1. Change your NCSoft Master Account password as well as all of your game account passwords on a regular basis.

2. Use unique usernames and passwords for your NCSoft Master Account and game accounts.

3. Never share your account information or passwords with anyone. NCSoft employees will never ask for your account information, unless you contact Customer Service directly for assistance.

4. Beware of phishing attempts in-game and online.  Do not click on any in-game link, as NCSoft will never send you an in-game link.  When logging into your NCsoft Master Account be aware that some sites will use identical visuals, links, and special offers in an attempt to steal your account information.

5. Keep your operating system and virus protection software updated.

For additional information we encourage you to visit our Play Smart page.

The maintenance currently has no set ETA.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience this causes and we thank you for your patience.

-The Aion Community Team

Since it was published in November in Korea, the fantasy game has been made available in China in April, in Japan and Taiwan in July, and in North America and Europe in September.

Greetings, Daevas!Community is truly the heart of an MMORPG, and we are glad to have you as Daevas of Atreia! We would like to thank all of you for making Aion what it is.

It is hard to believe that the holidays are almost here. Soon it will be time to say farewell to 2009 and to greet 2010. This year saw Aion launch, and next year you can count on us to give you more features and more content for your favorite game.

One of the programs we have been working hard on is Aion paid account services. Account services should be available in the first quarter of 2010. These services include paid name change, Legion name change, plastic surgery, and gender change. We will give you more information, including pricing, sometime in February 2010.

In addition to paid account services, we’re working on several updates that will introduce a great deal of new content into Aion in 2010. While these plans are nearly firm, it’s still too early to share all the details with you. We plan on giving you more information early next year.

With the NCsoft development studio shutting down for the holidays, you won’t hear much from us for the next couple of weeks. Fear not, we’ll be back refreshed and ready to take Aion to new heights in early January. Our customer service department will still be open during the holidays to address any issues you may experience. Feel free to visit our support page which provides contact information for customer service.

Enjoy the Solorius Festival and everything else Aion has to offer over the holiday season. We hope you have as much fun playing Aion as we have had creating it! We will be back on January 4, 2010 to kick off an exciting new year for Aion.

From all of us here at NCsoft, have a happy holiday season and a fantastic new year!

Blood for Blood, and Faith and Honor! -The Aion Community Team

During the next three weekends, all characters that are between level one and level 35 will get twice as much experience as before from combat, crafting and gathering in-game activities. NCsoft is saying that the price for Soul Healing has been reduced and that the Energy of Repose has boosted the experience bonus it gives out, all in the name of helping new players.

The company is also stating that after the New Year, Aion will be getting regular double XP weekends once or twice during each month, with the benefits extending to all the players who are taking part in the MMO. The game has been well received in the West after having been a great success in South Korea, but a lot of players have been complaining about the long grind needed to pick up levels.

NCsoft has posted an official statement, which reads, “While we’re committed to providing a permanent solution, our long-term plans require development time. As part of that process, we are implementing a temporary enhancement so that you can feel immediate benefits that we’re excited to be rolling out this weekend. While the above is an interim solution, we will be addressing the character progression experience curve with a sizeable patch next year.”

The big selling point for Aion has been the ability for characters to explore the game world by flying. The title also boats a very unique art style, which blends Eastern motives with Western ones, and NCsoft is certainly hoping that the MMO can sustain its momentum unlike some of its other projects, such as Tabula Rasa.

Hear ye! Hear ye! All of Atreia’s inhabitants are invited to join in the Solorius Festival, a monumental celebration to honor the previous year’s ascended Daevas and their service to humanity.

The Solorius Festival is not only one of the year’s most anticipated events, but also one of the oldest. Its origin dates back to before the Cataclysm. It is a festival of communion, sharing, and appreciation. Wealth and status are set aside each year as families make diligent preparations in advance to honor the ascended. Many Atreians travel to a capital city to immerse themselves in the festivities.

This year holds many new delights during the holiday:

When regular musical instruments are not enough to convey the sentiments of the season, there’s only one thing to do: Make the instruments larger! To ensure that the hymns and celebrations of the holiday are heard far and wide, a large piano has been built in each of the capital cities: Sanctum and Pandaemonium. Gather up with your friends and play a holiday masterpiece! Since the weight of a person is needed to produce any sound at all on these grandiose instruments, organization is essential to achieve a sonata of sound rather than a calamity of cacophony.

Pay a visit to the world-renowned bakers of Sanctum and Pandaemonium. Few rival their baking, and while many have attempted to copy their delicious recipes throughout the years, no one has yet succeeded. If your taste buds long for a slice of seasonal cake, the bake shops will be open and plying their wares throughout the entire festival.

The Shugos have mastered Solorius. They know every way to make a Kinah from it. While the items they sell were probably mass-produced in an Eltnen workshop, don’t let that fact drive the fun out of enjoying their Solorius goods! Buying a few holiday items raises everyone’s Solorius spirits. Make sure to strike up a conversation should you spot a Shugo dressed in red for the season. The curiosities he sells will only be available during the festival!

There are many ways to celebrate this year. The Solorius Festival is after all about appreciation, and we appreciate you!

-The Aion Community Team

The violations targeted were primarily “botting” — or modifying the client to automate play — or illegally buying and selling in-game currency. The offending accounts — “nearly 16,000″ in total — were closed as part of a server-wide reboot.

“Please note that if your account was closed for the use of 3rd party software (botting) or participating in RMT (gold buying/selling) the evidence for the account closure was gathered over several weeks,” wrote community manager Andrew Beegle on the game’s official forums.

Beegle explains that NCsoft monitors accounts for actions that modify the game client or automate in the fashion of a bot and “flags” possible violators for a closer look, gathering several instances before banning an account.

Aion saw a strong launch, selling a total of 970,000 copies in its first week in North America and Europe. The game was largely single-handedly responsible for driving NCsoft’s third quarter revenues — despite being released at the very end of the quarter — creating an 836 percent leap in year-over-year quarterly profits on revenues that more than doubled.

“As the Daevas dream, they see Atreia’s future,” the description reads. “The future of Aion–revealed! Your dreams your imagination becomes reality. With innovation Aion will make your imagination into reality. Aion’s future will be your dreams made real.”

Features on display include majorly revamped graphics, a weather system complete with flooding and settling snow, what appears to be player-built housing with decorating, mounts and mounted combat, swimming with underwater zones, plus epic battles.

“There will be at least one major update a year,” NCSoft has said, explaining “there will be free content updates for all players, and we’re looking then at how big the major updates will be.” It is unknown whether ‘Vision’ will be free or is even a single update.

For those of you who want your friends and family members to give Aion a try, NCsoft has just announced its new Refer a Friend program. Players who have had an Aion account for at least 60 days can send their friends a demo code to try out the game for three days, five hours, or until level 7, whichever is reached first. If your friend buys Aion and purchases at least one month of game time, you get a free month in return.

You can earn multiple months of free game time using the program, but you can only have four outstanding invitations out at a time. While the demo time may seem a little short, it sounds like a great way to get your friends interested in the world of Atreia.

You can read all about the Refer a Friend program after the jump and discuss it in Tatsumi’s thread in our Aion forum.

Refer a friend to play Aion, and we’ll give you a free month credit* of Aion game time! All you have to do is log in to your NCsoft Master Account, enter some simple contact information for you and your friend, and click the Refer a Friend button.

We’ll send an e-mail containing a free demo serial code to your friend. If your friend buys a new standard account and pays for a subscription for at least one month of Aion game time, you will be automatically credited with one month of free game time!

*Subject to the terms and conditions listed below.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the Aion™ Refer a Friend program:

• Your game account must have existed for a minimum of 60 days.
• Your account must have had at least 60 days of play time applied.
  • Time included with a full version (box or download) is applicable.
  • Paid time from a game time card or credit card subscription is also valid.
• Your account must be current.

Step by Step Process

1. Log in to your NCsoft Master Account.
2. Select your Aion game account from the accounts listed under Game Accounts.
3. In the Actions section, click the Refer a Friend link.
4. Fill out the requested information.
5. Click the Refer a Friend button, and we’ll email your friend a free demo serial code.
6. Once we have sent your friend the email, you’ll receive a confirmation screen.
7. Periodically, return to the Refer a Friend page to check the status of your outstanding invitations.

For additional help, refer to the knowledge base at the Aion Help and Support page.

Terms and Conditions

This offer is void where prohibited and is subject to server space availability. This offer can be suspended by NC Interactive, Inc. at any time and for any reason. At the time of the referral credit, both the referring and the referred customer must be current in their payments and in compliance with the Aion™ User Agreement. If both parties are not current and in compliance, the referral credit will be denied. If a referring customer cancels his or her account, all remaining referral credits are forfeit. A referral credit cannot be refunded. A referral credit has no cash value.

FAQ

Q: What is the Aion Refer a Friend program?

A: The Aion Refer a Friend program rewards you with a free month credit of game time whenever you refer a friend to come and play Aion after your friend upgrades to a standard retail account and purchases at least one month of game time.

Q: How do I refer a friend?

A: To refer a friend:

1. Log in to your NCsoft Master Account.
2. Select your Aion game account from the accounts listed under Game Accounts.
3. In the Actions section, click the Refer a Friend link.
4. Fill out the requested information.
5. Click the Refer a Friend button, and we’ll email your friend a free demo serial code.
6. Once we have sent your friend the email, you’ll receive a confirmation screen.
7. Periodically, return to the Refer a Friend page to check the status of your outstanding invitations.

For additional help, refer to the knowledge base at the Aion Help and Support page.

Q: Who can participate?

A: To be eligible to participate in the Aion™ Refer a Friend program:

• Your game account must have existed for a minimum of 60 days.
• Your account must have had at least 60 days of play time applied.
  • Time included with a full version (box or download) is applicable.
  • Paid time from a game time card or credit card subscription is also valid.
• Your account must be current.

Q: I referred a friend. When do I get my free month?

A: You will receive your free game time after your friend buys Aion and pays for the first month of game time. (Time included with the digital client or boxed game purchase doesn’t apply.)

Q: Can I earn multiple free months of Aion game time?

A: Yes! For each new friend who you refer who meets the requirements, you’ll receive a free month of Aion game time.

Q: If my friend uses a game time card to pay for the first month will I still receive my free month?

A: Yes! No matter which payment method your friend selects, you will be rewarded with your free month.

Q: Is there a limit on the number of friends that I can refer at the same time?

A: Yes, each eligible account may have a maximum of four invitations outstanding at any one time.

Q: How can I check the status of my referrals?

A: Once you are logged in to your Aion game account, you can check the status of all of your outstanding invitations on the Refer a Friend page.

Q: Are there any limitations on the Aion demo serial codes?

A: Yes, Aion demo accounts are good for three days, five hours, or level 7, whichever is reached first. At that point, the Aion demo account expires. All of the character information and progress is retained so that a player can continue the adventure when he or she upgrades to a standard Aion account.

To upgrade an Aion demo account to the standard game, go to the Aion section of the NCsoft Store, or purchase a retail box at one of our partner retailers.

I sat down (via email) with David Noonan, content writer for Aion, and chatted about the game. Dave is no stranger to fantasy games, having worked for Wizards of the Coast designing two editions of Dungeons & Dragons. He talks about Aion’s story, how it stacks up against that other elephant-in-the-MMO-room, and the future of story-driven computer games.

GeekDad: First, can you tell us a little about the game world and its history?

Dave: Aion takes place in the world of Atreia—a world where the people live on the interior surface of the sphere (like a science-fiction Dyson sphere) and there’s a tower running from pole to pole where the god, Aion, lives.

Some of Aion’s earliest creations, the dragonlike Balaur, rebelled against their creator. That long war ended with the Tower of Eternity exploding and the world splitting in half at the equator. Now two factions, the Elyos and the Asmodians, inhabit their own hemispheres, and they blame each other for the tower’s destruction. And the wreckage floating in the middle of the world is the Abyss, a high-level mega-zone where the two factions fight each other and the Balaur that caused the trouble in the first place.

GeekDad: Aion is a big deal in Asia, but Eastern MMOs are traditionally very different from Western MMOs. When it came to the “culturalization” process, how did you go about reworking the game for its new audience? How were certain tropes converted, and were there any memorable quests that just couldn’t make the transition?

Dave: We actually took a light touch with specific Asian-themed plot elements; they’re fun, and I think a lot of players want a sort of mélange—I often told our writers to shoot for a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon feel.

We spent more time trying to satisfy the Western desire for game and narrative aspects that probably don’t rise to the level of full-on tropes. For example, I think Western audiences (speaking broadly here) want their quests to have explicit roots in what’s happening in the game world, and they expect the NPC questgiver to directly or indirectly explain why the PC must do the job rather than the NPC himself. It’s a matter of providing answers to the “If this is so important, how come you don’t do it?” question.

We were also cognizant of the desire for payoff—to have a plot thread resolved somehow. You can resolve it in a pleasing or troubling way, and you can even leave it as a cliffhanger (something that an MMO can get away with that other genres can’t). But you can’t just let it peter out with no consequence.

GeekDad: When World of Warcraft was released, there was a built-in playerbase already familiar with the heroes and villains of Azeroth. Without that advantage in your arsenal, how did you go about introducing the VIP NPCs from Atreia in a way that endeared them to players?

Dave: I think most games—Aion included—have a naturally instructive quality. In other words, if you want to teach anything, a game of some sort is pretty good sugar to help the medicine go down, and a game can show you how the discrete parts of whatever you’re learning fit together. So we deliver a lot of lore in the course of gameplay. As you run around fighting, questing, and exploring, you learn about the people and places as you go.

That said, I rebel against the premise of the question a bit. Aion intentionally avoids activist NPCs, and the metaplot is much further in the background. There’s no equivalent to Arthas, Thrall, and Jaina in Aion, and we like it that way. The NPCs are there to serve the player story, not the other way around. Our VIPs are the PCs. (And that’s handy, because NPCs rarely play MMORPGs.)

GeekDad: Could you explain the difference between the Campaign and Standard Quests?

Dave: It’s basically a question of degree. The campaign quests have bigger plot implications and bigger rewards, so the UI calls them out separately. It’s basically a big “don’t miss this one!” sign. Structurally, there isn’t much difference between the yellow-arrow quests and the blue-arrow quests.

GeekDad: Everyone’s excited about Aion’s flight system. Tell us a little about the flight system and how it affects game play and questing.

Dave: You gain wings at level 10—four hours of gameplay, give or take. You can immediately fly in a few places in the world, and you can glide—sometimes for quite a distance—anywhere you’ve got altitude and open space. (I think base-jumping is one of Aion’s more fascinating games-within-a-game.)

When you reach level 25 and go to the Abyss for the first time, you see flight in its full, unfettered glory. This sounds kind of spacey, but battling in all three axes (x, y, and z) does cool things to your brain, especially in a PvP environment.

GeekDad: What are the crafting opportunities in Aion?

Dave: The game launches with six crafts, all fed by the same gathering skill, including staples you’d expect like weaponsmithing, alchemy, and cooking. You can level all of them simultaneously, and you get XP both for gathering and for actually making stuff.

More broadly, player-created items carry a lot of weight—they’re among the best-in-slot items.

GeekDad: What are Stigma stones?

Dave: In terms of gameplay, it’s useful to think of them as “equippable abilities”—attacks and powers that you have, but other members of your class don’t necessarily have. Coming up with the right mix of Stigma stones is a key character-building exercise for high-level PCs.

And in the lore of the world, Stigma stones are a fragment of a long-gone Daevas soul. Daevas are generally immortal; it takes something like the destruction of the Tower of Eternity or death at the extreme fringes of existence to render a Daeva irrevocably dead. The Stigma stone is a coalescence of that Daeva’s soul—a bit of consciousness that teaches you a long-lost technique you couldn’t learn on your own.

GeekDad: As a well-respected game designer, do you have any ideas on how you’d like the MMORPG genre to evolve? I used to play text-based MMOs back in the day and I have a long-held fantasy that one day a company will create a game that offers the in-depth, character-driven roleplaying experiences that I once had on MUDs and MUSHes. Should I stop holding my breath?

Dave: I wouldn’t hold my breath—instead I’d get to work finding the community within an MMO that can provide the in-depth, character-driven experience you crave. I think that with each passing year, MMOs are providing a player experience that stretches closer and closer to what a MUD or a tabletop RPG provides. Those character-driven communities are out there, and just as with a tabletop or MUD experience, they draw their strength from the consensual acceptance of the community, not from the gameplay mechanics. Put another way, you can take a trip far down the rabbit-hole of character immersion if you’ve got witnesses (friends, in other words) along to validate and support that experience. It’s no more or less inherently immersive than rolling dice in your basement or writing something great for a MUD.

When I look to the horizon for the next set of waves, I’m thinking more about how MMOs can provide the Dungeon Master experience—how they can satisfy the latent “content creator” within all of us. Put as simply as possible, how can an MMO help me make up a cool adventure for my friends? That strikes me as a tricky beast to tame, but given time and smart minds, I’m sure we’ll get there soon. That’s what I’m holding my breath for.

I’d like to thank Dave Noonan for taking time to chat with GeekDad.