After having been an MMORPG fan for a long time, not to mention since the days of Ultima Online, trusting my instincts have always been the way to go. Over the years, the complexities of online games develops with the new features, gameplay or skill list to keep fans excited with every new release. Any experienced MMO gamer would probably give you the same answer in regards to the development on MMORPGs to date.
Aion. Now here's where all the new developments have really got to me. If I had time to slowly discover all the game features and how to perfectly handle every game aspect, that would be one thing. The fact that you see more and more hard core gamers appearing out of thin air makes time a real competition when talking about getting to the top.
Having played the beta since early on, Aion is definitely one game that calls for more than a gamer's instinct. Although the game comes with features that make playing much easier, for instance we're able to locate where quest and NPCs are directly on the map, the more complicated parts still baffled me. There was aerial combat and then the stigma system, lastly not to mention constant PvP and PvE.
Obviously I needed a guide to get my Assassin rolling. I was looking into forums, community sites, video and everywhere else I can think of. There were Aion guides alright but little to no Assassin guides. You can imagine how happy I was when I applied as a test reader with KillerGuides and got to preview an early version of their Aion Assassin guide. I can share everything that amazed me about the guide here but that would simply be a repetition of the detailed Assassin guide description they already have up on their site.
They also have other Aion Classes Guides I didn't get a chance to view as a test reader but looks absolutely promising too.
This has come as a big surprise to me, Killer Guides' is having a very special offer for the end of the year!
From 1 Dec to - 7 Dec 2009 , if you buy 1 guide, you get another 1 guide for FREE right away!
From 1 Dec - 31 Dec 2009, if you buy or upgrade to a package, the next purchase will be half the price! Not to mention you will get an opportunity to win a a Razer Carcharias Professional PC Gaming Headset, Xbox 360 Elite, and so much more!
Assassin, AKA Sin, while despised as a thief, but it is actually a very useful class to have in your team. Your main goals? Simply to stay stealth, ambush and poison anything in your way. Assassins best known for their speed, hiding abilities and their extensive evasion skills. One specific skill is being capable of Engraving Patterns on enemies, which not only damages, but debuff status the enemies.
Fighting as an Assassin
Soloing as an Assassin
When fighting as an Assassin, the key word is "Damage Dealer." Whether you are fighting alone or in a group, Damage Dealer is still your role. During solo combat, you need to hit hard and fast and at the same time keep the enemy stunned. If your rapid combo fails, start retreating.
Assassin in a Group
Group fighting while similar to soloing, the difference is that you got your team mates to back you up. So less running away and less being cautious with your health. Again, your main key word to your fighting strategy is "Damage Dealer." Backing up your group with a good set of combination skills to increase your group's chances of winning.
The assassin's secondary function is to act as a scout and the coward. With its ability to hide and stay stealth, infiltrating enemy territories is not impossible anymore or casually scouting new path ways. Coward is self-explanatory, just run for it when danger creeps up on you.
Has the ability to hide, and at higher level Assassin has the ability to use advanced hide
Has the most number of stun skill list in the game.
Has many different skills to debuff your enemy.
Can use apply poison.
Has high evasion, and uses counterattacks.
Can Ambush, and use high damage backstab skills.
Can use dual weapons.
Has Patterning Engraving skills.
Armor
When it comes to armors, Assassin wears leather, period. You can wear cloth armors but you should never ever wear them because it is useless for an Assassin. Since Assassins are an evasive class, they rely on their evasion, and so leather armors are the only armor that have the most bonus points on evasion. Sometimes an Assassin with high evasion build can become the tank for the group; since their evasion is so high that only a few attacks would actually land on them. However, if there is a tank in the group, let them do their job and you focus on doing damage.
Weapons
The Assassin has the ability to use 3 different types of weapons: Daggers, Swords, and Bows. However it is really more like two different types of weapons, because you're not really going to use a Bow as your primary weapon for PVP or PVE.
For people who have more experience with MMORPGs gameplay, you are probably thinking that "Assassin uses daggers as primary, and swords as maybe an offhand weapon" and that is exactly what I thought when I played Assassin in Aion the first time. In every other MMORPG I have played which has a class like Rogue, Assassin, or Thief, their primary weapons of choice are daggers, and then they might use a sword offhand for damage.
This article gives an introductory look into the Spiritmaster class and their skills.
The Spiritmaster is an advance Aion class that branches from the Mage basic class. Spiritmasters are the master of pets and slowing spells. They are viewed as damage dealers.
There are two types of skills – active and passive. Active skills refer to ones that you have to actively click to use. Passive skills are ongoing and mainly refer to certain characteristics, such as the ability to wear a certain type of armor or use a specific type of weapon. The passive skills you get upon creation are the ability to wear standard clothing, wear standard cloth armor, and basic spellbook training.
The Level 1 active skills are Flame Bolt, which inflicts magical fire damage on a target. It has a two second induction and a one second cooldown. Restraint is a crowd control (CC) skill, which immobilizes your target for 20 seconds. (Break on damage?) Although it can be casted on the run, it has a one minute cooldown, so learn the best opportunities to use it. Bandage Heal allows you to recover most of your health if you get injured from battle.
You also get the Return skill, which allows you to return to a specific town. The skill has a six second induction and is on a 20 minute cooldown. First you have to bind yourself to an obelisk, found in many towns and outposts. There is a fee charged every time you bind yourself to a new obelisk.
The class system works a little differently in Aion than in many other online roleplaying games. A player can choose between four different class archetypes, which are the Mage, the Warrior, the Priest, and the Scout. Each one of these archetypes divides into two subclasses at level 10. The Cleric is a subclass of the Priest archetype (the other choice being The Chanter), so for the first ten levels of the game you'll be playing a Priest and not the Cleric in specific. This archetype will give you an idea of the various skills and abilities that will later be available to the more advanced subclasses, in theory to help you choose which play style you are more interested in. This section will guide you through the first ten levels as the common Priest, to help you reach Ascension faster and become a Cleric quickly.
Elyos Priests will spend these levels in the starting area of Poeta, while Asmodians will be in Ishalgen. Characters will generally be able to purchase books to learn new skills at every new odd level, as well as at Level 10 once they have ascended and chosen a subprofession. In general, the quests in Poeta and Ishalgen mirror each other, being similar in what needs to be done to complete them.
The lore is a little different for each race, and there are some different quests as well. The quests in these areas flow very well, and are generally quite easy to follow. After a couple of quests at each "hub", characters will recieve a quest to head on to another area, and on the way to the next questing spot there are often a couple new quests to complete. If you just collect all the quests at an area that you can and then complete the chains, it's very simple to make it through all the areas quickly without criss-crossing the starting area too much. Poeta and Ishalgen also don't have specifically labeled group quests (although having another character around doesn't hurt) so it is also easy to solo quest through the entire area.
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w happy I was when I applied as a test reader with KillerGuides and got to preview an early version of their Aion Assassin guide. I can share everything that amazed me about the guide here but that would simply be a repetition of the detailed Assassin guide description they already have up on their site.
