If you only learn two dungeons at launch, make them these two. Krao Cave and Draupnir Cave are the 1-star entries. They teach the expedition language, cube, pity, groggy, at the lowest stakes and the most forgiving item levels. This page covers both, because they are run together as the first Conquest loop. For the broader ladder, see Dungeons: Expeditions. Back to the Beginner Guide.
Why you can't skip Krao Cave and Draupnir Cave
You can try to skip them. The queue will still ask for them. In Korea, Vakron Sky Island Exploration opens around item level 1600, though creators note actual pick-up groups there often expect closer to 1800; global's gates are confirmed to run higher across the board. Global raised the gates specifically so players can't skip the one-star dungeons the way some did in Korea — you need Krao Cave and Draupnir Cave to build up your item level before the two-stars.
Expedition menu with Exploration selected and Krao Cave listed and highlighted as the first dungeon. Source: 4Easy
- Krao Cave teaches the 5-player groggy check on its final boss at the easiest Conquest difficulty in the game.
- Draupnir Cave teaches the same groggy language on its own final boss, and its Exploration clear guarantees a Unique item the first time through — Korean creators call it worth at least one run for that alone.
Both dungeons drop wing feathers alongside gear, and those feathers keep counting toward that dungeon's wing craft even after the armor piece itself gets replaced.
Krao Cave: recommended item level and party
Krao Cave at glance
- Krao Cave Exploration, on the leveling path (Anders places the first run around level 22). Any group at the normal leveling item level clears it.
- Krao Cave Conquest, open from item level 1, but Korean creators recommend item level 1300+ for a comfortable clear. Global's gates are confirmed higher than Korea's, so treat that as a floor, not the invite line.
- Draupnir Cave Exploration, same 1-star band, slightly higher. Korean baseline 1200-1400 for a party, 1600+ solo on an alt.
- Draupnir Cave Conquest, the same groggy-check boss on Conquest-tier drops; run it alongside Krao Conquest once your gear allows.
Both dungeons run on Odyle Energy: Exploration costs 30 per cube, Conquest costs 40. Exploration also caps at 7 clears a week per dungeon; Conquest's reward count instead recharges on a timer and only stores up to 2 at once, so let it stack too high and you're wasting regen.
Korean 4-player Krao Conquest runs cleared with several different comps: a standard tank, Cleric and two dealers; a comp with no tank but two healers instead; even a comp with only one dealer. All of them worked once the party was above item level 1300. Take that as permission to be flexible — global's extra, fifth player is slack on top of comps that already worked at four.
Krao Cave: route and mid-bosses
steps
- Push through to the first mid-boss. The path has no unusual layout to learn.
- Clear both mid-bosses — Korean footage takes the right-hand one first, then the left. Neither has a special pattern beyond normal adds, and without a tank in the party, expect aggro to bounce between whoever's closest.
- Continue to the final boss room. Nothing else on the way needs prep beyond keeping a groggy skill ready, covered below.
Aggro switching between party members during the tank-less mid-boss pull. Source: 4Easy
Krao Cave: final boss patterns
| Pattern | Tell | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pizza pattern | A pizza-shaped telegraph appears on the ground | Create distance immediately — it's very likely followed by a whirlwind pattern that can kill anyone still close |
| Cross pattern ("Disappear before me") | The boss says "Disappear before me" and four pillars rise at the north, south, east and west points | Get behind a pillar the moment you hear the line |
Pizza pattern telegraph on the Krao Cave final boss. Source: 4Easy
Cross pattern telegraph ('Disappear before me') on the Krao Cave final boss. Source: 4Easy
The cross pattern isn't especially painful on its own; the pizza-into-whirlwind chain is where a slow reaction costs the party the most damage.
Krao Cave: the final boss's groggy wipe check
Final boss's health bar at half, entering Groggy Time. Source: 4Easy
Krao Conquest is the easiest Conquest-difficulty dungeon in the game, which makes it a reasonable place for global parties to learn the groggy call. In practice this plays out as a callout: someone calls it, everyone lands their skill. Once the stagger breaks, burn the boss while it's open, then its normal pattern resumes.
Krao Cave: rewards worth the runs
Krao Cave is not farmed for a single jackpot.
- The cube pays bound Kinah on Exploration and unbound Kinah on Conquest, plus gear. Pity tracks toward a guaranteed pick: repeating the Conquest cube guarantees a Unique necklace, earring or ring over time.
- Conquest kills also drop wing feathers — Korean runs show one guaranteed per cube with a chance at a second, and up to two cubes openable per kill, so a single run can net up to four. Fifty feathers craft that dungeon's wing, confirmed for global, which carries real flight and defense stats, so Korean creators recommend repeating Krao until you have it.
- On global, with no Heroic drops at launch, Unique (gold) is the best rarity in the cube. A saved earring, ring or weapon piece that skips a craft is the real reason to keep running it, not a rarer proc.
Farm it until the pity piece and the wing feathers you need are in hand.
Draupnir Cave: route and mid-bosses
steps
- Operate the control device near the entrance, then glide through the gap it opens — the only puzzle-like step, and easy once you've done it.
- Clear mid-boss one. Neither mid-boss here has a special pattern beyond normal add-clearing, per Korean 4-player footage.
- After mid-boss one, exit and glide again to continue toward mid-boss two.
- After mid-boss two, ride the Faint Gap Obelisk waypoint to close the distance faster, then activate the wind-path device and ride it into the final boss room.
Draupnir Cave's opening path, with an NPC's dialogue about climbing the left hill toward a guard post and glowing thorn hazards nearby. Source: 4Easy
Neither Draupnir mid-boss has a special pattern to learn beyond normal add-clearing, per Korean 4-player footage. Global's fifth player just gives the party more room for error than those Korean runs had.
Draupnir Cave: the final boss's groggy check
Draupnir's final boss is otherwise an easy fight — Korean creators describe it as easy except for this one groggy pattern, so learning it is the whole fight. Once both final bosses are clean, alternate between Krao and Draupnir Conquest: reward counts recharge over time and only stack up to two at once, so running both keeps you from sitting on a full, wasted stack.
Both dungeons, one takeaway
FAQ
FAQ
Is Krao Cave the first dungeon in Aion 2?
Yes. Krao Cave and Draupnir Cave are the two 1-star entries. Krao is on the leveling path; Draupnir is the same band, slightly higher.
What item level is needed for Conquest Krao Cave?
It opens at item level 1, but Korean creators recommend 1300+ for a comfortable clear. Global's item-level gates are confirmed to run higher than Korea's, so treat that as a floor.
What is the groggy check?
At about half health, the final boss stops acting, and all five players need to land a groggy skill before it resumes. Miss it and the party wipes.
Is Draupnir worth farming?
Its Exploration clear guarantees a Unique item the first time, which is why Korean creators say to run it at least once even if you're not farming it. Conquest drops the same tier of gear as Krao once you're geared for it.
In this series
- Aion 2 Beginner Guide for the Global Launch
- Aion 2 Class Tier List: Best Class to Main at Launch
- Aion 2 Leveling Guide: Level 1 to 45 Fast
- Aion 2 After Level 45: Gear Progression to 2400 and Beyond
- Aion 2 Dungeons Guide: Expeditions, Conquest and Odyle Energy
- Aion 2 Daily and Weekly Checklist
- Aion 2 Fire Temple Guide: Every Boss and Mechanic
- Aion 2 Ferocious Horn Den Guide: Boss Mechanics
- Aion 2 Transcendence Dungeons and Arcana Guide
- Aion 2 Daevanion Guide: Boards, Points and Priorities
- Aion 2 Skills, Stigmas and Macros Guide
- Aion 2 Kinah Farming Guide
- Aion 2 Crafting and Gathering Guide
- Aion 2 Alts Guide: How Many to Make and What They Share
- Aion 2 PvP and Abyss Guide
- Aion 2 Founder's Pack Guide: Contents, Prices, and Which to Buy
- Aion 2 New Player Checklist for the Global Launch
Sources
Screenshots on this page are frames from the videos below, used to illustrate what they describe. All rights remain with their creators.
- Krao Cave Conquest: the easiest dungeon for its drops, 4Easy, November 22, 2025 (in Korean)
- Aion 2 expedition dungeons after level 45: four dungeons summarised, 4Easy, November 30, 2025 (in Korean)
- AION 2 Global PVE - Every Dungeon, Raid, and Daily at Launch, Anders, September 15, 2026
- How To Increase Gear Score From 0 to 2400 Guide | Aion 2, TheWhelps, December 4, 2025
- Aion 2 growth guide from level 45 to 2000+ Combat Power, Babo Ondol, November 30, 2025 (in Korean)
- AION 2 New Player Guide : What to Do After Level 45, aLuckyRO, August 21, 2026
