Those who purchase a founder package for Aion 2 are allowed to start Early Access 5 days before the global launch. MeinMMO summarizes what this offers and how Early Access works.
Is there an Early Access for Aion 2? Yes, there is. Those who purchase a founder package for Aion 2 will receive, in addition to some cosmetic items and consumables, also 5 days of early access to the new MMORPG from NCSoft. All free-to-play players who do not invest money in a founder package must wait until the global launch.
How much does a founder package cost? Aside from the announcement that they intend to offer several founder packages, the developers have not yet revealed any details regarding the paid early access versions of Aion 2.
When does Early Access start? So far, it is only clear that the global launch of Aion 2 is scheduled for September 2026. There is still no specific date. Therefore, it is also not yet known when Early Access will start.
Early Access of Aion 2: Early Access Servers, Matchmaking, and Market
What servers will Aion 2 have? For Early Access, the developers are offering their own Early Access servers. Only players with a founder package will have access to these worlds. At the official launch, a second wave of launch servers is expected to follow.
Free-to-play players who want to start only at the global launch can freely choose between the Early Access and launch servers. However, if a server reaches a certain population density, it may happen that the developers restrict the creation of new characters there.
Are server transfers possible? The developers want to wait for the Early Access and launch phases to conclude and then evaluate in what form server transfers might be necessary. They want to prevent players who are already significantly ahead from negatively impacting the experience of others.
How does matchmaking work? Here the developers distinguish between PvE dungeons and PvP in the Abyss.
- The so-called “Dungeon Party Matching” brings together players from all active servers in a region (for us, that would be: Europe). During Early Access, this means only the Early Access servers. After the global launch, players with founder packages will encounter free-to-play players in the dungeons.
- If you and your friends are playing on different servers, you can still add each other to your friends list and register as a group for a dungeon.
- In PvP in the Abyss during Early Access, players from all Early Access servers will meet. After the global launch, the system is supposed to consistently match similarly strong servers in the Abyss.
Keep in mind: The two opposing factions, Elyos and Asmodians, each have their own servers. You will only encounter characters of your faction in the open world.
How does the market function? Aion 2 is supposed to have two different markets through which you can trade with other players:
- Server market: Here, you trade with players from your server. This market is already available during Early Access and trades in the currency Kina. You can also acquire Kina via the premium currency Quna.
- Cross-server market: Here, players from all servers in a region (for us, that means: Europe) come together to buy or sell. This market will not be available during early access or directly at launch, but is expected to open at a later point in time. In this way, the developers want to ensure that players with Early Access do not negatively impact the economy of the launch servers.
Keep in mind that trading on the market will only be possible if you invest money in the optional monthly subscription of Aion 2.
So how significant is the advantage from founder packages? It is clear that during the 5-day Early Access phase, you can gain a considerable lead. However, in most areas, this will have little to no impact.
At least if matchmaking in PvP actually works as described and players from the launch servers do initially only encounter opponents who also had no Early Access. The same applies to the cross-server market: The later it goes live, the less relevant the 5-day head start for founder package holders will be.
Currently, the only potential for trouble we see is in the dungeons, where all players in a region will encounter each other from the very beginning. While it is a matter of cooperation, Aion 2 would not be the first MMORPG where less experienced or poorly equipped players are kicked from the group because they do not meet the overly high standards of certain players.
However, even there, the 5-day lead from Early Access will likely play an increasingly smaller role as Aion 2 continues to be live.
How do you evaluate the Early Access of Aion 2 and NCSoft’s decisions regarding markets, matchmaking, and server transfers? Feel free to let us know in the comments! It is also clear how the free-to-play payment model of the MMORPG is expected to work in detail: Aion 2 reveals what it wants your money for, and you won’t like it
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