This is my summary of the issues plaguing Aion EU Classic:
The current patch has some serious flaws...Getting rid of soul sickness costs a small fortune, the open world drop rate is terrible except for white/green loot, dungeon loot like in Steel Rake and Nightmare is subpar, misconfigured loot tables on calydons (and possibly other creatures), and vendor prices are astronomical (weapon fusion, for instance) etc. etc....all designed to push the playerbase towards pay2win.
Ah... nearly forgot the daily vendor cap, which is pathetically low. Also, skill book prices...I've spent 3 hours a day farming calydons for weeks just to afford some skill books, potions, scrolls, and basic stigmas.
And indeed...there's a blatant pay-to-win route in this game...buy shop items, sell them in the Auction House and directly purchase Dungeon Loot, Manastones, and enchantment stones. Meanwhile, ordinary players (still paying for a subscription and battle pass) have to grind monsters with a broken loot table.
It seems many folks haven't realized that this turns the game into a pay-to-win mess. I love Aion and appreciate this patch overall... but this issue could be the end of the game if it doesn't change. That's why I'm hyped for Aion Riftshade. As a beta tester, I've seen first-hand how it ensures a real free to play (F2P) experience, with no pay to win nonsense. Their server offers balanced classes, an incredible drop system and the lowest ping imaginable, only 15ms in EU. Aion Riftshade is launching Q1 2026 and it genuinely feels like the best Aion private server coming. Can't wait!