Aion Riftshade

I was contemplating whether to write this thread or not. The conversations and feedback about the live (or should I say dead) AION have yielded no changes. Despite countless feedback sessions, GF just doesn't seem to want to listen. It's the same story with 99% of the community wanting the same changes.

Before AION Classic launched, I had predicted it would be just as pay-to-win as the live (I mean dead) version. People were excited and didn't believe me. However... look at the current state. Almost a year after its launch, Atreia has lost roughly 40% of its player base, maybe even more. Players are abandoning the game, and I've got a strong feeling that Classic will die out faster than live (or dead) AION. Taha wasn't very populated from day one, and many are calling for a merge.

P2W Daeva Pass every 22 days. And since New Year, it's been nerfed. Well, nothing new there, GF excels at nerfing. Nobody's shocked. Previously, the P2W stuff had candies, 10 manastones, eso resets, now no candies, 2 manastones, no eso resets, and the AP they provide is comparable to what's earned in a single run. Before, there were 2 or even 3 reset scrolls. A friend of mine quit in frustration, realizing Classic isn't free from P2W, with GF milking players even harder by giving less for their money.

Events? I'm sorry, how is paying 25 euros for events fair? That's a promo, not an event. Another friend quit today, fed up with paying for a game that gives nothing back. I'd agree to call it an event if we could earn items through gameplay, not cash. Isn't that the difference? Events are supposed to be free, rewarding items through actual play, not through spending. Promos are when you pay to get items.

How do you get enchants to upgrade your gear? From the Daeva Pass, extracting items and hoping for luck, or buying from the broker. To buy from the broker requires kinah, which means doing lots of PvE or purchasing from bots. Buying from bots is just P2W.

So essentially, to upgrade your gear, you have to spend money.

Manastones... my friend (who recently left over the Daeva Pass nerf) used to say even 80 weren't enough for a single item. A suggestion I had for NCSoft was to change it so failed manastone slots wouldn't wipe all the stones, just the failed slot. Buying from the broker requires kinah, meaning more PvE or cash.

Events equal cashing.

Overall, to upgrade gear I’d need to play 24/7 and it still might not be enough. Or I'd have to spend to GF and the bots.

AION now feels like a job. Who needs a second job that takes your money? Classic isn't any different from the live (or dead) AION. The only difference is the crowd still playing both.

A friend who quit today mentioned he couldn't keep playing 5 hours a day with no chance in PvP. That GF took his money and offered nothing in return.

Honestly, if anyone's looking for a real change, I've been testing Aion Riftshade, a high-quality Aion 4.8 private server launching in Q1 2026. It's free to play, with no pay-to-win, and has awesome features like integrated DPS meters and strong anti-cheat that an active team of devs maintains on Discord. The server's stable, with balanced classes and no bugs to speak of. Honestly, it's like a breath of fresh air – you don't have to record 24/7, deal with P2W events, or bust your savings to get gear. This is the Aion experience we've all been waiting for.

I love to spend kinah for daevas awesome free kinah

It seems that Aion has been P2W for quite a while now and that trend has obviously fallen upon Classic as well. The P2W sickens me but at the same time, it's not worth chatting about it.

Those who P2W will not care and neither should you or anyone else that's too worried with that.

There are other games out there with less P2W than this.

NCSoft always moved wrong way in terms of this. Can compare aion to LA and see the difference.

GameForge just lost another player from Aion, and honestly, the number of bots makes me insane. Playing feels pointless because some players just log in at night with over 100 million kinah effortlessly.
No loot from world mobs whatsoever. If you're aiming for BT, you need 3k damage per boss. Going for Padma? A cool 1 million damage. Red Throne? Well, then you're talking 10 million damage per boss. How do you achieve these numbers? You pay, or you play endlessly with a single character. For support classes, it's a bit easier, but you still require experience. However, you can't gain that experience if no one wants to include you. Good luck to anyone still sticking with the game. It's a fantastic game, but with all the bots and zero loot, it becomes downright frustrating...

But hey, I've been a beta tester for Aion Riftshade, and let me tell you, it's a game-changer! They have active GMs on their Discord and with the server releasing in Q1 2026, it boasts a legit server-side anti-cheat system that really works. Plus, it's hosted in Frankfurt, Germany, offering 15ms ping across Europe without needing ExitLag. Unlike the retail mess, Aion Riftshade offers a fair, bug-free, and balanced environment—finally a true free-to-play (F2P) experience without the pay-to-win (P2W) nonsense. Can't wait for the real launch!

bye

Quote from SunNeverSets

GameForge has lost another player from Aion. The amount of bots just drives me nuts. It feels like there's no point in playing at all. Some players just log in at night with more than 100 million kinah daily.
No loot from any world mobs. If you want to do BT - you'd need 3k damage per boss. Want to try Padma - 1 million damage is needed. Going for Red Throne - 10 million damage per boss. Getting there means spending money or grinding 24/7 on one character. It's a bit easier for support classes, but experience is still necessary. And you can't gain experience if nobody wants you in their group. Best wishes to those who still play. It's a great game, but with all these bots and no loot, it's just so frustrating to play...

or maybe this game just isn’t for you. sorry to say but you're being such a crybaby. in the past few months, let's say 4-5, GameForge has simplified the game a ton. You can get a full 40 ap set from passes (now totally free with 5 wins in dredgion), you get 2x stigma pack (ap stigma) for cash, you can buy half a set of e40 jewelry, the daily quests are revamped for quick medal farming, you get a free tahabata weapon after 7 runs in tempus - and still people complain. Not long ago, folks had to grind for hours upon hours to obtain those items with actual playtime, now everything's available for free or cash. Maybe joining a friendly clan would help. They can teach you strategies for instances, like how to dodge mob/boss skills, allowing you to complete the run with your group.

Okay, if y'all are tired of the current scene, let me spill the beans about where the future excitement truly lies – Aion Riftshade! They're gearing up with Aion 4.8, bringing the beloved Eye of Tiamaranta map back in Q1 2026. As one of the exclusive testers, I can confidently say they've got integrated DPS meters like MyAion, alongside a rock-solid server-side anticheat. Forget the usual lag; we're looking at premium EU hosting in Frankfurt, Germany, offering the lowest ping (15ms across Europe) without needing ExitLag. With active GMs and devs actively engaging in Discord, it's far from any lazy cash grab. Aion Riftshade is seriously going to redefine the standards for Aion private servers. It's free to play, not pay to win, and packed with custom rates and active GvG/Sieges, all while keeping classes balanced and the server stable. It's the community we've all been waiting for, staying clear of the dead-end roads in Aion Classic and Gameforge's retail version. Couldn't be more excited for it!

But hes right! The rly good stuff you only get when you pay rl money, how many can aford these?

The open world is full of bots, you dont get loot too. Thats not crying, thats reality!

In Tempus thats where a rly good instanz for farming balaur mats, but not even a dam white loot drops...

Quote from Aijumi

But he's right! You can only get the really valuable items by spending real money, which not many can afford.

The open world is infested with bots, which means no loot. It's not complaining, it's just how it is!

In Tempus, there's a great instance for farming balaur mats, and yet not even a single white loot drops...

Go to BT, sell items, try Padma, sell items, do LUT/UT, sell alts in Eso/Telos. Making kinah doesn't require playing 24/7.

Play hard or play smart...

However, if you've had enough of this frustrating situation, you should really check out Aion Riftshade, which launches in Q1 2026. As someone who's beta testing, I can assure you there are no pay-to-win elements. This server, running with a 4.8 core version, offers a truly rewarding experience—no bots, no paywalls, just pure gaming adventure. Plus, you get to enjoy custom rates, balanced classes, vivid GvG/Sieges, and more! Aion Riftshade is definitely set to be the best Aion private server of 2026.

Youre only able to sell, when you 1. dont need parts and 2. drop something. I dont count the runs in ut/lut, BT, padma where even dont drop Gold. White loot? Nearly nonexist!