Aion v1.9 is coming up just around the corner and our Daeva of Journalism, Aquilanius, had the opportunity to interrogate Producer Chris "Kinslon" Hager. During the interview, Kinslon is forthcoming with the nitty-gritty information about the stun defense system and daily quests coming in 1.9. Over the coming weeks we plan to continue these mini interviews until Kinslon’s information well is dry. Stay tuned!

Aquilanius: How exactly will the stun defense skills work?

Kinslon: You can purchase the Remove Shock skill from your character’s appropriate skill trainer (preceptor). Once your character has learned the skill you’ve purchased, if your character becomes stunned in combat, Remove Shock becomes available as a chain skill that you can use to remove the stun and increase your character’s resistance to stun, knockback, and similar conditions for 7 seconds. At later levels, class-specific skills that you can also learn will act as chain skills that let you go on the offensive in addition to the basic abilities of Remove Shock.

Aquilanius: How will skills be acquired? Are they Stigma skills or skills taught by an NPC?

Kinslon: At level 40, every class can purchase the Remove Shock skill from the appropriate skill trainer (preceptor). Remove Shock is a regular skill that can be learned after being purchased. The higher-level chain skills that follow Remove Shock can also be purchased from class preceptors.

Aquilanius: What purpose does this stun defense have in overall class balance?

Kinslon: With each update in an MMO, the game designers need to rebalance the game’s classes as players progress in skill and learn tactics that allow them to optimize (and sometimes overly optimize) specific class abilities. In the Aion 1.9 update, every class can now counteract and counterattack stun blocks to a degree. This strengthens the balance of all of Aion’s classes. Future updates will continue to balance and shape each class, allowing players to shift tactics as new and different skills are introduced, and 1.9 is no exception.

Aquilanius: For which level ranges will you offer daily quests?

Kinslon: Each race has two sets of daily quest factions it can join. One faction gives quests starting at level 30, and the other faction starts at level 40. Once a character joins a faction, an icon appears each day in the UI that offers a new daily quest for that day. You can choose to either accept or decline a daily quest as it pops up each day, but you will continue to receive a daily quest each day until your character leaves the faction that gives those quests.

Aquilanius: What are the rewards of daily quests?

Kinslon: Ah, but that would be telling! Seriously, though, I don’t want to ruin the surprise of the specific rewards. I will say that the quest givers will offer are a wide range of rewards, from XP and Kinah to mist (time-limited) weapons, armor, and even some new titles!

Aquilanius: How much time will I need to invest in for a daily quest?

Kinslon: The time players will need to complete a daily quest will vary depending on if you are questing solo or in a group, which faction you join, and the specifics of the quest. The game designers wanted you to have some variety! Some daily quests will require more effort, but the rewards will also be proportionately greater.

Aquilanius: How does this system differ to the Daily Quest reward rental system?
 
Kinslon: The items you receive from the daily quest reward system are rarer and have a wider variety of time limitations (3, 7 and 14 days). For the longer time lengths, it will take a lot more daily quest completions to be able to get these.  The Mist Rental weapons are all 14 day weapons and are available every 5 levels so players can use them at a wide range of levels. Also, they are great for players who want to rent a good weapon to power through a weekend or instance instead of completing several daily quests to get the higher stat weapons or paying potentially a lot more for a weapon they would shortly outgrow.
 
Aquilanius: What are the limitations of the items?

Kinslon: Items from the Mist rental shop can’t be stored, sold or traded, and will disappear once their time has expired.  They also can’t been enhanced in any way (enchants, godstone or manastones can’t be added).
 
Aquilanius: What are the stats and quality of the items? Can you give us a few examples?
 
Kinslon: The stats and quality of the items range depending on level, but all are of Heroic (blue) level.  The specific stats will vary from level to level, but below is a couple of examples of the Mist items.  It’s important to note that all armor/weapon items within the same level and type are the same price.  For example, you’ll pay the same amount for a level 35 Mist cloth Tunic as you would for a level 35 Mist Breastplate.  The same is true for weapons.  (Please note these prices will vary as the influence ratio for each world changes – similar to current item prices on the live servers.)

Aquilanius: How does the Armsfusion and Armsbreaking system work? Which stats are kept after two weapons are fused together?
 
Kinslon: Before a player performs an Armsfusion, there are a couple of pre-reqs.  The weapons must be the same type (IE 2polearms, 2 two-handed swords, etc). Additionally the ‘main’ two-handed weapon level must be higher or equal to the secondary weapon items level. With all this in mind, once the fusion takes place, the following changes will occur:

 20% of the secondary weapon’s basic attack power and magic boost are added to the main weapon (stats lower on secondary weapon aren’t changed)
 

 The secondary weapon’s options are added to the main weapon (in the event that both weapons have the same stats like attack speed, casting speed, etc only the higher value is applied)
 
  All manastone slots from the secondary weapon are added to the primary weapon (as are any manastones currently equipped on the secondary weapon)

Aquilanius: What happens to the existing manastones and godstones on the weapon after the transformation?
 
Kinslon: Manastones are kept for both weapons.  In the case of the secondary weapon, if manastones are equipped they are transferred over to the main weapon.  Also, when you add manastones or god stones to a weapon that has already been fused, you can pick which weapon you want to socket the stones to (primary or secondary). Godstones will always be added to the primary weapon. Once the weapon is broken apart, it will still be attached to the main weapon.  Enchant stones will function the same way as godstones do, where they will be added to the primary weapon only, and will remain on the primary weapon after the weapon has been broken down.
 
Aquilanius: Can I revert the process? If so, what happens if I want to use the base weapon again but with a different weapon, what happens to the initial 2nd weapon?
 
Kinslon: The secondary weapon is destroyed in the armsfusion process. You can undo the fusion and return the main weapon back to the way it was before, but you will lose the secondary weapon in the process.  Undoing the process will allow you to redo the process with another secondary weapon of the same type if you choose.
 
Aquilanius: Are there any limitations to the weapons that can utilize the Armsfusion system?
 
Kinslon: There are some weapons that, although they fit into the 2 handed category, will notbe combinable with other weapons.  These weapons include Mist items, timed daily quest reward items, and skin change items.  Aside from that as long as the governing rules for the two weapons being fused are met, combine at will!
 
Aquilanius: Thanks Kinslon! We’re all out of time, but next week we can discuss Energy of Salvation and the new stats being added. Cheerio for now!

Aquilanius: What is the purpose behind Energy of Salvation?
 
Kinslon: Energy of Salvation is for players who are leveling more slowly than other players of the same level. You can gain Energy of Salvation starting at level 15. It is intended for casual players, or players that really enjoy exploring and pursuing interests in game that don’t drive directly toward leveling as fast as possible. It’s also meant for people who get distracted by shiny things instead of leveling—of which I am always guilty of.
 
Aquilanius: Does Energy of Salvation increase the amount of Abyss Points you earn while in the Abyss?
 
Kinslon: Energy of Salvation works just with experience and leveling and doesn’t work with Abyss Points. It’s whole purpose is to help boost characters and get them to the exciting higher levels more quickly (Abyss entry, instances, and so on). It doesn’t have any effect on Abyss Points, which is a completely different system and serves a very different function (encouraging PvP). It does help casual players to level faster so that their characters can get to the Abyss faster, which could translate into more Abyss Points for the prepared.
 
Aquilanius: We know that all Daevas will be able to use Energy of Repose beginning at level 15, but whatis the maximum level of its effectiveness?
 
Kinslon: The main change for Energy of Repose is that it now starts at level 15 instead of level 20. (The overall maximum character level in the game is still 50.) The current v1.5 percentages will stay the same, since the North American and EU servers received the update noted in the v1.9 Korean patch notes a while back (woot). To reiterate, here are what the current v1.5 and future v1.9 XP bonuses will be:

 Levels 15–44: 40% bonus
 Levels 45–50: 30% bonus

Energy of Repose is still an incredibly valuable tool for players who play in short bursts and rest for even a day or two at a time.
 
Aquilanius: Will the “Crit Spell” stat affect healing spells as well? If so, does the critical value take the Healing stat into account?
 
Kinslon: Crit Spell is an important new stat for the offensive spell slinger. Depending on the stats of the items your character has, it could even mean victory or defeat. Unfortunately, because it is geared towards offensive spells, the Crit Spell won’t affect healing spells.
 
Aquilanius: Will the new stats in 1.9 be seen in existing items and manastones, or will there be new items and manastones with bonuses to these stats?
 
Kinslon: I wish! Existing items will not have these new stats added to them, but new items and manastonesin the v1.9 update will have them built in. Any new items introduced in future updates will also have the new stats. So take heart, as you collect new items and weapons with each update, those items will have these new stats with them (and of course, new manastones will have them, too).
 
Aquilanius: Can you explain how exactly the item and manastone bonuses will affect the stats of a character’s summoned spirits, traps, and energy? Which classes will benefit from this the most?
 
Kinslon: Spiritmasters, Clerics, and Rangers should be excited about the new stats. When a manastone with a new stat is socketed to an item (or the item has this stat), part of the item’s bonus will increase the stats of pets, traps, or summoned energy. To break it down a bit, here are the stats that will give bonuses to summoned spirits, traps, and energy:

 Spiritmaster Spirits: HP, Physical Attack, Physical Critical Hit, Accuracy, Evasion, Physical Defense, Magic Boosting Power, Magic Accuracy, Magic Resistance

 Ranger Traps: Magic Boosting Power, Magic Accuracy

 Cleric/Spiritmaster Summon Material (Summon Energy): Physical Attack, Accuracy, Magic Attack, Magic Boosting Power, Magic Accuracy

So beware to all.  Even though two-handed weapon users got Armsfusion, these manastone and item bonuses will help to empower some of the other classes, giving them a special trick or two up their sleeve.

Aquilanius: The Ranger skill Retreating Slash already exists as a Stigma at level 20ish. Will the Stigma be deleted and replaced with the new level 48 skill?

Kinslon: Retreating Slash will stay in game because it’s a valuable tool for low-level Rangers. The level 48 skill, called Fighting Withdrawal, is a completely separate skill. While on the surface these two skills may look and operate similarly, they are still very different.

Fighting Withdrawal is part of the counter-attack after a counter-stun and is the level 48 chain skill Rangers can use after Remove Shock. Every Ranger gets this skill at 48, and it won’t be a Stigma-based skill that can be removed and replaced. The basic functionality of Fighting Withdrawal is that it deals damage to your target and pushes you backward a distance from the target (very similar to Retreating Slash).

We wouldn’t gain anything by taking away the Retreating Slash other than disadvantaging level 20 rangers and making them wait for level 48 for a more powerful version of the skill as a second tier chain skill. This way, when Rangers get to level 48, they can choose to remove that Stigma and free up a slot if they want to use the skill instead.
 
Aquilanius: Will the Healing Boost stat being implemented in the 1.9 update be enough to compensate the weak hit strength of Clerics?

Kinslon:  First off, I’ve been beaten in duels by Clerics, so don’t pretend you are weak (and don’t laugh at my defeat either). Your lower hit strength is counterbalanced by your healing skill, which is improved for 1.9. The improved healing stat increases your heals by a percentage of the base heal amount and gives you better survivability.

For example, let’s say I’m facing off against a Cleric in a mano-a-mano duel. If you were to cast a regular Healing Light (with no improved Healing Boost), you would heal for, say, 2,000 health. As you increase your healing stat, the damage healed per cast increases. Now because we have a great QA team with lots of commands you don’t have, we can see that if you set your improved heal stat to 1,000, you will increase your heal spells by 100%. So that 2,000 damage heal with 1,000 improved heal stat would heal for 4,000.
 
Aquilanius: What’s the point of reducing the magical power of the Cleric spell Summon Noble Energy?

Kinslon: Good question. With 1.9, the developers have added in new items and manastones that are designed to help you pet folks out. These new benefits are based on the pet master’s stats. With those new additions and Summon Noble Energy left untouched, the use of that power is out of whack in game balance. To fix this, the developers tweaked it so that new items and manastones are emphasized.
 
Aquilanius: What’s the utility of the Cleric skill Guardian’s Shield?

Kinslon: First a point of clarification. Our writers changed the name to Impervious Veil I. Sounds better, right? Now lets dive into what Impervious Veil is.

Impervious Veil is a branch in the Remove Shock skill chain for Clerics. With it active, it absorbs 8,000 points of damage, but you can’t use physical attacks or magical skills while it’s in effect. This spell is pretty useful in both PvE and PvP. With 8,000 points of damage to absorb, you could use a potion, continue the fight, run away, or it could even keep you alive in a PvE situation if you’ve managed to pull aggro.

The other side of this chain is Storm of Vengeance, which is the offensive cousin to Impervious Veil. Depending on your situation, either one of these skills could be critical to your survival, especially Impervious Veil with its strong defense.
 
Aquilanius: What is the duration and cool-down of the stun-removing skills added in the 1.9 update?

Kinslon: So to clarify, all classes will get the stun removing skill at level 40. The duration when this skill is used is seven seconds. It has a one-minute cool-down. I can almost see the Assassin’s minds running now with new strategies to combat this. I am honestly very excited to see what the new strategies that this will generate combat. Our players are smart and adaptive, and I have no doubt we’ll see some cool combat tactics come out of this.

Aquilanius: Will both Clerics and Chanters benefit from the stat that enables critical heals?

Kinslon: We briefly touched on this with the last Q&A, but allow me to reiterate: Because the Critical Spell stat is geared only toward offensive spells, healers won’t benefit from this. In other words, healers won’t get critical heals. However, with the new healing stat, both Clerics and Chanters will have the opportunity to increase how the amount of HP their heals can restore.
 
Aquilanius: What kinds of functionality changes have been made to Dredgion and how do those changes improve the instance?

Kinslon: There have been several tweaks done to the Dredgion, all with the goal of making it more challenging and fast-paced. First, the timer has been reduced to 40 minutes, so you better have a plan when those doors open! All mobs can now see advanced stealth, so sneaking around will be much more difficult. Oh and speaking of mobs—there are more of them now. Additional quests have been added to the instance to provide more goals, and doors have also been added to separate each section. To open a door to a section, you have to kill a specific mob. (You’ll have to run the instance to find out which one.) Along with these changes come increased AP rewards. (Winners and losers should rejoice at this.)

Aquilanius: Can you tell us more about the legendary item series that will be added to Kromede the Corrupt and Vile Judge Kromede in the Fire Temple?

Kinslon: A series of items just below the current eternal drops for both Kromede’s have been added. They are, of course, less powerful than the eternal drops, but have a higher drop rate, so the end result is that there should be more weapons dropping from the Fire Temple instance than before. That, along with the boost in the item drops for all instance boss mobs, should make this and other instances pretty popular in the very near future.
 
Aquilanius: Will the re-entry time for any other instances be adjusted? For example, Nochsana Training Camp (NTC) has an extremely lengthy re-entry time for its level range.

Kinslon: Unfortunately no, there isn’t any instance re-entry time readjustment with 1.9. But please note that we have heard everyone’s feedback on this, though, and take it seriously, and have passed it along. I, myself, have fallen victim to the NTC re-entry timer and shaken my fists in fury.
 
Aquilanius: Can you give us an overview of the enhancements to the UI with 1.9?

Kinslon: Aion has a lot of UI changes with 1.9 that are all focused on Improving the player experience. We’ve got a new looking for group (LFG) functionality (that you activate with clicking a new icon) that will let you search for groups in need of brave souls to aid them or to post yourself as a hero looking for a cause. You can minimize the LFG window to an icon that sits by your radar and alerts you to updates on your grouping endeavors. There have also been new quickbars added to the UI. The best part, though is that the new quickbars are changeable and movable! You can change the shape of the quickbars and the position in which they are placed to best fit your screen setup. Additionally, we’ve also added buyback functionality on all the in-game merchants. If you’ve make a mistake, you’ll be able to go back and repurchase your items for what you sold them for at any point in a session. (Beware if you log out, though, because then they’re gone forever.) This and several other UI changes all add up to an improved player experience with more features and more customizability.

Aquilanius: Will I be able to look at a player’s equipment when using the looking for group function?

Kinslon: You’ll be able to see basic player info when you’re using the LFG function—like player name, class, level—but you won’t be able to see another players’ equipment through it. You can still use the Character Viewer on AionOnline.com for that, though!

Aquilanius: During a fortress siege, I never see my faction on the radar, just only the enemy. Will I be able to see both in 1.9?

Kinslon: There haven’t been any changes to faction visibility in the radar during fortress sieges, so you’ll still have to keep your peripheral vision wide open to spot friendlies. Unfortunately, that means that you’ll still have to wonder when someone shouts, “Lookout behind you! No, really!” if you should be looking or not.

Aquilanius: Thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions, Chris. I hope this has been an informative series for the community, and we all look forward to the update going live!

Kinslon: You are most welcome! I hope everyone’s gotten some benefit from this information, or at least was entertained. See you in Atreia!