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Arcana
October 9, 2026 at 12:03 PM
Added the Arcana enhancement cap of +5 and the Superior Training Arcana experience value
Arcana is the card layer of character progression, and it is the longest track in the game. Cards drop from Transcendence dungeons, slot into a small number of fixed slots, and level individually, but the payoff is the completed set rather than any single card.
Part | Added | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Mirror, Parchment, Bell, Compass, Chalice | Core set | All five appear in the February 2026 Arcana gift bundles |
Scales (Libra) | Slot January 21, 2026; Arcana from February 25, 2026 | Comes in Rare, Epic and Unique grades; fused with Harmonious Crystal (Bound) |
Key, Hourglass | July 1, 2026 | Chapter 1 parts that drop in the Chapter 1 Transcendence dungeon |
Dice, Lantern | Slots July 1, 2026; Arcana from August 12, 2026 | Obtained in the Transcendence dungeon Noiran's Hidden Legacy |
Chapter 1 added four slots at once on July 1, 2026: Key, Hourglass, Dice and Lantern. Key and Hourglass Arcana could drop immediately, while Dice and Lantern followed on August 12, 2026. Korean coverage calls these Chapter 1 parts stat Arcana. Part and set names follow the global client's item names where they are known. It calls the first five parts the Chalice (성배, which earlier versions of this page rendered as Grail), Parchment, Compass, Bell and Mirror, and names the cards of the two oldest sets after Vigor (활력) and Magic (마력), for example Chalice of Vigor and Compass of Magic. The Frenzy, Pure Blood, Scales, Key, Hourglass, Dice and Lantern names are still provisional renderings of the Korean.
Some player-translated Korean interfaces render Vigor as Primal Vigor, Magic as Magic Armor and synthesis as Transmute. Those alternate labels are not a confirmed global localization.
Cards are enhanced with other Arcana (see below). NCsoft's official Korean guidebook (Arcana page updated August 12, 2026) now lists the sets and, for each part, which divine stat a set's card grants. The set names below are provisional English renderings of the Korean names; the divine stat names are the global client's (see Character Stats).
Part | Vigor (활력) | Magic (마력) | Frenzy (광분) | Pure Blood (순수한 피) | Punishment (징벌) | Protection (수호) | Indomitability (불굴) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chalice (성배) | Time | Space | Time | Space | Space | Time | Time |
Parchment (양피지) | Life | Destiny | Life | Destiny | Destiny | Life | Destiny |
Compass (나침반) | Freedom | Death | Freedom | Death | Death | Freedom | Freedom |
Bell (종) | Justice | Destruction | Justice | Destruction | Destruction | Justice | Justice |
Mirror (거울) | Illusion | Wisdom | Illusion | Wisdom | Wisdom | Illusion | Wisdom |
Scales (천칭) | None | None | Justice and Life | Destruction and Destiny | Destruction and Destiny | Justice and Life | Life and Destruction |
Key (열쇠) | None | None | None | None | Additional Attack | Additional Attack | Additional Attack |
Hourglass (모래시계) | None | None | None | None | Additional Defense | Additional Defense | Additional Defense |
Dice (주사위) | None | None | None | None | Additional Accuracy | Additional Accuracy | Additional Accuracy |
Lantern (등불) | None | None | None | None | Additional Evasion | Additional Evasion | Additional Evasion |
Equipping cards of the same set adds its set effect. The guidebook gives the full Punishment, Protection and Indomitability sets as 징벌의 서곡, 수호받는 영혼 and 불굴의 집념, which NCsoft's English announcement of May 13, 2026 calls Punishing Overture, Protected Soul and Indomitable Dedication. When an Arcana is used from the cube, its equip effects are rolled at set chances that depend on its grade, and most Arcana come from Transcendence rewards or from synthesis.
Sets on the Korean and Taiwanese service have arrived in batches: two with the February 25, 2026 update (Frenzy and Pure Blood), three with the May 13, 2026 update (provisionally Punishment, Protection and Indomitability), and Chapter 1 added new pieces for those last three sets that can be fused for 500,000 Kina and a Pure Crystal (Bound), fixing one option.
Every set has a 2-piece and a 4-piece effect. The values below are from the official Korean item database (checked October 9, 2026); the Punishing Overture, Protected Soul and Indomitable Dedication effects match the May 13, 2026 patch notes. Item levels are for Unique cards.
Set (Korean) | 2-piece effect | 4-piece effect | Item level |
|---|---|---|---|
Vigor (활력) | +60 PvE Attack while HP is 70% or higher | +150 PvE Attack while HP is 70% or higher | 80 |
Magic (마력) | Restores 1,500 MP when MP falls to 20% or lower (30 second cooldown) | +1,000 PvE Defense while MP is 50% or higher | 80 |
Frenzy (광분) | +50 PvE Attack | +5% Boss Damage Boost; +10% Boss Damage Tolerance while HP is 70% or lower | 80 |
Pure Blood (순수한 피) | +500 PvE Defense | +5% Critical Damage Boost; +1,000 Defense while HP is 70% or lower | 80 |
Punishing Overture (징벌) | +5% Boss Damage Tolerance | +60 PvE Attack; +10% PvE Damage Boost while HP is 70% or higher | 90 |
Protected Soul (수호) | +5% Restoration | +5% Weapon Damage Boost; a shield that blocks 10,000 damage for 5 seconds when HP drops to 30% or lower (2 minute cooldown) | 90 |
Indomitable Dedication (불굴) | +5% Weapon Damage Tolerance | +5% Critical Damage Tolerance; +50% PvP Damage Tolerance for 5 seconds when hit by Stun, Knockdown, Airborne, Grab, Frost or Fear (2 minute 30 second cooldown) | 90 |
Each card also carries its part's divine stat, and the value depends on the grade: a Unique Chalice of Vigor gives 20 Time, an Epic one 16, a Rare one 12 and a Common one 8. Unique cards roll four options, Epic three, Rare two and Common one; the Key, Hourglass, Dice and Lantern exist only as Unique cards and also carry a small flat stat of their own, such as 5 Additional Attack on the Key.
The Dice and Lantern slots that arrived in August 2026 brought their own option pools: offensive options covering perfection, critical rating, multi-hit and impact-type accuracy, and defensive options covering Restoration, Endurance, critical resistance and impact-type resistance. Forging a single option costs Kina plus a crystal material.
NCsoft's probability page lists which options each part can roll. Every option in a part's pool has the same chance, and a card never rolls the same option twice. Skill options start at level 1 and grow to at most level 4 as the card is enhanced.
Part | Options it can roll |
|---|---|
Chalice | Any of the class's 22 mastery skills (12 active, including Defiance, and 10 passive) |
Scales | The same 22-skill pool as the Chalice |
Parchment | The first six active skills on the class's skill list |
Compass | The other six active skills, including Defiance |
Bell | Five of the ten passive skills |
Mirror | The other five passive skills |
Key | Offensive stats: Critical, Front, Back, PvE, Boss and Max Attack; general, PvE, Critical, Weapon, Front, Back and Boss Damage Boost; Penetration; Power Shard bonus damage; PvP Attack and PvP Damage Boost; plus Flight Power, HP, healing received and HP or MP regeneration |
Hourglass | The defensive counterparts: Critical, Front, Back, PvE, Boss and PvP Defense and the matching damage tolerances, plus Flight Power, HP, healing received and regeneration of HP, MP, Stamina and Flight Power |
Dice | Hit stats: PvE Accuracy, Block Penetration, Critical Hit (including front and back), Perfect Chance, Double Chance, Multi-Hit chance, Restoration and Endurance Penetration, status effect accuracy by type, and PvP Accuracy, Block Penetration and Critical Hit, plus the shared utility stats |
Lantern | The avoidance counterparts: PvE Evasion, Block, Critical Hit Resist (including front and back), Perfect Resistance, Double Chance resistance, Multi-Hit resistance, Restoration, Endurance, status effect resistance by type, and PvP Evasion, Block and Critical Hit Resist, plus the shared utility stats |
The card enhancement cap is +5 on the Korean service. A card's enhancement level is separate from its skill options: a skill option can grow to level 4. A Superior Training Arcana supplies 1,500 EXP in the Korean-service enhancement interface.
Cards are enhanced with Training Arcana materials in Lower, Intermediate and Superior grades (provisional names). On the Korean and Taiwanese service, on February 25, 2026 the number of Training Arcana usable in one go rose from 10 to 100 and the cooldown on Arcana fusion was removed. The number of Arcana a character can hold rose to 800 on March 18, 2026 and to 1,100 on September 23, 2026. Events on the Korean service have sold Training Arcana for Kina in the Wind Breeze Merchants shop and added them to Transcendence rewards.
Enhancing: other Arcana are used as material, and using copies of the same Arcana gives bonus experience. Each attempt costs Kina, and every step raises the card's effects and the experience needed for the next. The window can auto-select identical cards and enhance to the next or the maximum step. The Punishment, Protection and Indomitability cards gain +2 to their divine stat with each enhancement (May 13, 2026).
Growth of options: according to NCsoft's probability page, when a card with skill options grows, one of its skills goes up a level, to at most level 4; when a card with stat options grows, one of its stats rises by the listed step. Which effect grows is chosen evenly among those that can still grow. A card never rolls the same option twice.
Extraction: spare Arcana are extracted to fill a gauge from 0% to 100% according to their grade; each full gauge gives one crystal for synthesis. Since July 15, 2026 item source information lists Arcana extraction.
Synthesis (연성): crystals and Kina let you choose two additional effects of an Arcana directly. Since June 4, 2026 the Punishment, Protection and Indomitability cards offer four selectable effects, and their Chalice and Scales are synthesized with Kina and Splendent Noble Crystals.
Presets: the guidebook describes three Arcana presets; the October 7, 2026 update raised Arcana presets to five on the Korean service.
The guidebook's synthesis cost table (crystal names are the global client's where known):
Parts | Vigor and Magic | Frenzy and Pure Blood | Punishment, Protection and Indomitability |
|---|---|---|---|
Chalice | 5 to 15 Mysterious Crystals, 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 Kina | 5 to 15 Mysterious Crystals, 100,000 to 600,000 Kina | 10 to 40 Splendent Noble Crystals, 200,000 to 2,000,000 Kina |
Parchment, Compass, Bell, Mirror | 5 to 15 Mysterious Crystals, 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 Kina | 5 to 15 Mysterious Crystals, 100,000 to 600,000 Kina | 10 to 40 Noble Crystals, 200,000 to 2,000,000 Kina |
Scales | None | 20 Harmonious Crystals, 200,000 Kina | 20 to 80 Splendent Noble Crystals, 400,000 to 4,000,000 Kina |
Key, Hourglass | None | None | 20 Pure Crystals, 500,000 Kina |
Dice, Lantern | None | None | 20 Purification Crystals (정화의 결정; provisional), 500,000 Kina |
Since May 13, 2026, three Mysterious Crystals or three Harmonious Crystals can be converted into one Noble Crystal through Material Conversion. The Punishment, Protection and Indomitability cards first dropped in Mirror of Scarlet Desire or were synthesized from Noble Crystals.
A Korean-service Substance Morph example converts 10 Shards of Mysterious Crystal into one Mysterious Crystal at 100% success. The item's Source panel lists all four stages of Sunken Temple of Life for those shards.
Three things compound. Cards only drop from one content tier, the strongest set effects need four matching cards, and once you have a set you still want a better copy of each card with the right sub-bonuses. Long-form guidance on the Korean and Taiwanese build is consistent on the same advice: start it early, because it is the track that cannot be rushed at the end.
A card's value comes from two things: its divine stat and its options. Start by working out which part carries your most important skills, since skill options are one of the main ways to push core skills past level 10 (see Skills and Specialties). The Chalice and Scales can roll any of the class's 22 skills, which makes them the hardest parts to roll well and the most valuable when they land. Parchment and Compass roll from six skills and Bell and Mirror from five, so a dropped or randomly synthesized card often comes close to the lines you want.
Community advice on the Korean service follows from that. Synthesize the Chalice first when choosing lines, and expect the Scales to cost about twice as many crystals. Settle for a cheaper set that gets your core active skills to level 20, then keep farming Transcendence for the crystals to synthesize better cards. When an enhanced card is fed into a better one, players report that only part of the experience carries over, but the switch is usually still worth it, and feeding copies of the same card earns bonus experience.
Korean-service players have generally valued the divine stats above the early set effects. Two layouts were widely used:
Layout | Cards | What it gives |
|---|---|---|
Five cards (Korean launch era) | Vigor Chalice (Time) and Vigor Parchment (Life); Magic Compass (Death), Magic Bell (Destruction) and Magic Mirror (Wisdom) | Both 2-piece effects. The most important divine stats are Time on the Chalice (Combat Speed), Destruction on the Bell (Attack increase) and Wisdom on the Mirror (Double Chance) |
Eight cards (Chapter 1) | Protected Soul Chalice (Time), Parchment (Life), Key and Hourglass; Punishing Overture Compass (Death), Bell (Destruction), Mirror (Wisdom) and Scales (Destruction and Destiny) | Both 4-piece effects: Weapon Damage Boost and the low-HP shield from Protected Soul, PvE Attack and PvE Damage Boost from Punishing Overture, while keeping the same key divine stats |
For the early five-card setup, players can swap Parchment and Compass between Vigor and Magic while retaining two Vigor cards. Keeping the Vigor Chalice and Magic Bell and Mirror preserves Time, Destruction and Wisdom; choose the other cards around the skill options the build needs.
Arcana is also the part of AION 2 covered by NCsoft's own generative-AI disclosure. The publisher states that some in-game assets were created with the assistance of AI tools, and identifies Arcana card designs and some icons as those assets. That disclosure covers the artwork, not the system.
Transcendence System for where cards drop. Gear and Progression for the rest of the power layers. Getting Started for how the tracks fit together. Daeva System and Daevanion Board for the parallel talent track.