Content:
Key Takeaways
- How it is built: a tier is listed here only when at least two of six independent lists give it, and the lists that disagree are named next to it.
- PvE: Chanter, Templar and Cleric come out S on group value, Gladiator, Ranger and Sorcerer A, Spiritmaster B, and Assassin splits between A and B.
- PvP: Assassin and Gladiator are S, Ranger, Spiritmaster and Templar are A, Sorcerer and Cleric are split, and Chanter is B.
- First character: Gladiator, Ranger and Templar are the safest starts; Assassin is the class most guides warn beginners away from.
- Age of the data: every list predates the 28 Oct patch, none has been re-ranked since, and the 4 Nov patch may change them, so read the tiers as a starting point, not a verdict.
Note: this page reports a consensus of opinions. AION 2 has no public win-rate data (MetaBot.GG says so), and we found no official tier list, so no ranking here is a measured fact.
Which Class Should You Pick?
Start from what you want to do in the game, then look at the letter. The table gives one starting pick per situation and the strongest argument against it, so you can see how settled each answer is before you commit a character slot.
| Situation | Start with | Why the lists back it | The argument against |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dungeons and group content, you want to be wanted in a party | Templar, Cleric or Chanter | S in four of the six PvE lists (five for Chanter), mostly lists that weigh what a party needs. | AllThingsHow ranks by damage only and puts Templar at B and Cleric at C. |
| You want the highest damage in a group | Ranger, Chanter, or Gladiator | Chanter and Ranger top AllThingsHow’s damage list, and Ranger and Gladiator are A in four lists each. | That damage list is a single source, and it does not count what a party gets from heals, tanking or buffs. |
| One-on-one PvP duels | Gladiator or Assassin | S in five of six PvP lists each, and both are S in TechWiser’s one-on-one column. | Insider Gaming, GAMES.GG and MeinMMO rate Assassin the hardest class, and TechWiser warns that high ping hurts it. |
| Organized group PvP and Abyss fights | Sorcerer, Cleric or Templar | Sorcerer is S in BlueStacks and MetaBot.GG, which score group and small-scale play; Templar is A in four lists; Cleric is valued where the team is organized. | In duels the same classes drop: TechWiser puts Sorcerer at B and Cleric at C for solo PvP. |
| Mostly playing alone | Gladiator or Spiritmaster | MetaBot.GG gives both an S for solo play, and it and BlueStacks name Spiritmaster the best pure solo class. | Spiritmaster is B in group PvE in three lists and last but one on AllThingsHow’s damage list. |
| First MMO character | Gladiator, Ranger or Templar | Templar, Ranger and Cleric are rated Easy by Insider Gaming and GAMES.GG; MetaBot.GG and BlueStacks call Gladiator the safest pick. | Insider Gaming and GAMES.GG rate Gladiator only Medium, not Easy. Cleric is Easy there but not a first pick, because MetaBot.GG gives it only a B for solo play. |
| You want to try a second class later | Plan a spare slot | No class change has been announced for Global, so another class means a new character, and there are four slots from the start. | A new character restarts leveling from scratch. |
If this is your first week, our AION 2 beginner guide walks through the early game, and once you have picked, the best builds guide covers skills and gear choices.
How We Built the Consensus
We did not run damage meters or arena tests for this page, and we found no official tier list from NC. What you see is a consensus: we collected seven independent lists, wrote down every placement, and call a tier agreed when at least two lists give it to a class. The count is printed next to each tier, and the lists that disagree are named, not averaged away.
Seven lists in total, with six in each count. MeinMMO splits PvE by role (damage, tank, healer) instead of giving each class one tier, so it feeds only the PvP count. AllThingsHow ranks PvE damage and has no PvP list, so it feeds only the PvE count.
| List | Dated | What its letter answers | Handle with care |
|---|---|---|---|
| MetaBot.GG | published 1 Oct, updated 27 Oct | Group PvE, small-scale PvP and solo play, scored from skill kits. | Editorial scoring; it says there is no public win-rate data. |
| TechWiser | updated 17 Oct | PvE and solo PvP, with a note that it uses damage meter data. | Its PvP column is one-on-one only. |
| BlueStacks | 15 Oct | PvE as group dungeon value, boss damage and solo comfort; PvP across arena, open world and Abyss. | Mixes several questions in one letter. |
| MeinMMO | 13 Oct, PvP added the same day | PvE by role; one PvP tier per class. | Used for PvP only. |
| AllThingsHow | 12 Oct | PvE damage only. | No PvP; its own earlier pages rank classes differently. |
| LagoFast | 10 Oct | Damage, PvE value and PvP pressure together. | It says it mainly reflects the Korean and Taiwanese meta. |
| Destructoid | 30 Sep | Class strength before launch. | Written five days before launch, partly from the beta. |
MetaBot.GG scores crowd control, range, mobility, healing and party buffs and checks the result against an armory of more than 145,000 level 45 characters (as of 6 Oct 2026). That is a clearly described method, but it is still one editor’s weighting, not a measurement. We also use the in-game class names throughout. MeinMMO writes Wizard, Summoner and Cantor for Sorcerer, Spiritmaster and Chanter, and you may meet those names elsewhere.
The eight classes in Global are Gladiator, Templar, Assassin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Spiritmaster, Chanter and Cleric. Templar is the only dedicated tank and Cleric the only dedicated healer, which is why group-value lists treat those two differently from the rest.
PvE Tiers: Dungeons, Bosses and Groups
Read the PvE letters as an answer to “how much does a party want this class”, because three of the six lists weigh group value and only one counts damage alone. That one difference explains most of what looks like disagreement below.
| Class | Consensus | Who agrees, who does not | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chanter | S, 5 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG, LagoFast and AllThingsHow agree; Destructoid says B. | You want to be a support that also tops the damage-only list. |
| Templar | S, 4 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast agree; AllThingsHow says B, Destructoid A. | You like tanking: it is the only dedicated tank. |
| Cleric | S, 4 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast agree; AllThingsHow says C, Destructoid B. | You like healing: it is the only dedicated healer. |
| Gladiator | A, 4 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and AllThingsHow agree; LagoFast and Destructoid say S. | You want a greatsword melee fighter that can also off-tank. |
| Ranger | A, 4 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast agree; AllThingsHow and Destructoid say S. | You want ranged physical damage with a bow. |
| Sorcerer | A, 4 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and AllThingsHow agree; LagoFast says B, Destructoid S. | You want ranged magic damage with a spellbook. |
| Spiritmaster | B, 3 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks and MetaBot.GG agree; LagoFast says A, AllThingsHow C, Destructoid S. | You play mostly alone and accept a weaker group role. |
| Assassin | Split: A 3, B 3 | A in TechWiser, LagoFast and Destructoid; B in BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and AllThingsHow. | You want daggers and burst and will learn a hard class. |
Why Chanter, Templar and Cleric sit on top
The three S classes are the ones a party is built around. MetaBot.GG and TechWiser both describe party buffs from Chanter and Cleric worth 10.5% PvE damage and damage tolerance, and a group needs a tank and a healer before it needs more damage. Chanter is the sturdiest placement of the three: it is S in every post-launch list in our PvE count, including the damage-only list, and only the beta-based Destructoid list has it lower.
Templar and Cleric are S because of that group role. On AllThingsHow’s damage-only list they drop to B and C, which says they deal less damage, not that groups want them less. If you pick either one, expect to be welcome in a dungeon party and to rank low on a damage meter.
Gladiator, Ranger and Sorcerer: the dependable middle
These three are A in four lists each. Both S marks for Gladiator come from LagoFast (Korean and Taiwanese meta) and the pre-launch Destructoid list; every post-launch Global list has it at A. Ranger’s two S marks come from the damage-only list and Destructoid. Sorcerer has the widest spread, from B in LagoFast to S in Destructoid.
Spiritmaster and Assassin: read the notes
Spiritmaster is B because it is strong alone but thinner in tight boss phases of group content, according to BlueStacks and MetaBot.GG. Assassin is the real tie: three of the four post-launch Global lists put it at B, and TechWiser is the exception at A.
Hard dungeons are gated by item level, not by class, and that gate decides more of your week than the letter does. If you want a hand reaching it, there are Aion 2 dungeon runs in the store, and our gear score guide explains how the number is built.
PvP Tiers: Duels, Arena and Abyss
PvP letters mix formats even more than PvE letters do. TechWiser rates one-on-one play, MetaBot.GG rates small-scale fights, and BlueStacks combines arena, open world and Abyss into one grade. The two top classes are S or A in every format; the classes in the middle are where the format matters.
| Class | Consensus | Who agrees, who does not | Best at, weakest at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assassin | S, 5 of 6 | MeinMMO, TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast agree; Destructoid says A. | Best in duels and burst; weakest as a beginner pick and on poor ping (TechWiser warns of it). |
| Gladiator | S, 5 of 6 | MeinMMO, TechWiser, BlueStacks, LagoFast and Destructoid agree; MetaBot.GG says A. | Best in duels and still forgiving to learn; the lowest mark any list gives it is A. |
| Ranger | A, 5 of 6 | MeinMMO, TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast agree; Destructoid says S. | Best from range; the most evenly rated class across formats. |
| Spiritmaster | A, 5 of 6 | MeinMMO, TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast agree; Destructoid says B. | A in every post-launch PvP list; its weak spot is group PvE (B in three lists). |
| Templar | A, 4 of 6 | TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and Destructoid agree; MeinMMO says B, LagoFast S. | A in most formats, including TechWiser’s solo PvP; the lists give no format where it clearly stands out. |
| Sorcerer | Split: A 3, S 2 | A in MeinMMO, LagoFast and Destructoid; S in BlueStacks and MetaBot.GG; B in TechWiser (solo PvP). | Best from range in group fights; weakest in one-on-one. |
| Cleric | Split: A 3, B 2 | A in BlueStacks, LagoFast and Destructoid; B in MeinMMO and MetaBot.GG; C in TechWiser (solo PvP). | Best where a team is organized; weakest in duels. |
| Chanter | B, 5 of 6 | MeinMMO, TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast agree; Destructoid says A. | Best as a team buffer; weakest as a lone fighter. |
The split classes are the useful signal here. Sorcerer and Cleric rise when the lists score group or small-scale play and fall in the one-on-one list, so the right pick depends on whether you duel or fight beside a team. Chanter is the opposite case from PvE: a top PvE class but B in PvP.
Ranger and Templar sit at A in most lists but are never the first answer for a duel. If you want one class that holds up in several formats without a steep learning curve, Ranger is the safest reading of the table.
Solo Play and First Characters
Beginner and solo advice comes from different pages than the tier lists, so the answers are a little different. The table groups what the sources say so you can see where they agree.
| Question | Where sources point | Who says it | Where it breaks down |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easiest start | Templar, Ranger and Cleric | Insider Gaming and GAMES.GG rate all three Easy. | Easy is not the same as fast: MetaBot.GG rates Cleric only B for solo play. |
| Safest start | Gladiator | MetaBot.GG and BlueStacks name it the best or safest pick for a new player. | Other publishers pick Templar, Ranger and Cleric, so it is not unanimous. |
| Best pure solo class | Spiritmaster | MetaBot.GG and BlueStacks. | It is B in group PvE in three lists, so a solo main may struggle to find a role in parties later. |
| Hardest class | Assassin | Insider Gaming, GAMES.GG and MeinMMO. | It is S in five of six PvP lists. |
Tip: if you cannot decide between two classes, level both to the point where the early skills feel familiar before you spend anything on the character. A test costs only time.
If the early climb is the part you dislike, our AION 2 leveling guide lays out the order of content, and the store has Aion 2 powerleveling for players who would rather skip part of it.
MetaBot.GG sums it up in one line: Gladiator if you are new to MMOs, Spiritmaster if you want to play alone, Ranger if you want range without pets. Insider Gaming, GAMES.GG and MeinMMO all rate Assassin the hardest class.
Where the Lists Disagree and Why
Neither the official patch notes nor the in-game skill tooltips contain a ranking, so every publisher builds its own. The differences below come from three things: what the letter measures, which server the data came from, and when the page was written.
What the letter measures
| Class and mode | Higher in | Lower in | The most likely reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleric, PvE | S in TechWiser, BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG and LagoFast | C in AllThingsHow (damage only); B in Destructoid | Healing value against damage output: the lists answer different questions, so this is not a disagreement about strength. |
| Chanter, PvE | S in five lists | B in Destructoid | Destructoid predates launch; S in every post-launch list in our PvE count. |
| Assassin, PvE | A in TechWiser, LagoFast, Destructoid | B in BlueStacks, MetaBot.GG, AllThingsHow | Strong burst against little party utility, so the split follows the criterion. |
| Spiritmaster, PvE | S in Destructoid; A in LagoFast | C in AllThingsHow; B in three lists | Strong alone, weak in tight group fights; Destructoid’s PvE reads as solo play. |
| Sorcerer, PvP | S in BlueStacks and MetaBot.GG | B in TechWiser | TechWiser rates duels; the other two rate group or small-scale fights. |
The same publisher, three different answers
AllThingsHow published three pages on three dates. The first two predate the Global launch; the 30 Aug page is built on Korean and Taiwanese leaderboards.
| Class | 5 Aug (overall) | 30 Aug (KR/TW PvE) | 12 Oct (PvE damage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleric | A | A | C |
| Chanter | B | A | S |
| Assassin | S | B | B |
| Sorcerer | B | C | A |
The 5 Aug and 30 Aug pages predate Global and the 7 Oct patch changed no classes, no Global balance patch falls between these pages, so the swings come from different servers, data and questions. That is the clearest evidence that a tier list is a snapshot of one server on one date. LagoFast shows the second trap: it says its letters mainly reflect the Korean and Taiwanese live meta, so it counts here as one vote with that label. Destructoid shows the third: it was written five days before launch, partly from the beta.
Where the lists agree, the agreement is worth more than the letter. Assassin and Gladiator in PvP, and Chanter in PvE, keep the same tier when you drop the beta list and the Korean and Taiwanese list from the count, which is why we call them robust. Assassin in PvE (a three-all tie), Spiritmaster in PvE, and Sorcerer and Cleric in PvP are the placements to hold loosely.
What Changed Since Launch
Every placement above was written before the latest official patch, so it helps to see what NC has changed since AION 2 reached Global. The patch notes are short, and most of them are bug fixes.
| Date | Official change | What it means for your pick |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Sep and 5 Oct | Advanced Access opened on 30 Sep for Founder’s Pack owners; the free-to-play launch on Steam followed on 5 Oct. | Lists dated before 5 Oct describe the beta or the Korean and Taiwanese game. |
| 7 Oct | First patch after launch: no class changes. | Nothing to adjust. |
| 14 Oct | Bug fixes for Spiritmaster (Summon: Ancient Spirit at level 15 or below) and for Sorcerer (Fire Wall, Cold Storm, Bittercold Wind); no number changes. | Fixes, not buffs or nerfs. |
| 21 Oct | Chanter Spinning Strike display fix; Sorcerer Cold Storm and Fire Wall damage-bug fixes. Hard Krao Cave and Draupnir added at item level 2,600. | Fixes again, plus a new gear gate. |
| 28 Oct | Base HP at level 45 rises from 4,702 to 6,202 for Gladiator and Templar (+1,500) and to 5,702 for the other six classes (+1,000). | The first real balance change, aimed at melee survivability against bosses. |
| 28 Oct | Assassin: the HP effect of Heightened Sixth Sense becomes 1,000 / 2,000 / 4,000 at skill level 5 / 10 / 20, and Illusive Clone cooldown drops from 90 to 60 seconds. | Assassin gains survivability and a shorter Illusive Clone cooldown. |
| 28 Oct | Boss Attack down 15% in Normal Expedition and Transcendence Stage 1, and down 10% (with Damage Boost) in Hard Expedition and Transcendence Stages 2 to 4; boss HP down 6.5% in Transcendence Stages 1 and 2. | Easier survival for every class in that content. |
| 28 Oct | Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island Hard added at item level 2,700. | Another gear gate, not a class gate. |
| 4 Nov (announced) | Ludra returns, normal at item level 2,800 and hard at 3,000. | No balance change announced; we found no patch notes for that week when we checked on 2 Nov. |
Warning: every placement in the two consensus tables comes from a list published on or before 27 Oct, so none of them reflects the 28 Oct patch. The newest, MetaBot.GG, was updated the day before it.
NC says the HP rise and the boss cuts are meant to improve melee survivability against bosses. None of the four patches since launch touched Cleric, Templar, Gladiator or Ranger skills; the only change to those four was base HP. Our own reading, which no source states: higher HP may lift how Gladiator, Templar and Assassin look in PvE lists, so wait for the next round of lists before treating an Assassin A or B as settled.
Item level now decides how far you get in Hard content more than class does. The weekly patch that brings Ludra on 4 Nov may include balance changes; if it does, these tiers can shift, so check the patch notes before you commit.
Mistakes When Picking a Class
These are the ways players most often end up with a character they did not want, each tied to something in the sources above.
- Reading a letter without its question. Cleric is S in four PvE lists and C in the damage-only list. Both are right about their own question, so decide first whether you want to heal a party or top a meter.
- Trusting a pre-launch or Korean list. AllThingsHow’s 30 Aug page, LagoFast and Destructoid all rest on beta or Korean and Taiwanese play. Use them as a cross-check, not as the Global ranking.
- Starting with Assassin because it is S in PvP. Insider Gaming, GAMES.GG and MeinMMO all rate it the hardest class for newcomers, and TechWiser warns that high ping hurts it. Pick it as a second character once you know the game.
- Assuming you can switch later. No class change has been announced for Global, so another class means a new character and a new climb; the ninth class from the Korean and Taiwanese game is not in Global either. If you do start over, the Aion 2 store and the leveling guide cover that path.
- Choosing by popularity. NC reported on 23 Oct that Gladiator is the most played class, followed by Chanter and Sorcerer, among more than 6.3 million characters. A crowded class is not automatically the right one for your mode.
- Waiting for a final list. Lists will keep changing after every patch. Pick on role and difficulty, check that at least two lists agree with you, and keep a spare slot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best class in AION 2?
There is no single answer, because the lists rank different things. If one class has to cover several modes, Gladiator, Ranger, Templar and Sorcerer are A or higher in both consensus tables; Gladiator and Ranger also come with beginner-friendly ratings, so they are the safest all-round picks.
Which class is best for PvE and dungeons?
Chanter, Templar and Cleric come out S, with Chanter the most agreed (five of six lists). Templar and Cleric are S on group value but rank low on damage-only meters, so choose them for the party role. Gladiator, Ranger and Sorcerer are the dependable A group.
Which class is best for PvP?
Assassin and Gladiator are S in five of six lists each. Ranger, Spiritmaster and Templar are A. Sorcerer and Cleric depend on the format, higher in group fights and lower in duels, and Chanter is B.
What is the best solo class?
MetaBot.GG rates Gladiator and Spiritmaster S for solo play and BlueStacks agrees that Spiritmaster is the best pure solo kit. Gladiator is the safer all-round choice because it also holds A or S in group PvE and PvP.
Which class is easiest for beginners?
Templar, Ranger and Cleric are rated Easy, and Gladiator is named the safest pick (see the table above). Insider Gaming, GAMES.GG and MeinMMO all rate Assassin the hardest class.
Can I change my class later?
No class change has been announced for Global. Another class means creating a new character, and there are four character slots from the start. All eight classes are open to both factions, Elyos and Asmodian.
Is there a ninth class in AION 2?
Not in Global. A ninth class, the gauntlet-wielding Brawler, exists in the Korean and Taiwanese version, but as of 2 Nov 2026 the Global game has eight classes.
Is this tier list based on win rates, and will it change?
No, it is a consensus of published opinions, because MetaBot.GG says AION 2 has no public win-rate data. It will change: NC posted class-relevant patch notes on 28 Oct and Ludra returns on 4 Nov, so expect new lists to follow and check back then.