Aion 2's global servers open on Monday, October 5 at 13:00 UTC, after an eight-hour maintenance that closes Advanced Access. NCSOFT's own notices set both times: the game goes down at 05:00 UTC and the commercial launch begins when it comes back. Aion 2 is free to play on Steam and PURPLE, so from 13:00 UTC anyone can make a character. Founder's Pack is no longer required.
When Aion 2 launches in your timezone
The launch maintenance runs from 05:00 to 13:00 UTC on October 5. NCSOFT's maintenance notice calls it eight hours and says the schedule can change, with any change posted as an update to the same notice.
Server open time, 13:00 UTC, in common timezones:
- 06:00 PDT (Los Angeles)
- 09:00 EDT (New York)
- 14:00 BST (London)
- 15:00 CEST (Berlin, Paris)
- 16:00 TRT (Istanbul)
- 22:00 KST (Seoul)
Plan for some slack. The Advanced Access opening on September 30 was reported to have started about an hour late after the maintenance ran long. The timers page shows the daily and weekly resets and the recurring events in your own local time.
How launch servers work
Each Aion 2 server holds one faction. Every Elyos server is paired with an Asmodian server for a limited time, and those pairs are who you meet in the Abyss and in Spacetime Rifts. When you start the game you pick a region, then a faction, then a server in that region.
NCSOFT published the launch line-up on October 4. Every region (Europe, NA West, NA East, Latin America and Asia) keeps its Advanced Access servers and adds newly opened launch servers next to them.
Europe gets the largest set. Its nine Advanced Access pairs stay, from Siel and Israphel to Hithanya and Nemon. Nine new launch pairs open next to them:
- Nania and Hadala
- Tahavatha and Ludra
- Luteros and Ulgorn
- Phernos and Munin
- Daminu and Odar
- Kasaka and Zemurru
- Bakarma and Kromede
- Tsenka and Quai
- Kochi and Baba
If you are starting fresh with friends, a new launch server puts everyone on the same footing. An Advanced Access server is the place to go if your friends already have five days of progress there.
What carries over from Advanced Access
The Advanced Access servers are in the launch list, so characters made since September 30 stay where they are. NCSOFT's launch notices do not describe any move from an Advanced Access server to a launch server, so plan as if your first character stays on its server.
Founder's Pack cosmetics are changing. On October 3, NCSOFT said the pack's title, armor skins, weapon skin, pet and wings will become usable on every character on every server, instead of being locked to one character. The change lands after Advanced Access ends and may take several days. The 30-day membership and the one-time supply and styling chests keep their current rules.
If that changes which pack you would buy, NCSOFT says PURPLE lets you upgrade, and on Steam you can buy the higher tier and ask support to refund the lower one. The exact process is promised in a follow-up notice.
Launch rewards for everyone
Every account that logs in before the maintenance on December 1 (23:30 PT) receives the pre-registration and wishlist rewards by in-game mail:
Pagati as a pet- a chest with your choice of
Papis, 
Silver Blade Rotan, 
Konutin Worker or 
Black Smoke Murute - a Wishlist Chest with ten bound Resurrection Spiritstones, a hundred bound Life Potions and more
The mail itself expires a week later, on December 8, so claim it.
Before the servers open
- Update the client on Steam or PURPLE before 13:00 UTC, so the first minutes are not spent downloading.
- Decide your region and faction now. The server is the only choice you cannot easily undo.
- Pick a class before the queue. The class pages cover each one's skills, and the build planner shows what players run.
- Expect queues on the busiest servers. Advanced Access had them in its first week, as covered in our Advanced Access report.
Key takeaways
- Maintenance: October 5, 05:00 to 13:00 UTC. Servers open at 13:00 UTC, 16:00 in Turkey.
- Aion 2 is free to play from launch; a Founder's Pack is not needed.
- Advanced Access servers stay open; new launch servers open beside them in every region.
- Founder's Pack cosmetics will work on all characters and servers after a change NCSOFT expects within days.
- Log in before December 1 to collect the free pets and wishlist chest.
Once you are in, the Aion 2 timers page keeps the resets, world bosses and rifts in your local time.
