Aion - Using Gathering and Crafting to Make Fast Kinah

While most of the jargon employed by Aion is pretty self-explanatory, it does take some getting used to, especially if you've just come from a different MMO. Here, you carry your items with you in a 'cube,' and the overflow can be banked in your 'warehouse.' You can list goods for sale with a 'broker,' where you can also bid on items of your own for purchase. One of the more original features of inter-player trade in Aion is the use of 'private stores,' in which players can create a list of goods and prices, add a catchy one-liner advertisement, and then go AFK. Other players are able to run up and access your private store and make purchases, all without your further involvement.

While the prons and cons of this system differ based on who you ask, the most common comparison is with using World of Warcraft's Trade Chat Channel to advertise and connect buyers with sellers. Private stores, by contrast, do not include such features as haggling or off-topic spam. Because it's more difficult to comparison-shop with private stores, you may be able to get away with charging slightly higher-than-average prices on some goods.

Expanding your cube space should be your first major purchase in Aion. Every class is capable of leveling easily with the gear and weapons collected along the way through quest rewards. Even though you may get a lucky drop that is a perfect upgrade for your class, you will probably reap bigger rewards in the long run by selling it to another, less savvy player.

You can also expand your warehouse space, and don't forget about utilizing the account section of the warehouse, either. Consider also the use of mules and bank alts. While burning a toon up to level 10 in order to reach the capital city may not sound like an efficient use of your time, it will really pay off once you start to run out of space. Mailing items to alts can start to get expensive, but by using the account section of your warehouse you can easily transfer goods and materials to a broker mule or dedicated private store alt.

It holds true in most MMOs and Aion is no different in this respect: while you're questing, or even just traveling from one place to the next, pick up everything you can gather on the journey. From the loot of abandoned mobs, to fruits, herbs, ores, and wood, it's all kinah once you reach the next town or vendor. Use they handy buttons to automatically vend all gray-quality items and sort out the white- and green-quality items. This method has the added benefit of keeping your gathering skill leveled.

Once your cube is bursting, find a warehouse and start sifting through your accumulated loot. Manastones and gear can be listed with a broker or sold using a private store. You should avoid vending manastones at all times, since they will only go for a few kinah when sold to an NPC. Crafting materials, however, are best advertised in a private store parked next the Artisan section of your faction's city. You can use your downtime while tabbed out of the game or even away from the keyboard to make some spare kinah with this method.

You may be dying to try out the Alchemy system, or itching to start cooking up all those carp you've been holding on to. If your main goal is to make as much as kinah as possible, however, you'd do well to avoid this section of the city - at least, at first. Wait until you have a substantial savings, or at least start with only one profession. If you choose either Alchemy or Cooking, you should have no problem marketing your wares to other players. The one caveat, however, is to make sure that you're not spending more kinah on ingredients and materials than you're making from selling the finished products.

Using the tips and pointers in this article should help you to gain a head start on the other players when you're ready to jump into Aion. By gathering everything you can get your hands on - and fit into your cube - and making good decisions about how and where to sell your loot, you can easily amass a small fortune and be overflowing in kinah in no time.