Leveling 1 to 45 in Aion 2: the fastest route

The level cap on the global servers is 45, and the main story is the route to it. There's no faster path than the yellow quests, so the real question is what to add on the way and what to leave alone. A few detours pay off for months, and the rest can wait until the cap.

This guide is the route by level bracket. For what comes after, see what to do at level 45, and if you haven't picked a class yet, start with Aion 2 classes: which one should you play?.

The route at a glance

Levels	Where	What happens
1 to 9	Poeta for Elyos, Ishalgen for Asmodians	The opening story. Wings at level 5 or 6.
10 to 22	Verteron from Cantas Valley to the Fortress Ruins. Altgard from the Dredgion Crash Site to Moslan Forest.	Sealed dungeons and crafting open at 10, the Nezekan board at 12, the Zikel board and Krao Cave at 20.
22 to 32	Tolbas Forest in Verteron. Uruthumheim and Dranactus in Altgard.	The Ascension step at 22 opens stigmas and Odyle energy. Urugugu Canyon at 28, the Vaizel board at 30.
32 to 45	Altamia to the Nahid Brigade Fortress in Verteron. Battlescar Mound to Lagta Fortress in Altgard.	Fire Temple at 35, the Triniel board at 40, and at 45 the Azphel board and the endgame.

After the starting zone you level in one region, Verteron or Altgard, from 10 all the way to 45. Its 61 sealed dungeons, its hidden cubes, 95 in Verteron and 59 in Altgard, its Empyrean Traces and its 15 strongholds are all on the way, so the detours below never send you across the world.

Follow the yellow quests

Main story quests give the most experience for the time, unlock every system as you reach it, and hand out the gear you level in. On their own they pay almost all of the experience to 45: about 97% of it for Elyos and 99% for Asmodians. The one soft spot is levels 30 to 39, where the story covers only around 70% of what you need, so clear the sealed dungeons you pass there instead of grinding. Region quests pay under 2% of the climb, so they're not a leveling tool. And never skip a main story quest.

Expect the pace to change at 40: two thirds of all the experience between 1 and 45 sits in the last five levels, whatever route you take.

Three habits keep the story moving:

Activate every Kibelisk you pass. Kibelisks are the teleport points. Return Scrolls take you to the nearest one you've activated, and the early story gives you 20 at a time, so there's no reason to walk back to town.
Read what each Ascension step unlocks. The story stops at 22, 32 and 45 for an Ascension step, and each one opens systems you should set up before carrying on.

Detours that pay off for months

These are worth stopping for, because what they give stays with you after you replace every piece of gear:

Clear the sealed dungeons. The question marks on your map. Each is a short solo run between levels 10 and 45, and every first clear gives 2 Daevanion points, 2 skill points, a title, Enhance Stones and 15,000 Kina. All 61 add up to 122 Daevanion points and 122 skill points, and every Daevanion point is one item level.
Pick up Empyrean Traces when you see them. The glowing feathers all over the map. The quest Empyrean Monolith opens your region's Monolith, and every Monolith level gives permanent stats and scrolls for your amulet.
Clear the strongholds you pass. The enemy forts, 15 on your home map. Each is a one-time clear that pays scrolls for your belt. The map's info panel tells a stronghold from a sealed dungeon.
Open hidden cubes. They hold leveling items and spawn more often since the October 28 patch.
Do the region quests that pay Daevanion points or Clash Runes. Region quests give almost no experience, but some hand out Daevanion points and the two Clash Runes that go in your rune slots. Take each rune to +1 and stop, because a higher upgrade can destroy it. Leave the other region quests for 45.

Done along the way, these put you at or near item level 1,000 when you hit 45. Rushing the story alone leaves you at about 650, with all of this still to do.

What to skip until 45

Grinding monsters. Quests outpace it at every level.
Crafting beyond the intro quests. Pick a profession at level 10 and leave it. Gathering doesn't open until 45 anyway, and the crafts that matter need level 45 materials.
Enhancing anything past +10. Up to +10 can't fail, so a few cheap levels on your weapon are fine. Past that you're spending on gear you'll replace, and the campaign quests at 45 hand you a full set anyway. Leave your Manastones for gear you'll keep.
Farming dungeons for gear. One run of each Exploration Expedition when it opens is enough. The drops don't last.
Keeping gear you've replaced. Extract everything that isn't yellow, unless a supply request asks for it.

Spend as you go

The biggest mistake while leveling isn't a wrong route, it's arriving at 45 with points unspent.

Skill points. Spend them as soon as you get them. They raise a skill to level 10, and two or three core skills at a high level beat ten skills at a low one.
Daevanion points. Each board is a grid of stat and skill nodes, and a node costs 1 to 4 points depending on its rarity. Start with the nodes that strengthen the skills you actually use.
Stigmas. Your second set of skills, from level 22, with more slots at 27, 32 and 37. Fill each slot as it opens and upgrade the stigmas you use with Stigma shards.

Expeditions while leveling

Expeditions are dungeons for one to five players, and their Exploration mode opens while you level: Krao Cave at level 20 and item level 200, Urugugu Canyon at 28 and 300, Fire Temple at 35 and 500. A clear drops a reward cube that you open with Odyle energy, which unlocks at 22. Energy refills by 15 every 3 hours and stores up to 560, so while leveling you'll rarely run short.

Run each one when it opens for the story and the gear, then move on. At 45 every Expedition gets a harder Conquest mode, in three tiers that open at item level 700, 1,400 and 2,100. That's where the gear farming starts.

When you reach 45

Finish the level 45 campaign, spend what you've saved on the Azphel board and start the climb to item level 1,000, which opens the Abyss. What to do at level 45 puts those steps in order, and the daily and weekly checklist covers the routine from then on.