isn't it all just Abyss by some point?

 

[nataku]

Chanter is easymode at lower levels. Around level 30's Chanter becomes the weakest solo class in the game and stays that way all the way through endgame. Lots of people are Chanters now in beta but the vast majority of these people will play their Chanters at retail until the 30's and then quit and reroll when Chanter suddenly becomes one of the hardest classes in the game to play. Chanter is not meant to be a solo class, period, and the early levels where they are invincible PvE solo-machines are a huge deception as to what Chanter is like at higher levels. Chanters are hugely gear-dependent because they are a melee class, plus they are fighting with Clerics for the same gear and let me assure you that a pure healing class like Cleric will always be richer and can outbid a Chanter for gear on the AH every time.

I actually rolled a Chanter in beta and then I've been playing an Assassin in C-Aion and the difference is night and day at low levels. Assassin is hardmode at low levels, but when you're in your 30's on your Assassin it becomes the gank machine and a great solo class. If you want to solo elites to farm drops, roll an Assassin. I intend to keep a Chanter alt just for large-group PvP where they are essential for their buffs, but my main is going to be an Assassin so I can find my Chanter gear and earn money.

That's too bad, I was really wanting to play a Chanter. It was between a Cleric and a Chanter really, but Chanter just sounded so much more fun to me.

 

[matmanx1]

WoW is very polished, yes. But it's polished almost to the point of being a single player game you play with alot of other people. Sure there's group content but it's entirely optional to the experience and it's so trivial to reach the level cap that it doesnt feel like any sort of achievement at all.

Aion's leveling process is going to reward the risk takers and the folks who group up and experience the content together. Higher exp is gained in the Abyss and most if not all of the best rewards will be found there. Leveling to the cap looks like it's going to be abit of a challenge and I like it that way.

Don't get me wrong here. I dont hate WoW at all. I think Blizz has made a pretty phenomenal game. But I'm ready for a more old-school experience like DAoC's Darkness Falls dungeon and that's exactly the vibe I get from Aion.

 

[Kintaro]

WoW is very polished, yes. But it's polished almost to the point of being a single player game you play with alot of other people. Sure there's group content but it's entirely optional to the experience and it's so trivial to reach the level cap that it doesnt feel like any sort of achievement at all.

Aion's leveling process is going to reward the risk takers and the folks who group up and experience the content together. Higher exp is gained in the Abyss and most if not all of the best rewards will be found there. Leveling to the cap looks like it's going to be abit of a challenge and I like it that way.

Don't get me wrong here. I dont hate WoW at all. I think Blizz has made a pretty phenomenal game. But I'm ready for a more old-school experience like DAoC's Darkness Falls dungeon and that's exactly the vibe I get from Aion.

I don't see how WoW's experience is trivial and Aion's is not. You can solo in both. Aion just takes a crapton more of a grind. You don't have to group in Aion at all if you don't want to. You can group in Aion just like you can group in WoW. The main difference here is time. Blizzard wants people to experience the higher end of the game quicker since it's been out longer. Aion's 1.5 patch attempts to accomplish the same. It is no more or less rewarding. The challenge will be entirely time and avoiding the gank.

Also, of course the best rewards are found in the end game area. Game an MMO where that's not the case.

I know you don't hate WoW, but you just attempted to use one to prop up the other without really explaining the difference. The bottom line is that the difference is the time taken to reach cap and PvP. If that's really the true challenge, that's...not much of one at all.

 

[koji]

Chanter is easymode at lower levels. Around level 30's Chanter becomes the weakest solo class in the game and stays that way all the way through endgame. Lots of people are Chanters now in beta but the vast majority of these people will play their Chanters at retail until the 30's and then quit and reroll when Chanter suddenly becomes one of the hardest classes in the game to play. Chanter is not meant to be a solo class, period, and the early levels where they are invincible PvE solo-machines are a huge deception as to what Chanter is like at higher levels. Chanters are hugely gear-dependent because they are a melee class, plus they are fighting with Clerics for the same gear and let me assure you that a pure healing class like Cleric will always be richer and can outbid a Chanter for gear on the AH every time.

I actually rolled a Chanter in beta and then I've been playing an Assassin in C-Aion and the difference is night and day at low levels. Assassin is hardmode at low levels, but when you're in your 30's on your Assassin it becomes the gank machine and a great solo class. If you want to solo elites to farm drops, roll an Assassin. I intend to keep a Chanter alt just for large-group PvP where they are essential for their buffs, but my main is going to be an Assassin so I can find my Chanter gear and earn money.

Well I don't really care about the lack of solo-ability, I'ld love to know that the high lvl buffs are worth it. If I'm going to be playing a chanter it'll be as a buffbot (in a utility/support role) and not for easy-mode lvling up etc. (Any former L2 players on here who played Chanter? does it compare to the Prophet/Warcryer? Or is it more a jack-of-all-trades with some mediocre buffs)

Otherwise I'll just go with some rad dps class...

 

[Kweh]

Hmm, i think i'll still give Chanter a go, closest thing to a Bard it seems

 

[Varjis]

I'm going to go Elyos. I wonder if anyone else will. North America seems to have a lot of emo kids who all want to be Emodians. :lol

I'll be going Elyos for this sole reason... more targets with my Ranger.

 

[Broadbandito]

just upgraded my processor so I can officially run this at everything max

 

[Dresden]

Well, closed beta is in about twenty hours--can't wait.

I'll be playing Elyos, probably a Ranger or a Cleric.

 

[matmanx1]

I don't see how WoW's experience is trivial and Aion's is not. You can solo in both. Aion just takes a crapton more of a grind. You don't have to group in Aion at all if you don't want to. You can group in Aion just like you can group in WoW. The main difference here is time. Blizzard wants people to experience the higher end of the game quicker since it's been out longer. Aion's 1.5 patch attempts to accomplish the same. It is no more or less rewarding. The challenge will be entirely time and avoiding the gank.

Also, of course the best rewards are found in the end game area. Game an MMO where that's not the case.

I know you don't hate WoW, but you just attempted to use one to prop up the other without really explaining the difference. The bottom line is that the difference is the time taken to reach cap and PvP. If that's really the true challenge, that's...not much of one at all.

Yeah I didnt do a great job with that post. I'm hoping that the higher time to reach cap coupled with faster exp from a good group vs soloing (or so I hear) will foster a better sense of community and will give time for better players to "shine" so to speak. It would be nice if it even got to the point where you recognized certain enemy players on sight because of their exploits, culminating in a truer server community. (Something sadly lacking in WoW's age of cross server bg's and endless alts).

I think that gets closer to the point I was trying to make. Not that Aion is "better" but just a different flavor and one that I am excited about. Although I do think you are underplaying the effect of a higher time to reach cap + PvP. Or I might be overstating it. We'll see.

 

[LowParry]

It's like fate or something. I got check the mail and I have this refund from my insurance company. It's like..."Aion. You must pre order".......fml.

 

[Arozay]

Got it off Steam today since a couple of mates are in beta. Not expecting it to fare any better than Conan/Warhammer but may as well burn some time.

It's another one of those 'launch the launcher' things in Steam though, then it tries to re-download/install till you handhold it to the /steamapps folder. Then you step back in time and you apparently have 56k when using the NCsoft updater.

 

[Kintaro]

Got it off Steam today since a couple of mates are in beta. Not expecting it to fare any better than Conan/Warhammer but may as well burn some time.

It's another one of those 'launch the launcher' things in Steam though, then it tries to re-download/install till you handhold it to the /steamapps folder. Then you step back in time and you apparently have 56k when using the NCsoft updater.

Yeah. Setting up the client is trash.

 

[koji]

not sure that it will work for a steam purchased version, guess the account info is all you need to actually play the game...

anyway, the client is available for download on gamershell

should be a lot faster than that ncsoft downloader (especially today...)

so just set up a working NCsoft account, dl the client from GH -> install -> update

 

[Otheradam]

They really need to optimize the NCSoft downloader. I'm on FIOS and I was getting like 150kb down on the last beta update.

On another note, what was the name of the asmodian guild/server? Who do I PM to get in?

 

[satori]

Sigh another tease is here. I am really digging this game, and I just wish they open the beta longer than just the weekends ><. Or hell hurry and release the game already! Anyways I made a few char to lvl 25+ and I must say this game is pretty fun.

On the subject of which side to play. I pretty much played all the MMOs that release ever since everquest, and I must say ever since wow, the majority of the "kids" always picks the good side. I always find the mature group going more towards the "evil" side. From Horde in wow, to Destruction in WAR, I always find the community much better on the dark side. I rather play with emo kids than 12 year old boys making loli chars.

A few of my friends are going to play this, I was wondering if most of the Gaffers are going to try to play on the same server and if there going to be a union etc? Being a PVP centered game, I would love to get into a good group of people to enjoy the game with. I dont really care what side, as long as the people I run with is cool and down to earth, then any MMO is fun

 

[Kintaro]

They really need to optimize the NCSoft downloader. I'm on FIOS and I was getting like 150kb down on the last beta update.

On another note, what was the name of the asmodian guild/server? Who do I PM to get in?

the server was...Vaizel? Something to that effect. Can't recall off hand and I'm at work right now.

If the lag is as bad as it was last weekend, I will be one unhappy pappy.

Edit: Server is Vaizel. Sorry bout that. I'll be at work for another 5 hours though so I can't invite. =/ Servers are up.

 

[Ultimatum]

45 minutes until CBT5

EDIT: SERVERS ONLINE NOW

 

[Scum]

45 minutes until CBT5

EDIT: SERVERS ONLINE NOW

Awesome!
But seriously, where are EU gamers hiding?

 

[Ultimatum]

I'm a lvl 30 chanter on Ariel. EU ftw

 

[Scum]

I'm a lvl 30 chanter on Ariel. EU ftw

I'm a lvl 15 16 Gladiator on Ariel too. Any EU NeoGAF guild(s) about? We REALLY should organise one.

 

[Halvie]

Only played for about 20 minutes, but I like it a lot.

 

[Ultimatum]

I'm a lvl 15 16 Gladiator on Ariel too. Any EU NeoGAF guild(s) about? We REALLY should organise one.

I'm leader of Existence (check leaderboards to see who we are) :x sorry

I can contribute money, tips, etc. though

server is pissing me off though, really bad lag atm x_x

 

[soco]

wait there's a CBT this weekend?

that's kinda awesome.

 

[CAW]

Anyone else having login issues? I get to the login page, enter in my information and it just sits there with the music playing in the background. It doesn't actually connect to the server though.

I ran the NC Launcher but it didn't update. Shouldn't there (isn't?) be an update?

Odd.

 

[Kintaro]

No update for this weekend, no.

Login may be clogged with people trying to get on.

Edit: Trying to figure it out if I should bother logging in this weekend or not. No sense in doing much just to get wiped. Don't want to grind myself out...which is a strange, telling sign. =/

 

[Kweh]

Where do you turn invert mouse on?

 

[jersoc]

Where do you turn invert mouse on?

Pretty sure you can't.

I'm taking this weekend off. I'll barely have time to play anyways with work and this will just get wiped. I probably won't play until release, unless OB is 1.5.

 

[Ultimatum]

No update for this weekend, no.

Login may be clogged with people trying to get on.

Edit: Trying to figure it out if I should bother logging in this weekend or not. No sense in doing much just to get wiped. Don't want to grind myself out...which is a strange, telling sign. =/

Just play for fun. Don't grind or anything, no point really. Just go pvp, or try things you haven't tried. It's a beta, test stuff out

 

[Broadbandito]

No update for this weekend, no.

Login may be clogged with people trying to get on.

Edit: Trying to figure it out if I should bother logging in this weekend or not. No sense in doing much just to get wiped. Don't want to grind myself out...which is a strange, telling sign. =/

i sat out of the last 2. I wanna keep as much fresh as I can for the release

 

[Kintaro]

Just play for fun. Don't grind or anything, no point really. Just go pvp, or try things you haven't tried. It's a beta, test stuff out

Uh, well It's like this. I can't PvP unless it's rift PvP and at lvl 19 I'll get murdered anyway. If you go quest/xp, its grinding anyway. I don't feel like starting yet another class to fuck around in either.

So, yeah.

 

[LowParry]

Ya know what's funny is, I had less lag with the Chinese OB compared to this CB. Odd. I'm going caster for sure though with this.

 

[Vinci]

Uh, well It's like this. I can't PvP unless it's rift PvP and at lvl 19 I'll get murdered anyway. If you go quest/xp, its grinding anyway. I don't feel like starting yet another class to fuck around in either.

So, yeah.

Since I've yet to grab the game, can you sort of detail these statement a bit more? I'm curious what you're experiencing.

 

[Ultimatum]

Uh, well It's like this. I can't PvP unless it's rift PvP and at lvl 19 I'll get murdered anyway. If you go quest/xp, its grinding anyway. I don't feel like starting yet another class to fuck around in either.

So, yeah.

Ah, fair enough. In that situation I wouldn't bother Unless you want to try crafting or something.

 

[Kintaro]

Since I've yet to grab the game, can you sort of detail these statement a bit more? I'm curious what you're experiencing.

In regards to which? I'll be happy to explain whatever in detail.

Ah, fair enough. In that situation I wouldn't bother Unless you want to try crafting or something.

I got two crafts up to 100. Make some Shining Steel stuff too! Was hot. :lol No sense in doing anymore though. =P

 

[Vinci]

In regards to which? I'll be happy to explain whatever in detail.

This specifically:

Don't want to grind myself out...which is a strange, telling sign. =/

'Cause I've felt similarly in MMOs before and that's usually when I'm about to cancel my account. But I don't want to make assumptions based on your feelings, so I'm curious what specifically you mean by 'a strange, telling sign.'

 

[Buggy Loop]

I think he's mostly talking about spending time in a game "grinding" your way up in levels only to have everything deleted in 72 hours, 1 times' ok, 2 is getting on my nerves and 3rd time i dont even know why i would bother and i just wait till retail so im not wiped. Betas are like that but starting over and over from scratch can be annoying.

 

[Kintaro]

'Cause I've felt similarly in MMOs before and that's usually when I'm about to cancel my account. But I don't want to make assumptions based on your feelings, so I'm curious what specifically you mean by 'a strange, telling sign.'

Well, it depends on the class I suppose. I play a Templar. In PvE I take little damage, but it takes a bit to kill some mobs. There are plenty of quests to go around from 1-20. No sweat. However, due to the mob types, it can feel grindy on Templar. For example, in quests, on the Asmodian side (I play the most and remember the most) you will fight these gopher type mobs. Again and again and again and AGAIN. They aren't so tough really but their protectors are BITCHES. The Gophers can call up to 2 of these Maus (the type of mob) to protect them making a lot of quests tedious as hell.

Then, around level 17-20 or so, you will get Elite/Group quests in Mau territory. These are fun when you pick up the quests and get them down. However, completing just the quests will NOT level you to lvl 20 for the next area to progress in. So you will either have to a) grind on Elites, which can be fun or b) grind solo until 19-20. As a Templar...it can get a bit boring.

So, I don't want to burn myself out by continuing on to another area just to get wiped. Templar is a slow starter in this game. =x

 

[Vinci]

I think he's mostly talking about spending time in a game "grinding" your way up in levels only to have everything deleted in 72 hours, 1 times' ok, 2 is getting on my nerves and 3rd time i dont even know why i would bother and i just wait till retail so im not wiped. Betas are like that but starting over and over from scratch can be annoying.

Ah yes. I went through that with WAR's betas. Not so confusing after all, was just curious. That said, I think it's best to do one class per beta, then move to a totally different class for the following ones. Seems to relieve some of the 'been there, done that' feeling and also helps you appreciate what other classes bring to the table.

Well, it depends on the class I suppose. I play a Templar. In PvE I take little damage, but it takes a bit to kill some mobs. There are plenty of quests to go around from 1-20. No sweat. However, due to the mob types, it can feel grindy on Templar. For example, in quests, on the Asmodian side (I play the most and remember the most) you will fight these gopher type mobs. Again and again and again and AGAIN. They aren't so tough really but their protectors are BITCHES. The Gophers can call up to 2 of these Maus (the type of mob) to protect them making a lot of quests tedious as hell.

Then, around level 17-20 or so, you will get Elite/Group quests in Mau territory. These are fun when you pick up the quests and get them down. However, completing just the quests will NOT level you to lvl 20 for the next area to progress in. So you will either have to a) grind on Elites, which can be fun or b) grind solo until 19-20. As a Templar...it can get a bit boring.

So, I don't want to burn myself out by continuing on to another area just to get wiped. Templar is a slow starter in this game. =x

Oh yeah, if you're set on that particular class I'd stop. That would be annoying as hell. Thanks for clarifying, man.

 

[rocK`]

Is it time to roll out an official thread followed by the GAF hype train?

 

[Kintaro]

Is it time to roll out an official thread followed by the GAF hype train?

Nah, there's still awhile yet to go.

I may dabble a bit this weekend...maybe try Assassin or Sorceror something. I dunno. I'm set on Templar though. I want people to really think about engaging me in PvP, otherwise I'll stonewall the shit out of them. :lol

 

[Angry Grimace]

My wife wants to give this a go, but I can't see the purpose in playing the Beta anymore since I have to do it again anyways. I may not even let her know there is a CB this weekend since I can't get her off my computer otherwise.

Obviously hoping the official release is more polished than the Betas have been.

Since I'm not really planning to play this super long term, I think I might go with a mage-type class; a class I never really rolled in WoW or other games where you pick a single class to play.

 

[Kintaro]

My wife wants to give this a go, but I can't see the purpose in playing the Beta anymore since I have to do it again anyways. I may not even let her know there is a CB this weekend since I can't get her off my computer otherwise.

Obviously hoping the official release is more polished than the Betas have been.

Since I'm not really planning to play this super long term, I think I might go with a mage-type class; a class I never really rolled in WoW or other games where you pick a single class to play.

There should be an open beta as well where she can try it out.

 

[Vanillalite]

I just got one for like 20 mins, but it was laggy as hell. I mean I was always good FPS wise in that I was always 30 fps + even in the busy spots, and normally in the 40s or 50s with most things maxed or almost maxed out.

Yet the net lag was ridiculous. Clicking on quest givers, firing off spells, watching players move around was all lagtastic. I rerolled to play with some friends, and got to the first town then decided to call it. It was hard to play with that kind of lag.

 

[Kintaro]

I just got one for like 20 mins, but it was laggy as hell. I mean I was always good FPS wise in that I was always 30 fps + even in the busy spots, and normally in the 40s or 50s with most things maxed or almost maxed out.

Yet the net lag was ridiculous. Clicking on quest givers, firing off spells, watching players move around was all lagtastic. I rerolled to play with some friends, and got to the first town then decided to call it. It was hard to play with that kind of lag.

The lag is still there? I'm betting Gameguard is is the reason things are fucking up. I've been reading reports of that being the cause of it.

 

[KaYotiX]

Loving my Guardian!!! I was a chanter but decided i want a tank char this time around.

 

[Scum]

Disconnections! :-(