Money & fairness
Is Aion 2 pay-to-win? We look at what money really buys on Global, where it stops and what went wrong in Korea, and say clearly how we see it.
In short
The Aion 2 Global shop doesn’t sell combat stats. Money still gets you ahead faster, through the exchange of Quna for Kina, the market and the Daeva Pass. That’s why, for us, Aion 2 is not pay-to-win but pay-to-progress: paying players reach the goal sooner, but they aren’t stronger than someone who got there by playing.
What costs what
Aion 2 is free. Downloading, levelling, dungeons and PvP all work without buying anything. You pay with two currencies and a subscription.
| Element | What it is | Affects power? |
|---|---|---|
| Kina | The in-game currency. You earn it by playing and pay with it on the market, for enhancing and at merchants. | Yes, it drives progress. |
| Quna | The real-money currency. It buys shop items, the premium track of the pass and, through the exchange, Kina. | Only via exchange and pass. |
| Membership | Subscription for 14.99 US dollars per 30 days, applies per server. Unlocks the market, the Kina–Quna exchange, remote storage, merchants on the go, a special shop for Kina and a higher Odyle Energy cap. | Indirectly: without it the market stays closed. |
| Shop | Outfits, wings, companions, weapon skins and accessories with no combat advantage. Plus potions and resurrection stones that are also available in the game. | No. |
| Daeva Pass | Season pass per character. The standard track is free; the premium track costs Quna and additionally gives upgrade materials, among other things. | A little, through the materials. |
| Founder’s packs | Available before launch: cosmetics, starter consumables and five days of earlier access. NC has promised to unlock the cosmetics from them (titles, armour and weapon skins, plus companions and wings in the largest pack) for every character on the account on all servers; the date is still open. | No, only a head start at launch. |
There is no direct trading between players on Global, as a measure against bots. Trading happens only through the market. More on currencies and membership in the beginner’s guide.
The money path
This is how real money reaches the game. Click through the stops: for each one you see what money speeds up there and where it stops. The toggle shows what’s left without a membership.
Real money
What money gets you here
Quna buys cosmetics in the shop, the premium track of the Daeva Pass and, through the exchange, Kina.
Where it stops
The shop sells looks, not stats: outfits, wings, companions, weapon skins, accessories. Potions and resurrection stones are sold there too, but you can get them just as well in the game.
What happened in Korea
Much of the pay-to-win debate comes from the Asian version, which launched almost a year before Global. A fair amount really did go wrong there:
Launch in Korea and Taiwan. The shop has packs with items that give combat advantages, even though the developers had announced beforehand that they wouldn’t sell anything like that. On launch day itself, the people in charge apologise in a livestream, the packs disappear from the shop, and every player gets the items for free as compensation.
For season 2 the pass gets more expensive and runs much shorter. After heavy criticism the team apologises again and resets price and duration to the season 1 level.
For Global, NC discloses the business model in advance: cosmetics with no combat advantage, membership, exchange, pass. The packs that caused trouble in Korea are not part of it.
Our assessment
Opinion · Herom__76
For us, pay-to-win means: you buy power that you can’t get by playing, or only with disproportionate effort. That doesn’t exist on Global. No shop item carries stats, and crafted gear binds to its crafter. Enhancing from +11 stays a matter of luck for everyone, and Odyle Energy and Abyss time recharge equally fast for everyone.
Money does save time, though. Exchanging Quna for Kina buys materials instead of farming them and gets you more enhancement attempts. The premium pass adds upgrade materials on top. That’s pay-to-progress: paying players reach the goal sooner. But with the same item level and the same skill, the paying player doesn’t win more often.
We’ll still say two things openly. First, the membership is practically a must for anyone who takes the endgame seriously, because without it the market stays closed. At its core, Aion 2 is a subscription MMO with a free entry, and at 15 dollars a month we think that’s fair. Second, the Asian version has shown that boundaries can be moved. The model on Global is clean today, and that’s the standard we’ll keep holding it to.
Is the membership worth it?
Worth it if …
- you play the endgame and rely on materials from the market,
- you want to exchange Kina for Quna to pay for cosmetics or the pass without spending real money,
- you don’t play every day and want the higher Odyle Energy cap.
Can wait if …
- you’re still levelling, because the market only opens at level 45 anyway,
- you just want to try the game, because story, dungeons and PvP work without a subscription,
- you don’t have a fixed server yet, because it only applies to one.
What would change our verdict
We review the model every new season. We would change our verdict if:
- items with combat stats or enhancement bonuses appear in the shop,
- the premium pass gives so much material that you fall clearly behind without it,
- the game itself sells Kina instead of only allowing exchange between players,
- content becomes playable only with a membership.
Any changes are listed under News.
Last updated
5 October 2026, Global version at the start of Season 1. Based on the business model NC published for Global.
