AION 2's weekly maintenance on 27 October (PDT) / 28 October (CET) shipped a big balance patch. Expedition and Transcendence bosses hit softer, two more dungeons get a Hard mode, crafted gear can finally Amplify as high as expedition gear, and a new 1,000-per-day gathering limit has r/Aion2 arguing. This page covers every change in NC's official notes, what each one means in practice, and the bits players noticed that NC didn't write down.
Everything below applies to the AION 2 global PC build after the 28 October 2026 maintenance (23:30 PDT on 27 October / 07:30 CET on 28 October, 4 hours 30 minutes). The source is NC's own Patch Notes, Oct. 27 (PDT) / Oct. 28 (CET), posted on the AION 2 Steam page and on aion2.plaync.com. We'll update this page when the next weekly patch lands, with Ludra's return on 4 November up next.
Quick answer: The 28 October AION 2 patch cuts boss Attack by 15% in Normal Expeditions and Transcendence Stage 1, cuts Attack and Damage Boost by 10% in Hard Expeditions and Transcendence Stages 2–4, and lowers boss HP by 6.5% in Transcendence Stages 1–2. It adds Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island Hard mode (item level 2,700, 4-minute Frenzy timer, 3 revives). Every class gets more base HP at level 45 (+1,500 for Gladiator and Templar, +1,000 for everyone else). Crafted Dragon gear's Amplify cap rises to 3 or 5. Gathering is now capped at 1,000 per server per day and requires level 45. Character deletion now takes 7 days, and a 28-day Atreia's Call attendance event runs until the 2 December maintenance.
When was the AION 2 October 28 patch, and how long was maintenance?
NC's maintenance notice set the window as 27 October 2026 at 23:30 PDT / 28 October 2026 at 07:30 CET, lasting 4 hours 30 minutes, with the game servers offline throughout. The notice is now marked "(Completed)". That puts servers back up at about 04:00 PDT / 12:00 CET on 28 October.
AION 2 runs its weekly maintenance on Tuesday night PDT, which is Wednesday morning in Europe. That's why NC dates every patch twice, and why you'll see the same update called the "Oct 27 patch" in the US and the "Oct 28 patch" in the EU. They're the same patch.
What changed for Expedition and Transcendence bosses?
This is the headline change. NC's stated reason, verbatim:
"Boss stats will be reduced to make encounters more manageable, reducing the risk of characters dying to high boss damage or failing to defeat bosses within the time limit." (NC patch notes, 28 October 2026)
| Content | Change |
|---|---|
| Normal Expedition + Transcendence Stage 1 | Boss Attack −15% |
| Hard Expedition + Transcendence Stages 2–4 | Boss Attack −10% and Damage Boost −10% |
| Transcendence Stages 1–2 | Boss HP −6.5% |
The HP cut matters most for DPS checks. NC says it reduces "the likelihood of Bosses entering a Frenzy state during prolonged fights", so a party that was losing Stage 1 or 2 bosses to the enrage timer now gets a bit more room. Transcendence Stage 1 gets both the 15% Attack cut and the HP cut.
Not everyone is happy about it. The Transcendence is now too easy thread on r/Aion2 reached 57 comments within hours, mostly people pushing back on the complaint. One player running Hard mode put the other side of it in their feedback thread: "The 10% boss attack nerfs completely killed the challenge." If you were stuck at a Transcendence stage gate, this is the week to retry it. For how the stages, item-level gates and Arcana drops work, see our AION 2 Transcendence guide.
What is Urugugu Canyon and Vakron Sky Island Hard mode?
Last week's patch added Hard mode to Krao Cave and Draupnir only. This patch extends it to the next pair:
| Krao Cave / Draupnir (Hard) | Urugugu Canyon / Vakron Sky Island (Hard) | |
|---|---|---|
| Added | 21 October (CEST) patch | 28 October (CET) patch |
| Entry item level | 2,600 | 2,700 |
| Boss Frenzy timer | 4 minutes | 4 minutes |
| Revives per player | 3 | 3 |
According to the notes, the new Hard modes offer:
- A chance at Philosopher's Stone: Revelation (Bound), which you can also select as a guaranteed reward.
- A guaranteed Ariel Fragment: Urugugu (Bound) or Ariel Fragment: Vakron (Bound), depending on the dungeon.
- A chance at an Expedition Hero Artwork.
- More Kina than Normal difficulty. NC doesn't say how much more.
- All Unique crafting materials, including Wrathful Mind, Wrathful Will and Wrathful Ego.
- New Expedition (Hard) achievements, which reward Unique Skins.
Ariel Fragments still go through Substance Morph: 100 fragments make 1 Daevanion Crystal: Ariel (Bound), up to 30 times per character, and 1 fragment makes 5 Enhance Stones, with no limit. Each dungeon drops its own fragment, so Urugugu and Vakron give you two new 30-crystal recipes on top of the Krao and Draupnir ones. That speeds up the Ariel board a lot. Our Daevanion board guide covers where those points go, and the Hard mode guide covers how the first pair works.
The same patch also fixed a bug where the resurrection count sometimes didn't reset when you retried an Expedition (Hard). If you got locked at 0 revives on a fresh attempt last week, that was the bug.
How much base HP did each class get?
Every class gets more base HP at level 45. NC says the change goes with the boss Attack cuts, to help melee survive "especially when facing Bosses head-on".
| Class | Base HP at Lv. 45 (before → after) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gladiator | 4,702 → 6,202 | +1,500 |
| Templar | 4,702 → 6,202 | +1,500 |
| Assassin | 4,702 → 5,702 | +1,000 |
| Ranger | 4,702 → 5,702 | +1,000 |
| Sorcerer | 4,702 → 5,702 | +1,000 |
| Spiritmaster | 4,702 → 5,702 | +1,000 |
| Chanter | 4,702 → 5,702 | +1,000 |
| Cleric | 4,702 → 5,702 | +1,000 |
Assassin also got two skill buffs:
- Heightened Sixth Sense: the HP effect rises to 1,000 / 2,000 / 4,000 at skill levels 5 / 10 / 20.
- Illusive Clone: base cooldown cut from 90 to 60 seconds.
No other class got skill changes this week.
What changed for crafted gear, Amplify and gear transfer?
This is the quiet change with the biggest long-term effect. Crafted gear's Amplify cap now matches expedition gear with similar stats:
| Crafted gear | Old max Amplify | New max Amplify |
|---|---|---|
| True Dragon, Star Dragon | 1 | 3 |
| Splendent True Dragon, Splendent Star Dragon | 1 | 3 |
| White Dragon, Dark Dragon | 3 | 5 |
| Splendent White Dragon, Splendent Dark Dragon | 3 | 5 |
Transfer between the two gear lines also opens up. You can now transfer Tier 3 Expedition gear into Tier 2 Crafted gear, and Tier 2 Expedition gear into Tier 1 Crafted gear. NC's example is Enraged Kromede Necklace → White Dragon Lord Necklace.
In practice, a crafted piece isn't a dead end any more. If you were holding off on crafting because Amplify capped out at 1 or 3, the math is different now. We go through what carries over, and the item-level traps, in our gear transfer guide. Amplify still needs a Unique item at max enhancement first; see the enhancement guide for that.
What is the new AION 2 gathering limit?
On r/Aion2, this is the change getting the most pushback. From the notes:
- Gathering is now limited to 1,000 times per day, per server.
- The limit resets daily at 12:00 AM PDT / 8:00 AM CET.
- NC adds that the cap "may be adjusted in the future".
- The minimum level for Gathering rises from 10 to 45.
NC doesn't give a reason, but players widely read it as an anti-bot measure. They're split on whether it also hurts real people. One player in the r/Aion2 thread worked out that 1,000 attempts is about 333 nodes if you get three gathers per node. Another estimated it at about 4 hours of non-stop gathering a day. Both are community estimates, not NC numbers. Most casual players won't hit the cap. Free players who gather a lot to fund crafting will.
The level 45 minimum matters more for alts. A fresh character can no longer gather to support your main, so it has to level first.
What changed in the Shop, Season Missions and daily content?
New daily dungeon: Odylium Repository gives a set number of Soul Crystals (Bound) based on your clear points. It shares its entry count with Daeva Bio-Research Base, so it's one or the other each day, not both.
Shop > Wind Breeze Merchants > Special changed because the server transfer period has ended:
| Item | Change |
|---|---|
| Instant Clear Ticket: Nightmare (Bound) | Added, 14 per server per week, 30,000 Kina each |
| Instant Clear Ticket: Daily Dungeon (Bound) | Limit changed to 14 per server per week, 30,000 Kina each |
| Odyle Energy (Bound), 20 per character | Removed |
| Odyle Energy (Bound), 4 per character per week | Added |
| Odyle Energy (Bound), 16 per server per week | Added |
| Lower Abyss Rift Stone (7-day) | Sale ended |
NC's notes also reshuffle where the Daily Dungeon clear ticket and Soul Crystal (Bound) live, and remove the "Special - Wind Breeze Merchants" tab from Substance Morph. The wording is contradictory, so check both menus in-game if you can't find them.
Weekly Season Missions: Land Grabs no longer gives Abyss Points and gives a Lower Abyss Rift Stone instead. Watcher Kaira also adds a Lower Abyss Rift Stone. If you farm AP through missions, that's an AP cut, though NC doesn't say how much. Our Abyss Points guide covers the other sources.
What else changed: Abyss, cubes, AFK timer and character deletion?
- Abyss: entry limits raised again so more players can get in. The Lower Abyss Dimensional Core has more HP, and a new Dissipation of Power debuff weakens it if an Artifact Battle lasts 10 minutes or longer. More on that in the Abyss guide.
- Hidden Cubes spawn more often.
- AFK timer: inactive players now get sent back to the lobby after 30 minutes instead of 3 hours.
- Character deletion: the wait goes from 1 day to 7 days, "to prevent abuse of repeated character deletion and creation".
- Server Transfer: the tab is gone from the Shop. Supply Requests needing Sweet Balaur Berry were removed, and attendance rewards claimed twice because of a server transfer will be taken back.
- Fixes: characters invisible in PvP, Season Missions that didn't progress after the required boss kill, and Ariel and Azphel Daevanion shown in the wrong place in the Character Progression summary.
- EU: content entry passes that didn't reset in Europe on 25 October will be granted to affected players.
NC also posted a separate Server Matchmaking notice for 28 October with new Abyss and Rift server pairings. Pairings can now match the same faction. In Europe, pair 1 is Triniel vs Lumiel, both Asmodian. NC says pairings will keep changing "periodically to keep the combat balanced".
What events and new items came with the October 28 patch?
Atreia's Call (28-day attendance) runs from after the 28 October maintenance until the 2 December (CET) maintenance. You can claim it once per server. Over the 28 days it gives:
- 8,000 Soul Crystals (Bound) (2,000 on days 6, 13, 20 and 27)
- 8 Odyle Energy (Bound) (2 on days 7, 14, 21 and 28)
- 40 Battle Enhance Scrolls (Bound) and 30 Resurrection Spiritstones (Bound)
- Soul Codex: Reset, Life Crystals, Artisan's Roasted Fogus, Unknown Fissure Challenge Tickets and two Content Usage Ticket Selection Chests
Odyle Energy, the Fissure tickets and the selection chests are deleted on 16 December 2026 (PST), so use them before then.
Daeva Pass: Prelude to Flight runs until 2 December. The Basic track is free and Premium costs 1,000 Quna and includes 20 Battle Enhance Scrolls. Pass EXP is capped at 15,000 per character per week. The best sources are clearing an Expedition or Transcendence (300 EXP), killing 10 monsters (60) and opening a Hidden Cube (50).
New cash-shop items (Purple Store prices, on sale until the 10 November PST / 11 November CET maintenance):
| Item | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Vulpine Sunshower (Skin: Set), 6 pieces | $29.99 | — |
| No-Nonsense Maid (Skin: Set), 4 pieces | $29.99 | — |
| Secret Teatime weapon skin (per class) | $11.99 | Class-locked |
| Pet: Azure Flame Kumiho / Glossy Pink Puppy | $19.99 each | Once per server |
| Maid Ribbon Wings | $19.99 | Once per character |
| Helm and Decor skins (11 items) | 300 Quna each | Decor once per server |
What did the patch notes leave out?
A few changes players spotted after maintenance aren't in NC's notes. Treat these as unconfirmed player reports:
- Season Shop materials and Server Storage. One player on r/Aion2 reports that Season Shop Materials (Wrathful Mind, Wrathful Will, Wrathful Ego, Refining Stones) can no longer go into Server Storage, which stops alts buying them for a main. Radiant Odyle reportedly still can. That player checked the notes and found no mention, and neither did we. NC hasn't commented.
- Server transfers. NC's 26 October notice first put transfers "on hold until further notice", then said they would resume (Europe first) with a new level 45 requirement. This patch then removed the Server Transfer tab "with the end of the server transfer period". Players who missed the window are asking whether it will reopen. NC hasn't announced another one; our server transfer guide will be updated if it does.
FAQ
When are AION 2 patch notes released? NC posts them on aion2.plaync.com and the AION 2 Steam news page during or just after the weekly maintenance, which runs Tuesday night PDT / Wednesday morning CET. The 28 October notes went up while servers were still in maintenance.
Did the October 28 patch make AION 2 easier? For bosses, yes. Normal Expedition and Transcendence Stage 1 bosses do 15% less Attack, Hard Expedition and Transcendence 2–4 bosses lose 10% Attack and 10% Damage Boost, and Transcendence 1–2 bosses have 6.5% less HP. Every class also gets 1,000–1,500 more base HP at level 45.
What item level do you need for Vakron Sky Island Hard? Item level 2,700, the same as Urugugu Canyon Hard. Krao Cave and Draupnir Hard need 2,600.
How many times can you gather per day in AION 2? 1,000 times per server per day, resetting at 12:00 AM PDT / 8:00 AM CET. You also need to be level 45 to gather at all. NC says the limit may be adjusted later.
Why does character deletion take 7 days now? NC raised the wait from 1 day to 7 "to prevent abuse of repeated character deletion and creation". If you want to reroll, start the deletion now rather than later. Our class change guide covers your other options.
What's in the next AION 2 patch? NC has announced that Ludra returns after the 4 November maintenance. That one gets its own notes, and we'll update this page when they're out.
Planning your week after the patch? These AION 2 guides pick up where the patch notes stop.
- AION 2 Hard Mode: Krao Cave and Draupnir requirements and rewards
- AION 2 Ludra Raid: Nov 4 release, item level requirements and rewards
- AION 2 Kina Farming Guide: how to farm Kina fast
- AION 2 Combat Power explained: how to actually get stronger
The bottom line
The 28 October patch helps players who were stuck. Bosses hit 10–15% softer, melee get 1,000–1,500 more HP, Transcendence 1–2 bosses have 6.5% less HP, and crafted gear can Amplify as high as expedition gear. Urugugu and Vakron Hard give geared players two more Ariel recipes and two more sources of Wrathful materials. The cost lands on gatherers: a 1,000-a-day cap and a level 45 minimum. If you gather to fund crafting, plan around the cap. Everyone else should log in daily for Atreia's Call and retry the Transcendence stage that walled you last week.
