The latest AION 2 patch notes, dated Oct. 20 (PDT) / Oct. 21 (CEST), lead with a major addition for endgame players: Hard mode for the Krao Cave and Draupnir Expeditions. The update also brings new rewards, a new ‘Ariel’ Daevanion Board, class fixes, a Kina-based event and several Abyss and Market changes. For downtime details, see our Oct. 20/21 maintenance notice.
Hard Mode Comes to Krao Cave and Draupnir
Both Expedition dungeons now offer a Hard mode with an entry requirement of 2600 item level. Hard mode adds a few new rules to the fight:
- The boss Frenzy timer is set to 4 minutes.
- Each player is limited to 3 revives.
New Hard Mode Rewards and Ariel Fragments
Hard mode introduces a fresh set of rewards, summarized below.
- A chance to obtain Philosopher’s Stone: Revelation (Bound), which can also be selected as a guaranteed reward.
- Ariel Fragment (Bound), with the specific fragment varying by dungeon.
- A chance to obtain an Expedition Hero Artwork.
- More Kina than Normal difficulty.
Ariel Fragments can be converted through Substance Morph in two ways:
- Daevanion Crystal: Ariel (Bound): 100 Ariel Fragments can be morphed into one crystal, up to 30 times per character. Find it under Substance Morph > Special > Daevanion.
- Enhance Stones: 1 Ariel Fragment yields 5 Enhance Stones, with no limit on how many times you can do this. Find it under Substance Morph > Special > Consumables.
Hard mode also makes all Unique crafting materials obtainable from both dungeons, including Wrathful Mind, Wrathful Will and Wrathful Ego.
New Ariel Daevanion Board and Achievements
A new ‘Ariel’ Daevanion Board is added. Ariel Daevanion Points are earned by collecting Ariel Fragments from Expedition (Hard) and morphing them through Substance Morph. The number obtainable this way is capped for each dungeon.
New achievements arrive as well, including an Expedition Hero Artwork Collector achievement and a set of Expedition (Hard) achievements. Completing the Expedition (Hard) achievements unlocks Unique Skins.
Chanter and Sorcerer Skill Fixes
- Chanter, Spinning Strike: Fixes an issue where skill effects were not displaying correctly.
- Sorcerer, Cold Storm: Fixes extra damage not being dealt to targets with stacked Frostbite, a Frostbite effect that did not match the skill level, and an issue where Specialty 1 applied Frostbite an additional time to targets in the area after the effect ended.
- Sorcerer, Fire Wall: Fixes extra damage being dealt to targets not affected by Embers.
Rise to the Challenge Event
The Rise to the Challenge event runs from 10/21/2026 until the start of maintenance on 12/15/2026 for PDT/PST, and until the start of maintenance on 12/16/2026 for CEST/CET. During this period, Resurrection Spiritstones (Season 1) can be bought with Kina under Shop > Wind Breeze Merchants.
| Step | Price | Included Items | Purchase Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | 25,000 Kina | Resurrection Spiritstone (Season 1) x30 | Per server per week |
| Step 2 | 50,000 Kina | Resurrection Spiritstone (Season 1) x30 | Per server per week |
Abyss Changes, Market Tweaks and Bug Fixes
Several Abyss adjustments are included: the maximum number of players allowed to enter the Abyss has been raised, the HP of the Lower Abyss Dimensional Core and of all Abyss bosses has been increased, and the collision hitboxes of Kaira and Argo have been slightly enlarged.
The Market restriction on listing gathered materials, which is based on gameplay history, has been adjusted so some previously restricted players can trade normally, while restrictions remain for others.
Bug fixes cover Empyrean Traces that were blocked by Halloween decorations at Dawn Legion Base and Zumion Village in Verteron, a duplicate [Movement Controls] entry under Settings > Key Settings, and a mismatch between a title’s actual effect and its item tooltip.
Source: Steam, AION 2 patch notes (Oct. 20 PDT / Oct. 21 CEST). Original link: not provided.