Defense Break Assassin passive skill · unlocks at level 21 · max level 40
Defense Break is an Assassin passive skill in AION 2 that unlocks at level 21 and can be raised to skill level 40.
Reduces the target's Defense by 12% and Status Effect Resist by 11% for 10s when landing an attack on a target afflicted with Stagger or an Impact-type status. Cooldown: 20s
- Class
- Assassin
- Type
- Passive skill
- Learned at
- Lv. 21
- Max level
- 40
- Cooldown
- None
What Defense Break does
The game's own tooltip at max level; drag the slider to see any level.
Reduces the target's Defense by 90% and Status Effect Resist by 50% for 10s when landing an attack on a target afflicted with Stagger or an Impact-type status. Cooldown: 20s
"+X% Attack" is the share of your Attack added to the base damage, so real damage depends on your gear.
- Damage type
- Physical
- Effect type
- Buff
Defense Break by level
Character level needed, cooldown, MP cost and points for each of the 40 levels.
| Level | Required Level | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lv. 21 | — |
| 2 | Lv. 21 | 1 |
| 3 | Lv. 21 | 1 |
| 4 | Lv. 21 | 1 |
| 5 | Lv. 21 | 2 |
| 6 | Lv. 21 | 2 |
| 7 | Lv. 21 | 2 |
| 8 | Lv. 21 | 4 |
| 9 | Lv. 21 | 4 |
| 10 | Lv. 21 | 4 |
| 11 | — | — |
| 12 | — | — |
| 13 | — | — |
| 14 | — | — |
| 15 | — | — |
| 16 | — | — |
| 17 | — | — |
| 18 | — | — |
| 19 | — | — |
| 20 | — | — |
| 21 | — | — |
| 22 | — | — |
| 23 | — | — |
| 24 | — | — |
| 25 | — | — |
| 26 | — | — |
| 27 | — | — |
| 28 | — | — |
| 29 | — | — |
| 30 | — | — |
| 31 | — | — |
| 32 | — | — |
| 33 | — | — |
| 34 | — | — |
| 35 | — | — |
| 36 | — | — |
| 37 | — | — |
| 38 | — | — |
| 39 | — | — |
| 40 | — | — |
★ = stigma points; other levels cost skill points.
Plan your Assassin Daevanion boards node by node
The Daevanion Planner adds up every stat and skill level as you pick nodes, saves your builds and shares them as a MetaBot.GG link.
- All 5 boards per class with live stat and skill totals
- Shift-click finds the cheapest route to any node
- Save builds and copy a link that opens on MetaBot.GG
Gear that can roll Defense Break
920 gear pieces and Arcana in 11 categories can roll Defense Break as a random skill option for the Assassin when soul-bound, up to Lv. 4.
| Category | Items | Chance | Max level | Highest item level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalice | 8 | 4.55% | Lv. 4 |  Chalice of Vigor |
| Mirror | 8 | 20% | Lv. 4 |  Mirror of Vigor |
| Shoes | 115 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Boots |
| Cloak | 115 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Cloak |
| Gloves | 115 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Gloves |
| Helm | 115 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Helm |
| Legs | 115 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Greaves |
| Pauldrons | 115 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Pauldrons |
| Top | 115 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Breastplate |
| Earrings | 50 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Earrings |
| Necklace | 49 | 10% | Lv. 1 |  Splendent Wise Dragon Lord Necklace |
Chance is the share of the class's skill option pool on one piece. Each category's highest item level piece is linked as an example.
Defense Break: used by top players
Share of tracked top players of each class (level 45, highest combat power) who use Defense Break.
Assassin Passive skill1,363 of 1,363avg. Lv. 13.2100%
Pick rates, not a strength rating. Recomputed every 6 hours from the characters MetaBot tracks.
Other Assassin skills of this type
| Skill | Unlocks |
|---|---|
 Heightened Sixth Sense | Lv. 1 |
 Exploit Weakness | Lv. 6 |
 Apply Poison | Lv. 9 |
 Rear Smite | Lv. 11 |
 Assault Stance | Lv. 13 |
 Impact Hit | Lv. 15 |
 Ambush Stance | Lv. 17 |
 Revitalization Contract | Lv. 23 |
 Determination | Lv. 25 |
Data read from the AION 2 global client (build 0.0.4387.0). Updated for the Nov 4, 2026 patch. How we read the game files
Defense Break is a passive skill for the Assassin, learned at level 21 and raised to level 40. Its cooldown is —s at level 1 and —s at max level. It has 0 specializations and 4 Daevanion nodes that add extra levels.
See Also
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Defense Break FAQ
What does Defense Break do in AION 2?
At level 1: Reduces the target's Defense by 12% and Status Effect Resist by 11% for 10s when landing an attack on a target afflicted with Stagger or an Impact-type status. Cooldown: 20s
When does the Assassin learn Defense Break?
At character level 21. It can then be raised to level 40.
How do I raise Defense Break above its max level?
Take its skill-level nodes on the Daevanion boards (Zikel, Vaizel, and Triniel). There are 4 such nodes for Defense Break.
Which gear can roll Defense Break?
920 gear pieces and Arcana can roll Defense Break as a random skill option, up to Lv. 4, mainly Chalice, Mirror, Shoes, and Cloak.