Is AION 2 pay to win? Subscription (Membership), Quna, Daeva Pass, Founder's Packs

Is AION 2 free to play?

Yes. NCSoft states that AION 2 is open to everyone with no purchase required, and how much you invest is up to you. The story, levelling, dungeons, expeditions, Sanctuaries, arenas and the Abyss are open to all players.

There are four paid parts: membership, the shop, the Daeva Pass and Quna — the premium currency used to buy them. Below is what each one gives and whether it is worth paying for.

Two currencies: Kinah and Quna

Kinah is either bound or unbound. Bound Kinah stays with the character that earned it, so an army of alts feeding the main works worse than in the Korean version. How to spend bound Kinah wisely is in the PvP and alts guide.

The market and the Quna exchange

The market is the auction house. Players set the prices, not the game. The Quna exchange works the same way: one player lists Kinah, another buys it for Quna. The game itself does not sell Kinah and takes no part in the trades.

Special Quai Membership — $15 a month

Subscription: Special Quai Membership is the only subscription in Global. Korea and Taiwan had two memberships, and full access cost players about $40–50 a month. For Global NCSoft kept just one.

What membership gives

• The market and the Quna exchange
• Personal trades between players (at the Global start direct trading is switched off as an anti-bot measure)
• Remote storage
• Breeze Guild merchants, including a special shop for Kinah
• A larger Odyle Energy cap
• More Odyle Energy cube openings in Expeditions, Transcendence and Sanctuaries

Odyle Energy is the main limit on loot. You spend it to open reward cubes after Expeditions, Transcendence and Sanctuaries. In the Global test players saw that energy regenerates at the same rate for everyone, but subscribers have a larger cap: they can bank it longer and open cubes more often. You can also refill it with the Odyle Energy item.

The shop: what Quna buys

NCSoft splits the shop into two parts.

The shop also sells convenience: character slots, storage expansion. Compared with other Korean MMOs it is calm: there are no "buy this and get stronger" bundles and no gear loot boxes.

Daeva Pass (battle pass)

The Daeva Pass is the seasonal battle pass. It rewards normal play and is bought per character, not per account.

The premium track is not only cosmetics: materials and energy speed up progress. But the pass does not sell power directly — it multiplies the rewards for what you already do.

Where money buys power

The chain looks like this:

1. Money → QunaQuna is bought in the shop.
2. Quna → KinahThrough the Quna exchange with other players. Requires membership.
3. Kinah → gearMaterials and items are bought on the market and the best gear is crafted from them.

So yes, AION 2 is pay-to-win — there is no point arguing. What matters is how much it shows.

• PvE. Players who cleared the Korean and Taiwanese versions without paying agree: money buys speed, not access. A spender starts on Transcendence tier 3–4 on day one, you start on tier 1. A few weeks later you run the same dungeons. No PvE content is locked behind a purchase.
• Equalised PvP. In the 10v10 battlefield stats are equalised: skill and class knowledge decide the fight.
• Open PvP. In the Abyss and rifts your full gear counts. This is where spending shows most, especially in the first months.
• Economy. Even if you never pay, spenders push market prices up.

What Global changed against pay-to-win

After the launch scale test players noted changes that lower the spending ceiling compared with the Korean version:

• the PvE board whose points spenders bought on the market was removed;
• crafted wings cannot be traded — no more "buy wings and break them into enchantment stones";
• the market got a trust system: you cannot trade without normal play — a defence against bots;
• dungeon gear score requirements were lowered and there is no heroic gear at launch;
• only silver Abyss medals at launch — PvP gear is capped at tier 2.

The gap between a spender and a subscriber is smaller in Global than it was in Korea and Taiwan. But it exists.

Founder's Packs: which one to buy

The packs differ only in appearance. Standard almost pays for itself through the membership: 30 days of subscription cost $15, the rest is early access, the title and supplies. Deluxe and Ultimate are worth it only if you really like the skins.

Check the pack contents and whether they are still on sale after 5 October on the game's Steam page. Details and prices are in the AION 2 Global release date guide.

How much to spend: three scenarios

1. Buying Kinah from third-party sellersRisk of an account ban. The official Quna exchange does the same thing with no risk.
2. Activating membership "for later"The timer starts on activation — days burn while you are away.
3. Buying the premium pass on an altThe pass is bound to a character. Your main first.
4. Taking long breaks without payingOdyle Energy only banks so far, and new content asks for gear. Regular short sessions beat rare marathons.
5. Comparing yourself with spenders in the AbyssIn open PvP spenders have an edge for the first months. The equalised battlefield is the fair test of skill.

Can you get Quna for free?

Yes. Kinah earned in game can be exchanged with other players for Quna and spent on the Daeva Pass or outfits. But the exchange needs membership, so this route is closed if you spend nothing at all.