Content:
Key Takeaways
- Six dungeon types: Sealed Dungeons, Expeditions, Daily Dungeons, Transcendence, Nightmare and Ascension Trial each work differently and feed different parts of your progression.
- Conquest over Exploration: the community treats Conquest as the real progression difficulty, and at 1,400 GS the popular pick is Vakron Sky Island on Conquest because the reward is strong for the Odyle Energy you spend.
- Odyle Energy opens the Cube: entering a dungeon is normally free, the energy is spent on the final reward Cube (30 or 40 per Expedition Cube, 40 per Transcendence Cube), and every character has its own pool.
- Transcendence means Arcana: Arcana cards are the only way to push skills to level 16 and unlock their strongest specialties, so this is your endgame dungeon.
- Everything has a limiter: 14 shared Daily Dungeon attempts a week, 10 Remaining Unobtained Cube Count runs, 2 Nightmare attempts recharged per day and 3 Ascension Trial entries a week.
- Solo content pays too: Daily Dungeons are the best place to farm Enhancement Stones, Nightmare pays Phantasmal Fragments for its Trade Shop, and Ascension Trial pays Enhance Stones and chests by score.
Dungeon Types Overview
Welcome to the AION 2 dungeons guide. This page walks through every dungeon type that the Global client offers right now, explains how each one works, shows how reward claiming is handled, and breaks down the Odyle system that quietly controls how much you can farm. Not all dungeons are equal. Some of them are the backbone of your weekly progression, and others are nice side activities, so knowing which is which saves you a lot of wasted attempts.
Here is the short version of every dungeon type in the game:
- Sealed Dungeons: very short, small, single-player instances that work much like Strongholds. They belong to the horizontal content of the game and you have to find them on the map while exploring.
- Expedition: the classic party dungeons. They come in two difficulty types, Exploration and Conquest.
- Daily Dungeon: an arena-style instance where you eliminate waves of enemies or collect objects until the time runs out.
- Transcendence: endgame dungeons that have their own four difficulty tiers.
- Nightmare: a boss-gauntlet type of dungeon where you challenge bosses one by one, separately.
- Ascension Trial: small single-player dungeons that come with multiple difficulty levels.
The rest of the guide goes through these in the order a typical character meets them, from the first Exploration runs while you level up to the seasonal rankings at the top. Sealed Dungeons are covered only by the summary above, because they are exploration content you stumble into rather than something with its own reward system to plan around.
If you would rather not spend your weekly limits yourself, you can order AION 2 dungeon runs from us and pick the dungeon and difficulty you want. Otherwise, keep reading, because understanding the limits makes every run count.
How to read this guide
Almost every dungeon system in AION 2 comes down to three questions: who can enter (level and Gear Score or Item Level), how often you can enter (weekly counters, daily recharges or Odyle Energy), and what you get out of it. Each section below answers those three questions in the same order, so you can jump straight to the dungeon you care about. All numbers come from the current Global client, which is a little behind the Asian version, so expect them to change when new content and patches arrive.
For the exact thresholds, see the AION 2 Gear Score guide.
Which dungeons matter most for progression
If you only remember one thing from this guide, make it this: the dungeon types are not interchangeable. Each one feeds a different part of your character, and the limits are different too. Based on what the Global client shows today, the priorities look like this:
- Conquest Expeditions are the main equipment track. They give unbound Kinah and gear-oriented loot, and Vakron Sky Island on Conquest is the community favourite once you reach 1,400 GS.
- Transcendence is where Arcana comes from, and Arcana is the only way to push skills to level 16 and unlock their strongest specialties.
- Daily Dungeons are the best place to farm Enhancement Stones, which you need to reach 1,400 GS and beyond, plus Growth Pet Chests and bound Kinah.
- Nightmare and Ascension Trial are solo systems that add Phantasmal Fragments, Enhance Stones, chests and seasonal rewards without touching your Odyle Energy.
Weekly limits overview
Because the limits decide how you plan your week, here they are side by side. Every detail is explained in the matching section further down:
| Activity | What limits you | How it refreshes |
|---|---|---|
| Expeditions | Odyle Energy for the Cube (30 or 40 on the dungeons listed) | Spent per Cube you open; every character has its own pool |
| Conquest and Transcendence | Remaining Unobtained Cube Count of 10 runs per server | Weekly reset |
| Daily Dungeons | 14 attempts per server, shared by all three dungeons | Resets on Wednesday |
| Nightmare | Attempt Count: 14 by default, up to 30 stored | Recharges 2 attempts per day |
| Ascension Trial | 3 default attempts, 1 consumed on entry | Weekly recharge cycle |
Note: These numbers describe the Global client as it is now. The game is only a few days old worldwide, so counters, costs and rewards may shift with patches, and it is worth checking the in-game menu before you plan a big farming session.
AION 2 Expeditions
Expeditions come first because they are what most players recognise as classic MMORPG dungeons. You run them in groups of 5 with a very familiar setup: 1 tank, 2 DPS, 1 healer, and one slot that can be filled by any of those roles. Every Expedition has exactly 3 bosses, and the rewards are only handed out after you beat the final encounter. In some cases you can skip the first 2 bosses, but then the final reward is smaller, so skipping is a trade-off rather than a free shortcut.
Click the Expedition menu and you will see almost everything you need to plan a run. The menu is split into Exploration and Conquest, and every dungeon lists its level and Gear Score requirements, the allowed party size, the weekly cumulative rewards, the Cube Rewards and your Guaranteed Reward progress.
All AION 2 Expedition dungeons
The Global version currently has six Expedition dungeons. This is what each one asks for on Exploration difficulty:
| Expedition | Exploration Requirement | Party Size |
|---|---|---|
| Krao Cave | Lv. 20, 200 GS | 1–5 |
| Urugugu Canyon | Lv. 28, 300 GS | 2–5 |
| Fire Temple | Lv. 35, 500 GS | 1–5 |
| Draupnir | Lv. 45, 700 GS | 1–5 |
| Vakron Sky Island | Lv. 45, 1,400 GS | 2–5 |
| Ferocious Horn Den | Lv. 45, 2,100 GS | 1–5 |
Not every one of these dungeons is worth running the moment it becomes available, and we get to which ones matter further down. There are also more Expeditions in the game overall, but the Global version of AION 2 is simply behind the Asian version in terms of content, so more of them should show up over time.
Exploration and Conquest difficulties
Exploration is only one of the two difficulty types an Expedition can have, and Conquest is the other one. Exploration is the easier of the pair. It has a lower Gear Score requirement and it unlocks as you complete story quests, so it works as the natural leveling companion.
Conquest is the harder difficulty. It brings better rewards, higher requirements, and bosses that have additional mechanics compared to the Exploration version. Krao Cave is a good example: Exploration starts at Level 20 and 200 GS, while its Conquest version requires Level 45 and 700 GS. Urugugu Canyon jumps from 300 GS in Exploration to 1,400 GS in Conquest.
There is one more important difference, and it is about money: Exploration rewards you with bound Kinah, while Conquest rewards you with unbound Kinah. If you care about Kinah you can actually use freely, Conquest is the version that matters. If you are looking at where that currency goes and how to top it up, our AION 2 Kinah page covers it.
Need more currency? The AION 2 Kinah farming guide lists the best methods.
The community treats these two modes in a clear way: you want to start playing in Conquest mode, because the rewards and the whole system around them are only worth engaging with at that higher difficulty. This is also where Gear Score breakpoints enter the picture. At 1,400 GS specifically, everyone goes for Vakron Sky Island on Conquest difficulty, because the reward compared with the Odyle Energy you invest is much better than what the lower dungeons give. Gear Score milestones like this one are the real targets players are chasing, so it pays to plan your upgrades around them instead of grinding at random.
Tip: Use Exploration for the early part of the journey while you level and unlock story content, then switch your attention to Conquest as soon as your character reaches Level 45 and the Gear Score requirements. Running Exploration forever just burns time and Odyle Energy on weaker loot.
Expedition rewards system
As mentioned above, you get a single reward Cube at the end of the dungeon, after the final boss is down. You can preview its contents and the drop chances before you enter, which is handy when you are deciding which Expedition deserves your energy. On top of that, Expeditions have a separate track called the Weekly Cumulative Play Reward. It pays you for running the same dungeon again and again during one week, which means during one reset. It is not the same thing as the Cube at the end of the run. You receive it in addition to the Cube, because you are free to choose not to open that Cube.
Most of your actual dungeon loot comes from the Reward Cube after the final boss. The Cube holds your personal rewards, and its loot gets better depending on how many bosses you defeated during the run. That is why you normally want to kill both mini-bosses instead of rushing straight for the end. Opening the Cube costs Odyle Energy, and the price depends on the dungeon. Krao Cave and Urugugu Canyon on Exploration use 30 Odyle Energy, while Draupnir and Vakron Sky Island use 40.
A Cube can contain things such as:
- Equipment
- Kinah
- Enhancement Stones
- Silentium
- Soul Codex items
- Other progression materials, depending on the dungeon
Odyle Energy is not exclusive to Expeditions. Other dungeon content, including Transcendence, spends it as well, so at some point you have to decide where your energy gives you the most value. Each character has its own Odyle pool, which is also why alts can be useful when you want additional dungeon farming.
Guaranteed Reward pity system
Expeditions also come with a Guaranteed Reward system, which is basically bad-luck protection for dungeon farming. Every time you open the relevant Reward Cube, you move its Guaranteed Reward counter forward. Once you reach the required number of Cube openings, you can pick one of the listed rewards instead of continuing to rely entirely on random drops.
In practice it works like this. Say you want to upgrade a gear slot with one specific item from a dungeon’s loot pool. You run that dungeon the required number of times and open the reward Cube at the end each time, because that is what makes the pity system register the attempt. On the final attempt you can claim the item of your choice. Players have already worked out which pity rewards are worth spending Odyle Energy on, and the short version is that not every dungeon on the list deserves it.
Warning: The pity counter only moves when you actually open the Cube. If you clear a dungeon and leave without spending the Odyle Energy, you save the energy but you lose that step of progress towards the guaranteed pick.
Planning your Expedition week
Putting the pieces together, a sensible routine is simple. Pick the Expedition that fits your Gear Score, kill both mini-bosses so the Cube is as good as possible, and decide before the final boss whether this run deserves your Odyle Energy. Cubes cost 30 or 40 per opening on the dungeons listed above, and the same pool is also used by Transcendence, so the energy you spend on a mediocre Expedition is energy you cannot spend on an Arcana run later. Alts are the other lever: because each character has its own pool, a second character can keep farming a dungeon you are happy to repeat.
If you are still working towards Level 45 and want the Conquest content to be available sooner, our AION 2 powerleveling page is one way to skip ahead, and the rest of this guide shows what waits for you there.
AION 2 Daily Dungeons
Daily Dungeons are short solo instances that unlock at Level 30. What you do inside depends on the dungeon. In one of them you kill as many enemies as you can before the timer runs out, and the rewards are based on your final score: the more enemies you defeat, the higher the score and the better the reward. You get 14 attempts per server each week, and that shared counter resets on Wednesday. Yes, that makes them not very “daily” at all, but the name is what the game uses.
The AION 2 leveling guide walks you through the route to level 45.
Each time you enter, it counts as one attempt. You can burn through all 14 attempts back to back or spread them across the week until the next reset. There are three Daily Dungeons in the Global client, and each one focuses on a different progression resource:
| Daily Dungeon | Main Objective | Main Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Daeva Bio-Research Base | Defeat as many test subjects as possible and build score | Enhancement Stones |
| Odylium Repository | Collect Odyle Energy from the unstable Odylium | Growth Pet Chests |
| Crobakhi’s Secret Depository | Collect coins throughout the instance | Bound Kinah |
How Daily Dungeon scoring works
The principle is the same everywhere: the better your performance, the better the reward. In Daeva Bio-Research Base, for example, you have to defeat the Balaur test subjects before they finish transforming, and your final performance decides how many Enhancement Stones you get. The highest reward tier requires 10,000 score.
That means Daily Dungeons get more profitable as your character improves. Better damage, better movement and a smart choice of dungeon effect all help you reach higher score thresholds. This also looks like the best place to farm Enhancement Stones, which you need to reach 1,400 GS and beyond.
A sensible approach is to start running them as soon as your stock of those stones begins to drop, and to make sure you spend all 14 attempts before the next reset so none of them go to waste.
Daeva Bio-Research Base rewards
Daeva Bio-Research Base is the combat-focused Daily Dungeon. It is a solo Level 30 instance with no traditional boss. Instead you fight large groups of normal and elite test subjects and try to earn as much score as possible. The current Global client uses these reward tiers:
| Final Score | Enhancement Stones |
|---|---|
| 10,000+ | 10,000 |
| 9,500+ | 9,500 |
| 9,000+ | 9,000 |
| 8,500+ | 8,500 |
| 8,000+ | 8,200 |
| 7,500+ | 7,900 |
| 7,000+ | 7,600 |
| 6,500+ | 7,300 |
| 6,000+ | 7,000 |
Reaching the maximum score is going to be difficult at around 1,000 GS, but getting to roughly 6,000 is realistic if the buffs are kind to you. Since 6,000 already pays 7,000 Enhancement Stones in the table above, you do not need a perfect run for a solid payout.
Daily Dungeon effects
Before the run starts, the game offers you three random effects and you pick one of them for that attempt. Effects can buff your character directly, weaken certain enemy types, or restore HP and MP while you clear the dungeon. The Global client currently lists these effects for Daeva Bio-Research Base:
| Effect | Grade | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Slayer | Special | Player’s Attack increased by 30%. |
| Adrenaline | Special | Player’s Combat Speed increased by 30%. |
| Worm Carnage | Special | Normal Test Subject’s Damage Tolerance reduced by 30%. |
| Elite Hunter | Special | Elite Test Subject’s Damage Tolerance reduced by 30%. |
| Guardian | Common | Player’s Defense increased by 30%. |
| Targeting Weakness | Common | Player’s Critical Hit increased by 300. |
| Footwork | Common | Player’s Move Speed increased by 20%. |
| Poisoned by Mana | Common | Restores 5% of Max MP when defeating all Test Subjects. Activates every second. |
| Predator | Common | Restores 5% of Max HP when defeating all Test Subjects. Activates every second. |
| Ignoring the Weak | Common | Normal Test Subject’s Damage reduced by 30%. |
| Ignoring the Elite | Common | Elite Test Subject’s Damage reduced by 30%. |
| Fire Moth | Common | Normal Test Subject’s Move Speed increased by 30%. |
Note: The wording of some effects is confusing. When an effect says Damage Tolerance is reduced, that enemy takes more damage from you. Effects like Ignoring the Weak do the opposite and reduce the damage that enemy type deals to you.
Most of the Common effects are not exciting. If luck is on your side, go for the ones that raise your damage or your movement speed, because those translate straight into a higher score.
Odylium Repository rewards
Odylium Repository is the Daily Dungeon that focuses on Growth Pet Chests. Instead of fighting waves of enemies, the instance is built around collecting Odyle Energy from the unstable Odylium. Its rewards scale very cleanly with score: every additional 500 points gives another four Growth Pet Chests, up to 80 chests at the maximum tier.
| Final Score | Growth Pet Chests |
|---|---|
| 10,000+ | 80 |
| 9,500+ | 76 |
| 9,000+ | 72 |
| 8,500+ | 68 |
| 8,000+ | 64 |
| 7,500+ | 60 |
| 7,000+ | 56 |
| 6,500+ | 52 |
| 6,000+ | 48 |
| 5,500+ | 44 |
| 5,000+ | 40 |
| 4,500+ | 36 |
| 4,000+ | 32 |
| 3,500+ | 28 |
| 3,000+ | 24 |
| 2,500+ | 20 |
| 2,000+ | 16 |
| 1,500+ | 12 |
| 1,000+ | 8 |
| 500+ | 4 |
The game database shows a maximum clear reward of 80 Growth Pet Chests, which matches the top row above.
Crobakhi’s Secret Depository rewards
Crobakhi’s Secret Depository is the Kinah-focused Daily Dungeon. You collect coins as you move through the instance, and your final score decides how much bound Kinah you receive. The maximum reward is 300,000 bound Kinah for reaching 10,000 score.
| Final Score | Bound Kinah |
|---|---|
| 10,000+ | 300,000 |
| 9,500+ | 290,000 |
| 9,000+ | 280,000 |
| 8,500+ | 270,000 |
| 8,000+ | 260,000 |
| 7,500+ | 250,000 |
| 7,000+ | 240,000 |
| 6,500+ | 230,000 |
| 6,000+ | 220,000 |
| 5,500+ | 210,000 |
| 5,000+ | 200,000 |
| 4,500+ | 190,000 |
| 4,000+ | 180,000 |
| 3,500+ | 170,000 |
| 3,000+ | 160,000 |
| 2,500+ | 150,000 |
| 2,000+ | 140,000 |
| 1,500+ | 130,000 |
| 1,000+ | 120,000 |
| 500+ | 110,000 |
All three Daily Dungeons draw from the same weekly attempt pool, so every entry here is an entry you give up in the Enhancement Stone version or the Pet version. Which dungeon you run should therefore depend on which resource you need the most at that moment. If your gear upgrades are stuck, lean towards Daeva Bio-Research Base. If you are short on pet progression, take Odylium Repository, and if bound Kinah is the bottleneck, go to Crobakhi’s Secret Depository. Remember that this dungeon pays bound Kinah, which is a different thing from the unbound Kinah that Conquest Expeditions give.
AION 2 Transcendence Dungeons
Transcendence is the next step up from regular Expeditions. These are Level 45 party dungeons for 2–5 players, and instead of Exploration and Conquest tabs they are built around four progressively harder stages. The higher the stage, the higher the Gear Score requirement, the enemy level and the number of extra dungeon effects you have to deal with.
For the current Global season only two Transcendence dungeons are active: Deus Research Base and Shattered Arkanis. The Asian version of the game has more of them, because the Global client is a bit behind in content.
All Transcendence dungeons in AION 2
Both dungeons unlock at Level 45, contain three bosses and take 2–5 players:
| Dungeon | Unlock Level | Bosses | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deus Research Base | 45 | 3 | 2–5 |
| Shattered Arkanis | 45 | 3 | 2–5 |
The client data confirms four Transcendence stages for each of them, and the Global values shown in-game scale from 1,600 to 2,500 Gear Score. The Gear Score requirement for each stage is identical in both dungeons:
| Dungeon | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deus Research Base | 1,600 GS | 1,900 GS | 2,200 GS | 2,500 GS |
| Shattered Arkanis | 1,600 GS | 1,900 GS | 2,200 GS | 2,500 GS |
How Transcendence dungeons work
Transcendence uses the same broad structure as Expeditions, but the route is a little different. You still fight two mini-bosses and one final boss, yet you also have to fill a progression requirement before the final encounter becomes available.
Each mini-boss gives 45 points, and normal enemies give 2 points each. You need 110 points in total before you can proceed to the final boss. In practice, killing both mini-bosses gives you 90 points, and the remaining 20 points equal 10 normal enemies.
This makes trash pulls more relevant than in Expeditions. You cannot simply skip everything between the bosses, because you still need enough points to unlock the final encounter. If your group keeps a rough count of kills, it avoids the awkward moment of reaching the boss gate a few points short.
Transcendence stages
The stages work like difficulties. Each one raises the Gear Score requirement and adds effects, which behave like the modifiers you may know from other MMORPGs. Stage 1 has no effects at all, so the effects below start from Stage 2. Deus Research Base uses these:
| Stage | Required Gear Score | Deus Research Base Stage Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 1,600 | None |
| Stage 2 | 1,900 | Balance: When an Elite Tier 3 or higher enemy dies, it creates a Balance Zone. Monsters inside gain increased Damage Boost, while players inside take damage over time. |
| Stage 3 | 2,200 | Wrath: Non-boss enemies gain increased Damage Boost when their HP falls to 50% or lower. |
| Stage 4 | 2,500 | Judgment: Boss attacks apply Judgment. Once enough stacks build up, they trigger an explosion that deals HP-based damage around the affected player. |
Shattered Arkanis has its own set of stage effects on the same Gear Score steps:
| Stage | Required Gear Score | Shattered Arkanis Stage Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 1,600 | None |
| Stage 2 | 1,900 | Poison Blood: When an Elite Tier 3 or higher enemy dies, it creates a Poison Blood Zone. Monsters standing inside recover HP, while players inside take damage over time. |
| Stage 3 | 2,200 | Elevation: When a non-boss enemy dies, nearby non-boss enemies gain increased Damage Boost. |
| Stage 4 | 2,500 | Tolerance: Boss enemies gain a larger Stagger gauge, making them harder to stagger. |
The Stage system is the biggest difference between Transcendence and normal Expeditions. The effects are cumulative, so at Stage 4 in Deus Research Base you deal with Judgment plus all three earlier effects. Boss levels rise together with the stages too, from around Level 56 at Stage 1 up to Level 68 at Stage 4.
Tip: Learn what each zone effect does before you commit to a high stage. Zones created by dead elite enemies punish you for fighting inside them, so pulling enemies out of the zone or finishing them quickly saves a lot of health.
Transcendence Cube rewards
After you beat the final boss, an Odyle Energy Cube becomes available just like in Expeditions, and opening it costs 40 Odyle Energy at every current Transcendence stage. What changes is the reward focus. Expeditions are heavily tied to normal equipment progression, while Transcendence is one of the main sources of Arcana.
Arcana cards are extremely important because they let you level skills further than skill points and Daevanion boards allow. They are the only way to reach level 16 on a skill, which is what unlocks the most powerful specialties. For example, Shattered Arkanis can reward Arcana such as:
- Arcana: Mirror of Vigor
- Arcana: Mirror of Magic
- Arcana: Parchment of Vigor
- Arcana: Parchment of Magic
- Arcana: Chalice of Vigor
- Arcana: Chalice of Magic
Deus Research Base has its own Arcana pool, including Bell, Compass and Chalice variants. Other rewards include Amplify Stone Fragments, Silentium, Enhancement Stones, Soul Codex items and Kinah. Higher stages improve the quality of the rewards on offer, so Transcendence becomes one of the main places to farm Arcana once your character can reliably handle the later stages. If you would like help clearing the later stages, you can look at dungeon runs for AION 2 instead of burning your own weekly entries.
A good rule of thumb is to treat Transcendence as a project instead of a grind. Pick the stage that your Gear Score clears comfortably, learn the stage effects of the dungeon you chose, and only then climb to the next stage. A failed high-stage attempt is worse than a clean run one stage lower, because the kill points, the deaths and the clear time all feed into the same Rank Score.
Remaining Unobtained Cube Count
Transcendence shares the Remaining Unobtained Cube Count system with Conquest Expeditions. You get 10 runs per server per week. If you clear a dungeon and leave without opening the Odyle Energy Cube, the counter goes down by one. When it hits 0, you can no longer enter Conquest or Transcendence dungeons until the weekly reset.
The system mainly exists to stop unlimited carry runs. You can help another player without spending Odyle Energy on the final Cube, but you cannot do it forever. So unless you have a reason to skip the reward, keep an eye on this counter instead of letting it drain in the background.
Weekly Cumulative Play Rewards
Transcendence uses the same Weekly Cumulative Play Reward system as Conquest. The key point is that repeated farming gradually cuts the amount of Kinah you earn from Odyle Energy Cubes. In the current Global client the reduction works like this:
| Total Weekly Play Count | Kinah Received |
|---|---|
| 0–55 | 100% |
| 56–69 | 80% |
| 70–83 | 60% |
| 84–97 | 40% |
| 98+ | 20% |
These counts are accumulated per server, and the further you go past each threshold, the less Kinah every Cube gives. Your Arcana and the other Cube rewards do not disappear. Only the Kinah portion shrinks, so repeated farming is still useful when you are chasing other drops. If Kinah is your main target, it simply stops being efficient once the percentage falls.
Transcendence Rank Points
Transcendence also has a seasonal ranking system, which makes it quite different from normal Expeditions. Your best runs award Rank Points, and the ranking is decided by the highest amount of points you gather during the season. According to the in-game explanation, the Rank Score takes these things into account:
- Dungeon difficulty
- Clear time
- Number of enemies killed
- Number of deaths
- Kibelisk binding
Monster kills stop counting once the final boss has appeared, so you cannot farm extra enemies forever for rank points. Changing party members after you enter also prevents Rank Points from being earned for that run. Your results from both Transcendence dungeons contribute to your seasonal ranking.
Warning: Do not swap players in the middle of a run if you care about your ranking. A single change of party members after entering means that run gives you no Rank Points.
Transcendence season rewards
Global Transcendence uses class-based rankings, so you compete against other players of your own class, not against the whole server. The top visible Season 1 brackets are:
| Class Rank | Required Rank Points | Season Grade | Season Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,800,000+ | Challenger 1 | Transcendence [Season 1] Challenger 1 title + Talisra Celestial Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 2–3 | 1,450,000+ | Challenger 2 | Transcendence [Season 1] Challenger 2 title + Talisra Delusion Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 4–5 | 1,100,000+ | Challenger 3 | Transcendence [Season 1] Challenger 3 title + Talisra Eventide Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 6–10 | 800,000+ | Grand Master | Transcendence [Season 1] Grand Master title + Talisra Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 11–20 | 550,000+ | Master | Transcendence [Season 1] Master title + Talisra Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 21–50 | 400,000+ | Diamond | Transcendence [Season 1] Diamond title + Talisra Coronet (Skin: Helm) |
| 51–100 | 200,000+ | Platinum | Transcendence [Season 1] Platinum title + Talisra Hairband (Skin: Helm) |
| 101–300 | 100,000+ | Gold | Transcendence [Season 1] Gold title |
| 301–600 | 60,000+ | Silver | Transcendence [Season 1] Silver title |
| 601–1,000 | 20,000+ | Bronze | Transcendence [Season 1] Bronze title |
| Unranked | 1+ | Iron | No listed Season Reward |
At the end of the season your class rank decides your Season Grade and your reward. Every rewarded tier gets a Season 1 Transcendence title, while Platinum and above also get a Talisra helm skin. The reward list is the same for Elyos and Asmodians. Keep in mind that the helm rewards are skins and not combat gear: the Talisra Celestial Crown, for example, is a Closet skin reward. They make you look good but they do not make your character stronger.
AION 2 Nightmare
Nightmare is a solo boss-challenge mode built around individual boss fights, not full dungeons. You pick a boss, choose a Challenge Level and try to clear as high as you can. Every boss has 10 Challenge Levels, and higher levels raise both the suggested Item Level and the rewards you receive.
Unlike Expeditions or Transcendence, Nightmare does not use Odyle Energy at all. It has its own Attempt Count, its own currency called Phantasmal Fragments, a dedicated Trade Shop and a seasonal ranking system. That makes it a good place to spend time when your Odyle Energy is already used up, because the two systems never compete for the same resource.
How Nightmare progression works
Nightmare is structured like a boss ladder. At the start of the season several bosses are open in the first layer, and the later bosses are locked behind progression requirements. The Global boss list in the Nightmare menu currently looks like this:
| Boss | Area | Role in Progression |
|---|---|---|
| Gatekeeper Pinopi | Root Cellar | Starting boss |
| Furious Feruk | Dranactus Underkeep | Starting boss |
| Fafnir’s Poison Blood | Root of the Sacred Tree | Starting boss |
| Wraith Giselle | Crypt | Starting boss |
| Fortress Guardian Notun | Destruction Archon Underground Fortress | Unlockable boss |
| Mutated Gerod | Blades Hideout | Unlockable boss |
| Zikel’s Apparition | Impetusium | Final boss of the layer |
Each regular boss has 10 Challenge Levels, and you do not need to clear them one at a time. If your character is capable enough, you can jump straight to a higher available level. Gatekeeper Pinopi is a good example: it is shown at Boss Level 45 with a Suggested Item Level of 1,000 at Challenge Level 1 and 1,600 at Challenge Level 10. The locked bosses open up as you progress through the layer, and the final goal is to unlock and defeat Zikel’s Apparition.
Nightmare rewards
Nightmare pays out Phantasmal Fragments, its own dedicated currency. These are not equipment drops from the boss. Instead you spend the fragments in the Nightmare Trade Shop on progression materials, cosmetics, wings, statues and other items.
Each boss level has two reward types: a First Clear Reward for beating that level for the first time, and a Repeatable Reward every time you clear it again afterwards. For Gatekeeper Pinopi Level 10, for example, the current Global client shows this:
| Reward Type | Phantasmal Fragments |
|---|---|
| First Clear | 900 |
| Repeatable Clear | 180 |
Lower Challenge Levels pay less and higher levels pay more. That is why pushing up the boss levels matters even when you have zero interest in rankings: higher stages simply generate more Nightmare currency per attempt.
Nightmare Trade Shop
The shop is split into several categories: Consumables, Growth (which mostly means gear upgrades), Wings, Skins and Statues for Pantheon. Here is what each item costs and what limits you can buy it under:
| Category | Item | Cost | Purchase Limit / Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumables | Amplify Stone Fragment (Unique) | 500 | N/A |
| Consumables | Soul Codex | 400 | 5 per character weekly |
| Consumables | Soul Codex: Reset | 8,000 | 3 per character weekly |
| Growth | Clash Rune Chest | 500 | 35 per character |
| Growth | Stigma Shard | 1,500 | 35 per character |
| Growth | Daevanion Crystal | 300 | 50 per character |
| Wings | Conqueror Wings | 20,000 | 1 per character |
| Wings | Nightmare Wings | 160,000 | 1 per character |
| Skins | Awakened Breastplate | 10,800 | 1 per character |
| Skins | Awakened Greaves | 8,000 | 1 per character |
| Skins | Awakened Helm | 6,750 | 1 per character |
| Skins | Awakened Pauldrons | 6,750 | 1 per character |
| Skins | Awakened Gloves | 5,300 | 1 per character |
| Skins | Awakened Boots | 6,750 | 1 per character |
| Skins | Awakened Cloak | 5,300 | 1 per character |
| Statues | Statue: Gatekeeper Pinopi | 5,000 | Clear Gatekeeper Pinopi Lv. 10 |
| Statues | Statue: Furious Feruk | 5,000 | Clear Furious Feruk Lv. 10 |
| Statues | Statue: Fafnir’s Poison Blood | 5,000 | Clear Fafnir’s Poison Blood Lv. 10 |
| Statues | Statue: Wraith Giselle | 5,000 | Clear Wraith Giselle Lv. 10 |
| Statues | Statue: Fortress Guardian Notun | 8,000 | Clear Fortress Guardian Notun Lv. 10 |
| Statues | Statue: Mutated Gerod | 8,000 | Clear Mutated Gerod Lv. 10 |
| Statues | Colossus: Zikel’s Apparition | 14,000 | Clear Zikel’s Apparition Lv. 1 |
The Skins tab also holds other cosmetic sets such as Eternal Horn, Ancient Barrier and Sky Recollection, but only the Awakened set has a full price list in the data we have. If you want upgrade materials rather than looks, the Growth and Consumables rows are the practical ones, and the weekly limits on Soul Codex tell you how fast you can convert fragments into them. For the wider picture of what else the AION 2 store covers besides dungeons, take a look at the category page.
Nightmare Attempt Count
Nightmare has a separate Attempt Count and does not use a weekly dungeon entry reset. The current Global rules are:
| Attempt Rule | Amount |
|---|---|
| Default Count | 14 |
| Maximum Recharge Count | 30 |
| Daily Recharge | 2 attempts |
| Attempt Cost | 1 per clear |
Your attempts recharge by 2 every day instead of resetting fully once a week, and the recharge system starts once Nightmare becomes available at Level 45. Because of this you do not need to burn all your attempts at once. You can stockpile them up to the recharge cap and spend them later, when you are ready to push higher Challenge Levels.
Instant Clear Tickets
Nightmare also supports Instant Clear Tickets. Once you have already cleared a boss level, you can use a ticket to claim that stage’s rewards without fighting the boss again. Every Instant Clear consumes:
- 1 Instant Clear Ticket
- 1 Nightmare Attempt
If you use Instant Clear from the lobby, you get the same clear rewards based on the number of repeats you select, but you do not receive Rank Points. If you use it from the results screen after a manual clear, the game can copy both the clear rewards and the Rank Points from that result. For plain currency farming, Instant Clear is excellent. When you are pushing your ranking, you still have to care about the quality of the clear you are copying.
Nightmare ranking
Nightmare has its own seasonal ranking, similar to Transcendence but with different rules. Your rank is mainly decided by the highest-tier boss you have cleared within the Nightmare layer, and the game clearly puts boss progression ahead of character grade. If several players cleared the same highest boss tier, Rank Points work as the tiebreaker. If the Rank Points are identical as well, the player with the higher cumulative Rank Points gets the higher rank. Ranks and point records reset when a new season starts.
So the ranking priority is basically this:
- Highest boss tier cleared.
- Rank Points for that boss tier.
- Total cumulative Rank Points.
Nightmare season rewards
Nightmare has class-based seasonal rankings as well, and the reward depends on your final Season Grade. The current Global thresholds shown in the client are:
| Class Rank | Required Rank Points | Season Grade | Season Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,150,000+ | Challenger 1 | Nightmare [Season 1] Challenger 1 title + Zikel’s Apparition Celestial Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 2–3 | 1,000,000+ | Challenger 2 | Nightmare [Season 1] Challenger 2 title + Zikel’s Apparition Delusion Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 4–5 | 850,000+ | Challenger 3 | Nightmare [Season 1] Challenger 3 title + Zikel’s Apparition Eventide Crown (Skin: Helm) |
| 6–10 | 700,000+ | Grand Master | Nightmare [Season 1] Grand Master title + Zikel’s Apparition Durable Coronet (Skin: Helm) |
| 11–20 | 550,000+ | Master | Nightmare [Season 1] Master title + Zikel’s Apparition Durable Coronet (Skin: Helm) |
| 21–50 | 400,000+ | Diamond | Nightmare [Season 1] Diamond title + Zikel’s Apparition Coronet (Skin: Helm) |
| 51–100 | 250,000+ | Platinum | Nightmare [Season 1] Platinum title + Zikel’s Apparition Mask (Skin: Helm) |
| 101–300 | 100,000+ | Gold | Nightmare [Season 1] Gold title |
| 301–600 | 30,000+ | Silver | Nightmare [Season 1] Silver title |
| 601–1,000 | 10,000+ | Bronze | Nightmare [Season 1] Bronze title |
| Unranked | 1+ | Iron | No Season Reward listed |
These skins are not especially exciting, so treat the ranking as a bragging-rights goal and an extra, not as the main reason to run Nightmare. The Phantasmal Fragments from repeated clears are the part that actually feeds your character.
AION 2 Ascension Trial
Ascension Trial is a solo, score-based dungeon mode that unlocks at Level 45. Unlike Nightmare, which is built around separate boss fights, Ascension Trial sends you through a full short dungeon with several enemy rooms and a final boss. The goal is to clear it within the time and death limits while collecting as many points as you can. The current Global version uses Nightmare Altar as the active Ascension Trial, and it comes with four difficulty levels.
Ascension Trial difficulty requirements
Every difficulty raises the Item Level requirement and tightens the death and time limits, and the final boss level goes up as well. The four current Level 45 variants sit at 1,000 / 1,500 / 2,000 / 2,500 Item Level.
| Difficulty | Required Level | Required Item Level | Boss Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 45 | 1,000 | 45 |
| Normal | 45 | 1,500 | 50 |
| Hard | 45 | 2,000 | 55 |
| Extreme | 45 | 2,500 | 60 |
And here are the limits that come with each difficulty:
| Difficulty | Death Limit | Time Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 5 | 18:00 |
| Normal | 3 | 16:00 |
| Hard | 2 | 14:00 |
| Extreme | 2 | 13:00 |
The Global database labels the top version internally as Challenge, while the live client displays it as Extreme. Functionally it is the 2,500 Item Level tier. Do not jump into the highest difficulty just because you barely meet the Item Level requirement. Ascension Trial consumes an entry when you go in and not when you clear it, so a failed run still costs you one of your limited attempts.
Warning: A death limit of 2 on Hard and Extreme leaves very little room for mistakes, and the time limit is tight too. Sitting a little above the Item Level requirement is a much safer way to spend your limited entries.
Dungeon debuffs
Higher difficulties can also apply Dungeon Debuffs, which stay active from the start of the run until the end. For Nightmare Altar on Extreme, the current effect is Wrath:
| Debuff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wrath | Increases the Damage Boost value of a non-boss enemy when its HP falls to 50% or lower. |
So Extreme is not just the same dungeon with enemies that have more HP. Once enemies drop below half health they become more dangerous, which makes finishing your pulls quickly much more important than it was on lower difficulties.
Ascension Trial attempts
Ascension Trial runs on a separate weekly entry counter. This is what you get:
- 3 default attempts per week
- A recharge capacity of up to 30 additional attempts
- The counter resets on the weekly recharge cycle
- 1 attempt is consumed on entry
The important detail is that the ticket disappears the moment you enter, and you do not get it back if you fail. Unlike the two daily recharges of Nightmare, Ascension Trial is fundamentally weekly-limited content, so those three attempts are much more valuable and deserve a proper preparation.
Ascension Trial rewards
Rewards depend on your Final Score, not on whether you merely finish the dungeon. The current Global reward pool contains four main progression items:
- Enhance Stones
- Growth Pet Chests
- Amplify Stone Fragments (Unique)
- Ascension Binding Chests
Both factions use the same reward ladder.
Complete Ascension Trial rewards table
Below are the rewards for every score bracket:
| Final Score | Enhance Stones | Growth Pet Chests | Amplify Stone Fragments (Unique) | Ascension Binding Chests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7,000+ | 3,500 | 20 | 14 | 10 |
| 6,000+ | 3,000 | 17 | 13 | 9 |
| 5,000+ | 2,500 | 17 | 12 | 9 |
| 4,000+ | 2,500 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| 3,000+ | 2,000 | 14 | 10 | 8 |
| 2,500+ | 1,500 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
| 2,000+ | 1,500 | 11 | 8 | 7 |
| 1,500+ | 1,000 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| 1,000+ | 700 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| 500+ | 700 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 200+ | 500 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 100+ | 300 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 10+ | — | 2 | — | 4 |
These are the exact current Global values in the database. The maximum reward the client shows directly is therefore 3,500 Enhance Stones, 20 Growth Pet Chests, 14 Amplify Stone Fragments and 10 Ascension Binding Chests for reaching 7,000 points. Notice how the first few brackets are cheap to reach and still give you something, while the top bracket needs a clean, fast run.
How Ascension Trial scoring works
Both the rewards and the seasonal rankings revolve around score. You collect points during the run, and the final result sets your reward tier. The ranking tooltip also confirms that your seasonal rank is based on your highest recorded score. If two players have the same score, the one with the higher cumulative Rank Points gets the higher rank, and both rank and point records reset with every new season. That makes Ascension Trial different from Nightmare: Nightmare ranking cares a lot about how far you get through the boss ladder, while Ascension Trial is more of a direct score attack.
Ascension Trial seasonal ranking
Ascension Trial also has a class-based seasonal ladder. The visible Global thresholds right now are:
| Class Rank | Required Rank Points | Season Grade | Season Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 200,000+ | Challenger 1 | Season title |
| 2–3 | 180,000+ | Challenger 2 | Season title |
| 4–5 | 160,000+ | Challenger 3 | Season title |
| 6–10 | 130,000+ | Grand Master | Season title |
| 11–20 | 100,000+ | Master | Season title |
| 21–50 | 70,000+ | Diamond | Season title |
Unlike Transcendence and Nightmare, the visible seasonal rewards for Ascension Trial in the current client are titles only. There is no extra cosmetic item shown alongside them.
Heading into the Abyss? Read the AION 2 Abyss PvP guide first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What dungeons should I do first in AION 2?
Start with Exploration Expeditions while you level, then move into Conquest at Level 45 as your Item Level climbs. After that, Transcendence becomes important for Arcana progression, while Nightmare and Ascension Trial give you extra solo progression and seasonal rewards. Daily Dungeons unlock at Level 30 and are a good side activity whenever you are low on Enhancement Stones.
What is the difference between Exploration and Conquest in AION 2?
Exploration is the easier version of an Expedition, with lower entry requirements and simpler boss mechanics. Conquest is the harder progression version, with higher Item Level requirements, more demanding mechanics and better rewards. Exploration pays bound Kinah, while Conquest pays unbound Kinah.
How many times can you run dungeons in AION 2?
It depends on the activity. Expeditions and Transcendence are mainly limited by Odyle Energy and the weekly reward counters, Daily Dungeons give you 14 shared attempts per server each week, Nightmare recharges 2 attempts per day, and Ascension Trial gives you 3 entries per week.
What is Odyle Energy used for in AION 2 dungeons?
Odyle Energy is spent to open the reward Cube after you clear activities such as Expeditions and Transcendence. Entering the dungeon itself does not normally cost Odyle Energy, so the real decision is whether you want to spend energy on that run’s loot. Every character has its own pool, and Nightmare does not use Odyle Energy at all.
What is the difference between Nightmare and Ascension Trial in AION 2?
They are two separate solo systems. Nightmare is a boss ladder with individual bosses and Challenge Levels, while Ascension Trial is a short solo dungeon with normal enemies, a final boss, difficulty tiers and a score-based reward system. Nightmare uses daily-recharging attempts and Phantasmal Fragments, while Ascension Trial uses three weekly entries.
Which Expedition should I run at 1,400 GS?
Vakron Sky Island on Conquest difficulty. At that Gear Score the community goes there, because the reward is much better compared with the Odyle Energy it costs than in the lower dungeons. Opening its Cube costs 40 Odyle Energy on Exploration, and the numbers can shift with patches, so check the Cube preview before you commit.
Why should I open the Cube after every clear?
Opening it is what spends your Odyle Energy, but it also protects your other counters. The Guaranteed Reward pity system only registers a try when the Cube is opened, and leaving a Conquest or Transcendence dungeon without opening it lowers your Remaining Unobtained Cube Count by one. If you do skip the Cube, do it on purpose, for example when you are helping a friend.