Aion Assault on Balaurea Preview (2.0)

2010-05-25

With the long awaited 1.9 patch just around the corner, NCsoft are spoiling us all by sharing some juicy snippets and highlights of what is around the corner for 2.0. Feast your eyes on this!

Assault on Balaurea Preview!

As we gear up for the release of Aion v1.9, hitting test servers May 25 and then going live June 2, we wanted to treat Western players with what we have in store following v1.9’s launch - AION^®: Assault on Balaurea™, the recently announced title for the next major expansion following v1.9.

While Aion v1.9 focuses on player suggested enhancements that fine-tune the game’s leveling experience and balance class abilities across PvP play, Aion: Assault on Balaurea will leave players breathless as they encounter jaw-dropping new challenges in their journeys through new instances and zones.

Aion: Assault on Balaurea brings players an evolution of the game story and terrain as it expands the world far beyond the traditional territories of Asmodae and Elysea. In this new chapter of Aion, characters will be able to launch a massive counter assault against the invading Balaur on their homeland while experiencing new and updated instances and zones, an increased level cap, fresh weapons and items, new skills and added flight mechanics. But characters will not be alone as they explore the new areas, as Aion introduces functional pets equipped with in-game benefits.

Along with a list of key game highlights in the upcoming expansion, we pulled together an exciting video that brings Aion: Assault on Balaurea to life:

Key Aion: Assault on Balaurea features:

New Instances: Aion hosts eight new instances, each filled with fantastic challenges and enticing rewards. These new instances offer a range of challenges for all varieties of players ranging from solo adventures to full-on Legion raids. Players will face Balaur cultists in the Udas Temple instance, explore the roots of a great Elim tree creature and battle each other in one of Aion’s fierce PvPvE battles aboard the Chantra Dredgion, the new Balaur supply ship.

Pets: Pets are no longer decorative. Aion redefines how MMORPGs approach pets, creating an entire new subsystem for players to explore as they acquire functional pets capable of storing goods, assisting with crafting or acting as guardians by alerting their masters to nearby enemies.

New Zones: Players will explore the vast lands of Baluarea, the home of the Balaur, ruled by the Dragon Lord Tiamat. The Asmodians and Elyos have established fortresses in the two new zones: Gelkmaros and Ingisson, each area featuring completely new environments, powerful monsters and unique flight mechanics for players to enjoy.

Increased Level Cap: Five additional levels can be achieved. With an increased level cap of 55, characters will discover new weapons, earn new items and learn new skills as they explore the dangerous lands of Baluarea.

Enhanced Flight Mechanics: Brand new flight options in the form of Windstreams allow characters to traverse the vast new zones of Gelkmaros and Ingisson with increased speed and unlimited flight time. Windstreams have varying strengths and effects, adding a further layer of depth and strategy to Aion’s highly-acclaimed flight mechanics.

Twitter Integration: Aion’s new Twitter feed functionality makes player bragging rights easy with its fluid integration into the game. Players can capture and Twitpic up to ten of their favorite screen shots using the updated in-game UI.