I only have a level 13 Templar, however I am interested in people's thoughts about this game. I come from a FFXI and WoW MMORPG background. So far I have to say that AION is a mix of the two, bringing most of the positives and little of the negatives with it.
The UI is very well thought out, and the find function makes questing super easy, that being the route you wish to take. Many posts on the AION forums say that grinding mobs is faster than questing, which I tend to believe, but I like that fact that they put the option to quest rather than grind in the game. FFXI was a grindfest in which you had to be part of a group to make any progress. I have soloed to this point, a la WoW via questing and am really enjoying the game. I hope that I can continue to solo till 25 and then see what the game holds...