Aika takes place in a land divided into six different nations, and you can swear allegiance to any one of them. These nations will at best have uneasy armistices among themselves and will at worst constantly be at each other's throats. This is because Aika offers comprehensive PVP both across and within nations. The most basic form of PVP is the Battlegrounds mode, which takes place in an area removed from national borders and is basically a free-for-all mode that lets you earn "honor" points to purchase exceptionally good types of armor (not unlike a certain other world where war, and honorable armor, can be crafted from PVP battles). However, one of the primary focuses of Aika is Relic War, a PVP mode that focuses on rare and valuable relics that a nation can store in a temple structure to radiate out various global bonuses to any citizens of that nation (such as persistent attack, defense, and experience point bonuses). The controlling nation can actually invest money to upgrade the relic (which enhances its bonuses), but this action will also make that particular relic a much more attractive target to a jealous nation. However, unlike in Dark Age of Camelot, which featured a similar type of gameplay, aika gold relics are found randomly as loot in high-level dungeons and have a chance of being utterly destroyed in a raid.
Speaking of money, Aika will, like many free-to-play games, have a cash shop where you can exchange real money out-of-pocket for in-game items. The plan is to offer convenience items and various types of apparel, as well as actual powerful weapons and armor for sale. gPotato hopes that the ability to put these weapons and armors for sale in the game's in-game auction house will mitigate any potential advantage that wealthy players have, since undercapitalized players who have enough in-game currency can snag these items in the auction house. Interestingly, the cash shop will also have a full line of pran-related items, including gifts you can give to your pet to improve your relationship.
