Aion 2 · Guides
Is Aion 2 pay to win? Quna, the membership and what money buys on global
NCSOFT / AION 2 official Steam screenshots
TL;DR
- Aion 2 is free to download and play. As of 4 October 2026, NCSOFT sells one optional membership, the Special Quai Membership, at $14.99 for 30 days.
- The membership unlocks the Market, personal trades and the Quna Exchange. Grobs treats it as required for serious play.
- Quna is the premium currency. Through the Exchange, players can buy Kina from other players with Quna, then spend that Kina on the Market. That is the pay-to-win route.
- NCSOFT says shop cosmetics give no gameplay advantage, and the Daeva Pass premium track is bought with Quna.
- TheWhelps finds global less pay to win than Korea at launch: no Heroic gear, no PvE stat board with purchasable points and lower stat values.
What you can buy with money
The official launch FAQ describes the model as optional paid cosmetics, a Battle Pass and a membership that gives access to the player economy and currency exchange. The details, as of 4 October 2026:
| Product | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Special Quai Membership | 30 days of Market, personal trades, Quna Exchange, Remote Storage, the Wind Breeze Merchants shop and Odyle Energy perks | $14.99; up to 3 purchases per server per month |
| Quna | Premium currency for the shop, the premium pass track and the Exchange | Varies by pack |
| Daeva Pass premium track | Extra pass rewards; sold per character | Paid in Quna |
| Cosmetics | Outfits, wings, pets, weapon skins and accessories | Paid in Quna |
| Consumables | Potions, resurrection stones and similar | NCSOFT says these are also earnable in play |
The official notice says membership benefits apply only to characters on the server where you buy it. Grobs adds that you cannot pay for the membership with Quna; it always costs real money.
What the membership adds besides trading
From the official notice, plus TheWhelps's check of the launch scale test for the recharge rate:
| Perk | Without | With membership |
|---|---|---|
| Odyle Energy into Expedition, Transcendence and Sanctuary reward cubes | Once | Twice |
| Maximum Odyle Energy storage | Lower | Higher (the game shows 840) |
| Odyle Energy recharge | 15 every 3 hours | 15 every 3 hours |
| Shugo Festa key cap | 12 | 21 |
| Wind Breeze Merchants shop, for extra purchases with Kina | Closed | Open |
Members get a higher energy cap, not faster energy.
Creator tip
But personally, I would not really call it a free-to-play game. I would treat it as a subscription game.
How money turns into power
There is no direct gear in the shop. The route goes through other players:
- You buy Quna.
- On the Quna Exchange, you buy a Kina Chest another player made from their Kina.
- You spend that Kina on the Market for materials, Manastones and gear, or on enhancing.
The items on the route
NCSOFT's monetization notice says the game makes no Exchange listings or purchases. Every Kina a spender gets was farmed by another player, who receives Quna in return. Grobs points out this also works the other way: a free player can farm Kina and sell it for Quna to pay for a pass or cosmetics.
Kanon played the Korean version in November 2025 and concluded that the upgrade side is where money matters. Enhancing, Manastones, Theostones and rerolls all cost Kina or Market goods, so buying Kina speeds them up. PvP gear itself has to be earned with Abyss Points, but the materials for crafted PvE gear can be bought on the Market. His pricing and the two-membership setup he describes are Korean; global has one membership.
Creator tip
The rice farmers are going to get your Kina, well, the whales' Kina, and the whales will spend their Kina and get these mats so that they can craft gear to use for themselves.
Kanon also found the battle passes the fairest part of the model, because a member can buy them with Quna earned from selling Kina.
How global differs from Korea
TheWhelps played the global launch scale test in September 2026 and lists changes that lower the ceiling for spenders:
| System | Korea | Global |
|---|---|---|
| Heroic gear | In dungeons and crafting | None at launch. Anders reported the same from NCSOFT's global livestream |
| PvE stat board | Whales filled it with points bought on the Market | None. The global Daevanion boards in the game data are Nezekan, Zikel, Vaizel, Triniel and Azphel |
| Stat and title values | Higher | Lower on many |
| Finished dungeon wings | Could be sold for Enhance Stones | Cannot be traded. The sealed wings still can |
Creator tip
No heroics on launch. This alone makes the game so much less pay to win. They lower the ceiling so much.
Can a free or membership-only player keep up?
Grobs expects heavy spenders and players with several alts to be well ahead, but thinks a membership-only player can still clear the season's PvE content, just later. He sees PvP as harsher, because most PvP is not gear-equalized and percentage bonuses multiply.
Creator tip
Based on the Korean and Japanese versions, you should be still able to clear all the PvE content by the end of a season without spending a lot of money. It will simply take you longer to get there.
TheWhelps pays only for the membership and some cosmetics in Korea, and with two active alts he ranks in the top 4% there. His alt routine is in How to make Kina.
Next steps
- Marketplace and trading: Market rules, fees and the trust level.
- How to make Kina: earning without spending.
- Free-to-play progression: what to prioritise without the membership.
Explore the encyclopedia
Sources
- AION 2 official notice: Special Quai Membership
- AION 2 official notice: Team Update (monetization)
- AION 2 official Launch FAQ
- Grobs: AION 2 beginner guide, monetization, servers, classes and progression
- TheWhelps: Big changes for global Aion 2, better progression and less P2W
- Anders: AION 2 global build, no Heroics at launch, alts earn unbound Kina
- Kanon: P2W in AION 2 explained after 100 hours
Related articles
- Aion 2 alts: do you need them, and how to level them
Do you need alts in Aion 2? What an extra character adds, which limits are per character and which are shared across your server, how alts send Kina to your main, and how to level one quickly.
- How to make Kina in Aion 2: dungeons, alts, gathering and the Market
Where Aion 2 Kina comes from on global servers, how bound and unbound Kina differ, how much each Expedition pays, and how creators use alts, gathering and the Market to earn more.
- Aion 2 Market and trading: listings, fees, Quna Exchange and binding
How trading works in Aion 2 on global servers: what the membership unlocks, listing items on the Market, fees, personal trades, the Quna Exchange, the trust level and which items can be traded.