Aion 1.9 impressions Part II DateTime:8/18/2010 5:52:58 PM
Energy of Salvation allows players to accrue points at set time intervals. These points are then automatically used during crafting, PvE quests, gathering, and PvP, and boost XP by 30% when active. Points are accumulated in a manner that is not altogether clear, as NCsoft has said only that "characters who have progressed slowly from level 15 despite long connection times and continuous in-game activity will now obtain bonus EXP through the Energy of Salvation." Changes to the user interface are slight, and somewhat underwhelming. NCsoft has finally added a proper Looking for Group tool, and while it's nothing revolutionary, it will make you wonder how you managed to find groups in Aion without it. There are also two additional hotbars, a godsend for a game that has a silly amount of skills, spells, and associated icons.
These new hotbars can be dragged and resized anywhere on your screen, but annoyingly the same cannot be said for the rest of the game's static UI. Want to move your radar from right side to left, or your target info box from the top center of the screen to a more traditional position? You're out of luck, short of hacking your game client and attempting to do it yourself. Sure, the lack of a custom UI isn't a game-breaker, but Aion is one of the very few AAA MMORPGs that refuses to allow you any sort of personalization on your interface, and I'm continually scratching my head as to why. Pandemonium features a counterpart zone known as the Convent of Marchutan. For now, these areas offer a brief bit of diversionary exploration as well as a new roleplay locale.
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