So I’m still playing my Elyos Mage Rosethornn. And I’m having a blast, truth be told. Sure, there are some little annoyances with the game. For example, when I’m booted from the server (or can’t log in like yesterday, since the servers were down), instead of just booting back to the log in screen, the game completely shuts down. This means I have to restart the game, waiting through the loading screens all over again. NCSoft, please fix this! It’s aggravating. Not aggravating enough, though, that I don’t put up with it.

I’m currently level 10 and exploring Verteron. By exploring, I mean flying around as much as I can, because flying is freakin’ fun! But let me back up a few paces, because to get here, I had to go through the Ascension quest. Disappointingly, the quest for the Elyos wasn’t nearly as interesting as the one for the Asmodians. Even more disappointingly, the last quest in the Poeta Campaign quest line was identical to the last quest on the Asmodian side as well. So this just confirms even moreso that there is no reason to roll the other side, because the play experience will ultimately be the same.

After I ascended, I had to choose a class. Mages choose between Spiritmaster and Sorceror. I chose Spiritmaster only because according to the live Server Status, it’s the least popular class, and I like to buck the trend. I have one pet, a fire elemental, but I haven’t had a chance to test him in combat yet. I’m still a ways away from deciding if this is a fun class, and I’m still wishing I’d rolled Priest, but I’m sticking with it for now.

One thing that continues to amaze me, besides how much fun flying is, is the size of the major city. Sanctum feels huge. Once I’m settled in the area, I’m going to see if I can fly to the ground. I died once in the attempt so far, but I missed a ledge, so we’ll see what happens next time. And death while flying is definitely something to watch out for. That wasn’t the only time I fell to my death. If you miscalculate or can’t find a ledge, you will fall and die. Flying is still fun, though, even with that bit of risk.

There are a couple of things I’m really loving about Aion. One is their mission system. No, not the simpleness of it, because it is pretty easy to figure out where things are. They definitely have taken a chapter from the dumbed-down quest system of World of Warcraft. What I like is how it is separated. There are campaign quests and normal quests. Campaign quests are level based, although once you’ve unlocked whatever aspect you need to, not always a level, you can go after the campaign quests. I was completing level 8 quests at level 6 on Poeta. When I completed the Poeta line, I unlocked a special title, which brings me to another thing I’m loving. Titles! I haven’t chosen one for myself yet, but looking at the list of unknown titles, I’m really looking forward to figuring out how to unlock them all! Nothing like giving an achiever some achievements to go for.

So 10 levels down. Another week to go before I determine what score I’ll give the game. Right now, it’d be pretty high, though.