Aion 2 Expeditions: Exploration, Conquest and rewards

You open Expeditions from the Expedition menu, and the Corpus Expedition page shows the same window. The game ranks the six dungeons into three tiers.

All of this gear needs level 45. Unique is the highest gear grade any Expedition lists. Anders adds that global launched without Heroic items from dungeons or crafting, so Unique is the best you can get here for now.

Every Expedition has two mini-bosses and a final boss. In Conquest, all three list the same Unique set, so each boss you kill is another chance at it.

Exploration has one difficulty; Conquest has Normal and Hard. The game data keeps Exploration as the "Easy" record of each dungeon.

Creator tip

Exploration dungeons are basically the tutorial version of the conquest dungeons.

The story sends you through four Explorations while you level, with bosses at your level. They list levelling gear, such as Epic armor at item level 25, 33 or 38.

Vakron Sky Island and Ferocious Horn Den have no story quest, and their Exploration bosses are as high as Conquest Normal. Their Exploration cubes already list the level 45 Unique armor, and so does Draupnir's.

Exploration cubes give Kina (Bound). Conquest cubes give Kina that is not bound.

Creator tip

Exploration gives a bound kina and conquest gives unbound kina. So running conquest on your alts is a real way to send kina over to your main.

The game data already has Hard records for all six Expeditions, with bosses at level 70 to 74 and entry at level 99 and item level 2,400 to 2,600. No character can reach level 99 yet, so Hard stays closed for now. Anders said before launch that Hard would not open on day one and expected it a few weeks later. Hard cubes add more Kina, wing Featherdown and the Balaur crafting materials listed further down.

When you clear an Expedition, an Odyle Energy Cube appears. Opening it costs Odyle Energy. The game's own tooltip explains that each boss you defeat adds its rewards to the cube.

Every character has its own energy, which is why creators level alts. Anders quoted a slower refill before launch; the data wins.

Creator tip

Then it's important this Odyle Energy system is independent for all of your characters. That's why it's good to have multiple alts because they all recharge their own Odyle Energy, which you then can use to run more dungeons.

TheWhelps calls Expeditions the main content and the place most of your progression comes from. His advice on energy is to never sit at the cap. Energy items kept in your inventory can be used later, so they are not wasted.

One boss or three

Because each boss adds to the cube, you can choose how much of a dungeon to clear.

Creator tip

A one boss run means you push past the mid bosses and only kill the final boss. You get worse odds per run, but it's much faster. Which one you do depends on whether you're farming for gear or just clearing for your kina and materials.

Each difficulty also has a guaranteed reward. The client calls it Condensed Cube Energy. It fills as you open cubes, and when it is full you pick a reward from a set list.

FRESHY's tip is to fill the meter but wait before you claim it.

Creator tip

Don't claim the reward yet. Leave it there until you have acquired more gear, and then use it for whichever final piece you're missing.

Gear Change Vouchers

A Gear Change Voucher goes into Substance Morph. It turns into a selection chest for that dungeon's gear, or into a Sync Stone.

The weapon chests need a weapon from that dungeon, so they swap a drop for another class's weapon. The guards are made from vouchers alone.

Conquest cubes carry crafting materials as well as gear. The higher the tier, the more of them you see.

Aragon's plan leans on these materials. He runs tier 1 and tier 2 Conquest on alts for Wrathful Mind and Balaur's Essence, then moves them to his main through server storage when the item allows it.

Creator tip

The wrathful minds you will find in your conquest dungeons. Now, here's where the alts come into play.

Each Conquest also has cosmetics. Normal lists a set of Sealed Wings and Hard lists Wing Featherdown, both Substance Morph materials for that dungeon's wings. Both list an Artwork you can place in the Pantheon.

Entry requirements come from the game data. Conquest Normal needs level 45 everywhere. Conquest Hard needs level 99 and item level 2,400 (tier 1), 2,500 (tier 2) or 2,600 (tier 3).

Tier 1 at item level 700

Aragon uses Krao Cave and Draupnir on alts at that level. Grobs uses them on alts that cannot reach tier 2 yet.

Tier 2 at item level 1,400

Grobs and FRESHY spend their main's energy on Vakron Sky Island armor here. FRESHY once quotes 1,500; the data wins.

Tier 3 at item level 2,100

Aragon gives 2,100 too. FRESHY quotes 2,200; the data wins. FRESHY's endgame target is Nuakum armor from Ferocious Horn Den and Enraged Kromede accessories from Fire Temple. He also crafts his weapon. The Ranger gear guide shows that setup for one class.

While levelling

Anders says to clear the story Explorations but leave the cube closed and save the energy for Conquest. All Explorations can be soloed, in his experience. Aragon and FRESHY make one exception: the endgame Explorations, where three cubes earn a guaranteed armor piece. Aragon uses Draupnir's for greaves and FRESHY uses Vakron Sky Island's.

Creator tip

Do not collect the reward from these exploration dungeons when you're starting the game. Opening that reward costs Odyle Energy, and you want to save the energy for conquest dungeons at level 45.