Aion 2 Progression Guide: Gear Score from Level 45 to 2,100

Hitting level 45 is where gear score, also called item level, starts to matter. It's what dungeons check at the door. Combat Power is how strong you actually are. This guide takes you through the five gear-score gates that follow, one bracket at a time.

Your first goal: reach 1,400 without spending Odyle Energy. Every step up to 1,400 below needs none. Save your Odyle for the 1,400 dungeons, where each claim pays far more, Kina included. It caps at 560 (840 with membership), so if it fills before you get there, spend what would overflow rather than waste it.

Your home region is Verteron if you're Elyos and Altgard if you're Asmodian. Every quest, sealed dungeon and Stronghold below is on the interactive map. Quest names link straight to their pin.

How to reach 1,000 gear score

1. Get your Spiritforged weapon

Progress the main story until Diverging Paths / Farewells gives you your Spiritforged weapon, Unique, base gear score 45. Take it straight to +10 in Enhancement (N). Every step up to +10 succeeds, and the whole climb costs 406,430 Kina and 16,195 Enhance Stones. The story also gives your Noble Belt and Revelation Amulet.

2. Fill every empty accessory and rune slot

An empty slot is the biggest gear-score gap you can have. Open your character sheet, note which slots are empty, and fill them from these regional quests first. Every accessory here is Epic. The item-level-43 pieces belong to the best quest set, Pilgrim / Liberator. The item-level-33 ones just hold the slot until you replace them after the main story.

Each Clash Rune Chest holds one rune (+40 gear score) and 9 Rune Enhance Scrolls. Equip both runes, enhance each to +1 in Enhancement (N), and stop there. From +2 on, a failed attempt destroys the rune.

Where a quest is part of a chain, start at the first quest. If you're partway through, pick it up where you are.

3. Belt and amulet to Epic

Enhance each from Rare +0 to +10 with 10 of its scrolls (232,000 Kina and 9,280 Enhance Stones), then use Substance Morph (Alt + H) to turn it into Epic +0. That's +23 gear score per item, +46 for both.

Stop at Epic +0 for now. You'll take both to Unique after 1,000.

• Belt scrolls: your region's 15 Strongholds give 2 each, 30 in all. The first 10 take the belt to Epic, and the next 10 take it to Unique after 1,000.
• Amulet scrolls: collect Empyrean Traces (feathers) and turn them in at your region's Monolith. Maxing it takes 187 feathers (560 points at 3 a pickup). Every feather is on the feather map. / The feather map shows the 187 gold feathers on our leveling route. Its levels pay 30 amulet scrolls in all, plus 12 Hidden Cube keys, Amplify Stone Fragments and deity stats. Monolith level 20 also awards Guardian of Verteron / Guardian of Altgard, which gives +3% PvE Damage Boost and +210 Penetration equipped, and +4 PvE Attack owned. Level 30, the last, awards Saint of Verteron / Saint of Altgard: Defense Bonus 300, Damage Tolerance 3% and Block 100 equipped, and +20 MP owned.

4. Spend your Daevanion Crystals

Use Daevanion Crystals from your Cube (I), then learn nodes in Daevanion (U). Each Daevanion Crystal gives 1 gear score once spent. Your regional quests and sealed dungeons hold more. Clear them in the next bracket. Wisdom Stones become skill points, which add no gear score but raise your skills.

Path toward the blue nodes that hold your main skills' upgrades first. Each one raises a skill by a level.

A skill's Specialty opens at skill levels 8, 12 and 16, and each level band comes from a different place:

Azphel, the PvP board, gets its crystals from the Abyss feathers after 1,000, each worth 1 gear score once spent.

5. Enhance the rest

Take every other piece to +5 and stop there, as we do. Each level is +1 gear score in the game data, but +5 to +10 costs about four times what +0 to +5 does, and your item-level-33 and 43 quest pieces get replaced later. The costs from the game's enhancement table, in Kina / Enhance Stones:

Each rune to +1 costs 5,000 Kina, 200 stones and 1 scroll.

Where your Kina goes furthest. In the game data, every enhancement level is +1 gear score and every upgrade costs 25 Kina per Enhance Stone, so one number ranks them all. Gear score per million Kina:

Quest gear here is item level 33 to 45, the Spiritforged weapon and guard included; crafted and dungeon gear is 62 to 86. Substance Morph fees aren't counted.

How to reach 1,400 gear score

This bracket is the Abyss, a Unique belt and amulet, and every Daevanion Crystal you can reach.

1. Finish the main story and take your guard to +10

Your Spiritforged Guard is the reward for the last main story quest, Draupnir / Forgotten Commander, which ends in the Abyss. The Abyss opens at 1,000. Take the Abyss Portal in Verteron's Garden of the Illusion God / Altgard's Black Claw Village to your faction's base and hand the quest to Koro, a Shugo of the Black Cloud Merchants. The guard is Unique, base gear score 45. Take it to +10 (406,430 Kina and 16,195 Enhance Stones). Finishing it also opens the rest of your regional quests and your level-45 Ascension quest. It ends Episode 6 of the story too, which earns the title Encountering Kaisinel's Core / Encountering Zikel's Core: HP Potion Recovery 400, Move Speed 3% and HP 900 equipped, and +120 HP owned.

2. Finish the Pilgrim / Liberator set

Finishing the main story opens the rest of the item-level-43 set. Each piece replaces an item-level-33 one from step 2 of the first bracket. Take them to +5 at most (78,980 Kina and 3,155 Enhance Stones each), since crafted and dungeon accessories replace them later.

3. Belt and amulet to Unique

Take each from Epic +0 to +10 with 10 more of its scrolls, then morph it to Unique +0 and stop there. That's +29 gear score per item, +58 for both.

Per item, Epic +0 to +10 costs 1,579,000 Kina and 63,060 Enhance Stones.

Short on Enhance Stones? Raid the other faction's region through a Spacetime Rift. A rift opens every 3 hours (server time; hover the clock on your map) and stays open only a few minutes. Look for the purple swirl on your map. Inside you have an hour, and guards around the angel icons on your minimap kill you at once. The enemy region's 61 sealed dungeons give 152,500 Enhance Stones and 61,000 Abyss Points in all, and its 15 Strongholds 45,000 Abyss Points.

4. Clear your regional quests and sealed dungeons

The rest of your home region's regional quests and its sealed dungeons give Daevanion Crystals, each 1 gear score once spent. This interactive map / interactive map shows only those two, so you can see what is left.

• Regional quests: 58 per region, 1 Daevanion Crystal and 1 Wisdom Stone each, so +58 gear score in all. The last of them open with the main story, among them two more Clash Rune Chests for spare runes and scrolls:
  • Elyos: Forging a New Path (Eastern Tolbas Forest), then All Work and No Play; and Kraka Pond Pests.
  • Asmodian: An Invitation to the Past: Part 1 (Nornir Assembly), then Part 2, then Another Survivor; and Fallout.
• Sealed dungeons: 61 per region, 2 Daevanion Crystals and 2 Wisdom Stones each, so +122 gear score in all. Clear Distorted Cave / Lost Ruin first, since later dungeons are locked behind it. Clearing the Ruins of the Ancient City of Roah also earns the title Through Hell and Back: Cooldown Reduction 3%, HP 900 and Stamina 225 equipped, and +10 Block owned.

5. Collect the Abyss feathers

The Abyss has 200 Empyrean Traces open today, all in Lower Reshanta. It's open PvP, so expect an enemy camping a feather to ambush you when you least expect it, and plan on a few visits. Turn them in at the Monolith in your Abyss hub. Collecting all 200 takes it to level 16 of 20, for 36 Azphel Daevanion Crystals, 26 Unique Amplify Stone Fragments, PvP stats and the title Guardian of Ereshkigal (+4 PvP Attack owned). Each Azphel crystal is 1 gear score once spent on the Azphel board, so +36. Levels 17 to 20 need 300 traces in all, so they and level 20's title, Saint of Ereshkigal, wait for Middle Reshanta, which isn't open yet.

6. Fill every socket

Every stone you engrave adds a stat line, and the line's colour sets its gear score: gray +1, green +2, blue +3, yellow +4. Which stat it rolls doesn't matter for gear score, so cheap Lesser Manastones and Lesser Soulstones do the job.

• Weapon and guard: 4 Manastone sockets each.
• Armour: 3 Manastone sockets per piece.
• Accessories: 3 Soulstone sockets per piece.

Aim for at least two gray lines and a green on every piece (+4), and swap in better stones as you get them.

7. Buy out the crystal shops

Two shops sell 50 Daevanion Crystals each, +100 gear score once spent. You may not have the currency for all 100 yet, but every crystal you buy is +1. Both shops are in the main menu.

Nightmare: Season → Nightmare → Trade Shop → Growth. Each crystal costs 300 Phantasmal Fragments, 15,000 for all 50.

Shugo Festival: Content → Shugo Festival → Festival Shop → Consumables. The price rises in four steps (10 crystals at 50 Centuryroot Tokens, 10 at 100, 15 at 200 and 15 at 400), 10,500 for all 50. The same tab sells 3 Radiant Odyle a month, which your crafts need later.

Both shops also sell Stigma Shards, and Abyss Points buy them too. Get them for the Stigmas your build uses.

Still short of 1,400? If you followed this guide, you won't be. Look back for a step you skipped.

How to reach 1,600 gear score

At 1,400, Vakron Sky Island and Urugugu Canyon open. Their gear is item level 70. Vakron pays armour and the guard, Urugugu Canyon weapons and accessories. From here, spend your Odyle Energy on them, 40 per reward claim.

1. Claim Vakron Exploration 3 times

Three claims give one armour piece of your choice. The Guaranteed Reward fills with each claim. Take your pick before your next run, because a waiting pick blocks the dungeon.

2. Farm Conquest in both

Each pays a pick every 21 claims, either a piece or a Gear Change Voucher. Vouchers turn a dungeon weapon into the class weapon you want, and two Vakron vouchers make a Vakron Guard. Conquest also drops the Wrathful Mind your crafts need.

3. Craft True / Star Dragon Lord accessories

These are Unique, item level 62, made in Crafting (Alt + G) under Handicrafting. Craft the ring first. Rings are the accessory slot that adds Active skill levels, and the ring is the cheapest recipe. Upcrafting later carries the piece's enhancement forward.

• Splendent pieces come from lucky crafts of the Artisan's recipes.
• Enhanced Thick Balaur Scales are a Handicrafting recipe of their own, at the top of the list.
• Wrathful Mind comes only from Conquest, or a trade with another player.
• Artisan's Ultimate Refining Stones come from Conquest and Shugo Festival games.
• Gemstones and Odyle come from gathering. Turn on Gathering on the interactive map to find the nodes. The Shugo Festival shop also sells 3 Radiant Odyle a month.

Each recipe names the Handicrafting mastery it needs. The base success rate is 67.5%, and a failed craft still uses its materials.

4. Upcraft and finish the bracket

• Upcraft your accessories, then craft your weapon.
• Take both bracelets to +10.
• Start your wing hunt. Conquest drops sealed wings, which you morph with Radiant Odyle.

How to reach 1,900 gear score

Transcendence stage 1 opens two dungeons, each with a different card pool:

• Deus Research Base: Chalice, Bell, Compass
• Shattered Arkanis: Chalice, Mirror, Parchment

Between them they cover all five Arcana slots. Each card adds gear score by grade:

Each card level adds 1 more. Stage 1 drops Common and Rare cards. Fill all five slots first, register and equip each card, and feed spares to the ones you keep. Look for skill lines that take your main skills toward level 16, and for matching two-piece set bonuses.

Craft the Chalice first. Crafting a card (Transmute, with Mysterious Crystals from extracted cards) lets you choose some of its lines. The Chalice is the only card that can roll any of your Active or Passive skills; Parchment and Compass each roll from half your Active skills, and Bell and Mirror from half your Passive skills.

How to reach 2,100 gear score

From 1,900: replace your Arcana cards and refine what you keep.

1. Run Transcendence stage 2, which adds Epic cards. Swapping a Common (20) for an Epic (60) adds +40; all five add +200.
2. Level your keeper cards.
3. Upgrade stat lines. A gray line rerolled to yellow gains +3. Soul Binding rerolls or adds lines.
4. Amp your keepers. Once a Unique weapon or guard reaches +15, Amplified Enhance raises it further. Weapon and guard first, armour last.
5. Add Theostones to your weapon for proc effects.

At 2,100: Horn Den and Fire Temple

Their gear is item level 86. Ferocious Horn Den pays armour and the guard, the Fire Temple weapons and accessories. Horn Den Exploration gives one armour pick after 3 claims, and Conquest pays a pick every 28 claims. Next come Transcendence stages 3 and 4 at 2,200 and 2,500, then the Ludra raid at 2,800. NC has pulled Ludra from the full launch while it reworks the fight, and will announce its return date by 16 October 2026.

Combat Power: what gear score doesn't show

Combat Power (CP) is your character's true strength metric calculated from actual stats, while Gear Score (item level) is a separate entry barrier required to enter dungeons. The badge under your level shows one or the other, and the ⇆ beside it switches between them.

Everything below raises your Combat Power without moving gear score. Work on it alongside every bracket.

Pet Genus. The biggest of these. Every pet you collect feeds its Genus. Souls beyond a pet's cap become Soul Crystals, and each Hidden Cube you open gives 1,000 more. Five Genus boards (Cogni, Fera, Natura, Varian, Special) each reach Insight 10, and slot 4 can roll up to 4% PvE Damage Boost. All five at 10 earn Unbound by Genus, worth 4.5% PvE Damage Boost, 34 Attack Bonus and 68 Critical Hit equipped, plus 1% PvE Damage Boost owned.

Pets come from souls. Kill a pet's monster until it drops 5 souls to unlock it. Each pet's own stats are small. A Cogni pet such as Kuru Worker, Kerubar or Dratona adds +30 HP, +2 Critical Hit and +1 Might at Insight 3. See where to farm each pet on the map, and pick one to see its spawns.

Wings. Every stat wing you own adds its owned bonus, and the pair you wear adds its equipped effect. Forest Spirit gives 30 Boss Attack, 20 Accuracy and 1% Damage Tolerance just for owning it. Conquest bosses drop sealed wings at about 1.25% per claim, roughly one in 80 claims.

Titles. Equip your best stat title (Guardian of Verteron / Guardian of Altgard first) separately from your display title. Owned effects apply from every title you've earned.

Pantheon. Statues, artworks and colossi add deity stats, worth 0.1% to their linked effect per point. Unlocking all 61 home teleport points awards Statue: Kibelisk (+10 Freedom, +10 Space).

Closet. Registering new appearances builds Closet collections, including weapon-category damage bonuses.

Legion. An active Legion adds small member stats as it levels.

Consumables for hard fights. Power Shards (+5% attack damage while active), Courage Scroll (10% Combat Speed for 300 seconds), Battle Enhance Scroll (10% Damage Boost and Tolerance for 300 seconds) and your faction's crafted food.

Daily and weekly

• Daily: 5 Daily Duties, 2 Nightmare attempts, 3 Shugo Festival keys. Odyle regenerates 15 every 3 hours, enough for three claims a day. From 1,400 gear score, spend it on the newest dungeon you can enter. It caps at 560, or 840 with membership.
• Weekly: Ascension Trial (3 attempts), daily dungeon (14 entries), Odyle Energy morphs (4 per character), and Ludra's rewarded kill once it returns.
• Before they expire: launch rewards need a login before 1 December 2026. Twitch Drops viewing ends 16 October, and drops must be claimed by 30 October.

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Sources: Global client data (launcher version 26, read 5–6 October 2026) for quest rewards, item levels, enhancement costs, Monolith levels and rewards, shop prices, dungeon reward pools, Arcana card values and the enemy region's rewards, spot-checked against NC's item database. Checked in game on our own characters: every screenshot here, the Abyss Monolith at 200 feathers and the socket counts. NC: the Ludra notice, Launch Rewards and Twitch Drops. Other guides: aion2maps on What to do at 45, Progression path, Crafting, Arcana, Special slots, Enhancement, Daevanion, Genus, Wings, Pantheon and Daily and weekly; wikily.gg on Wrathful Mind and Artisan's Ultimate Refining Stone; gamers4.life on Handicrafting mastery; Corpus on the Guardian title. Creator advice: the 1,000 to 1,400 route follows Duky's How To Get To 1400 Item Level in AION 2, and crafting the Chalice first comes from TheWhelps' 1400 To 2100 Guide. The Amplified Enhance and Theostone steps follow aion2maps and aren't yet checked in the client. Our calls, judged on the Kina table: the +5 cap on quest gear, the belt and amulet to Epic before 1,000 and Unique +0 after, the ring first, and no Odyle before 1,400.