NCsoft's Future Update Plans on Aion

Korea-based NCsoft held a press conference on March 3, where they announced that they would implement patch 1.9 updates in Aion in March and patch 2.0 in May.

To solve the problem that players find it hard to find a group to group up in current version, the "Looking for Group" (LFG) function will be added to help players find others for group quests and the search function will be available as well. In addition, lots of modifications will be made to the game UI. After the update, the skill quickbar will be able to be moved to anywhere on the screen.

New skills will be added to each class and new stats will be added to characters, including the healing increase stat, magic critical hit defense stat, physical critical hit defense stat, etc.

To help players level up more quickly, the "Energy of Salvation" will be added. Besides, "Daily Quests" will be added allowing players to undertake a new quest every day, and new medals will be provided as quest rewards. A two-handed weapon combining system will be implemented, and items' max socketing value will be increased to +15. A brand-name boutique shop will be added, where players will be able to purchase brand-name apparel from NPCs.

It's expected that three changes will take place after the patch 1.9 is implemented:

Firstly, it will be easier for players to level up. The existing Energy of Repose can boost players' EXP gain in monster grinding. Through the added Energy of Salvation, players will obtain more bonus EXP. Furthermore, the cost of soul healing will be greatly decreased and more soul healing places will be added in different areas.

Secondly, the battle system in Aion will be changed. Currently, players will fall to the ground for one to two seconds if they are attacked by monsters and fall into stunned state. But in the future version, two skills that can be used to remove the debuff state will be added for each class at lvl 40 and lvl 48 respectively.

Thirdly, the updates will facilitate players' operations. In Aion 1.9, if players press on a wrong key and thus sell any item mistakenly, they can use the buy-back function to buy their sold items back. Moreover, the movable quickbar will make players' operations easier.

The patch 1.9 is scheduled to be implemented in the Korean Aion on March 4 and will be made available for all servers not later than mid-March.

On the other hand, another virtual gaming world, the Balaur Territory, will be added in Aion 2.0 which is likely to be unveiled in May. With the new territory added, battles among different races will be funnier. The new patch will also bring in a level cap increase and more new instanced dungeons.

Below are some questions we specially quoted from the press conference.

Q: When will the eternal gears be added?

A: We plan to add them in patch 2.0. There will be plenty of eternal gears and their quantity will be even larger when the Balaur Territory is released.

Q: Will the monsters for outdoor raids be ranked?

A: Depending on the number of raid team members, different monsters will appear. Some monsters will directly appear in the wild, while some won't show up until special requirements have been met.

Q: Can you introduce the new flight system?

A: The new flight system is called the "Airflow System" (literally translated, waiting for official name), which is designed for the purpose of giving full play to functions of the flight system, like gliding. It will be made pubic in patch 2.0. With the new flight system, if players come across airflow while gliding, their flight speed will be boosted and they can fly more freely and quickly.

Q: Would you disclose the background story about the upcoming new content?

A: The patch 1.9 will mainly target at meeting players' demands and making preparations for the future Balaur Territory. In Aion 2.0, the core content will be the annihilation of the Balaur. More details will be announced soon.

Q: Will the level cap be increased to 55?

A: Our main focus in patch 1.9 is adding more equipment and skills to make characters stronger, and the level cap won't be increased till patch 2.0.

Q: What will be the rewards for the Abyss outdoors?

A: We are preparing higher-level new medals. Besides medals, more other items will serve as rewards for fortress sieges in the future.

Q: Will the max number of debuffs be limited to 8? Will it be increased in the future?

A: We understand the necessity to increase it, however, to implement that, we have to make adjustments to all classes. So it's difficult for us to update that in patch 2.0. We'll work on that in future updates.

Q: Aside from the daily quests as you mentioned, what other quests are worthy of doing for players?

A: There will be large number of daily quests with various rewards offered, and we will also adjust the drop rates in current instanced dungeons. The added stun-defending system will bring changes to PvE and PvP, and a limited edition system will be added to the gathering and crafting.

Q: Any other new content will come out in patch 2.0?

A: Pets will debut in patch 2.0. Players can go around with the accompany of their pets then. But pets can not engage in battles. We'll strengthen them in future patches.

Q: The dropped items always cause disputes among group members. Will a function that allows members to exchange items be useful for avoiding such disputes?

A: We'll resolve that problem in patch 1.9, but we are sorry that it's inconvenient for us to reveal the details now.

Q: Can you give us an introduction to the Rental System?

A: The rental system is specially designed for casual players. It will allow players to rent equipment from the Rental Merchant at a low price and use the equipment for a set amount of time. Rental equipment can also be used in daily quests, but cannot be sold or strengthened.

Q: What new skills will be added in patch 1.9?

A: A skill that can increase enmity will be added for the Templar, and some defective skills of other classes will also be modified and new skills will be added.

Source: mmosite.com