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Instanced Zones, or Instances, are Aion's dungeons. They are special areas and are named such because a separate copy is created for every group of players that enters them. Instances are generally PvE, but there are exceptions such as the Arenas (PvP) and Battlegrounds (PvPvE).

Most instances are available to anyone who meets the minimum level requirement, but certain endgame instances will also require the player to be adequately geared and be familiar with the mechanics. There are limits to the amount of times a player can enter a selected instance within a set time period, which is based on that instance's entry count.

Basics[]

Player Limit[]

There is a limit on maximum number of players that can enter each instance. To enter a 1-man (solo) instance you have to be out of the group, and cannot join a group while inside. For a 3-man or 6-man instance you are required to be in a group, for instances requiring 12 to 24 players in an alliance, and for instances requiring over 24 players in a league.

Access[]

Ftentry

The cave icon depicting the entry point to the Fire Temple instance in Eltnen.

To enter an instance the player(s) will need to find and manually enter it through its access point (indicated via a cave icon on the world and mini-map). At the location of the cave icon the player will typically find an object, portal or NPC who will send the player inside once interacted with.

Once any member of the group enters, a copy of the specific zone is created and 'bound' to that group. Other members of the party will enter into the same copy as long as they are part of that group. If additional or new party members are invited to the group while the instance is already open they will also enter into the same copy; this function is often employed for selling the loot rights to an item.

Instances can also be ran with members from other servers utilizing a cross-server matchmaking function. In this case the copy of the instance and all members of the group who enter it are placed on the game's Instance Server instead.

Entry Count[]

Unlike in various other games, Aion has a limit on the amount of times each instance can be entered within a set time period (usually a week). Once a person enters an instance, their entry count for that instance will be reduced by 1. A personal cooldown for that zone will also be initiated, which prevents going into another copy of it too soon.

The entry count and moment(s) of the reset varies per instance. Additional entries to instances can be purchased with Luna (Coin) <Luna (Coin)>, a premium currency utilized within the Luna Shop. Note that if the player fails to use any additional or remaining entries before the next reset, they will be wasted.

Mechanics[]

Leaving, Rejoining & Resetting[]

If you leave the group while inside a group instance, you will automatically be kicked out after 1 minute. If you rejoin that very same group, you will be able to re-enter the same 'copy' of the instance, without losing another entry, under two conditions:

  • At least one member of the group should have remained inside.
  • The group that went into the instance should not have been disbanded at any point.

If a group gets disbanded, everyone will be kicked out of the instance and it will reset. An efficient way to thus do multiple runs of the same instance is to have everyone quit the party at the end, and then remake it. An instance will also automatically reset if there is no player inside it for about 10 minutes.

After the 5.0.5 patch players who re-enter into the same solo instance before the 10 minute auto-reset has kicked in can choose whether they want to return to the current 'copy' or reset it and start over anew, which will consume another entry count.

Mechanics[]

  • Instance monsters and bosses will not respawn once killed. Bosses will reset if the party wipes (i.e. when everyone who hit the boss and/or healed or buffed party members is dead). If the boss resets it will slowly walk back to its default position and gradually recover its full HP in chunks of 25%. If someone quickly resurrects and hits the boss, they can prevent it from completely recovery its HP. Some bosses may also enrage after a certain amount of time has passed, which usually results in a wipe.
  • Unlike in open world, instance monsters will not drop aggro if the players runs away. They will continue to give chase and not stop until the affected player(s) have been dealt with, or the monster has been slain itself.
  • Once looted, untradeable items (gear) are temporarily tradeable among players of the same group for about 5 minutes. To prevent others stealing items it is recommended to run with people you trust (especially at endgame instances), and to have someone "link" the loot from the boss first before starting the rolling.

List of Instances[]

A list of all instances in the game and their relevant info is included below. Detailed information about instances (such as the amount of remaining entries, reset times, etc) can be checked in-game; open the World Map (M), and then click the Instance tab.

You can also select "Instance Info" from the Main Menu, or hover your mouse over an instance's icon on the world map to see this information.

Event Instances[]

These are special instances that are only available during select moments each year (e.g. Halloween), and only for a limited time. In these instances the player is typically transformed into a monster or NPC and receives prefixed stats, skills, and damage values. As of such, anyone who meets the level requirement can participate.

Event instances offer rare and valuable loot, sometimes in combination with large amounts of experience, and are always worth doing whenever they are available. The Luna Shop instances are a permanent addition as of patch 5.1.

Name Max. players Min. Level Reset Entries Purpose
[Luna] Contaminated Underpath Solo 10+ Daily 1 Luna Shop Crafting Materials, EXP, Misc
[Luna] Secret Munitions Factory Solo 10+ Weekly 1 Luna Shop Crafting Materials, EXP, Misc
[Event] The Nightmare Circus 6 30+ Daily 1 Fun & Rare loot
[Event] Shugo Emperor's Tomb 3 40+ Daily 1 Rare loot
[Event] Kumuki Cave Solo 46+ Daily 1 EXP, AP, Misc
[Event] Shugo Imperial Tomb 3 51+ Daily 1 Fun & Rare loot
[Event] Smoldering Fire Temple 3 76+ Daily 1 EXP, Rare loot
[Event] Gogorunerk's Gauntlet 3 vs 3 76+ Daily 2 AP, Fun & Rare loot
[Event] Steel Rake Fortress Solo 76+ Daily 1 Fun & Rare loot

Leveling Instances (1-75)[]

The instances players encounter up until level 75 focus on awarding EXP. Each solo instance will be visited at least once during the relevant campaign quest, but can be freely ran afterwards (as long as you have remaining entries). Group instances offer a chance at better gear than the campaign quest equivalents, but are hardly run due to the fast leveling speed and the length of these instances.

Leveling instances are bascially tutorials, and will gradually acquaint players with Aion's instancing system. Monsters in these instances give more EXP than their open world counterparts, and each instance typically also has a number of (repeatable) quests associated with it to promote faster leveling.

Many if not all of these are adjusted versions of trademark instances from previous Aion expansions. As of such, skins from previously removed instances/field organizations are available as Common-grade drops in them.

Name Max. players Min. Level Reset Entries Purpose
Haramel Solo 6+ Weekly 3 EXP, Campaign Quest, Ancient Accessories
Aetherogenetics Lab (E) Solo 18+ Weekly 3 EXP, Campaign Quest, Ancient Weapons
Alquimia Research Center (A) Solo 18+ Weekly 3 EXP, Campaign Quest, Ancient Weapons
Kromede's Trial Solo 23+ Weekly 3 EXP, Ancient Accessories
Fire Temple 6 28+ Daily 1 EXP, Ancient Weapons
Indratu Fortress (E) Solo 36+ Weekly 3 EXP, Campaign Quest, Ancient Accessories
Bakarma Fortress (A) Solo 36+ Weekly 3 EXP, Campaign Quest, Ancient Accessories
Taloc's Hollow Solo 42+ Weekly 3 EXP, Campaign Quest, Ancient Wings/Plume/Bracelet, Misc
Esoterrace 6 47+ Daily 1 EXP, Legendary Wings/Plume/Bracelet,

Ancient Gear

Lower Udas Temple Solo 52+ Weekly 3 EXP, Ancient Accessories
Beshmundir Temple 6 55+ Daily 1 EXP, Ancient & Legendary Gear, Misc
Dragon Lord's Refuge Solo 57+ Weekly 3 Campaign Quest, Ancient Wings/Plume/Bracelet
Rentus Base 6 60+ Daily 1 Ancient Weapons/Armor, Misc
Drakenspire Depths Solo 66+ Weekly 3 Campaign Quest, Ancient Weapons
Tiamat Stronghold 6 68+ Daily 1 Ancient Gear (all), Misc

Endgame Instances (76+)[]

Upon reaching level 76 players will be able to partake in Aion's endgame instances. These instances offer greater challenges and award items relevant to endgame players, such as PvE gear and enchantment stones but also Daevanion Skillbooks, Minion Contracts, and Ridium.

While the basic instances are easily do-able, the difficulty rapidly scales up as special mechanics, minimum gear/stat requirements and enrage timers become factors. The group instances come in pairs, with each of the two awarding the particular pieces of a gear set. Generally, a full set of gear from one tier (e.g. Ancient set from Mirash Sanctum/Cradle of Eternity) is sufficient the run the pair of instances that awards the next, higher tier of gear (e.g. Legendary set from Bastion of Souls/Frozen Monolith).

Alternatives to acquiring gear from these instances are the Pandora Agency quests and Aetherforging (Crafting).

Name Max. players Min. Level Reset Entries Purpose
Crucible Spire Solo 76+ Weekly 1 Manastones, Stigmas, Minion Contracts (B),
Mirash Sanctum Solo 76+ Weekly 4 Ancient Gear (Accessories, Wings, Plume, Bracelet), Minion Contracts (C), Grade C Minium <Grade C Minium>, Stigmas
Cradle of Eternity 3 78+ Weekly 4 Ancient Gear (all), Ancient PvE Enchantment Stone <Ancient PvE Enchantment Stone>, Daevanion Skillbooks, Minion Contract (B), Minium (Grade A/B/C)
Qubrinerk's Cubic Lab Solo 80+ Weekly 7 Cubicles
Bastion of Souls 6 80+ Weekly 4 Legendary Gear (Weapons, Hats, Accessories), Ancient PvE Enchantment Stone <Ancient PvE Enchantment Stone>, Minion Contract (A/B), Minium (Grade A/B)
Frozen Monolith 6 80+ Weekly 4 Legendary Gear (Armor, Wings, Plume, Bracelet), Ancient PvE Enchantment Stone <Ancient PvE Enchantment Stone>, Minion Contract (A/B), Minium (Grade A/B)
Primeth's Forge 6 80+ Weekly 4 Legendary & Ultimate Gear (Armor, Wings, Plume, Bracelet), Ancient & Legendary Enchantment Stones, Upgrade Materials, Minion Contract (A/B), Minium (Grade A/B)
Infernal Drakenspire Depths 12 80+ Weekly 2 Legendary & Ultimate Gear (Weapons, Accessories), Legendary & Ultimate Enchantment Stones
Herelym Mine 1~6 80+ Weekly 4 AP, Legendary Ridium <Legendary Ridium>, Ultimate Ridium <Ultimate Ridium>,

Minium (Grade A/B/C), Ancient Manastones

The Veilenthrone 18 80+ Weekly 2 Legendary & Ultimate Gear, Legendary & Ultimate Enchantment Stones, Minion Contract (A/B), Minium (Grade A/B)

PvP & PvPvE Instances (76+)[]

In this format, which also becomes available upon reaching level 76, one or multiple players are pitted against each other for a set duration. The winner is decided based on points, which are primarily gained through defeating enemy players but may also be acquired through other means, albeit in lesser amounts (such as completing objectives).

The rewards from partaking in PvP and PvPvE instances (and Sieges) will allow one to advance their PvP Gear. Players may acquire PvP upgrade materials (such as Legendary Ridium <Legendary Ridium> and Ultimate Ridium <Ultimate Ridium>), PvP Enchantment Stones, but also Abyss Points (AP) and Glory Points (GP), which are used to determine one's ranking or purchase special items.

In Aion one may distinguish between the Arenas (PvP) and Battlegrounds (PvPvE). Arenas are small areas in which a few players compete against each other. Battlegrounds are larger maps in which the players will be facing off against enemy players and the Balaur at the same time, requiring greater corporation and tactics but also offering better rewards in return.

  • Important: Player levels, gear and skills are not equalized inside these instances. You enter as you are, including all (dis)advantages that come with it.
Name Format Level Reset Entries
Ashunatal Dredgion 6 vs 6 76-80 Daily 1
Idgel Dome 6 vs 6 76-80 Daily 1
Evergale Canyon 24 vs 24 (max. 96 vs 96) 76-80 Daily 1
Arena of Discipline 1 vs 1 76-80 Weekly 10
Arena of Harmony 3 vs 3 76-80 Weekly 10
Illumiel Brawl 3 vs 3 76-80 Daily 1

Trivia[]

  • After the 6.0 update the amount of instances in Aion was cut down to about half of the original amount, seeing as many of these had become obsolete over the course of the game. The updated also introduced a clear distinction between level 1-75 instances (leveling) and level 76+ instances (gearing/others).
  • Selling unneeded gear drops via the inventory store has also become one of the main sources of kinah after the 6.0 update.
  • A number of instances originally required the player to be in the possession of particular item, and/or complete a number of prerequisite quests before they were allowed access. These additional requirements were gradually lifted over the course of the game, and this system was removed altogether with the 6.0 update.

Removed Instances[]

These instances were removed over the course of the game, and are no longer accessible. Some were removed with the 4.8 and 4.9 updates; the bulk of these became inaccessible with the 6.0 update.

Some of these instances may return in later updates, as has been the case in previous expansions. A few of them have already been marked for a return with the 7.0 update.


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