Aion (computer game)

Aion
Original title	Hangeul : 아이온: 영원 의 탑
Studio	NCsoft
Publisher	Gameforge 4D
Erstveröffent- lichung	November 25, 2008 April 16, 2009 September 22, 2009 September 25, 2009
platform	Windows
Game engine	CryEngine
genre	Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Subject	Fantasy
Game mode	Multiplayer
control	Keyboard , mouse
system advantages preconditions	Minimum: Pentium 4 2.8 GHz CPU, AMD Athlon 2800; 1 GB RAM; Nvidia 5900 Ultra, ATI Radeon x700; 60 GB hard disk space; Recommended: Pentium Dual Core, AMD Athlon 64 X2; 2 GB RAM; Nvidia 6800, ATI Radeon X800; 60 GB hard disk space;
language	German
Age rating	USK PEGI

Aion: The Tower of Eternity ( Hangeul : 아이온: 영원 의 탑 ) is a free-to-play MMORPG that has been published in South Korea , the People's Republic of China , Europe and the USA . The game is being developed by NCsoft , a game developer from Korea. Aion combines the game principles of player versus player and player versus environment in a fantasy world . A feature of this game is the fact that the player has the ability to explore the world with wings. NCsoft licensed the CryEngine in order to achieve the highest possible graphic quality, which is to distinguish Aion from other MMORPGs. Aion was released in Europe on September 25, 2009 and converted to a free-to-play model on February 29, 2012. In North America, Aion was converted to a free-to-play model on April 11, 2012.

History and races

The action takes place in the world of Atreia, the planet is similar to the earth, but the world is turned inward, the function of the sun is fulfilled by a gigantic column that extends vertically inside from the upper half of the planet to the lower half. It is the home of God and Creator of the world Aion.

In the beginning of time, the god Aion created humans, animals and the Balaur. The dragon-like lizard beings (both in four-legged dragon form with wings, as well as in humanoid two-legged kind) were created to monitor and protect the other beings. The Balaur, however, decided against this role after some time and led by their powerful Balaur rulers they stood up to their creator and demanded his power from Aion for themselves. They covered the other races with death and slavery. Aion saw his mistake and called those who were still free to his tower, surrounded it with an impenetrable shield of ether and thus protected his "children". In order to defy the Balaur, Aion created 12 human-like luminous etheric beings with gigantic power, angelic, beautiful and strong, they stood up to the lizard beings, known as the Empyrean Lords. They gathered mortals around them, filling them with ether in order to create the Daevas out of them: winged immortal beings with great strength, who represented the army of Aion and the mortals. The war between them and the Balaur lasts forever and great losses were recorded on both sides, this period is known as the Millennium War.

Tired of war and hoping for peace, the mistress Ariel consulted with the other Empyrean lords and proposed a negotiation with the Balaur. Some were in favor, others against - but the majority made up their minds and agreed to a peace negotiation, the message was delivered to the Balaur and, to the astonishment of some, the Balaur rulers agreed to the conversation. And the day came when the Empyrean Lords lowered the aether shield and admitted the gigantic Balaur rulers to the tower to negotiate a peace. It is not entirely clear who attacked whom during the negotiation, however one Balaur lord was killed and the others began to rage in their rage over the betrayal and titanic forces of destruction were unleashed inside the negotiation room at the center of the Tower of Eternity. The tower broke as a result of the angry forces and the world threatened to end. In an act of desperation, Lord Israphel and Lady Siel, the Empyrean Lords of Time and Space, sacrificed themselves and gave their life essence to save the tower. However, it was too late, the tower broke in half and the planet Atreia broke in half.

From here the historiography of the people separates. Those who lived in the lower part of the tower and went out into the world again discover that their half is warmed by a nearby sun and that they were in a blooming, fertile paradise, but the tower, which used to give light and warmth, was extinguished was. Five Empyrean rulers also survived in the lower part, taking the surviving people under their protection. Together they built a beautiful flying city called Sanctum and began their lives in this wonderful paradisiacal world under the protective wings of the five etheric beings, who now call themselves Seraph Lords. From then on, these people called themselves Elyos and their world Elysea.

The survivors of the upper half found, when they left the tower and went out into the world, that their world was cold and fruitless. Many parts covered with snow and ice, others barren, swampy and everywhere dangerous animals and other creatures lurked in the darkness. Only the lands that received the last rays of light from the tower were reasonably fertile and provided them with food. Holding together and protecting one another, they learned to survive in this hell. They also had five Empyrean Lords still alive. With their help, they adapted, built their magnificent city, Pandaemonium, and called themselves Asmodians from then on. Their etheric beings were named Shedim Lords and their land has been known as Asmodae ever since.

Thus there are four main races for the game:

• Elyos : Beautiful people with light hair and skin tones live in Elysea, the idyllic and light-flooded part of Atreia, their capital: Sanctum.

• Asmodians : Beings adapted to their barren and dangerous world Asmodae. Skin and hair rather dark, bluish or purple tones, claw-like hands and feet, long fur-like hair growth along the spine, their capital: pandemonium.

• Balaur : This main race is not playable, the dragon beings are the main enemies of the Elyos, Asmodians and Reian. Their homeland is known under the name Balaurea, which is on the outside of the upper hemisphere of Atreia. Similar to the Elyos and Asmodians, the Balaur also have several masters with great power.

• Reian : This main race has appeared since patch "3.0" and, like the Balaur, is not playable. The Reians look like people with white hair and skin tone. Unlike Elyos and Asmodians, they have pink wings which are permanently visible on their backs. Their home is Sarpan, their leader is called Kahrun and their capital is called Kamar.

Game design

So that there is no power imbalance between the two factions, Aion balances the number of players from the Elyos and Asmodians on each server.

The main component of the game is the so-called player-versus-player-versus-environment system (PvPvE system), which enables the player to fight both simple monsters, the opposing people and a computer-controlled race (Balaur). The Balaur represent the balance here, as they attack both sides of the player and are hostile to all of them.

After you have chosen one of the races "Elyos" or "Asmodians", you can choose one of the six basic classes, each of which offers two specializations from level 9. There are class-specific differences between the races. There are seven different professions and two collecting professions that can be learned in Aion.

Playable classes

There are six main classes in Aion. From the ninth level you have to choose a subclass. Here is a list of the main and associated subclasses:

• Scout
  • Hunter

Hunters are excellent archers who are also very good at handling swords and daggers. They are skilled observers, keep a close eye on their surroundings and adapt their tactics accordingly. Because of this, they can survive even in the most inhospitable environments.

Important properties: agility, health, precision

• Assassin

Assassins are masters of camouflage and quick, brutal attack. They know how to hide themselves masterfully in the shadows and choose their targets with caution before paralyzing the opponent without warning.

Important characteristics: agility, precision, strength

• warrior
  • gladiator

Gladiators live and die by the sword. They have mastered the mastery of many different weapons and have different fighting techniques that are tailored precisely to the properties of their weapons.

Important qualities: strength, health, agility

• Templar

Templars are protectors who stand ready for defense with sword and shield. Templars use chants or incantations to protect and heal themselves and their allies. Most often, they fight on the front lines.

Important qualities: strength, health, precision

• magician
  • wizard

Wizards are masters of the elements water, fire, air and earth. Their most powerful ally is the ether itself. With their diverse spells and magical firepower, they can decide the outcome of entire battles on their own.

Important qualities: knowledge, health, will

• Summoner

Summoners harness the power of their elementals to terrify their enemies. You can summon powerful companions with different offensive and tactical merits in battle.

Important qualities: knowledge, health, will

• priest
  • cleric

Clerics use the power of magic to empower their allies, heal their wounds, and revive them after defeat. But don't think clerics are tender. Chain armor, maces and shields make them extremely stable opponents.

Important qualities: will, knowledge, health

• cantor

Cantors manifest the power of their faith to aid their allies. Although they can wield a staff and heal their allies in combat, their main skill is to strengthen their allies with their iron discipline and to raise morale with their mantras.

Important qualities: strength, precision, will, health

• engineer
  • Sagittarius

Riflemen use aether weapons, the aether cannons and the revolvers, with which they carry out powerful ranged attacks. They can also carry one-handed and two-handed weapons. Two-handed weapons include powerful cannons.

• Ethertech

The Aethertech is a sophisticated fighter who can summon a Mech and thus cast strong physical but also magical blows and spells. He can also inflict damage to protect his allies. However, he does not come close to the skills of a Templar. Important characteristics: knowledge, precision

• Artist
  • bard

Bards use stringed instruments to silence their opponents with the power of music. You can use various silencing spells with which you can render the enemy harmless. Bards can become strong opponents in combat if they use the power of notes and music.

The Abyss (Reshanta)

As a world with jagged islands suspended in the ether, the Abyss serves as the central battlefield. Divided into three levels, there are fortresses and artifacts that can be conquered. If a fortress belongs to your own faction, you get access to an instance and lower dealer prices. Conquered artifacts give strengthening effects (buffs) in certain areas, which can strongly influence a conquering battle. The conquest of fortresses is tied to fixed times in the game, at which some fortresses can be attacked. The entire Abyss is a flight area.

With Update 6.0 and the resurrection of Ereshkigal, most of the Abyss was destroyed. Only the core in which the gods fortress is located was preserved.

To fly

From the ninth level there is the possibility of accepting a special quest, in the course of which one becomes an airworthy "Daeva". When you finish the quest, you immediately rise to the tenth level. From this point on you have the opportunity to fly in certain areas for a certain period of time, after which the "flight time" slowly regenerates. The basic flight time is one minute, which can be increased with better wings, jewelry, titles, skills, or manastones.

Inventory and storage locations

You can get an almost complete inventory ingame, with the first three rows being increased to 10 rows. Another two rows can be acquired through the use of real money in the shop or indirectly through veteran rewards. A total of 12 rows can be purchased.

To get to the ranks without real money, there are a few guides in which each step is explained individually. Some of the places can be bought from various NPCs, others have to be earned through quests. From level 36 it is possible to unlock the last row and thus own all 10 (+2 with real money).

Furthermore, it is possible to obtain even more space by expanding your own storage space (with in-game currency), you can also use a legionary warehouse to obtain more space, but only tradable items can be stored here, as these can also be used by other (authorized) Legion members can be removed. If that's not enough, there is also the option of setting up various chests of drawers in your own accommodation (apartment / house / villa / property), which provide up to three extra rows. The following applies: same type of chest of drawers = same content.

Last but not least, there are pets with storage spaces, the same applies here: if one pet has 6 spaces, for example, and another has the same, the same content is in these. Pets with storage spaces can be bought in-game as well as through the shop; in the shop, packages of pets with different storage sizes are sold which bring a total of up to 152 additional storage spaces.

Publications

Aion was released in Korea on December 25, 2008. On March 26, 2009, the final closed beta started in China.

The release date of Aion for Europe was September 25th, 2009 and for the USA it was September 22nd, 2009. With a PreOrder code, it was possible to play in Europe from September 16th, 2009 and you received exclusive in-game items .

At the end of January 2012, the operation of the European version of NCsoft was transferred to Gameforge . After a two-week beta phase, the game has been free to play since February 29, 2012 , and is financed by micro-payments in an item shop.

On June 20, 2013 Gameforge announced the 4.0 update. Two new game classes, the shooter and the bard, were included in the game. In addition, the maximum level will be raised from 60 to 65 and three new areas and six instances will be made available.

Gameforge announced new language versions of AION on June 7, 2013. From July 31, 2013, Spanish, Italian and Polish were available to players of the MMORPG. From September 2013 Aion was also playable in Turkish.

On April 10, 2014, AION 4.5 was implemented in the game with a new class, the Aethertech. New instances such as B. the defense tower of the Ruhn found its way into the new update.

From update 4.7 on, another new PvP raid zone (Pangea) was added, as well as 2 new worlds (namely Signia and Vengar). In addition, older instances have been revised for level 65 characters (e.g. Lost Rentus Base), the Stigmen system has been renewed and new instances have been added.

With patch 6.0 on September 19, 2018, the developers tried to revive the old times and bring the game back to its former glory. In Korea the most serious change was that the game became Free2Play with the patch. A major change is probably the new currency system, which no longer makes trading Kinah between players possible and has abolished all "old" Kinah. Players have to start over to earn their currency.

Awards

• Press vote at G-Star 2007: “Best G-Star 2007 game”.
• Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Co-Sponsor): Award for Best Game of the Year 2008.
• Gamescom Award 2009: "Best Online Game".

criticism

Aion uses the NProtect GameGuard software from INCA Internet to protect against hacks, cheats and bots, which has been criticized because it is deeply integrated into the player's system with its own driver and is difficult to remove again. In particular, this driver appears to use rootkit- like techniques to hide the game process and monitor the computer's memory for suspicious software. There is also an unpatched security hole in the driver that can be used for local privilege escalation . Gameforge has now announced that it will use the GameGuard software in the future, but implementation has been postponed until further notice due to the introduction of the 64-bit client.

Other serious points of criticism are the balancing of the individual servers. With the former, Gameforge decided to merge the 3 German servers Vehalla, Balder and Kromede as well as other foreign servers. The game is now also being sold on Steam in order to counteract the sharp decline in the number of players.

Web links

• Official website for Aion (Europe)
• Aion Official Website (North America)
• Aion Review

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Limitations . aionfreetoplay.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
2. ↑ 'Truly-Free' preload landing page, explaining the service . Truly-free.aiononline.com. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
3. ↑ YouCreation - unlock all inventory slots, guide for Asmodians and Elyos. In: YouCreation. June 24, 2014, accessed September 29, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Finally !! Aion China Close Beta Date ~ - AionSource.com - Powered by the Tower of Eternity. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 4, 2009 ; accessed on August 28, 2013 . 
5. ^ Aion: Ascension Truly Free. Retrieved August 28, 2013 . 
6. ↑ AION: Update 4.0 announced - MMORPG.de. Retrieved August 28, 2013 . 
7. ↑ AION: Language versions Spanish, Italian and Polish announced - MMORPG.de. Retrieved on August 28, 2013 (German). 
8. ↑ Aion: Best Game On The Show. Retrieved August 28, 2013 . 
9. ↑ Award: Best Korean Game 2008! - Aion-ToE.de. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original ; accessed on August 28, 2013 (German). 
10. ↑ High possibility of nProtect Gameguard being a rootkit. - Wilders Security Forums. Retrieved August 28, 2013 . 
11. ↑ Security Advisory SA13928 - nProtect Gameguard npptnt2.vxd Unrestricted I / O Vulnerability - Secunia. Retrieved August 28, 2013 . 
12. ↑ INCA nProtect Gameguard Unprivileged Arbitrary Read / Write Access Vulnerability. Retrieved August 28, 2013 . 
13. ^ Aion: Ascension Truly Free. Retrieved August 28, 2013 .