Based no what you described, healing is a very dull activity in Aion :P Probably, there are some other nuances though, but I am too lazy to actually read their website/manuals.

This article describes pre-protting and includes links to other terms.

It sounds like there is no limit on the number of skills you can use from the known list…

It is good that you can re-spec and have secondary, but different routes might force some choices.

Ah, melee can be fun :) I bet you created a smexy sorceror :P

Kitsune:

1. I must admit the terms you used are not ones I usually hear because I hardly ever play MMO’s lol. Healing in general depends on the clerics and chanters and I have no idea what it is like to play as them, since I only touched the one class I wanted to play. All spells have cooldown timings of course, but what I usually see the healers do on me is cast a one-shot heal spell then while cooling down cast a regenerative spell. You see healthbars of your teammates in a group. Damage mitigation probably refers to damage modifiers? Or? If modifiers, it depends on any buffs you might have such as a physical shield. No idea what pre-protting or spiked means. :(

2. Choose from the entire list of active skills you know and there are skills that only work in a chain (ie. must do one before the next one activates), usually melee-based skills. You can only use one, then wait for it to cool down but while doing so use another.

3. No, doubt you can re-spec your attributes. Secondary classes come in at level 10 when you ascend to being a Daeva. From a warrior, you choose the route of a gladiator or templar, each with similarities and differences. Each primary class splits up at level 10 into 2 subclasses, making a total of 8 “advanced” classes in the game.

4. Early on cookie-cutter, later on see what Reltair said. But at level 20 onwards you get to meet the other side, human players, and you do get experience if you PvP them when you meet them out in the field. This becomes important later on for leveling, since I suspect that it gets downhill fast for grinding. The main focus is probably the PvPvE from level 20 onwards and group play.

5. Gladiator. Jack-of-all-trades, master of none, and I always go for melee since I suck at doing ranged stuff. My secondary character will be a sorceror though, already created her.

1. What is it like to play as a monk? Do you see health bars of your team or you can select them with numeric keys for example. Is there any damage mitigation and pre-protting spells? How fast people can get spiked? Is it difficult to heal in general?

2. How many skills you can use at a time? Is there a limit or you can choose from the entire list of skills you know?

3. Can you re-spec your attributes? Is there a secondary class?

4. How long does it take to level?

5. What is your favorite class?

I played Aion over the summer as Elyos in the Chinese Live version with some friends and we got to somewhere around 30-35~. Some quick overall thoughts: I love the storyline and setting, graphics are excellent if your computer can handle it, and the initial leveling with quests is not bad. However, the amount of EXP that you need to grind versus what’s available from quests grows exponentially as you level. It’s like they bait you in the beginning into thinking it’s quest-based leveling like WoW, then when you reach the upper levels – it’s L2 grinding time. Also, the general feel of gameplay does not give the same degree of freedom as WoW; it feels more constrainted – like L2 with flying added in.

Not a bad MMO, but I don’t have time anyways for MMOs anymore.