At global launch you can stay out of the Abyss and open-world PvP while you push PvE, and your character still gears at full speed. This guide explains what the Abyss actually is at Season 1, how rifts, Abyss Points and arenas work, and when to buy PvP gear. Back to the overview in the Beginner Guide.
The Abyss at global launch: Lower Reshanta only
The Abyss is the flight-enabled PvP zone between the factions. At global Season 1 only Lower Reshanta is open.
Middle Reshanta and Upper Reshanta are Korean content: Middle Reshanta arrived in Season 2, Upper Reshanta in Chapter 1. They are mentioned only as future content, do not plan a launch build around them. Artifact sieges themselves already run in Lower Reshanta too, so you do not have to wait for Middle Reshanta to take part in one.
The Abyss has its own weekly time limit, and most of what happens inside it runs on a schedule. You do not live there all week: you go in for dailies, sieges and other timed events, then leave.
Rifts, time limits and how to get there
Rifts are scheduled crossings into the enemy faction's home map, not a way into the Abyss itself.
steps
- Watch the rift schedule. Rifts open on your faction's home map every 3 hours for a 10-minute window. Going through sends you into the enemy faction's territory for up to an hour, or until you die without a kisk set down.
- Flag before you fight. While you're over on the enemy side during a rift, players with the PvP flag on can attack each other. Killing a flagged enemy player during a rift doubles the Abyss Points from that kill until you hit your weekly cap, after that it drops to 10% of the base amount.
- Know the domination event. About six times a week, one faction's home map becomes a domination target (you need its strongholds already cleared, plus the item level and Combat Power it requires). The map has four strongholds guarded by three monoliths each; attackers win by capturing three of the four strongholds before a 15-minute timer runs out.
- Remember the Abyss itself is different. Lower Reshanta unlocks once you finish the main story and is reached from your menu, not through a rift. Once you're inside, PvP is always on, there is no flag to turn off, and you get a 14-hour weekly time budget per area per character, extendable with Abyss time stones, rather than a single per-visit timer.
If you're new to rifting, keep your flag off for your first few crossings and get a feel for the hour-long timer and how you get back if you die, before you add PvP risk.
Abyss Points, caps and the PvP gear loop
Abyss Points are the PvP currency. You earn them from Abyss dailies, rift kills and objectives, fortress participation, arenas and battlegrounds. A weekly and seasonal cap limits how many you can earn. The shop sells the PvP gear set.
| Source | Cadence | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Abyss dailies | Daily | Steady, soloable |
| Rift crossings | Every 3 hours | Depends on activity on your server |
| Fortress participation | Timed events | Participation pays even without a win |
| Arenas / battlegrounds | Queue | Repeatable, length fixed |
| Field bosses / artifact sieges | Spawn timers / twice a week | Split by damage contribution; a world boss only pays the faction that lands the final blow |
If you buy PvP gear anyway, start with the accessories. Rings, earrings and the necklace are the cheapest pieces in the Abyss shop and each adds a flat PvP damage bonus, so they give you the biggest power spike per Abyss Point. Save the weapon for later, it is the most expensive slot and PvE gear is still doing most of the work on your Combat Power this early.
Arenas, battlegrounds and artifact sieges
Instanced PvP at Season 1:
| Mode | Team size | Length | Reward bias |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arena (1v1 or 5v5) | 1v1 or 5-player teams | Up to 10 minutes, first to 3 kills (1v1) or full wipe (5v5) | Abyss Points, arena elo |
| Battleground | Two 10-player teams | Up to 10 minutes, gear equalized | Abyss Points, medals |
| Artifact siege | Whole factions, no fixed cap | Twice a week, fixed time | Abyss Points and medals by contribution |
Arenas can be queued anytime, and gear is not equalized there, so your Abyss gear matters. Battlegrounds and artifact sieges run on their own schedules rather than a queue you can hit whenever, so they are not a daily farm the way arenas are.
Optional PvP on global and what it changes
Away from the Abyss, PvP is optional: you are only in danger while flagged, which mainly happens while crossing into enemy territory through a rift, or while invading it in PvE mode, where getting close to enemy guard NPCs auto-flags you anyway. Fighting flagged during a rift also doubles the Abyss Points from a kill until you hit your weekly cap, dropping to 10% of the base amount after that.
Step inside the Abyss itself, Lower Reshanta, and that choice disappears: PvP is always on in there, with no flag to turn off.
Practical advice from creators who tried both on Korea and then weighed global's launch:
- Stay flagged off outside the Abyss while you push your early Combat Power and item level. PvE is still your main gearing path even if you are a PvPer.
- Flag on once you are farming Abyss Points deliberately: the doubled AP from flagged rift kills is worth the risk once you can afford it.
- Even flagged off, getting close to enemy guard NPCs auto-flags you for PvP, so know your way back before you cross.
PvE first, PvP second: gearing order
The reason to wait is practical, not philosophical.
- PvP gear carries heavy PvE damage penalties outside the Abyss, so wearing it while running dungeons or raids makes you weaker there, not stronger, before it has done anything for you in PvP.
- PvE is still the primary source of your Combat Power even if PvP is your endgame, so the expedition, sealed dungeon and stronghold grind comes first regardless of your build.
- There is no Heroic gear or hard-mode Conquest at global launch (hard mode arrives a few weeks in), so the PvE gear ceiling is lower and faster to reach than it was in Korea at the same point.
See After Level 45 for the PvE priority order, Daily Checklist for the Abyss dailies inside the routine, and Alts Guide for why a Conquest alt sends more unbound Kinah to your main than an arena-only alt does.
Aion 2 PvP and Abyss FAQ
FAQ
Is PvP required on global?
No. Outside the Abyss you are only exposed to PvP while flagged, crossing through a rift, or getting too close to enemy guards while invading in PvE mode. Duty missions, supply requests and sealed dungeon runs on your own side do not require fighting players at all.
Where do Abyss Points come from?
Duty missions and supply requests, rift and domination-event kills, artifact sieges, arenas and battlegrounds. Points earned by killing players or monsters inside the Abyss are capped weekly; points from corridors, quests and event rewards are not.
What are rifts?
Timed crossings, roughly every 3 hours for a 10-minute window, that send you into the enemy faction's home map for up to an hour. They are not the same as entering the Abyss itself, which you unlock separately through the main story.
Should I gear for PvP before PvE?
No. PvP gear carries heavy PvE damage penalties outside the Abyss, and PvE is still your main source of Combat Power even if PvP is your goal, so clear the PvE gearing steps first.
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 Krao Cave Guide (and Draupnir Cave)
- 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 Founder's Pack Guide: Contents, Prices, and Which to Buy
- Aion 2 New Player Checklist for the Global Launch
Sources
This guide was written from the videos below.
- AION 2 PVP Gear Progression Guide | Everything You Need To Know, FRESHY, September 15, 2026
- AION 2 Complete systems and contents overview (September 14th 2026), Madsin, September 14, 2026
- How to gear after you hit max level in Aion 2 - Pvp & Pve, Viles, November 24, 2025
- AION 2 Global PVE - Every Dungeon, Raid, and Daily at Launch, Anders, September 15, 2026
- Aion 2: How To Increase Gear Score From 0 to 2400 Beginner Guide, xMiMiCx, December 6, 2025
- Aion 2 growth guide from level 45 to 2000+ Combat Power, Babo Ondol, November 30, 2025 (in Korean)
