Aion's Summer Beta Schedule [Updated]

[Keen]

Beta Event #2 - June 19-22 (starts and ends at 12:00pm Noon PST, 9:00 PM CEST, 8:00 PM BST)
Focus: Asmodian levels 1-10

Beta Event #3 - July 2-July 6
Focus: Asmodian levels 1-20

Beta Event #4 - July 17-July 20
Focus: Elyos and Asmodian levels 1-25

Beta Event #5 - July 31-August 3
Focus: TBD

Beta Event #6 - August 14-August 17
Focus: TBD

[Romble]

cool looks we have something to do every other weekend this summer  Also looks like Sep is pretty much the launch date 

[RussellGusto]

Good stuff.

[Darius_Black]

The whole weekend thing is a good idea. I'd hate to get sick of the game before it even comes out, like I did with WoW. Played that game for about 8 months before it was released, non-stop. A shame, when I should have waited and enjoyed a finished product instead.

[Phandy]

Updated schedule:

June 19th to 22nd: Closed beta, Asmodian faction levels 1-10
July 2nd to 6th: Closed beta, Asmodian faction levels 1-20
July 17th to 20th: Closed beta, Elyos and Asmodian levels 1-25
July 31st to August 3rd: Closed beta, TBC
August 14th to August 17th: Closed beta, TBC

Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/early-and-beta-access-for-aion-pre-orders

[Phandy]

More:

http://www.aiononline.com/us/

The second Aion closed beta event kicks off this weekend Friday, June 19th (12:00 PM PT, 9:00 PM CEST, 8:00 PM BST) and ends Monday, June 22nd (12:00 PM PT, 9:00 PM CEST, 8:00 PM BST).

For this event, enthusiastic testers will focus on the beginning player experience for the Asmodians as well as testing server stability and live launch simulation. Take the time to read the story of your quests, pay close attention to the words of the NPCs sharing their knowledge with you, and explore the first ten levels in the shadowy world of Asmodae during this weekend's exciting beta event.

If you're a part of this weekend's closed beta event, drop by the official beta forums beginning on June 18 to share your reports and experiences.

Thanks to the diligence and reporting from the first closed beta event, this weekend's event also features several updates and changes in the game content:

- Updated with culturalized content for Asmodian levels 1-10
- Updated UI at login screen
- Localization fixes for various in game maps
- Fixed various NPC messages
- Initial zone channels increased from 4 to 10
- Server queue added
Coming Soon!

- Localized voice overs for cut scenes
- Localized tutorial videos
- In game pre-rendered movies
- More culturalized content for Asmodae
- Culturalized content for Elyos
- Community Events
Participants in the closed beta events will also be excited to hear that the NDA has been lifted. Chat, blog, post, and tweet about your experiences in Aion!

Wondering about even more upcoming beta events? Check out the current closed beta schedule below and plan now for your fun-filled summer in Atreia.

Upcoming Closed Beta Events

Closed Beta Event #3 - July 2-July 6
Focus: Asmodian levels 1-20

Closed Beta Event #4 - July 17-July 20
Focus: Elyos and Asmodian levels 1-25

Closed Beta Event #5 - July 31-August 3
Focus: TBD

Closed Beta Event #6 - August 14-August 17
Focus: TBD

As always, stay tuned to the official web site and the Aion team Twitters (@aion_ayase, @aion_amboss, @aion_liv, and @aion_xaen) for more news and your chance to be a part of the closed beta.

[Keen]

Do we know whether or not we can leave the starting area and enter Pandemonium?

[snifswamp]

Can anyone clarify on the times? Friday at 9:00 PM CEST (8:00 PM BST, noon PT).

Can anyone tell me what time 9:00 PM CEST is for EST

[Bartlebe]

Do we know whether or not we can leave the starting area and enter Pandemonium?

I can't say with any authority but I would bet yes.

Think about it. Without a trip to the capital city, it would be a 1-9 trial, right?

Can anyone clarify on the times? Friday at 9:00 PM CEST (8:00 PM BST, noon PT).

Can anyone tell me what time 9:00 PM CEST is for EST

This is a good question. Is PT supposedly to be PST? What is CEST and BST?

[Keen]

Central European Summer Time (CEST) is one of the names of UTC+2 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time
British Standard Time (BST) (between 1968 and 1971); British Summer Time

8:00pm CEST is 7:00pm BST because CEST is UTC + 2 hours and BST is UTC + 1 hour, so CEST is 1 hour ahead.

PT usually means Pacific Time, short for Pacific Standard Time.


As for the whole capital thing... it confuses me because I've seen people in Poeta at level 10.

[Bartlebe]

As for the whole capital thing... it confuses me because I've seen people in Poeta at level 10.

Well if you spent enough time and did none of the quest, you could grind up as far as you wanted on those noob area mobs. Nothing to stop you.

I am hoping that the "Asmodian newbie area experience" includes finishing the noobie area campaign quest, which includes ascending. Never know though. Can't really use logic when it comes to MMOs.

[Keen]

Bump to the top for those who need to know the schedule.

Who is planning on playing?

[Bartlebe]

Planning on skipping it. Don't want to spoil it for myself.

[Phandy]

I'm not sure why you guys are worried about spoiling the content 1-20. Obviously this is totally my opinion but the 1-20 content is so minute in the long run. This will be my forth time leveling to 20 (and probably a 5th with another character) and I really have no problems doing it again on release. The game opens up SOOOOOOOO much at 20+ that you really are not hurting yourself by playing.

Having said that... I'll be there! Once we all get to 16+ we will start forming groups for the elite areas so everyone can see the group dynamics for PvE. Threat is different then you are used to. CC is the highest threat.

[Anthion]

I agree on the spoiling yourself part, and I am not sure I will play much this next event for the very same reason.  Some of us are worried about spoling 1-20 because there are no options, the game seems very linear during those levels.  I definitely want to try out the level 25 event where we can PvP, though.  That will go a long way towards my decision to get the game or not.  There is an awful lot to like about Aion (graphics, animation, art design, music, combat flow) but at the end of the day it felt like the usual "been there, done that" theme for leveling and I am so tired of that MMO model right now.  

I log into the world and spend my time looking for people with icons over there heads, then I collect this for them and kill a certain number of x creatures...I gather something else for them and then go kill x creature in order to get a specific number of drops for a particular item that x creature only drops 40 percent of the time...so then I keep killing it until I get all the drops I need and then go back to looking for people with icons over their heads to repeat the process.  Is this really the best we can do anymore?    I did like the campaign quests in Aion, as those certainly held my attention better than the rinse/repeat ones.  But I would just die for a dev team to come along and try something different with regards to questing.