Six Things To Know When Getting Started In Aion 2

Aion 2 officially launched yesterday, and now everyone can get in. Of course, an MMORPG is an MMORPG and there’s probably quite a bit those visiting our site will be able to figure out easily. But, there might also be some things you could miss, or just think aren’t that important at first glance. So, we’ve compiled a short list of things that will make life easier in the game if you know about them ahead of time.

When Creating Your Character, Play With The Lighting Types

This is pretty important if you’re picky about your character’s appearance as in-game lighting can drastically change the way your character looks. For instance, when I was playing with a friend the other day, I realized his character that I was pretty sure he created to be blue looked green. As it turned out, the orange-yellow sunset lighting changed the color completely.

My character has similar issues, but it’s not quite as strange since I went with more skin-toned colors.

To be sure about what you’ll be seeing in-game, you can select the color-picking icon under “Lighting Type” and then change the light color. It will add some time to what may already be a long process in your character creation, but at least you’ll know what you’re in for when you hop in.

Collect All The Empyrean Traces

As with many games, Aion 2 has a collection system that rewards players for turning in a specific item to a specific landmark. In this case, you’ll be collecting Empyrean Traces and turning them into the region’s Monolith. Technically, there are two Monoliths in the first region. (In my case, since I play Asmodian, that would be the Altgard Monlith.) It doesn’t matter which of the two you turn the Traces into, they are synced and as one levels up the other does too.

There are a total of 30 levels to be gained by turning in the Traces, all but one of which offers rewards. These are items like scrolls, keys for opening hidden cubes, and Amplify Stone Fragments used to make the Amplify stones needed to awaken gear power.

Finding the Traces to turn in won’t be difficult. They’re everywhere. In fact, you can easily locate them on the map. Just look for the white feather marker. As you collect them, the collected ones will show a green check mark. Or, you can use your mini-map filters to hide the collected ones altogether. (I’d suggest this just to make the map less cluttered over time.)

Technically, you won’t need all the Traces you can find on the map to level the Monolith. There will still be a lot left out there even when all the levels are maxed out. Just keep collecting them anyway, because you can use a feature called “Substance Morph” (available in the main menu) to convert them to Power Shards that are used to increase damage during combat.

Do Sealed Dungeons

Sealed Dungeons won’t appear with that title on your map until you come near one. Until that point, they’re all “Undiscovered Areas” marked by a question mark. Once “discovered” – meaning you’ve come close enough to it, the marker will change to a circle. Once complete, just like with the Traces, the circles will have a green check mark. Unfortunately, you can’t make the completed markers go away like you can with the Traces. So, they’ll probably have to remain until you’ve completed every one, and then you can hide them all.

When you come close enough to one of these dungeons, the game will let you know with a message. If you’re in the right spot you’ll see it as a green portal in a cave entrance. These dungeons scale to your level and are something you’ll mostly do solo.

As with the Monoliths, you’ll receive useful rewards, such as Kina, Daevanion Crystals used for your skill tree, Wisdom Stones used for leveling skills, and Enhancement stones for gear. You’ll also receive a title for each dungeon completed and two other unique items. The first, Sealed Wing Featherdown is necessary to craft different sets of wings via Substance Morph. The second is Statue Scrap used to craft a special statue for your Pantheon (Think of it as a place to put your stuff.)

Don’t Throw Out Old Gear, Extract It

Aion 2 has quite a few outfit options out of the gate. Some you’ll buy in the game’s store, but many of them are skin versions of the in-game gear. If you come across something you like and want to keep it as an outfit choice, you’ll need to attempt an extraction. I say “attempt” because getting a version that will go into your closet isn’t guaranteed. Depending on the rarity, the chance of success can go down. So, you may also want to remember where an item came from, in case you need to try again.

To extract gear, you’ll need to go into your inventory and click the little vial icon at the bottom. From there you can quick select a bunch of items at once or manually choose. The “Extract” button will turn yellow and show you the cost for the extraction. Clicking it will then pop up a screen showing you what you might get out of the process. If nothing else, you’ll get Enhance Stones and clear up some of your inventory.

Visit The Black Cloud Merchants Once An Hour

Speaking of outfits, many of the in-game pieces are also available in the Black Cloud Merchants shop. This is accessed via the regular game shop by clickin on the tab in the top left. Unlike the premium items in the main shop, everything in the Black Cloud Merchants shop can be purchased with in-game currency. This includes pets and outfit skins. The items will change every hour, so if there’s nothing you’re interested in, you can try again later.

If You’re Going To Use Autopathing, Babysit It

Yes, Aion 2 has autopathing. And, honestly, I use it quite a bit, because sometimes it’s the best way to find your destination on the map. You might not be able to see that quest dot, but if you start the autopath and just follow the dotted line, you’ll find your destination. Plus, teleporting costs scrolls and you don’t exactly have an unlimited number of those. So, if something is reasonably nearby, autopathing can be a great way to get there.

All that said, there are some problems. One is that you can get stuck on other players who are stopped in your path. If this happens, the game will keep trying, but whether it’ll eventually go around or not is up for question. One way to avoid this is to use a mount that flies, albeit at a lower level than you would with your wings.

Why not just use your wings, you ask? Well, stamina is a thing. You can fly everywhere, but depending on how far away it is, you’ll end up having to land to get stamina back. Speaking of which, in some cases, when you use the autopath option, the game will tell you that you can’t reach the destination without flying. The game will not monitor your stamina in flight. So keep an eye on it so you don’t drop out of the sky. Also note that it will sometimes path you right into a wind trail and send you off in a completely different direction. It’s just not good about those things.