AION 2 PvE guides

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Gladiator

Updated Nov 7, 2026

The Gladiator is a front-line melee damage dealer that also buffs the party: Rage Burst opens an Overhead Slam burst loop, and a well-timed Focused Block gives the whole party a damage buff. Push Overhead Slam and Rending Blow to 20, Ruinous Blow to 16–20, and keep the macro held. Data: about 7,000 top Korean Gladiators (AION2CAL, Oct 6–10), the global client's tooltips (build 0.0.4387.0), global guides dated Oct 4–10 and Korea's official notes through Oct 14.

At a glance

  1. Big three: Overhead Slam and Rending Blow to 20, Ruinous Blow to 16–20. Skill points stop at rank 10, so rank 16 comes from Daevanion (+4) plus ring lines and Arcana.
  2. Overhead Slam rank 16 removes its cooldown. Before that, use it only inside Rage Burst windows or you waste its cooldown.
  3. Macro: Rage Burst, Overhead Slam, Rending Blow, with 10 ms between steps, and Keen Strike held on left mouse. Press Ruinous Blow by hand on cooldown.
  4. Stigmas: Rage Burst, Focused Block, Lunge Stance, Zikel's Blessing. Rage Burst and Focused Block to 5, Lunge Stance to 20.
  5. Stay in front of the boss and block its first attack with Focused Block. A block triggers Experienced Counterstrike, a 20 s party damage buff.
  6. Passives: Attack Preparation, Experienced Counterstrike, Murderous Burst, Impact Hit.
  7. Daevanion: blue nodes for the big three, then the orange corners. Skip Evasion, Multi-hit Resist, Crit Resist, MP and Sword Aura Rampage nodes.
  8. Gear: Weapon Damage Boost, Might and Combat Speed on weapon and guard; hunt Experienced Counterstrike, Murderous Burst and Attack Preparation on armor and jewelry.
  9. Spend what is closest to its cap first: Shugo keys (3 a day, cap 12) and Odyle Energy.
  10. Use only the game's built-in macro. Mouse macros and third-party tools get accounts banned.

Where the Gladiator stands

  • Damage (Korean meter, Oct 6): median 838K for all players (4th of 9 classes), 889K at 400K+ combat power (4th) and 1.21M at 600K+ (5th, behind Assassin 1.47M, Ranger 1.36M, Spiritmaster 1.26M and Templar 1.24M). It scales with gear and does best in longer fights and multi-target pulls.
  • Role: a blocking Gladiator gives the party a 20 s damage buff (it doesn't stack with a Templar's Fury, per the client tooltip), and Rage Burst and Zikel's Blessing are self-buffs to line up with boss bursts.
  • Global standing (Oct 11): shugo.gg rates it B, near the bottom of both global damage meters, with a small party bonus on block. MeinMMO rates it A but says it often ranks outside the top positions against single bosses. The Korean brackets above use Korean combat power (the top-80 Korean median is about 1.12M against 268K on global), so read them as a ranking.
  • Global Combat Power (Nov 7): the global Gladiator median is 131K (metabot, Nov 4); the top global Gladiator had 289,514 CP at item level 3,629 (official armory).
  • Battlefield Might (Korea, Sep 23): replaces Experienced Counterstrike, Undefeated Mantra, Light of Protection, Power of the Storm and Earth's Blessing in Abyss boss fights, Rift Zone and Rift Domination. Global timing is unknown.

Current patch: what has changed

Global: the Oct 5 launch, Oct 6–7 and Oct 14 patches list no Gladiator changes. The global client already has the Aug 26 balance. Korea's Oct 7 patch raised skill presets from 3 to 5; global timing is unknown. The Oct 21 patch (Oct 20 PDT) lists no Gladiator changes. It added Krao Cave and Draupnir on Hard (2,600 item level) and a new Ariel Daevanion board (see Gear score milestones), raised the Abyss player cap and Abyss boss HP, and fixed title effects that didn't match their tooltips. The Oct 28 patch (Oct 27 PDT) raised the Gladiator's base HP at 45 from 4,702 to 6,202, cut boss Attack and HP in Expedition and Transcendence, added Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island on Hard (2,700) and raised crafted gear's Amplify caps. The Nov 4 patch (Nov 3 PST) opened Abyssal Forge: Ludra, made Draupnir, Vakron and Horn Den Exploration pay like Conquest, added always-succeed True and Star Dragon recipes, pet souls from Expedition and Transcendence, and Chaotic Outer Reshanta (PvP with equalised stats); no class changes.

DateKorean change
Aug 12Lunge Stance's −20% MP cost removed. Rending Blow's cancel point 1st → 2nd hit. Ruinous Blow cooldown 30 s → 45 s, Prepare for Battle 5 s → 20 s. Keen Strike family (Keen, Rupture, Wrathful and Reckless Strike) +3% PvE. Blade Toss's healing reduction 30% → 50%.
Aug 19Ruinous Blow became a basic AoE skill (stagger 15 → 25) with +30% skill crit as its 3rd option. Overhead Slam became a two-hit attack.
Aug 26Experienced Counterstrike's PvE damage roughly halved (17/24/31% → 9/13/17%). Keen Strike chain +20% PvE. Overhead Slam lifesteal 2% → 0.7%. A minimum cancel time was added to every skill.
Sep 2 – Oct 7Bug fixes only (Leaping Slam, Ruinous Blow and Ankle Slice no longer fire while restrained; Fracturing Rush follows your input direction).
Oct 14RvR melee overhaul, mostly PvP: PvP damage about −30%; Assault Strike grants up to +80% Defense and attribute tolerance for 5 s; Focused Block recasts 0.3 s faster after a successful block. Assault skills also lose their recast-reduction effect.

Level-by-level checklist

Follow the yellow main-story quests to 45; they pay 97–99% of the EXP. Each sealed dungeon clear also gives 2 Daevanion points, 2 skill points, 15,000 Kinah and 1,250 Enhance Stones. Levels 30–39 are slow, so fill the gap with sealed dungeons.

The last column is the highest rank you can buy by the end of each band. A skill learned by level 17 gains a rank every 3 levels (rank 8 at unlock level + 18, rank 10 at + 24); skills learned at 21 or later have no gate.

LevelsUnlocksDo thisRanks you can buy
1–5Keen Strike, Rending Blow, Leaping Slam, Survival Stance (1); Mocking Blade (3); Overhead Slam (4); Sword Aura Rampage (5); Lesser Daeva Wings quest (5)Story only. Hold Keen Strike for MP, spam Rending BlowRending Blow and Keen Strike to 3–4; Overhead Slam as it appears
6–10Protection Armor (6); Ankle Slice (7); Crushing Wave (8); Blood Absorption (9); Rush Strike (10)Move to Verteron or Altgard. First sealed dungeons. Grab every KiskRending Blow and Keen Strike to 5
11–15Identify Weakness (11); Aerial Snare (12); Nezekan board (12); Attack Preparation (13); Ruinous Blow (14); Impact Hit (15)Spend Daevanion points right away. Green quests and level-15 sealed dungeonsAttack Preparation and Identify Weakness first
16–20Defiance (16); Destructive Impulse (17); Zikel board (20)Amulet to +10 around 17, weapon to +10Rending Blow and Keen Strike rank 8 at 19 (mobile pick)
21–25Experienced Counterstrike (21); Stigma slot 1 (22); Survival Willpower (23); Murderous Burst (25)Slot Rage Burst. Sealed dungeons. First runeOverhead Slam 8 at 22; Experienced Counterstrike and Murderous Burst at once (no gate); Rending Blow 10 at 25
26–30Stigma slot 2 (27); Vaizel board (30); Daily Dungeon (30)Slot Focused Block; start blocking boss openersOverhead Slam 10 at 28; Crushing Wave 8 at 26
31–35Stigma slot 3 (32)Slot Lunge StanceRuinous Blow 8 at 32; Attack Preparation 8 at 31
36–40Stigma slot 4 (37); Triniel board (40)Slot Zikel's Blessing (bosses and elites). Second runeRuinous Blow 10 at 38; Attack Preparation 10 at 37
41–45Azphel board (45, PvP); endgame content (45)Finish Episode and Ascension quests. Craft ringsDaevanion takes the big three to 14. Rank 16 needs rings and Arcana

Leveling extras: don't open the Journal Duty tab before level 45 (a launch bug delays Duty content until the day after you reach 45); collect 40 feathers early (120 shards) for an amulet upgrade; clear hideouts at levels 15, 20 and 25; one point in Defiance is enough while leveling; at the cap, do the Shugo activities and a map sweep.

After 45, in order:

  1. Regional quests (accessory and rune slots).
  2. Every remaining sealed dungeon.
  3. Strongholds (Noble Belt scrolls).
  4. Conquest, gated by total item level: Krao Cave and Draupnir at 700, Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island at 1,400, Fire Temple and Ferocious Horn Den at 2,100. Run the highest you qualify for.
  5. Transcendence from item level 1,600 (stages to 2,500) for Arcana; see Transcendence dungeons for which one to farm.
  6. Nightmare (Pantheon fragments) and Abyss (stigma shards, Daevanion resources).
  7. The Ludra raid (Abyssal Forge: Ludra, open since Nov 4) needs 2,800 item level for Normal and 3,000 for Hard; until then, the top steps are Krao Cave and Draupnir on Hard (2,600) and Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island on Hard (2,700).

How skills level up (and how to reach 16)

Skill points only buy ranks 1–10 (13 points to rank 8, 21 to rank 10). Everything above comes from the sources below.

SourceAddsNote
Skill pointsRanks 1–10About 203 by level 45, +2 per home sealed dungeon, about 384 in total.
Character-level gatePaceSkills learned by level 17 gain a rank every 3 levels (rank 8 at unlock level + 18, rank 10 at + 24). Skills learned at 21 or later have no gate.
Daevanion skill nodes+1 per board, +4 maxNezekan, Zikel, Vaizel and Triniel; 3 points per active.
Gear skill lines+1 per lineWeapon, guard and both rings roll active-skill lines; necklace, earrings and armor roll passives; bracelets none. One line per skill per item, up to 4 skill lines per item, so gear can add +4 to one active. Rings are the cheapest place, since weapon and guard lines go to Weapon Damage Boost, Might and Combat Speed. About 20% of rolls are skill lines (Korean odds).
Arcana linesUp to +4 per lineEvery card carries skill lines: Chalice (any of 22 skills), Parchment and Compass (6 actives each), Bell and Mirror (5 passives each). A card has 1 to 4 options by grade, each starting at +1, and each enhancement adds +1 to a random one (max +4), so a Chalice plus the matching card can put +8 on one skill; a 1-option Common can beat a Unique for a core skill.
Stigma ShardsStigma ranksStigmas level to 20 on global. A rank costs 1, 2, 4 then 8 shards by 5-rank band (5 / 15 / 35 / 75 in total at rank 5 / 10 / 15 / 20). Leveling gives about 29 by level 45, so take each stigma to 5 first, then your main one to 10.

Daevanion alone reaches 14, never 16. Rank 16 needs two more levels from rings or Arcana. No global skill cap is published (client tables run to 40): the theoretical ceiling for an active is 10 points + 4 Daevanion + 4 gear + 8 Arcana = 26, and the Ariel board adds no ranks. Top global players average 14–17 on their main skills.

Rank 16 adds only part of the damage listed here (the "+% Attack" part doesn't grow). Its real value is the specializations, such as cooldown removal and ignoring Block.

SkillRank 10Rank 14Rank 16Rank 20
Overhead Slam1,2661,732 (+37%)1,928 (+52%)2,272 (+79%)
Rending Blow538777 (+44%)855 (+59%)1,022 (+90%)
Ruinous Blow7,2968,950 (+23%)9,570 (+31%)10,810 (+48%)
Crushing Wave1,0011,237 (+24%)1,363 (+36%)1,552 (+55%)
Mocking Blade1,5042,058 (+37%)2,291 (+52%)2,700 (+80%)

Priority:

  1. Skill nodes for core skills on every board (12 points per active for +4).
  2. Core skill lines on both rings.
  3. Chalice and Parchment lines on a core skill short of 16.
  4. Stop at rank 8 on skills where you only want one specialization.
  5. Treat 12 and 16 as breakpoints; 13 or 15 isn't worth chasing.

Point budget. Maxing every active and passive to rank 10 costs about 460, so spend in this order (cheap early ranks first, ranks 9–10 last):

SpendPointsRunning total
1. Overhead Slam, Rending Blow and Ruinous Blow to 83939
2. Attack Preparation, Experienced Counterstrike, Murderous Burst and Impact Hit to 85291
3. Overhead Slam, Rending Blow and Ruinous Blow 8 → 1024115
4. Crushing Wave to 813128
5. Leaping Slam and Rush Strike to 826154
6. Keen Strike to 813167
7. Attack Preparation and Experienced Counterstrike 8 → 1016183
8. Ankle Slice to 813196
9. Mocking Blade and Defiance to 826222

Rows 1–8 fit inside the 203 points from levels alone; the rest come from sealed-dungeon and regional-quest points.

Active skills

The last column is the share of top Korean Gladiators with the skill at that rank.

Gladiator active skills in upgrade priority order, with icons and target levels
PrioritySkillTargetCooldownTop players
1Overhead Slam205 s91% at 20
2Rending Blow20none80% at 20
3Ruinous Blow (opener and buff)16–2045 s72% at 20
4Crushing Wave (AoE; Ulf cut it to rank 1 on Nov 2, and only 2 of 8 top builds slot it)1620 s88% at 16
5Leaping Slam (gap closer, 20 m)12–1615 s56% at 16
6Rush Strike (gap closer)12–1620 s47% at 16
7Keen Strike (basic attack, MP)12none89% at 12
8Ankle Slice1210 s89% at 12
9Mocking Blade1220 s89% at 12
10Defiance (stun break; fires with Space)1260 s78% at 12
11Sword Aura Rampageoptionalnone65% at 12
XAerial Snareskip45 slow

Leveling order: Rending Blow and Keen Strike first, then Overhead Slam, Crushing Wave and Rush Strike. English guides stop Keen Strike once Rending Blow's MP restore works; Korean top players keep it at 12.

Specializations

You have three slots, which open at rank 8, 12 and 20. Each option has its own minimum rank (8, 12 or 16), so at rank 16 you fill two slots from options up to 16.

SkillPick order (minimum rank)Note
Overhead SlamUpward Strike chain (8), Critical Hit on hit (12), removes its cooldown (16)The core of the build
Rending BlowMobile (8), +12% vs fewer targets (12), restores 50 MP on crit (16)
Ruinous Blow+30% skill crit (8) (5 of 8 top builds), extra damage on hit (12), ignores Block and Evasion (16)+20% skill speed (8) only if you clip animations; +12.5 m range at 8
Keen Strike+20% MP or +50% Multi-hit (8), −1 s Ruinous Blow cooldown (12)
Crushing Wave+20% vs more targets (8), resets cooldown on a crit (12)
Leaping SlamResets cooldown on a kill (8) (5 of 8), or Prepare for Battle (8) (3)
Rush Strike+10 m range (8) (6 of 7 top builds), −10 s cooldown (12)
Aerial Snare+100% vs CC-immune bosses (8), Forced Fall (12), −50% cooldown (16)Optional
Mocking Blade+1 s knockdown (12), ignores Block and Evasion (16)
Defiance20% HP (8), +2 s Tenacity (12), +50% PvE tolerance (16)

Guides disagree on numbers because they count the third slot (for example, Rending Blow's mobile pick is rank 8, listed as 20 elsewhere). Read the tooltip.

Passives

Each rank adds the same amount, but ranks 9–10 cost 4 points each, so take the key passives to 8 first and the top two to 10 later. Target is the rank to buy with points; fillers get ranks 2–4 (1 point each) only if points are spare. The top four also roll on gear.

Gladiator passives in point priority order, with icons
RankPassiveTargetUnlocksWhat it gives
1Attack Preparation10 (8 first)13PvE damage, Defense, +100 Accuracy
2Experienced Counterstrike10 (8 first)21Front damage; on a block, a 20 s party damage buff
3Murderous Burst825Builds Menace; at 5 stacks, an AoE burst (539 + 78% Attack) on up to 4 enemies
4Impact Hit815Double Chance and Impact chance
5Blood Absorption49Lifesteal and an emergency heal; optional
6Identify Weakness411+Crit and Perfect; filler
7Destructive Impulse417Bonus damage vs Stagger; filler
8Protection Armorskip6Block; roll it on gear instead
9Survival Stance, Survival Willpower11, 23HP and tolerance; CC resist

Stigmas

All four end up equipped; fill them in this order. Global has four slots (22, 27, 32, 37) and stigmas level to 20.

Gladiator stigmas by slot, with icons
SlotStigmaTargetWhat it does
1 (22)Rage Burst545 s cooldown (30 s at 5). +10% PvE damage for 10 s, −10% enemy attack, triggers Overhead Slam. Take it to 20 at endgame for +10% PvE Damage Boost (4 of 8 top builds)
2 (27)Focused Block5Guaranteed parry; 2 charges at 5. A block triggers the Experienced Counterstrike party buff
3 (32)Lunge Stance20+20% Combat Speed (10 s at rank 1, longer with rank; 60 s cooldown). 5: +5% Double Chance. 15: ×1.5 Identify Weakness. 20: 50% chance to cut cooldowns 1 s on crit
4 (37)Zikel's Blessing10+20% Attack and +100 Accuracy (10 s at rank 1, longer with rank; 120 s cooldown); rank 10 adds +10% PvE damage. Save it for bosses and elites
  • Alternatives: Lifestealing Blade (swap it for Zikel's Blessing in organized parties; you only have four slots), Blade Toss (semi-tank groups), Wave Armor (no Templar in the group). Skip Wrath Wave, Armor of Balance, Forced Restraint, Assault Strike and Fracturing Rush. PvP: Tenaciousness.

Rotation and macro

Gladiator macro editor: each step shows the hotbar key of its slot, with 10 ms between steps

Set up: most-liked community builds now put the macro skills in one or two stacks and run a 1–2 step macro over them, held with left mouse; a macro step presses a whole slot (see Community builds for this class's stacks). The per-slot layout below is the simpler fallback: give every macro skill its own hotbar slot first (see Hotbar setup). Then open the Skill menu (K) → Macros → Add Macro, add the skills in the order shown, and bind the macro key under Settings → Key Settings → General → Gameplay → Macro. Bind it to a side mouse button and hold it together with left mouse, so right mouse keeps the bar's last slot (see Hotbar setup). Use 10 ms between steps (20–40 ms on high ping) and turn on Skill Queue.

StepSkillSlotWhy here
1Rage Burst7First, so it fires the moment it is ready; below Overhead Slam it would never fire
2Overhead Slam8Main damage; rank 16 removes its cooldown
3Rending BlowRMBFiller between Overhead Slams; restores 50 MP on crit at rank 16
KeyWhat it does
Macro key (a side mouse button)Runs the three steps above in order; hold it together with left mouse
Left mouse (hold)Keen Strike: restores MP
Right mouseRending Blow, the Gladiator's default right-mouse skill; also the macro's last step
By handRuinous Blow on cooldown, Ankle Slice, Crushing Wave, Lunge Stance, Zikel's Blessing, Focused Block, Leaping Slam, Rush Strike (Defiance fires with Space)
  • Keep the macro to these three skills; anything else delays Overhead Slam.
  • Ruinous Blow (45 s cooldown, +20% PvE damage for 20 s) and the buffs are best timed by hand.
  • Boss opener: Lunge Stance and Zikel's Blessing; Leaping Slam in, then Ruinous Blow; block the first telegraphed attack with Focused Block; stay in front and hold the macro.
  • Loop: Rage Burst, then Overhead Slam repeatedly while it is active, with Rending Blow filling gaps. Overhead Slam cancelled into Rending Blow cuts its end animation.
  • Overhead Slam needs a Knockdown: Rage Burst applies one for 10 s, and Mocking Blade knocks down trash. Bosses can't be knocked down, so on a boss only Rage Burst (or a 7% proc) opens the window; on trash, Mocking Blade, then Overhead Slam.
  • Mana: several guides drop the Keen Strike hold once Rending Blow's rank-16 MP restore works. Until then keep holding it, and roll MP on gear if you still run dry (36–60% of top Korean Gladiators' pieces carry it); Ulf aims for about 4,200 MP.
  • Dungeons: turn on the boss orientation indicator (Esc → Settings → Info Display → Combat). Krao Cave (Conquest gate: item level 700) has a final stagger check, so save stagger tools. In Draupnir don't spend all your stagger and movement in the opener. Keep Focused Block manual.
  • Use the game's built-in macro only.

Hotbar setup

Gladiator hotbar: 12 slots with up to 4 stacked skills each, macro steps numbered
  • Left mouse: Keen Strike, held together with the macro key. Right mouse (RMB): Rending Blow, the Gladiator's default right-mouse skill and the macro's last step.
  • Q: Focused Block, for the boss's first attack. E (gap closers): Leaping Slam, then Rush Strike.
  • By hand on 1–4: Ankle Slice (10 s cooldown, roots NPCs), Crushing Wave, Lunge Stance and Zikel's Blessing (bosses only). 5: Lifestealing Blade (if equipped), then Mocking Blade. 6: Ruinous Blow on cooldown.
  • Macro slots 7, 8 and RMB, in step order: Rage Burst, Overhead Slam, Rending Blow.
  • Not on the bar: Aerial Snare (skip). Sword Aura Rampage: 7 of 8 top builds now slot it (16–20 in four of them, for MP restore, Multi-hit or −1 s to all cooldowns) on its own 1-step macro.
  • Reach: hand-pressed skills take the keys closest to WASD (Q, E, then 1–3) and the macro steps take the far ones, since the macro presses those for you. Put the most time-critical skills (gap closers, blocks, heals) on Q and E.
  • Defiance can't be slotted: the stun break fires with Space, so it never needs a bar slot.
  • Stacking: a slot holds up to four skills. A press fires the lowest one that is ready; if it is on cooldown or its condition isn't met, it falls to the next one up. Put cooldown and conditional skills at the bottom and spam skills on top.
  • Stacks and macros: a macro step presses a whole slot, so a step on a stacked slot fires that stack's first ready skill. Top community builds put the macro skills in one stack (usually right mouse) and hold it with left mouse, or run a 1–3 step macro over stacks; see Community builds, and test it on a dummy.
  • Keep out of the macro: toggles (a second press can switch them off), charged skills, and situational or emergency skills.
  • Slots: the bar has 12. The last four are Q, E, left mouse (LMB) and right mouse (RMB). Every class starts with its basic attack on LMB and a second skill on RMB (T is RMB's keyboard key). Put the macro on a side mouse button so RMB keeps that skill; binding the macro to right mouse pushes the slot onto T. Rebind slots under Settings → Key Settings → Quickslot, and treat this layout as a suggestion.

Daevanion boards

Buy the blue nodes for the big three first, then the orange corners, then the green passives, routing through Attack and Crit greys. Costs: grey 1, green 2, blue 3, orange 4; each node must touch one you own. Percentages are top-200 Korean Gladiator pick rates.

Board (level)Points (phase 1 + phase 2)Take firstThenSkip or leave last
Nezekan (12)115 (phase 1: 72, phase 2: 43)Overhead Slam, Rending Blow, Ruinous Blow (100%); Attack Preparation ×2; Combat Speed and Cooldown Reduction cornersLeaping Slam, Rush Strike, Ankle Slice, Crushing Wave, Mocking Blade, Defiance; Identify Weakness ×2, Blood Absorption ×2Aerial Snare, Keen Strike, Evasion corners; Crit Resist and MP greys
Zikel (20)112 (phase 1: 78, phase 2: 34)Damage Boost and Damage Tolerance corners; big three; Experienced Counterstrike ×2, Murderous Burst ×2, Impact Hit ×2Survival Willpower, Destructive ImpulseEvasion corners on Korean boards, Aerial Snare
Vaizel (30)114 (phase 1: 61, phase 2: 53)Crit Damage corners (100%), Crit Damage Tolerance corners only if they are on your path; big three; passivesAttack Preparation, Experienced Counterstrike, Murderous Burst, Impact HitSword Aura Rampage, Aerial Snare
Triniel (40)136 (phase 1: 81, phase 2: 55)Multi-hit Chance ×4 corners (100%); big three; passivesUtility skillsMulti-hit Resist corners, Sword Aura Rampage
Azphel (45)128 (phase 1: 58, phase 2: 70)PvP only: PvP Damage Boost ×4 corners, PvP Accuracy/Evasion, Status ResistPvP Damage ToleranceEverything, for PvE

Numbered nodes are phase 1: buy them in that order, starting next to the center star. Outlined nodes are phase 2. Faded nodes with a red X are skips; a dimmed node without an X is only a connector. Global corners give +1.5% each.

Gladiator Nezekan board with recommended buy order
Gladiator Zikel board with recommended buy order
Gladiator Vaizel board with recommended buy order
Gladiator Triniel board with recommended buy order
Gladiator Azphel board, PvP only, with recommended buy order

Layouts are from the metabot global planner. The four PvE boards hold 570 points; this plan spends 477 of them (phase 1: 292, phase 2: 185), and you can't fill all of it. Crystals come from leveling (~136), sealed dungeons (~122), regional quests (~58) and the Shugo and Nightmare shops (50 each per character).

Ariel board (added Oct 21): a sixth board whose points come only from Daevanion Crystal: Ariel, morphed from Ariel Fragments from all four Hard Expeditions (Krao Cave and Draupnir at 2,600; guaranteed in Urugugu Canyon and Vakron at 2,700); 100 fragments make one crystal (+1 gear score). Cap: 30 per character in the patch text, 30 per dungeon (120) per two community guides. Layout: 152 nodes and 232 points, with PvE Damage Boost and PvE Damage Tolerance cores, smaller PvE stat nodes and no skill nodes; nobody can fill it yet.

Gear

Attack and the weapon-side damage lines, the four key passives on armor and jewelry, and Accuracy until bosses stop parrying you. Percentages are top Korean Gladiators with the line.

SlotSoul engravings to rollItem passives to hunt
Weapon (greatsword), guardWeapon Damage Boost, Might, Combat Speed (100%); Damage Boost (98–99%); Multi-hit (94–98%); Precision (94%)None; never put skills here
Helmet, capeStrike, Attack increase (99%), Attack (91%)Experienced Counterstrike (72%), Murderous Burst (68%), Attack Preparation (59%)
ChestDamage Boost (100%), Attack (94%)Same, plus Impact Hit (66%)
PantsAttack increase (99%), Perfect (94%), Damage Tolerance (88%)Experienced Counterstrike, Murderous Burst
GlovesCombat Speed (100%), Perfect (95%), Attack (91%)Experienced Counterstrike, Murderous Burst, Attack Preparation
BootsMove Speed (100%), Perfect (95%), Attack (91%)Same
ShouldersCrit Damage Amp (100%), Attack (96%)Four key passives (~69–74%)
Necklace, earringsAttack (100%), Accuracy (65–71%)Four key passives (~72–75%)
RingsAttack (99%)Skill lines: Overhead Slam (75%), Ruinous Blow (74%), Rending Blow (74%), Crushing Wave (56%)
BraceletKorea only (level-50 bracelets): Time, Destruction, Wisdom, Illusion (99–100%); Justice (87%). Global Ascension and quest bracelets have fixed lines; the Abyssal Bracelet (Ludra, item 86) rolls four Empyrean Lord stats at 9–17 eachnone
BroochMight, Precision (99.5%), Accuracy (85%), Crit (66%)none
SealMax Attack, Extra Attack (86%); Boss Attack (79%); Crit Attack (79%)none
  • No Heroic gear in Season 1: don't copy Korean or Taiwanese Heroic lists. Global top Gladiators (level 45, Oct 8) wear the Nuakum armor set (51–57% per slot) with the Vakron set second, a Splendent Dark Dragon Lord Greatsword (28%) or Enraged Kromede Claymore (23%), and Ascension bracelets (50%). Korea's top armor set is Eroded Afterimage (37–49% per slot), with Lava Heart second.
  • Crit is worth less than it looks: Overhead Slam already crits at its upper ranks; Crit mainly feeds Lunge Stance's cooldown cuts and Rending Blow. Sources disagree on the crit chance cap (metabot says 50%, gameplay.tips 80%), so check your Crit % in the stat window.
  • Stats: Attack and Combat Speed, then Might and Precision, then Accuracy, then Crit and Crit Damage, then PvE and front damage boosts. Manastones: Attack on every slot, then HP, Crit, Accuracy.
  • Arcana: Chalice and Parchment of Vigor plus Bell of Magic, as in Empyrean Lord stats (Parchment for Overhead Slam and Ruinous Blow, Compass for Rending Blow, Chalice for whatever is short of 20); passives Attack Preparation first. Korean top Gladiators run Bell of Magic 97%, Chalice of Vigor 98%, Mirror 94%. Two camps: global guides run the Primal Vigor 4-piece (+150 PvE Attack at 70% HP or more; 2-piece +60), while Korean top players mix in Magic cards, and the Magic Armor 4-piece gives +1,000 PvE Defense at 50% MP or more.

Accuracy

  • Your Accuracy cancels the target's Block one for one; leftover Block is the chance a hit is parried. Extra Accuracy past Block does nothing.
  • A parry takes roughly 20–40% off a hit (two guides say over half), and hits from behind can't be parried.
  • Block Penetration (some titles and wings) also ignores the target's Block chance.
  • Check the parry percentage per boss in the in-game Combat Analysis. High means raise Accuracy (Attack Preparation and Zikel's Blessing each add +100, and Freedom Pantheon stats, bracelets and weapon Precision options add more); near zero means stop.
  • Published targets (about 1,100 early; 1,300–1,400 for the Ludra raid) are unverified. The aion2timers calculator has boss presets.

Gear economy

Gear by item level (level 45). Only item level moves at the cap. This table is per piece; the dungeon gates under "After 45" use your total item level.

Item levelSourceNote
46Named elites on home maps, Fallen Ancient God setFiller
54Krao Cave and Draupnir Conquest (Draupnir Exploration too)
62–70Craft True Dragon Lord (62) for slots that won't drop; farm Vakron Sky Island and Urugugu Canyon for 70
86Fire Temple, Ferocious Horn DenGear Change Vouchers for missing slots, guards first
102Ludra raid weapons and Ludra's Heart guard (Abyssal Forge: Ludra, since Nov 4); armor and accessories only from Splendent Wise Dragon Lord craftsBest gear
  • Craft chain: True Dragon Lord (62), Splendent (70), White (78), Splendent (86), Wise (94), Splendent Wise (102). Each step has a 25% chance of the Splendent version. Asmodian names: Star, Dark, Ebony.
  • Mastery: True Dragon Lord pieces need crafting mastery 55 or 60, and mastery stops at 50 until you finish the upgrade quest.
  • Don't waste: Enhance Stones on Common or Rare gear, or on Legend (blue) pieces you'll replace (the belt and amulet are the exception); Superior manastones on gear you'll replace; restarting a craft (upgrades carry enhancement, amplification and soul binding forward); Abyss Points on Potential, which gives only PvP stats.

Enhancement (Unique gear, max +15). +10 is guaranteed. +11 to +15 succeed 65, 50, 35, 25 and 20%, with +5% after each failure. A failure only costs materials. Expect about 22 attempts, 15M Kinah and 191,000 Enhance Stones to reach +15 on item level 102 gear. Keep the weapon at +10 until you have the final one. Amplified Enhancement comes after +15: its steps succeed 66, 50, 33, 25 and 20% (with pity), and item level caps it at +1 for 54–62, +3 for 70 and +5 for 86 and up. Since Oct 28, crafted Dragon Lord gear has the same caps (True and Star +3, White and Dark +5), and Gear Transfer can move enhancement from Expedition gear onto crafted gear.

Soul binding (Unique gear only). It unlocks random stats and makes the item untradeable. The first step costs 30,000 Kinah and 10 Soul Codex, the tenth 632,000 Kinah and 102 Soul Codex. Rebinding costs 300,000 Kinah and 3 Soul Codex.

Manastones. Slots by grade: Common 1, Rare 2, Legend (blue) 3, Unique 4 (amulet, belt and rune have none). Jewelry takes Soulstones from the same pools. Engraving fills every slot at once for 500–2,000 Kinah by gear grade and can't fail, and each line adds gear score (+1 grey to +4 yellow).

  • Attack, Defense, Accuracy, Evasion, Crit and Crit Resist each roll about 10% of the time; Combat Speed and cooldown stats can't be rolled.
  • Rerolling overwrites the old stat and consumes the stone. Enhancing keeps stones; dismantling gear destroys them.
  • Use regular stones for PvE; Abyssal stones split a third of rolls onto PvP stats.
  • Lesser stones drop; Alchemy crafts the rest. 5 Lesser, 3 Spiritstone Powder and 2 Professional Ink make an Intermediate (mastery 20), with a 20% chance of a Superior; the dedicated Superior recipe is 30 Intermediate, 10 Powder and 2 Exceptional Ink at mastery 85.

Theostones (Epic and Unique weapons only). A weapon engraving with a chance to proc on attack; identical stones don't stack.

  • PvE pick: Yustiel's Compassion (Earth AoE, 10% proc) or Tiamat's Counterstrike (Fire AoE, 2% proc); an off-tank Gladiator takes Lumiel's Interference (−50% Combat Speed). PvP: Meslamtaeda's Greed (stun).
  • How to get them: the 3 regional quests per faction (Rare chest plus 100,000 Kinah each), the Abyss Trade Shop Selection Chest (35,000 Abyss Points), the Season Shop (17,500 Oath Coin, limit 10), the Arena shop (1 Arena Token, 5 per week) and Daeva Pass.
  • Upgrading: combining gives Rare to Epic 11.1% and Epic to Unique 9.1%; Unique stones come only from combining.

Consumables. Battle Enhance Scroll gives +10% Damage Boost and +10% Damage Tolerance for 5 minutes (quests, achievements and attendance, or the Season Shop for 6,000 Oath Coin, limit 10 per account; the shop closes Dec 16). Courage Scroll gives +10% Combat Speed for 5 minutes (1,000 Kinah). Food is defensive only.

Check your numbers in game. Use the in-game Combat Analysis for parry rates and rotation. Third-party macros and tools risk bans, and I can't confirm third-party meters are safe.

Essence Extraction (gathering)

Essence Extraction is the game's one gathering skill: Ore, Gem, Log, Herb, Cooking Ingredient and Odyle nodes in Verteron, Altgard and Chaotic Lower Reshanta (Odyle also in the Expeditions). It feeds crafting (Dragon Lord gear, manastones) and the Radiant Odyle that unseals dungeon wings. Each node gives two to four extractions; the minigame fills a blue Success gauge against an orange Failure gauge, and your odds improve with use.

  • Cap at Novice 50: proficiency stops at level 50 until you finish "[Upgrade] Essence Extraction Specialty Skill" (Korius for Elyos, Alzirr for Asmodians): extract one Splendent Ruby from a Ruby node (Elyos: around the Verteron Fortress Ruins; Asmodians: near Quay Campsite and Calderon Canyon) and hand it in. Professional runs 51–100.
  • Fast proficiency: Orichalcum, Raydam, Azpha and Odyle nodes. Odyle sits in the air, and running out of flight stamina cancels the extraction. Since Oct 28, gathering needs level 45 and is capped at 1,000 extractions per server per day.

Points. Every proficiency level gives a Common point (45 by level 50, 95 by level 100). Specialty points come every 10 levels, two at 50, 80, 90 and 100 (6 by level 50, 14 by level 100).

Common skillTriggers onLevel 5Level 10
Proficient HandlingEvery success+25 Success Gauge gain+50
Delicate TouchEvery failure−40 Failure Gauge gain−80
Lady LuckEvery success24% chance of a ×2.5 gauge boost40% chance of ×2.5 or ×4

Levels 1–5 cost 1 to 5 points (15 per skill, Novice); levels 6–10 cost 5 each (25 more, Professional).

  • Novice: all three to 5, which is exactly the 45 points you have.
  • Professional: the 50 extra points max two skills. Take Lady Luck and Proficient Handling to 10 (both fire on successes, and the ×2.5 or ×4 boost likely multiplies Proficient Handling's gain) and keep Delicate Touch at 5; swap it in if failures keep ending your extractions on high-level nodes. This split is my reading of the tooltips; no guide publishes one.

Specialty skills. Every node type has the same tree, 7 points to max: Seeker (1 point, shows that node type on the minimap), Plentiful Harvest (3 levels: 10, 20 or 30% chance of double materials) and Appraiser (3 levels: 10, 20 or 30% chance to reroll to a higher grade; for Cooking Ingredients it rerolls the quantity). Only level 1 of each opens at Novice, and 14 points max two of the six trees.

StageSpendWhy
Novice (6 points)Odyle Seeker, Odyle Plentiful Harvest 1 and Odyle Appraiser 1; then Seekers for the two node types you farm mostAppraiser pushes Odyle toward Radiant Odyle for wing unsealing; Seekers save travel
Professional (8 more)Odyle Plentiful Harvest and Appraiser to 3, then Plentiful Harvest and Appraiser for one crafting material (usually Ore or Gems for Dragon Lord crafts)Two trees maxed

Check in game whether the points can be reset before you commit.

Gear score milestones

Gear score is the item level shown under your character level, and it gates almost all level-45 content. Climb it in the order below: each bracket lists what opens, what to do and what to skip.

What counts. Every equipped piece's item level, plus +1 per enhancement level, +5 per Amplify level, manastone lines (+1 grey, +2 green, +3 blue, +4 yellow), +1 per Daevanion point spent, +40 per Clash Rune, +3 per Rare Theostone, and Arcana cards (+20 / 40 / 60 / 80 by grade, +1 per card level). Each Ariel crystal adds +1. Soul binding, skill points, Stigmas, titles, pets and Genus Insight, the Pantheon and the closet raise Combat Power only; sources split on whether wings add gear score.

Gear scoreOpens
700Krao Cave and Draupnir Conquest (Unique gear 54), Draupnir Exploration
1,000Ascension Trial and Subjugation on Easy (the Abyss and Arena need only level 45 in the client data, though some guides list them here)
1,400Vakron Sky Island and Urugugu Canyon Conquest (Unique gear 70), Vakron Exploration
1,500Ascension Trial and Subjugation on Normal
1,600Transcendence stage 1 (Deus Research Base, Shattered Arkanis): Arcana
1,900Transcendence stage 2 (Epic Arcana)
2,000Ascension Trial on Hard
2,100Fire Temple and Ferocious Horn Den Conquest (Unique gear 86), Horn Den Exploration
2,200 / 2,500Transcendence stages 3 and 4 (Unique Arcana); Ascension Trial on Challenge at 2,500
2,600Krao Cave and Draupnir on Hard (added Oct 21; the patch calls them Expedition): Philosopher's Stone: Revelation, every Unique crafting material, Ariel Fragments for the new Ariel board
2,700Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island on Hard (added Oct 28): Philosopher's Stone: Revelation, guaranteed Ariel Fragments, every Unique crafting material
2,800Abyssal Forge: Ludra on Normal (open since Nov 4; 1-hour runs)
3,000Abyssal Forge: Ludra on Hard

Gates are from the global client data (metabot, Corpus). Some creator videos quote 1,500, 2,200 and 2,700 instead; the client wins.

Combat Power

Combat Power (CP) is the server's own rating and NC hasn't published the formula. It weights attack over defense (Korean estimates: Attack 1.25, Defense 1, secondary stats 0.25, about 100 per 1% stat). Gates check item level only, but party finders ask for CP, and global CP runs about a quarter of Korean CP.

ContentCP parties ask for
Krao Cave and Draupnir (700)60–65K
Vakron and Urugugu (1,400)75–80K
Fire Temple and Horn Den (2,100)100–110K
Transcendence stage 4130–135K
Hard Expeditions (2,600)150K
Hard Expeditions (2,700)160–165K
Ludra Normal175–190K
Ludra Hard200K+

The targets are AionFlex entry CP (the 25th percentile of players who killed the boss, Nov 7). The cheapest CP comes from Stigmas, Daevanion points, titles and Genus Insight, which need no new gear.

Level 45 to 1,000: finish the free gear

  • Story and quests: finish the main story and the last Ascension and Abyss quests for the Spiritforged weapon (Unique, 45), guard and bracelet.
  • Clash Runes: open both rune chests from the Verteron or Altgard regional quests; at +40 each, two runes alone carried one creator to 1,000.
  • Belt and amulet: Stronghold scrolls (2 per home Stronghold) take the Noble Belt to +10, and Monolith Resonance scrolls (one per home Monolith level, so feed it Empyrean Trace feathers) take the Revelation Amulet to +10; enhancing them always succeeds. Then Substance Morph each one (Alt+H → Gear; at +10 and unequipped, always succeeds, returns at +0) from Rare (item 13) to Legend, the blue grade some guides call Epic (item 36, +23 each).
  • Spend: every Daevanion point (+1 each), and the Spiritforged weapon to +10 (about 406,000 Kinah and 16,000 Enhance Stones).
  • Odyle: bank it for 1,400, where Vakron and Urugugu pay more per point, but never let it reach the 560 cap.

1,000 to 1,400: points, not drops

  • Daevanion crystals: clear every sealed dungeon (2 each, +122 total) and the regional quests (+58). Feathers to Monolith level 16 give 36 Azphel crystals, and the Nightmare and Shugo shops sell 50 each (+100).
  • Belt and amulet to Unique: take each Legend piece to +10 (+10 gear score each; about 1.58M Kinah and 63,000 Enhance Stones per piece), then Substance Morph it to Unique (item 65, +29 each). Unique also goes to +10 (+10 more each, about 5M Kinah per piece) when Kinah allows.
  • Clash Runes to +1, then stop: +1 always succeeds; +2 is 80%, then 66, 50 and 33%, down to 10% at +10, and sources disagree on whether a failure drops a level or destroys the rune.
  • Weapon, guard, bracelet to +10, with one grey or green manastone line each. The Spiritforged Guard comes from the Abyss (Forgotten Commander).
  • Every Unique piece to +10: enhancing to +10 always succeeds, so finish the +6 and +7 pieces you already wear (+1 gear score per level).
  • Fill every manastone slot: gear arrives with open slots (Rare 2, Legend 3, Unique 4; jewelry takes Soulstones). Engraving fills them all at once for 500–2,000 Kinah and can't fail. Grey or green lines (+1 or +2) are enough on pieces you'll replace; Lesser stones drop from named level-45 mobs in your home region and Lower Reshanta, and the Abyss shop sells 50 Lesser Abyssal stones a week (1,000 Abyss Points each). Fifty-odd slots at +2 is over +100.
  • Swap leftover quest pieces for item-54 Unique: Draupnir Conquest drops Bakarma armor, and Krao Cave Conquest drops Berk necklace, earrings and rings (and Rupture weapons). Replacing an item-40 piece is +14 before enhancing; the usual weak slots are the helm, pants, necklace, earrings, second ring and a quest bracelet.
  • Worked example (a 1,231 Chanter, Oct 15): +6 Unique gloves, boots, cloak and ring, a +7 bracelet, a +0 Legend belt and amulet, item-40 helm, pants, necklace and earrings, and few manastones. Finishing the +10s (+19), belt and amulet to Unique (+78) and green manastones cover the 169 it needed; two or three item-54 swaps add a margin.
  • New content: start Ascension Trial (Easy), Subjugation and Arena; this is where parry rates first show up, so check Accuracy (see Accuracy).
  • Skip: enhancing item-43 quest gear past +5, Clash Runes past +1, Superior manastones, or anything you'll replace at 1,400.

1,400 to 2,800: the full route

Odyle Energy sets the pace until about 2,500, then Kinah and Enhance Stones. A claim is one cube at 40 Odyle: regeneration pays for about 21 a week, the shop about 20 more (4 per character, 16 per server), and the Odyle Energy Boost mails 4 a day until Nov 10, so farm hardest now.

StepRunUpgrade, in this orderGear scoreTime (regen only; with event and shop energy)
1,400 → 1,600Vakron Exploration (pays like Conquest since Nov 4) or Conquest, plus Urugugu ConquestReplace the lowest pieces first (item 40 → 70 is about +30); new pieces to +5 with green manastonesAbout +20025–35 claims: 1 week; 3–4 days
1,600 → 1,900Transcendence stage 1 until all five Arcana slots are filled, then back to Vakron and UruguguFive cards (+20 each at Common, +40 at Rare); finish the item-70 set and take it to +10; buy the 50 Daevanion Crystals in the Nightmare and Shugo shopsAbout +250About 50 claims: 2–3 weeks
1,900 → 2,100Transcendence stage 2; Ascension Trial on Hard from 2,000 for Mysterious CrystalsEpic cards (+20 over Rare); transmute a Unique Chalice (5 Mysterious Crystals and 2M Kinah, +80); Vakron Guard (2 vouchers and 1.5M Kinah)About +150 to +20030–40 claims: about 2 weeks
2,100 → 2,500Horn Den Exploration (pays like Conquest since Nov 4) or Conquest for armor and Fire Temple Conquest (accessories); Transcendence stage 3 at 2,200 (aim for an S rank: several guides say it opens stage 4)Item 86 in every slot (+16 each). Move the +10 across with Gear Transfer, or a swap onto a +0 piece nets only +6. Nuakum Guard: 3 vouchers and 2M KinahAbout +250120–150 claims: 6–7 weeks; 2–3 weeks
2,500 → 2,800Transcendence stage 4; Krao Cave and Draupnir on Hard (2,600) and Urugugu and Vakron on Hard (2,700)Unique cards and their levels (+125); Ariel crystals (+1 each, up to 30); re-engrave manastones to blue (+64); weapon and guard to +15 (+5 each, about 12M Kinah each) and Amplify (+5 a level); belt and amulet to +10 (+20)About +3004–6 weeks; Kinah and Enhance Stones are the limit
2,800 → 3,000Abyssal Forge: Ludra on Normal (2,800) and Hard (3,000)Abyssal Bracelets (Amplify cap 3; questlog's global table lists item 70, GameWith 86, so +27 or +43 each; check the tooltip) are the biggest jump left, then Ludra's Bracelet (Amplify up to 5) and the Ludra weapon (102, +16)About +100Open now

Times come from published drop rates and one creator's pace (2,500 in two weekly resets with membership; expect four or five without), not measured player data.

  • Guaranteed picks: every 21 claims at Vakron and Urugugu, every 28 at Fire Temple and Horn Den. Fire Temple's never offers the weapon (3 vouchers, 2M Kinah and an off-class Enraged Kromede weapon, about 84 claims) and Horn Den's never offers the guard. Since Nov 4, Draupnir, Vakron and Horn Den Exploration pay like Conquest (same guaranteed-pick count, Amplify Stone Fragments, bound crafting materials), but their Kinah shrinks after 40 runs, to 20% from run 71.
  • Gear-score math: a one-tier swap (54 → 70 → 86 → 102) is +16 at the same enhancement; +1 per enhancement level, and +10 → +15 costs about 12M Kinah and 130,000 Enhance Stones per item-86 piece for +5; Amplify (after +15) is +5 a level, about 6.3M Kinah and 58 Amplify Stones for three levels; manastone lines are +1 (grey) to +4 (yellow), 64 lines on a full Unique set; Arcana is +20 per grade plus +1 per card level (a full Unique set at +5 is 425).
  • Crafting beats farming only for the weapon (about 240M Kinah to item 102, with 5 Soul Binding lines against Kromede's 3). Since Oct 28, Kromede and Nuakum enhancement can move down onto crafted gear, so enhancing them isn't wasted. Since Nov 4, True and Star Dragon gear also has an always-succeed recipe (bound, no Great Success).
  • Bracelets stay at item 43 until Ludra; no other source has been found.
  • Gladiator weapon: the Aulamus Greatsword at 70, then the Enraged Kromede Claymore (86, +2 m reach) is a fine place to stop; 28% of top players use the crafted Splendent Dark Dragon Lord Greatsword and 23% the Kromede (Oct 8 armory); questlog Gladiators take the Kromede Claymore (5 of 6) and skip the Dark 86 craft, and shadw. uses a Splendent White (86) Greatsword +15A3 at 2,800.

2,600 and 2,700: Hard Expeditions and the Ariel board

  • Krao Cave and Draupnir on Hard (2,600, Oct 21) and Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island on Hard (2,700, Oct 28): a 4-minute boss Frenzy timer and 3 revives per player.
  • Rewards: a chance at Philosopher's Stone: Revelation (or pick it as the guaranteed reward), every Unique crafting material, Wrathful Mind, Will and Ego, Ariel Fragments (guaranteed at Urugugu and Vakron), more Kinah than Normal, and Expedition Hero Artwork. Hard achievements give Unique skins.
  • Claims and checks: 40 Odyle per claim and 60–90 Ariel Fragments per final-boss cube (client data); the guaranteed pick comes after 28 claims per one guide (another says 14 at Krao Cave and Draupnir, 21 at Urugugu). Stagger Berk at about 50% and hide behind rocks for Wave of Fury; stop attacking during Lakshmi's reflection and before Raur's Counterstrike Stance; stack for Auldor's Tempest Strike; at Thamon, red means physical stops and purple magic stops. Entry CP runs 147–151K at 2,600 and 161–163K at 2,700.
  • Ariel Fragments: Substance Morph turns 100 into a Daevanion Crystal: Ariel (up to 30 per character in the patch text; one guide reads it as 30 per dungeon) and 1 into 5 Enhance Stones with no limit.
  • Ariel board: a new Daevanion board whose points come only from those crystals; 152 nodes and 232 points, with PvE Damage Boost and Tolerance cores and no skill nodes.

2,800 and up: Ludra

  • Abyssal Forge: Ludra opened Nov 4: Normal at 2,800 item level, Hard at 3,000, with a 1-hour limit per run; Normal drops the same item types as Hard at lower rates. The first 20 parties per region to clear Hard get titles, and anyone who clears either mode before Nov 24 gets Ludra's Nemesis.
  • Drops: Ludra's weapon and guard, Abyssal Bracelets (Amplify up to 3), Sealed Abyssal Waves Wings and Artwork: Abyssal Ludra. Take a Gear Change Voucher as the guaranteed reward: Substance Morph turns one into a weapon selection chest, and 6 Ludra vouchers (or 3 Hard ones) make Ludra's Bracelet (Amplify up to 5); 2 Normal vouchers trade for 1 Hard voucher.
  • Fire Temple and Ferocious Horn Den on Hard are in the client at 2,800 but locked (a Nov 4 hotfix removed the Hard option that briefly showed); the client also lists higher Conquest tiers and Korean raids at 3,500 and 4,300.
  • Format: 10 players in two parties of five, 2 revives, and one counted final-boss kill a week (Wednesday reset); the bosses are level 75. As of Nov 7 there were 11 Eternal Ludra kills on Normal and none on Hard.
  • Ready gear (community): Kromede weapon and Nuakum guard at +16 to +18, armor +10 to +15; for Hard, desolo targets +16 everywhere, +17 weapons and all 120 Ariel crystals. Parties ask about 175–190K CP for Normal and 200K+ for Hard.
  • Reactor: break the auxiliary reactors.
  • Rahu and Ketu (split boss): pass Rahu's SOS Bomb on (3 failures wipe the party); on Ketu the tank blocks the jump, face the red side and turn away from the blue, and the crystals give immunity.
  • Eternal Ludra: berserk at 10:00; the red tower needs a blocker, then come two Bingo grids, a colour split and the Thunder Zone. The Reactor and Ludra details come from early-access and client data (mobalytics live guides), so expect changes.
  • Loot: sites disagree whether the guaranteed voucher comes every 2 or every 4 kills, and a specific Ludra weapon drops at about 0.3–0.6% per kill, so plan on vouchers. A crafted Splendent Wise or Ebony (102) weapon matches a Ludra weapon's Attack at max enhancement with more lines, so the Ludra weapon is the no-craft route and Ludra's Heart and the bracelets are the real upgrades. Ludra Hunt titles have no stats.
  • Gladiator duties: Focused Block qualifies for Eternal Ludra's red tower; if you tank, block Ketu's jump in the landing AoE and bait Rahu's 50% jump to the middle. Avoid long animations before forced movement, and save Stagger for Atiel (~20%), Berk (~50%) and Bakarma's waves. Gladiators are in 86% of Ludra fights. shadw.'s Ludra route: Ludra's Blade, Ludra's Heart and Ludra's Bracelets at 3,000+ and 200K+ CP, a Splendent Wise Greatsword with Ludra's Heart at 220K+, then full Wise +20 at 3,500+ and 250K+.

Rules for every bracket

  • Spend Odyle on the highest tier you can enter, and never let it cap (560, or 840 with membership). Membership reportedly also allows two Odyle injections per Expedition or Transcendence cube (80 Odyle for double rewards) and makes Sanctuary cubes eligible; NC hasn't published global numbers.
  • Open every Conquest and Transcendence cube: leaving one unopened burns the shared 10-per-week counter, and at 0 you can't enter until Wednesday's reset.
  • Enhancement priority is weapon, guard, bracelet, then the rest; only enhance past +5 on gear you'll keep.
  • Belt and amulet morphs are once per character per grade; the 20-per-server weekly cap added Oct 6 covers only turning Sealed Wings into Enhance Stones. Grades run Common, Rare (green), Legend (blue; some guides say Epic), Unique (gold).

Gladiator at each bracket. At 1,000, check parry rates in Ascension Trial and fix Accuracy before chasing Crit. At 1,600, the first Arcana lines are Parchment for Overhead Slam and Ruinous Blow and Compass for Rending Blow. At 2,100, the Enraged Kromede Claymore is the Fire Temple target; top global Gladiators use it (23%) or a Splendent Dark Dragon Lord Greatsword (28%).

Transcendence dungeons

Season 1 (to Dec 16) has two Transcendence dungeons: Deus Research Base drops Bell, Compass and Chalice cards, and Shattered Arkanis drops Mirror, Parchment and Chalice. Farm the one whose card slots your build still needs; for the Gladiator, start with Shattered Arkanis.

Deus Research BaseShattered Arkanis
BossesGelcos, Nazmun, Atiel (final)Siliator of Deceit, Ruthilis of Pain, Talisra of the Void (final)
ArcanaBell, Compass, ChaliceMirror, Parchment, Chalice
Stage 2 / 3 / 4 effectBalance (dying Elites leave damage zones) / Wrath (trash gains Damage Boost below 50% HP) / Judgment (boss hits stack, then explode on everyone nearby)Poison Blood (dying Elites leave zones that heal monsters) / Elevation (each kill buffs nearby trash) / Tolerance (bigger boss Stagger gauges)
Hardest fightAtiel: tethers that tick until players spread, knockback waves off a shrinking platform, and a ~10 s Stagger check (Morphic World) that wipes the party if failedTalisra: take only your own orb colour, follow the barrier colour sequence, break the called pillar within ~6 s, and free players from Diamond Jail
Classes in clearsCleric 89%, Chanter 66%, Gladiator 62%, Archer 61%, Templar 55%, Sorcerer 47%Cleric 87%, Chanter 67%, Gladiator 62%, Archer 59%, Templar 55%, Sorcerer 50%
StageGateBest Bell, Compass, Mirror, ParchmentBest ChaliceUse it for
11,600RareCommonFill all five slots (+20 each even at Common)
21,900EpicRareMain farm to 2,200; easier since the Oct 28 boss nerf
32,200UniqueEpic (a guaranteed Chalice roll)Aim for an S-rank clear: several guides say it opens stage 4 (unconfirmed); few groups run it
42,500UniqueUnique (the only source, about 18% a cube)Main farm from 2,500; also the most Kinah and Amplify Stone Fragments

Best dungeon by class:

ClassFarm firstCards to chase thereThenWhy
GladiatorShattered ArkanisParchment (Overhead Slam, Ruinous Blow), MirrorDeus for Compass (Rending Blow) and Bell of MagicGood in both; Arkanis stage 4's bigger Stagger gauges reward Gladiator Stagger. Save Stagger skills for Atiel's Morphic World check
TemplarShattered ArkanisParchment (Judgment, Punishment; Punishment is the biggest single hit on every Atiel stage and on Talisra stage 4)Deus for Compass (Pummel, Shield Smite) and Bell (Fury, Punishing Benediction)Deus is the harder tank job: drag Nazmun, take the tank-targeted lines and bombs, and tank stage 4 Judgment stacks away from the melee
ArcherDeus Research BaseCompass (Deadshot, Gale Arrow), Bell (Hunter's Resolve)Arkanis for Parchment (Snipe, Tempest Shot) and Mirror (Focused Eye)Slightly higher damage in Deus. In Arkanis the ranged player baits the "furthest player" attacks (Siliator's line, Ruthilis's and Talisra's jumps)
SorcererShattered ArkanisParchment (Hellfire, Blaze), Mirror (Robe of Flame)Deus for a Compass and a BellEven in both. AoE suits stage 3 trash; Talisra's colour and pillar phases interrupt long casts, and Atiel's waves need movement
ClericEither (lean Arkanis)Arkanis: Parchment (Condemnation), Mirror (Healing Enhancement). Deus: Compass (Healing Light), Bell of MagicThe other dungeonIn almost every clear. Heal pressure peaks on Atiel: tethers tick until players spread, then a shared hit, then knockback waves
ChanterShattered ArkanisChalice of Vigor (Onslaught), Parchment of Vigor (Dark Crush, Onslaught, Spinning Strike), MirrorDeus for Bell of Magic and Compass of VigorThe second most-wanted class; higher typical damage in Arkanis
  • Rewards: entry is free; taking the cube spends a reward count (1 per 12 hours, cap 14) and 40 Odyle. Every cube costs the same, so spend counts on the highest stage your group clears reliably.
  • Sets don't decide the dungeon: both drop Vigor and Magic cards; the card slot does. The version you keep decides your Empyrean Lord stat (see Empyrean Lord stats and Pantheon). Duplicates extract into Mysterious Crystals, and 5 crystals and 2M Kinah transmute a Unique card of your choice.
  • Party: 2–5 players; a player who leaves mid-run fails the dungeon for everyone. AionFlex entry Combat Power (25th percentile of players who killed the boss, Nov 7) is 80–81K at stage 1, 91K at 2, 109–110K at 3 and 134K at 4; most uploads predate the Oct 28 nerf, so post-nerf needs are slightly lower.
  • Oct 28 boss nerf: stage 1 boss Attack −15%, stages 2–4 boss Attack and Damage Boost −10%, stages 1–2 boss HP −6.5%; base HP rose at the same time.
  • Coming: the launch leaderboard closed Nov 2, with winners due Nov 9 and mail rewards by Nov 16 (top 10 per server and class: 35,000 Enhance Stones, 30 Unique Amplify Stones and a Philosopher's Stone: Revelation); Season 2 (Dec 16) adds Submerged Life Temple (client data).

Class fit uses AionFlex meter uploads from before the Oct 28 nerf; the damage gaps between dungeons are about 5%, so treat them as a lean, not a rule.

Wings and collection

Worn wings add stats; every pair you own adds a second bonus that grows to +10, even while you wear another. Pairs come in Elyos and Asmodian versions.

WingsGradeEquipped statsHow to get them
TalisraUniqueAttack +60, Accuracy +35, Cooldown Reduction +4%, Defense +400Season shop (about 250,000 season points per one guide; check the in-game price)
Abyssal WavesUniqueAttack +60, Cooldown Reduction +4%, PvE Damage Boost +3.5%, PvE Damage Tolerance +3.5%Sealed drop from Ludra (about 2.5% per kill, tradable), converted in Substance Morph
NightmareUniqueBoss Damage Boost +3.5%, Attack +60, Crit +35, Accuracy +35Nightmare shop, paid in Phantasmal Fragments
Forest SpiritUniqueDamage Tolerance +2.5%, Defense +400, Boss Attack +95, Boss Damage Boost +3.5%Drops sealed in Vakron Sky Island (a normal party dungeon, Conquest gate item level 1,400); unseal it by conversion with 10 Radiant Odyle
Dark VeilUniqueDamage Boost +2.5%, Attack +60, Boss Defense +500, Boss Damage Tolerance +3.5%Ferocious Horn Den (normal party dungeon, item level 2,100), same conversion
KromedeUniqueAttack +60, Crit +35, HP +500, HP Regen +250Fire Temple (normal party dungeon, item level 2,100), same conversion
Black FragmentUniqueCrit +35, Crit Attack +95, HP +500, HP Regen +250Krao Cave (normal party dungeon, item level 700), same conversion
Blue WaveUniqueEvasion +35, Crit Resist +35, MP +250, MP Regen +90Draupnir (normal party dungeon, item level 700), same conversion
Ancient AullaeuUniqueAttack +60, Defense +400, MP +250, MP Regen +90Urugugu Canyon (normal party dungeon, item level 1,400), same conversion
Springflower ButterflyUniquePenetration +500, Block Penetration +60, Attack +60, Accuracy +35Festa (Shugo Festival) shop
ConquerorEpicDefense +300, Boss Attack +80, Boss Defense +400Nightmare shop
Brawler and WarriorUnique and EpicPvP stats (Status Effect Chance, Defense, HP)Abyss, arena and battlefield shops
Sealing and GloriousEpicHealing and MP stats (Glorious: MP Cost Reduction +3%)Sealed dungeons: 70 Sealed Wing Featherdown plus 10 Pure Odyle (Featherdown drops 2 at a time)
Radiant LoveUniqueDefense +400, Evasion +35, potion and MP regenHidden Cubes
Lesser Daeva and AullaeuCommon and RareHP +200; MP +200Quests at level 5 and level 30. Owning Lesser Daeva Wings adds +2,000 Flight Power (one source says +2,500 after the Oct 9 patch)

Ultimate Daeva Wings are free from the level-45 Ascension quest. The six dungeon-drop wings are Unique items from normal party dungeons, gated by your total item level for Conquest (700 for Krao Cave and Draupnir, 1,400 for Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island, 2,100 for Fire Temple and Ferocious Horn Den). They drop sealed and unseal with Radiant Odyle, and the drop is rare.

Wing ladder. Wear the best pair you own and keep every pair, because owned bonuses stack even while another pair is worn. The Daeva quest levels (22, 32, 45) come from a single guide, so check your quest log.

StageWingsEquippedHow to get them
Level 5Lesser Daeva (Common)HP +200Episode quest (The Power in the Lake or The Being Beneath the Lake)
Level 22Intermediate Daeva (Rare)Defense +200, HP +300Quest "The One Who Hears the Voice"
Level 30Aullaeu (Rare)MP +200, MP Regen +50Quest (Secrets Within Secrets or Canyon's Secret)
Level 32Superior Daeva (Epic)Accuracy +25, HP +400, MP +200Quest "The One Who Dreams"
Level 45Ultimate Daeva (Unique)Crit +35, HP +500, MP +250, Penetration +500Free Ascension quest "The One Who Witnesses the Nightmare"
Festa shopViolet Butterfly (Rare)Attack +40, Defense +200Festa shop (level and price not listed)
Item level 700Black Fragment (Krao Cave) or Blue Wave (Draupnir), UniqueCrit Attack +95; or Evasion and Crit ResistNormal party dungeon: sealed drop, unseal with 10 Radiant Odyle
Item level 1,400Forest Spirit (Vakron Sky Island) or Ancient Aullaeu (Urugugu Canyon), UniqueBoss Attack and Boss Damage Boost; or Attack +60 and Defense +400Same; Forest Spirit drops about 0.75%
Item level 2,100Kromede (Fire Temple) or Dark Veil (Ferocious Horn Den), UniqueAttack +60 and Crit; or Damage Boost and Boss Damage ToleranceSame; Kromede drops about 1.25%
BossesConqueror (Epic)Boss Attack +80, Defense +300, Boss Defense +400Nightmare shop
End gameTalisra, then Nightmare; Abyssal Waves from Ludra (Unique)Cooldown Reduction +4% and Attack +60; Boss Damage Boost +3.5%Season shop (closes Dec 16); Nightmare shop; Ludra (sealed drop)

The item levels are your total, not a piece's, and match the Conquest gates under "After 45".

Which to wear (Gladiator). On global (metabot, 4,206 Gladiators, Nov 7) Dark Veil leads at 38%, then Forest Spirit 11%, Ultimate Daeva 9.7% and Talisra 8.7%; no questlog Gladiator uses Talisra. Plan: Ultimate Daeva at 45 (free), Forest Spirit at 1,400 (Vakron Sky Island), Dark Veil at 2,100 (Ferocious Horn Den), then Abyssal Waves from Ludra; Talisra or Nightmare are the alternatives. Collect the rest as you go, because the owned bonuses stack.

Upgrading. Rare and Epic always succeed to +10. Unique is safe to +3, then 90, 80, 50, 50, 50, 40 and 30% to +10 (about 16.7M Kinah, 137 Sync Stones and 66,000 Enhance Stones). Enhancing never changes worn stats, and Unique wings gain only Flight Power from it; each failure adds +10% to the next try. Collect pairs before enhancing, and enhance only the Epic and Rare pairs whose owned stat grows (for example Spirit Wings' PvE Defense).

Titles. You have three equip slots, one each for Attack, Defense and Other, and a title only fits its own slot. Every title you own also adds a collection bonus (check your Title tab). Fill each slot with the best title you own and swap up as you progress:

SlotStageTitleEquippedHow to get it
AttackLevelingTeleportation Specialist (Epic)PvE Damage Boost +3.1%, PvE Accuracy +58Activate every Kibelisk in Verteron (Altgard: Altgard Binding Veteran)
AttackLevelingNice to Meet You (Rare)PvE Damage Boost +2.9%Use the Spacetime Rift 50 times (Verteron's, on the Elyos side)
AttackLevelingGuardian of Verteron or Altgard (Epic)PvE Damage Boost +3%, Penetration +210Reach level 20 of your home Monolith
AttackBossesVerteron Seal Breaker (Rare)Boss Damage Boost +2.7%Clear 30 sealed dungeons in Verteron
AttackEnd gameScenery Collector (Epic)PvE Damage Boost +3.3%, Block Penetration +54Collect 7 Unique Shugo Festival Artwork
AttackEnd gameUnbound by Genus (Unique)PvE Damage Boost +4.5%, Attack +34, Crit +68"Genus Genius" achievement: every Genus Insight at level 10
AttackCrit buildsGolden Glow (Unique)Crit Attack +45, Crit Damage Boost +3%, Accuracy +60Tailor-Made achievement
AttackEnd gameGenuine MasterpieceCrit Damage Boost +3%, Perfect +2.5%Collect 13 Unique boss artworks
DefenseLevelingHello TherePvE Damage Tolerance +1.9%Use the Spacetime Rift 3 times
DefenseLevelingFerocious Horn Den SightseerPvE Damage Tolerance +2.6%First Exploration clear of Ferocious Horn Den
DefenseLevel 30 MonolithSaint of Verteron or AltgardDefense +300, Damage Tolerance +3%, Block +100Raise your home Monolith to level 30
DefenseLateDominator of DimensionsPvE Damage Tolerance +4.5%, Defense +340, HP +1,000Own 25 wings
DefenseEnd gameHero's FootstepsDamage Tolerance +4%, PvE Defense +570, HP +1,000Collect 6 Heroic Expedition artworks
DefenseEnd gameClickDamage Tolerance +3.5%, HP +1,000Collect 10 Shugo Festival artworks
DefenseOptionalRule All CreationBoss Damage Tolerance +4%, Defense +320, Back Attack Tolerance +3%Collect 200 pet types
OtherLevelingThrough Hell and BackCooldown Reduction +3%, HP +900Clear the sealed dungeon Ruins of the Ancient City of Roah
OtherEnd gameEmpty Closet (Unique)Combat Speed +3.5%, Cooldown Reduction +3.5%Skin-collecting achievement (over 700)
OtherEnd gameJourney's PathCombat Speed +3%, HP +900Collect 6 Unique Expedition artworks

Asmodian counterparts (Guardian of Altgard and others) have the same stats; I only checked the Elyos quest names. The guide I read doesn't state the slot for Hello There or the Sightseer title; I placed them in Defense by their stats. Some titles also pay just for owning them: Unbound by Genus, Dominator of Dimensions and Hero's Footsteps each add +1% PvE Damage Boost or Tolerance.

Pets and Genus Insight

Genus Insight rerolls pet stats; Owned Effects grow with how many pets you own. No pet is mandatory.

  • Pet: pick a Fera pet (Fossa, Armadon or Tog) from the level 10 quest; only Fera adds ground mount speed. Five souls unlock a pet; level 2 takes 25 more and level 3 (the cap) 75 more, about 105 per pet. Each pet adds 500/250/250 Insight EXP (failed rolls add EXP too), and Genus Insight is shared by every character on the server.
  • Stat priority: Double Chance (on global it rolls only in the Special board's slot 4; the 'levels 3 and 9' advice is Korean or Taiwanese data), Attack Bonus, Boss Attack, Crit, Accuracy, Defense.
  • Slot 4: Cogni = Damage Boost (most questlog builds; PvE Damage Boost also works), Fera = Weapon Damage Boost, Natura = PvE Damage Boost (Perfect Chance or Multi-hit as fallbacks), Varian = Front or Back Attack Damage Boost, Special = Double Chance.
  • Other slots: 1 and 5 Max Attack; 2 and 8 HP; 3, 6 and 9 Accuracy; 7 Damage Tolerance or Endurance.
  • Rolling: each roll costs 4 Soul Crystals and 1,000 Kinah; at Insight 10 a roll is Heroic 5% and Unique 15%, so a Heroic Double Chance is about 0.4% per roll. Level all five boards to 9–10 on unlocked rolls, roll Special first with rainbow crystals, and lock only slot 4 (and 7 for tanks); each lock raises the cost.
  • Soul Crystals: Substance Morph (1 per 500 Kinah, 1,000 a week), the Festival shop (100 per 50 tokens, 30 a month), pet milestones (100 every 10 pets), Hidden Cubes, the Odylium Repository and the Ludra check-in (3,000). Pet souls drop in Expedition and Transcendence dungeons since Nov 4.

Empyrean Lord stats and Pantheon

For the Gladiator: Destruction and Time, then Wisdom, Life, and Death or Freedom; skip Justice. Each point adds 0.1% to both of its stat's effects on global (Korea doubled it to 0.2%, and some sites show the Korean rate). You can't spend or reset these points: they come from items, and almost all of the difference between players comes from which version of each Arcana card you run.

Stat (Empyrean Lord)+0.1% per point toArcana card that gives itGladiator priority
Justice (Nezekan)Defense, Perfect ChanceBell of Vigorskip
Freedom (Vaizel)Accuracy, EvasionCompass of Vigor5 (if Accuracy is short)
Illusion (Kaisinel)Cooldown reduction, Endurance PenetrationMirror of Vigorskip
Life (Yustiel)Max HP, RegenerationParchment of Vigor4
Time (Siel)Combat Speed, Double ResistChalice of Vigor1
Destruction (Zikel)Attack, Perfect ResistBell of Magic1
Death (Triniel)Crit, Regeneration PenetrationCompass of Magic5
Wisdom (Lumiel)MP cost reduction, Double ChanceMirror of Magic3
Destiny (Marchutan)Max MP, EnduranceParchment of Magicskip
Space (Israphel)Move Speed, BlockChalice of Magicskip
  • Arcana is the real choice. Each slot has a Vigor and a Magic version with a fixed stat (+20 at Unique, +1 per card level, so +25 at +5). Skill lines belong to the slot, not the version, so the version only changes the stat and the set bonus. Top Gladiators run Chalice of Vigor (92% of top Gladiators), Parchment of Vigor (79%), Bell of Magic (100%), Mirror of Magic (83%); the Compass splits 54% Magic (Death) to 46% Vigor (Freedom), so take Vigor while Accuracy is short. Nobody in the sample runs Bell of Vigor (Justice), and only 17% run Mirror of Vigor, so Illusion isn't worth a card.
  • Sets: most top players run three Vigor and two Magic cards for both 2-piece bonuses (Primal Vigor +60 PvE Attack at 70% HP or more; Magic Armor restores 1,500 MP at 20% MP or less); only 32 of 144 run four Vigor cards.
  • Colossus: take the Justice, Time and Destruction one: Zikel's Apparition (14,000 Phantasmal Fragments, +45 each; 140 of 144 top players run it), or Guardian Lord Nahma (+55 each) if you get the drop.
  • Statues and artworks add only +4 to +10 each (the Pantheon holds 1 colossus, 4 statues and 12 artworks; you swap pieces, you can't enhance them), so buy them last; every questlog endgame build runs Statue: Transcendent Bakarma (Death, Space and Freedom +12; kill Bakarma 10 times in Conquest), then Asahr's Mirror (22 of 24 questlog builds) and Artifact of Eternity (20), then Statue: Kibelisk (10) or Fortress Guardian Notun (9); Artwork: Abyssal Ludra (a Ludra drop) appears in 5. Freedom statues: Gerod (8,000 fragments, +10), Wraith Giselle (5,000), or all 61 home teleports for Statue: Kibelisk (+10).
  • Bracelets: Ascension and quest bracelets have fixed lines, but the Abyssal Bracelet (from Ludra; item 70 in questlog's global table, 86 per GameWith) rolls four Empyrean Lord stats at 9–17 each (up to +68), so look for Time and Destruction lines; 19 of 44 questlog characters wear two in some stage, and the common lines are Time, Destruction, Wisdom and Illusion.
  • Currency: Phantasmal Fragments, mostly from Nightmare (up to 1,500 a run, and Instant Clear Tickets cost 30,000 Kinah since Oct 28). They can't be traded and carry over between seasons.
  • Spend order: Stigma Shards and Daevanion Crystals first (Nightmare Trade Shop: 300 fragments per crystal, 50 per character; 52,500 for 35 shards), then the colossus, then statues and artworks, then wings and cosmetics.

Class orders come from 144 top EU and NA characters (23–25 per class, 196K–288K Combat Power) read from the official armory on Oct 28.

Build variants

VariantSkillsStigmasStats
Boss DPS (this guide)Overhead Slam 20, Rending Blow 20, Ruinous Blow 16–20Rage Burst, Focused Block, Lunge Stance, Zikel's BlessingAccuracy, Double Chance, Combat Speed, Weapon Damage, Attack
AoE and soloAdd Leaping Slam and Crushing Wave to 16Lifestealing Blade instead of Zikel's BlessingAttack, Combat Speed, HP
Defensive off-tank (temporary)Same; Focused Block on predictable hitsFocused Block, Lunge Stance, Wave Armor, Lifestealing BladeHP and Damage Tolerance first
ArenaMocking Blade, Defiance, Aerial Snare to 16Armor of Balance, TenaciousnessPvP Tolerance, Accuracy

Events and what to prioritize

Almost everything in AION 2 refills on a timer and wastes anything past its cap, so the rule is: spend whatever is closest to its cap first. Daily and weekly counters reset at 16:00 server time (weekly on Wednesday).

Shugo Festival (hourly)

A rotating minigame that opens every hour (a Shugo icon and countdown appear beside the minimap; trust the in-game timer, since published schedules disagree). Entering is free; you pay one Reward Key per reward pick after you finish. A better placement gives more picks, but every pick still costs one key, and confirming a pick is final.

  • Keys: 3 per day, cap 12 (21 with membership), shared by every character on your server. Keys over the cap are lost. Sources disagree on exact numbers, so check your in-game counter. Hidden Cube and Dimensional Invasion keys cannot be used here.
  • Rewards at level 45: the participation package gives 50 Centuryroot Tokens and 700 Enhance Stones; the key package adds 1,200 Enhance Stones, three Soul Codex (bound), 800 Abyss Points and extra rolls, with a chance at unique gear. Reward pools are Chaos gear, Shade gear, Odyle, Refining Stones and Abyss Points.
  • Token milestones: each of the nine games pays 20, 40 and 85 tokens at three participation milestones (1,305 tokens for all of them), and the general Festival track pays 30 tokens plus 10 Soul Crystals at 3 participations and 40 plus 10 at 10.
MinigameGoalPlayersTime
Jump JumpDodge lasers, collect balloons1–42:55
Not This Tile?Memorize safe tiles over 8 rounds1–63:15
Hidden LugiHunt disguised Lugis, or gather Odyle drops as one2–93:30
Odyle Flight FrenzyFly a canyon route collecting drops1–83:30
Goldrin's TreasureOpen chests marked by light columns1–83:50
Wraith EvasionCollect drops while avoiding wraiths1–65:00
Mysterious TrackMount race with boosts1–85:00
Defend Shugo MerchantsHold off enemy waves1–85:00
Up! Up! Up!Climb moving platforms (clear checkpoint 1 to qualify for rewards)1–85:00

What a PvE Gladiator should buy with Centuryroot Tokens (in this order):

  1. Daevanion Crystals (bound): 50 tokens each for the first 10, then 100, 200 and 400 (all 50 cost 10,500). More board points is the strongest upgrade for this build.
  2. Wisdom Stones (bound): 350 tokens in an event Festival shop per one guide; metabot's global shop data lists none in the Centuryroot Festival shop, so check in-game before saving tokens for them. Each stone is worth one skill point, which only helps until your key skills reach rank 10 (see How skills level up).
  3. Stigma Shards (bound): 300 tokens each, up to 35 per character, for Lunge Stance to 20 and Rage Burst and Focused Block to 5.
  4. Soul Crystal packs: 50 tokens each for ×100, up to 30 per month per character.
  5. Cosmetics (wings, pets, skins) last. Wings cost 2,100 to 8,350 tokens.

Korea's Oct 7 patch also merged the per-mode Shugo remnants into one "Masterpiece" remnant that converts through Material Conversion, and added Stigma Shards to the Abyss, Nightmare and Festival shops; global already sells them (Abyss shop 200 per character, Nightmare 35 at 1,500 fragments each, Festival 35 at 300 tokens each). Don't interrupt leveling for every hourly round; start farming it at level 45.

Daily and weekly priority order

CounterRefill and capWhy it matters
Odyle Energy+15 every 3 hours; cap 560 (840 with membership). The shop adds 4 per character and 16 per server a week, and a login event mails 4 a day until Nov 10Spend on Conquest first for gear, leftovers on Transcendence. The most important resource not to waste
Duty Missions5 per day, shared by the serverEach pays 50,000 bound Kinah and 1,000 Abyss Points; pick missions that pay Odyle or Enhance Stones
Nightmare2 per day, cap 14 (only a clear spends one)Phantasmal Fragments for Pantheon
Conquest1 reward count per 8 hours, cap 21Unique gear; cubes cost about 40 Odyle
TranscendenceReward count 1 per 12 hours, cap 14 (entry is free; each cube costs 40 Odyle); gates 1,600 to 2,500Arcana
Shugo Festival keys3 per day, cap 12See above
Dimensional Invasion1 key per day, cap 7Bankable; low urgency
Odyle cube counter (one guide; unverified)10 per server per weekClearing without taking the cube still lowers it; at 0 you can't enter Conquest or Transcendence until reset
Weekly (reset Wednesday)Raids (4 attempts; Abyssal Forge: Ludra runs last up to 1 hour), Ascension Trial ×3, Subjugation ×3, Exploration ×7 per dungeon, Unknown Fissure ×14, Abyss time (stores up to 7 hours since Oct 14; two weekly Season Missions give Abyss Entry Stones)Spend non-banking weekly entries first after reset; finish before Tuesday's cutoff

Limited-time events right now (as of Nov 4)

EventDatesWhat you get
Odyle Energy BoostOct 28 – Nov 10 (PST)4 Odyle Energy a day per account by mail (mail expires after 7 days), about 28 extra claims a week
Halloween Twitch DropsEnded Nov 3; claim by Nov 171 hour: Resurrection Spiritstone ×15. 2 hours: Appearance Change Voucher. 4 hours: Customization Voucher ×3. 6 hours: Odyle Energy ×4. 8 hours: Chubby Panda helm
Trick or Treat (Halloween)Ended Nov 3 (the chest and tickets last until Dec 15)Pumpkin Coins from attendance (35 a day, 100 on days 7 and 14) and Season Missions; the Coin Merchant sells a Special Halloween Chest (250, 1 per server), Odyle Energy (10, 4 per server a week), Lower Abyss Rift Stones (30, 2 a week) and Shugo Festival keys (7, 3 per server a week). Coins and candy are deleted Nov 3; the chest and tickets on Dec 15
Transcendence Dungeon LeaderboardEnded Nov 2; winners Nov 9Per server and class; the top 10 get 35,000 Enhance Stones, 30 Unique Amplify Stones and a Philosopher's Stone: Revelation
Guides for Glory (no current source names it; check the event page)Ended Nov 2Original guide submissions; up to 10 winners get 4,000 Quna and the Tutor of Atreia title
Atreia's Call (28-day attendance)Oct 28 until the Dec 2 maintenanceOdyle Energy ×2 on days 7, 14, 21 and 28, plus Battle Enhance Scrolls, Soul Crystals, Soul Codex: Reset and Content Usage Ticket Selection Chests
Daeva Pass: Prelude to FlightOct 28 – Dec 2Free track: Small Odyle Energy, Battle Enhance Scrolls and tickets; premium (1,000 Quna) pays full Odyle Energy. 300 pass EXP per Expedition or Transcendence clear, 15,000 a week
Wind Breeze Merchants (since Oct 28)OngoingOdyle Energy: 4 per character and 16 per server a week. Instant Clear Tickets for Nightmare and the Daily Dungeon: 14 per server a week at 30,000 Kinah each
Rise to the Challenge: Resurrection Spiritstone (Season 1)Oct 21 until the Dec 15 PDT (Dec 16 CEST) maintenanceShop → Wind Breeze Merchants: 30 for 25,000 Kinah, then 30 more for 50,000 Kinah, per server per week (Korea's version was Resurrection Flare)
Abyssal Forge: Ludra (open, 1-hour runs)Nov 4Normal at 2,800 item level, Hard at 3,000
Ludra Conquest Check-InNov 4 – Nov 17 (PST)7 login rewards over 14 days: 1.5M bound Kinah in total, 2,000 Centuryroot Tokens, 3,000 Phantasmal Fragments, 30,000 Abyss Points, 3,000 Soul Crystals and a Fresh Leaf Tiara
Ludra Twitch DropsNov 4 – Nov 17 (PST)1–14 hours of watching: Odyle Energy ×6 at 9 hours, a Content Usage Ticket Selection Chest at 10, 2 Rare Theostone Chests at 13, plus cosmetics
Ludra HuntNov 4 – Nov 24Titles for the first 20 Hard clears per region (The First to Slay Ludra, Ludra's Conqueror, Ludra's Vanquisher); Ludra's Nemesis for anyone who clears
Daeva BootcampNov 4 – Nov 17Global Conquest and Transcendence clear milestones mail Instant Clear Tickets, Intermediate Training Arcana and Resurrection Stones
Server transfersResumed after a pause (Oct 26 notice)Free, one per account, same faction and region; now level 45 and up
Launch login rewardsLog in before Dec 1Pre-registration and wishlist rewards arrive by mail (collect by Dec 8)
Global Launch Twitch DropsEnded1 hour: Odyle Energy ×4. 3 hours: Enhance Stones ×5,000. 8 hours: Resurrection Spiritstone ×10. 10 hours: Adorable Young Elim shoulder cosmetic

Common mistakes

  1. Using Overhead Slam outside Rage Burst before rank 16, or stopping it at 16 instead of 20.
  2. Drifting out of the boss's front, so blocks never trigger the party buff.
  3. Spending points on Keen Strike, Sword Aura Rampage or Aerial Snare before the big three reach 16.
  4. Putting Focused Block, Zikel's Blessing or movement skills in the macro.
  5. Putting Rage Burst below Overhead Slam, or adding more skills to the macro.
  6. Burning Zikel's Blessing on trash packs.
  7. Sword Aura Rampage outside a stagger window, the Ankle Slice chain, or Protection Armor points.
  8. Stacking Crit while ignoring Accuracy.
  9. Rerolling manastones for perfect rolls, or locking Genus Insight early.
  10. Letting Shugo keys or Odyle Energy sit at their cap. The weekly Odyle cube counter (10) also drops when you clear without taking the cube; at 0 you can't enter Conquest or Transcendence until reset.
  11. Daevanion points on Evasion, Multi-hit Resist, Crit Resist or MP nodes.
  12. Mouse macros or third-party tools.

Community builds (questlog)

The most-liked global PvE builds on questlog.gg's skill builder and character builder (checked Oct 31, rechecked Nov 7) mostly match this guide. Likes are small and many endgame stages are wish lists, so read them as community opinion beside the armory data above. Gladiator builds have few likes (6–64), so treat these as weak signals.

BuildAuthorTypeLikes
Ulf's Gladiator PvE DPS.ulfhednarSkills54
Ulf's Gladiator PvE DPS Endgame.ulfhednarSkills35
Netero.maksimvladimirovSkills48
F2P Gladiator 0 - 2100 + RBM Macrofsr_shaneGear31
TankPVE BoonDpsshadw.Gear30

Where they differ from this guide:

  • Ruinous Blow: +30% skill crit (8) is the common first pick (5 of 8 builds); take +20% skill speed only if you clip animations.
  • Rage Burst: 5 first; 4 of 7 builds take it to 20 at endgame for +10% PvE Damage Boost.
  • Sword Aura Rampage: 6 of 7 slot it, several at 16 for −1 s to all cooldowns on hit; give it its own macro step, never ahead of Rage Burst.
  • Missing options: Rush Strike +10 m range (8) and −10 s (12); Leaping Slam adds Prepare for Battle (8).
  • Arcana: Chalice and Parchment of Vigor with Bell of Magic; the Compass and Mirror go either way.
  • Stack setup: Rage Burst stacked over Overhead Slam on right mouse (Rage Burst first) in 5 of 8 builds; hold it with left mouse instead of the 3-step macro. Ulf also stacks Zikel's Blessing > Lunge Stance on Q as one buff key.
  • Gear by stage: Spiritforged +10 → Aulamus Greatsword and Vakron (1,400) → Enraged Kromede Claymore (4 of 5), Nuakum and Kromede jewelry (2,100) → crafted Splendent Wise or Ebony Greatsword or Ludra's Blade of Extinction, Abyssal Bracelets (2,800+).
  • Titles: Playing God (Attack slot: PvE Damage Boost +5.5%, Accuracy +90, Double Chance +400) appears in some builds, but its condition is unpublished, the client flags it hidden and no global owner is confirmed, so plan around Unbound by Genus. Global Gladiators wear Saint (79%), Unbound by Genus (68%), Through Hell and Back (35%) and Journey's Path (17%), whose Combat Speed suits the class. Journey's Path (Other slot: Combat Speed +3%, HP +900) comes from collecting 6 Unique Expedition artworks.
  • Gear extras: Philosopher's Stone: Revelation adds a fifth engraving line to Unique gear (2 stones and 1M Kinah, always succeeds; weapon and guard first). Superior stones can also roll Damage Boost, Weapon, Crit Damage, or Front or Back Attack Damage Boost (about 0.5% each, +100 at best); keep any on the weapon and guard, but yellow Attack +10 is the realistic target. Necklace and earrings reroll toward Might, then Precision, after the class passives.
  • Chalice crystals: the 5 Mysterious Crystals for a Unique Chalice come from Season Mission > Tower of Trials (3, for 4,000+ points in Hard Ascension Trial), the Season Shop (1, 25,000 coins) and extracting spare cards (1).

Sources

Korean data runs a couple of patches ahead of global; check tooltips after big patches.