Details for Aion's new Veteran Rewards Program

by Brooke Pilley Oct 31st 2009 at 10:00AM

We probably don't need to point out the glaring congruity that each month you play Aion will soon be rewarded with four XP boost amulets; but we will. NCsoft just spilled the beans on their new Veteran Rewards Program. This seems slightly ironic because the game has only been out for a month. We suppose it's probably a good strategy to entice players to stick around; especially after an MMO's first month, which is arguably the rockiest.

Players will now receive special items for each month they remain subscribed to Aion. Months one to six award four Lodas Amulets (20% bonus XP for one hour) and four Revival Stones (self/player resurrection). Additionally, month one gives a cube expansion ticket (+1 free row) and a special Michael Jackson dance emote. Month three grants an extra title (Adept of Aion ) and another Forbidden Dance emote. Month six gives players special level 40 Black Cloud wings.

The disclaimer states that NCsoft can expand, revise, or end the Veteran Rewards Program at any time. With the first six months plotted out, it seems likely they will continue as the game soars ahead. Check out the official description page for full details on how to qualify.

Tags: aion, lodas-amulet, michael-jackson, nc-west, ncsoft, revival-stone, veteran-rewards, veteran-rewards-program

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

John said on 10:31AM 10-31-2009

If they're just giving out the things that we got in the Collectors Edition then I will just give up on this game now. The wings were something you were suppose to be able to use to show that you had the Collectors Edition...now anyone can get them by just staying subscribed for 6 months? What was the point of me paying the extra money for the CE? This would be a complete slap in the face to fans who gave up extra $$ for the CE.

Adrian said on 10:40AM 10-31-2009

Brooke does phrase the comment as a question - 'also found in the Collector's Edition?' Answer: no, these are NOT the same wings as you get in the CE. There's a similarity in the name that has apparently led to confusion.

The CE wings are called Black Cloud Wings. They're level 30 and give +40 flight time.

The VR wings are called Wing Feather of the Black Cloud Traders. They are a different item altogether - level 40, with +60 flight time and other bonuses.

See the two different entries in AionArmory:

http://www.aionarmory.com/item.aspx?id=187050000
http://www.aionarmory.com/item.aspx?id=187050007

Dread said on 9:28PM 10-31-2009

So they're better than the CE wings? Thanks for clearing that up......

Adrian said on 5:25AM 11-01-2009

They have higher stats, yes, but they're also a level 40 item, whereas the CE wings are only level 30, meaning you can use them that much sooner.

pogger said on 2:13PM 10-31-2009

Hm... this is too bad. As an MMO altaholic, the fun (for me - IMO) has always been the leveling. In the fantasy genre, that meant growing your character from a lowbie stick wielder to a gear-whore.

I had been interested in trying this game when they opened free trials. With how many XP boosts and tweaks they've been adding since it's been released here, I'm thinking more and more it's not the game for me.

Bad sign when the developers have given up on the journey a player/character goes through from level 1 thru max. Why not just give the option to create a max-level character and be done with it?

DrewIW said on 2:47PM 10-31-2009

Huh?

How are they giving up on the journey? Did you actually read the article?

devilsei said on 7:13PM 10-31-2009

dont mind him, he's just crying cause NCSoft is trying to soften the grind, and if you stay subscribed for one month you get an item that boosts XP gains for an hour, and he honestly feels that this one item is gonna make you go from 1 to 50.

rwnemisis said on 3:22PM 10-31-2009

Those xp boosts arent game breaking pogger..... they are small boosts and only last an hour and on top of that they have a 10 hour cooldown... they are nice "at least as a cleric" when you get in that rut where it seems your losing more xp then gaining hehehe.

pogger said on 3:53PM 10-31-2009

I guess it can at least be credited to them they are listening to the subscription base. With all the complaints they've been getting about the grind, they can either add value to the leveling content or allow people a way to get through it quicker. I know WoW had a similar method of accelerating XP -- one bubble of 2x XP for every 8 hours your toon spent offline in an inn.

I'm still amazed though how the game has only been out for about a month and people are complaining how slow it is to level. Guess all the fancy graphics and wings aren't everything.

I'd be interested to know if the XP/quest (or kill or whatever) is the same in the US/EU version as the Korean.

Wolfbladed said on 12:24PM 11-03-2009

how did you get that hairstyle... I dont see it at all on the character create mode

Plastic Rat said on 4:40AM 11-03-2009

Hopefully this goes some way to shutting up the whiny, QQing bunch of ADHD suffering kiddies who seem to make up most of western audiences.

I'll probably be tossing my XP amulets in the trash. The leveling pace is just fine thank you.

I guess at least it's an option, unlike wow where you're pretty much forced to level like crazy all the time.

Kheivalo said on 10:09AM 11-03-2009

I don't really have a problem with the leveling curve, but I have been wanting games to be more difficult like original EQ back in the day.

As far as the amulets go, they arn't game breaking. They already give a rested bonus that fills to full in a matter of 3-4 days. However when you go to use it that extra 20% doesn't make a huge difference for how long it takes to fill the bar. You basically end up with an extra bubble of experience out of 20 bubbles in your bar. That is close to what the Lodas Amulets do. They are gone before you know it and all you have to show is really maybe a bubble of xp and a ten hour cooldown.

Mark Warren said on 3:19AM 11-04-2009

I don't have a problem with leveling... the only issue is that some of the quests deserve more xp (like proof is in the poison) and some other quests give out too much for something that actually quite easy to do

panonoe said on 4:39PM 12-22-2009

the lodas amulets is just their way of combating the western's theatre of play and challenges that they are used to. in korea they truly value the challenge of grinding on level to another almost aimlessly but in america, those values didnt transfer quite well and were confronted with temporary xp boosts on announced weekends and the passing of lodas amulets to give this game a less daunting appeal then it already to many players in the west.