Why does Aion keep loosing subs?

Aceundor · January 2010

Disclaimer: Ok, its an assumption. If the game is growing please enlighten me.

I have been reading the Aion forums from time to time and read many oppinions on the game. However I have the impression that the playerbase is slowly being reduced.

When Aion launched it was hailed as one of the most polished MMO releases in a long long time and the fans were besides themselves over how good it ran and how much fun it was.

Nowadays there is not much positive feedback. From what I read Aion has a couple of problems

1) Grind - many enjoy it, while even more people hate it.

2) Bots, hackers, goldspammers, etc aka - illegal activity.

3) Poor customer service

Now my question to the community is:

Will this decline stop? And if so, how can it be stopped?

Phry · January 2010

Originally posted by Aceundor

Disclaimer: Ok, its an assumption. If the game is growing please enlighten me.
I have been reading the Aion forums from time to time and read many oppinions on the game. However I have the impression that the playerbase is slowly being reduced.
When Aion launched it was hailed as one of the most polished MMO releases in a long long time and the fans were besides themselves over how good it ran and how much fun it was.
Nowadays there is not much positive feedback. From what I read Aion has a couple of problems
1) Grind - many enjoy it, while even more people hate it.

2) Bots, hackers, goldspammers, etc aka - illegal activity.

3) Poor customer service

Now my question to the community is:
Will this decline stop? And if so, how can it be stopped?

2 - 3 months after a games release, most of the people who are going to leave will have done so, its entirely normal, people try a game, and they either like it, hate it.. or eventually get bored of it.. and if you find the secret of how to stop it... im sure there are game companies out there who are willing to pay for that information

Binko · January 2010

The secret to keep people in this game are:

No fly limits. I think a lot of people got angry over that. All the hype with wings etc. Can it be fixed? No, don't think so.
Less grind.
Better system against farmers and other cheating people. Other games can stop it, so why not the asian games?

Thillian · January 2010

Based on Xfire - the game went from 90000 hours played daily to 18000, which is an 80% drop of activity.

Bloodaxes · January 2010

Originally posted by Thillian

Based on Xfire - the game went from 90000 hours played daily to 18000, which is an 80% drop of activity.

Yep everyone uses xfire while playing especially when they are in the abyss and/or doing some siege...

Zyrena · January 2010

Originally posted by Thillian

Based on Xfire - the game went from 90000 hours played daily to 18000, which is an 80% drop of activity.

Using Xfire as a source for subscription numbers = complete fail. IMO Anyone who uses Xfire numbers to say how a game is doing, loses all credibility. Now, if you were using the Xfire numbers simply as one aspect of user/player decline, that's cool, it is a form of data, just no where near properly accurate.

On a side note, I agree that the subscriptions are declining. My sub was cancelled and ended just last week. However, I'm not an Xfire user so my account would not have been considered in their numbers anyway!

fiontar · January 2010

A huge problem with Aion is the overall PvP design, combined with the very steep leveling curve.

In Aion, higher level players do have a real advantage in damage output, stats, skill sets and gear. That should be enough of an advantage. However, the game also has a hidden evade/resist roll for the higher level player that increases with every level of difference. When you have an automatic miss rate of ~50% vs. an opponent six levels higher and they automatically resist 50% of your skills/spells (maybe higher depending on their actual Magic Resist stat), you aren't really going to have a chance unless your opponent is having some serious issues.

This isn't just a problem for the lower level player. It makes for very boring PvP for the higher level player as well. When most challenging fights occur with in a very, very narrow level range, most fights are going to be very lopsided to one side or another.

That alone may work in some games, but not really in Aion. Why? First, you can't see the level of your opponent, so even if you prefer to pick fights with someone who might provide a challenge, you can't. Second, the game forces wide level ranges into contact with each other. The PvE enabled zones are basically level 20-40 and 30-50, while the Abyss is open to levels 25-50 through out it's entire expanse.

In the past, the outcome of the overall design (many details I am skipping over), was open for real debate. However, we have now had time to see how things have actually panned out in practice.

Rift enabled PvP, (in opponent PvE zones) has actually turned out to be fairly balanced for the defending players. Sure, there is a chance you might get ganked from time to time, but it hasn't become a massive, continuous slaughter of lowbies that some predicted. However, there is still a lot of room for griefing, by those who wish to grief and balanced, challenging fights are still fairly rare. It is possible for smart players to efficiently grind Abyss Points (PvP currency) via rifting, but it becomes just that, a Grind, rather than a fun, challenging pursuit.

The Abyss is much worse. Even though full of PvE content for the entire level 25 to 50 level range, it has become fairly empty. Level 45+ characters once freely ganked lowbies here, even when the rewards were next to zero, with such enthusiasm that they basically have driven most players from the Abyss entirely. Most of the lower level prey being gone, most of the higher levels have left as well. Of course, the dedicated griefers remain, spending hours a day patrolling the Abyss for anyone who's PvE hunting habits indicate a griefable player.

What is supposed to be the nexus for cross faction conflict has become a ghost zone, with most activity relegated to the narrow time windows each day when Fortress sieges can take place.

Lower level and casual players were the first rank to see people leave en masse, due to the frustrations of the PvP system (and the leveling grind). Now, we are starting to see increasing numbers of higher level players leaving out of boredom.

Yes, the game design was more "hardcore", "we deserve to have one fantasy MMO that doesn't cater to casuals", etc... However, with many casuals gone due to frustration and many hardcore players leaving out of boredom, who did this design end up serving?

The sad thing is that PvP, when fairly matched, is very fun. If they had designed the world PvP system to limit cross faction contact to narrower level ranges, Aion might have been a complete blast.

Electriceye · January 2010

It's not like it's a mass exodus. During the first free month (and perhaps the second month) it lost a lot of players, which is to be expected. Since 2 months however the population has stabilized somewhat. It's gaining subs and losing some (I think it's losing a bit more than gaining actually).

Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Except that compared to most if not all MMO starts post-WoW, it has been the most successful and that IS out of the ordinary, even though that's not saying much.

Adding more content and making PvP more accessible are the main things they should be working on. I think just NEWS or some patch notes about this would go a long way to tip the curve so that it starts increasing.

The grind is too much for a lot of players apparently as well, seeing as server activity rises a lot (to a point where it's frankly annoying) on dble exp weekends.

We're gonna start having live events which might play a part in increasing activity as well, rumor says it's not that far off, at least that's what I'd like to think! xD

All in all most servers are still very healthy and population isn't really an issue. I just wish the devs would give us more info concerning... well anything, especially upcoming changes/patches/events etc.

just1opinion · January 2010

Originally posted by Zyrena

Originally posted by Thillian

Based on Xfire - the game went from 90000 hours played daily to 18000, which is an 80% drop of activity.

Using Xfire as a source for subscription numbers = complete fail. IMO Anyone who uses Xfire numbers to say how a game is doing, loses all credibility. Now, if you were using the Xfire numbers simply as one aspect of user/player decline, that's cool, it is a form of data, just no where near properly accurate.

On a side note, I agree that the subscriptions are declining. My sub was cancelled and ended just last week. However, I'm not an Xfire user so my account would not have been considered in their numbers anyway!

I wonder when some people are going to figure out that XFire only measures the number of XFire users that play?

I've been gaming since the days before UO, and not only have I personally never used XFire...I haven't even ever KNOWN anyone that HAS in any guild I've been in....

All I can figure is it must be a favorite amongst teens or something, because all of my guilds have been "age 25 plus" guilds and clans.

Regardless...it's totally inaccurate as a statistical tool.

Not to say AION subs aren't declining...they may BE...just saying XFire is not the way to measure it accurately.

Kyleran · January 2010

Originally posted by Zyrena

Originally posted by Thillian

Based on Xfire - the game went from 90000 hours played daily to 18000, which is an 80% drop of activity.

Using Xfire as a source for subscription numbers = complete fail. IMO Anyone who uses Xfire numbers to say how a game is doing, loses all credibility. Now, if you were using the Xfire numbers simply as one aspect of user/player decline, that's cool, it is a form of data, just no where near properly accurate.

On a side note, I agree that the subscriptions are declining. My sub was cancelled and ended just last week. However, I'm not an Xfire user so my account would not have been considered in their numbers anyway!

Xfire numbers are a decent trend indicator, and certainly seem to indicate a declining subscription base.

Another indicator might be something I've observed on my server (US Trinel) just in the past week, the prices for lower level gear and materials if falling rapdily, so much so that items that I sold a few weeks ago for 700K I had to unload for 100K. And this isn't just one thing, Adamantium used to sell easily for 950-1000 each, but now the price is down to 600.

This isn't an isolated case, across the board it appears that there are far fewer new players to buy stuff up hence the rapid price drops.

On the other end of the spectrum, the price of 40-50 items is skyrocketing, with items up for bid routinely selling for 15-22 M in the chat channel.

Another thing, the number of gold farmers appears to be way down in the low level areas as well, and the price of gold on the major sellling sites has skyrocketed to well over 6.00 per 1000. (either due to NCSofts efforts to restrict it, so many players are buying it to pay for the very expensive items in game)

So yes, the game is defintiely reaching a maturity model we've seen with almost all MMO's outside of WOW and EVE, a huge number of people give it a go, 75-80% quit and leave the game somewhere betwween 150-300K subs.

Jquik · January 2010

see my post here

www.aionsource.com/forum/lumiel-east/97214-hot-heart-magic-miragent-fenril.html

That is why the majority of people I've known have quit, as well as myself.

There are people that have done that quest 10 times and failed.

Sovrath · January 2010

Originally posted by Kyleran

So yes, the game is defintiely reaching a maturity model we've seen with almost all MMO's outside of WOW and EVE, a huge number of people give it a go, 75-80% quit and leave the game somewhere betwween 150-300K subs.

Which is about where it should be.

The people who play Aion at this point are people who, for the most part, enjoy the style of game that it is. I love the somewhat harder lvling curve though truth be told it's so easy compared to L2 that it is extremely hard for me to commiserate with those who come from easier games.

I love the game design and I know others that do as well. Players that come from easier games are just not going to warm up to Aion.

shepx22 · January 2010

Originally posted by Pocahinha

Its another asian mmo disguised...it can fool the players for only a certain amount of time...

This is dead on. The game is imbalanced, Flying combat is no where near balanced and they just hype it up about that and the pretty graphics. To much of a Korean Grind fest and that will never change.

Aion will slowly lose more and more as it has been the trend over the past few months.

just1opinion · January 2010

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Kyleran

So yes, the game is defintiely reaching a maturity model we've seen with almost all MMO's outside of WOW and EVE, a huge number of people give it a go, 75-80% quit and leave the game somewhere betwween 150-300K subs.

Which is about where it should be.

The people who play Aion at this point are people who, for the most part, enjoy the style of game that it is. I love the somewhat harder lvling curve though truth be told it's so easy compared to L2 that it is extremely hard for me to commiserate with those who come from easier games.

I love the game design and I know others that do as well. Players that come from easier games are just not going to warm up to Aion.

hehehe.....

I say the exact same thing about Fallen Earth.

Really, I know there was an article here on MMORPG.com that cited saying this as only a dismissal of criticism, but.....some games really are NOT made for everyone. I wish people could just get over thinking that every single game needs to be made for them, personally, and that they have been somehow slighted by the gaming gods if they don't LIKE a game....lol.

sadeyx · January 2010

I just found it very hard to get groups..

Had a legion, but that all fell apart after the first month... Even with other legions Gladiator class was hard to get groups with.

I'll wait for an expansion or something and try this game again, I did love it. But solo grinding was more than I could bare

BarryManilow · January 2010

Originally posted by fiontar

A huge problem with Aion is the overall PvP design, combined with the very steep leveling curve.
In Aion, higher level players do have a real advantage in damage output, stats, skill sets and gear. That should be enough of an advantage. However, the game also has a hidden evade/resist roll for the higher level player that increases with every level of difference. When you have an automatic miss rate of ~50% vs. an opponent six levels higher and they automatically resist 50% of your skills/spells (maybe higher depending on their actual Magic Resist stat), you aren't really going to have a chance unless your opponent is having some serious issues.
This isn't just a problem for the lower level player. It makes for very boring PvP for the higher level player as well. When most challenging fights occur with in a very, very narrow level range, most fights are going to be very lopsided to one side or another.
That alone may work in some games, but not really in Aion. Why? First, you can't see the level of your opponent, so even if you prefer to pick fights with someone who might provide a challenge, you can't. Second, the game forces wide level ranges into contact with each other. The PvE enabled zones are basically level 20-40 and 30-50, while the Abyss is open to levels 25-50 through out it's entire expanse.
In the past, the outcome of the overall design (many details I am skipping over), was open for real debate. However, we have now had time to see how things have actually panned out in practice.
Rift enabled PvP, (in opponent PvE zones) has actually turned out to be fairly balanced for the defending players. Sure, there is a chance you might get ganked from time to time, but it hasn't become a massive, continuous slaughter of lowbies that some predicted. However, there is still a lot of room for griefing, by those who wish to grief and balanced, challenging fights are still fairly rare. It is possible for smart players to efficiently grind Abyss Points (PvP currency) via rifting, but it becomes just that, a Grind, rather than a fun, challenging pursuit.
The Abyss is much worse. Even though full of PvE content for the entire level 25 to 50 level range, it has become fairly empty. Level 45+ characters once freely ganked lowbies here, even when the rewards were next to zero, with such enthusiasm that they basically have driven most players from the Abyss entirely. Most of the lower level prey being gone, most of the higher levels have left as well. Of course, the dedicated griefers remain, spending hours a day patrolling the Abyss for anyone who's PvE hunting habits indicate a griefable player.
What is supposed to be the nexus for cross faction conflict has become a ghost zone, with most activity relegated to the narrow time windows each day when Fortress sieges can take place.
Lower level and casual players were the first rank to see people leave en masse, due to the frustrations of the PvP system (and the leveling grind). Now, we are starting to see increasing numbers of higher level players leaving out of boredom.
Yes, the game design was more "hardcore", "we deserve to have one fantasy MMO that doesn't cater to casuals", etc... However, with many casuals gone due to frustration and many hardcore players leaving out of boredom, who did this design end up serving?
The sad thing is that PvP, when fairly matched, is very fun. If they had designed the world PvP system to limit cross faction contact to narrower level ranges, Aion might have been a complete blast.

Great assessment of the problems of the game. At the end it doesn't cater to anyone. I would like to add the hatred between the 2 styles of players the hard-core PvE and PvP and how the disharmony at the end destroys a community and game. When PvE crowd gripe about how PvPers grief kill them while harvesting, questing or even grinding. Then in turn, some PvP-types start to call them namese like carebear and other things, tell them to stop crying or GTFO of the game. So guess what, they actually do end up quitting the game. The PvP crowd, end up with much less targets. Then like you said, they too end up extremely boerd. Kind of like cutting thier own throats, but some of these people (PvPers) unknowning destroy the game for themselves by the name calling and griefing in-game and in forums.

Hydroblunt · January 2010

The game is just ... boring. The repetitive grind design simply wears thin on most players. Even the crafting is designed as a boring grind, time & kinah sink. It is also very linear, killing the replay value. Finally, the end-game is nothing to write home about which makes the leveling grind kinda pointless.

I liked some parts of the game but overall it got very boring.

Game-Wolf · January 2010

Originally posted by Aceundor

1) Grind - many enjoy it, while even more people hate it.

2) Bots, hackers, goldspammers, etc aka - illegal activity.

3) Poor customer service

4) drop rate is very bad

5) being full PVP all the time where ever you are at sucks

i played it for 2 months it was most boring MMO i've played in my life.. i had 4 friends who were going to buy it i talked them out of it or as i like to call it saved them from the worst MMO mistake of their life's....

Kyleran · January 2010

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Kyleran

So yes, the game is defintiely reaching a maturity model we've seen with almost all MMO's outside of WOW and EVE, a huge number of people give it a go, 75-80% quit and leave the game somewhere betwween 150-300K subs.

Which is about where it should be.

The people who play Aion at this point are people who, for the most part, enjoy the style of game that it is. I love the somewhat harder lvling curve though truth be told it's so easy compared to L2 that it is extremely hard for me to commiserate with those who come from easier games.

I love the game design and I know others that do as well. Players that come from easier games are just not going to warm up to Aion.

I'll have to agree, the leveling curve in Aion is nothing compared to L2, especially the first year or so it was out. (nor is the death penalty)

The game will appeal to a certain segment of the market (I still play regularly) and the rest will move on in search of a title that more suits their playstyle.

Recker · January 2010

Originally posted by Thillian

Based on Xfire - the game went from 90000 hours played daily to 18000, which is an 80% drop of activity.

Xfire has one of the worst reporting/rating systems ever. Also they represent an extremely small player base, so that also skews the info they put out. The player base for xfire is in the lower age ranges mostly under 25 and even 25 is a stretch

Ethian · January 2010

Originally posted by fiontar

A huge problem with Aion is the overall PvP design, combined with the very steep leveling curve.
In Aion, higher level players do have a real advantage in damage output, stats, skill sets and gear. That should be enough of an advantage. However, the game also has a hidden evade/resist roll for the higher level player that increases with every level of difference. When you have an automatic miss rate of ~50% vs. an opponent six levels higher and they automatically resist 50% of your skills/spells (maybe higher depending on their actual Magic Resist stat), you aren't really going to have a chance unless your opponent is having some serious issues.
This isn't just a problem for the lower level player. It makes for very boring PvP for the higher level player as well. When most challenging fights occur with in a very, very narrow level range, most fights are going to be very lopsided to one side or another.
That alone may work in some games, but not really in Aion. Why? First, you can't see the level of your opponent, so even if you prefer to pick fights with someone who might provide a challenge, you can't. Second, the game forces wide level ranges into contact with each other. The PvE enabled zones are basically level 20-40 and 30-50, while the Abyss is open to levels 25-50 through out it's entire expanse.
In the past, the outcome of the overall design (many details I am skipping over), was open for real debate. However, we have now had time to see how things have actually panned out in practice.
Rift enabled PvP, (in opponent PvE zones) has actually turned out to be fairly balanced for the defending players. Sure, there is a chance you might get ganked from time to time, but it hasn't become a massive, continuous slaughter of lowbies that some predicted. However, there is still a lot of room for griefing, by those who wish to grief and balanced, challenging fights are still fairly rare. It is possible for smart players to efficiently grind Abyss Points (PvP currency) via rifting, but it becomes just that, a Grind, rather than a fun, challenging pursuit.
The Abyss is much worse. Even though full of PvE content for the entire level 25 to 50 level range, it has become fairly empty. Level 45+ characters once freely ganked lowbies here, even when the rewards were next to zero, with such enthusiasm that they basically have driven most players from the Abyss entirely. Most of the lower level prey being gone, most of the higher levels have left as well. Of course, the dedicated griefers remain, spending hours a day patrolling the Abyss for anyone who's PvE hunting habits indicate a griefable player.
What is supposed to be the nexus for cross faction conflict has become a ghost zone, with most activity relegated to the narrow time windows each day when Fortress sieges can take place.
Lower level and casual players were the first rank to see people leave en masse, due to the frustrations of the PvP system (and the leveling grind). Now, we are starting to see increasing numbers of higher level players leaving out of boredom.
Yes, the game design was more "hardcore", "we deserve to have one fantasy MMO that doesn't cater to casuals", etc... However, with many casuals gone due to frustration and many hardcore players leaving out of boredom, who did this design end up serving?
The sad thing is that PvP, when fairly matched, is very fun. If they had designed the world PvP system to limit cross faction contact to narrower level ranges, Aion might have been a complete blast.

Exactly what this guy said...Pvp in Aion needs some serious work if NCsoft hopes to keep a large player base. Here was my issue with Aion:

I leveled 5 toons to 30, aiming for the full level 30 set and a nice weapon to go with it for pvp. I did mostly pve through questing and grinding mobs with some pvp in the abyss and through rifts during my downtime. I found pvp alright although I did it hard to find at times.

Once I was equiped with mana-stones, my full blue set, and my 2 sweet weapons I was ready to tear it up in the abyss or through rifts. BUT...little did I know that rifts would be so damn hard to find or that the abyss was nothing but a gankfest for lower level characters. I ran around looking for some good pvp on my fully geared assassin (rifting/abyss) for about a week until I realized that pvp was WAY to hard to find...I'd go hours without seeing a single enemy at times.

I guess my point is that Aion needs some serious fixes if they hope to keep the pvp fans around for long. I'm sure 40-50 has some decent pvp but theres no way the average pvper is going to level to 40+ just to take part in some fun pvp from time to time.

Aion has /failed so far imo. They claim they created a pvp MMO but where the hell is the pvp?!? It sure isnt in the abyss... or through the rifts that sometimes take a full night just to find one. Hopefully with future updates NCsoft works on the pvp and makes it more accessable to all level characters but until then theres no way in hell I'm going to waste another second looking for pvp in Aion....If NCsoft doesn't do something about it, I won't be returning. Simple as that.

Recker · January 2010

PVP in anyways is and never was Aions problem. The occasion ganking was a non issue, it was expected, thats why you move/play in small groups in the abyss.

I am HARDCORE. I dont mind grinding its also expected, however the grind in Aion(not pvp grind) is absolutly insane. I pre-ordered and played for a month, I didnt even pay for my 2nd month its just that bad. The game was released a year earlier in asia and you would expect them to balance out/add missing content to the end game grind so that you were killing the same mobs from lvl 38-43(which will take you atleast 1 1/2 weeks at 40 hours a week). Are all the asian players using bots??? I have never seen a grind so bad. When i say you are killing the same mob from 38-43 im not kidding its the exact same more thousands and thousands of time over and over again. I was geared up the wazoo in all blue gold and a couple of green. If i was solo or groups it didnt matter i made the same amout of xp/hourly. I killed the same mob so many times i could literally kill it with 1 hand tied behind my back asleep, even now months after I stopped playing my hands remember the movements of the mouse and keyboard clicks.

Aions failure is its insane super ultra mega mega steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep lvl grind after lvl 38. Its not really grindy until you hit the upper 30's. Missions and what not still keep it changing and fun till then. At the high 30's the amount of xp you need to lvl VS the amount you can make and hour grinding/missioning becomes so off balanced that quitting or suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome are your only choices.

So getting to max lvl requires either you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome trying to achieve it or you bot/get power lvled/become mentally unbalanced from killing lepharists and the damn orc things(i have managed to mentally block out that part of the experience for health issues, i have also begun hypnosis therapy to block out the rest ROFL)

joker007mo · January 2010

Originally posted by Recker

PVP in anyways is and never was Aions problem. The occasion ganking was a non issue, it was expected, thats why you move/play in small groups in the abyss.
I am HARDCORE. I dont mind grinding its also expected, however the grind in Aion(not pvp grind) is absolutly insane. I pre-ordered and played for a month, I didnt even pay for my 2nd month its just that bad. The game was released a year earlier in asia and you would expect them to balance out/add missing content to the end game grind so that you were killing the same mobs from lvl 38-43(which will take you atleast 1 1/2 weeks at 40 hours a week). Are all the asian players using bots??? I have never seen a grind so bad. When i say you are killing the same mob from 38-43 im not kidding its the exact same more thousands and thousands of time over and over again. I was geared up the wazoo in all blue gold and a couple of green. If i was solo or groups it didnt matter i made the same amout of xp/hourly. I killed the same mob so many times i could literally kill it with 1 hand tied behind my back asleep, even now months after I stopped playing my hands remember the movements of the mouse and keyboard clicks.
Aions failure is its insane super ultra mega mega steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep lvl grind after lvl 38. Its not really grindy until you hit the upper 30's. Missions and what not still keep it changing and fun till then. At the high 30's the amount of xp you need to lvl VS the amount you can make and hour grinding/missioning becomes so off balanced that quitting or suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome are your only choices.
So getting to max lvl requires either you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome trying to achieve it or you bot/get power lvled/become mentally unbalanced from killing lepharists and the damn orc things(i have managed to mentally block out that part of the experience for health issues, i have also begun hypnosis therapy to block out the rest ROFL)

you know i said the same thing with the prices in the game for everything being enormous i can see koreans using bots to play

Hrayr2148 · January 2010

Originally posted by Thillian

Based on Xfire - the game went from 90000 hours played daily to 18000, which is an 80% drop of activity.

Aion is the second highest rank MMO behind WoW on xfire.

So if the only standard for success is WoW type numbers, then WoW is the only "successful" mmo ever made. Give me a break.

I play Aion, I have a lvl 49 Templar, my server Ariel is filled with people. As early as last week we had 200 vs 200 Fortress raids. The main city is always full, and I never have a problem finding a party.

The only time reduced population numbers become a problem is when they effect your gameplay. Are you having trouble finding groups? Are there not enough people to play?

ironhelix · January 2010

I just canceled my subscription last night. I have kids and a wife, and I just didn't have the time to play it anymore. There is NO way to play Aion casually. I really like a lot of things about the game, but there is NO content that can be tackled in any kind of casual way. I got to level 37, and realized that I was going to have to do so much grinding that it just wasn't worth it. I don't think this is a bad thing by itself, it's just that you are hopelessly overpowered by higher levels so much so that not being max level completely gimps you. In other words, if you are not level 50, you had damned well better be devoting ALL your time to leveling, so that you can enjoy the game. I would have kept playing if there were more open-world PvP that I could have just played around with (like WoW before BG's, that was SO fun...). As it stands, the difference in levels means that open world PvP is over as soon as you come across anyone higher level than you - you just get steamrolled. Anyway, I don't mean to rant, there is a lot to like about Aion, it's just brutally non-casual in every way.

Ethian · January 2010

Originally posted by ironhelix

I just canceled my subscription last night. I have kids and a wife, and I just didn't have the time to play it anymore. There is NO way to play Aion casually. I really like a lot of things about the game, but there is NO content that can be tackled in any kind of casual way. I got to level 37, and realized that I was going to have to do so much grinding that it just wasn't worth it. I don't think this is a bad thing by itself, it's just that you are hopelessly overpowered by higher levels so much so that not being max level completely gimps you. In other words, if you are not level 50, you had damned well better be devoting ALL your time to leveling, so that you can enjoy the game. I would have kept playing if there were more open-world PvP that I could have just played around with (like WoW before BG's, that was SO fun...). As it stands, the difference in levels means that open world PvP is over as soon as you come across anyone higher level than you - you just get steamrolled. Anyway, I don't mean to rant, there is a lot to like about Aion, it's just brutally non-casual in every way.

Agreed. For an MMO that claims to have plenty of exciting open world pvp, its probably the worst I've seen in any MMO. NCsoft has some serious work to do if they hope to keep open world pvp alive. With servers dying down I can only imagine the pvp is getting even worse unless your level 50... :-/

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Why does Aion keep loosing subs?

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Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

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Why does Aion keep loosing subs?

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Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV