Beginner’s guide
Starting Aion 2 today? Here’s what you need to decide before your first login, how the first hours play out and which systems you should know.
Region, faction, server
You make these three decisions at your first login. Region and faction are then fixed for that character.
- Region: From Germany, Europe is the obvious choice; the servers are in Frankfurt. There is no region lock, but a character stays in its region forever, and dungeon groups are only formed within one region.
- Faction: Elyos or Asmodians. Every server belongs to only one faction, and switching isn’t intended. Both sides have the same eight classes but their own starting zones.
- Server: NC advises new players to take one of the servers marked as recommended in the list. If a server says no more characters can be created, you have to choose another one anyway. From 14 October, server transfers within the same faction and region are possible, free at first.
All server pairs in Europe and more launch facts: Game info, servers and factions.
Choosing a class
There are eight classes at launch. The most helpful question for choosing is which role you want to take on in a party:
- Tank: The Templar is the only class with a real taunt; the Gladiator holds enemies through its damage and buffs the party.
- Healer: The Cleric is the actual healer. The Chanter supports with buffs, smaller heals and melee damage.
- Damage: Assassin in melee; Ranger, Sorcerer and Spiritmaster at range. In a party they are measured by their own damage.
You have four character slots at launch, expandable to eight. So picking the wrong one is no big deal.
Roles, weapons and ranges compared: All classes. That’s also where you’ll find the class guides.
Your role in the party
Range
Difficulty
Pick what matters to you. Clicking again removes the choice.
The first hours
The main story carries you to level 45. It gives most of the experience and unlocks almost every system along the way. The rough sequence:
- Starting zone. Elyos start in Poeta, Asmodians in Ishalgen. Here you learn the basics; chat, party, map and mail are available from the start.
- Ascension to Daeva, around level 5. With the first ascension quest you get wings and can fly.
- From level 10: Verteron or Altgard. This is your zone until 45. Crafting, gathering and the Daeva Pass open, and a bit later the Daevanion boards (around level 12).
- Level 20: the first expedition. Krao Cave is the first group dungeon, in Exploration mode; Urugugu Canyon (28) and Fire Temple (35) follow.
- Around level 22: the first story gate. The main quest only continues once your ascension bar is full. The next ascension quest opens stigmas.
- Level 45: end of the levelling phase. Only now do the market, arena, the Abyss (also from item level 1,000) and the rest of the endgame open.
The full table of what unlocks at which level: Game info.
Controls and interface
Aion 2 has two control modes, and you can switch between them at any time in the settings:
| Mode | Mouse cursor and camera | Targeting |
|---|---|---|
| AION 2 mode (Action Mode) | No mouse cursor; the camera follows the mouse and you move with the keyboard. | Via a crosshair in the centre of the screen. |
| Classic Mode “AION 1” | The mouse cursor stays visible; the camera turns while you hold a mouse button. | By clicking or the Tab key, as in classic MMOs. |
- In AION 2 mode you bring the mouse cursor back by holding Alt, for example to click something in the interface. It also appears as soon as you open a window.
- The macro key is unbound by default on Global, and it doesn’t support Classic Mode. Without your own binding the skill macro does nothing. How to set it up: Tips, settings.
- Almost every key can be rebound in the key settings. The keys given here are the default bindings.
Flying and gliding
After your ascension to Daeva (around level 5 to 6) you have wings. The basics:
| Key | Effect |
|---|---|
| V | Spread your wings and take off; press V again to fold them |
| Shift | Fly faster, but uses more Flight Power |
| Space | Glide: lose height slowly and economically |
| Ctrl + R / Ctrl + F | Ascend and descend |
Currencies and energy
At the start you’ll run into lots of counters. These are the most important:
| Name | What for |
|---|---|
| Kina | The normal money, earned by playing. There is bound Kina, which stays on the character, and unbound Kina. Kina has a daily limit that resets with the daily reset. |
| Quna | The real-money currency for the shop. Quna and Kina can be exchanged between players, but only with a membership. |
| Odyle Energy | Doesn’t pay for entering dungeons but for opening the reward chest in expeditions, Transcendence and the raid. It recharges on its own: 15 points every three hours, up to 560, or up to 840 with a membership. |
| Daevanion Crystal | Points for the Daevanion boards; you get them while levelling and from sealed dungeons. |
| Abyss Points | Only important from 45: reward from the Abyss and currency for its shop. |
| Shugo Festa keys | You get three per day; at most 12 can be stored, 21 with a membership. |
| Oath Coin, Daeva Pass Shop Coin | Seasonal currencies. They expire at the end of Season 1 on 16 December, so spend them in time. |
Energy also recharges while you’re offline. Why you’d rather save it while levelling: Tips, levelling to 45.
Full in 48 h · around Wed 03:28 PM
At level 45 that's enough for 8 chests at 40 each
Every 3 hours you get 15 more, even offline. At the cap the recharge is wasted.
Keep or get rid of
- Keep: Belt and amulet stay with you into the endgame. Shugo Festa keys, yellow Unique items and manastones are worth much more at 45 than before. Details under Tips, levelling to 45.
- Don’t upgrade: Gear from the levelling phase gets replaced quickly. More than a few levels on the weapon isn’t worth it.
- Get rid of: From level 10 you can dismantle items. Selling to other players only works through the market, which only opens at 45; direct trading between players is switched off on Global.
Membership and shop
Aion 2 has no purchase price. The levelling phase and the content itself can be played without a subscription.
The only membership is called Special Quai Membership and costs 14.99 US dollars for 30 days. It applies to all characters on the server where you buy it, but not on other servers.
| With membership | What it gives |
|---|---|
| Market | Buying on the market (opens at level 45) |
| Kina–Quna exchange | Exchange Kina for Quna with other players |
| Remote Storage | Open your storage from the inventory at any time instead of only at the NPC |
| Odyle Energy | Higher cap (840 instead of 560) and more choice with reward chests |
| Wind Breeze Merchants | Additional merchants, members only |
| Shugo Festa | Higher key limit (21 instead of 12) |
- When it’s worth it: Its most important benefit is the market, and that only opens at 45. Before that it mainly adds convenience. If you’re just starting, you can calmly wait until the level cap and decide then.
- Personal trading: NC’s announcement of the membership included trading between players. On Global, however, direct trading is switched off at launch as a measure against bots.
- Shop: According to NC, cosmetics from the shop give no gameplay advantage. The Daeva Pass is per character, with a free and a paid track; the paid one also contains upgrade materials.
- Founder's Packs were only available until the end of early access. You can start without one.
- Launch rewards: Log in once before the maintenance on 2 December (09:30 German time) and the pre-registration and Steam wishlist rewards arrive by mail: a companion chest (Pagati plus a companion of your choice) and a chest with resurrection stones, potions and scrolls. The mail expires on 9 December, so collect it in time.
- Buying Kina or Quna from third parties breaks the terms of service. NC announces harsh penalties up to an account ban.
The coupon code TAKEFLIGHTAION2 is valid until 14 October; dates under Game info.
Playing with friends
- The same region is a must. The dungeon finder searches across all servers of a region, but never across region borders.
- The same faction is strongly recommended. You can only add characters of your own faction as friends, and you only form a party with the other side in dungeons.
- The same server if you want a legion. Legions and the market each belong to one server. For dungeons the same region is enough.
What happens at 45
At 45 the levelling phase ends. From then on your item level decides which content you may enter: Conquest dungeons, the Abyss, Transcendence and finally the Ludra raid. The guide From 45 to Ludra describes the whole road in five phases.
In-depth guides on dungeons and expeditions, gear and PvP are in the guide overview.
Last updated
5 October 2026, Global version. Key bindings refer to the defaults. Changes to the guide are listed under News.
