Girl Gamer

Aion Talks 1.9

By GG-Kaboom 4 months, 3 weeks ago • 0 Comments

Ever since its release in September, Aion has claimed the title,“Years Biggest MMO.” After selling almost half a million copies on it’s launch date, the game still remains a hit amongst it’s fans. What I love about NCSoft though is how they are constantly tweaking the game to make it better. So to find out what all the hype is about in their next big update, known as 1.9, I had a chat with Aion Staff member Andrew “Tamat” Beegle.

What is NCsoft’s overall goal for the 1.9 patch?

This patch is the result of feedback from Aion fans from all around the world. Our goal with 1.9 is to set a foundation that both addresses issues that our players have voiced, as well as set the stage for our larger 2.0 update coming later this year. It’s important to point out that the information we’ve released regarding 1.9 is based off of Korean patch notes – they do not necessarily represent what will be released here in the west.

We’re really excited about 1.9 because it’s only a preview of what’s to come. We have big plans for the future of Aion, and in many ways, we’re just getting started!

I understand there are new User Interface improvements. What would you say is the most noticeable change?

It’s hard to pick out the most noticeable change, because there are just so many, big and small. The UI enhancements that players will see as part of 1.9 help improve usability that many of our players have come to expect and have been asking for since we launched. Some examples of these is a new quickbar that can be moved anywhere on the screen, an NPC merchant buyback option that gives players the control to undo accidental sales, and a new option to filter out lower skills when upgrades have been purchased. The most obvious change, and one we’re most excited about is the new LFG functionality…

I’m glad to see that you’ve taken the step to “fix” Dredgion. In what ways are you improving it?

We’ve made a number of modifications to Dredgion that should make it more of an intense, fast paced and ultimately memorable experience. In that way we’ve made some modifications to the progression mechanics, increased spawn frequency, and reduced the amount of time that players can spend in Dredgion from an hour to 40 minutes. Also, coinciding with the drop rate increases that we’ve made across the board in 1.9, we’ve also specifically increased the drop rates of two bosses in Dredgion.

In addition to all that, we’ve also increased the AP rewards for both the winning and the losing teams. It’s important to point out that we didn’t make Dredgion easier; instead, we’ve increased the difficulty, reduced the time players have to complete all of the objectives and significantly increased the rewards for doing so. It speaks to the philosophy of the patch, which was to tweak the game to make it a more engaging and fun experience through all levels of play. We’re excited to have our players try it out when we begin testing.

Can you explain the “Energy of Salvation” experience boost? Is it similar to “Energy of Repose”?

It’s similar in that it gives an experience increase, but it’s completely different because instead of rewarding players for time spent offline, Energy of Salvation rewards you the longer you play. Beginning at level 15, players will begin to earn Energy of Salvation points at set time intervals during a gaming session. Those points will then automatically begin to increase experience across the board. I’m personally excited about this because of the way I feel after running out of the rested experience bonus. Tamat does not like to /ragequit.

It’s worth pointing out that we’ve made changes to Energy of Repose as well. With 1.9, Repose benefits will begin at level 15 and give an even larger bonus for players between levels 30-45.

Word has it there will be a new feature where you can combine two-handed swords into one powerful sword. Do you feel this will unbalance the game by making one class stronger than the rest?

There will indeed be a new system that will allow just that; two-handed weapon combination. Essentially it will take a percentage of the stats from the weaker weapon, including any of the bonuses, and apply them to the main weapon. The weaker weapon will be destroyed, but in the process the manastone slots will also be moved over to the new, now more powerful weapon that would make even He-Man proud!

We see this doing several things, first and foremost it will take away the disadvantage that two-handed weapon wielders currently have because they have less manastone slots than their duel-wielding enemies. This will also help balance Gladiators and Templars making them an opponent not to be trifled without due caution. Whether or not this will unbalance the game, we don’t think so, but that’s something that will be determined in time.

When you say there are going to be “magical attack crits”, does that mean heals will be able to crit as well?

We’ve added several new stats as you’ve clearly discovered, one of which affects how much healing spells heal for. We’re not quite ready to go into specific detail about how these stats will work, but we’re really excited about how these affects will enhance the dynamics of PvE and PvP gameplay in Aion.

Can we expect to see concentration mana stones be brought into the game?

I wouldn’t rule it out, but for now I cannot speculate whether or not concentration mana stones will be coming to Aion. That said, we’ve only begun to talk about what’s in store for the future of Atreia.

And I speak for everyone when I say, THANK YOU for lowering soul healing cost.

Trust us, we know! I remember being totally broke around level 32 because of a horrible Fire Temple run. I’m all for difficulty and rewarding players for staying alive, but I don’t think there is an Aion player out there that doesn’t cringe in response to a Soul Healer visit. And on that note, I must be off! We’re busy preparing for GDC in San Francisco later this week. Speaking of which, for any of you reading — if you make it to the show, find us on the floor. We always love hearing from our fans! If you can’t make the event but live in the area, feel free to join the rest of the community following our whereabouts with Foursquare.

http://foursquare.com/user/aion_tamat

http://twitter.com/aion_tamat

Well you heard the man! Expect lots of changes, but whether they’re good or bad is up for you to decide. For Atreia!