How to reach item level 1,400 in Aion 2

Item level 1,400 opens the second pair of Conquest dungeons, and with them the first big jump in gear. This is part two of the series: if you're still below 1,000, start with how to reach item level 1,000.

Between 1,000 and 1,400 the work changes. The open-world upgrades from the first guide still count, but the big new step is gear you make yourself.

What opens at 1,400

Urugugu Canyon

Weapons and accessories at item level 70, 300,000 Kina for a full clear.

Vakron Sky Island

Armor and a guard at item level 70, 300,000 Kina for a full clear.

Both need at least two players, so you can't solo them.

The steps to 1,400

1. Finish what you started at 1,000. Clear the rest of your sealed dungeons and strongholds, and get your amulet and belt to Unique. After 45, rifts take you to the other faction's map, which has sealed dungeons and strongholds of its own.
2. Collect the Abyss's Empyrean Traces. The Abyss has its own Traces, and collecting them adds about 50 item levels.
3. Buy Daevanion Crystals at the Shugo Festival. The festival's shop sells them, and every Daevanion point is one item level.
4. Take Draupnir's Exploration chest. Run Draupnir's Exploration mode three times, and the chest after the third run holds a guaranteed Unique armor piece at item level 54. Krao Cave and Draupnir on Conquest drop more pieces at 54.
5. Craft your accessories. This is the biggest step before 1,400, explained below.
6. Enhance and fill your Manastone slots. Enhance the pieces you'll wear for a while to +10, where it still can't fail, and put cheap Lesser Manastones in empty slots. Field elites and strongholds drop them.

Crafting your accessories

Handicrafting makes necklaces, earrings and rings, and its Artisan's tier is the upgrade that matters here. You need mastery 30 for the ring, 35 for the earrings and 40 for the necklace.

Materials

The Expert's Splendent version of the same piece, Artisan's Refining Stones from field monsters, and Pure gemstones and Pure Odyle that you gather. No dungeon materials.

The roll

Every craft has a 25% chance to come out Splendent. The Splendent piece is Unique at item level 44, a big step up from the accessories you leveled in.

The slots

One necklace, two earrings and two rings. Together they're worth over 100 item levels.

Gathering now needs level 45, with a limit of 1,000 gathers a day per server. If you have a second character at 45 on the same server, it can gather too and pass the materials over through server storage.

Your weapon works the same way: Blacksmithing for greatswords, longswords, daggers and maces, Handicrafting for bows and staves, and Alchemy for spellbooks and orbs. It's one slot, so it's worth it only if your weapon is weak.

Once you're at 1,400

1. Run Vakron Sky Island's Exploration mode three times. As with Draupnir, the third run's chest holds a guaranteed Unique armor piece, this time at item level 70.
2. Then farm both on Conquest. Urugugu Canyon for your weapon and accessories, Vakron Sky Island for armor and the guard. Replace your lowest pieces first. When a new piece replaces a Unique one, move the old piece's enhancement onto it with Enhancement Transfer.

The next stop is 1,600, where Transcendence opens and Arcana cards start adding to your item level. The next guide in this series covers it: how to reach item level 1,600. For what each dungeon pays, see Aion 2 dungeon item levels and rewards.

What not to spend on yet

• Enhancing gear past +10 unless it's Unique. Item level 70 gear replaces it soon after 1,400, and only Unique pieces keep their levels: Enhancement Transfer moves them onto the Unique piece that replaces them.
• Selling or extracting a Splendent craft. A Splendent piece is the ingredient for the next tier of the same item, and you'd have to roll the 25% again.
• True Dragon Lord crafts. They're item level 62 but need Wrathful Mind, a rare drop from Expedition bosses. Hard mode Expeditions drop every Wrathful material, but they start at 2,600.
• Good Manastones on gear you'll replace. Lesser ones are fine until your item level 70 pieces arrive.