Global followers of Aion 2 once again find themselves looking worriedly in the direction of the Korean version of the MMORPG, as it appears that NCsoft has managed to tick off its local playerbase yet again with the launch of its second season and its monetization plans.
The central focus of Korean fans’ ire this time is centered around the three new battle passes that were introduced, which were collectively priced at $105 for those who wanted to unlock the premium tracks for them. A western fan who has been playing the Korean version of the game showcased some of what was in these battle passes (skip to the 2:11 mark to get to the actual informational bits).
Shortly after this was announced, the price of the passes was revised, which was noted at the top of the original announcement. The devs also held an emergency livestream that appeared to be deeply apologetic, claiming the pricing of the passes was an error and that “there was no intention to test player tolerance,” according to a fan translation.
Frustration still appears to be fomenting among Korean players, as Google-translated comments from the livestream express disbelief in the apology or suggest that there’s someone within NCsoft that’s actively trying to sabotage the game, while comments in the Season 2 trailer further suggest that the devs are attempting to actively ruin PvP. Some adjustments made in a recent patch appear to address some of these complaints according to auto-translation. Either way, it’s more drama from the inbound MMORPG.
sources: official site (1, 2), Reddit, YouTube (1, 2, 3)