AION 2 Gear Progression Guide: Item Level and Best Gear

AION 2 gear progression stops being about your character level surprisingly early. Every piece of Unique gear from item level 54 upward asks for level 45, which is also the launch cap, so once you hit 45 the only number that moves is item level. This guide maps where each band of gear comes from in the global client: quest and field drops while leveling, the crafted Orichalcum and Dragon Lord lines, Expedition dungeon sets, the Abyss sets, and the item level 102 ceiling.

It does not repeat enhancement odds. Our gear enhancement guide covers the +15 rates, Amplified Enhancement and Potential. This one answers the earlier question: which piece should be in each slot, and where do you go to get the next one? Every grade below uses the names the English client shows, so Epic sits below Unique and Heroic sits above it.

AION 2 gear grades and item level by grade

Grade sets the ceiling of a piece: how far it enhances, how many Manastone slots it has, and whether it can take a Theostone or be Soul Bound. Item level sets its stats and enhancement price within that grade. The bands overlap, which matters more than people think: a Rare item level 35 piece is not better than an Epic item level 33 one just because its number is higher, since the Epic has an extra Manastone slot and twice the enhancement cap.

Two exceptions to the caps: amulets and belts enhance to +10 at every grade and have no Manastone slots, and the Clash Rune is a Special-grade item with its own track. Browse every piece by slot in the weapons, armor and accessories lists, or the full item database.

Every gear slot in AION 2

The equipment window has 20 visible slots, and the client opens all of them from the start: no slot is locked behind a level or quest. Here is the full list with what fills it.

Arcana cards sit outside these 20 slots but count toward your total. The client's own tip says "Equipping Arcana increases your item level", so a fresh card from Transcendence content can push your total past a dungeon gate just like a new breastplate. Our Arcana guide covers how to get them.

The order of AION 2 gear progression

This is the path the item table lays out, from the first quest reward to the item level 102 ceiling. Equip levels come from each item's own requirement.

1. Levels 1 to 20
   Common and Rare starter gear

   Starter pieces such as the Worn Greatsword, then quest rewards and field drops. Rare pieces start at item level 9. Do not spend Enhance Stones past the free levels here.

2. Levels 20 to 30
   Epic field gear

   Epic gear arrives at item level 23 (equip level 20) and 28 (level 25), from quests, field monsters and field events. Exploration runs of Krao Cave add an item level 25 Epic set.

3. Levels 30 to 40
   First Unique pieces

   Unique gear starts at item level 36 with the Wisdom Greatsword line at level 30, then item level 41 at level 35. Fire Temple Exploration hands out the item level 43 Kromede set.

4. Level 40
   Named elite sets

   Item level 46 sets drop from named elites: High Commander Lagta, Silent Dartan and Soul Ruler Kashapa in the home maps, and the Fallen Ancient God set in Chaotic Lower Reshanta.

5. Level 45
   Expedition Conquest gear

   Conquest unlocks at level 45 "if your item level meets the requirement". Krao Cave and Draupnir drop Unique item level 54, Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island 70, Fire Temple and Ferocious Horn Den 86.

6. Endgame
   Crafted Dragon Lord and Ludra

   The Dragon Lord crafts run from item level 62 to 102, and the Abyssal Forge: Ludra raid drops item level 54 to 102. At 102 you are at the current ceiling.

If you are still leveling, our leveling guide lines up the zones. The rest of this guide walks through each source in detail.

Leveling gear: quests and field drops

Most of your gear before 45 comes from two places: quest rewards and named monsters in the home maps. You will replace it fast, so the rule is simple. Equip the highest grade you can wear, take free enhancement levels, and do not engrave good Manastones on it.

• Unique at level 30: item level 36 Unique sets, such as the Wisdom Greatsword and its class equivalents, drop from named level 45 monsters across Verteron and Altgard, for example Kusan the Mad Gladiator, and come from quest rewards.
• Item level 41 at level 35: the Holy Spirit Greatsword line drops from the same named monsters. Its Abyss twin, the Courage Greatsword line, drops from Abyss monsters in Chaotic Lower Reshanta.
• A quest Unique at 45: the Spiritforged Greatsword and its class versions are item level 45 Unique rewards from Diverging Paths, an Elyos Hero quest recommended at level 45.
• Item level 46 at level 40: each named elite drops its own set. High Commander Lagta, Silent Dartan and Soul Ruler Kashapa (level 48) drop armor and accessory sets named after them, like the High Commander Lagta Breastplate.

Crafted gear: from Orichalcum to Dragon Lord

Crafted gear is one long upgrade chain, and each step consumes the previous item. The twist is the great success roll. Every gear recipe in the chain has a 25% chance to produce the "Splendent" version instead of the normal one, and the Splendent piece is a full grade or tier higher. Several steps require the Splendent item as an ingredient.

Asmodians craft the same tiers under different names: Star, Dark and Ebony Dragon Lord instead of True, White and Wise. A missed great success is not the end. The client also has upgrade recipes that turn a regular Dragon Lord piece into its Splendent version: a True Dragon Lord Greatsword becomes the Splendent one for 11 Fine Thick Balaur Horn and 4 Wrathful Mind.

One more reason crafting matters at the top: at item level 102, the raid only drops weapons and a guard. Every item level 102 armor piece and accessory in the global client is a Splendent Wise or Ebony Dragon Lord craft.

Dungeon gear: Exploration vs Conquest drops

Expedition dungeons are the backbone of level 45 gearing, and the two difficulties are not equal. In three of the six classic dungeons, the Easy Exploration mode drops a lower tier than Normal Conquest. In the other three, both modes share one loot table. This comes straight from each difficulty's loot list.

So Draupnir, Vakron Sky Island and Ferocious Horn Den are the ones to run on Exploration if you want their Unique tier before you clear Conquest. For caps and weekly counts, see the dungeon guide.

Bad luck protection: Gear Change Vouchers

Each of those final bosses also drops a Gear Change Voucher, and vouchers turn into gear at the Substance Morph station. Draupnir, Vakron and Ferocious Horn Den vouchers become a Unique guard (1, 2 or 3 vouchers plus 1, 1.5 or 2 million Kinah) or an armor selection chest (1 voucher plus 500,000 Kinah). Krao Cave, Urugugu Canyon and Fire Temple vouchers become an accessory selection chest for 1 voucher plus 500,000 Kinah, or swap a Unique weapon from that dungeon for a weapon selection chest.

The guards are the reason to care. The Bakarma Guard (item level 54), Vakron Guard (70) and Nuakum Guard (86) drop in Draupnir, Vakron Sky Island and Ferocious Horn Den on either difficulty and in the Ludra raid, but a voucher conversion guarantees one. If you use a guard, save those vouchers instead of rolling the dice on one more run.

Abyss gear: sets from Reshanta

The Abyss has its own gear lines, and most of them drop from monsters in Chaotic Lower Reshanta rather than from a vendor. None of them are sold in the Abyss shop. They are Unique gear you can wear while leveling, and they sit alongside the home-map sets at the same item levels.

• Item level 41: the Courage set drops from regular Abyss monsters such as the Abyss Krall packs (level 45 and 46).
• Item level 46: the Fallen Ancient God Greatsword and the rest of its set drop from level 65 named Abyss monsters such as Watcher Kaira, Executor Kaira and Argo, the Spirit King.
• Item level 56: the Kaira set (helm, pauldrons, greaves, gloves, boots, cloak, necklace, earrings and ring, like the Kaira Helm) drops only from Watcher Kaira and Executor Kaira, and the same two drop the item level 62 Kaira Breastplate.
• Item level 86: the Abyssal Claymore line drops in the Ludra raid, and the Abyssal Bracelet comes from the raid or from 3 Ludra Gear Vouchers plus 5 million Kinah.

The Abyss is also where you earn the Abyss Points that pay for Potential, the always-successful PvP track on Unique gear. Plan your hours with our Abyss PvP guide.

Raid gear: item level 102 from Ludra

Abyssal Forge: Ludra is the one raid with a full loot table in the client. Its drops span every Unique tier, 54, 70, 86 and 102, plus Epic item level 40 to 45. The item level 102 drops are the Ludra weapons, Ludra's Blade of Extinction, the Heavenbound Staff and their siblings for each class, plus Ludra's Heart as the guard. Eternal Ludra also drops Ludra Gear Vouchers, and the Substance Morph recipe lets you trade a Ludra weapon plus 2 vouchers and 10 million Kinah for a weapon selection chest, which is how you fix a drop for the wrong class.

Amulet and belt: upgrade, never replace

The amulet and belt work differently from every other slot. You get a Rare version early, and you climb grades by feeding it into Substance Morph at +10. Each conversion recipe asks for the previous piece enhanced to +10 and is limited to once per character.

A PvP twin, the Fierce Battle Amulet, follows the same ladder on its own enhancement track. Amulet and belt enhancement always succeeds but needs scrolls, so treat them as a steady side project rather than a gamble.

How to increase item level fast

• Replace your lowest item level piece first: total item level is what dungeon gates check, so a 46 to 54 swap on a weak slot beats polishing your best slot.
• Run Draupnir, Vakron Sky Island and Ferocious Horn Den on Exploration for their Unique tier before Conquest opens.
• Equip Arcana: the client confirms it adds to your item level.
• Spend Gear Change Vouchers on missing slots, especially guards, which only come from Substance Morph.
• Craft one Dragon Lord tier ahead of your drops, and upgrade it rather than starting over so enhancement carries over.
• Feed your amulet and belt through Substance Morph at +10 as soon as you can.
• Save Superior Manastones and Potential for item level 86 and 102 gear you will actually keep.

Soul Binding and Gear Transfer on Unique gear

Two more systems decide how long a Unique piece stays useful. Soul Binding only exists on Unique gear. It unlocks the item's random stats ("Soul Binding is required to unlock effects"), rolls 3 to 5 random stats depending on the item, and makes the item untradeable. Each binding step costs Kinah plus Soul Codex: on Unique gear the table starts at 30,000 Kinah and 10 Soul Codex and climbs to 632,000 Kinah and 102 at its tenth step. Rebinding costs 300,000 Kinah and 3 Soul Codex: Reset.

Gear Transfer uses a Transfer Stone (Unique) to move one item's power to another Unique piece. The client only allows Soul Bound gear as transfer material, and it warns that higher grade gear cannot be transferred to lower grade gear. Combined with the crafting upgrades above, this is how you move from item level 86 to 102 without throwing away a +15 weapon.