Aion Entices Returning Players and Resolves Manastones Issue

In an interview with Assistant Product Manager, Sean Orlikowski, MMORPG.com is reporting that a few changes are in store for NCSoft's Aion, including some changes that players have been clamoring to have made for years.

On January 28th, Aion will be adding special instances called "Abbeys." Each race will have their own Abbey and these specific instances are reserved for returning players that haven't logged in within the last 30 days. These zones are aimed at providing boosts and quests to players above level 46 to push them to max level and endgame content quickly. You'll be able to access the zones at level 10, but you'll have to do some leveling before the quests portion opens up. Existing players can also get bonuses for playing in these instances if a returning player is part of their party.

The manasocket system is also receiving a change that Aion players have wanted for a LONG time. Previously socketed stones will no longer break if the socket you're trying to complete fails. Only the currently used stone will break. The enchantement system gets a new feature, too. You can now enchant your gear beyond a +15 modifier to the new cap of...unlimited! Feeling lucky? Then your +40 bonus is actually possible.

Check out the full interview linked above for all the finer points of each change.