AION 1 vs AION 2 for veterans

Status labels: [Official] — NC or Steam; [Community ×N]; [Single source]; [Ref] — encyclopedia reference.

At a glance

	AION 1 (The Tower of Eternity)	AION 2 (Global)
Release	KR Nov 2008; NA/EU Sep 2009 [Ref]	KR/TW Nov 19, 2025; Global Oct 5, 2026 [Official]
Engine	CryEngine [Ref]	Unreal Engine 5 [Official]
Story time	The Cataclysm and the Abyss war	About 200 years later, after the Last War [Ref + Official]
World size	—	NC: 36× the original [Official]
Flight	In flight zones, timed flight [Ref]	Fly almost anywhere; flight uses stamina [Official + Single source]
Class choice	Archetype, then specialization at Lv. 10 [Ref]	Class chosen at creation [Community]
Launch classes on Global	—	8 classic classes [Official]
Faction layout	Both factions in the same world, PvP in the Abyss [Ref]	One faction per server; paired enemy server [Official]
Business model (today)	Free to play since 2012 in the West [Ref]	Free to play + optional membership [Official]
Player trade (AION 2)	—	Market gated by membership; direct trade disabled [Official]

In plain words: same world and the same war, but a new engine, a new story chapter, much freer flight and new ways to grow your character.

Story: what happened in 200 years?

In AION 1 the Cataclysm broke the Tower of Eternity and split Atreia into Elysea and Asmodae, with the Abyss between them. In AION 2’s backstory, the Tower falls again in the Last War. The Empyrean Lords raise a wall of light, the Bulwark, and new Dragon Lords Ishtar and Fafnir take the lands beyond it — [Official]. Full summary: Atreia and the AION 1 → AION 2 timeline.

Classes: familiar names, new kits

• Global launched with Gladiator, Templar, Assassin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Spiritmaster, Cleric, Chanter — [Official].
• You no longer level a shared archetype to 10 first. You pick the class at creation.
• Later AION 1 classes (Gunner, Songweaver and others) are not in Global. KR/TW added a new class, Brawler (unofficial English name) — [Official KR notes].
• Stigma returns as a slot system, but numbers differ: Global has 4 slots, unlocked at Lv. 22/27/32/37 — [Community ×2]. → Stigma

Choose with our class picker.

Flight and combat

• NC markets AION 2 around flight as combat: “the sky is the battlefield” — [Official].
• Flight is no longer limited to special zones. The official site promises to “soar without limits” — [Official]. Flight and auto-flight use stamina — [Single source].
• Combat uses action dodges and aiming, according to NC — [Official]. Reviews are split on how it feels (see our after-launch review).
• AION 2 adds underwater areas — [Ref].

Factions and PvP

AION 1 veterans remember ganking in shared zones and Abyss fortress sieges. On Global AION 2:

• Each server holds only one faction. You never meet the enemy while questing at home — [Official].
• You meet them in the Abyss (Lv. 45, about item level 1,000) and through Spacetime Rifts (Lv. 45, every 3 hours) — [Community ×3; ×2].
• Your opponents always come from your paired enemy server — [Official].

→ Abyss and PvP, Spacetime Rifts

Progression: what is new

System	What it does	More
Daevanion boards	Talent-like boards named after Empyrean Lords; add stats and skill levels	Daevanion
Item level gates	Content opens by item level (e.g. Abyss ~1,000; Transcendence 1,600)	Item level
Arcana	5 card slots with Empyrean Lord stats and skill levels	Arcana
Soul Binding	Random bonus lines on Unique gear	Soul Binding
Odyle Energy	Energy spent to open reward cubes in group content	Gear hub
Enhancement	Safe to +10, then risky; Amplify beyond	Enhancement

Economy and money

Old AION started with a monthly subscription and moved to free to play later [Ref]. AION 2 is free to play from day one, but:

• the Market and Kina↔Quna exchange require the Special Quai Membership — [Official];
• direct trade between players is disabled on Global as an anti-bot measure — [Official].

Many veterans in Steam reviews dislike this. Our neutral breakdown: Is AION 2 pay to win?.

Should a veteran come back?

If you loved the factions, the wings and the Abyss, AION 2 gives you those in a modern engine. If you loved the old open economy and shared-world PvP, expect big changes. Read the after-launch review before committing.