Just Potatoes

I’ve spent the past month playing Aion with a really great group of people, but this past week, my mother flew in from California to visit and I found myself unable to log in.

And now, I find that I don’t really want to log in. I think, “Hmm… I have some downtime. I should play Aion and see how things are going.” But then I get distracted by something else– forums, email, housework, Google Reader, Order of the Stick –and I just don’t bother playing the game. When doing housework distracts me from playing an MMO, it’s time to start thinking about the value of that MMO!

My main problem with Aion is that PvP just isn’t that complex… or fun. I’m dreading logging on and seeing fortresses becoming vulnerable, because I know I’ll probably spend an hour sitting at an artifact, for 15 minutes of frantic PvP accompanied by disconnects, lag and people yelling at each other. I don’t like how some legions run past the guards to take on the diety just so they can get their name on the fortress. I don’t like how some legions don’t bother defending forts they’ve captured, but on the other hand, it’s hard to know when your legion’s fort is going to be vulnerable. I don’t enjoy feeling like I’m missing something if I’m not on when a fort goes vulnerable or that I’m not leveling fast enough to start fighting in the upper Abyss. I don’t like the way that healing, buffing and rezzing apparently give little or no contribution in fort battles. The only people I know who’ve earned contribution bonuses are melee dps and the healers who spam heal the tanks.

I really miss Warhammer’s scenarios, battle objectives, and open grouping. If I had a warband leader I didn’t care for, I could leave and join another open warband. In Aion, I spend most of my time ganking or being ganked while grinding in the Abyss. As a result, I’ve been logging on to alts more and more often.

But I love the people I play with, so I’m not sure what to do. I was willing to overlook Warhammer’s flaws (graphical issues, server and class imbalances) for so long because the lore was so rich, and the world was atmospheric (if buggy), and the people were wonderful. Friends are what kept me playing both WoW and Warhammer when my enjoyment of the games had ceased, and the lack of a social group is what led me to drop Age of Conan, and Lord of the Rings Online, though I really think they’re great games. I know I’m not the only one… At least three of my guildmates have quit Aion and gone back to Warhammer. Two of my WoW guildies who had joined us in Aion have gone back to WoW.

So I find myself looking at other games… It’s been so long since I’ve really been able to immerse myself in an MMO. I was in the beta for Fallen Earth, and I’m thinking about trying that out. I might go back to LoTRO too. My daughter would love to play with me, and LoTRO would be a good game for us both to play. It’s also the only MMO my husband has ever expressed an interest in playing, so maybe I could rope him in.

We’ll see.

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