Two kinds of item level
Guides use "item level" for two different numbers, which is confusing:
Item tier
The level printed on a single item, like "IL 54" or "IL 102". It tells you how strong that piece is. This page uses it for gear sources.
Character item level
Your total gear score, like 1,000 or 2,800. It goes up with enhancement, stones, the Daevanion board, Clash Runes and Arcana, and decides which dungeons you can enter. See the item level gates.
Neither is the Combat Power shown on the Legion roster.
Grades
| Grade | Item tiers | Enhance cap | Manastone slots | Soul Binding lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 1–20 | +5 | 1 | 1 |
| Rare | 9–35 | +5 | 2 | 2 |
| Epic | 23–45 | +10 | 3 | 3 |
| Unique | 36–102 | +15 | 4 | 3–5 |
- Amulets and belts are the exception: they enhance to +10 at any grade and have no Manastone slots.
- Hero (Heroic) and Mythic gear are not in Global Season 1. Korean guides that mention them don't apply yet.
- Korea's "전승" grade is called Epic on Global.
Equipment slots
| Group | Slots | Engraved with |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Main-hand weapon, off-hand guard | Manastones |
| Armor (7) | Helm, pauldrons, breastplate, greaves, gloves, boots, cloak | Manastones |
| Accessories | Necklace, 2 earrings, 2 rings, 2 bracelets | Soulstones |
| Special | Amulet, belt, 2 runes | None |
| Arcana (level 45) | Chalice, Parchment, Compass, Bell, Mirror | None |
One guide reports a Seal slot added in a September patch; check your character screen.
Where to get gear
While leveling (1–45)
- The main story hands you a full set of weapons and armor all the way to 45. Don't spend much on it.
- From level 30, quests and named monsters in Verteron (Elyos) or Altgard (Asmodian) give your first Unique gear (IL 36).
At level 45, in order
| Step | Source | Best drop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Named elites on your home map (High Commander Lagta, Silent Dartan, Soul Ruler Kashapa); Fallen Ancient God set in Chaotic Lower Reshanta | IL 46 |
| 2 | Conquest: Krao Cave, Draupnir | Unique IL 54 |
| 3 | Craft a True Dragon Lord piece (mastery 55) | IL 62 |
| 4 | Conquest: Urugugu Canyon, Vakron Sky Island | Unique IL 70 |
| 5 | Conquest: Fire Temple, Ferocious Horn Den | Unique IL 86 |
| 6 | Abyssal Forge: Ludra raid (weapons, guard), closed on Global until NC reopens it; Splendent Dragon Lord crafts (armor, accessories) | Unique IL 102 |
Dungeon drops by difficulty
| Dungeon | Exploration (easy) | Conquest (normal) |
|---|---|---|
| Krao Cave | Epic IL 25, Rare IL 20 | Unique IL 54, Epic IL 40 |
| Draupnir | Same as Conquest | Unique IL 54, Epic IL 40 |
| Urugugu Canyon | Epic IL 33 | Unique IL 70, Epic IL 42 |
| Vakron Sky Island | Same as Conquest | Unique IL 70, Epic IL 42 |
| Fire Temple | Unique IL 43 (Kromede set), Epic IL 38 | Unique IL 86, Epic IL 45 |
| Ferocious Horn Den | Same as Conquest | Unique IL 86, Epic IL 45 |
Crafted vs dropped
Crafting is the main route to top armor. Armorsmithing is the safest profession because every class wears all 7 armor slots. Crafted pieces become Soul Bound to the crafter. Some guides say crafted gear also carries extra PvE damage, but that isn't confirmed for Global.
Crafting professions
| Profession | Makes | Recipes |
|---|---|---|
| Blacksmithing | Weapons | 52 |
| Armorsmithing | Armor | 72 |
| Handicrafting | Accessories | 63 |
| Alchemy | Manastones, potions | 52 |
| Cooking | Food buffs | 17 |
Crafting quests open at level 10. Mastery goes from 1 to 100 but stops at 50 until you finish that profession's upgrade quest. Most gear and potion recipes have a 25% great-success chance (30% for Cooking).
| Dragon Lord line | Item tier | How |
|---|---|---|
| True Dragon Lord | IL 62 | Mastery 55 (60 for guards, necklaces, earrings, gloves, boots, cloaks) |
| Splendent True Dragon Lord | IL 70 | Great success, or upgrade |
| White Dragon Lord | IL 78 | Upgrade |
| Splendent White Dragon Lord | IL 86 | Great success, or upgrade |
| Wise Dragon Lord | IL 94 | Upgrade |
| Splendent Wise Dragon Lord | IL 102 | Great success, or upgrade |
Upgrade recipes have no mastery requirement and carry your enhancement and Soul Binding into the new piece.
Abyss (PvP) sets
Courage (IL 41), Fallen Ancient God (IL 46), Kaira (IL 56) and the Abyssal Claymore line (IL 86). PvE and PvP gear are separate tracks.
Filling gaps
Gear Change Vouchers turn into the slots you're missing through Substance Morph. Guards come only this way, so use vouchers on guards first.
Enhancing
Enhancing raises an item's stats using Enhance Stones and Kinah.
Success rates
- Common and Rare: always succeed up to their +5 cap.
- Epic and Unique: always succeed up to +10.
- Unique from +10 to +15 can fail:
| Step | Base success |
|---|---|
| +10 → +11 | 65% |
| +11 → +12 | 50% |
| +12 → +13 | 35% |
| +13 → +14 | 25% |
| +14 → +15 | 20% |
When it fails
You lose the stones and Kinah for that attempt, but the item never loses levels or breaks. Each failure adds +5 percentage points to your next try at that step, and success resets the bonus. That puts a ceiling on bad luck: the worst case for +14 → +15 is 17 attempts before success is guaranteed. Use the enhancement estimator to see how many tries to expect.
Clash Runes are the exception: each try needs a Clash Rune Enhance Scroll, there's no failure bonus, and a failure drops the rune one level.
Beyond +15: Amplification
Once a Unique item is +15 you can amplify it 5 more times with Amplify Stones. Failure doesn't lower the level.
| Step | Base success | Bonus per failure | Cost per attempt |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | 66% | +5% | 600,000 Kinah, 6 Amplify Stones |
| +2 | 50% | +4% | 900,000 Kinah, 9 Amplify Stones |
| +3 | 33% | +3% | 1,400,000 Kinah, 12 Amplify Stones |
| +4 | 25% | +2% | 2,000,000 Kinah, 15 Amplify Stones |
| +5 | 20% | +1% | 3,000,000 Kinah, 20 Amplify Stones |
Costs
Cost grows with item tier, not grade. Example: an IL 86 helm from +0 to +10 costs about 30,920 Enhance Stones and 775,100 Kinah; the single +14 → +15 attempt costs 1,570,000 Kinah before stones.
Getting stones back
Extraction returns the Enhance Stones for an item's level when you replace it, but not the Kinah.
Manastones & Soulstones
Stones add one random stat line each. Manastones go in weapons and armor; Soulstones go in accessories and use the same stats and odds. Engrave them in the Enhancement Hub's Manastone tab.
Stones are lost when you replace or transfer the item, so only put good ones in gear you'll keep.
Stone grades
| Stone | Roll tier chances | Attack | Defense | Crit Hit | HP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser | Common 70%, Rare 30% | +1 / +3 | +10 / +30 | +5 / +7 | +30 / +60 |
| Intermediate | Common 50%, Rare 35%, Epic 15% | +2 / +4 / +8 | +20 / +40 / +75 | +6 / +9 / +13 | +45 / +80 / +130 |
| Superior | Rare 50%, Epic 35%, Unique 15% | +3 / +5 / +10 | +30 / +50 / +100 | +7 / +10 / +15 | +50 / +100 / +160 |
Each roll picks a stat first (about 10% each for Attack, Defense, Accuracy, Evasion, Crit Hit, Crit Resist and Block; 15% for HP and MP), then a tier. Rare damage stats only appear on Superior stones. Engraving costs 500–2,000 Kinah depending on gear grade.
Abyssal stones
Rare-grade stones where about a third of rolls are PvP stats. Same PvE values but lower odds on the core stats, so use regular Superior stones for PvE and Abyssal ones only for a PvP set. The Abyss Trade Shop sells 50 Lesser Abyssal Manastones a week for 1,000 Abyss Points each.
Where to get them
- Lesser: monsters in Verteron, Altgard and Chaotic Lower Reshanta; quests; some dungeon stages.
- Intermediate and Superior: dungeon Hard stages, achievements, the battle pass.
- Alchemy: 5 Lesser + 3 Spiritstone Powder + 2 Professional Ink → Intermediate (20% chance of Superior instead). 30 Intermediate + 10 Powder + 2 Exceptional Ink → Superior.
What to aim for
| Role | Stats |
|---|---|
| Damage dealers | Attack, then Critical Hit; Accuracy if you miss bosses |
| Assassin | Keep any Back Attack Damage Boost roll, otherwise as damage dealers |
| Tanks | Block, then Defense and HP |
| Healers and support | HP and Defense; MP only if you run dry |
Soul Binding
Soul Binding gives gear a second block of random stat lines. It's one of the strongest upgrades, but binding makes the item permanently untradeable, so only bind gear you're keeping.
Lines by grade
| Grade | Soul Binding lines |
|---|---|
| Common | 1 |
| Rare | 2 |
| Epic | 3 |
| Unique | 3–5 (most dungeon Unique gear has 4, top crafted gear 5) |
Bind, Sync and Reset
| Action | Uses | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Bind | Soul Codex + Kinah | Raises the binding rate toward 100%. Every attempt raises it, by a random amount. |
| Sync | A spare item of the same grade and type, or a Sync Stone | Rerolls one line you choose, keeping the rest. The spare is destroyed. A lower-grade Sync Stone works only about 10% of the time. |
| Reset | Soul Codex: Reset + Kinah (reported as 300,000) | Rerolls every line and drops the binding rate back to zero |
Binding costs climb from 30,000 Kinah and 10 Soul Codex (step 1) to 632,000 Kinah and 102 Soul Codex (step 10). Soul Codex can be bought in the Nightmare Trade Shop and the coin shop. Fix bad lines with Sync before raising their values: once an item reaches 100% its lines can't be changed.
At 100%
- Unique gear can unlock one extra line for 2 Philosopher's Stones (usually Revelation, sometimes Power, shown on the item) and 1,000,000 Kinah. It always succeeds, but the line is random and is lost if you transfer the item.
- One guide reports an extra Manastone slot at 100% as well; check the item before counting on it.
Transfers
A transfer moves the investment from an old Unique item into its replacement, consuming the old one. It costs Transfer Stones and no Kinah (1 stone for lower tiers, 2 for the top tier).
Carries over
- Enhancement level
- Amplification progress
- Ordinary Soul Bind lines
Lost
- Manastones, Soulstones, Theostones
- Potential
- The extra Soul Binding line bought with Philosopher's Stones
- Weapons must match weapon type; armor and accessories must match slot.
- Only Soul Bound Unique gear can be the donor. Epic gear can't be transferred, and you can't transfer down a grade.
- Crafting upgrade recipes also carry enhancement, amplification and Soul Binding into the new item.
Arcana
Arcana are cards in five extra slots that unlock at level 45. Each card adds skill levels and a stat; matching cards give set bonuses.
Slots
| Slot | Vigor version | Magic version | Skill levels go to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chalice | Combat Speed | Move Speed, Block | Any of 22 skills |
| Parchment | HP | MP | 6 active skills |
| Compass | Accuracy, Evasion | Critical Hit | The other 6 active skills |
| Bell | Defense | Attack | 5 passive skills |
| Mirror | Cooldown Reduction | MP Cost Reduction | The other 5 passives |
Grades
| Grade | Skill levels | Max enhance | EXP to max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 1 | +2 | 900 |
| Rare | 2 | +3 | 4,200 |
| Epic | 3 | +4 | 18,000 |
| Unique | 4 | +5 | 93,000 |
Enhancing Arcana uses Training Arcana for EXP and can't fail. Plan it with the Arcana EXP calculator.
Set bonuses
| Set | 2 cards | 4 cards | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primal Vigor (Vigor cards) | +60 PvE Attack above 70% HP | +150 PvE Attack above 70% HP | Damage dealers |
| Magic Armor (Magic cards) | Restore 1,500 MP below 20% MP (30s cooldown) | +1,000 PvE Defense above 50% MP | Tanks, healers, casters |
Where to get them
Mostly from Transcendence: Deus Research Base (Chalice, Compass, Bell) and Shattered Arkanis (Chalice, Parchment, Mirror). Higher tiers drop higher grades; Unique Chalices drop only at tier 4 (item level 2,500). The battle pass, coin shop and attendance rewards also give some.
Upgrade order
- While leveling: take your weapon to +3–5 only if kills feel slow. Leave the rest alone; it gets replaced.
- Fill every stone slot with cheap stones as soon as you have them.
- Once you keep Unique gear: weapon to +10 before pushing armor. Tanks and healers who keep dying can do armor first.
- For a dungeon requirement: spread cheap levels across all pieces and stop once you meet it.
- Soul Bind only gear you're keeping; Sync away bad lines before raising values.
- Stop temporary gear at +10. Go to +15 only on pieces you can transfer forward.
- Keep the belt and amulet on their own +10 track and upgrade their quality with Substance Morph.
- Save spare Unique drops for Sync or Transfer Stones instead of extracting them.
- Ignore Theostones, Amplification and Potential until endgame (Potential is mostly for PvP).
Sources
- Gear progression at 45 (MetaBot)
- Manastone guide (MetaBot)
- Arcana guide (MetaBot)
- Arcana (Aion 2 Atlas)
- Soul Binding guide (games.gg)
- Manastones, Theostones and Soul Binding (metaroad.gg)
- Crafting guide (MetaBot)
- Enhancement and Amplification odds (allthings.how)
- Enhancement, Soul Binding and transfer (GameTruth)
- Gearing guide (Skycoach)
- Gear and crafting (MMO Chronicles)
- Item grades (Games Wiki)
- Gear score (Mobalytics)
- Manastones and Soulstones (Game8)