Aion: The Tower Of Eternal Grind?

When Aion launched a while back I decided not to jump in and try it. I initially read some glowing reviews about the game, and my curiosity was piqued to the point that I almost purchased it just to see what it was all about. I made it past the first month after it launched, and I figured that I could get by with my current games and new ones on the horizon. I’d read enough reviews that said that it wasn’t bringing much new to the table and I kind of agreed with that. Wings and pretty graphics are not enough to draw me in, especially when I had little knowledge of the Korean IP before hand.

There were also other reasons that I think I was ultimately able to resist the lure of a new MMO like Aion. I played Lineage II for a while before my years in World of Warcraft began, and laugh when people talk about grinds because that game has the grind to end all grinds. Aion is an NCsoft game made for a Korean audience initially, and that set off additional warning messages to me. Evidently many Koreans don’t mind sitting in internet cafes and playing highly repetitive and boring games like Lineage II. Many Americans do not enjoy those types of games, as far as I can tell. Too bad that localizing the game for an American audience didn’t include changing the game design as well, because its evident to me now that Aion’s grind is as demoralizing as its Lineage II cousin.

I read a crap-ton of blogs every day, and I’ve noticed the trend of bloggers calling Aion out for its horrendous grind (and other problems) and calling it quits. For example:

What I really need right now from an MMO is a game that I can pick up and play a few nights a week. Not a game that makes me feel like I’m required to play every night to get somewhere. – Aion, a nasty confession

Although there are some really fun aspects to the game (primarily cosmetic aspects), there are also numerous problems that keep the game from ever becoming anything resembling a “WoW killer,” most notably the incessant amount of grinding involved. – Done Trying To Be Korean, Balancing Melee: The Final Frontier

Now I could very well just grind out the level and hope to get more quests however its easier said than done and I may die of boredom before that happens, I could only stomach about an hour last night killing bloody mushrooms before I decided I’d have more fun finishing off the book I was reading…….. not good. – Oh Oooh! Death by Boredom

I unsubbed from Aion on Sunday night. When the prospect of staring at a wall in deep thought is more appealing than logging in to grind another dozen bubbles or so in boring PvE, it’s time to hang up your subscription and move on for a while. – From Aion to Fallen Earth

- Crafting. Way too much of a grind. Work orders were very boring. Many of the decent items required a crit of a previous item. This made materials very expensive. – Farewell Aion

But the grind… oh, the grind. If I thought it was bad at the lower levels, that is nothing compared to the situation now that I’m over level 30. Do I want to punish myself that much to get to the maximum level? – Aion review, part 2

Genda called this one early on, Aion appears to be yet another game the WoW tourists and other MMO sheep flock to and ditch a month or two later. Keep in mind that I say “sheep” with tongue-in-cheek, since I pretty much did the same thing with Champions Online, and will likely do again with Star Wars: The Old Republic. I guess the point of my article is to express my feelings of vindication that I finally made the right call to not invest in the new shiny thing (Aion) that we attention deficit gamers are often drawn toward. I finally made a good call and stayed away from an poorly done MMO. God bless those of you that have the time and love for such grinds/bugs/design flaws, but many people (like me) do not.

TLDR Summary:
I made a good call on skipping this grind-tastic game.

- br3ntbr0