Your Combat Power in Aion 2 increases through equipment upgrades and character progression systems, including skills, Stigmas, Arcana and pets. Understanding where these gains come from helps you find useful upgrades when your score starts to slow down.
In this guide, we will cover the difference between Combat Power and gear score, the systems that improve your character, and where to collect the materials you need.
For class specific skills, Stigmas and rotations to use alongside these upgrades, explore our Aion 2 builds.
A huge thank you to Ulfhednar for sharing his Aion 2 Combat Power tips and insights!
Combat Power and Gear Score Explained
Gear score, also referred to as item level, is used for content entry requirements. Combat Power is a broader rating influenced by your equipment, stats and other character upgrades. Players also use it when recruiting for dungeon groups.
The two numbers are related, but improving one does not always improve the other. Pet and Genus Insight bonuses, for example, can raise Combat Power without increasing your gear score.
Combat Power also has limitations. Offensive stats generally contribute more to the displayed number than defensive or resource stats, so a higher score does not automatically mean a better setup for your role.
If your immediate goal is meeting a dungeon’s item level requirement, our Aion 2 gear score guide covers the upgrades to work towards.
Upgrade Your Equipment and Enhancement Slots
Improving equipment quality and enhancement levels can raise both gear score and Combat Power. Start by checking the items you already use and looking for missing upgrades.
Useful checks include:
Equipment stats: Look for bonuses that support your class and the content you play.
Manastones: Fill available slots with useful stats and improve their quality as your equipment develops.
Weapon and guard stones: Check both items for Theostone slots so you do not overlook the guard.
Enhancement levels: Upgrade worthwhile pieces as you collect the required materials.
Offensive stat lines can produce larger Combat Power increases, but keep the resources and defensive bonuses your build needs. An upgrade should help you perform better as well as increase the number.
Enhance Clash Runes Carefully
Clash Runes provide another upgrade route, with starting runes available through regional quests. You can also find them in the Nightmare Trade Shop’s Growth section and the Abyss shop.
Failed Clash Rune enhancement can permanently destroy the rune. Check the displayed risk before confirming an attempt and consider whether you can afford a replacement.
Develop Your Skills, Stigmas and Daevanion
Skill and Stigma investment contributes to Combat Power, while Daevanion upgrades provide further character bonuses. Keep developing these systems alongside your equipment.
Your point distribution also affects the displayed score. Spreading points across more skills or Stigmas can show a higher Combat Power total than concentrating them in a key part of your build.
However, moving points away from an important skill can weaken the setup you actually use. Keep the skill levels and upgrades your rotation needs, then invest additional points in useful supporting options.
Where to Get Progression Materials
Check these sources regularly:
Shugo Festival shop: Daevanion Crystals and Stigma Shards.
Abyss shop, Growth and seasonal listings: Stigma Shards, Clash Runes, weapon stones and Mysterious Crystals for Arcana.
Regional quests: Daevanion progression rewards, with certain quests also providing Clash Runes.
Compare the available rewards with the upgrade you are currently working on. After collecting materials, revisit your skills and Daevanion board to spend them on bonuses that support your build.
Improve Your Arcana Cards
Arcana Cards offer another way to improve gear score and Combat Power while increasing the levels of useful skills.
Check the skill bonuses on each card before replacing your current setup. A card that improves a central part of your rotation can be more useful than one chosen only for its quality.
In the Arcana menu, you can extract unwanted cards to obtain Mysterious Crystals. These crystals are used in transmutation, including creating a Chalice with a chosen skill.
For example, a Gladiator can select Overhead Slam when building around that skill. The Chalice also receives random additional stats, so check the result before deciding whether it improves your setup.
The Primal Vigor set provides bonuses to PvE damage, so check its activation requirements when choosing your cards. Mana-related bonuses can also help if you struggle to maintain your rotation. Keep checking dropped cards too, as they can roll skills relevant to your class.
Collect Wings for Their Owned Effects
Wings can provide bonuses simply for owning them. These Owned Effects stack across your collection, so unlocking another pair can still help even when you keep your current wings equipped.
Check both the Equipped Effect and Owned Effect when comparing wings. They serve different purposes: one helps you choose what to wear, while the other shows the benefit of expanding your collection.
Sources to check include:
Quest rewards: Useful starting points for your collection and further crafting.
Dungeon drops: Another route to wings and related crafting opportunities.
Nightmare shop: Includes options such as Conqueror Wings.
Substance Morph: Lets you craft eligible wings when you have the required items and materials.
Wing recipes can require Pure Odyle or Radiant Odyle. Compare the cost with the bonus you will gain before spending heavily, especially when you have cheaper upgrades available elsewhere.
Add Statues and Artwork to Your Pantheon
Your Pantheon provides additional bonuses through statues and artwork. Fill available spaces with useful pieces, then improve the combination as you unlock more options.
The Transcendent Bakarma Statue is earned by clearing Draupnir Conquest on Normal difficulty 10 times. Defeating the final boss counts towards the achievement, and claiming the reward cube is not required.
However, leaving cubes unclaimed uses your weekly allowance. If the Remaining Unobtained Cube Count reaches zero, you are locked out of Conquest and Transcendence until the weekly reset, including on your alts.
Finish your other planned runs before using the remaining allowance for statue clears. Our Transcendent Bakarma Statue guide covers the achievement, route and boss mechanics.
Choose Useful Artwork and Further Statue Rewards
The main story provides your first artwork, with additional pieces available through dungeon drops and the Marketplace.
Compare the Pantheon attributes each piece adds. Damage-related bonuses and Illusion’s cooldown recovery can be useful, but the best combination depends on your build and the pieces you can access.
Nightmare progression also offers further statue targets. Check the requirements in the Colossus menu, including the relevant level-10 clears, before planning your runs.
Level Pets and Improve Genus Insight
Pets and Genus Insight are important sources of Combat Power, particularly when you have focused most of your progression on equipment.
Leveling pets unlocks additional stats. Check the bonuses available from each family, including its final reward, and prioritize ones that support your build. The family bonus that grants Might is an offensive option to look for.
Genus Insight provides further stat bonuses as it develops. Both the stats you roll and their quality matter, with offensive options generally contributing more to the displayed Combat Power total.
Avoid spending heavily to lock and perfect stat lines while you are still developing the system. Save that investment for higher Insight levels, around level 9 and above, when you are closer to building a lasting setup.
Get More Upgrade Crystals
Check your daily Duty quest rewards for the crystals used in this progression. Family-specific crystals support the relevant category, while the rainbow crystal can be used across families.
Crystal and currency costs add up when you repeatedly improve your rolls. If currency is holding back your upgrades, our Aion 2 Kina farming guide covers ways to replenish it.
Check Your Closet Bonuses and Titles
Smaller collection bonuses are easy to overlook while chasing equipment upgrades.
Extracting eligible equipment can unlock its appearance for your Closet. This is chance based, so check the rate shown before extracting an item specifically for its appearance.
Your Closet collection provides additional stats as it grows. Review those bonuses and the Combine options as you collect more appearances, as smaller improvements can add up over time.
Alternate characters can help you collect more equipment and appearances while you work through their own progression.
Titles are another source of useful bonuses. Compare the ones you have unlocked for effects such as cooldown reduction, HP and stamina, and check the title achievements tied to level-10 Genus Insight progression.
Choose a title that supports your current build, then return to the next affordable upgrade across your equipment, skills and permanent bonuses. Progressing several of these systems gives you more opportunities to improve than repeatedly spending everything on one expensive roll.
