Did you know you can purchase scrolls that will teleport you to major hubs in game?

Purchaseable from Nekai in Pandaemonium, you can use the scroll above to teleport back from anywhere in game. It costs 1,782 Kinah so can be a little more expensive than flying back, but if time is more important to you than holding onto a few extra Kinah, then this scroll could become your new best friend. I always carry one on me, and when used, I simply purchase another. They do stack of course, I just do it that way to create a habbit. Hopefully it will become second nature and then I won’t ever be without a scroll.

You will find Nekai in the Market Street, along the left hand side if you are running into the city. You can purchase scrolls for Altgard Fortress, Beluslan Fortress, Morheim Fortress and of course Pandaemonium.

Yesterday I blogged about the oh-so-awesome Mau form and it’s visually appealing goodness. Today, I’m going to look at the uglier side of transformation, the Karnif.

I’ve been running around as a Karnif for a bit now and have had a few people ask me how. Actually, with all the halloween candy thrown our way recently, I think most just assume it’s that at the moment as I’ve been asked nothing more than “which candy” a few times. With my sick and twisted sense of humour (and the dense-ness of some of the population), it’s made for some interesting conversations. Like the one just the other night…

Them: which candy?
Me: Witch candy!
Them: which?
Me: Witch!
Them: What?
Me: What Witch?
Them: Yeah which?
Me: Witch candy!
Them: Screw you!

Actually… they used something more adult than just a screw you, but you get the point. Of course, Karnif form isn’t due to the Halloweed candy, but it is the result of a consumable item.

As you can see, it’s available to the Scout class – so both Assassins and Rangers can use them. With the increase in run speed this makes the Ranger and Assassin the best class to scout out Rifts… get it… “scout” out rifts… coz they’re scouts? Har har har. Oi…

The image above is of the first level which you can start using at level 10 I believe. I’m not too sure as I kept forgetting to grab them so I was a few levels higher by the time I used it. The database sites out there say it’s level 20, but at 21 I was already using the Karnif’s Soul Level 2, so I think the levels have changed since Beta or whenever the DB sites were last updated.

Level 1 and 2 are purchaseable from most (but not all) General Goods Vendors. I try to pick mine up in Pandaemonium as they do stack and that way I’m never left high and dry. There is also Karnif’s Soul Level 3, however I’ve not yet seen that on the vendors so I’m not sure if it’s only available from higher up places, or if you have to obtain them some other way. I guess I’ll find out later.

The buff for Karnif form lasts 30 minutes and is only slightly restricting. The biggest one is you can’t pop your wings, so remember that when you jump off a cliff as you will see nothing but your four paws flailing as you plummet to your death. That said, you can still:

• Talk to NPC’s, which includes quest givers, vendors and the trade brokers.
• Learn your skills, if you’ve used this to run through the city to your trainers.
• Eat, drink and consume potions – handy if you’re running through mobs and being hurt. Doing so won’t drop travel form.
• Gather any ground items. Remember, you can’t fly.
• Melee for what ever your weapon’s white damage is. You can’t use any abilities, but can swing your claws about it absolutely needed.

Of course, it’s the run speed increase you’ll most likely be using these for. Running from spot to spot is it’s main benefit, I wouldn’t use them to fight. A 30 minute buff is good for when you have to run from point a > point b, then hand in lots of quests.

If you are scouting rifts, they can also come in extremely helpful in the event you need to outrun any Elyos!

Like all other buffs, you can remove it at any time by simply right-clicking it and selecting the “cancel buff” option. It should also be noted that while us Asmodians transform into Karnif’s, the Elyos become simple Worgs. Clearly not as cool.

Speaking of cool, there is a slight bug with the animation when you’re jumping, which of course I keep doing to pop my non-existant wings. Instead of leaping gracefully like the four legged creature you are, you appear to panic and simply flail your limbs about wildly until you are safely on the ground again. It’s really rather amusing if not a little pathetic. Don’t do this in front of the Elyos.

If the “AFK Shops” needed another reason to log off other than being annoying, blocking the path and being like, so yesterday (C’mon guys, get with the times, no queues anymore!) I have another one. For all those over level 20, you earn rested XP! Also known as “Repose” in Aion…

I had heard about it from Mr Won’t-stop-out-leveling-me over there, but am finally able to experience it (har har) for myself!

The Open Beta Patch Notes state:

Repose
When a character higher than level 20 is logged out of the game, they gain the energy of Repose – and earn an extra 20-30% experience when killing monsters and enemy faction members! It takes two days to rest up to 100%.

Repose is applied when killing monsters or defeating characters of the opposite faction. An icon in the top right corner of the screen shows when your character has this energy stored.

This is AWESOME news for me!! Why? Because I get so little game time I’m ALWAYS going to have this buff!! So not only will I level quicker for my time invested, it will also (hopefully) help curb some of the need to grind as much. Sweeeet!

From doing a little investigating, it also appears that the higher you are in level, the better the buff you receive. While a level 20 receives a 20% buff, level 40’s are commenting they not only receive 30%, but that it also lasts longer. Makes sense thought, I can’t even begin to imagine how much xp you need to make a level once you get that high. And no, no one tell me please, let’s leave the deaded feelings until I actually get there lol.

Now, one important thing you need to know is that Repost DOES NOT STACK with any Lodas Amulets you might have – be they from collectors edition or what was given out to all players recently for being such wonderful people. The Lodas Amulet will over-right Repose. *

So they you go! Now, when you have to log off for that annoying family dinner, or your partner wants to watch a movie or god forbid spend any other personal time together away from the XP, you can power through it knowing that it’s only helping you to level faster when you get back on. =p



* Some players comment that they do stack, but then state “I got 20% increase as stated” as their evidence. Since Repose and the Amulet both give 20%, I would expect to see a 40% increase. If anyone can futher confirm if they do or don’t stack, it would be much appreciated.

A couple of weeks ago we mentioned that Veteran Rewards, fine loot destined to fill the treasure chests of our most steadfast Aion players, are on the horizon. The concept is simple: The longer you play our game, the cooler things you get! Aion’s Veteran Rewards will first be available on November 4, and at that point, those of you who have played the game for a month or more will be able to redeem your treats.

The first reward package will contain an Expand Cube Ticket to expand your inventory space, a Pop Legend dance emote to get funky with, four Lodas Amulets to boost your experience gain, and four Revival Stones to bring life and light when things look grim.

Visit our Veteran Rewards page to find out more!

Veteran Rewards FAQ

Q: What do I have to do in order to receive my Veteran Rewards?
A: If you have an active account, you don’t need to do anything except log in to the game. After each one-month milestone, the appropriate Veteran Rewards will be added to your Aion game account and delivered via in-game express mail once they are redeemed.

Q: How do I redeem my Veteran Rewards?
A: Follow these steps:

1. Log in to your NCsoft Master Account.
2. Click the Game Accounts link.
3. Select an Aion game account listed on the Game Accounts page.
4. Click the Apply in-Game Items link in the Action section.
5. Select a server in which you have made a character, and click the Next button.
6. Select a character to receive the Veteran Rewards, and click the Next button.
7. Click the checkbox next to an item pack or packs, and click the Next button.
8. Review the confirmation page, and click the Apply the Items/Item Packs to This Character button.

Once you’ve assigned items to a character, log in to Aion and retrieve the items via in-game express mail.

For additional help, visit our knowledge base.

Q: What is the first day that I can expect my Veteran Rewards to show up?
A: Veteran Rewards will become available on the first day of each subscription month starting with the second month. Your Aion game account page displays your Veteran Rewards time. It indicates which Veteran Rewards month you are eligible for.

Note: The first month’s Veteran Rewards won’t be available until November 4, 2009.

Q: Where can I find out how many months I have played with an active account?
A: Your Aion game account page displays your Veteran Rewards time. It indicates which Veteran Rewards month you are eligible for.

You can view your earned Veteran Rewards time by logging in to your NCsoft Master Account. Click Game Accounts, and select your Aion game account. In the Account section, locate the Veteran Rewards Time section, which indicates the amount of time that you have played with an active account and earned Veteran Rewards for. Your Veteran Rewards time will not always match your total paid time (also displayed in this section) due to promotions you have taken advantage of, game account inactivation and reactivation, and so on.

Q: My account is no longer active. Can I still receive Veteran Rewards?
A: Yes, but the time that your account was inactive does not count toward your Veteran Rewards.

To receive your Veteran Rewards, reactivate your account via credit card, game time card, or another payment method, and the appropriate Veteran Rewards will become available for all of your characters. Just log in to your NCsoft Master Account, redeem the Veteran Rewards, and they will be waiting via in-game express mail.

Q: If I use game time cards, will that count toward my Veteran Rewards?
A: Yes. You are rewarded for the number of months you have an active account, no matter which payment method you choose.

Q: Can I pay for a certain number of months into the future in order to receive my Veteran Rewards now?
A: No. Veteran Rewards are delivered based on the number of months you have had an active account. This only applies to time that as already passed, not the future.

Q: I participated in the Aion closed and open betas, as well as the Head-Start Program period. Does that time count toward my rewards?
A: No. Veteran Rewards are for the number of months a player has had an active account, so the beta and Head-Start Program periods do not count toward accruing Veteran Rewards.

Q: Does the free month that was included with my game purchase count toward my Veteran Rewards time?
A: Yes, the game time included with the purchase of Aion counts as your first month. You’ll be eligible to redeem your first Veteran Rewards on the first day of your second month.

Q: I have multiple Aion game accounts, and some are newer than others. Will my Veteran Rewards for my oldest account apply to my other accounts as well?
A: No. Veteran Rewards are based on each individual Aion game account.

Q: Will each character I have available now or will create in the future be able to redeem each of the Veteran Rewards that I have earned?
A: Yes, you will be eligible to redeem each appropriate month’s Veteran Rewards once for every character you create on a respective Aion account.

Source: http://uk.aiononline.com/veteranrewards/

Last week in our community address for October we told you about a few changes we’ve been working on for an upcoming update. Today we’re happy to announce that the update is currently in testing and will be coming to the live servers in the near future. As promised, we are transparently giving you as much information as possible so to alleviate some of the concerns that you’ve expressed.

It gives us great pleasure to share with you the tentative patch notes for the Aion 1.5.1 patch.

Because this update is still in testing, we’re unable to release the official date these changes will go live. Additionally, remember that changes could occur due to issues we find in testing.

*****

[NPC]

1. Added a new function to prevent abnormal game play as a result of specific terrains in the Instanced Dungeons.
— When a player moves where a monster cannot follow, the monster will now correctly continue to attack the player.

2. You no longer receive a reward when you defeat a field boss using a specific NPC.

3. Assigned additional guard NPCs that can detect Stealth to protect allies in the main villages of Heiron (in Elysea) and Beluslan (in Asmodae).

4. Increased the eyesight and Stealth detection ability of Mau Warriors and Mau Hunters—the NPC guards assigned to the Silver Mane Village in Morheim.

5. Changed the name of the guards near the Dredgion entrance in both Elysea and Asmodae.
- Changed the name of the guard in the Teminon Bind Point to Garrison Senior Soldier .
- Changed the name of the guard in the Primum Bind Point to Garrison Senior Soldier .

6. Corrected the spelling errors in the dialog with Stigma Master Nobus in Teminon Fortress.

[Instanced Dungeon]

1. There is now a high chance of obtaining class Stigma crystals from defeating the boss in the Fire Temple, Raged Judge Kromede.

2. Changed the drop rate of class Skill Books in the Aetherogenetics Lab and Alquimia Research Center.
- Slightly increased the drop rate from monsters in the Instanced Dungeons.
- Greatly increased the drop rate from the final bosses in the Instanced Dungeons.

3. Changed the movement speed of certain bosses in Dark Poeta.
- Increased movement speed of Vengeful Spirit of Forest Protector Noah
- Increased movement speed of Vengeful Spirit of Elim Elder.
- Increased movement speed of Spaller Insect Echtra.

4. Lowered the difficulty of Steel Rake Hutkin, the final boss of the Steel Rake.
- Lengthened the summoning cycle of minion monsters.
- Lowered the level and stats of minion monsters.

5. Changed the system message that displays when the food/water supply unit inside Hutkin’s Safe in the Steel Rake fails to activate.
- Displays system message, “It will be difficult to do this alone. I need one more person to help me push it!” when a character tries to activate the food/water supply unit alone.

[Items]

1. Changed the options of some items.

2. Changed the full set effect of some set items.

3. Changed the properties of some items.

4. Resolved the problem where the weapon effect of Miragent’s Jewel/Fenril’s Jewel could not be seen.

5. Slightly increased the EXP gained from gathering and crafting.
- Skill level increases at the same rate as before.

6. Added description “A hidden effect(s) is activated when you equip the complete set” at the bottom of the tooltip of the item that has a hidden set effect.

7. The maximum number of contribution decorations that can be stacked in a slot is now 1000.

8. Corrected the spelling errors in the tooltip description of some items.

[Quest]

1. New repeat quests have been added to supplement the difficulty of ‘Craft Skills Test’ [Elyos] and ‘Proving the Proficiency of Crafting Skill’ [Asmodians] quests of Level 50 Daevanion quests.
- You can obtain ‘Boiling Balaur Blood Stain’ as reward from the new repeat quests, which are the craft material items required to complete the Daevanion quest.
- Elyos can obtain the new repeat quests in Sanctum, and Asmodians can get theirs in Pandaemonium.

2. Increased the EXP reward of some quests.
- These quests include many quests in the [Elyos] regions of Eltnen, Theobomos and Interdikah, and the [Asmodian] regions of Morheim, Brusthonin and Beluslan, and also the [Elyos/Asmodian] quests in Reshanta.

3. Increased the Kinah and item reward of some quests.
- These quests include many [Elyos/Asmodian] quests with the recommended level of 20 or higher.

4. Increased the chance of gaining contribution decorations as reward from [Elyos/Asmodian] repeat quests that require defeating the elite guards in the upper layer of [Reshanta].
- The list of quests is as following.

5. Increased the drop rate of quest items for [Elyos/Asmodian] repeat quests inside the instanced dungeon Steel Rake.
- The list of quests is as following.

6. Corrected the spelling errors in the description of reward items and NPC dialogs of some quests.

[Abyss]

1. You now receive contribution decorations as reward for successfully defending a fortress under the control of your Legion.
- Gold and silver contribution decorations are issued as a reward.
- The number of contribution decorations you receive for defending a fortress increases as you move from lower layer to upper layer to the deepest layer. (Lower

- Contribution decorations issued as rewards are delivered to the mailbox of the Brigade General of the Legion occupying the fortress.

2. Extended the time it takes for the Guardian Deity General to appear after a fortress enters the Capturable state.

[Skills]

1. – Increased the amount of enmity increased by Templar’s ‘Incite Rage’ skill.

2. Changed the cool time of Assassin’s ‘Contract of Evasion’ skill from 30 seconds to 1 minute.

3. Increased the damage inflicted by Assassin’s ‘Counterattack’ skill.

4. Increased the damage inflicted by Assassin’s ‘Apply Poison’ skill.

5. – Increased the amount of enmity reduced by Assassin’s ‘Calming Whisper’ skill.

6. Reduced the MP cost of Sorcerer’s ‘Flame Harpoon’ skill.

7. Increased the damage inflicted by Cleric’s ‘Thunderbolts’ skill.

8. Resolved the issue of the cooldown time not being seen clearly when using Cleric’s ‘Ripple of Purification’ skill.

9. Resolved the problem of abnormal mental conditions not being removed by using Cleric’s ‘Splendor of Purification’ skill.

10. Resolved the problem of the range of Spiritmaster’s Command skills not being modified in PvP.

[Character]

1. Slightly reduced the EXP penalty due to the difference in the levels of group members when in a Group or Force.

[Combat]

1. A character transformed into a Guardian Deity General can no longer be pulled in by using Templar’s ‘Inescapable Judgment’ skill.

[Level]

1. Resolved the problem of the Primum Bind Point in Reshanta where you could enter inside by going through the wall of the lower part of the base.

[UI]

1. Resolved the problem of the right mouse click not working when purchasing items from the list in the Sales Agency window.

2. On the Sales Agency window, items listed under the categories ‘Weapons’, ‘Armor’, and ’Accessories’ tabs are now displayed correctly.

3. Resolved the problem of group members in different channels not being displayed correctly on the map.

4. Characters under Level 5 can no longer use the Search function on the Find Buddy window.

Source: http://powerwiki.na.aiononline.com/aion/Patch+Notes+1.5.1.0

As I sit here listening to the sound of twats and idiots freaking out at the mere thought of having to re-engage their brain for a few hours while the servers are down, I can’t help but wish there was a way to put the same muting them the same way NCSoft is working on the gold sellers. A few smiley faces and “buy gold here” shop signs are far easier to ignore than spammed “NOOOOOOOO what am I going to do?! — WTF?! — HUH?!” all in capital letters across say channel.

With each new fix to the gold sellers, came a new way to annoy us. First there was the whispering and a stop was put to than. They moved to the chat channels and again, NCSoft stepped up. The personal stores came in later, although I’m surprised it took them that long…  The latest annoyance for me, possibly even more so than the first two, is the in game mail. I can ignore a whisper, I can leave a chat channel… but having to click 5 or 6 times to delete spam is just not on.

First you have to open your mailbox, sigh at the “thankyou dear customer” or “sorry to bother” give-away headline, click to open the unwanted letter, click the delete button and then click the “yes I really want to delete this waste of time” confirmation. Really… not cool.

So I’m personally very happy to see they are putting in not only a level restriction on sending mail, but also a decent one – level 10. If those spammers want to get their customers, they’re going to have to waste more time doing it. And I’m sure it takes way longer to get to level 10, do the /who search and send the mail than it does me to click delete a few times. Especially as I’m getting faster with practice! =p

I’m also happy to see the level restriction upped on the chat channels, shame it won’t help the IQ levels of some of it’s users. At first I thought it was a bad move that they removed the ability to view and chat, but then I realised what’s the poing of allowing people to read if no one can talk LOL! I also personally feel that the only channels worth reading full time are the class ones (which you need level 10 for), and even then it’s debateable. I’m still waiting for the Ranger channel on Nezeken to prove it’s worth… I guess the levels 1 through to 10 are going to be veeeerry quiet from now on lol.

1.5.0.11 Client Update

• All chat channels now have a level 10 restriction, both to join and participate
• Whispering now has a level 10 restriction:
  • Players can receive whispers but cannot respond below level 10
• Players cannot send in game mail until level 10
  • Players under 10 can still receive in game mail
• Players cannot search for ’who’ in game until level 10
• Players are now limited at the amount of in game mail you can send per hour
  • If players exceed this limit, they will not be able to send mail. There is currently no message saying players have exceeded your limit
  • Legion Abyss ranks have been fixed and will now display properly

1.0.0.3 English Update

Maps:

• Fixed alignment issue with Sanctum map

UI:

• Fixed truncated text for chat channel listings
• Changed chat channel names to be consistant
• Changed “Sold Items” button in broker to “Collect Money”
• Support messages at account login are now correct for NA/EU regions

NPCs:

• NPC Jielinlinerk now refers to himself correctly in greeting text
• Fixed NPC Cachus greeting text grammar error
• Fixed NPC item “An Account of the Expedition to Reshanta” grammar
• Fixed NPCs Garantin, Steinkel, Lukea and Bephax text to match other merchants
• Removed quotation marks from text inside various NPCs shop buttons
• Corrected various NPCs gender references

Items:

• Items related to Halloween giveaways have been edited for grammar
• Fixed quest items that had titles cut off when viewed by players

Quests:

[Elyos]

• Fixed html tag in Quest RM-78c
• Fixed “Illegal Logging” quest to point to correct quest mob ‘Tursin Overseers’
• Fixed reference to say ‘Loom’ instead of ‘Ormea’ for “A Flute for the Fixing” quest
• Fixed quest dialog and journal to refer to correct quest MOB

[Asmodian]

• Fixed missing Quest Item name from quest journal for “Parica’s Special Order” Quest
• Changed quest item from ‘scarlet brisket’ to ‘Daru brisket’ for “Irresistible Soup” Quest
• Changed quest item from ‘Flag Box’ to ‘Gerger Insignia’ for “The Gerger’s Insignia” Quest
• Fixed wording in “Helping Apelbine” quest to refer to correct quest item
• Fixed crafting quest recommendation letters to refer to correct experts and crafting type
• Fixed grammar in dictionary term for ‘Fine-haired Larva’ for “Pollution Solution” quest
• Fixed journal entry for “A Polite Request” to refer to specific NPC

Abyss

• Corrected “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” quest text to be more detailed in when/where NPC appears
• Fixed html tag in quest journal for “Meeting with the Brigade General”

Audio:

• NPC Captured Engineer greeting/goodbye now appropriate to text dialog
• NPC Metea greeting/goodbye volume has been fixed
• NPC Jhaelas now has consistant greeting/goodbye
• NPC Tigares now has appropriate greetings and goodbyes

As I concentrate more and more on my Assassin, I realise that I have found the class for me… at least for now. Although the alt-itis hasn’t set in yet, I highly doubt I’m completely cured. But yes, I do believe, against everything I have ever known in the past, the Assassin class will be the first class I take to 50.

“Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.”

So, being the perfectionist I can be, I spend almost as much time researching the Assassin as I do playing one – helps that there’s more times I am too distracted to play (courtesy of toddler and now new puppy) than times I can sit down and completely lose myself in game. As I slowly level up (still only 16 due to a week of no play), I start to not only don better gear, but also spend more time in the same pieces of gear than the really early levels. I’ve been told that as you get higher in levels you replace pieces less frequently, so now is as good a time as any to make sure I’m improving the right stats.

So, what stats does an Assassin work towards? Thankfully… pretty much the same as the Ranger!

Physical Crit – The main one for an Assassin to raise, up to the soft cap of 440 that is. The good news for me, is at these low levels I’m at no risk of hitting this cap any time soon. Apparently around the mid 30 levels you can reach it, so for now, this is pretty much the only stat I need to worry about.

At these lower levels (under 30), it’s recommended to just make use of any Physical Crit stones that drop unless you have enough money to burn on buying them off other players. If you obtain any nice stones (+8 or higher), a lot of PvPers recommend holding onto them until you have level 25 or over gear as the Abyss is where they really come in handy.

Evasion – This is an Assassin stat to concentrate on if you are looking into lots of PvP, which let’s face it, if you’re playing Aion you most likely will be. That said, there are a lot of players out there primarily interested in the PvE aspects of the game (either in general, or just on their Assassin) and as such, Evasion isn’t something they really need to worry about.

There is no cap for Evasion, however it works on a comparative stat bases of Accuracy vs Evasion. If your Evasion level is higher than your opponents Accuracy, you start having chances to evade – the bigger the difference, the more evasion. On the flip side, if your opponents Accuracy is higher than your Evasion, they will nearly always land their hits.

You want at least 400 Crit rating before you start dropping it for Evasion…

A tip courtesy of Triniel: When calculating the evasion you will want vs someone of your level, use your own accuracy as a sample. Assassins have one of if not the highest base accuracy, so take your evasion – your accuracy / 10 = Chance to evade someone of your level.

Attack – When you look at a lot of the older Assassin guides, they recommend Attack Speed Increase, but in all my searching, I can not find anything that increases the speed. The only thing I can find is the +attack manastones. In F8L’s guide, he puts Attack last… I can only assume it still belongs there because while it boosts the base damage you do (white damage), I’d still prefer the ability to crit because as Assassins, we need quick kills.

Personally, white damage is for Rangers and Gladiators. Assassins are here to do big numbers and kill our opponents quickly.

Parry – The third on my list of stats to increase because it can help you evade hits which in turn pops your Counter-attack ability. I also solo a lot (currently) so the less damage I take the better. All that taken into consideration, I do not go out of my way to slot for this stat, but if I have a Parry stone sitting around, an empty slot and nothing else to fill it, I will make use of the parry stone. Once the gear is replaced, or I have another crit stone drop, I will replace Parry. (Same goes for HP Stones)

Don’t discount Parry if you have a chance to use it, when an Assassin evades, it’s not only reducing the damage taken, but of course allowing an additional (Focused Evasion free) use of Counter-attack. Should CA stun, it then opens up another opportunity to jump behind the mob/player and use Surprise Attack. With the nice damage SA can do, this could easily be the turning point in a fight…

Accuracy – a trait a lot of Assassins ask about because when you look at it, you need to be about to hit in the first place to do nice damage. Thankfully though, Assassins have the highest natural Accuracy in game and we don’t need to worry about it – Yipee!

So far… that is what I have learned. Bear in mind all of my information comes from reading other players postings, but I did read A LOT of different posts and everything seems to be relatively similar. Of course, if I have anything incorrect, please feel free to politely point it out by commenting below.

I always thoroughly enjoy the in-game events that accompany real life dates such as Easter, Christmas and Valentines Day. I particularly enjoy Halloween events as this is not a holiday celebrated in Australia. Yes, there are a select few that want any excuse to have a party, and of course the greedy snots that see it as nothing more than a reason to ask every neighbour they never said hello to for free candy.

But generally, most Aussies will open their door surprised and confused at any “trick or treats” bellowed at them, it’s just not something we prepare for. That said – Halloween will be the first thing I go ALL OUT for if/when I move to the states! I love what I see on the movies haha.

I am very happy to know that Aion will follow in gaming tradition and make special times, well, special. In WoW it was known as Hallow’s End, and in Aion, it will be known as Harvest Revel!

Official Announcement

During the fall harvest, from time immemorial, the people of Atreia have celebrated the bounty of the land. Years ago, the joy of the annual revels was troubled by an eclipse – a peculiar and magical eclipse that brought darkness to Asmodae and Elysea. Ever since, for days during Harvest Revel, the sky goes dark and the peoples of Atreia join the hunt.

Asmodians find soothing peace during the dark days of the Harvest Revel. They celebrate by racing after the Wild Kurthanir hunt leader during the Wild Hunt and cooking special traditional dishes.

Elyos endure the dark days because during them the dead of Elysea are restless. Undead creatures rise from the grave every few hours, pulled back into a semblance of life by the power of the eclipse. Elyos must join roving Dark Night bands to hunt and destroy the undead before they invade Elyos villages.

Log in each day during Harvest Revel. Celebrate with us and every day rewards your investment with new Aion lore and tasty treats!

Harvest Revel
Begin: October 25, 2009
End: October 31, 2009

May your wings be strong and swift! We’ll see you in Atreia!

As stated by Spooncraft: a perpetual eclipse making the game darker? Awesome! Different experiences for the two factions? Awesome! Lore, candy, and special monsters? TESTIFY!

While I think it’s totally fantastic that I can solo with my Assassin, especially coming off the frustration of the Ranger, I still have to watch the different mobs I try to take on alone as there are different levels of difficulty to a mob besides their obvious level.

There are several different ratings for creatures and NPCs. These ratings are displayed through the various target frames they have surrounding their health bar. It’s become very important for me to pay attention to these ratings to help determine if I’ll be able to take the mob with ease, if I’ll need to use a health pot or maybe two, or, the most important one for me to recognise, if I need to run my ass out of there!!

Target Frame Ratings

The first part to pay attention to is the target frame – the area surrounding the mobs health bar.

As you can see on the top one there is nothing really special, while the second one down – the elite – has the double bars at the end and a slightly enhanced circle on the left hand side. And of course Hero and Legendary look like they’ve been to some sort of academy and received their wings…

So long as you’re paying attention, you should be able to notice the differences immediately after targeting. But the mobs difficulty indicators don’t stop there… they also have spots!

Target Emblems

Ok, emblems as they are officially called. Spots, Dots, Emblems… they all refer to the little white markers inside the circle portion of the target frame on the left side of the health bar. The emblems indicates the relative difficulty of a target in relation to others of its kind.

So basically, you can have two mobs who look identical; however they can be different degrees of difficulty. This is what I pay particular attention too in these lower levels.

The first part, which most of you should be aware of by now, is the colour of the emblem background which will denote whether it is a hostile or non-hostile target. Red – for hostile targets – will aggressively attack you. On the other hand, yellow – non-hostile targets – will mostly ignore you.

Note: be wary when attacking non-hostile target when a similar creature or NPC is nearby as some of them will come to the aid of their comrades.

The second part is the actual marks on the mob…

Taking note of those dots is necessary for any soloing class out there – particularly one that can’t self heal well during combat. I know for me, I can take a mob with up to 3 dots fairly easily, however 4 dots can become quite tricky.

No idea if this info helps anyone else out there – I wasn’t aware of the dots (or, more to the point didn’t know what they meant) until my partner informed me. So maybe there’s someone else out there that shares my lack of knowledge about it hehe.

No Hide -> Surprise Attack Opener?

Coming from the Ranger, who had like 3 abilities in total for most of her levels 10 through to 16 life, it’s quite a different experience on my Assassin who has long since filled up her first hotbar and is currently trying to squeeze additional abilities in. I’m not used to having this many skills to choose from in a fight. I tend to get so focused on watching all the pretty flashy buttons that I have missed stuns, can not keep up with guild chat and have even died a couple of times due to completely forgetting about my health. Those deaths annoy me, it’s not like I got beaten down by a tougher mob, it’s just that I lost my concentration and forgot to heal back up before entering a new fight.

At level 16 (ding last night, yay me), I have even more fun little options to include along my hotbar somewhere. It’s funny, I actually got a little disappointed when I tested and learnt that Fang Strike isn’t on the same cooldown timer as Rune Carve and that I could in fact use both during the fight. Why? Because this means I had to shuffle things around to slot Fang Strike in there somewhere lol. I can’t click my abilities (too slow, too annoying), and I don’t like contorting my fingers to use Alt + numbers. I like all my main abilities that I use every fight on numbers 1 through to the little + key.

So, in an attempts to maximise my damage while reducing the feeling of playing a piano every fight (fingers all over the keyboard), I’ve been researching the better rotations and working out how to arrange my own skills to suit me.

I’ve been reading over the Assassin Skill Rotation – PvE (Solo) thread found on Aion Source, and one thing I noticed that was missing from all the recommended rotations was no use of the Hide -> Surprise Attack combo as an opener? Now, before you go commenting about it, I am aware of the disclaimer which states:

If a mob is not KoS, infer that Surprise Attack will be the first attack (not buff) used in your rotation, always. If it is KoS, you use your Surprise Attack only after you have landed a stun and have positioned yourself behind them.

But at the moment, 95% of the mobs I am fighting are KoS. Which means most of the fights I am engaging in, if I follow this thread, dictate I open with my Swift Edge Chain (Swift Edge >> Soul Slash). I find this interesting as I had always assumed that Rogues/Assassins/Vermin – what ever you want to call them – always stealthed up to their target and took their first cheap shot from behind?

Oddly enough (to me), I’m actually happy to read this as I can now stop trying to hide and sneak my way up to every mob, which is very annoying with our constant lag and the fact that the mobs aren’t kind enough to just stand in one spot while I get into position. I mean really – if I’m loitering somewhere, I stand still! Or better yet, sit! I don’t constantly wander in a 5 foot radius doing nothing lol. Bloody mobs.

In a way knowing this new info also takes away some of the “Rogue” style feel to the class for me as there appears to be little use of hide in the PvE scene. Obviously I have not read up on PvP yet as I am nowhere near that part of the game. But by having less use of Hide, the Assassin comes across more as a melee class that can backstab, than it does the Rogue from WoW.

As I learn more and more about the Assassin, the more I come to think I’ll really enjoy her and she will be my first class to go all the way.



In case there is a poor sucker out there who has never played a MMORPG for Aion and doesn’t know… KoS = Kill on Sight