Note: This hands-on describes the state of the Launch Scale Test in September 2026, before release. Some details may have changed in the global version since then. Twelve hours, level 30, two evenings of testing: During the Launch Scale Test, I played AION 2 the way I approach every new MMORPG. The combat system won me over, and so did the character progression systems. But one issue became more and more noticeable as I played.
I click a quest in the quest log, and my character starts moving. On their own, without me steering them, all the way to the destination. It’s convenient, no question. But during the stream, I still found myself saying that it immediately felt like a mobile game. That moment sums up the entire test pretty well: AION 2 gets a lot right, but in some areas it does more for me than I actually want it to.
What the Launch Scale Test was
The Launch Scale Test was the final major stress test before release, open to everyone and with no key required. I played on both test days for a total of around twelve hours and reached level 30. The level cap is 45. AION 2 launches on October 5, while players with a Founder’s Pack can start as early as September 30.
My benchmark is the MMORPGs I’ve played myself, first and foremost World of Warcraft, along with New World, Guild Wars 2, AION 1, Lost Ark, The Elder Scrolls Online, and pretty much every other major name in the genre. Those are the games I’m comparing AION 2 against.
What works right away
The combat feels right. Abilities work well together, hits have weight, and the pacing is good. In an MMORPG, that’s half the battle, because combat is something you’ll be doing constantly.
The character creator is incredibly detailed. You can fine-tune your character’s face, body, and overall style, while eight classes at launch provide enough variety to make choosing one take a while.
The progression systems
Beyond combat, there’s an entire layer of progression systems, and I liked most of them.
- Daevanion: Boards filled with rune slots that let you further improve your stats and abilities. There are five boards in total. Two were still locked for me because I hadn’t progressed far enough through the quests and levels. It’s a nice system for long-term character progression.
- Stigma: additional abilities that you can specifically choose and equip. They give you a good amount of control over your individual playstyle.
- Pets: not a combat system, but a collection system. Defeating monsters lets you collect their souls and gradually unlock pets across three tiers. One of those tiers unlocks a transformation mode. I wasn’t able to figure out exactly what it does during the test.
- Genus Insight: an analysis system for pets with five categories that provides additional bonuses.
I really like the pet system, although it’s also the most complex system in the entire game. It took me a while to understand what each tier actually does.
The problem: Everyone plays on their own
That brings me to the part that bothered me the most. AION 2 divides its world into a lot of separate instances. During the test, it wasn’t just a few specific areas that were instanced, but all the small dungeons on the map, the Strongholds, and many story quests as well. On top of that, the zones are split across channels. The result is that you often find yourself in the open world without the people you actually want to play with.
At one point, I tested this directly on stream. I entered one of the dungeons alongside another party member to see whether we would end up there together or each be sent into our own instance. The result: instanced. My reaction was pretty simple: Well, I guess everyone just does this on their own, then.
For me, this isn’t a minor detail. An MMORPG thrives on running into other players, spontaneously forming groups, and traveling through a shared world together. The more a game breaks that world into individual instances, the more it starts to feel like a single-player online RPG with a chat window.
The first dungeon, Krao Cave, fits that pattern. With an uncoordinated random group, we were done in five minutes. I think back to the Deadmines in World of Warcraft, where even the first dungeon felt like an adventure. Krao Cave felt more like a quick stop along the way.
Pacing and progression
Leveling is fast, too fast for my taste. I reached level 30 after roughly twelve hours of playing at a relaxed pace. Common estimates put the time to reach the level cap of 45 at around 10 to 15 hours, which lines up with my experience.
Crafting is the opposite. Monsters go down quickly, but materials drop infrequently. Crafting itself also feels very linear: The rarity tiers dictate the path forward, and I rarely had to make any meaningful decisions about what kind of gear I wanted to craft.
Gathering professions are a positive, though. You can start them at character level 10 without any tools, while higher gathering levels simply improve your yield and the quality of what you gather. I managed to bring two of them to the cap for the beginner tier during the test. I didn’t have enough time to complete the quest that unlocks the next tier.
World, graphics, and minor annoyances
Visually, the game falls a little short of what the trailers promised. It still looks good, just not quite on the same level as its promotional presentation. The zones also felt smaller than I expected, and I missed the dramatic transitions I know from World of Warcraft. Going from the bright forests of Elwynn Forest into the gloom of Duskwood or out onto the fields of Westfall: Transitions like those give a world character. I barely saw or noticed anything comparable in AION 2 during the test.
There are also some smaller issues in the menus. I couldn’t find a mouse sensitivity setting, nor could I find a frame-rate limiter aside from V-Sync. The settings menu is otherwise extensive, which makes the missing options stand out even more.
The Pantheon, on the other hand, comes down to personal taste. It lets you display statues and paintings that provide stat bonuses. It’s more of a trophy room than actual housing. I would have preferred a proper housing system, but its absence isn’t a major problem for the game.
I do like the Shugo Festival, though. During the test, the minigame event ran every hour and offered great rewards. That comes with a downside: Because the rewards are so good and there’s no way to sign up in advance, you end up interrupting whatever you’re doing every hour.
What’s genuinely great: Flying
The moment you take off for the first time is the highlight of the entire test. Flying in AION 2 isn’t just a means of getting around. It’s part of the combat system, too. You can fight in midair, with the full combat system intact, and it feels like the feature that truly sets this series apart from other MMORPGs. The wings themselves are also collectibles and status symbols while providing additional bonuses.
What I can’t judge yet
Raids and the major endgame content at level 45 weren’t accessible during the test. I can’t say anything about them yet, and that’s the part of the game that will ultimately determine its long-term appeal.
The game’s live-service monetization is another open question for me because all real-money purchases were disabled during the test. Two things still stood out, though. At the start, the different classes’ armor sets look very similar. I suspect much of the visual variety will eventually come through costumes. If that’s the approach, I don’t have a problem with it. What concerns me more is the gear enhancement system, which lets you upgrade equipment to +5, +6, +7, and beyond. From Lost Ark, I know how quickly a system like this can become tied to materials that can be bought with real money. I didn’t see anything like that during the test, but it’s something I’ll be keeping an eye on.
My verdict after twelve hours
AION 2 has a strong foundation. The combat feels good, the character systems make me want to keep progressing, and flying is a genuine standout feature. For players who mostly approach MMORPGs solo, enjoy rapid progression, and like fine-tuning their characters, AION 2 has a lot to offer.
I play MMORPGs for the shared world, though, and that’s where I remain skeptical. The heavy use of instancing, auto-run, and fast, highly guided progression sometimes push AION 2 toward feeling like a game you play alongside other people rather than with them. Whether the endgame can make up for that remains to be seen after the October 5 launch.
AION 2 at a glance
| Game | AION 2 |
| Developer | NC (formerly NCSOFT) |
| Genre | MMORPG |
| Platform | PC (Steam and PURPLE) |
| Release | October 5, 2026 |
| Advanced Access | Starting September 30, 2026, with a Founder’s Pack |
| Level cap | 45 |
| Played | Launch Scale Test, around 12 hours to reach level 30 |
More Guides & Articles on AION 2
- AION 2 Best Settings: Graphics, FPS, Controls & Keybinds
- AION 2 Guides: Beginner Tips, Classes, Endgame & More
- AION 2 Classes Guide: All 8 Classes & Which Is Best for You
Update Log
- 10/10/2026: Added a pre-release note, gathering from character level 10, Genus Insight and Strongholds as in-game terms, and updated the facts box and the hub links.
- 10/08/2026: Unified terminology with the game client (Advanced Access, Shugo Festival).
