While Star Wars the Old Republic continues to suck in gamers like a black hole, in the corner of the universe know as Aion, a free-to-play nova will soon be born.

By February 2012, Aion EU servers will convert to a three-tiered freemium model, which is becoming popular to an increasing number of niche MMOs like DC Universe Online and Lord of the Rings Online, to name a few.

Here’s the announcement trailer heralding the transition:

NCSoft has partnered with veteran free-to-play publisher Gameforge to deliver additional features that come with a more cash shop-oriented game, such as the pay-to-access personal store and an unlimited supply of aether and essences.

A new Aion Free-to-Play microsite has been set up that gives the lowdown on the new subscription-optional structure. Stateside fans believe that should the EU model prove successful, then the US servers are all but assured to go free to play as well.

What Will Change?

Fans worried that this will lead to stringent play restrictions that will force them to subscribe anyway should take heart in NCSoft’s promise that “apart from slight changes that we have made to the interface, such as integrating the in-game shop and displaying additional information in regards to the free-to-play system, no changes to the core gameplay have been made.”

But Aion Kinah will be restricted on free accounts, NCSoft said, to prevent bot abuse.

Developers also assembled a detailed FAQ that seeks to assuage fears of the unknown like whether Legions will be reset (no they won’t) or if several classes will be pay-walled (no all will be playable to free members).

Aion US fans, are you excited to get a similar free-to-play change? Or are you dreading it?

Prepare to die a lot in the new Aion crucible.

NCSoft will drop Patch 2.7 on test servers today and begin stateside playtests for the brutal free-for-alls known as Crucible 3 coliseums.

“No allies and everyone is considered your enemy,” says the initial Korean patch notes. Players who accrue the most points based on its plus-minus system (e.g. plus for killing foes and minus for dying) will also reap the most currency for those stunning armor sets.

There will be at least eight arena locations based on what we saw in a Korean preview trailer released months back, including a desert slave pit and a haunted manor.

Cloth classes are expected to be the first to go down in these all-out fisticuffs, with the tough Gladiator foreseen as being the last Daeva standing. Luckily, the more squishy classes tired of coming dead last have other play options. They can choose the 1-vs-1 mode for Crucible 3 or group up for the new 48-man instance Padmarashka’s Cave for Aion Kinah rewards.

Crucible 3 is the third in a series of player content aimed at high-level Daevas. Crucible 1 introduced party gauntlet instances while Crucible 2 delivered endgame solo challenges.

Testing for Crucible 3 and the rest of Aion Patch 2.7 will last a week before it goes live on Western servers on October 19, coinciding with the release of Patch 3.0 in Korea. Which makes us wonder: Is this just a coincidence or maybe a new coordinated release pattern for Korean and Western patches?

It’s a jam-packed September line-up for Aion as the game celebrates its second-year anniversary with a ten-day festival. At the same time, it also ushers in the back-to-school rush in cool, preppy style.

From September 22 to October 1, the high fantasy and high fashion MMO commemorates its founding through a perk-filled Reactivation Celebration festival. Non-active Atreians are invited back into the fold to enjoy the special privileges listed below.

Reactivation Celebration privileges

• Increased AP gains and decreased AP losses from PvP deaths in Abyss and Silentera Canyon zones
• Increased XP from all mob kills
• Increased Aion Kinah and loot drop rates, including Boss and Named mobs
• Fossil collection prizes in “Picking Up the Past” event
• Trade-in prizes in “Ascension Festival” event

Some of these privileges last only for as short as a few days to as long as two weeks. Check out the Reactivation Celebration roll-out schedule so you don’t miss the double XP and double drops playtime.

Spiffy New Uniforms

Just in time for the return of classes, NCSoft also delivers two new lines of clothing for the new batch of Daeva students.

Fitted blazers, starched shirts and bowties can all be had at the Aion Store for some real-life cash. If the boarding school look isn’t your thing, you can always go nautical. Navy-themed scarves and hats are also on sale for wannabe sailors and damsels-left-behind.

For a more complete list of events and freebies, check out the 2^nd Aion anniversary page.

Has it really been two years since Aion launched?

Many predicted the Korean MMO to become dead in the water within months, but lookie here — it’s managed to keep a loyal few whose subscription dollars have never wavered. For these hardcore, 24-month account holders, NCSoft is bundling a set of rewards as a big thank you.

AionSource scored the scoop direct from NCSoft on the rewards these fans, dubbed affectionately as Eternal Daevas, will receive when Aion celebrates its garnet anniversary on September 22. These are:

• 5 Plat Medals
• 3 Crowns
• 5 Morarti’s Remedies
• 4 Revival Stones
• 5 Felicitous Socketing Supplements – Eternal
• 1 Expanding Inventory & 1 Warehouse Ticket
• Lucky Wings

The most notable among these loyalty rewards are the Felicitous Socketing Supplements – Eternal that ensure no Aion Kinah is wasted on unsuccessful mana-stone socketing, and the all-around useful inventory and warehouse expansion ticket items.

For the newbies who haven’t earned their stripes yet, there should be minor rewards in store for you, too. Last year, NCSoft held the Daeva’s Day celebrations that allowed every subscriber to participate and received lavish gifts, ranging from cake to unabashedly cute accessories like heart headbands and pointy hats.

Aion players will literally have to wait till the leaves fall before getting their hands on black and white arena armor.

Patch 2.7, which ushers in the stunning sets and a new Crucible arena in which to earn them, has been slated for a late-Autumn launch.

“I have been given permission to say we’re planning on releasing the 2.7 update around October/November,” said lead community manager Shawn “Phenteo” Silverman. But he quickly added the disclaimer: “This date/time-frame can change at anytime due to technical reasons.”

Technical reasons in Aion often refer to localization snags when Aion patches are brought stateside from Korea, where developer NCSoft test and release patches months ahead.

The surprise confirmation popped up in a thread discussing the Patch 2.7 ETA. Astute observers said the Aion Magazine in September looks like “one of those pre-release teaser issues they do for major patches” based on previews.

This observation plus the disappointment from a few fans who think Patch 2.6 “doesn’t feel like a patch” might have convinced Mr. Silverman to drop the bomb, if only to give naysayers something to look forward to.

Aion 2.6 launched in live servers last week and has split the community. Soloers who like the Crucible 2 dungeon are now busy running it for the rare drop and Aion Kinah rewards. But PvP fans care little for this newly released content, and would rather have the arena improvements coming in Patch 2.7.

If anything, the October/November window also positions Aion 2.7 as the “cherry patch” designed to keep players subbed instead of jumping to Star Wars: the Old Republic, which is rumored to release also in the late 2011 window.

Howling for an auto-loot buddy? NCSoft sniffed out your dire need and is now selling Worg of the Dead pets at the Aion store for $14.99.

“Your loyal worg will automatically loot your kills for you, so you’ll never overlook a spellbook or a dagger again,” said NCSoft. Needless to say, it also collects Aion Kinah.

Similar kinds of auto-loot pets could only be obtained at level 50+, making this a boon to low-level toons. But is it worth the price tag?

Well, if you’ve got Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and can’t stand monotonous loot clicking while leveling alts, then this “snarling bundle of claws and fangs” is a steal. But if you’re more of a packrat, then consider spending first on a Speckled Ailu Pack pet that unlocks 12 additional inventory slots for the same cost.

Like other pets bought at the Aion store, the Worg of the Dead can be unlocked each character on your account. First-time furry adopters should visit the Aion Pet FAQ page to learn about the pet care basics.

Six stages, waves of mobs, and absolutely zero back-up – the Crucible Challenge might sound hardcore.  But feedback is trickling in that the gauntlet dungeon, which opened today with the launch of Aion Patch 2.6, is nowhere near Herculean.

Well-geared 55s are clearing the dungeon in five to 15 minutes, given that some mobs can be dispatched in several hits. Even the official Crucible Challenge guide suggests that the difficulty only ramps up starting Stage 5 up to the bonus rounds unlocked after defeating Vanktrist Spacetwine five times via the quest line.

There are two reasons max-level toons are making short work of the Crucible Challenge. First, it also caters to the less powerful level 50s so mobs are tweaked to the lowest common denominator. It also offers measly RNG drop rates for completion rewards like Godstones, so easier but multiple dungeon runs are de rigueur.

As an alternative to Crucible Challenge, players can go on Aion Kinah runs using the new Auto-Group feature. Finding groups for five-mans are now easier for eight instances, including the party-centric version of the Empyrean Crucible. More instances will be added to the Auto-Group list in future patches.

Aion 2.6 weighs in at around 522 MB and should take an hour to several to patch in, depending on your internet connection speed. Peruse the NA patch notes for the full details.

If you put MMO characters side by side, Aion toons would stick out like sore thumbs or, more aptly, like bejeweled fingernails.

NCSoft continually creates the most flamboyant art and costumes for the high fantasy game– just look at these fancy new sketches for Arena armor coming in Patch 2.7, which can put K-Pop stars to shame!

The Ice Queen seems to have been the inspiration for the white set which won’t cost you Aion Kinah but a lot of arena tokens. While the black set, plucked straight out of a torture den, will cost arena and courage tokens from the third arena boot camp, says fan site Aionsource in translating the Korean wiki update.

Click the picture tabs below to get a closer look at these dazzlingly white and darkly demonic outfits.

High-level Atreians can ditch their groups and start training solo when Aion Patch 2.6 hits the PTS server July 28 in North America and unlocks the new Empyrean Crucible 2 dungeon for testing.

Unlike the original Empyreal Crucible launched last May with Aion 2.5, the so-called Crucible 2 will allow level 50+ players to engage in single battle against six stages of mobs. Should you fail, there is a re-entry cooldown of 22 hours between each solo attempt.

NCSoft said Crucible 2 was created due to a strong clamor for more individual-based challenges. This should spark some competition among friends, guilds and factions on who can score the fastest completion time.

Group-oriented players weren’t left in the dust with the new patch. They also got some love with the roll out of an Auto-group feature for eight popular dungeons: ‘Nochsana Training Camp’, ‘Fire Temple’, ‘Steel Rake’, ‘Draupnir Cave’, ‘Dark Poeta’, ‘Udas Temple’, ‘Lower Udas Temple’, and ‘Crucible’.

The Auto-group feature should speed up team formations, but it will only work when a high number of players enter the queue. That’s why NCSoft is giving a Pledge of Victory buff for anyone using Auto-Group, a buff that raises attack, magic boost, healing boost and HP stats.

The rest of Aion 2.6 consists of a few more notable additions:

• Fresh crafting designs for you to sink your Aion Kinah on.
• New Runaway Poppy pet, which has a small chance of giving Platinum Medals after being fed.
• UI improvements like a Relic AP Reward Calculator and a 24 Hz Music listening option.

If you have time, make sure to read the rest of the patch notes for a detailed list of fixes to annoying skill bugs and graphic hiccups.

A few MMOs brought out the big bangs for Independence Day, from dye-filled blowouts in Aion to the annual pyrotechnics show in World of Warcraft.

But while others went all out, some took a breather in this all-American holiday. Read on to see which games you should be checking out for their patriotic shindigs. 

Aion

As one of the few MMOs that take appearance costumes seriously, Aion encouraged all Ascended to dress up in the national flag colors with everyone getting free red, white and blue dyes. (Yes, keep those Aion Kinah) These came with new surveys which won’t take much time to fill up and can be used to turn armor into parade-appropriate outfits.

NCSoft also gets plus points for the lore effort. “Independence Daeva marks the traditional anniversary of when the original Humans declared themselves free from oppressive Balaur rule,” said their holiday event announcement. “If you believe that you have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of Abyss Points, please join us by dressing in bright colors and setting off firecrackers in the memory of this historic occasion.”

DC Universe Online

If you expected the developers to cross some Marvel lines and offer a stripes-and-banners costume like Captain America’s, well tough luck. DC Universe Online seems to have snubbed the holiday, but they have a pretty good reason for doing so – they’re mighty busy preparing for the SOE Fan Faire which starts in a few days.

From July 7 to 9, the SOE Fan Faire will see the convergence of fans across a dozen or so MMOs. It might not be as flashy as BlizzCon, but it’s the kind of quirky convention that satisfies every type of geek and gaming inclination. While it’s too late to register – walk-ins are welcomed. Details here!

EverQuest II

Over at Norrath, EverQuest II players will have to amuse themselves with the new gliding and leaping mounts as most of the support staff were given the day off.

“Technical, Account, and Billing Support will be limited to email from 6:00 a.m. PDT through 7:00 p.m. PDT. Additionally, Live Chat support will be available from 12:00 p.m. PDT through 4:00 p.m. PDT,” said the announcement. Normal operations resume tomorrow, July 5.

Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV

It was business as usual for the two MMOs of Japanese developer Square Enix. To be fair, most FFXI and FFXIV players never really expected an Uncle Sam holiday to become adapted for the games, especially when Americans comprise a small portion of the subscriber base.

And we know they aren’t above hosting holiday events, as we’ve seen in their Valentine’s- and Spring-themed celebrations. Cookouts and star-spangled parades just aren’t international enough, I suppose.

RIFT

This one took us by surprise. Trion Worlds usually takes any opportunity to give out items or hold events in RIFT, but for Independence Day the company seems to have considered that they just have too much going on right now.

On top of their new Patch 1.3 world events, they have the new summer subscription promos and weekly community events. When you add a national holiday event to that, well even we think it would be over the top. We wouldn’t know what to do anymore! Next year though, some token item or costume or even a shower of RIFT Platinum would be a nice enough nod to the holiday, given that a good portion of Telarans are Americans.

World of Warcraft

Last, but arguably the grandest, World of Warcraft’s takes the cake for raucous revelry. The Midsummer Festival ends today, and the culmination is a bacchanalian feast of /dancing and /kissing and /toasting all the way to Booty Bay.

The fireworks display commences at 6:00pm PDT, and will repeat each hour until the event closes for good. All faction capitals are participating, so take a short break from all that Firelands raiding and spare a WoW Gold to get smashed with your faction at the local pub.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!