Review by: Toni Schwartz

It’s been over a month since Aion’s debut, and in spite of a few bumps, it was a relatively smooth launch. Players during the first two weeks saw long server queues, which NC Soft quickly remedied. Then there was the inevitable invasion of chat and mail spam from gold sellers and powerleveling companies, which again was swiftly solved (though from time to time an occasional spam message or two still leaks through). Server crashes occurred frequently during the first month, but that too has ceased. Now that things have relatively stabilized, one question remains – should you give Aion a try? Only grind lovers and PVP specialists need apply.

The primary focus of Aion is PvP, and it’s evidenced as early as character creation. When you make your first toon, you’re also choosing a side, as you must stick to one race per server. Not only does this prevent any spying, but it also fosters a sense of community among players, an “us vs. them” mentality. NC Soft also appears to take this a step further by balancing out the percentage of Elyos and Asmodians that can be created on a server. Of course, the number of players that actually actively participate in PvP across various servers is a different story.

When you start out you don’t really have a class but are more of an archetype and spend the first nine levels deciding on your eventual class. For example, the warrior archetype splits off into a straight up tank (Templar) or DPS melee (Gladiator) class. At level 10 you experience Ascension, a special rite of passage in which you become a Daeva, an immortal and divine being. When you Ascend you not only get to choose your permanent class, but you also earn your first set of wings. This is supposed to be the biggest draw of the game, next to PvP. Indeed, it is very cool to fly, better than a winged mount. There’s something liberating about soaring high in the air, without a care in the world. It also adds a whole new dimension to PvP since you can fight your opponents in the air, which can be pretty epic.

It’s then disappointing to discover that flight is extremely limited in Aion. At level 10 you can only stay aloft for one minute, and the main questing areas are no-fly zones. What’s the point of giving you wings if you can’t use them in most areas? Fortunately, you can glide for short periods of time in some cases to compensate and granted, you can upgrade your wings at level 30 and 40 and have access to more flyable areas when you reach higher levels, but when a game hypes up the flight aspect as much as Aion does, you expect that you’d be able to fly anywhere, anytime. (i.e. Champions Online)

Those wanting to PvP get their first taste of blood at level 20, via “rifts” scattered around random parts of the map. These rifts are portals between Elysea and Asmodae that allow a small amount of people to enter the other world for a short time (a 30-minute window). If you enter a rift, you’re free to roam enemy territory and merrily gank people left and right – that is, until the whole server is alerted to your presence and a hunting party forms to take you out.