Aion Dates to Remember and My Plans

There has been a lot of speculation from the community and vendors regarding these dates, but we finally have official dates for the Aion launch schedule.

Open Beta: September 6 (Sunday) – 13 (Sunday)

Server and Character pre-selection: September 18 (Friday)

Head Start: September 20  (Sunday)

Launch: September 22 (Tuesday)

I’ve avoided playing the Aion beta beyond level 18 and have not given in to the hype-machine, or allowed it to consume my every waking thought, as I have with past launches.  The result, I believe, will result in a much greater enjoyment of Aion.  I’m excited for the game to go live after what feels like endless waiting and self-control this summer.

The K&G Commnunity will be playing together as usual.  We’re joining forces with another group (founded as a guild by another member in our community) to form a Legion (guild).  We’ll be playing Asmodians at launch.  Our Open Beta plans are still being finalized, but we know that we’re going to all play together to have fun during the OB week.  Our Launch server choice is unknown as of this entry, but we’re currently figuring out where the best place for us will be – ideally avoiding the asshattery and elite crowds while still getting ourselves on a high-pop server.  Be sure to stop by our Aion forum if you’re interested in playing with us or just want to know where we end up during OB and Launch.

It looks like Aion will be the only polished and consistent mmorpg gaming out there for many of us until Cataclysm and/or SWTOR.   I plan to make the most of it.

NCsoft has released information about the Beta Client and how you can get it early.  Take advantage of it now because if it’s anything like the past few test weekends the speeds are going to be a bit slow.

  • I’ve been slowly giving in to giving this game a try. Didn’t seem like my type of game at first, but pressure from friends/brothers has probably pushed me to preorder.

    Question. Is the CE edition worth it? Are the items included something that I won’t use after level 5 (like WAR) or are they worth it.

    Thanks.

  • I also don’t understand the “Server and Character pre-selection”. What is that for? 2 days to pick your character and server, but can’t play?

  • @Howdy Doody: CE is worth it if you go the Digital Download version of it. It’s only $10 more, but you get the in-game stuff and only miss out on a fugly statue and other crap usually stuffed in a cupboard.

    Server and Character pre-selection is a gimmick really. You get to make your character, name him/her, choose your server, and get completely ready for the headstart – essentially the only thing you’ll have to do on the headstart day is log in.

    @Wickidd: Look for a blog post of mine that’s coming up tomorrow morning (it’s written and scheduled to post). I need your advice. I’m looking forward to playing with you again (maybe in more than one game).

  • Woot, thanks for posting this Keen. I’ve been pretty busy IRL for a while now, so I’d kind of lost touch with the game a little. I’ll be there though, ready to roll with everyone in the community!

  • @Howdy Doody

    The Digital CE is well worth the cost IMO, mostly because of the wings that add 40 seconds of flight time. You start with only 60 seconds of flight time and the first wing upgrade is at level 30 and adds 30 seconds, you will only replace the CE wings at level 40 for the +60 second wings, and it’s going to take quite a while to get that far. You also get and item that gives a 20% exp boost for 1 hour with a 10 hour cool-down, should help with leveling a bit.

  • Played 2 CB’s, and although the game looks remarkably great, there is absolutely nothing in there that would get me buying and subbing the game.
    It really is the same old crap again, this time it’s just beautifully gift wrapped in awesome graphics. Tbh, I have more hope in SW:TOR, at least that game is gonna try to do some things differently…

  • So,everyone is getting ready(excited)Looking forward to play too but I’ll be on EU side on launch day.

    It will really be my first step in Atreia on that day as I have not done any beta until now.

  • I tried to like Aion, but it’s just another hotbar-driven quest grind, and I’ve somehow managed to fall out of love with those games.

    Hoping I get over that particular burnout, because MMOs seem to be stuck on that model for now.

  • Problem: I tried installing the client and it says I don’t have a compatible version of Windows. Aion only for 32-bit? If so… it’s FTL. :/

  • @Alex Taldren: It’s for 64-bit as well Alex. Do you have 64-bit Windows 7 though? Some people have had a lot of trouble with Windows 7 compatibility and some haven’t had any at all. I wish I had more info, but google around and you’ll find help. Here’s a forum post on our forums about some Windows 7 probs.

    @Andrew: Definitely lots of quests and a very quest driven atmosphere, but I found Aion to offer an alternative to the quest grind quite early (and it lasts): Group dungeon/elite region groups. It feels like leveling up in DAOC (pre-ToA). There’s also the Abyss where I hear it feels like leveling in the DAOC Frontiers. Aion isn’t anything new, but we don’t always need something new; sometimes the same stuff but better is fun.

  • Who wants to bet that Keen begins to lose interest in Aion after about a month and a half? Keen you know you do not like Korean mmo’s so why bother? I would bet you really are not that excited but will suffer through Aion for a few months, perhaps, just because you have hyped it. Aion’s grind and always underlying Korean feel makes me want to vomit in my mouth.

  • @JohnnyLane: Hey, I stuck with WAR for at least 2 months. Aion’s a shoo-in for at least that long. 😉 If it were like other Korean games, I would have snubbed it a while ago. I liked what I played until the teens and then stopped playing beta. I avoided the hype, avoided even really talking about it and tried not to think about it. Hype it, I did not.

    I’m hoping this approach works better than getting excited for something. We’ll have to see.

  • Thanks for writing up those dates. I’m finding it hard to keep track of everything! Do you know if the beta download will be the same client used for the live game? My beta says Aion – US but I think my account is EU only. All slightly confusing.

  • Good question. The NA client and the EU account could cause you some trouble. I would make a post on the Aionsource question board and ask them if you’ll run into trouble – they’re usually helpful over there.

    I’m assuming that NCsoft will stick to what we’ve come to accept as the ‘norm’ with beta clients and have this be patched to the retail one. I can’t remember the last time I had to re-download a new client after beta to play retail.

  • From my experience, Dl’n the full client has given me less problems then patching a beta client. If your internet provider isnt capping your activity, or you have a decent cap, then I would suggest just downloading the full client. Fileplanet has the latest full client and it’s about 3 gigs larger then my beta client. Ncsoft i believe has also gone the way of the almight torrent. They are hosting a tracker for bittorrent so u can also go that route. Also as Keen said, it is x64 capable, but from my experience vista x64 has given me more issues playing then win7 x64. As a suggestion, if possible, if u have the space and capabilities, do what i do, dual boot xp x86 on a separate drive or partition, and play on there until whatever issues they may have, usually drivers, are sorted out.