Review: FTW Guides Aion Online Leveling Guide (Elyos and Asmodian)

Review summary: FTW Guides (formerly Ashling's World) has put together an excellent Online Aion Leveling Guide. The "online" part of the title means you actually view it through a webpage, which makes it very lightweight and interactive. I think KFGuides 1-50 Aion Leveling Guide just got some competition for the best Aion leveling guide.


The motto for FTW Guides is "We do the work, you have the fun!" and looking at their new Online Aion Leveling Guides, it's easy to see the massive amount of work they did. Having fun is still up to you. ;)

This guide can most easily be compared to KFGuides' 1-50 Aion Leveling Guides, so I might as well point out the similarities and differences for you as there are a number of both.

In terms of their quality of instruction and the speed at which they'll help you level, they're both pretty darn close. Each guide walks you through Aion quest-by-quest and zone-by-zone very accurately and efficiently. To be honest, you can't go wrong with either of these guides in this department.

Where I think FTW Guides's Online Aion Leveling Guide slightly outperforms is that it is entirely web-based, where as the KFGuides Aion Leveling Guides come in the form of PDFs. KFGuides does offer a few online freebies and other helpful content through their website, but FTW pulls everything together in a single place.

Each quest has a little map button beside it with a number key. Clicking that map button instantly brings up a map with numbers on it. Find the number your looking for and you quickly know where to direct yourself. KFGuides has a similar map as well but it precedes each zone chapter so there's a lot of scrolling back and forth I find. That said, printing out the map would solve this problem.

There's also a very helpful sidebar with every single quest in the chapter listed alphabetically linking straight to AionArmory. The quest database page loads in a nice frame right on top of your page so you can get any extra information you're looking for. That's a big help when you need it.

The FTW Guide looks a bit more polished in my opinion as well. Like I said in my KFGuides review, I'm a big fan of simplicity, which is why I gave it such a good score. Having read through the FTW Guide, they manage to keep things simple and lightweight with a more appealing style (for my tastes anyway). See below for an example.

KFGuides is a bit better if you like to print out your guides and keep track of your progress with a hardcopy because it is designed as a booklet. A lot of the functionality of the FTW Guide is lost when you print it because you don't have access to browser functionality and web links.

To work around this, FTW includes a tiny free program called DeskPins (1.3.0). This software will allow you to make your Online Aion Guide window "always on top" so you don't have to alt-tab out of Aion over and over again.

The final point of comparison I will make is price. KFGuides charges $39.99 per 1-50 faction leveling guide and they currently do not offer bundled pricing for customers buying both guides. FTW Guides charges $29.99 per 1-50 faction guide and they do offer a bundle ($44.99 for both Elyos and Asmodian). Apparently, this is special pricing because they still need to update 30-50 leveling content. The price will go up once the guide is "finished" in October. Any and all updates are free just like KFGuides.

I am really impressed with this guide. So much so, that I'm giving it a 9.5/10 score. KFGuides is an excellent guide, but taking into account the price difference and extra online goodies you get with FTW, the Online Aion Leveling Guide is currently my top recommendation for potential customers. The value is just a little better.

Here's a video that shows off more of the FTW Leveling Guide:

Review: KFGuides Elyos and Asmodian 1-50 Leveling Guides

Review summary: The KFGuides Elyos and Asmodian 1-50 leveling guides are amazing. Step-by-step easy to follow instructions show you the fastest way to level your new character in Aion. This leveling guide is highly recommended for those wanting the fast track to level 50. If you don't believe me, why don't you take a quick peek at their FREE 1-10 leveling guide?


No matter what Aion faction you pick, Asmodian or Elyos, KFGuides has you covered with their 1-50 leveling guides. Personally, I’m a minimalist kind of guy so I truly appreciate the simple and straightforward nature of their guides.

These guides are extremely direct and easy to follow. They’re basically layed out like a task list. Step one – Go here and get this quest. Step 2 – go there to complete the quest.

Of course, it isn’t just about getting quests and completing them. It also gives you strategic instruction so you can level as efficiently as possible. For example, while you’re in this area killing these monsters for this quest, make sure to collect these nearby resources. Another example is, while you’re in this town buy your skill books for the next level because you won’t be back for a while. There are many more efficiencies laid out in this guide, but I don’t want to spoil them all.

Each chapter is preceded by a custom map with a number of specific locations marked out. As you progress through the guide, certain steps will reference these locations, so it’s quite handy to have around. Also, the guide actually includes screenshots of certain key items you’ll want to keep your eye out for. Including these images will save you quite a bit of time in trying to figure them out for yourself based on quest descriptions.

And again, I can’t stress the beautiful simplicity of this guide’s layout. I’m using the Asmodian guide myself and have a printed out copy sitting at my desk. As I complete a step I simply check it off with a pen and move on to the next one referencing the map when necessary.

When you purchase a copy of KFGuides’ Elyos or Asmodian 1-50 Leveling Guides, you’ll receive membership to their site, which provides you with free updates via email

You should note that these leveling guides are only intended to cover Aion from a leveling point of view. If you are interested in a newbie guide, crafting guide, profession guide, or enchantment, manastone, and godstone guide, KFGuides has some freebies you might be interested in.

I give the Elyos and Asmodian 1-50 leveling guides by KFGuides a 9/10 because they're very good at what they do.

Review: Killer Guides Unofficial Aion Strategy Guide

Review summary: The Unofficial Aion Strategy Guide by Killer Guides really teaches new players everything they need to know to get started as either an Asmodian or Elyos (both factions are covered). It doesn’t go into excruciating detail in any one area but provides comprehensive coverage over a broad range of topics, including: questing, grinding and kinah-earning strategies, classes, crafting, flying, items, macros, and the Abyss just to name a few.

If you’re looking for one guide that covers just about everything in Aion, Killer Guides’ Unofficial Aion Strategy Guide is the best option available right now. It could go into a bit more strategic detail in some areas, however, I believe it provides ample coverage to get you started. Heck, it taught me quite a few things and I have been playing since closed beta 1.  I also understand why they may be holding back a little: they publish a number of other specific class guides and a kinah-earning guide as well. To include all that would make the guide too big and cut down on sales of those other guides.

This guide covers a lot of areas of the game. The class section gives a good overview of each class and includes some strategies taken straight out of their class guides. This should help you make an informed decision on which class to play and may even teach you something about the class you’ve already picked.

The guide also covers all the basics, including weapons, armor, jewelery, potions, power shards, food, manastones, godstones, enchantment stones, stigma stones and divine power. The author writes about in-game economics by covering inventory management, personal stores, the auction house, and basic kinah earning strategies (kinah is money in Aion).

The section on the Abyss is quite good. As one of the most important areas of the game, it’s nice to have it covered in such detail. Readers are given a great overview of the massive PvP area, including mobs, Abyss Points, fortresses, artifacts, and the Dreadgion. In this PvP-enabled space, it’s good to know which enemy players to target in what order. This guide gives you guidance in this area, which is especially helpful.

I think they did a pretty decent job with the leveling section of this guide too. It’s nowhere near as comprehensive as KFGuides’ 1-30 leveling guides for Elyos and Asmodians, but that isn’t what this guide is intended for. It isn’t a step-by-step walk through but it does give you a general idea of the areas you should be in at certain levels (see the screenshot to the right). The guide covers Elyos and Asmodian questing and grinding from levels 1-45, however, the sections aren’t all complete as of the time of this review.

Now is probably a good time to mention that some sections in this guide aren’t finished. That might be a problem if they didn’t provide you with free updates; but they do! Buying this guide from Killer Guides grants you access to free updates every time the author makes them. Over the course of my review period, this guide was updated three times!

You will notice a few mentions of “Patch 1.5 Updates” throughout this guide. Patch 1.5 was a huge patch for Aion that introduced a lot of new content and updates to existing content and game mechanics. This just goes to show you that they are willing to update the guide along with the game, providing their readers with the most recent information available.

I could go into detail about all the other areas of the guide but I won’t because this review would be way too long. I think it’s fair to see that they’ve covered all the game’s bases.

One final thing I’ll mention is the appendix section, which is quite interesting. One of the appendices is called “Recommendations for Dealing with Other Players,” where they give you some valuable information about dealing with GMs, griefers, farmers, and botters. They also suggest some strategies to deal with tiredness, stress, grinding, PvP, bugs, and lag/disconnects. You don’t often see sections like these in strategy guides, so it’s quite refreshing.

I am giving the Unofficial Aion Strategy Guide by Killer Guides an 8.5/10. Overall, I think it’s a really good starter guide for new players and will even teach veterans a thing or two about the game. Some of the sections are incomplete and it could benefit from a bit deeper strategy. The nice thing about the free updates though is that you’ll always have an up-to-date version. After all, the game hasn’t even released yet, so much of it is forgivable at this stage.

Review: Killer Guides Aion Kinah Guide

Review summary: The Unofficial Aion Kinah Guide by Killer Guides is quite possibly the most comprehensive money-making strategy guide for the game. It adequately covers Aion’s various economic facets and will help you make your character better as a whole, not just a mindless grinder with deep pockets.

Coming in at a whopping 145 pages, the Unofficial Aion Kinah Guide by Killer Guides leaves very few ’stones’ unturned. Not only does it cover the monetary benefits of enchantment stones, manastones, and Godstones, it explains trade brokers (auction house), personal stores, warehouses, community tips, and pershaps most importantly, tradeskill professions (crafting).

Perhaps the thing I like most about this guide is that its mission isn’t to simply point out the best grinding spots (even though it does) and tell you to mindlessly farm there all day long. Instead, the main aim of this guide is to assist players to keep a steady income while developing their characters.

This includes detailing good places to grind, the most rewarding quests, listing which enemies drop uncommon items, how to make the most out of gathering crafting materials, and providing essential advice on crafting valuable items (which seems to be the best kinah maker).

The guide also lists twelve excellent quick start tips that all future kinah millionaires should follow. One of these tips is to sell items at a reasonable price, which sounds obvious but apparently isn’t to many players. Often, players become overly opportunistic or greedy and try selling items for unrealistic sums. The end result is a warehouse full of unsold goods and wasted fees at the auction house. Do your research and price accordingly to get the best return on investment.

The “Kinah Grinding” section is especially helpful, even though its name belies its content. For most people, grinding means setting up shop in one area and mindlessly killing creatures for hours on end. This guide covers all the zones in the game (Elyos and Asmodian) from levels 1-20 (20-50 coming in free future updates) and includes farming strategies, monster drop lists, quest rewards, and other kinah-earning opportunities instead.

A great deal of time is spent explaining Aion’s crafting system because according to the author, crafting is the best way to get rich while developing your character. It starts by covering all the work order quests boosting your profession level up to 150. Next, it presents a full recipie list for each craft. It doesn’t say where these recipes all come from, but you can use the names to search the AionArmory. Finally, it provides strategies for selling crafted items that will earn you the most kinah.

This guide was created during the closed and open beta phases for Aion, so it doesn’t currently cover everything in the game up to max level. However, purchasing this guide will grant you access to free updates as they are made, which shouldn’t be too long after launch.

One thing I should point out is that the official guide page is advertising a few features that aren’t in the version of the guide I reviewed (e.g., addons, 10 tips for personal stores, etc.). I assume these will come with future updates as well.

I am giving the Unofficial Aion Kinah Guide a 9/10 because I think it covers everything essential to earning kinah in Aion while still showing players a fun experience to holistically improve their characters.

Review: Killer Guides Assassin Class Guide

Review summary: The Killer Guides Assassin Class Guide gives you almost everything you need to know about playing an Assassin in Aion. You won't really figure out everything until you actually play the game, but this guide will help you do it more effectively and efficiently. It basically eliminates a lot of trial and error, which might seem fun to some but a waste of time to others.

Here's an overview of everything you'll get in the Killer Guides Assassin Class Guide:

Class introduction
What is your role when solo or in a group? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are the differences between Asmodian and Elyos Assassins? What are some of the key characteristics and attributes that make your class stand out from all the others? What weapons and armor should you wear? You'll find the answers to these questions and more in the guide.

Combat strategy
The combat strategy for Assassins may sound simple: "Kill fast; don't die," but there's obviously some strategy involved in that. How should you best fight while flying? How do you keep the fight on the ground to maximize your potential? What are some aerial and ground techniques that will help you out in a tough situation? What are the best skill rotations for your level range? Again, this guide contains the answers.

Leveling guide
This class guide actually contains a detailed leveling guide as well. Both Elyos and Asmodians are covered from levels 1-30 (updates to 50 will be made available). The leveling guide isn't as comprehensive as other guides I've reviewed (FTW Guides or KFGuides), but it still gives you a decent overview that is helpful.

Player vs. Player
You know Aion is a PvP game and Assassins are usually the best PvPers, right? This guide covers PvP as an Assassin quite well.  You might dish out high damage but you can't take much of it, so what are some of the strategies that will  make you successful? What should you do in a 1v1 situation vs. a Gladiator, Templar, Ranger, Cleric, Chanter, Sorcerer, or Spiritmaster? What Stigmas, gear, and enhancements should you focus on? The PvP section of this guide even contains useful tips from other level 50 Asssassins to give you even further insight.

Macros
Macros aren't that important in PvE but they're a Godsend for PvP. You can live without them but your life as an Assassin will be much harder. This guide contains a number of good sample macros every Assassin should become comfortable using.

Overall, the Assassin Class Guide by Killer Guides is quite good. It's still not 100% complete (e.g., 30-50 leveling guides, farming, and kinah making) but customers will receive free updates when they are available. The last update was made on October 5th, 2009. I'm giving this class guide a score of 8.5/10.