One of the big things about Aion is building up your gear to help make your avatar a defensive juggernaut or a ruthless killing machine. There are several ways to do this, but with each you need to understand the basics of what they are and how they work.
Gear comes in a number of rarity grades in Aion.
Gear Grades
There are four levels of gear rarity in Aion, each tier more powerful than the next. Some gear you acquire will have sockets for placing manastones or godstones. Chest, legs, shoulder, gloves, and boots will offer socket slots. The more rare the gear, the more sockets the item has.
Normal (Gray): Normal items are the common drops and often found on vendors. Normal items have between 1-2 socket slots.
Rare (Green): Rare items are a bit harder to find but they offer better statistics then normal items. These items drop off of creatures across Atreia and on contribution vendors for those looking rare items for a PvP boost. Rare items generally come with 2-3 socket slots.
Legendary (Blue): Legendary items are difficult to find, but they provide some of the best statistic gear in the game. Contribution vendors also carry these items at a high cost. Legendary items come with 3-4 sockets.
Unique (Orange): Unique items are the hardest to come by, but they also provide the best statistics gear-wise. You can find these on contribution vendors, but expect to pay greatly for them. Unique items come with 4-5 socket slots.
Enchantments
Enchantments improve specific attributes on weapons and armor and are a bit tricky, but the way this works is you will need to buy a set of extraction tools from the general goods vendor. You can then use these tools on an item to try and extract an enchantment stone from it. It is important to note that this will destroy the item. However, the higher the level of the item, the better the enchantment. Once you have your enchantment stone, you can try to use it on one of your items to boost its stats. There is also a chance that you will fail here and lose the stone. Lastly, if you try to enchant an already enchanted item and fail, your item will lose one level of enchantment. So there is always a chance you could do more harm than good through enchantments, but if you can succeed, your power will be enhanced, making it risky, but worth it. One way to reduce your chance of failure is to try and use a higher level stone than your items level.
Manastones enhance a number of stats and can be socketed into armor.
Manastones
Manastones are used to socket your gear and provide it with a number of possible enchantments. You can usually find these stones on various creatures throughout Atreia and very commonly on the trade broker. Manastones provide a number of possible enhancements such as boosting evasion, parry, hitpoints, attack, mana points, and much more. Read the full list of manastones here.
To socket a manastone, you first need an empty socket in a piece of gear. If you have already placed something in the socket, you can pay a visit to the specific vendors in town that can remove your current manastones. Before you remove a manastone, make sure it’s the one you want to be rid of as removing it will destroy the stone.
Godstones
Godstones are the last and one of the most powerful enhancements you can add to gear. Much like manastones, you will need a free socket to use a godstone and you will need to visit a godstone vendor in your faction’s main city. Unlike manastones however, godstones can only be placed in weapons. You can begin socketing godstones at level 30. More importantly, socketing a godstone to a weapon will give you a nice new shiny effect. What good is it to have all that power if you can’t smite an enemy in style? Godstones offer a number of enhancements to your weapon to enhance your attacks, Read the full list of godstones here.
Overall, Aion provides a huge number of options to customize your character’s gear and enhance their power. Enchantments may be risky, but the payoff can sometimes be well worth the risk. The early use of manastones is an essential tool for boosting your gear statistics and the later addition of godstones can turn your weapon into a giant, glowing, instrument of death. With all these enhancements available, you can march into battle well equipped and ready to monkey stomp opposing forces. And if the strong gear enhancements don’t earn you victory, you can always pop your wings and fly away while screaming like a school girl.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Aion Enchantment Guide
Improving your gear is easier than you might think!
Armor is really the biggest investment you make for your character. We upgrade regularly, spend countless amounts of kinah to buy the best we can afford, and spend countless hours to get the best drops. Making these investments more worthwhile for longer is what enchantments can do and if you haven’t tried using them yet then you are not getting the most you can out of your gear.
Below you will learn all about enchantment stones, what they do, why you need them, and how to use them. Hopefully by the time you are done reading, you’ll be ready to make your gear better and battle ready!
What are Enchantment Stones?
In a nutshell, enchantment stones are player created enhancements that you can buy from other players or create yourself then add to your armor pieces. Once successfully added to your gear you will enjoy an increase in stats that can be very valuable in both PvE and PvP gameplay. Often referred to as “leveling your gear”, you can use up to 10 enchantment stones per armor piece making them a great way to boost your base stats.
How Does Enchanting Work?
Step by step, enchantments aren't that complicated.
Each piece of your armor and weapons start out at basically level 0. Your gear will never degrade beyond its original level 0 stats. Each enchantment stone you add will give you an additional level indicated by a (+1) next to the name of your item. You can add up to (+10) on each piece of gear eventually adding a large amount of extra stats that can be very valuable.
You will obtain enchantment stones, add them to your weapon and armor pieces, and then see the resulting stat benefits. It sounds easy enough but it can get a little complicated.
How do I get started?
First you’ll need extraction tools. You can find these from general merchants in the cities and they go for around 1000 kinah each. They can only be used once so if you intend to do all of your gear you’ll need a stack of them.
Now you need gear to disenchant. If you’re planning ahead, you can save green armor drops which are by far the cheapest way to obtain enchantment stones. If you aren’t thinking ahead then you need to either pick up good deals off of the broker or just buy the enchantment stones. You’ll need gear the same level as the gear you intend to enchant or higher and preferably of green quality or better.
To use the extraction tool, right click on it then click on the gear you wish to disenchant. This destroys the item so don’t use anything you didn’t want to lose. Once the process is complete you’ll have anywhere from 1 to 3 enchantment stones to use. The stones will either be blue, white, or gold and what quality you receive seems to be random though whites or equal level to the piece of armor you extracted from are the most common. I extracted from 6 pieces of armor and weapons of green and white quality and all level 12 and got back 4 white level 12s, and 3 gold level 21s. Not a bad return!
I Have my Enchantment Stones, Now What?
Enjoy better gear immediately
Now comes the fun part…failure! If you intend to do all of your gear, the first order of business is to get everything to +1. The cheapest and easiest way to do this is to add enchantment stones that are about 5 levels higher than the gear you are enchanting if you are working with typical green armor. Blue armor would need stones 10+ levels higher and orange gear would need at least 15+ levels higher. Anything lower will just add to your chance of failure and even at this point you can expect to fail part of the time.
Higher level enchantments have a lower chance of failing, but you will still fail sometimes. This is why as you add multiple levels of enchantment to your gear you’ll really want to invest in higher level enchantment stones to avoid de-leveling your gear back to 0.
In doing my own gear, I had about a 50% success using enchantments about the same level as the gear I was enchanting so I’d really recommend not wasting kinah on higher level enchantments until you’ve achieved a level or two on each of your pieces. You cannot use enchantment stones a lower level than your gear; I tried several times and all failed. My best results were in using enchantment stones 10+ levels higher than my gear; I failed in about 1 of 3 attempts in this case.
Actually applying the enchantment stones is just a matter of right clicking on the stone then clicking on the gear you wish to enchant.
What will the Enchantments do for my Gear?
Daggers and swords get +2 Attack per level.
Greatsword, Polearm, and Bows get +4 Attack per level.
Mace, Orb, Spellbook, and Staff get +3 Attack and +10 Magic Boost per level.
Armor gives a +Defense that depends on what type of armor you are enchanting and what slot it fills.
Shields get a +2 to Damage Reduction per level.
These kinds of stats are certainly nothing to sneeze at and while I don’t recommend enchanting at lower levels unless you’re playing a twink with cash to burn, it is something that is essential at higher levels as part of your typical armor upgrade routine.
Armor is really the biggest investment you make for your character. We upgrade regularly, spend countless amounts of kinah to buy the best we can afford, and spend countless hours to get the best drops. Making these investments more worthwhile for longer is what enchantments can do and if you haven’t tried using them yet then you are not getting the most you can out of your gear.
Below you will learn all about enchantment stones, what they do, why you need them, and how to use them. Hopefully by the time you are done reading, you’ll be ready to make your gear better and battle ready!
What are Enchantment Stones?
In a nutshell, enchantment stones are player created enhancements that you can buy from other players or create yourself then add to your armor pieces. Once successfully added to your gear you will enjoy an increase in stats that can be very valuable in both PvE and PvP gameplay. Often referred to as “leveling your gear”, you can use up to 10 enchantment stones per armor piece making them a great way to boost your base stats.
How Does Enchanting Work?
Step by step, enchantments aren't that complicated.
Each piece of your armor and weapons start out at basically level 0. Your gear will never degrade beyond its original level 0 stats. Each enchantment stone you add will give you an additional level indicated by a (+1) next to the name of your item. You can add up to (+10) on each piece of gear eventually adding a large amount of extra stats that can be very valuable.
You will obtain enchantment stones, add them to your weapon and armor pieces, and then see the resulting stat benefits. It sounds easy enough but it can get a little complicated.
How do I get started?
First you’ll need extraction tools. You can find these from general merchants in the cities and they go for around 1000 kinah each. They can only be used once so if you intend to do all of your gear you’ll need a stack of them.
Now you need gear to disenchant. If you’re planning ahead, you can save green armor drops which are by far the cheapest way to obtain enchantment stones. If you aren’t thinking ahead then you need to either pick up good deals off of the broker or just buy the enchantment stones. You’ll need gear the same level as the gear you intend to enchant or higher and preferably of green quality or better.
To use the extraction tool, right click on it then click on the gear you wish to disenchant. This destroys the item so don’t use anything you didn’t want to lose. Once the process is complete you’ll have anywhere from 1 to 3 enchantment stones to use. The stones will either be blue, white, or gold and what quality you receive seems to be random though whites or equal level to the piece of armor you extracted from are the most common. I extracted from 6 pieces of armor and weapons of green and white quality and all level 12 and got back 4 white level 12s, and 3 gold level 21s. Not a bad return!
I Have my Enchantment Stones, Now What?
Enjoy better gear immediately
Now comes the fun part…failure! If you intend to do all of your gear, the first order of business is to get everything to +1. The cheapest and easiest way to do this is to add enchantment stones that are about 5 levels higher than the gear you are enchanting if you are working with typical green armor. Blue armor would need stones 10+ levels higher and orange gear would need at least 15+ levels higher. Anything lower will just add to your chance of failure and even at this point you can expect to fail part of the time.
Higher level enchantments have a lower chance of failing, but you will still fail sometimes. This is why as you add multiple levels of enchantment to your gear you’ll really want to invest in higher level enchantment stones to avoid de-leveling your gear back to 0.
In doing my own gear, I had about a 50% success using enchantments about the same level as the gear I was enchanting so I’d really recommend not wasting kinah on higher level enchantments until you’ve achieved a level or two on each of your pieces. You cannot use enchantment stones a lower level than your gear; I tried several times and all failed. My best results were in using enchantment stones 10+ levels higher than my gear; I failed in about 1 of 3 attempts in this case.
Actually applying the enchantment stones is just a matter of right clicking on the stone then clicking on the gear you wish to enchant.
What will the Enchantments do for my Gear?
Daggers and swords get +2 Attack per level.
Greatsword, Polearm, and Bows get +4 Attack per level.
Mace, Orb, Spellbook, and Staff get +3 Attack and +10 Magic Boost per level.
Armor gives a +Defense that depends on what type of armor you are enchanting and what slot it fills.
Shields get a +2 to Damage Reduction per level.
These kinds of stats are certainly nothing to sneeze at and while I don’t recommend enchanting at lower levels unless you’re playing a twink with cash to burn, it is something that is essential at higher levels as part of your typical armor upgrade routine.
Aion Carebear's Guide to Dodging PvP
Not in the mood for a face off? Get tips on how to avoid PvP!
The term “carebear” is often used in gaming as a derogatory term to describe those who choose to not engage in heavy player versus player combat. Yeah, I’ve been called a carebear but since I’m not evil and have nothing against these cuddly little bundles of fluff, I’m okay with it!
Being more PvE centric in a game like Aion isn’t a bad thing. We all have our different play styles, and each should be respected. It does make it hard though when you want to head out to gather for your crafting profession and you end up getting stabbed in the face every time you attempt to do so. You can try to defend yourself but let’s face it; carebear twitch reflex isn’t quite the same as the Ranger that just popped you with an arrow in the back then ricocheted across your screen until you finally died without landing even one hit.
Because Aion encourages PvP, and should, PvE players have to find a way to dodge the player killers and we have a few tips that will make it easier to avoid unwanted PvP gameplay. Whether you are a staunch PvE player who may never step foot in the Abyss, or a regular PvP player who just wants to get a few quests or some gathering done, these tips will work for just about everyone.
My Safeword is Blueberry Pancakes
Zones, like this one in Asmodae, have absolutely no risk of PvP encounters.
Probably the best way to avoid PvP is to go where it cannot. Each faction sports a decent sized zone that has absolutely no access for the opposing faction. For Asmodians it’s Brusthonin and for the Elyos, their PvP free zone is Theobomos. These two zones cover levels 20-40+ but not completely. Best uses of these safe zones are between levels 20-25 and 40-45 which leaves you to your own devices through most of your 30s but these zones can still be utilized for gathering across all levels.
When those zones aren’t appropriate but you’d still like to progress your character unfettered by ganking, grab a group and hit some instances! Dungeons give good and fast experience without the worry of having to watch your back. You may have to live with pick up groups, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made in the name of leveling.
Run Forest, Run!
When playing in a safe zone won’t work for whatever you need to do, you’ll end up having to make your way into one of the several rifting zones and this means you may face players looking to beat you down. It is pretty much impossible to avoid PvP completely in these areas, but you can take control and minimize your exposure. One way to do this is being aware of where the rift incoming locations are at. Opposing faction players will only make it so far in a zone so if you stay away from these hot spots, thus you lower your risk of coming face to face with them.
Another trick is the “radar”. Easy to set up and so extremely helpful in either finding PvP or avoiding it, utilizing your existing chat filtering tools you can set up your own warning radar to go off when danger is near.
Step 1 – Open a new tab on your chat box via the chat menu and drag it to a separate location where it will be easily noticed at all times.
Step 2 – Right click on your new tab and choose “tab options”. Only have selected “Combat-Others” and in the sub section, mark all that are for your Enemy’s.
Step 3 – Make all font colors for the selected sections something that will stand out, such as bright red then hit your “change” button.
Now when an opposing faction enemy enters the area and casts any sort of skill or spell, it will scroll onto your screen before you even see them giving you a chance to either protect yourself, or get the heck to a safe location.
Just Me, Myself, and I
Some times of day are busier than others. Weekends are extremely active and weekday evenings are peak times when a lot of people are on and looking to make war. If at all possible, do your gathering and other low key gameplay when tons of people aren’t on. During the day and late night are perfect for this and often off peak hours will be the key in getting stuff done without getting ganked while doing it.
For those times when you can’t avoid peak gameplay times, be more social! If you spot enemies sneaking around in the shadows, link their map location into regional chat and wait for the cavalry. If you see open rifts, tell people where they are! Aiding your own faction’s PvP players is probably the best way to keep the other faction at bay while making the lands safer for your own travel.
You don’t have to be a hardcore PvPer to enjoy Aion and you don’t have to be the victim every time. Take these tips with you next time you get in game and you’ll find yourself the target of unwanted bloodshed a little less often.
The term “carebear” is often used in gaming as a derogatory term to describe those who choose to not engage in heavy player versus player combat. Yeah, I’ve been called a carebear but since I’m not evil and have nothing against these cuddly little bundles of fluff, I’m okay with it!
Being more PvE centric in a game like Aion isn’t a bad thing. We all have our different play styles, and each should be respected. It does make it hard though when you want to head out to gather for your crafting profession and you end up getting stabbed in the face every time you attempt to do so. You can try to defend yourself but let’s face it; carebear twitch reflex isn’t quite the same as the Ranger that just popped you with an arrow in the back then ricocheted across your screen until you finally died without landing even one hit.
Because Aion encourages PvP, and should, PvE players have to find a way to dodge the player killers and we have a few tips that will make it easier to avoid unwanted PvP gameplay. Whether you are a staunch PvE player who may never step foot in the Abyss, or a regular PvP player who just wants to get a few quests or some gathering done, these tips will work for just about everyone.
My Safeword is Blueberry Pancakes
Zones, like this one in Asmodae, have absolutely no risk of PvP encounters.
Probably the best way to avoid PvP is to go where it cannot. Each faction sports a decent sized zone that has absolutely no access for the opposing faction. For Asmodians it’s Brusthonin and for the Elyos, their PvP free zone is Theobomos. These two zones cover levels 20-40+ but not completely. Best uses of these safe zones are between levels 20-25 and 40-45 which leaves you to your own devices through most of your 30s but these zones can still be utilized for gathering across all levels.
When those zones aren’t appropriate but you’d still like to progress your character unfettered by ganking, grab a group and hit some instances! Dungeons give good and fast experience without the worry of having to watch your back. You may have to live with pick up groups, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made in the name of leveling.
Run Forest, Run!
When playing in a safe zone won’t work for whatever you need to do, you’ll end up having to make your way into one of the several rifting zones and this means you may face players looking to beat you down. It is pretty much impossible to avoid PvP completely in these areas, but you can take control and minimize your exposure. One way to do this is being aware of where the rift incoming locations are at. Opposing faction players will only make it so far in a zone so if you stay away from these hot spots, thus you lower your risk of coming face to face with them.
Another trick is the “radar”. Easy to set up and so extremely helpful in either finding PvP or avoiding it, utilizing your existing chat filtering tools you can set up your own warning radar to go off when danger is near.
Step 1 – Open a new tab on your chat box via the chat menu and drag it to a separate location where it will be easily noticed at all times.
Step 2 – Right click on your new tab and choose “tab options”. Only have selected “Combat-Others” and in the sub section, mark all that are for your Enemy’s.
Step 3 – Make all font colors for the selected sections something that will stand out, such as bright red then hit your “change” button.
Now when an opposing faction enemy enters the area and casts any sort of skill or spell, it will scroll onto your screen before you even see them giving you a chance to either protect yourself, or get the heck to a safe location.
Just Me, Myself, and I
Some times of day are busier than others. Weekends are extremely active and weekday evenings are peak times when a lot of people are on and looking to make war. If at all possible, do your gathering and other low key gameplay when tons of people aren’t on. During the day and late night are perfect for this and often off peak hours will be the key in getting stuff done without getting ganked while doing it.
For those times when you can’t avoid peak gameplay times, be more social! If you spot enemies sneaking around in the shadows, link their map location into regional chat and wait for the cavalry. If you see open rifts, tell people where they are! Aiding your own faction’s PvP players is probably the best way to keep the other faction at bay while making the lands safer for your own travel.
You don’t have to be a hardcore PvPer to enjoy Aion and you don’t have to be the victim every time. Take these tips with you next time you get in game and you’ll find yourself the target of unwanted bloodshed a little less often.
Aion Elyos and Asmodian Ascension Walk-through
Find out how to earn your wings!
Whether you are Asmodian or Elyos, the first 10 levels of your time in Aion are just a small taste of what you will experience for the length of your character's life. Real adventure and challenge begins once you have completed your ascension quests, have chosen your class path, and are initiated as a Daeva. It is at this time you gain your wings and finally get to learn the intricacies of your character's career choice.
There are two ascension quest lines in game, one for each faction. These quests are given to you automatically when you reach level 9 and can be found under the "Campaign" tab of your quest journal. You can choose to do the quests as soon as you get them, or you can wait until you've finished up your time in the newbie area. You won't be able to progress much further until you've chosen your class path and have ascended, but remember that you can always travel back to the beginner area after you have ascended if you want to complete quests or help out friends!
Elyos Ascension
The first order of business is to find and speak with Pernos. If you've been questing then you've probably already met him. If not, he can be easily found along Agaric Spore Road in the northern part of Poeta. After a long dialog, he sends you on a mission to fill a vial from the center island of Cliona Lake. Once you've found the location, open your inventory and right click the vial to fill it!
With the full vial in your bag, you need to visit Lord Daminu in Daminu Forest. He's pretty much the only huge tree with a face along the road so he's hard to miss! He craves the nourishing liquid from Cliona Lake and you will use it to force Lord Daminu to share his essence. Luckily this isn't as gross as it sounds and you end up watching the old tree cry out an apple which you will nab up and take back to Pernos.
These things are suppose to help restore your memory and reveal your destiny. After speaking with Pernos again, you'll be taken to a scenario. You'll look pretty pimp and people will be hailing you as a "Lord" as you walk up the ramp to meet Belpartan. You'll speak with him and Belpartan will tell you that they need your assistance in defeating the Balaur, then your character will do a nose dive off the cliff and go flying in a cutscene. When you land you'll gain back control of your character as enemies attack you. The small group of mobs are easy to defeat and no match for your obvious glory and skill. The next guy is only slightly more difficult. The Orissa of Horror will spawn and attack you. These encounters are meant to be won so none of the enemies hit very hard or take much to destroy. Before you defeat the Orissa of Horror, you will again be transported to a cutscene where you will witness the rest of the battle.
All of this is meant to show you who you are and reveal you as a powerful warrior on the path of a Daeva. Now that you know that you aren't simply a scout, warrior, mage, or priest you will choose which specialized path you wish to follow. You choose your class then are taken back to the beginner area where you were, next to Pernos. He will ask you if you wish to stay and finish up your business in Poeta or if you are ready to head to the Sanctum and complete your Deava ceremony.
When in Sanctum, you'll need to speak with the tiny little Leah who will be just ahead of where you spawn in the city. She will send you to speak with Jucleas in the Lyceum. A cutscene will take you through the ceremony which is when you are granted your wings (yay!). After all is done here, you will be asked to visit your trainer to receive your gift for completing the ascension. The gift seems to be a weapon or off-hand item of good quality and very nice to have in those young levels.
Whether you are Asmodian or Elyos, the first 10 levels of your time in Aion are just a small taste of what you will experience for the length of your character's life. Real adventure and challenge begins once you have completed your ascension quests, have chosen your class path, and are initiated as a Daeva. It is at this time you gain your wings and finally get to learn the intricacies of your character's career choice.
There are two ascension quest lines in game, one for each faction. These quests are given to you automatically when you reach level 9 and can be found under the "Campaign" tab of your quest journal. You can choose to do the quests as soon as you get them, or you can wait until you've finished up your time in the newbie area. You won't be able to progress much further until you've chosen your class path and have ascended, but remember that you can always travel back to the beginner area after you have ascended if you want to complete quests or help out friends!
Elyos Ascension
The first order of business is to find and speak with Pernos. If you've been questing then you've probably already met him. If not, he can be easily found along Agaric Spore Road in the northern part of Poeta. After a long dialog, he sends you on a mission to fill a vial from the center island of Cliona Lake. Once you've found the location, open your inventory and right click the vial to fill it!
With the full vial in your bag, you need to visit Lord Daminu in Daminu Forest. He's pretty much the only huge tree with a face along the road so he's hard to miss! He craves the nourishing liquid from Cliona Lake and you will use it to force Lord Daminu to share his essence. Luckily this isn't as gross as it sounds and you end up watching the old tree cry out an apple which you will nab up and take back to Pernos.
These things are suppose to help restore your memory and reveal your destiny. After speaking with Pernos again, you'll be taken to a scenario. You'll look pretty pimp and people will be hailing you as a "Lord" as you walk up the ramp to meet Belpartan. You'll speak with him and Belpartan will tell you that they need your assistance in defeating the Balaur, then your character will do a nose dive off the cliff and go flying in a cutscene. When you land you'll gain back control of your character as enemies attack you. The small group of mobs are easy to defeat and no match for your obvious glory and skill. The next guy is only slightly more difficult. The Orissa of Horror will spawn and attack you. These encounters are meant to be won so none of the enemies hit very hard or take much to destroy. Before you defeat the Orissa of Horror, you will again be transported to a cutscene where you will witness the rest of the battle.
All of this is meant to show you who you are and reveal you as a powerful warrior on the path of a Daeva. Now that you know that you aren't simply a scout, warrior, mage, or priest you will choose which specialized path you wish to follow. You choose your class then are taken back to the beginner area where you were, next to Pernos. He will ask you if you wish to stay and finish up your business in Poeta or if you are ready to head to the Sanctum and complete your Deava ceremony.
When in Sanctum, you'll need to speak with the tiny little Leah who will be just ahead of where you spawn in the city. She will send you to speak with Jucleas in the Lyceum. A cutscene will take you through the ceremony which is when you are granted your wings (yay!). After all is done here, you will be asked to visit your trainer to receive your gift for completing the ascension. The gift seems to be a weapon or off-hand item of good quality and very nice to have in those young levels.
A Guide to Selling in Aion
Review the various methods of turning your junk into cash successfully
Have you just been selling those mob drops to any ole merchant? Stop right there then! There is kinah to be had and some of what you have floating around in your inventory can be sold to other players to net you some much needed coin. If you haven't used the player store or broker yet for selling though, it can be a complicated process and it isn't always clear which feature you should be using. We are going to take a look at player stores, the broker, how each works, and what advantages each method has so that you know how to sell your items to get more kinah quicker.
Broker Me This Batman
Just drag and drop from your inventory right into the broker window.
Most players are familiar with the brokering process from other games, and this process is very standard. Brokers are located in the major cities giving you accessibility when you’re out adventuring. The broker has three tabs labeled "Buy", "Sell", and "Sold". To sell an item, it's always a good idea to browse the market for the items you are selling so that you have an idea as to what they are going for. Once you have a price in mind, click on the "Sell" tab, drag and drop the item you wish to sell into the window and another window will pop up asking you how much you'd like to sell the item for. There will be a suggested price, but these really don't reflect the current market so it is unwise to use this number without doing a little bit of research. You will notice that there is a cost to using the broker selling service which will also be displayed at this time. Put in your price and accept the broker fee and your item will be immediately removed from your inventory and listed.
Now that your item is up, it will stay on the broker until it sells or for 8 days. If it doesn't sell, the item will be returned to you. If it does sell then you will get an on screen message that tells you that you have a sale to settle at the broker. You'll see this message as the item sells if you are logged in, or you will see it as soon as you log in if it sold while you were offline.
To retrieve your kinah, visit the broker and click on the "Sold" tab. It will list what items have sold and for how much. The kinah is not given to you automatically and you must click on each item that was sold and then click on a small button at the bottom of the window that says "Sold Item" to get your coin.
The expense and process of using a broker is this method's downfall. It costs both time and money making it sometimes inconvenient when you have a bagful of stuff and no plans to travel back into town anytime soon. The upside is that you can put your items on the broker and forget about them until they sell (or don't). Nearly everyone checks the broker so you are reaching a wide audience and if you have needed and reasonably priced items, they will likely sell.
Working the Corner in a Whole New Way
Click the button at the bottom to get your kinah!
Private stores have gotten a bad rap since the launch of the game. They were unfortunately abused recently to prevent players from logging out of game prompting the developers to put a 30 minute time limit on their use when a player is AFK. They also tend to become this sea of never ending characters that clog up busy areas making it difficult to even see what is up for sale. Player stores do have some benefits though; most notably the lack of cost involved and the convenience of being able to set up shop anywhere and at any time.
To open a player store, either hit your "Y" key or click on the menu icon and select "Player Store". This opens the store window where you can drag and drop items into your store and add the sale price. There is a dialog box that allows you to put a message up for potential buyers to see when you activate your store. This message should give an idea as to what you are selling or a reason why other players will want to take a look at your goods, but you can pretty much put whatever strikes your fancy.
Because your own player store is free and always accessible, this makes it appealing for the average seller. However, it is very limited on how long you can utilize this feature and the only people you can sell to are those that can see you. This ends up working well for things that people need when they are out and about; consumables, such as potions, are great to see at a good price no matter where you are but truly, well priced items are always welcome. Chances are you won't get as much kinah for items sold in this manner, but the ability to quickly unload a few things from your inventory when you're taking a real life dinner break is priceless.
Which Do You Use?
Both! If you don't have a preference, then you can easily use both in certain situations. If you're not close to town but have some nice items in your bag, stop in at the nearest outpost, toss up your store, and go for a bio break. Save your biggest and best items, such as green or blue armor and weapons, for the broker as these tend to fetch quite a bit on the market but feel free to unload your smaller items wherever you happen to be and you will be rewarded with lighter bags and a heavier purse.
Have you just been selling those mob drops to any ole merchant? Stop right there then! There is kinah to be had and some of what you have floating around in your inventory can be sold to other players to net you some much needed coin. If you haven't used the player store or broker yet for selling though, it can be a complicated process and it isn't always clear which feature you should be using. We are going to take a look at player stores, the broker, how each works, and what advantages each method has so that you know how to sell your items to get more kinah quicker.
Broker Me This Batman
Just drag and drop from your inventory right into the broker window.
Most players are familiar with the brokering process from other games, and this process is very standard. Brokers are located in the major cities giving you accessibility when you’re out adventuring. The broker has three tabs labeled "Buy", "Sell", and "Sold". To sell an item, it's always a good idea to browse the market for the items you are selling so that you have an idea as to what they are going for. Once you have a price in mind, click on the "Sell" tab, drag and drop the item you wish to sell into the window and another window will pop up asking you how much you'd like to sell the item for. There will be a suggested price, but these really don't reflect the current market so it is unwise to use this number without doing a little bit of research. You will notice that there is a cost to using the broker selling service which will also be displayed at this time. Put in your price and accept the broker fee and your item will be immediately removed from your inventory and listed.
Now that your item is up, it will stay on the broker until it sells or for 8 days. If it doesn't sell, the item will be returned to you. If it does sell then you will get an on screen message that tells you that you have a sale to settle at the broker. You'll see this message as the item sells if you are logged in, or you will see it as soon as you log in if it sold while you were offline.
To retrieve your kinah, visit the broker and click on the "Sold" tab. It will list what items have sold and for how much. The kinah is not given to you automatically and you must click on each item that was sold and then click on a small button at the bottom of the window that says "Sold Item" to get your coin.
The expense and process of using a broker is this method's downfall. It costs both time and money making it sometimes inconvenient when you have a bagful of stuff and no plans to travel back into town anytime soon. The upside is that you can put your items on the broker and forget about them until they sell (or don't). Nearly everyone checks the broker so you are reaching a wide audience and if you have needed and reasonably priced items, they will likely sell.
Working the Corner in a Whole New Way
Click the button at the bottom to get your kinah!
Private stores have gotten a bad rap since the launch of the game. They were unfortunately abused recently to prevent players from logging out of game prompting the developers to put a 30 minute time limit on their use when a player is AFK. They also tend to become this sea of never ending characters that clog up busy areas making it difficult to even see what is up for sale. Player stores do have some benefits though; most notably the lack of cost involved and the convenience of being able to set up shop anywhere and at any time.
To open a player store, either hit your "Y" key or click on the menu icon and select "Player Store". This opens the store window where you can drag and drop items into your store and add the sale price. There is a dialog box that allows you to put a message up for potential buyers to see when you activate your store. This message should give an idea as to what you are selling or a reason why other players will want to take a look at your goods, but you can pretty much put whatever strikes your fancy.
Because your own player store is free and always accessible, this makes it appealing for the average seller. However, it is very limited on how long you can utilize this feature and the only people you can sell to are those that can see you. This ends up working well for things that people need when they are out and about; consumables, such as potions, are great to see at a good price no matter where you are but truly, well priced items are always welcome. Chances are you won't get as much kinah for items sold in this manner, but the ability to quickly unload a few things from your inventory when you're taking a real life dinner break is priceless.
Which Do You Use?
Both! If you don't have a preference, then you can easily use both in certain situations. If you're not close to town but have some nice items in your bag, stop in at the nearest outpost, toss up your store, and go for a bio break. Save your biggest and best items, such as green or blue armor and weapons, for the broker as these tend to fetch quite a bit on the market but feel free to unload your smaller items wherever you happen to be and you will be rewarded with lighter bags and a heavier purse.
13 Things to Know Before Playing Aion
Kick start your journey to the Tower of Eternity!
If you're jumping into Aion for the first time this weekend, you'll find it's different than other MMORPGs you might have played in more ways than one. Ten Ton Hammer has compiled a quick list of 13 hints and tips to get you off to a great start in your first 10 levels. Have a look!
13 things to know before playing Aion
If you're jumping into Aion for the first time this weekend, you'll find it's different than other MMORPGs you might have played in more ways than one. Ten Ton Hammer has compiled a quick list of 13 hints and tips to get you off to a great start in your first 10 levels.
Collect early, and look forward to aether harvesting when you get flight at or about level 10.
Start collecting early. Aion has two gathering skill progressions: collecting and aether harvesting. Collecting can be done at level on, e but aether gathering doesn't start until you start flying at level 10 (look for the floating green nodes at that point). You can avoid backtracking to earlier areas if you start early. Crafting and even some quests hinge on your ability to collect and gather aether..
Titles not only look cool, they add stats as well. Look for titles as you complete longer quest lines under your character profile and equip them early.
Manastones are a cheap and easy way to add a little extra umph to your equipment, but keep in mind that while you can remove a manastone to free up a slot, you won't get that manastone back. +4s are fairly plentiful early, but save your +12s for green and blue items you'll be hanging onto for a while. You'll start seeing two-socket items around level 10.
Unlike other MMORPGs, you won't find yourself fully kitted out early in the game as the result of completing class quests. Spend some of that hard earned cash on clothing upgrades as you can and enjoy dying less often.
Thankfully, Aion offers a nice amount of inventory space (i.e. your "cube") but should you find yourself running out of space, a cube vendor in the starting village will be glad to expand your cube. The first upgrade is now pretty cheap.
Resting (keystroke [comma] by default) helps you regain health and mana much more quickly. Try it and save bandages / potions for when you really need to reduce downtime.
Upgrade early and often at the starting village's market area.
Both starting areas have an end dungeon where players tend to converge. You're all after the same thing, so why not try a group on for size? It's as simple as a right click on another player and then clicking "invite," and you'll get through the dungeon content with far less risk.
Power shards are sort of like ammo for all weapon types (mage spellbooks included) and proc occasionally for increased stats. Like manastones, they're fairly common drops and cheap to buy, so keep a fresh stack attached to your weapon.
Using the /pathfinding [name] feature can save you some time and cut down on the wandering aimlessly portion of quest or NPC hunting. /pathfinding can be used to locate areas and NPCs, so have fun with it.
For those of you dual-booting the Windows 7 RC1 preview, Aion's anti-hack program has some pretty nasty qualms with the new OS. Install in Vista or XP if you're dual-booting to save some potential installation headaches (Disabling UAC doesn't work, in my experience).
If the default UI isn't to your taste, experiment with more standard layouts via the settings menu.
Have green items that you don't want or can't use? If you're long on cash and short on manastones, buy "extraction tools" from a General Goods vendor for 1,000 kinah (thanks for the clarification, Deluxion - also note that this is not a skill-based crafting item) to break down green weapons into special "enhancement" stones.
Despite the ominous warning you get when you seek to complete your ascension quest at level 9 or 10, you can speak to a teleporter to return to the starting area if you have quests to complete there. It's worth completing the ascension quest asap because of the new abilities you'll get.
As a bonus, most quest locations are easy to find, but three proved to be a headache for me as I leveled to 10 on the Elyos side. If you run into trouble, here's some locations:
The Ancient Cube (x=231, y=2007)
Cauldron (x=297, y=2077)
Tutty (x=228, y=1903)
Special thanks to Martuk and Sardu for their help in putting together this list, but this is just the start. Jump into the forums to share and read more helpful Aion tips and hints!
If you're jumping into Aion for the first time this weekend, you'll find it's different than other MMORPGs you might have played in more ways than one. Ten Ton Hammer has compiled a quick list of 13 hints and tips to get you off to a great start in your first 10 levels. Have a look!
13 things to know before playing Aion
If you're jumping into Aion for the first time this weekend, you'll find it's different than other MMORPGs you might have played in more ways than one. Ten Ton Hammer has compiled a quick list of 13 hints and tips to get you off to a great start in your first 10 levels.
Collect early, and look forward to aether harvesting when you get flight at or about level 10.
Start collecting early. Aion has two gathering skill progressions: collecting and aether harvesting. Collecting can be done at level on, e but aether gathering doesn't start until you start flying at level 10 (look for the floating green nodes at that point). You can avoid backtracking to earlier areas if you start early. Crafting and even some quests hinge on your ability to collect and gather aether..
Titles not only look cool, they add stats as well. Look for titles as you complete longer quest lines under your character profile and equip them early.
Manastones are a cheap and easy way to add a little extra umph to your equipment, but keep in mind that while you can remove a manastone to free up a slot, you won't get that manastone back. +4s are fairly plentiful early, but save your +12s for green and blue items you'll be hanging onto for a while. You'll start seeing two-socket items around level 10.
Unlike other MMORPGs, you won't find yourself fully kitted out early in the game as the result of completing class quests. Spend some of that hard earned cash on clothing upgrades as you can and enjoy dying less often.
Thankfully, Aion offers a nice amount of inventory space (i.e. your "cube") but should you find yourself running out of space, a cube vendor in the starting village will be glad to expand your cube. The first upgrade is now pretty cheap.
Resting (keystroke [comma] by default) helps you regain health and mana much more quickly. Try it and save bandages / potions for when you really need to reduce downtime.
Upgrade early and often at the starting village's market area.
Both starting areas have an end dungeon where players tend to converge. You're all after the same thing, so why not try a group on for size? It's as simple as a right click on another player and then clicking "invite," and you'll get through the dungeon content with far less risk.
Power shards are sort of like ammo for all weapon types (mage spellbooks included) and proc occasionally for increased stats. Like manastones, they're fairly common drops and cheap to buy, so keep a fresh stack attached to your weapon.
Using the /pathfinding [name] feature can save you some time and cut down on the wandering aimlessly portion of quest or NPC hunting. /pathfinding can be used to locate areas and NPCs, so have fun with it.
For those of you dual-booting the Windows 7 RC1 preview, Aion's anti-hack program has some pretty nasty qualms with the new OS. Install in Vista or XP if you're dual-booting to save some potential installation headaches (Disabling UAC doesn't work, in my experience).
If the default UI isn't to your taste, experiment with more standard layouts via the settings menu.
Have green items that you don't want or can't use? If you're long on cash and short on manastones, buy "extraction tools" from a General Goods vendor for 1,000 kinah (thanks for the clarification, Deluxion - also note that this is not a skill-based crafting item) to break down green weapons into special "enhancement" stones.
Despite the ominous warning you get when you seek to complete your ascension quest at level 9 or 10, you can speak to a teleporter to return to the starting area if you have quests to complete there. It's worth completing the ascension quest asap because of the new abilities you'll get.
As a bonus, most quest locations are easy to find, but three proved to be a headache for me as I leveled to 10 on the Elyos side. If you run into trouble, here's some locations:
The Ancient Cube (x=231, y=2007)
Cauldron (x=297, y=2077)
Tutty (x=228, y=1903)
Special thanks to Martuk and Sardu for their help in putting together this list, but this is just the start. Jump into the forums to share and read more helpful Aion tips and hints!
Elyos Vitality and Aether Extraction 100-199
Find out where to get the nodes you need!
Now that you're ready to move on to the next tier of gathering, you will be spending most of your time in Eltnen. Unfortunately, as you will likely find, the rifts don't always allow for unhindered gathering and you will become the victim of the occasional band of Asmodians who have come through looking for easy targets. The best way to avoid unwanted PvP action while you're trying to level your vitality extraction skill is by taking the time to travel to Theobomos for vitality leveling. There are less gathering node types to choose from, but you won't have to watch your back every second either.
A couple of nodes to pay particular attention to are the Umblia and Omblic nodes. Umblia, an alchemy material, sells steadily on the broker and Omblic drops the rare Omblic Petal that dyes armor the popular red color. If you are hurting for kinah, it's a good idea to gather from these nodes whenever possible for resale.
You can find vitality and aether extracting for skill levels 1-99 here or check out our full list of gathering guides for both Elyos and Asmodian here!
Material Collecting
Skill Level Collection Node Location
100 Titanium Found nearly everywhere in Eltnen and Theobomos in the 20-30 level range areas.
105 Lumesia Near Eltnen Fortress, Manduri Forest, Putrid Mire, and in the Theobomos Ruins
110 Wiki Through out Manduri Forest
120 Rubashi Manduri Forest
130 Lapia In the water around Eltnen Fortress and in the Putrid Mire
140 Koa Log Found nearly everywhere in Eltnen and Theobomos in the 20-30 level range areas.
145 Topaz Putrid Mire, Manduri Forest, Eiron Desert, Theobomos Ruins, Theobomos Scorchlands
150 Fess Eiron desert, Ruberein wastes, Outpost Ruins, Drake Habitat, Mystic Spring of Anathe, Eastern Eracus, Western Eracus, and the Theobomos Scorchlands
155 Aquamarine Outpost Ruins, Drake Habitat, Theobomos Revenge Valley, Theobomos Ruins
160 Gold Outpost Ruins, Eastern Eracus, and Theobomos Ruins
160 Omblic Mystic Spring of Anathe
170 Umblia Eiron desert, Ruberein wastes, Mystic Spring of Anathe, Eastern Eracus, and Western Eracus
180 Ruta Mystic Spring of Anathe, Eastern Eracus, and Western Eracus
185 Zircon Kuriullu Mountain, Eastern Eracus, and Theobomos Ruins
190 Bacora In the waters at Mystic Spring of Anathe
Aether Extracting
There are quite a few varied level vortexes above Eltnen Fortress. They might be hard to find though because they are popular and frequently in use. At levels 100-150, I'd stick with the vortexes that are surrounding the transportation platform. The rings and floating island make great landing spots to go back and forth. You can also land on the cliffs above the fortress and manage to stay pretty close to a few vortex nodes. There is a vine that sticks out of the southeast side of the cliffs above the fortress that is a usable distance from a couple of 175 nodes.
Gathering from these nodes works a lot better during off hours, either later at night or during the day so if you have free time during these hours, use them to gather aether!
100 Big Vortex Near the transportation platform at Eltnen Fortress
125 Big Vortex Good nodes around the island and on the west side of the Fortress
150 Big Vortex A couple of spots on the south side and west side along the cliffs
175 Big Vortex A couple on the southeast side of the cliffs
Now that you're ready to move on to the next tier of gathering, you will be spending most of your time in Eltnen. Unfortunately, as you will likely find, the rifts don't always allow for unhindered gathering and you will become the victim of the occasional band of Asmodians who have come through looking for easy targets. The best way to avoid unwanted PvP action while you're trying to level your vitality extraction skill is by taking the time to travel to Theobomos for vitality leveling. There are less gathering node types to choose from, but you won't have to watch your back every second either.
A couple of nodes to pay particular attention to are the Umblia and Omblic nodes. Umblia, an alchemy material, sells steadily on the broker and Omblic drops the rare Omblic Petal that dyes armor the popular red color. If you are hurting for kinah, it's a good idea to gather from these nodes whenever possible for resale.
You can find vitality and aether extracting for skill levels 1-99 here or check out our full list of gathering guides for both Elyos and Asmodian here!
Material Collecting
Skill Level Collection Node Location
100 Titanium Found nearly everywhere in Eltnen and Theobomos in the 20-30 level range areas.
105 Lumesia Near Eltnen Fortress, Manduri Forest, Putrid Mire, and in the Theobomos Ruins
110 Wiki Through out Manduri Forest
120 Rubashi Manduri Forest
130 Lapia In the water around Eltnen Fortress and in the Putrid Mire
140 Koa Log Found nearly everywhere in Eltnen and Theobomos in the 20-30 level range areas.
145 Topaz Putrid Mire, Manduri Forest, Eiron Desert, Theobomos Ruins, Theobomos Scorchlands
150 Fess Eiron desert, Ruberein wastes, Outpost Ruins, Drake Habitat, Mystic Spring of Anathe, Eastern Eracus, Western Eracus, and the Theobomos Scorchlands
155 Aquamarine Outpost Ruins, Drake Habitat, Theobomos Revenge Valley, Theobomos Ruins
160 Gold Outpost Ruins, Eastern Eracus, and Theobomos Ruins
160 Omblic Mystic Spring of Anathe
170 Umblia Eiron desert, Ruberein wastes, Mystic Spring of Anathe, Eastern Eracus, and Western Eracus
180 Ruta Mystic Spring of Anathe, Eastern Eracus, and Western Eracus
185 Zircon Kuriullu Mountain, Eastern Eracus, and Theobomos Ruins
190 Bacora In the waters at Mystic Spring of Anathe
Aether Extracting
There are quite a few varied level vortexes above Eltnen Fortress. They might be hard to find though because they are popular and frequently in use. At levels 100-150, I'd stick with the vortexes that are surrounding the transportation platform. The rings and floating island make great landing spots to go back and forth. You can also land on the cliffs above the fortress and manage to stay pretty close to a few vortex nodes. There is a vine that sticks out of the southeast side of the cliffs above the fortress that is a usable distance from a couple of 175 nodes.
Gathering from these nodes works a lot better during off hours, either later at night or during the day so if you have free time during these hours, use them to gather aether!
100 Big Vortex Near the transportation platform at Eltnen Fortress
125 Big Vortex Good nodes around the island and on the west side of the Fortress
150 Big Vortex A couple of spots on the south side and west side along the cliffs
175 Big Vortex A couple on the southeast side of the cliffs
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