Scopique
ScopiqueAs of now, Steam says I’ve played AION 2 for about 15 hours. It’s been my go-to game this past week, so I guess the answer to the question posed in my previous post is “yes, I am enjoying AION 2”.
I am, of course, a simple man. I like games when I’m in that honeymoon phase where the game is new to me, even if the game mechanics are tried and true. I like to fire up a game and be entertained. If I can be entertained for free, so much the better, but I’m also an established adult and can afford to pay subscriptions. As an adult, I can decide if paying a subscription to a free-to-play game is worthwhile for me. I don’t feel like I “need it all” or complain that “everything is behind a paywall”. As a dyed in the wool PvE player, I have no concern if other people are paying real money to advance faster or look sharper, so traditional whining about “pay to win” in PvE modes falls on deaf ears in my house.
AION 2 is checking these boxes for me, it seems. I’m certainly seeing progress. I rolled a second character — which I don’t usually do — and have already almost gotten to the same level as my first character. Because of the density of the map, the mobs, the gathering nodes, and the destinations, progression is swift and unrelenting; I can’t not be pleased with my momentum. I don’t log in because I’m enraptured with the stories, but because when I’m looking for something to do, I know I can feel accomplished with AION 2.
As a result, I’m considering picking up a month of the optional $14.99 subscription. On one hand this is “giving back” a little for the as-of-right-now 15 hours I’ve enjoyed myself. That’s $1 per hour, a relatively inconsequential fee for time spent, in my opinion. I’m not considering it because I’m salty about “falling behind” — falling behind who, exactly? — or because I feel like I’m missing something. My decision whether or not to subscribe is simply to extend my enjoyment of a game I’m perfectly content playing without paying a cent.
The portions of the subscription that I might be interested in are the marketplace, which allows player-to-player selling, and the Kina-to-Quna exchange, which allows players to “sell” premium currency (Quna) for in-game currency (Kina). I don’t know what the transaction rates are looking like right now; player exchanges can either be sensible so that everyone benefits, or see one side trying to gouge the other. These things usually take time to shake out and since AION 2 has only been widely available in the West for less than a week, I suspect that we still have time before things normalize.
Because of the way the game is structured, I’m not sure if picking up a subscription now, at my character’s current level, is going to be worthwhile. Eastern games (in this case, Korean) have a tendency to compartmentalize features by level, and while a subscription would allow me access to the player market, I’m thinking that none of my characters are in a place where I could take advantage of the Kina2Quna exchange; don’t quote me on that, I have no idea how it works in practice, and this is just a feeling.
That means that if I don’t subscribe now, I might never. I am enjoying my time with AION 2 at the moment, but who knows how long that will last? Haters on various forums are already calling for the game’s demise on account of WoW Forever’s impending release next month, and they might be entirely correct that the retread will siphon off AION 2 players who are merely there biding their time. Without players, a marketplace loses value. If I hold off a month and see if I’m still playing, and if there are still enough people playing to keep the marketplaces humming, I might subscribe for a month and see how it goes.
4 Comments
Nimgimli
October 9, 2026 - 10:02 amIsn’t it strange how we (I do this too) feel like we have to low-key defend the fact that we spend money on “free to play” games? I wish “people” would get it through their heads that if NO ONE spends any money, the game is going to go away. If you, young Joe Buck over there, don’t want to, that’s fine. But trying to cast shade (I’m SO hip!) on anyone who does spend seems like shooting yourself in the foot.
I play at lot of the gacha games & that generally have 2 items (a $5 sub and a $10 battle pass) that add up to $15 and for the amount of time I put into these games that feels like a fair way to support a title I like AND get myself some goodies. And when I drift away and start playing less then I just let those expire and play for free.
Feels like a win for everyone, to me.
I started a Ranger in Aion 2 and it didn’t super hook me but I might try another class before I give it up. I ALWAYS go Ranger in any game that has Rangers and I might just be getting tired of the class rather than it being a reflection on Aion 2.
Scopique
October 9, 2026 - 9:12 pmI can never throw shade…if you saw how much I have spent on Star Citizen over the past 15 years…
I also suspect that the people who complain about getting something for free with an OPTIONAL subscription are the same people who complain that the characters are “ugly” in whatever game they’re playing. I am a bit miffed that their milestone tracks (Daeva Levels) are priced individually AND are priced by character, not account. Not sure if the per-character thing is standard for these kinds of games, but on top of a sub, that’s a good chunk of change for those who want all options available to them.
I also started with a ranger, and I liked it OK. I am plying a cleric now and think I’ll main this one (clerics are also ranged). I’m thinking that melee characters might fare better in this game because a lot of the mobs tend to flock to the attacker. There are ranged enemies, but they don’t seem to be the prevalent kind, so if melee is an option for you, it might be something to look into.
PixelOne
October 9, 2026 - 11:18 amNot gonna lie, this is hooking me more than WoW Forever. I might give that game a go cause I have some friends wanting to play as a group but if it wasn’t for that I’m not so sure.
For now Aion is ticking a lot of boxes for me. Easy to get into, some random form of collection that I can feel accomplished by, and quick combat. I also like figuring out systems, game mechanics, and pushing the limit of what a solo player can accomplish. I am getting all of that here right now.
As for the sub thing, I’ve said this a long time ago back when I was subbing to 3 MMOs (boy those crazy days), a subscription to a game is about the same cost of a movie ticket. I get more enjoyment in a month than I get from going to the movies once. Now of days that movie ticket cost even more. As long as YOU are enjoying your time and see value in the subscription then what you do with your own money shouldn’t matter.
Scopique
October 9, 2026 - 9:07 pmWoW Forever was never going to be my jam; I hated original WoW so I don’t think this would do anything for me. Star Citizen is my thing, but it’s in such flux that it’s easy to walk away for weeks or months and not really feel like I’m missing anything.
AION 2 is also doing it for me right now. It doesn’t require a lot of thought, is fast paced, has enough content that I am ALWAYS doing stuff, and I’m enjoying it. My WoW sub is on a 3 month cycle and I JUST paid it, so I have some breathing room for at least one month of AION if I choose to go that route.
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