Aion Priest

Priest emblem

The Priests are the predecessor to becoming a Cleric or a Chanter. This is the classification for these classes before doing the Ascension quest and choosing a class.

During playing as a Priest, players will start to gain a feel of what the Cleric and Chanter are like. There is a mixture of skills for both of these classes that are gained while leveling, to help assist in determining what class to choose.

This class is by far the fastest one to level to 10 and Ascend, solely because they are able to heal themselves in combat. Mix this with good attack power, and you have a solid killing machine!

Their positives are :

• Great damage dealing potential
• Good heals
• Semi-decent buffs
• Chain armor mastery

Their negatives are :

• They mostly rely on Smites
• Easily killed if not attentive

As stated above, their primary attack at this point is using smites on enemies. The issue with these is they are two second spells, and they can be canceled. Although this is true, they are still more efficient than the classes who are unable to heal, especially the rogue classes.

In solo combat their battle style will consist mainly of alternating between Smites and heals. This will help assist them in keeping their health up while killing enemies. When enemies get within range Priests have skills that will slow down enemy attack speed, lowering the amount of damage taken while in combat. This will be used after the first or second Smite. There are also the more subtle strategies and class secrets.

In group combat, their goal will be to heal allies while occasionally tossing out an attack or two, which will usually be a melee attack so they are able to conserve mana. The good thing about this is they are able to group with any class and still make them much more efficient at this point, not just tanks!

Conclusion : The Priests are by far the best classes in terms of leveling speed before level 10. They are able to somewhat tank, deal damage, and also heal themselves (and others). While playing one, players will gain an understanding of how both the Cleric and Chanter will be in combat, allowing them to better prepare them for the choice of which class to take after their Ascension. Along with this, they can play as an out-of-party healer and buffer for other players to assist them in leveling up in the newbie levels.

Aion Mage

Mage emblem

Mages are the “spell casters” of Aion. Their primary goal is to destroy enemies by using magic spells. Up until their Ascension there is only one real choice on how to kill mobs; spells. After the Ascension they then have the choice of either going Sorcerer, which can nuke mobs with spells, or Spiritmaster, which relies on summons.

Much like the Rogues, Mages have very low defense but deal a great amount of damage to enemies. What brings the Mages up above them, however, is the ability to launch ranged attacks even at low levels. This helps somewhat compensate for their low defense by allowing them to toss out a few attacks before their enemies reach them. At the same time, however, their spells can be canceled by enemies fairly easy, leaving them vulnerable to being pummeled.

The Mages are forced to use only one type of armor; Cloth. This is the lowest defense possible, which puts them in a very delicate situation when it comes to having to tank the mobs (solo) or when pulling aggression of mobs (when grouped). Once the class is learned well, however, it is quite easy to battle enemy foes!

The high points of this class are :

• Great damage potential using spells
• The ability to attack enemies from a distance

The low points of them are :

• The lowest defense out of all of the classes
• Spells can be canceled by enemies

Pushing through this Mage class is significantly easier than Rogues, but still harder than the others. Much like with Rogues, however, keeping at it will yield great results.

The weapons of choice are Spellbooks and Orbs, both of which are used for magical damage rather than melee.

In solo combat, the Mages will rely on just dealing as many magical attacks as possible while only taking on one mob at a time. Taking on two is a sure-fire way to die, being that it doubles the chances of being canceled while casting.

When grouped, the risk of death goes down quite a bit because someone else is also dealing damage (and/or tanking), lowering the amount of time the mob lives.

Conclusion : Much like the Rogue classes, Mages have very low defense but are able to dish out huge amounts of damage. Thankfully they are able to use ranged attacks, allowing them to get in a hit or two before their enemies are within range of attacking them. At the same time, they can also be canceled once their enemy gets within range, potentially raising the possibility of death.

Aion Scout

Scout emblem

Scout are the melee damage dealing class in Aion. These can turn into either the Ranger or the Assassin, both of which are very different from one another. Although this is true, they do share the same play style up until their Ascension.

Scout are based primarily on evasion and damage. Their defense is low, but their damage is quite high, making them kill quickly but die quickly at the same time. Especially because Scout are melee characters up until their Ascension, this creates a very complicated leveling style in the early levels. Once past that point, however, both of them are very good at what they do (Assassins attack from stealth with duals, Rangers kite with bows).

Although most of the beginning classes have mixtures of both of their future class choices, Scout do not. There are no bow skills for Rangers until they have completed their Ascension. Because of this, it is very complicated to learn how the Rangers will actually do in combat until becoming one.

The positive aspects of Scout are :

• Great damage dealing capacity
• Ability to dual-wield at level 5!
• Ability to hide from players and mobs

The negative aspects are :

• Low defense so they take a lot of damage
• No bow skills until completing Ascension
• No preparation for being a Ranger

Although there is no preparation for becoming a Ranger, most players will already understand the basics of the class : Kite and run, kite and run. This helps out somewhat, but it would be much better to have a bow skill or two as a Rogue to see what to expect damage-wise.

Scout are much better suited to group environments rather than solo, being that one of their 3 good skills requires attacks from behind mobs and another requires them to evade an attack before using. In solo play, it is best to hunt mobs that are not aggressive, however much of the quest mobs are aggressive. This is the biggest hindrance to their leveling path. This is where Aion Scout references come in handy. Then there are hot-headed players who tend to seek for the faster solutions such as Scout macros and add-ons.

Conclusion : The Scout are a great class at later levels, but many people have issues getting them to their Ascension. This is completely understandable, but persistence pays off! The easiest way to do so is to find a group to quest with, but even solo it can be done by being careful and resting often. By far the worst aspect of the class is the lack of any bow skills (or even bows from quests) until Ascending.