Aion 2 · Guides
Aion 2 enhancement guide: Enhance Stone costs, failure and when to stop
NCSOFT / AION 2 game art
TL;DR
- Each enhancement level adds 1 item level, which counts toward your gear score. Rare gear stops at +5, Epic at +10 and Unique at +15.
- Creators report that enhancing up to +10 always succeeds. From +10 to +15 an attempt can fail, which costs the materials but does not destroy the item.
- Dismantling an enhanced item gives the Enhance Stones back. The Kina you paid is gone.
- Enhance weapons first, then accessories. Armor can wait.
- Stop at about +10 on gear you will replace. Gear Transfer moves the enhancement level to your next piece, so the stones are not wasted.
How enhancing works
Enhancing is the first tab of the Enhancement menu. Each attempt costs Enhance Stone and Kina, and both costs rise with the level and the item's tier.
Every level adds 1 item level. Gear score is built from item levels, so enhancing is one of the cheapest ways to reach a dungeon's entry requirement. The gear score guide covers those thresholds.
What a level adds depends on the slot: armor gives defensive stats, while weapons and accessories give Attack.
What enhancing adds, by slot
The highest level depends on rarity:
| Rarity | Highest enhancement |
|---|---|
| Common and Rare | +5 |
| Epic | +10 |
| Unique | +15, then Amplify |
Belts and amulets are the exception: they go to +10 at every rarity. After +15, Unique gear moves on to Amplify, which has its own stones and costs. See Amplify and Potential.
What it costs
These are the per-level costs the data lists for the Nuakum Helm, an item level 86 Unique piece. Each row is the cost of one attempt, so a failed attempt above +10 costs the same again.
| Step | Enhance Stones | Kina | Can fail |
|---|---|---|---|
| +0 to +5 | 6,290 | 158,100 | No |
| +5 to +10 | 24,630 | 617,000 | No |
| +10 to +15 | 50,640 | 4,180,000 | Yes |
| Total to +15 | 81,560 | 4,955,100 | Above +10 |
The Kina fee nearly doubles at the +10 to +11 step, from 170,000 to 310,000, and keeps climbing to 1,570,000 for the last level. Higher item levels cost more: the item level 94 Wise Dragon Lord Bow needs 89,160 stones to reach +15.
Above +10: failure
Grobs and TheWhelps describe the same rule. Up to +10 every attempt succeeds. Past +10 each attempt only has a chance to succeed.
Creator tip
Up to level 10, you cannot fail the upgrade. Every time you click enhance, you will succeed. From level 10 to level 15, we actually only have a chance to succeed. The item will not be destroyed, but you might just waste a bunch of enhancement stones and kinah.
The success rates are not in the data we have, so we do not give numbers here. Runes are a separate case: FRESHY keeps his Clash Rune at +2 because, he says, runes can break on a failed upgrade.
Getting your stones back
When you replace an item, dismantle it rather than throwing it away. The higher its level, the more Enhance Stones it returns.
| +10 Nuakum Helm | Enhance Stones | Kina |
|---|---|---|
| Spent enhancing to +10 | 30,920 | Not refunded |
| Returned by dismantling | 31,240 | Costs 8,000 |
Creator tip
As long as you don't level above level 10, you will get always all the enhancement stones back. So, when it comes to enhancing your gear up to level 10 is never a problem.
Stones spent on failed attempts above +10 are not part of the item's level, which is why Grobs draws the line at +10.
How far to enhance each piece
| Stage | Target | Creator |
|---|---|---|
| Leveling | Weapon to +3 to +5 | TheWhelps |
| Level 45 | Every new piece to +5 as it drops, then the full set to +7 | FRESHY |
| Gear you will replace soon | Stop at +10 | Grobs, TheWhelps |
| Tier 3 gear onward | Past +10 is fine, since a Gear Transfer carries the level | TheWhelps |
| Endgame Ranger | Weapon and guard +15, the rest about +10 | FRESHY |
Creator tip
I suggest you level your weapon to at least three, no more than five. It's pretty cheap to upgrade. It's good value for power.
TheWhelps also advises raising pieces evenly, one level at a time across the set, because the first levels are the cheapest. The Ranger gear guide has the endgame details.
Which slots first
Weapons and accessories raise your damage, armor raises your defenses. TheWhelps and Madsin both put offense first.
Creator tip
As you progress, you want to prioritize upgrading weapons first and then accessories. Armors are not really needed.
Madsin gives the same reason: weapons and accessories give Attack, and the weapon gives the most, while armor only gives Defense and HP. In his words, in PvE offense is king regardless of class.
Belts and amulets
Belts and amulets need their own enhance scroll for every level. The Rare versions take only the scroll, while the Epic and Unique versions also take Enhance Stones. The Rare and Epic item descriptions say they upgrade to the next rarity through Substance Morph once they reach +10. The Noble Belt takes the Noble Belt Enhance Scroll from Strongholds. The Revelation Amulet takes scrolls from Monolith Resonance.
TheWhelps and FRESHY both take the belt and amulet from Rare to Unique early, since you keep them for a long time. Unequip the item and remove it from every preset first, or the morph will not accept it.
Belt and amulet upgrade path
Noble BeltRare, item level 13. Enhance to +10 with scrolls from Strongholds, then morphItem level 13
Noble BeltEpic, item level 36. Enhance to +10, then morphItem level 36
Noble BeltUnique, item level 65Item level 65
Revelation AmuletRare, item level 13. Enhance to +10 with scrolls from Monolith Resonance, then morphItem level 13
Revelation AmuletEpic, item level 36. Enhance to +10, then morphItem level 36
Revelation AmuletUnique, item level 65Item level 65
Next steps
- Amplify and Potential: what comes after +15.
- Transfer or Transfer Crafting: how to keep your enhancement when you upgrade.
- Kanon's Handbook: upgrading gear: the full upgrade order in one place.
Explore the encyclopedia
Sources
Related articles
- Aion 2 beginner mistakes: what veterans say to avoid
The Aion 2 mistakes Korean and Taiwanese server veterans see new players make, from enhancing leveling gear to wasting Odyle Energy and locking Genus lines too early, checked against the global game data.
- Is Aion 2 pay to win? Quna, the membership and what money buys on global
What real money buys in Aion 2 on global servers as of 4 October 2026: the $14.99 Special Quai Membership, Quna, the Daeva Pass, cosmetics and the Kina exchange, with what creators say about the gap between spenders and free players.
- Aion 2 beginner guide: your first days, level 1 to 45
What to do in your first days of Aion 2: the leveling route to 45, the map content worth clearing, which gear to leave alone and the daily and weekly limits to use once you reach the cap.