AION 2: level to 45 fast, route, quests and shortcuts

How long does it really take?

NC publishes no duration, and nobody has measured Global at scale yet: the figures below come from guides, Korean and Taiwanese players and a speedrunner. Keep ranges in mind, not promises.

A Steam player who streamed everything at a relaxed pace reports level 31 after 12 hours, second character included. What saves time is mostly the detours you refuse to take.

The golden rule: story first

The main quest (yellow) gives the most experience: it is the backbone of every route. Regional quests (green) and sealed dungeons only matter on the way for one reason: filling the Ascension gauge. This red bar blocks your experience before the level 22 and 32 Ascension quests until it is full. So only do the green quests and dungeons that are on your path, or that the route points to.

Fast or complete? Failure Guild’s route only keeps the most efficient side quests and sealed dungeons, so you never have to backtrack after 45. MMO Codex goes further: it advises doing all side content, sealed dungeons and garrisons included, as you cross regions, since their difficulty follows your level and they give about 400 Daevanion points in total. The site offers both paces in your profile (My character) and applies them to the Journey 1 → 45.

The route in five phases

This route comes from Failure Guild (created by excalul, filmed by Krix Domi). It is documented on the Asmodian side; for Elyos the logic is the same but the zones differ. Find the quest-by-quest detail on Journey 1 → 45 and in the quest log.

1. 1

   Levels 1 to 9: the tutorial (about 20 minutes)

   Main quest only, from Fafnir Fortress (Asmodians) or Poeta (Elyos) to your first wings at level 5 or 6. The first Ascension quest makes you a Daeva.

2. 2

   Levels 10 to 16: first region, sealed dungeons, Traces

   Verteron (Elyos) or Altgard (Asmodians) open at level 10 with gear enhancement and sealed dungeons. Take the ones along the story and pick up every Empyrean Trace: 150 before level 16, to resonate at the Monolith. As soon as a skill reaches level 8, pick its specialization effect.

3. 3

   Levels 17 to 21: the village’s green quests, 245 Traces

   Do all the green quests of the starting village (Safe Haven on the Asmodian side) and the nearby sealed dungeons, bring your accessories to +5 and reach 245 Traces to raise the Monolith to level 20.

4. 4

   Levels 22 to 32: stigmas, kibelisks, Rune 1

   The 2nd Ascension (level 22) opens stigmas. Activate every kibelisk on the route (the “kisks”), finish the last sealed dungeons and get Rune 1 around level 30, through the Hugo Mercenaries chain (Asmodians) or “Cursed Blue Mineral” (Elyos). The 3rd Ascension comes at level 32.

5. 5

   Levels 33 to 45: pure story, Rune 2, belt and amulet

   From 33, follow only the main quest, with five kibelisks to activate and a detour for Rune 2. At level 45 the end of the story gives the belt and the amulet, and the 4th Ascension quest opens level 45 content.

Leveling dungeons

• Sealed dungeons: marked with a “?” on the map, they open in tiers (levels 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45) and number 61 per faction according to client data. The first clear gives bound Kinah, enhancement stones, a Daevanion crystal, a sealed wing feather and a title.
• Garrisons: 15 on the Asmodian side, 14 on the Elyos side. The first clear gives bound Kinah, a noble belt enhancement scroll and a title; those scrolls are what will raise your belt at 45.
• Expeditions: Krao Cave opens in Exploration mode around level 20 to 22, the Fire Temple at level 35, from the expedition list. They need Odyle Energy to open the final cube: only run them if you have energy in stock, the story comes first.
• On the Elyos side, the level 37 episode quest leads to the Fire Temple, the first real story dungeon.

Time-saving shortcuts

• Aim for level 22 on day one. Odyle Energy starts filling at that level (15 every 3 hours), even while you are offline; MMO Codex has it starting from level 20.
• Focus your points. Max out the two or three skills of your chain and its basic attacks; drag the effect of each unlocked specialization into its slot, or it does nothing.
• Cap gear at +5. Beyond that you spend Kinah and stones on gear you will replace. Only the level 45 belt and amulet, which are permanent, deserve upgrades.
• Equip your titles: one per category (Attack, Defense, Other) gives stats, and possession effects apply as soon as you earn them.
• Spend your Daevanion points as you go, board by board: Nezekan opens at level 12, Zikel at 20, Vaizel at 30, Triniel at 40 and Azphel at 45.
• Keep your Shugo Festival keys until 45: the rewards follow your level.
• Do not open the map’s daily missions tab before 45. Known issue as of 2 October: the missions then only appear the next day.
• Watch your item level: aim for about 1,000 when you reach 45 to finish the story and enter the first dungeons.

What not to do

• Doing green quests off your route: they cost time for small rewards.
• Spreading enhancement across every piece, or raising every skill evenly.
• Skipping kibelisks in phase 4: you will lose whole trips later.
• Forcing yourself to beat a record: the route is only worth it if you enjoy it, and nothing forces you to rush.

And after level 45?

Level 45 is only the beginning: your item level now opens the content. Prepare the belt and amulet, the first Transcendence and the daily missions, then move on to endgame and your routine.

• Journey 1 → 45The five phases, what opens at each level and your first week.
• QuestsYour faction’s quest log, quest by quest.
• Dungeons and bossesSealed dungeons, expeditions and bosses, with their rewards.
• MapKibelisks, dungeons and Empyrean Traces on the map.