Getting started

First session: controls and combat practice

Set up a readable screen, learn your available actions and build a useful practice routine.

Editorial practice guide with the October 4 Duty-tab warning. Use the bindings and skill descriptions shown in your client; exact key defaults and combat values are not assumed.
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Make the screen easy to read

Begin in a safe location. Set your language, choose a comfortable camera distance and adjust the graphics preset until camera motion feels consistent. You should be able to identify your character, the target and encounter effects without hunting around the screen.

Locate your health, the target’s health, the active objective and your skill bar. Read settings before changing several at once so you can identify what actually helped.

Build a control map

  • Find movement and camera controls, then practice turning while moving.
  • Find target selection and target switching; verify which enemy is selected before using a skill.
  • Read each currently available attack, support and defensive skill.
  • Put frequently used actions within comfortable reach using the options the client provides.
  • Find interaction, inventory, map and the menu that explains your current quest.
  • Leave the Map’s Duty tab unopened until level 45. The October 4 known-issues update warns that opening it earlier can delay Duties until the following day after reaching level 45.

Try the setup before moving on

Use an ordinary encounter to check that you can select the intended target, read its warnings and reach your defensive action without looking away. Adjust a control that feels awkward before joining a group.

Practice movement beyond the ground

The game’s presentation includes flight and swimming. Follow the tutorial prompts when those controls become available, and learn how the client communicates movement restrictions or resources.

Before an aerial or underwater fight, identify a route back to a familiar position. Check above and below a map marker when the ground route does not explain the objective.

You are ready to move on when…

  • You can move and turn without losing the target.
  • You know what your currently available defensive action does.
  • You can explain the purpose of the skills you use most often.
  • You can find the current objective and understand the next instruction.
  • You know where to read an entry requirement before joining group content.

Sources for this article

  1. Launch FAQNC / AION 2 Global · Global · Published 30 September 2026 · Reviewed 2 October 2026
  2. AION2's Core Content Unveiled: The Complete Evolution of AIONNC · Pre-release reveal · Published 4 June 2025 · Reviewed 2 October 2026
  3. NCSOFT Announces Pre-Download for AION 2 Beginning November 16NCSOFT · KR/TW historical launch · Published 12 November 2025 · Reviewed 2 October 2026
  4. Advanced Access Known Issues (Updated: 10/4)NC / AION 2 Global · Global · Published 3 October 2026 · Updated 4 October 2026 · Reviewed 4 October 2026

Publisher facts are summarized in original prose. Practical recommendations are editorial advice. Read our methodology.

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