There’s no shortage of MMORPGs out there all promising they’re worth hundreds of hours of your life. Some dangle endless levelling, others huge raids, and plenty shove an in-game shop in your face before you’ve even figured out which button makes you walk. AION 2 feels a little different—built around soaring through the skies, fighting mid-air, and blending familiar MMO style with snappier, faster action.
It’s made and published by NC (formerly NCSOFT), and it’s the long-awaited follow-up to the original AION. The global PC version dropped 5 October 2026, landing on Steam and NC’s own PURPLE platform as a free-to-play title.
On paper, it sounds great. Built in Unreal Engine 5, the devs say the world is a massive 36 times bigger than the first game. You can take to the air, dive underwater, fight up above the ground, and pick from eight different classes. Character creation is deep, and combat mixes classic tab-target fighting with punchier, more action-style gameplay.
But here’s the catch: AION 2 has launched with a problem more and more MMOs can’t afford to ignore. You can have the prettiest world and the most fun combat around—but if players feel like the business model is working against them, that only goes so far.
A world built on taking flight
Flying isn’t just a fancy extra here—it’s the heart of how you explore. This isn’t just “unlock wings to reach one hidden platform”. The whole game is designed around moving through three dimensions, and you’ll fight in the air in both PvE and PvP.
That alone gives it a real personality—no more just running between quest markers like every other fantasy MMO. Being able to swoop down, approach from above, and battle while you manoeuvre opens up possibilities ground-based games just don’t have.
The world itself is stunning too, detailed landscapes, with Unreal Engine 5 really breathing life into the realm of Atreia. Character customisation is impressive as well—over 200 different options to tweak, so you can actually make your avatar feel like yours. And let’s be honest: when you’re committing to a game for months, having a character you actually like looking at matters more than some studios seem to realise.
Still—pretty graphics don’t carry a game. A world can look amazing and still feel empty if there’s nothing fun to actually do in it. That’s the real test AION 2 will have to pass over time.
Combat that’s about more than spamming skills
You’ve got eight classes to choose from: Gladiator, Templar, Assassin, Ranger, Chanter, Cleric, Sorcerer, and Spiritmaster. All the classics are there—tanks, healers, damage dealers—so MMO veterans will feel right at home straight away.
Where it gets interesting is the combat system itself. It doesn’t force you into one style—instead it blends tab-target and action gameplay, putting more focus on timing, positioning, and movement. Skills can combo together if you pull them off right, rather than just hitting everything as soon as it lights up. Blocks and parries add another layer to master too.
I feel combat is a mixed bag though. I love the flow of combat and how characters grow; I also feel early enemies feel too easy, and the action mode isn’t as satisfying as I would have hoped. I even felt that some attacks lack real punch or sound impact. That stuff matters—flashy animations are great, but landing a hit should feel solid.
How it all holds up in tougher, later-game fights is what will really show if these systems work.
Eight classes, plenty of room to grow
Progression is still core to the experience. Each class plays differently—whether you’re charging in as a Gladiator, holding the line as a Templar, or keeping your team alive as a Cleric. That familiar setup makes it easy to work out where you fit in a group, while support and ranged classes give you plenty of alternatives if you’d rather hang back or buff your friends.
There’s solo content, dungeons, bigger group raids, and competitive PvP too—something for almost every playstyle. But a long list of icons on the map doesn’t equal a great endgame. It’s the quality of those activities, the rewards, and the drive to keep improving that will keep people around.
Players only got up to level 30 in testing, so the full endgame at level 45 is still uncharted territory but i can tell you now, you need TIME alot of TIME. But not its it’s live, we can see what everyone feesl about end game and have a chance to figuring out together.
More story than you might expect—though not always clearly
AION 2 picks up 200 years after the first game, after the Tower of Eternity was destroyed. The Elyos and Asmodians are still there, and the Balaur are a major threat. If you played the original, you’ll recognise all of it—but if you’re new, there’s a lot of history to catch up on.
That’s a double-edged sword. It should reward returning fans—but it shouldn’t leave everyone else feeling like they walked into a film halfway through. Early feedback says the opening dumps a lot of made-up terms without explaining them, which makes it harder to care about what’s going on if you’re new to Atreia.
The good news is you don’t need to be an AION expert to enjoy a good fantasy world. You just need characters and conflicts that grab you—and that’s something the game will have to earn from everyone equally.
Explore alone, fight together
This isn’t just about killing monsters—PvP is huge here, with arenas, rifts, and massive faction battles. The return of the Abyss and the focus on flight make it feel genuinely different from other games. Fighting someone while you manage your altitude and position is nothing like trading blows on flat ground.
NC’s also made changes ahead of launch—adding the Chaotic Abyss for big-scale fights, tweaking defences, introducing new Stigma skills, and separating PvE and PvP stats. It shows they’re trying to keep things balanced, though everyone knows MMO tuning never really ends. The real test starts when thousands of players start finding all the clever combos no one saw coming.
But there’s a bigger question: will it feel fair? Competitive PvP stops being fun if you think the other guy just paid to win. And that’s exactly where AION 2 has hit its biggest sticking point.
Free to play… but at what cost?
Let’s be clear: you can download and play AION 2 without paying anything upfront. That’s a real plus—you can try it out, see if it clicks, before spending a penny on extras.
But “free” doesn’t always mean cheap long-term. Launch has already sparked debate over how it makes money—subscriptions, cosmetics, battle passes, and purchases that sometimes don’t travel with you. The biggest gripes was when items were locked to one server or character, this was recently fixed and patched. For a game that encourages you to experiment, that’s was frustrating at launch, but now its fixed, its great news.
NC did tweak things for the global release compared to earlier Asian versions, but players are still watching closely—worried spending might give an edge, even if it’s indirect through the in-game economy. None of this means you have to pay to play, and Founder’s Packs are optional. But these are fair questions to ask before you commit months of your time.
Mostly, though, it’s about trust. Players happily support games they feel are honest and fair. If perks vanish when you change server, people will just keep their wallets shut. And that’s a terrible look for a game hoping to build a community that sticks around for years.
AI art is another talking point
Monetisation isn’t the only thing people are discussing. The Steam page openly says some assets—like card designs and icons—were made with AI help. That hasn’t gone down well with players who prefer art made entirely by hand. Others care less, as long as it looks good and fits the world.
It’s worth keeping in perspective: this is about certain assets, not the whole game. The environments, combat, and design stand or fall on their own merits. Still, being transparent matters—players care how the things they love are made, and studios are realising not everyone is okay with AI replacing human artists.
Will people stay?
Launch numbers are impressive—nearly 398,000 concurrent players on day one. But a big opening doesn’t guarantee a healthy future. People will try anything that looks good or their friends are playing; keeping them is the hard part.
The real questions are whether the endgame stays fun, classes feel balanced, PvP stays fair, and NC actually listens to feedback. They’ve already shown they’re willing to adjust things—but consistency is what counts. Hype only carries you so far.
So what’s the verdict?
AION 2 has the makings of something really appealing. Flying and aerial combat give it a clear identity, the world looks stunning, and there’s plenty to choose from in how you play.
There are real reasons to be cautious too—early story pacing, some underwhelming early fights, and above all the monetisation model. Purchases that don’t travel with you are a genuine annoyance, and worries about fairness could grow once people settle in for the long haul.
That doesn’t mean you should write it off. It’s free to try, and the flying and large-scale battles really are worth seeing for yourself. But NC needs to show they’re listening—and that you can enjoy the game without feeling like you have to keep paying over and over.
Right now, AION 2 looks promising—great first impression, beautiful to look at—but with big questions still unanswered. Its future won’t be decided by how many show up in one week. It’ll be decided by how many still want to be there months from now.
Aion 2 Trailer
Read more awesome reviews >>here<<.
The game was provided to us for the express purpose of reviewing.
Written by myself then edited and formed by my partner.
Review Summary
What is AION 2?
AION 2 is a free-to-play MMORPG featuring a huge fantasy world, eight classes, flight, aerial combat and PvE and PvP activities.
What makes AION 2 different?
Its world is built around flight, with aerial combat, detailed character customisation and both tab-target and action-focused combat options.
What are the problems?
Monetisation concerns, purchase restrictions and questions about endgame balance have caused controversy since launch.
Is AION 2 worth playing?
It’s worth trying for free if you enjoy MMORPGs, but its monetisation and long-term progression need closer scrutiny.
What score does AION 2 get?
7/10
