Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Patch notes are like politicians, always trying to please and typically failing to do so. Aion’s first round of major patch notes put on a decent show like a politician but for some they won’t go far enough to provide real change. The proof will be in the pudding (or production) but the overall theme of the patch notes seems to be “ease the experience, don’t rock the boat.” Read on for a look at the current notes from NCsoft.

Aion launch is just around the corner and while fans wait in anticipation, we all want to be as up-to-date on the game as possible. Game Update 1.5 adds tons of content and we have the highlights of this huge content addition, including class tweaks and nerfs, making it easy to see what features will be making it into the launch version of the game later this month.

Adventuring through Aion can be a dangerous task for the unprepared adventurer. Learning how to augment your armor with enchantments, manastones, and other needed enhancements can go a long way in increasing your survivability. This week Ten Ton Hammer takes a look at what kind of gear and enhancements are available to players of Aion, and provide you with a quick guide to what's available.

Manastones are used to socket your gear and provide it with a number of possible enchantments. You can usually find these stones on various creatures throughout Atreia and very commonly on the trade broker. Manastones provide a number of possible enhancements such as boosting evasion, parry, hitpoints, attack, mana points, and much more.

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If you're looking for the defensive juggernaut in Aion, look no further than the Templar. This class is built to tank and outlast many enemies through sheer defensive toughness. This week we take a look at the Templar and all the defensive benefits you can use to take a spanking and keep on tanking.

Templars take a different approach to tanking than gladiators. This class is built more for defensive oriented skills that increase its survivability, making it a prime candidate for the main tanking position. If you want a tank capable of taking a beating and then asking the enemy in a Wolverine-like manner, “what else ya got?” then the templar is for you.

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Aion's Gladiator is the offensive branch of the warrior archetype. This class offers a heavy plate armor wearing option with high offensive capabilities for players who want a tank that can dish out some punishment. Unlike its counterpart, the Templar, Gladiators use skills that offer more damage oriented attacks rather than defensive options. To help give players a look at what they can expect from the Gladiator, we've put together a preview of this class from Aion's 3rd beta weekend.

You may think one of those finger wiggling casters with the ability to wield strange magic capable of smiting enemies into a smoldering pile of ash is scary, but you haven’t experienced real terror until you see a plate armor wearing gladiator swoop down from the sky, his razor sharp polearm in tow, and in one swift motion he empties the contents of his opponents head onto the surrounding landscape. Ok, they don’t actually show that in Aion like they do in Age of Conan, but the gladiator is still a vicious looking and formidable foe on the battlefield.

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This week Ten Ton Hammer takes a look at the warrior archetype, Aion's heavy tank class. If you enjoy standing toe to toe with your enemies and taking just as many hits to the face as you give this archetype may be just what you're looking for. The warrior is all about heavy armor, combos, and melee. During Aion's second beta weekend, Martuk got the chance to take a look at this class and provide some colorful commentary on how he felt about the experience.

Combos won’t be your only important thing to master. You’ll also need to start getting use to all the classic tanking skills that make us the meat shields we all know and love: Aggro Management! However, this won't become too big of a part of the gameplay until you reach level 10 and one of the first of these skills you’ll acquire is called Provoke. If the name itself isn’t self explanatory, it simply means you taunt your target to draw its ire. I'm not sure what the taunt entails, but one can assume it's probably something involving the enemy's mother, whip cream, and some lint covered barb-wire. In any case, aggro management is going to be your next aspect to master at later levels if you ever want to be popular with a group.

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