Below you’ll find a complete, well-organized, easy-to-navigate recap with every key point mentioned during the stream.
Table of Contents
- 1) Quick summary
- 2) Game status & numbers: sales, subscriptions, retention
- 3) January 7 update: shared pets and basic presets
- 4) Wardrobe (Jan 14–21) and the future of storage
- 5) Advanced presets (Jan 14): gear, titles, wings, and Arcanas
- 6) Crackdown on macros/bots: “captcha,” penalties, and legal action
- 7) Global combat changes: grabs, CC, and PvE utility
- 8) Class balance: what’s changing for Gladiator, Templar, Cleric, and Sorcerer
- 9) Abyss: bosses, reward distribution, and longer PvP fights
- 10) Season 2: what resets, what doesn’t, and the new class-based ranking
- 11) Official roadmap (Jan–Feb 2026)
- 12) PvE & Season 2 dungeons: tickets, “carry” limits, and melee improvements
- 13) Gear: partial inheritance, armor stats, and PvE vs PvP separation
- 14) Abyss Points: from weekly caps to a season-wide accumulative cap
- 15) Q&A: what’s confirmed
- 16) New Year code and appearance reward
1) Quick summary
- January 7: a major patch arrives with server-wide (account) shared pets and basic skill presets.
- January 14–21: the Wardrobe goes live, and on January 14 the expanded preset system arrives (including gear/wings/titles/Arcanas).
- Anti-bot: a captcha-style check triggers on suspicious activity, with penalties for failure, alongside tougher sanctions and legal measures.
- Combat: structural changes to grabs/CC, plus adjustments so certain “control” skills retain real value in PvE.
- Season 2: not a full “hard reset,” but rankings reset and server/matchmaking changes are coming. Rankings will be class-based.
- Roadmap: 4★ dungeons, an “Awakening” system, an Abyss PvPvE mode, hard modes, and new bosses.
2) Game status & numbers: sales, subscriptions, retention
The broadcast opened with New Year greetings and a quick performance recap. According to the team, highlights included:
- Very strong sales in the first weeks (they mentioned the game surpassed a massive revenue figure a little over a month after launch).
- Over one million total subscription purchases.
- A notable retention chart they called unusual: an “inverse curve” where activity and return rate increase instead of dropping, with levels shown above 80%.
3) January 7 update: shared pets and basic presets
3.1 Server-wide shared pets
On January 7, a major change goes live: all pets, their levels, and progression become shared across every character on the same server (at the “account” level).
What does that mean?
- The game will sum pet experience and progression resources across your characters to calculate an overall server total level.
- The required “souls”/materials to level pets will be cut in half.
- The stat tied to “insight/perception” (per the translation) will use the highest level on that server.
- If you have materials above the maximum limit, the game will refund them converted into a crystal/currency.
- Important: they clarified that paid pets are not included in this unification.
3.2 Free basic presets
Also on January 7, AION 2 gets a free basic skill preset feature. The goal is to let you save configurations so you can swap skill/specialization setups quickly, without rebuilding everything manually each time.
4) Wardrobe (Jan 14–21) and the future of storage
The Wardrobe feature is scheduled to launch between January 14 and January 21. The main focus:
- Allow players to purchase and store multiple copies of the same outfit.
- Store those copies with different dye colors so you can swap styles without losing variants.
They also mentioned the team is still working on expanding personal storage, but they’ll share details later once it’s ready.
As for returning older cosmetics, they said they would evaluate re-releases only after Wardrobe is implemented, including the possibility of bringing back older outfit collections that some players missed.
5) Advanced presets (Jan 14): gear, titles, wings, and Arcanas
After the basic preset system on 1/7, the expanded preset system is planned for January 14. This upgrade would add:
- Titles
- Wings
- Equipment
- Arcana cards/sets (and their configuration)
They also clarified a key point: you’ll be able to save combinations of stigmas and specializations for quick swapping, but you won’t need to level stigmas separately for each preset.
6) Crackdown on macros/bots: “captcha,” penalties, and legal action
To combat automation in hunting and gathering, the team announced a captcha-style verification that appears when the system detects suspicious activity.
What happens if you fail it?
- A transformation/penalty is applied that limits movement speed and skill usage.
In addition, the team said they’re preparing a second wave of legal action against creators of illegal software. They also mentioned they’ve already sent warnings to users detected buying/selling in-game currency on external sites, and that strict sanctions—including bans—are on the table.
7) Global combat changes: grabs, CC, and PvE utility
They previewed several foundational combat changes:
- Grab skills would no longer be guaranteed hard control and instead shift into an impact-type category, allowing targets to use Shock Removal to break out.
- Some control-oriented skills that previously had little value in PvE (due to boss immunities) would gain real PvE value by dealing more damage to bosses or targets immune to control—so they aren’t “dead skills” in PvE.
8) Class balance: Gladiator, Templar, Cleric, Sorcerer
8.1 Gladiator
- A key skill animation (described as a “downward strike”) is faster and can now be used while moving.
- One specialization adds a new skill chain.
- Other animations are also sped up for smoother combat flow.
- A life-steal (“vampirism”) concept is added as a baseline passive that scales with level to improve survivability.
- A major offensive skill gains an effect that reduces the target’s crit resistance.
8.2 Templar (Defender/Guard)
- Several skills can be used while moving to improve chasing and overall combat pacing.
- Buffs gain critical chance improvements to help close the damage gap versus other classes.
8.3 Sorcerer
The class received recent buffs, and they said they won’t make broad changes right away. They want to observe for another week before making bigger calls.
8.4 Assassin & Ranger
They noted that changes for Assassin and Ranger are being delayed for the same reason (more data time). For Assassin specifically, they mentioned working on right-click attack mobility, a frequent player request.
8.5 Cleric (Healer)
- The right-click attack animation is faster to improve solo-play DPS.
- Major debuff change: the “lower elemental resist” effect becomes a general damage resistance reduction, benefiting not only casters but also physical melee in the group.
8.6 Summoner (Spiritmaster)
- Movement is added during the cast of a highlighted skill (described as a “magic combination/fusion”).
- Debuffs will reduce damage resistance by roughly 10–20% (as discussed).
- Animation improvements for summons, spirit commands, and other abilities.
9) Abyss: bosses, reward distribution, and longer PvP fights
The Abyss is getting a big batch of adjustments:
- Bosses tied to the “essence/core” (described as an “artifact core” type boss) get a major stat increase so fights last longer.
- Rewards would stop depending on the last hit and instead be distributed based on contribution.
- Starting January 14, they’ll adjust the damage-reduction factor tied to gear score/gear level differences so PvP is less bursty and fights last longer.
- They also teased that future weekly kill challenges may count assists as well.
10) Season 2: what resets, what doesn’t, and class-based ranking
One key clarification: Season 2 does not mean a full reset of progression. That said, there are meaningful changes coming:
- Rankings reset.
- A review and reset/adjustment of cross-server matchmaking with a new approach.
On rankings, they admitted Season 1’s system discouraged part of the playerbase. Their response: in Season 2, rankings will be split by class, so performance is evaluated within more comparable categories.
For matchmaking, their stated goal is better balance by considering faction population and also accumulated Abyss Points, aiming for fairer matchups.
11) Official roadmap (Jan–Feb 2026)
These were the dates listed for the start of 2026:
- January 21: 4★ Expedition dungeon “Dead Dratama Nest” + the mid layer of the Abyss.
- January 28: 4★ Expedition “Mu.”
- February 4: Awakening system + new Arcanas + set bonuses (mixes like 2/2/2, 2/4, 6).
- February 11: a new PvPvE “sports-style” mode inside the Abyss.
- February 18: Hard modes for expeditions.
- February 25: a new boss in the Sanctuary.
They also mentioned broader 2026 plans, including:
- A new class (they clarified it would not be Bard or Sniper; it would be an entirely new class).
- A level cap increase.
- New zones described as equivalents to iconic regions (e.g., Eltnen/Morheim/Elysium/Pandemonium), adapted for AION 2.
12) PvE & Season 2 dungeons: tickets, carry limits, melee improvements
12.1 Ticket system: less mass “carry” abuse
For Season 2, they discussed changes to how dungeon entries/tickets are consumed. One clear design goal: limit “carry” abuse, where very strong players run the same dungeons repeatedly while “boosting” others, which can reduce the need to learn mechanics.
Ideas mentioned included:
- Making certain dungeons cost an extra ticket (or more) to reduce spam runs.
- Having “Conquest” difficulty drop stigma shards/fragments, so stigma progression isn’t only PvP-driven and can also advance through PvE.
12.2 More melee-friendly boss patterns
They also said new dungeons will feature boss patterns adjusted to be less punishing for melee:
- Lower frequency or damage on certain attacks.
- More visible danger zones/telegraphs.
- Improvements so melee can more comfortably hold aggro against aggressive mobs in situations where it previously felt awkward.
13) Gear: partial inheritance, armor stats, and PvE vs PvP separation
13.1 Partial inheritance when upgrading tiers
They previewed a partial inheritance system for gear when moving into new tiers in Season 2. The idea is to transfer some of the best rolls/options from a previous item to the new one, so invested progress doesn’t feel completely wiped overnight.
13.2 Armor stat review
They said they’ll review armor stats so armor isn’t just a “stopgap,” but something worth farming and optimizing.
13.3 PvE vs PvP separation
One of the most sensitive topics: they plan to split gear by PvE and PvP orientation. The proposal includes:
- Using PvE gear in PvP zones could come with penalties (depending on final tuning).
- When calculating PvP “gear rating,” PvE gear may not count or count differently, to encourage specialized sets.
14) Abyss Points: from weekly cap to a season-wide accumulative cap
They announced a restructure of Abyss Point (AP) limits:
- Instead of a cap that resets weekly, they’re proposing a season cap.
- That season cap would increase week by week, so players who start late or miss a week can catch up by farming the accumulated allowance.
Concept example they gave: if one week’s cap is X and you miss it, the next week you could farm X+X (or an equivalent accumulated amount) instead of being permanently behind.
15) Q&A: what’s confirmed
In the Q&A portion, they touched on multiple topics. Among what was presented as confirmed/in progress:
- A dungeon recruitment/entry system (like “Dungeon RE”) targeted for January 14 or January 21.
- Work on a separate button for Shock Removal.
- Fixes for lag on Abyss bosses as early as January 7.
- A fix for a Sanctuary loot bug: rewards should go to your bag even if your character is dead.
- Improvements to inspecting other players, including viewing their cosmetics.
- Allow removing “silent stone” effects using specific consumables (described as “yellow potions”).
- Work on an internal macro for animation canceling and a DPS meter (with caution due to potential social impact).
- The return of “1 currency” sales in Season 2.
- Timers for world bosses and a UI indicator for back attacks.
16) New Year code and appearance reward
To wrap up the New Year segment, the team shared a promo code:
HAPPYDAEVAYEAR
As mentioned, the code lets you claim in-game gifts. They also talked about a temporary appearance change ticket that had to be used within a very short window (by the next day, according to the stream).
NCSOFT returned from its winter break with a new broadcast focused on AION 2, where the team laid out its early-2026 plans and, most importantly, the jump to Season 2. The stream covered major class balance updates, a deep overhaul of the Abyss system, anti-macro/bot tools, quality-of-life improvements, and a dated roadmap for January and February.
Below you’ll find a complete, well-organized, easy-to-navigate recap with every key point mentioned during the stream.
Table of Contents
- 1) Quick summary
- 2) Game status & numbers: sales, subscriptions, retention
- 3) January 7 update: shared pets and basic presets
- 4) Wardrobe (Jan 14–21) and the future of storage
- 5) Advanced presets (Jan 14): gear, titles, wings, and Arcanas
- 6) Crackdown on macros/bots: “captcha,” penalties, and legal action
- 7) Global combat changes: grabs, CC, and PvE utility
- 8) Class balance: what’s changing for Gladiator, Templar, Cleric, and Sorcerer
- 9) Abyss: bosses, reward distribution, and longer PvP fights
- 10) Season 2: what resets, what doesn’t, and the new class-based ranking
- 11) Official roadmap (Jan–Feb 2026)
- 12) PvE & Season 2 dungeons: tickets, “carry” limits, and melee improvements
- 13) Gear: partial inheritance, armor stats, and PvE vs PvP separation
- 14) Abyss Points: from weekly caps to a season-wide accumulative cap
- 15) Q&A: what’s confirmed
- 16) New Year code and appearance reward
1) Quick summary
- January 7: a major patch arrives with server-wide (account) shared pets and basic skill presets.
- January 14–21: the Wardrobe goes live, and on January 14 the expanded preset system arrives (including gear/wings/titles/Arcanas).
- Anti-bot: a captcha-style check triggers on suspicious activity, with penalties for failure, alongside tougher sanctions and legal measures.
- Combat: structural changes to grabs/CC, plus adjustments so certain “control” skills retain real value in PvE.
- Season 2: not a full “hard reset,” but rankings reset and server/matchmaking changes are coming. Rankings will be class-based.
- Roadmap: 4★ dungeons, an “Awakening” system, an Abyss PvPvE mode, hard modes, and new bosses.
2) Game status & numbers: sales, subscriptions, retention
The broadcast opened with New Year greetings and a quick performance recap. According to the team, highlights included:
- Very strong sales in the first weeks (they mentioned the game surpassed a massive revenue figure a little over a month after launch).
- Over one million total subscription purchases.
- A notable retention chart they called unusual: an “inverse curve” where activity and return rate increase instead of dropping, with levels shown above 80%.
3) January 7 update: shared pets and basic presets
3.1 Server-wide shared pets
On January 7, a major change goes live: all pets, their levels, and progression become shared across every character on the same server (at the “account” level).
What does that mean?
- The game will sum pet experience and progression resources across your characters to calculate an overall server total level.
- The required “souls”/materials to level pets will be cut in half.
- The stat tied to “insight/perception” (per the translation) will use the highest level on that server.
- If you have materials above the maximum limit, the game will refund them converted into a crystal/currency.
- Important: they clarified that paid pets are not included in this unification.
3.2 Free basic presets
Also on January 7, AION 2 gets a free basic skill preset feature. The goal is to let you save configurations so you can swap skill/specialization setups quickly, without rebuilding everything manually each time.
4) Wardrobe (Jan 14–21) and the future of storage
The Wardrobe feature is scheduled to launch between January 14 and January 21. The main focus:
- Allow players to purchase and store multiple copies of the same outfit.
- Store those copies with different dye colors so you can swap styles without losing variants.
They also mentioned the team is still working on expanding personal storage, but they’ll share details later once it’s ready.
As for returning older cosmetics, they said they would evaluate re-releases only after Wardrobe is implemented, including the possibility of bringing back older outfit collections that some players missed.
5) Advanced presets (Jan 14): gear, titles, wings, and Arcanas
After the basic preset system on 1/7, the expanded preset system is planned for January 14. This upgrade would add:
- Titles
- Wings
- Equipment
- Arcana cards/sets (and their configuration)
They also clarified a key point: you’ll be able to save combinations of stigmas and specializations for quick swapping, but you won’t need to level stigmas separately for each preset.
6) Crackdown on macros/bots: “captcha,” penalties, and legal action
To combat automation in hunting and gathering, the team announced a captcha-style verification that appears when the system detects suspicious activity.
What happens if you fail it?
- A transformation/penalty is applied that limits movement speed and skill usage.
In addition, the team said they’re preparing a second wave of legal action against creators of illegal software. They also mentioned they’ve already sent warnings to users detected buying/selling in-game currency on external sites, and that strict sanctions—including bans—are on the table.
7) Global combat changes: grabs, CC, and PvE utility
They previewed several foundational combat changes:
- Grab skills would no longer be guaranteed hard control and instead shift into an impact-type category, allowing targets to use Shock Removal to break out.
- Some control-oriented skills that previously had little value in PvE (due to boss immunities) would gain real PvE value by dealing more damage to bosses or targets immune to control—so they aren’t “dead skills” in PvE.
8) Class balance: Gladiator, Templar, Cleric, Sorcerer
8.1 Gladiator
- A key skill animation (described as a “downward strike”) is faster and can now be used while moving.
- One specialization adds a new skill chain.
- Other animations are also sped up for smoother combat flow.
- A life-steal (“vampirism”) concept is added as a baseline passive that scales with level to improve survivability.
- A major offensive skill gains an effect that reduces the target’s crit resistance.
8.2 Templar (Defender/Guard)
- Several skills can be used while moving to improve chasing and overall combat pacing.
- Buffs gain critical chance improvements to help close the damage gap versus other classes.
8.3 Sorcerer
The class received recent buffs, and they said they won’t make broad changes right away. They want to observe for another week before making bigger calls.
8.4 Assassin & Ranger
They noted that changes for Assassin and Ranger are being delayed for the same reason (more data time). For Assassin specifically, they mentioned working on right-click attack mobility, a frequent player request.
8.5 Cleric (Healer)
- The right-click attack animation is faster to improve solo-play DPS.
- Major debuff change: the “lower elemental resist” effect becomes a general damage resistance reduction, benefiting not only casters but also physical melee in the group.
8.6 Summoner (Spiritmaster)
- Movement is added during the cast of a highlighted skill (described as a “magic combination/fusion”).
- Debuffs will reduce damage resistance by roughly 10–20% (as discussed).
- Animation improvements for summons, spirit commands, and other abilities.
9) Abyss: bosses, reward distribution, and longer PvP fights
The Abyss is getting a big batch of adjustments:
- Bosses tied to the “essence/core” (described as an “artifact core” type boss) get a major stat increase so fights last longer.
- Rewards would stop depending on the last hit and instead be distributed based on contribution.
- Starting January 14, they’ll adjust the damage-reduction factor tied to gear score/gear level differences so PvP is less bursty and fights last longer.
- They also teased that future weekly kill challenges may count assists as well.
10) Season 2: what resets, what doesn’t, and class-based ranking
One key clarification: Season 2 does not mean a full reset of progression. That said, there are meaningful changes coming:
- Rankings reset.
- A review and reset/adjustment of cross-server matchmaking with a new approach.
On rankings, they admitted Season 1’s system discouraged part of the playerbase. Their response: in Season 2, rankings will be split by class, so performance is evaluated within more comparable categories.
For matchmaking, their stated goal is better balance by considering faction population and also accumulated Abyss Points, aiming for fairer matchups.
11) Official roadmap (Jan–Feb 2026)
These were the dates listed for the start of 2026:
- January 21: 4★ Expedition dungeon “Dead Dratama Nest” + the mid layer of the Abyss.
- January 28: 4★ Expedition “Mu.”
- February 4: Awakening system + new Arcanas + set bonuses (mixes like 2/2/2, 2/4, 6).
- February 11: a new PvPvE “sports-style” mode inside the Abyss.
- February 18: Hard modes for expeditions.
- February 25: a new boss in the Sanctuary.
They also mentioned broader 2026 plans, including:
- A new class (they clarified it would not be Bard or Sniper; it would be an entirely new class).
- A level cap increase.
- New zones described as equivalents to iconic regions (e.g., Eltnen/Morheim/Elysium/Pandemonium), adapted for AION 2.
12) PvE & Season 2 dungeons: tickets, carry limits, melee improvements
12.1 Ticket system: less mass “carry” abuse
For Season 2, they discussed changes to how dungeon entries/tickets are consumed. One clear design goal: limit “carry” abuse, where very strong players run the same dungeons repeatedly while “boosting” others, which can reduce the need to learn mechanics.
Ideas mentioned included:
- Making certain dungeons cost an extra ticket (or more) to reduce spam runs.
- Having “Conquest” difficulty drop stigma shards/fragments, so stigma progression isn’t only PvP-driven and can also advance through PvE.
12.2 More melee-friendly boss patterns
They also said new dungeons will feature boss patterns adjusted to be less punishing for melee:
- Lower frequency or damage on certain attacks.
- More visible danger zones/telegraphs.
- Improvements so melee can more comfortably hold aggro against aggressive mobs in situations where it previously felt awkward.
13) Gear: partial inheritance, armor stats, and PvE vs PvP separation
13.1 Partial inheritance when upgrading tiers
They previewed a partial inheritance system for gear when moving into new tiers in Season 2. The idea is to transfer some of the best rolls/options from a previous item to the new one, so invested progress doesn’t feel completely wiped overnight.
13.2 Armor stat review
They said they’ll review armor stats so armor isn’t just a “stopgap,” but something worth farming and optimizing.
13.3 PvE vs PvP separation
One of the most sensitive topics: they plan to split gear by PvE and PvP orientation. The proposal includes:
- Using PvE gear in PvP zones could come with penalties (depending on final tuning).
- When calculating PvP “gear rating,” PvE gear may not count or count differently, to encourage specialized sets.
14) Abyss Points: from weekly cap to a season-wide accumulative cap
They announced a restructure of Abyss Point (AP) limits:
- Instead of a cap that resets weekly, they’re proposing a season cap.
- That season cap would increase week by week, so players who start late or miss a week can catch up by farming the accumulated allowance.
Concept example they gave: if one week’s cap is X and you miss it, the next week you could farm X+X (or an equivalent accumulated amount) instead of being permanently behind.
15) Q&A: what’s confirmed
In the Q&A portion, they touched on multiple topics. Among what was presented as confirmed/in progress:
- A dungeon recruitment/entry system (like “Dungeon RE”) targeted for January 14 or January 21.
- Work on a separate button for Shock Removal.
- Fixes for lag on Abyss bosses as early as January 7.
- A fix for a Sanctuary loot bug: rewards should go to your bag even if your character is dead.
- Improvements to inspecting other players, including viewing their cosmetics.
- Allow removing “silent stone” effects using specific consumables (described as “yellow potions”).
- Work on an internal macro for animation canceling and a DPS meter (with caution due to potential social impact).
- The return of “1 currency” sales in Season 2.
- Timers for world bosses and a UI indicator for back attacks.
16) New Year code and appearance reward
To wrap up the New Year segment, the team shared a promo code:
HAPPYDAEVAYEAR
As mentioned, the code lets you claim in-game gifts. They also talked about a temporary appearance change ticket that had to be used within a very short window (by the next day, according to the stream).
