Greetings all~
I thought it was high time we did a little round up to see what’s going on around the place, as well as strike up a campfire conversation or two with folks who are out there getting amongst the Aion action.
It’s been a hell of a few weeks, what with 1.9 going live a mere six weeks ago, server merges today, the Dash of the Daeva’s competition, and player transfer service rolling out in the next few days . I know the NCsofties (as I like to call them) have been running ragged, especially in response to the overwhelming feedback in regards to character name conflicts.
On the Source side of campfire, it’s been a bit like working in a bouncy castle. A few people land then the poor bugger on the other corner goes flying ten feet in the air. Hell after merging the server forums at the last minute, I think our Cynic is running on little more than sugar and oxygen at this point. There certainly hasn’t been a lot of sleep involved! *hugs*
Before we all jump on the next band wagon (That’s right you! Get your foot off that sodding wagon!) I figure it’s a good time to take stock of where we are. Like a wise person once said, there’s a mountain ahead but before we climb it, let’s not forget to look at how far we’ve come.
1.9 Patch – 2 June 2010
I think the biggest thing server side that’s hit our screens since the launch back in September 2009 is the release of the Aion 1.9 patch on 2 June 2010. We first started hearing about 1.9 in a big way back in February, followed by secret meeting notes and translated Korean patch notes scattered about in March, and lastly a whole lot of hype in April/May as we drew closer to release.
It’s almost hard to believe it’s been only six weeks since the 1.9 patch rolled out the red carpet on the live Aion servers. It seems like longer right? I seem to recall it was tough on NA/EU folks waiting three months after the juicy bits were released. We knew the Korean gamers already had their paws on it and we wanted the precious for ourselves…err…I mean the patch.
In the beginning, I think a few people weren’t convinced that 1.9 was exactly what it said on the tin. The patch was hailed by NCsoft to be a mega response to player requested improvements. After experiencing the full patch and discovering things like being able to modify Miragent/Fenris armor, new group finding window, trade broker calculator options, new morphs, unbundling items, costumes and Flux brokers…well, it spoke for itself really. I for one was a happy camper!
If you missed out on the details of the 1.9 patch, you can catch up on the complete patch notes, and a Q&A from Aion’s producer, Chris “Kinslon” Hager.
Divine Fortress rofl-stomped
After the 1.9 update, one of the biggest things I noticed on each server was the sudden surge of planning among server factions to capture Divine Fortress. Before the patch, legions seemed content to steer clear of this fortress, tossing it firmly into the “too hard” basket.
It was a shame seeing such a prestigious fortress never changing colour. The only successful attempt in the whole NA/EU set under “old school” rules was made by the players of the old Suthran [FR] server. I think it’s safe to say they’ll be keeping the title forevermore as the only players to have done it, because the rules have now changed. The goal posts are wider, the keep walls are lower, and someone made off with one of the deities!
Before the end of June, we saw the first five Divine fortress captures complete, marking the beginning of a rapidly changing Abyss. My own legion was the sixth to tag our name to Divine on Gorgos (gogo tG!). I can honestly say I haven’t had that much fun in an MMO before. The cheer that went up on our VoIP nearly blew my speakers, and I’m sure my neighbours thought I was having a party, but hell it was great fun!
Server Merges – 14 July 2010
I think it’s safe to say this has been a hot topic, of molten lava proportions, over the past week.
For those of you out of the loop, we first caught sight of confirmed server merge plans on 24 June. The initial announcement talked of NA/EU merging 32 servers down to 13 on June 8th, but this was later pushed back to the 14th. Precise details can be found in the Server Merge FAQ.
After overwhelming feedback from the community on the merges (31 page thread anyone?), NCsoft were able to respond with firm plans to offer an appeal process to resolve player name conflicts (thank god!). I know a huge number of players were relieved by this, including myself. It might all be pixels at the end of the day, but for many players maintaining an identity is an important aspect of being motivated to continue being part of an online community.
Thank you to everyone at NCwest for taking us all seriously and pushing for the name conflict issue to be resolved before the merge. In particular, thanks to Ayase for stepping in so regularly on Aion Source, despite the brutal reception you received at times. I don’t envy the job you guys do and I’m stunned at what you have to endure at times.
On a light hearted note, thank you to the person who PM’d me suggesting I should change….certain people’s names to….TamatQQ and AyaseMM in retaliation if it all went to pot! Needless to say, I won’t be doing that, but the idea did make me laugh my socks off.
To round off the server merges on a more positive note, and no doubt to encourage players to work together in their new found server environment, the Dash of the Daeva’s event was announced yesterday. PvP players won’t want to miss out on this one!
Player Transfers – 15 July 2010
Yes, you read correctly! Barely moments after the dust settles on server merges, the flood gates will open to free server transfers up until 25 August 2010. We’re told that during this time you will be able to transfer as many characters to new homes as you like, without paying a transfer fee.
Now I’ve spoken to a few unknowing players on servers across NA and EU tonight (bwuhahaha secret agent Bunny!) and it’s looking like there is some general unrest after the merges. A few people are feeling disoriented and the LFG channel is rampant with conversations that can only be described as “boys waving about their e-peen” to impress newcomers.
This is bound to happen, and the dust will settle once people/legions get to know each other, so personally I would caution anyone against making a hasty decision to use the free transfer service straight away. The term jumping out of the fry pan into the fire comes to mind lol.
Specific details on how to transfer will no doubt be available from the NCsofties shortly, so stay tuned.
Aion Patch 2.0 Assault on Balaurea – 7 September 2010
I don’t think I could sum up the amount of content in the next Aion patch, entitled Assault on Balaurea, at least not in a mere couple of paragraphs. In a word, this patch is going to be epic and we’ve been told for some time now that we’ll see it in the Fall of this year. No, not soon…Fall!
Now, finally thank Aion, we have a confirmed release date for NA/EU of 7 September 2010!!
If you missed the preview, be sure to check it out. Also, if you missed the initial patch notes, those are definitely worth a read but be warned they are very looooong (hey, it can’t be a bad thing!). Just for starters the pets look absolutely adorable, but I can’t friggen wait to be able to form Alliance Associations during sieges.
The Balaur Who Shagged Me?
In case you missed it, a freelance MMO writer was nice enough to grace us with a little ditty from his creative side a couple of weeks ago. I’m intrigued beyond words and can’t wait to see what he comes up with next time. Thanks very much again to Astri for sharing this with us!
Ode to BennyLava
Waitwut? Seriously…wut? Our Snoozle was feeling musical the other day and decided to compose a little sonnet to the tune of Robert Mackenzie. I don’t know what to think really…
Definitely the biggest
What started as an innocent “are you bored at work” thread in the old Lumiel server section has become something of a monster on the forum, growing to a massive 765 pages. Now relocated to the Israphel [East] server section, the monster continues to grow…and I can’t work out why lol.
Incoming Summer Aion competition
You heard it here first! We’re looking at cooking up something fun over the Summer and we’re open to player suggested ideas for the next big competition. We have loads of swag to give away, so if you have an idea you’d like to share please don’t hesitate to drop me a PM over the next week or so.
Moderators and Content Writers wanted!
We’re currently looking for new moderators and content writers to get amongst the action with us, particularly now that things are steaming up in Aion. If you think you possess the required predisposition (no we don’t all wear tin foil hats…well not anymore…Cynic confiscated them) then feel free to drop myself or Cynic a PM telling us a little about yourself and how you see yourself contributing to the team.
I’m always on the lookout for fun tools and gadgets, so I thought I’d share a few of the ones that caught my eye lately:
- Aion persona for Firefox – https://addons.mozil…ox/addon/50521/
- Aion Asmo persona for Firefox – http://www.getperson…S/persona/73664
- The Aion Toolbar – http://theaiontoolba…n-toolbar-help/
- Aion drop down menu for Firefox – https://addons.mozil…ox/addon/59196/
- Aion iGoogle widget – http://www.google.co…aion-status.xml
- Elyos / Asmodian translator with symbols – http://www.mybloodyfinger.com/aion/
Enjoy! 
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