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Aion 2

Aion 2 Class Tier List: Best Class to Main at Launch

All 8 Aion 2 classes by role, weapon and playstyle — with creator tiers compared and beginner picks explained for the global launch.

The MMO Codex editorial deskEditorial desk
9 min read

Your first class locks your weapon, and alts are expensive on purpose. This page helps you pick by workload, not by trailer. It lists all eight global launch classes, how creators rank them, and which is best for beginners. For what comes after the pick, skills and stigmas, see Skills, Stigmas and Macros and the hub overview Beginner Guide.

Picking a main in Aion 2: what actually locks you in

Every class in Aion 2 is locked to its weapon type, and you cannot move that weapon's kit onto a different class. Alternate characters are made expensive so the first pick follows you for weeks.

Global launches with eight classes. A ninth exists in the Korean files and is not available at launch. That matters because tier lists that include the ninth are not about the build you will play on October 5.

The right question is not “what looks best in a trailer,” but “what workload do I want every night?” A tank reads the fight and hits the right cooldown at the right second. A healer keeps the party alive and is expected to resurrect. A burst melee lives on positionals. Pick the job you will enjoy repeating.

The 8 classes by role and weapon

Class Weapon Role Core note
Gladiator Greatsword Tank/DPS hybrid Plate, lifesteal, backup tank
Templar Long sword + Shield Main tank Only true tank, few heavy hits
Assassin Dual daggers Melee DPS Positional burst
Ranger Bow Ranged DPS Mobile, kiting
Sorcerer Spellbook Caster DPS High damage, animation lock
Spiritmaster Orb Pet DPS / control Pet handles pressure
Cleric Mace Main healer Only resurrector
Chanter Staff Support hybrid Mantra buffs, off-heals

Each class name in the table links to its own guide: skills, Stigmas, Daevanion routes, macros and how it plays in PvE and PvP.

Gladiator overlay showing its greatsword tank/DPS role and the Crushing Wave, Frenzied Wave, Blade Dance combo loop

Gladiator overlay showing its greatsword tank/DPS role and the Crushing Wave, Frenzied Wave, Blade Dance combo loop. Source: CrusherXGaming

The table uses global English names. On Korean footage you will hear the same classes with Korean names; Spiritmaster has the most translation variance and shows up under two spellings on different videos. The kit is the same, only the UI label differs.

Melee: Gladiator, Templar, Assassin

comparison

Gladiator, two-handed greatsword, plate. The safest melee start. The loop is wide sweeps (Crushing Wave, Frenzied Wave), Blade Dance when surrounded, Blade Toss as a ranged opener. Blood Absorption heals off damage, so a bad pull is survivable. Focused Block covers the rest. 52 skills and a deep health pool let a party use you as a backup tank. CrusherXGaming calls it the answer if you have no idea what you want.

Gladiator overlay highlighting Blood Absorption, healing off damage dealt, during a fight with a large boss

Gladiator overlay highlighting Blood Absorption, healing off damage dealt, during a fight with a large boss. Source: CrusherXGaming

Templar, long sword and shield. The only true tank. 41 skills, almost all to hold boss attention off the healer. Vicious Strike as threat filler, Provoke to lock a target, Doom Shield as the panic button when a boss winds up, Nezakan's Shield and Noble Armor to cover the people behind you. Deliberately the fewest hard-hitting skills in the game. Groups always take a Templar; solo feels slow to 45.

Assassin, dual daggers. Burst melee that lives on positionals and crit windows. High ceiling when you keep uptime, punishing when you miss. Creators rank it high for PvP, mid for pure PvE because it needs the party to hold the boss still.

If you want melee and do not want to tank, Gladiator is the middle ground. If you want to be the main tank, Templar is the only choice. If you want burst and you enjoy chasing the boss's back, Assassin fits.

Ranged: Ranger, Sorcerer, Spiritmaster

comparison

Ranger, bow. The most mobile ranged DPS. Kiting is the job: you hard-lock to track while moving. Good solo, steady in dungeons where the boss moves.

Spiritmaster overlay reading While They Tank over a large purple spirit effect that holds enemy attention

Spiritmaster overlay reading "While They Tank" over a large purple spirit effect that holds enemy attention. Source: CrusherXGaming

Sorcerer, spellbook. The glass-cannon caster. The biggest numbers, but also the longest animation locks. Commit at the wrong moment and you cannot dodge. Creators consistently place it high for PvE damage, low for forgiveness.

Spiritmaster, orb with a pet. The workload is pet control: the pet handles pressure and lets you keep pressure while you reposition. Unlike Sorcerer's straight burst casting, the play pattern is control and sustain. Spiritmaster shows the most naming variance on Korean channels, two English renderings refer to the same class.

Ranger fits if you like moving while dealing damage. Sorcerer fits if you want the top of the meter and you are comfortable counting boss tells. Spiritmaster fits if you want a pet to hold the front while you manage the fight.

Support: Cleric and Chanter

comparison

Cleric, mace. The main healer and the only class that can resurrect a party member, which makes it irreplaceable in a dungeon group. The heal rotation cycles Healing Light and Radiant Recovery for direct heals, Blessing of Regeneration for healing over time, and Light of Protection when the party is about to take a big hit. Earth's Retribution is an attack chain that restores your own mana while you use it, and Judgment Thunder is a wind-element area attack for the battle-priest side. Highest responsibility on the roster, and the fastest queue times you will ever see. CrusherXGaming says if he had to pick one class for most viewers, it would be this one.

Cleric overlay stating a group cannot replace it because Cleric is the class that resurrects people

Cleric overlay stating a group cannot replace it because Cleric is the class that resurrects people. Source: CrusherXGaming

Chanter, staff. Melee priest hybrid. You fight in melee, keep mantra buffs up, and throw emergency heals. You trade raw healing for party-wide buffs and the ability to keep swinging while you support. If Cleric is the main healer, Chanter is the buffer/off-healer that helps a 5-player global party stay topped up when the Cleric is busy.

Both heal, but the reason a party invites them is different. Parties invite a Cleric because they need a resurrection. They invite a Chanter because they want buffs and a second pair of hands that can cover healing when the Cleric is locked.

For how both set up Stigmas and mantra allocations, see Skills, Stigmas and Macros.

How creators rank the classes, and where they disagree

Tier lists disagree because they weight PvE, PvP, solo and group differently. The table merges four English guides that rank all eight.

Class CrusherXGaming Grobs Society Of Gaming SywoGG
Gladiator Safest melee, top-beginner Bruiser damage, tanky and forgiving Greatly improved, strong all-around S tier, casual-friendly
Templar Must-have tank, slow solo Tanky with high damage, fine solo too Best for solo or party, high defense Tank essential, easy difficulty
Cleric Top pick for most players Most complete healing kit Highly recommended, best gameplay design Healer essential
Chanter Best all-rounder Flexible support, weaker in hard content Author's main, amazing movement Bridges tank, DPS and healer
Assassin PvP pick, rough first character Burst windows, strong 1v1 S tier PvP and PvE Top-three PvP class, hard to master
Ranger Mobile, steady All-rounder, strong everywhere One of the best, gear-dependent Steady
Sorcerer High damage, low forgiveness Burst mage, ramps up slow, fragile Top DPS, squishy Cannon
Spiritmaster Strongest solo class Strong in long fights, taunt lock in PvP S tier, less squishy than it looks Survivable mage, self-sustain

Two patterns hold across all four:

  • Least contested: Templar as the only true tank and Cleric as the only resurrector. Everyone puts them at the top for groups.
  • Most contested: The middle of the DPS pack, Assassin, Ranger, Spiritmaster, shifts up or down based on whether the creator values PvP burst, solo comfort or pure dungeon damage.

Treat tiers as recommendations, not facts of the game. No official global win-rate or play-rate numbers exist at launch.

One creator ranked twice, and six classes moved

MistaWigglez ranks from leaderboard data rather than impressions. For his second list he took the top 100 characters in four PvE categories, Nightmare, Awakening, Transcendence and Subjugation, on both the Taiwan and Korean servers, a sample of 800 players, and counted how often each class appeared. He says outright that he is "not just ranking these classes purely on how many times they appeared", but the counts carry most of the weight.

He published twice, 26 days apart, and the scope changed between them: the August 3 list covered PvP and PvE together, the August 29 list is PvE only. Six of the eight classes moved.

Class August 3 August 29 Appearances in 800
Gladiator S S 128, second highest
Templar C A 105
Cleric A A 101
Chanter B A third highest, figure not given
Assassin S B 91
Ranger B S 152, the highest in the sample
Sorcerer B C 83
Spiritmaster C D 34

Two of his calls are worth reading with the numbers beside them. On the Templar: "it had 105 representations, which puts this up into the A tier", and then, in the same video, "if this was a tier list only for group PVE, then the Templar would definitely be in the S tier". On the Assassin: "unlike the Templar with 105 and the Gladiator with 128, the assassin clocks in at 91". How often a class appears on a leaderboard is not the same thing as how strong it is, and a class can move two tiers in under a month without the game changing at all.

Best class for beginners, by playstyle

Pick by what you want to do every night

  • I want the easiest time while I learn the game, Gladiator. Lifesteal, block, plate, 52 skills. Forgives pulls and can flex as backup tank.
  • I want instant groups and I can handle pressure, Cleric. Highest responsibility, fastest queues, the only resurrection.
  • I want to keep moving and kite, Ranger. Bow, mobile, hard-lock tracking while you kite.
  • I want the biggest numbers, Sorcerer. Massive damage, but animation lock punishes a bad commit.
  • I want a pet to share the job, Spiritmaster. Pet pressure, control, sustain, a different rhythm from Sorcerer's straight casting.
  • I want buffs and off-heals while staying melee, Chanter. Mantra upkeep, emergency heals, staff in hand.

There is no ninth class at global launch. Guides that rank a ninth are about the Korean build. Pick for the class you will play at endgame, not just for leveling. See Leveling Guide: 1 to 45.

Which class should you actually main?

Match the workload to what you enjoy. If you enjoy reading a fight and pressing the right cooldown at the right second, you will love Templar. If you enjoy being the player everyone queues for, Cleric fits. If you enjoy chasing positionals and burst windows, Assassin fits; if you want that same ranged damage without the positioning demands, Ranger fits. If you enjoy control and pet management, Spiritmaster fits.

The next step after the choice is Daevanion allocation in Daevanion Guide, and the Stigma and macro setup in Skills, Stigmas and Macros.

Aion 2 Class Tier FAQ

FAQ

Which class is best for PvE at launch?

Templar and Cleric are the most agreed-on for groups, Gladiator for safest melee solo, Sorcerer for top damage. Tiers are creator recommendations and shift by weighting.

Which class is best for PvP?

Assassin and Sorcerer rank higher where burst is weighted; Templar and Cleric where group value is weighted. No official global tier exists.

Which class is best for beginners?

Gladiator for the most forgiving melee start, Cleric if you want the fastest queues and can handle responsibility, Ranger for mobile ranged.

Is the ninth class playable at global launch?

No. Global launches with eight. A ninth exists in Korean files and is not yet available, guides that include it are about the Korean build.

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Sources

Screenshots on this page are frames from the videos below, used to illustrate what they describe. All rights remain with their creators.

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