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Aion 2

Aion 2 New Player Checklist for the Global Launch

A sequenced Aion 2 checklist for the global launch: account setup, day one, the 1,000 gear score wall at 45, the weekly routine, and resources worth using.

The MMO Codex editorial deskEditorial desk
13 min read

Most Aion 2 checklists hand you a list of task names and a counter. They tell you that Nightmare exists and that you get two entries. They do not tell you what to do first, what unlocks when, or which of those tasks will quietly cost you a week if you do it in the wrong order.

This one has the boxes and the reasons. It runs from the account you make before launch day to the routine you settle into after level 45, and it says where every number comes from. Start with the overview in the Beginner Guide if you want the map rather than the list.

Before launch day

Global launches October 5, 2026. Founder's Pack owners start five days earlier, on September 30. Everything here can be done before either date.

On the class decision, Sen's advice is the one worth repeating: do not pick by tier list, because NCSoft has been making balance changes on a weekly cadence, and a class that reads strongest today can move by the time you are 45. Pick the workload you enjoy. The Class Tier List compares all eight by role and playstyle rather than by letter.

Pack prices are $24.99, $49.99 and $99.99, one per account, and everything above the base tier is cosmetic. The Founder's Pack Guide breaks down each tier and the 30-day membership they share.

The first session

Spend your first hour on settings. Three of these are hard to unlearn once your hands have learned them.

Levelling to 45 without the gear score trap

This is the part every thin checklist skips, and it is the one that costs the most.

Society Of Gaming tested it deliberately. He levelled to 45 on main story quests alone, taking only the side quests needed to stay unblocked, and arrived at 962 gear score. The number that matters at 45 is 1,000. He was short, after doing nothing wrong except going fast.

His fix is not "do everything". It is roughly 10 to 15 sealed dungeons and a few strongholds taken while you pass them, which he says lands you above 1,000 by the time the story runs out. BoredAF makes the same case from the other side: sealed dungeons and regional quests scale to your level while you are levelling, so they are cheap on the way past and harder when you come back at 45, and you do have to come back.

the Daevanion board screen with six board tabs across the top and a node tooltip showing its level and crystal cost

The Daevanion screen, with its six boards across the top and a selected node listing Required Character Level 40, Required Daevanion Crystal 2 and a Node Refund Cost of 500. Source: BoredAF

Collect the things that outlast your gear as you go:

Do not pre-spend for the endgame boards. BoredAF tried exactly that, dumping essence toward the PvP board the moment he hit 45, and found each endgame board takes its own essence type that only drops from endgame content. Skill points and board nodes are cheap to undo, as the refund cost on the screenshot above shows. Stigma resets are the expensive ones, paid in shards you only have about 20 of by 45, so think before you commit those.

One more rule, from BoredAF: do not sell gear to merchants. Break it down. You need the enhancement stones far more than the handful of Kinah, and levelling gear is replaced at 45 anyway, so enhancing it past the safe band is Kinah you will not see again.

The level 45 wall: 1,000 gear score

At 45 the arrow disappears and item level takes over. The gate is printed on the dungeon menu itself.

the Expedition Conquest menu showing Krao Cave with its entry requirements of level 45 and 1,000 gear score

Krao Cave on the Conquest tab, entry requirements reading Lv. 45, 1,000 and 1-4 Player(s), with the expedition ladder down the left from Krao Cave to Hall of Illusion. This is Korean and Taiwanese footage. Anders reports global runs five-player parties and ships without Conquest hard mode. Source: Society Of Gaming

That same 1,000 turns up in three places at once, which is why it is the number to plan around.

Gate Requirement Note
Krao Cave, Draupnir (Conquest) Level 45, 1,000 Shown on the entry panel
Abyss open world Level 45, item level 1,000 The PvP zone and its rewards
Main story Passes through the Abyss The Draupnir step sends you to the Abyss Base

You can fake the number. Society Of Gaming demonstrates it: socket mana stones at random across your gear, watch the score cross 1,000, and Conquest unlocks. He then tells you not to, and he is right. The stats are junk, the dungeon is balanced for people who got there honestly, and you will be the one dying in it.

a level 45 character in the open world with the gear score shown directly under the level on the action bar

A level 45 character with 1,006 shown under the level, which is the gear score, and the story step "Talk to Koro at Abyss Base" tracked on the right. Source: Society Of Gaming

From here the staged gear push is its own subject, covered slot by slot in After Level 45. Sen's rule for the transition is to commit to one set first, PvE or PvP, because both eat the same upgrade materials and splitting them leaves you behind on both.

Systems the game never points at

The routine, once it starts

Two clocks run everything, a daily reset and a weekly one. The reset times, the full table, and which content is per character rather than shared across your whole roster are all in the Daily and Weekly Checklist. Four ordering rules are worth carrying here:

On alts, two creators agree on the shape and differ on the size. xMontu levels every alt he intends to keep to level 22, where the energy system opens, before pushing any single character further. RazenoxGG puts the useful number at three alts, four characters in total, and ties it to a weekly account-wide dungeon entry limit he gives as 84; no other source in this set repeats that figure, so treat it as his. What is not in dispute is the split: skins, pets and upgrade materials move through account storage, while Abyss Points and Daevanion fragments have to be earned on the character that uses them. The Alts Guide has the full list.

The mistakes that cost the most

Mistake What it costs Instead
Rushing to 45 on story alone Arriving at 962 and locked out 10 to 15 sealed dungeons on the way
Enhancing levelling gear Kinah, unrecoverable Save materials for 45, weapon only if stuck
Selling gear to merchants Enhancement stones Break everything down
Padding gear score with mana stones Entry you cannot survive Earn the 1,000 with real gear
Pre-spending endgame essence Nothing, it does not work Bank it until the board is open
Burning Shugo keys early Level-scaled loot Hold them to 45

Where to look things up

No official item or skill database exists, so everything below is fan-run and worth knowing by name.

Two honest caveats on tools. aion2hub deliberately refuses to show a Combat Power number, on the grounds that the formula is computed server side and is not in the game data, so treat any site that does show one as an estimate. And every database above is built from the Korean and Taiwanese clients, so check anything global-specific against the live client rather than against a tooltip.

FAQ

FAQ

What should I do first in Aion 2?

Make the PLAYNC account and pre-register before launch day, pick your class ahead of time, then spend your first session on settings rather than speed. From there follow the main story, but take sealed dungeons and strongholds as you pass them.

How much gear score do I need at level 45?

1,000. It is the entry requirement printed on Krao Cave and Draupnir in Conquest, it gates the Abyss, and the main story passes through the Abyss, so it is not optional. Arriving with 962 is the common failure.

How do I avoid being underpowered at 45?

Do roughly 10 to 15 sealed dungeons and a few strongholds while levelling rather than after. They scale to your level on the way past and are harder when you return at 45.

Should I make alts?

Not before your main is settled. xMontu levels alts to 22 first for the energy system; RazenoxGG caps the useful count at three. Skins, pets and materials are shared, while Abyss Points and Daevanion fragments are not.

Is any of this confirmed for the global version?

The launch dates, pack prices and the membership are. Most gameplay numbers here come from Korean and Taiwanese servers. Anders reports the global build runs five-player parties where Korea runs four, and launches without Conquest hard mode. Where a guide in this series says "in the Korean version", trust the live global client if the two disagree.

In this series

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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