In the Aion 2 live stream held today (the 13th), improvements aimed at increasing PvP time-to-kill (TTK) and details on future updates were revealed. Some of the changes will take effect tomorrow (the 14th), while the rest will be implemented sequentially.
First, PvP damage will be reduced by approximately 30%. NCSoft stated that it considers the barrier to entry for PvP content such as the Abyss to be currently high, with significant damage disparity resulting from equipment gaps. Consequently, the company revealed it is preparing measures to narrow the gap between existing players and new PvP entrants. The role of melee classes in large-scale battles will also be strengthened. 'Assault' will be changed so that defense and all elemental resistance increase for 5 seconds in proportion to the number of targets hit, while 'Block' will gain an effect that reduces cooldown by 0.3 seconds upon a successful defense.
Ranged classes will have 'elemental damage' added to their attacks. Just as wind elemental damage was previously added to the Ranger, elemental damage will be added to select skills for the Sorcerer, Spiritmaster, and Cleric, establishing distinct roles separate from physical damage. Much like how front-line classes gained 'Frontal Damage Amplification' in Chapter 1, 'Elemental Damage Amplification' builds are expected to become the meta in the next chapter.
The convoluted inheritance materials will also be streamlined. Existing Inheritance Stone Shards and Inheritance Stones will be consolidated into 'Flames of Succession,' eliminating material distinctions across weapons, armor, and accessories. Players can convert their current materials into Flames of Succession through Morphing, with required quantities varying by equipment slot.
In the Sanctuary 'Snowfield of Grief,' improvements will be made on the 14th so that support classes can handle the spike mechanic more easily. NCSoft acknowledged the growing preference for ranged DPS in that mechanic, stating that it will adjust the mechanic so that Chanters and Clerics can also easily destroy the spikes. Additionally, in the next chapter, the company plans to clearly define the difficulty distinctions between Expedition and Transcendence, altering their management approach so players do not feel penalized regardless of which content they choose.
The highly anticipated Class Change Ticket will not be released for the time being. In a previous player poll, opposing votes were in the majority. To prevent sample contamination, responses from players with combat power below 350K were excluded, and opposition remained dominant even in the 900K+ tier. In an additional poll conducted during the stream, opposition stood at 52.4%, surpassing the 47.5% in favor.
Regarding future updates, NCSoft shared direction on improving housing and ranking systems. Housing development was extended while enhancing customization freedom, such as wall and floor patterns and furniture resizing, and is currently undergoing final testing. For rankings, the company plans to alter operations so that competition is not concentrated solely right before the end of a season.
Meanwhile, NCSoft announced plans to sequentially apply improvements to the domestic server that received positive feedback in the global service. However, it explained that because attack speed and cooldown reduction stats are high on domestic servers, it is difficult to overhaul combat controls and optimization issues all at once, so skills and combat structure will be improved to preserve the fun of manual controls.
