How soon is soon? Three days away! Aion’s plans to release two Public Test Servers (PTS), both for North American and European players, will push though on April 29.

The said servers, whose primary purpose is to test new content for bugs and errors, will implement patches slightly earlier than the standard servers.

Game client will be available for download on Fileplanet for North American subscribers and GamersHell for European subscribers.

For this month’s Ask Kinslon edition, Chris “Kinslon” Hager gives the scoop on several updates to be implemented with the arrival of Aion’s patch 1.9.

What to look forward this May would be the Mist Item Rental System. It presents a convenient alternative for those players who would want to rent good weapons instead of “completing several daily quests to get the higher stat weapons or paying potentially a lot more for a weapon they would shortly outgrow.”

Kinslon also noted that weapons must be the same type before players can perform an Armsfusion and that the main and secondary weapons must be of higher or equal level.

One of the major upgrades, as we see it, is the planned increase in experience gain. Gamers who have been accustomed to the quick leveling in other MMOs like World of Warcraft will welcome this change with open arms. NCSoft is also planning to install an experience bonus system called “Energy of Salvation”.

Other updates include new skills for all classes, including counter moves against stun attacks. There will also be new quests, which coupled with an increased instance drop rates, could mean a ton of new loot for all Daevas. Looking for group enhancements are also being implemented so more players can gain access to dungeon content and improve community interaction. Read the official post regarding Version 1.9 patch for a complete list of planned updates.

Expected to launch on March 26, the official Aion Magazine packs style and substance in its 100+ pages of select content and superior graphics. Unlike the usual print counterpart, the Aion digital ‘zine is updated with an interactive twist.

Customers who pre-order get to receive a goodie bag filled with special items such as a new pair of wings, black or white dyes and more. Hurry up and pre-order now if you want in on the action.