The first new endgame difficulty since AION 2 launched went live with the weekly maintenance on 20 October 2026 (PDT) / 21 October 2026 (CEST). Expedition Hard mode is now open in Krao Cave and Draupnir, the two 1-star Conquest dungeons. Within hours, r/Aion2 filled up with threads like "170K+ for hard dungeons??" and arguments about which of the two is easier. This guide covers what NC's patch notes confirm about Hard mode, what they leave out, the Combat Power groups are actually asking for, and how to get the most out of the new rewards.
Quick answer: AION 2 Hard mode is a new difficulty for the Krao Cave and Draupnir Expeditions, added in the 21 October 2026 patch. Entry requires Item Level 2,600. The boss Frenzy timer is 4 minutes and each player gets only 3 revives. Hard mode drops Ariel Fragments for the new Ariel Daevanion Board, a chance at Philosopher's Stone: Revelation (which you can also pick as your guaranteed reward), every Unique crafting material, and more Kina than Normal. NC has published no Combat Power requirement, but on launch day players reported that groups at 140k to 160k CP cleared at a comfortable pace.
Where the numbers come from: every rule and reward below is quoted from NC's official patch notes for 20 Oct (PDT) / 21 Oct (CEST), which were also posted on the AION 2 Steam news page. Combat Power figures and the Krao vs Draupnir comparison come from r/Aion2 players on launch day, and we label them that way. NC has not published drop rates, the number of fragments per clear, or the Ariel board layout.
What is Hard mode in AION 2?
Hard mode is a higher difficulty for two of the Expeditions you already know. It is not a new dungeon. The patch notes put it in one line: "Hard mode will be added to Krao Cave and Draupnir. Required item level for entry will be 2600."
Before this patch, the Conquest Expeditions came in three star tiers: Krao Cave and Draupnir at 1-star, Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island at 2-star, and Fire Temple and Ferocious Horn Den at 3-star. Our AION 2 Expedition requirements guide covers each of those gates. Hard mode puts the two easiest dungeons on top of that ladder with a much higher gear check and much tighter rules.
Here is everything the official notes say about the mode itself:
| Rule | Hard mode (21 Oct 2026 patch) |
|---|---|
| Dungeons | Krao Cave, Draupnir |
| Entry requirement | Item Level 2,600 |
| Boss Frenzy timer | 4 minutes |
| Revives | 3 per player |
| Kina | More than Normal (no amount given) |
| New achievements | Expedition (Hard) set + Expedition Hero Artwork Collector |
| Cosmetic reward | Unique Skins from Expedition (Hard) achievements |
Source: NC official patch notes, 20 Oct 2026 (PDT) / 21 Oct 2026 (CEST).
What are the AION 2 Hard mode requirements?
The only requirement the game enforces is Item Level 2,600. Two numbers show how high that is:
- The 3-star Conquest gate (Fire Temple, Ferocious Horn Den) is Item Level 2,100 per the Fextralife AION 2 wiki, so Hard mode asks for 500 more.
- The highest Transcendence stage open on the global build, Stage 4, gates at Item Level 2,500. Hard mode sits above it.
In practice, Hard mode is for characters who are already farming the top of the current endgame. One r/Aion2 player put it this way on patch day: "the dungeon entry requirement is 2600, that's pretty much all decked out character and you're supposed to be doing good dmg by then."
What Combat Power do you need for Hard mode?
NC has not published a Combat Power requirement. CP is a filter set by whoever creates the room, not a gate in the game. Here is what players reported on the first day (21 October 2026):
- 140k to 160k CP for the whole party was described as "a nice pace" by a player whose group cleared it that way.
- About 130k across the party was called "going to be a slog" by the same player. Longer fights mean more chances to burn revives.
- 160k+ is what players expect the "gatekeeping standard" to be in week one, and they expect it to climb from there.
- Clerics are the exception. The game's only healer gets into groups well below the posted CP. As one player put it: "If you are cleric, ask for whatever CP you want, people will come either way."
Item Level and Combat Power are different numbers. Item Level gets you through the door, and Combat Power decides whether you beat the timer. One player summed it up: "U can inflate Gs pretty easily but your combat power will be shit." If you have 2,600 Item Level but low CP, fix that first. Our AION 2 Combat Power guide shows where the gap usually comes from: stigmas, Arcana, the Daevanion Board and pet genus rolls.
How do the Frenzy timer and the 3-revive limit work?
These two rules are what make Hard mode hard. NC's notes give the numbers but very little detail.
Frenzy at 4 minutes. The notes say: "In Hard mode, the boss Frenzy timer will be set to 4 minutes." They do not say what the boss does once Frenzy starts. Players are treating it as an enrage: you either do the damage inside 4 minutes or the fight gets much harder. That is why groups screen so hard on CP. The timer is a DPS check, and Combat Power is the only number a room leader can see before the run.
3 revives per player. The notes say: "In Hard mode, each player will be limited to 3 revives." Each death is a real cost now. Players expect this to make class bias worse. On patch day, one player predicted groups would start "rejecting squishier DPS roles in favor of more Chanters/Templars that you know aren't going to die."
The notes do not say whether the cap is per boss or per run, or whether Resurrection Spiritstones count toward it. Check this in the client before you assume you can spend stones to get past the limit.
Is Krao Cave or Draupnir easier on Hard mode?
There is no agreement yet, and that is useful to know. Both dungeons use the same entry gate, Frenzy timer and revive limit. They differ in their boss mechanics, and players disagree on which matters more:
- The case for Draupnir: one player whose group was at 140k to 160k CP said Draupnir is "maybe 30% easier" and suggested it for a group with lower Item Level.
- The case for Krao Cave: a player who reported 14 runs of each on patch day disagreed: "the jumps into stagger check is much harder to do than a single stagger check with no jumps in Krao."
So the answer depends on your group. If your party is good at moving together into a stagger check, Draupnir may feel easier. If your group falls apart when it has to reposition, Krao Cave's single stagger check is the safer pick. Since the Ariel Fragments you get vary by dungeon and Substance Morph has a per-dungeon cap (see below), you will probably want to farm both anyway.
Hard mode tips from the first day of clears
These come from r/Aion2 discussion of the first Hard mode runs. They are player advice, not official guidance.
- Templars, use your block. One of the busiest Hard mode threads on patch day was aimed at tanks. One Templar wrote that natural block chance "was more than enough until Stage 4 Transcendence and now Hard Modes," and that taking an active block skill is now a must because it keeps Fury active. Fury is a party-wide damage buff, which directly helps you beat the Frenzy timer.
- Bring the stagger skill if the boss needs it. Both bosses have stagger checks. Tanks disagree about whether the stagger stigma is worth a slot, but everyone agrees it matters during a stagger check.
- Use your consumables. A common complaint is party members who skip scrolls, potions and the free Halloween buff food. On a 4-minute timer, those buffs are free damage.
- Clerics, bring your resurrection skill. With 3 revives per player, a Cleric who can bring people back is the difference between finishing the run and losing it.
What are the Hard mode rewards?
This is the full reward list from the patch notes. NC gave no drop rates, so anything marked as a chance has no published percentage.
| Reward | How you get it | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Philosopher's Stone: Revelation (Bound) | Chance drop, or pick it as your guaranteed reward | Upgrading Soul Bound gear |
| Ariel Fragment (Bound) | Reward (type varies by dungeon) | Ariel Daevanion Board, or Enhance Stones |
| Expedition Hero Artwork | Chance drop | Collector achievement |
| Unique crafting materials | All of them drop from Krao Cave and Draupnir on Hard, including Wrathful Mind, Wrathful Will and Wrathful Ego | Unique-grade crafting |
| Kina | More than Normal | General progression |
| Unique Skins | Expedition (Hard) achievements | Cosmetic |
Source: NC official patch notes, 20 Oct 2026 (PDT) / 21 Oct 2026 (CEST).
The guaranteed Philosopher's Stone is the main draw. The in-game description says it is used "on Soul Bound gear to awaken new power." Community guides such as allthings.how report that two stones add an extra soul imprint line to gear that is already fully imprinted. NC has not described the mechanic in English, so check the tooltip in your client. Being able to pick it as a guaranteed reward makes Hard mode a reliable source instead of a lucky drop.
The crafting materials matter almost as much. All Unique crafting materials now drop in these two dungeons on Hard, so if you have been running several different dungeons to collect the Wrathful set, you can now get it all in one place. Our AION 2 crafting guide covers how Unique crafting and stat rolls work.
How does the Ariel Daevanion Board work?
The patch also adds a new 'Ariel' Daevanion Board, and Hard mode is the only place to earn points for it. The steps are:
- Clear Hard mode in Krao Cave or Draupnir and collect Ariel Fragments.
- Open Substance Morph → Special → Daevanion and convert 100 Ariel Fragments into 1 Daevanion Crystal: Ariel (Bound). You can do this up to 30 times per character.
- Use the crystals to earn Ariel Daevanion Points for the new board.
There is one more limit: "The number obtainable through Substance Morph will be limited for each dungeon." NC has not published that cap. Combined with the fact that the fragments you get vary by dungeon, this is why you should not farm only one of the two.
The math: reaching the 30-crystal cap on one character takes 30 × 100 = 3,000 Ariel Fragments. Fragments per clear are not published, so we can't tell you how many runs that is yet.
Leftover fragments go to Enhance Stones. Under Substance Morph → Special → Consumables, you can turn 1 Ariel Fragment into 5 Enhance Stones, with no limit. Once you reach the crystal cap or the per-dungeon limit, every extra fragment can go toward your +11 to +15 attempts. Our AION 2 enhancement guide has the full success rates and costs.
Should you buy Resurrection Spiritstones for Hard mode?
NC launched a "Rise to the Challenge" event alongside Hard mode, and it is clearly meant for players who keep dying in Hard mode. Resurrection Spiritstones (Season 1) are sold for Kina under Shop → Wind Breeze Merchants from the 20 October (PDT) / 21 October (CEST) maintenance until the start of maintenance on 15 December 2026 (PST) / 16 December 2026 (CET).
| Step | Price | Stones | Purchase limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | 25,000 Kina | 30 | Per server, per week |
| Step 2 | 50,000 Kina | 30 | Per server, per week |
Source: NC official "Rise to the Challenge" event notice.
Buying both steps costs 75,000 Kina for 60 stones per week, about 1,250 Kina per stone. Step 2 only unlocks after you reach Step 1's purchase limit. The Season 1 stones are used before any permanent Resurrection Spiritstones you already have, are non-tradable, and are deleted on 16 December 2026 (00:00 PST / 09:00 CET), so don't stockpile more than you will use.
The answer is yes, buy Step 1 every week if you run Hard mode. Step 2 is only worth it if your group is still learning the fights. Just remember the 3-revive cap may limit how many stones you can actually use in a single run, as covered above.
What else changed in the 21 October patch?
A few other changes from the same patch affect Hard mode runs:
- Sorcerer fixes: Cold Storm was not dealing its extra damage to targets with stacked Frostbite, and Fire Wall was dealing extra damage to targets without Embers. Both are fixed, so Sorcerer damage numbers from before the patch are no longer reliable.
- Chanter: a visual bug on Spinning Strike's skill effects is fixed.
- Market restrictions adjusted: NC changed the system that blocked some players from listing gathered materials on the Market based on their play history. Some restricted players can now trade normally, but "trading restrictions will remain in place for others."
- Abyss: more players can enter, and the Lower Abyss Dimensional Core and all Abyss bosses have more HP.
How do you get to Item Level 2,600 for Hard mode?
If you are below the gate, the climb from 2,100 to 2,600 comes from three things:
- Enhancement. Push Unique gear past +10 with the 65/50/35/25/20% rolls and their +5% pity. Most of the Item Level gain at the top comes from here.
- Transcendence. Stage 3 and Stage 4 runs (Item Level 2,200 and 2,500) drop higher-grade Arcana and are the usual step before Hard mode. See our AION 2 Transcendence guide.
- Keep your spare Unique gear. A player answering a Krao Cave loot question in patch week advised: "Save all your gold gear. It's needed to reroll substats on the equipment later in the game." That gear also feeds gear transfers. Don't salvage it.
Once you are in, Hard mode pays you back: more Kina, Enhance Stones from extra fragments, and the guaranteed Philosopher's Stone.
Pushing toward 2,600 Item Level? These AION 2 guides cover the rest of the climb.
- AION 2 Expedition requirements: every 1, 2 and 3-star dungeon gate
- AION 2 Enhancement guide: success rates, pity and Enhance Stones
- AION 2 Endgame guide: what to do at level 45
- More AION 2 guides on the timesaver.gg blog
FAQ
What is the item level requirement for Hard mode in AION 2? Item Level 2,600, for both Krao Cave and Draupnir. It was added in the 20 October (PDT) / 21 October (CEST) 2026 patch, and it is the only entry requirement the game enforces.
How much Combat Power do I need for AION 2 Hard mode? NC has not set a Combat Power requirement. On patch day, players reported that parties at 140k to 160k CP cleared at a comfortable pace, that about 130k across the party was slow, and that many rooms were already asking for 160k or more. Clerics are usually accepted below the posted number.
Which dungeons have Hard mode in AION 2? Only Krao Cave and Draupnir, the two 1-star Conquest Expeditions, as of 22 October 2026. NC has not announced Hard mode for any other Expedition.
What happens when the Frenzy timer runs out in Hard mode? NC's patch notes only say the boss Frenzy timer is 4 minutes on Hard. They don't describe the Frenzy phase. Players treat it as an enrage, which is why groups screen for high Combat Power.
Do Resurrection Spiritstones bypass the 3-revive limit? NC has not said. The patch limits each player to 3 revives in Hard mode, and the Rise to the Challenge event sells extra Resurrection Spiritstones for Kina, but neither notice says how the two interact. Check it in the client before you spend Kina on extra stones.
Is Philosopher's Stone: Revelation guaranteed from Hard mode? It can be. The patch notes say it has a chance to drop and that you can also select it as your guaranteed reward from a Hard mode clear.
What do I do with extra Ariel Fragments? Turn them into Enhance Stones. Substance Morph converts 1 Ariel Fragment into 5 Enhance Stones with no limit, while the Ariel crystal conversion stops at 30 per character and also has a per-dungeon cap.
