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Aerial Combat and Flight
May 3, 2026 at 03:38 AM
Embedded 2 in-game screenshots after section headings
AION 2 is built around aerial combat as a first-class system. Players can move in any direction, climb to gain altitude, and engage enemies from above, below, and around them. Many open-world zones, dungeons, and PvP battlegrounds are designed with verticality as the primary axis rather than as decoration on top of a flat map.
Flight is governed by a flight gauge that depletes while in the air and refills while on the ground or while gliding. The new engine gives flight a heavier, more momentum-based feel than the original game: maintaining altitude takes input and resource management, and players cannot simply hover in place indefinitely.
Gliding is a separate mode from full powered flight. Gliding consumes much less of the flight gauge and is the default movement option in zones that disallow active flight, such as the Chaotic Ereshulanta Mid-Layer added in Season 3 on the Abyss map.
Skill effects, telegraphs, and bonuses respect the third dimension. A back-attack bonus from above is a real positioning option, not a flat 2D arc projected onto a vertical fight. Many boss encounters use mechanics that only resolve in 3D space, such as ground-pulling AoEs that punish players who stay airborne too long, or rising columns that reward players who time a vertical climb.
Class kits play differently in the air. Melee classes gain back-arc options that are unreachable on the ground; ranged classes can hold altitude as a kiting tool but pay a flight-gauge cost; magic classes manage cast position alongside the gauge. Aerial mechanics interact with the chain system described under Combat and Skill Chains: chain windows do not pause for vertical positioning, so misjudging a gauge can break a chain mid-rotation.
Zone Type | Flight Status |
|---|---|
Most overworld zones | Full flight allowed; gauge applies |
Cities and safe zones | Restricted flight or no flight, varies by zone |
Dungeons (most) | Full flight allowed inside the encounter, where the design supports it |
Lower Reshanta (Abyss) | Full open-world flight PvP |
Chaotic Ereshulanta Mid-Layer (Abyss) | No active flight; gliding, walking, or running only (added in Season 3) |
Save gauge for combat. Glide between objectives and only burn full flight when you need vertical leverage in a fight or to escape a bad position.
Watch the ground markers. Ground-based mechanics still affect airborne players when they land, and many bosses force a touchdown by removing flight temporarily.
Practice 3D dodging. The cardinal-direction dodge from grounded combat is multiplied in the air; learning to translate dodge inputs into upward and downward arcs is a real skill curve.
Plan glide paths in the Mid-Layer. Without active flight, glide arcs from high ground are the only way to reposition quickly. Gliding from a contested chokepoint without an exit plan is the easy way to die.
