AION 2 Nightmare guide: attempts, stages and shop priorities

As of 13 Nov 2026: Global is at level 45 and has sold the Instant Clear Ticket: Nightmare since 28 Oct (30,000 Kina, 14 per server per week). Korea, at level 55 since 11 Nov, opened Nightmare floor V and now gates it by combat power instead of item level.

AION 2 Nightmare at a glance

You go in alone against a boss from the story, in a powered-up version. Each boss has 10 stages that open one after another, with a suggested item level that rises every stage and an enrage at around 5 minutes. The first clear of each stage pays a lot of Phantasmal Fragments ("Nightmare Coin" in game), repeats far less. You spend those fragments in the Nightmare shop, one of the best power sources at level 45 for your Pantheon, Daevanion boards and stigmas.

Attempts: 2 a day, 14 stored, used only on a clear

Your Nightmare attempts refill at 2 a day and stack up to 14, which is one week away from the game; you need at least one to enter. Past 14, every day costs you 2 attempts, the equivalent of two first clears. Charges only start piling up at level 45, so don't wait for them before. Treat Nightmare like the rest of your routine: one visit every two or three days is enough, once a week at the very least.

• Try above your item level: according to client data read by Aion 2 Maps and AION 2 Meta, a loss doesn't cost an attempt. Creator Soulgrot cleared a stage suggested at 1,000 with a 934 item level.
• Do every first clear before repeating anything: a Common stage pays 500 to 900 fragments the first time, against 100 to 250 on repeats of Pinopi's stage 1.
• Extra tickets: the "Prelude to Flight" Daeva Pass (28 Oct to 2 Dec) gives Nightmare Dungeon Challenge Tickets at levels 13, 19, 33 and 39: 1 on the Basic track and 2 on the Premium track each time. According to creator SywoGG, these tickets fill a second pool of up to 30, separate from your 14 attempts (to be confirmed).
• Extra fragments: the "Ludra Conquest Check-In" event (until 18 Nov, 08:59 CET) gives 3,000 Phantasmal Fragments on your 3rd login day.

Does a loss use an attempt? No according to Global client data; one creator says it does, and NC hasn't said either way in its notes. Check your counter after your first loss: to be confirmed.

The 10 stages per boss and suggested item level

Run the numbers with the client values read by Aion 2 Maps: first clears pay 27,680 fragments across the four Common bosses, 21,560 across the two Rares and 15,000 on Zikel, 64,240 in all. Before you even touch Zikel, you can afford the colossus and all 50 Daevanion Crystals (29,000 fragments); with Zikel, there's enough left for about twenty Stigma Shards. After that, repeats pay little, so plan your purchases instead of spending as you go. To see where your item level sits against these thresholds, read our gear and item level guide.

The Global client holds 26 Nightmare bosses, with suggested stages up to 4,950. Community data only describes 7 open on Global (the 4 Commons, the 2 Rares and Zikel): the rest look reserved for future floors. To be confirmed once NC announces them.

Phantasmal Fragment shop: what to buy first

Rank your purchases by power per fragment. The colossus (14,000 fragments) and the 50 Daevanion Crystals (15,000 fragments) each cost around 15,000 fragments in total and pay off right away; Stigma Shards are expensive per unit, and statues are only worth it for an empty Pantheon slot.

1. 1

   Daevanion Crystals: 300 each, 50 per character

   Without Nightmare, levels, regional quests and your faction's sealed dungeons give about 316 crystals, against the 570 needed to fill Nezekan, Zikel, Vaizel and Triniel. Every crystal spent opens a node and adds +1 item level: 15,000 fragments = +50 item level, which also helps you clear the next stages. See our Daevanion guide.

2. 2

   Zikel's Apparition colossus: 14,000

   +45 Destruction, Justice and Time, which is +4.5% on each of their effects on Global (0.1% per point), including Attack Increase, Combat Speed, Defense and Perfect. It's the Pantheon's only colossus slot, and only Nahma's (+55) beats it. Buy it first if your item level isn't holding you back anywhere.

3. 3

   Stigma Shards: 1,500 each, 35 per character

   Each stigma level from 16 to 20 costs 8 shards, so 12,000 fragments; all 35 shards (52,500 fragments) can't even take one stigma from 15 to 20. Empty the Abyss shop first, paid in Abyss Points, then save these shards for your core stigma (stigma guide).

4. 4

   Rune chests: 500 each

   Growth tab, according to creator SywoGG; check the price in game. A chest holds 1 rune and 9 enhancement scrolls, and a rune at +1 is worth about 40 item level: a good buy while you're still going for +2 and +3.

5. 5

   Statues: 5,000, or 8,000 for Notun and Gerod

   Only for an empty statue slot: Ascension quests, binding every kibelisk (+10) and 10 Draupnir Conquest clears (+12 Death, Freedom and Space) give you statues without spending a single fragment.

6. 6

   Nightmare Wings: last

   Their ownership effect (1% PvE Damage Boost) is small and their price isn't confirmed: a collection buy once everything else is done.

Opinions differ on the order: Aion 2 Maps puts the colossus or Stigma Shards first, other guides start with Daevanion Crystals. Our rule: crystals first if an item level gate is stopping you (Nightmare, Hard expeditions), the colossus first otherwise. Prices come from the Global client as read by the community: check them in game, NC hasn't published them.

Instant Clear Ticket: Nightmare, when it's worth it

Since 28 Oct, the Instant Clear Ticket: Nightmare (Bound) has been on sale at the Wind Breeze Merchants, Special tab: 30,000 Kina each, 14 per server per week, shared by all your characters on that server (28 October patch breakdown). According to NC's membership notice, this shop tab is a member perk; without a membership, NC points you to the in-game merchants. NC hasn't detailed the ticket on Global. According to client data read by Aion 2 Maps, it only works on a stage you've already cleared, repeats its reward (up to 50 at once) and uses one attempt per ticket; used from the results screen it also pays ranking points, from the lobby it doesn't. That's the rule NC wrote for the Korean Ascension Trial on 11 Nov: to be confirmed in game for Global Nightmare.

• Use it when your stock is close to 14 and you have no time to play: it stops attempts going to waste.
• It only works on stages you've already beaten: get your first clears by fighting, since that's where the payout is.
• Do the maths: 14 tickets cost 420,000 Kina a week for repeats worth a few hundred fragments each. It saves time; it isn't an extra fragment source.
• Use it from a fight's results screen rather than the lobby: there it also counts for your season ranking (client data).
• With several characters on the same server, give the 14 tickets to the one with the least playtime.

Getting past a stage you're stuck on

1. 1

   Try anyway

   As long as a loss doesn't cost an attempt, a stage 50 to 100 item level above you is a free try.

2. 2

   Switch bosses

   Each Rare needs two specific Common bosses: Notun opens with stage 10 of Pinopi and Feruk, Gerod with stage 10 of Fafnir's Poison Blood and Giselle. If one boss stops you, push the other pair meanwhile.

3. 3

   Buy cheap item level

   Shop Daevanion Crystals (+1 item level each) and two runes at +1 (about 40 item level each) are the cheapest gains at level 45.

4. 4

   Fill your Pantheon

   17 slots: 1 colossus, 4 statues and 12 artworks. A green or blue decoration on display beats an empty slot.

5. 5

   Measure your damage

   The enrage hits at around 5 minutes: if that's when you die, you're short on damage, not survival. Tune your rotation with Combat Analysis (Ctrl + X) and check your build.

Global vs Korea: Korean floor V and combat power

Korean floor V adds two rank 1 bosses, 추격자 스토프 and 얼어붙은 집행자 에른 (800k suggested combat power), and a rank 2 boss, 서약의 대필자 벨룸 (1M); their English names aren't known yet. On 13 Nov NC fixed a 스토프 skill that dealt too much damage, and for 18 Nov it announces that the 벨룸 statue from the Nightmare shop moves from Unique to Heroic, with a stronger effect. Since 11 Nov the Korean shop also sells a limited amount of incense for the new "주신의 기원" system. None of this has been announced for Global: like the rest of Chapter 1, these floors will come later, with no date yet (Global vs Korea differences).

Mistakes that cost you fragments

• Letting your stock sit at 14: every extra day wastes two attempts.
• Repeating an easy stage while a first clear is waiting higher up.
• Buying 5,000-fragment statues before the colossus or Daevanion Crystals.
• Spending fragments on Stigma Shards before emptying the Abyss shop.
• Leaving a Pantheon decoration in storage: it gives nothing until it's on display.

• Nightmare in the dungeon guideAll 26 bosses in the Global client, their stages and rewards.
• Nightmare system sheetAttempts, shop, tips and sources.
• PantheonColossus, statues and artworks: what each slot gives.
• Daily and weekly routineSo your attempts never cap out.
• Stigma guideWhere to spend your Stigma Shards.
• Daevanion guideWhich nodes to open with your crystals.