Aion turns free-to-play: What this means for existing and future players

Gameforge have today revealed details about the account model for fantasy MMO Aion. With Aion’s relaunch at the beginning of February 2012 to free-to-play, the game will switch from a subscription-based model to a free one, with players accounts being split into two catergories; Starters (new players) and Veterans (existing players).

Beginners: new players, called Starters, can simply start playing and will get free access to Aion’s entire game content right away. This includes, for example, races, classes, instances, equipment items, player versus player content and handcrafting jobs. The only limitations starters will have is reduced access to functions such as the chat and the auction house. These measures have been introduced to prevent the use of automated programmes (BOTs) and trading with real money.

Aion Veterans: active and former Aion players will be classified as Veterans and will enjoy free access to all game functions. These accounts benefit from bonuses such as reduced cooldown times for instances as well as increased PvP coin rewards. Following approval in the user settings of NCSoft‘s PlayNC account management, the account will be switched to the free-to-play model, meaning that Veterans can continue playing the game as usual, but that it will be free of charge from February. You

Each user, regardless of whether they are Starters or Veterans, will receive full access to the item shop. Players are given the opportunity to pay real money to create their own individual character by purchasing, for example, unique pieces of clothing, rare pets or a new hairstyle. In addition, there is the Gold Pack option, which removes all the account’s functional restrictions and grants additional bonuses to the player for a limited time, which can increase the amount of experience points gained or reduce the cooldown time after instance completion.