The first stress test of Aion 2 is currently in full swing. MyMMO editor Sophia Weiß did not let full servers discourage her and jumped into the MMORPG. She says: It is wonderful!
It won’t be long until Aion 2 launches: Early access starts on September 30, 2026, for all buyers of a founder package, and on October 5, it begins for all free-to-play advocates. I have (not) pre-ordered yet, but I didn’t want to wait to get my own impression of the hyped MMORPG. So I prepared for the stress test and traveled to Atreia as a newcomer to the universe of Aion.
After about two hours of playing, I can generally say that the western version of Aion 2 seems to have no to very few technical problems. There is no stuttering, and on a European server (I play from Munich, Germany), the ping was at a great 10 milliseconds. So playing is possible and it’s fun!
But how about localization? Is there problematic clipping? How many players do you have around you? How does the control feel? What is the feeling of combat? I will illuminate all this and more for you below.
Who is writing here?
Normally our MMORPG expert Karsten Scholz would provide you with this insight. Unfortunately, we have two super interesting appointments: the stress test for Aion 2 and the start of the beta for WoW Forever. Karsten is taking care of the latter event, so I am here to give you the first insight into the western version of Aion 2.
I am Sophia, and primarily an RPG and Final Fantasy XIV enthusiast. Accordingly, I am accustomed to tab-targeting, a class selection menu, and a very linear progression. All that is now challenged by Aion 2. I do not know the predecessor Aion.
My first launch of Aion 2 – This is how it went
Indeed, I had to wait a little before I could even start on a server of Aion 2: You first choose a faction – Elyos or Asmodians. I just wanted to play and tried both, first without success. NCSoft initially only unlocked 2 European servers per faction, which were completely full within the first five minutes.
No wonder, by the way, because according to Steam DB I started the game with over 73,000 of you.
After about half an hour, a third server was added, and I went online as Elyos (the third server for the Asmodians was already full again). Character creation is really fun, even though it is incredibly detailed. You can even adjust individual muscles in the body menu. As a regular gym-goer, I of course first pulled the trapezius muscle as large as possible – back workouts are the best!
Once you’ve made it through the character editor, the game itself begins, and the first task is to escape from the fortress Ishtar. The castle named after a Hittite goddess looks like the starting area from Baldur’s Gate 3, and I was already wondering if I had the wrong game.
By the way, I completely overlooked the choice of class. I was so eager to finally get started that I completely skipped the screen after the character editor. My character stood there, had a huge sword (as I wanted them to have), and there was a button for name selection. I just pressed it. I had decided in advance for the gladiator in preparation – Karsten has written a great guide for exactly this:
The subsequent quests were just MMORPG standard: Meet NPC X, talk to character Y, kill four monsters of type Z.
In fact, the overworld was not completely full of players. My 73,000 colleagues looked more like collaborating NPCs populating the starting area and helping out here and there in monster-slicing. NCSoft is distributing players well across the instances of the world so far.
However, I must clearly say here: The combat system is actually fun for me! I am used to tab-targeting from Final Fantasy XIV, which is not particularly demanding in easy content. The mix of action-combat AND tab-targeting in Aion 2, however, really impresses me.
I click with my mouse buttons to unleash standard attacks and chain combos together. So I no longer have to wait for my auto-attack to fire or for the global cooldown to end. I weave in my special abilities as usual in between.
Added to this is manual dodging and positioning. In FFXIV, I can’t zoom in too deep. In Aion 2, I can choose whether I want my camera close and intimate with the opponent – this way I see him best. Those who have spent hours in the character editor should be able to recognize every detail in their character’s face. And of course, I can also zoom out quite far for a better overview and to search for quest markers.
The best part is flying.
Flying is unlocked during the first missions and gives the character the ability to quickly go from A to B. I have rarely traveled through game worlds so elegantly and smoothly. Simply press V to take out the wings, take off, and explore the world with a beautiful wide view is really fun.
By the way, they also used the flight mechanics for underwater missions – at least that’s how it feels.
What does the ping say? How is localization going?
I played Aion 2 from Munich and chose a server in the European data center. Accordingly, the ping was a pleasant 10 milliseconds – which is perfect in the end.
I also found it exciting that the German text reads quite well and the English voice over fits good. Here, as far as I can judge, no AI was at work, but rather real translators. You can choose to output the audio in Korean or English. I chose the English speakers and immediately noticed slight discrepancies between the German text and the English spoken text. But nothing that is really bad.
However, I miss the FFXIV option to have my heroine respond to questions or to give her answers. You can’t have everything.
I am fascinated by the sometimes very elaborate hairstyles and the fact that there is some serious clipping. However, this does not seem to bother the developers at least. It usually does not look strange. Only when curls clip into the faces of NPCs does it look unpleasant.
As a FFXIV player, I have been longing for new long hairstyles for years, and Aion 2 makes me wonder if clipping really is as big a problem as the developers always say it is.
Should I check out Aion 2?
In short: Starting October 5, 2026, the game will be free for everyone. Other than a few hours of your life, it won’t cost you anything if you don’t like it. However, if Aion 2 appeals to you even slightly, it is definitely worth a look, maybe even many looks.
Finally, a big disclaimer: I haven’t progressed far in my two hours of gameplay and am still in the starting area. This is just a first impression during a stress test.
The important functions are almost all unlocked sequentially on the way to max level 45 and after completing certain quests. Various systems only become active in the endgame itself. So I can’t say how or to what extent, for example, monetization will ultimately affect the player experience. Or how challenging and fun the dungeons and raids will be.
But after the first play session, I honestly reached a point where I can say that I want to find that out. Presumably, Karsten will leave me far behind at launch and write the final play report himself. But I think I won’t be too far behind him in my progression. By the way, if you’re already wondering how to level up as efficiently as possible, we already have a guide for you on fast leveling.
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