Brand new video footage shows off the power of the elementals in NCsoft's stunning new MMORPG, Aion: The Tower of Eternity

Friday 30th November/... Of all the character classes available to play as in Aion: The Tower of Eternity, NCsoft's amazing new online RPG, the mysterious Spiritmaster is one of the most intriguing. Using powerful magics derived from the forces of nature, Spiritmasters will find themselves an integral part of any adventuring party due to their ability to summon and control fierce creatures based on the four cardinal elements of Earth, Fire, Wind and Water.

The Spiritmaster's chief responsibility is to summon and control elemental spirits, powerful forms of nature incarnate. This is done through a series of specific commands, such as attack and defend, that can be given via a simple onscreen control system. Other, more specialised and yet to be revealed commands exist beyond these basic controls, with each form of elemental spirit having its own unique skills and abilities.

The challenge for the Spiritmaster comes from recognising which element to call on at any given time. Earth spirits are strong in defence abilities, Fire spirits specialise in ranged attacks, Water spirits concentrate on healing powers while Wind spirits are best utilised in melee attacks. While it's not possible to control different types of elemental spirits at the same time - Spiritmaster's cannot control both an Earth and Water spirit simultaneously, for instance - by summoning the correct spirit for the situation in hand, Spiritmasters have the power to turn even the most desperate battles into a complete rout of the enemy. A situation that could prove immensely useful when adventurers come up against some of the more powerful rogue elemental spirits that wander Aion's immense and incredibly detailed game world.

Aion: The Tower of Eternity is set to begin closed Beta-testing early 2008 and will release later in the year.