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Gladiator Skills
October 6, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Initial version (2026-10-06)
This page lists every Gladiator skill in AION 2: the twelve Mastery actives, the thirteen Stigma skills and the ten passives, with their Korean names, unlock levels, cooldowns, MP costs, specialty options and a dated history of balance changes. NCsoft's official guidebook describes the Gladiator as a greatsword fighter with high attack and defense that mainly deals melee damage but can also act as a sub-tank thanks to its HP and defensive skills.
English skill names come from the global client. Descriptions follow the official Korean guidebook (skill page updated August 18, 2026) and the global client tooltips. Unlock levels, cooldowns and MP costs are the level 1 values in the global client data snapshot dated September 18, 2026; they change as skills level up and with balance patches. The balance history is drawn from the Korean service's official update notes, so some of its later changes may not be in the global build yet.
MP economy: the Keen Strike chain restores MP and the Rending Blow chain spends it, with the heavier strikes (Crushing Wave, Ruinous Blow, Mocking Blade) costing 200 to 250 MP.
Knockdown follow-ups: Mocking Blade knocks a target down, which opens Overhead Slam and Aerial Snare. Rage Burst also opens Overhead Slam for 10 s, and against bosses, which are immune to incapacitation, Overhead Slam and Aerial Snare have a small chance to become available on any attack.
Stagger: Sword Aura Rampage only works on a target in the Stagger state, and most Gladiator skills add stagger gauge damage. See Stagger Gauge for the stagger (Groggy) system and Combat and Skill Chains for skill chains.
Block triggers: Ankle Slice activates after a successful block, and Experienced Counterstrike turns blocks into a party damage buff. Focused Block guarantees parries for a short time.
Prepare for Battle: Ruinous Blow grants it for 20 s, and a Leaping Slam specialty grants it briefly; it raises damage boost, Critical Hit and status effect chance.
NPC rules: most knockdown, root, seal and airborne chances that can fail against players always land on NPCs.
Skill points raise Mastery skills to level 10; further levels come from items, Arcana and the Daevanion board. Stigma skills level with Stigma Shards; see Stigma System.
Mastery skills are learned automatically as the character levels. Dodge (긴급 회피) is available to every class from level 1 with a 0.5 s cooldown and is not listed below.
Skill | Korean | Unlock Level | Cooldown | MP Cost | What It Does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Keen Strike | 예리한 일격 | 1 | None | None (restores 100 MP) | Basic three-step chain: Keen Strike, Rupture Strike (파열의 일격) and Wrathful Strike (분노의 일격). Each step hits up to four enemies within 4 m, raises enmity and restores MP (100 MP on the first step). Non-target and usable while moving. Spec 5 adds Reckless Strike (무모한 일격) to the chain. |
Rending Blow | 절단의 맹타 | 1 | None | 120 | Two-step chain with Smashing Blow (격파의 맹타). Hits up to four enemies within 4 m, raises enmity and deals stagger damage; this is the line that spends MP. Non-target. |
Leaping Slam | 도약 찍기 | 1 | 15 s | None | Leaps onto a target up to 20 m away and strikes it, dealing stagger damage. Spec 1 grants Prepare for Battle for 3 s. On the Korean service it cannot be used while rooted (September 16, 2026). |
Mocking Blade | 유린의 검 | 3 | 20 s | 200 | Strikes a target within 4 m and knocks it down for 3 s. Against targets immune to incapacitation (bosses) the motion changes. Opens Overhead Slam and Aerial Snare. |
Overhead Slam | 내려찍기 | 4 | 5 s | None | Follow-up on a knocked-down target within 4 m; strikes twice (since August 19, 2026 on the Korean service) and raises enmity. Against incapacitation-immune targets it has a 7% chance to become available on each attack, and Rage Burst opens it for 10 s. Usable while moving. Spec 3 adds Upward Strike (올려치기). |
Sword Aura Rampage | 검기 난무 | 5 | None | None | Can only be used on a target in the Stagger (Groggy) state, within 4 m. No cooldown. |
Ankle Slice | 발목 베기 | 7 | 10 s | None | Activates after a successful block: hits up to four enemies around the target with a 50% chance to root them for 3 s. NPCs are always rooted. Spec 2 adds Ankle Smash (발목 격파). |
Crushing Wave | 분쇄 파동 | 8 | 20 s | 250 | Hits up to four enemies within 5 m of the Gladiator and chains into Frenzied Wave (광폭 파동). Non-target. |
Rush Strike | 돌진 일격 | 10 | 20 s | None | Usable after Dodge or while flying: rushes a target up to 10 m away with a 30% knockdown chance for 3 s. NPCs are always knocked down. |
Aerial Snare | 공중 결박 | 12 | 45 s | 150 | Strikes a knocked-down target within 4 m with a 50% chance to launch it (Airborne, 3 s); NPCs are always launched. Has a 5% chance to become available against incapacitation-immune targets. Spec 4 adds Forced Fall (강제 낙하), which slams an airborne target back down. |
Ruinous Blow | 파멸의 맹타 | 14 | 45 s | 250 | Rushes a target up to 7.5 m away, hits up to four enemies around it and grants Prepare for Battle for 20 s: +20% PvE and +10% PvP damage boost, +100 Critical Hit and +15% status effect chance. A normal skill since August 19, 2026 (it used to be a charge skill). |
Defiance | 충격 해제 | 16 | 60 s | None | Shared escape skill. Removes Stun, Knockdown, Airborne, Grab, Frost and Fear and grants Tenacity (status immunity) for 5 s. Not affected by cooldown reduction. Spec 1 adds Wrath Burst (분노 폭발), a knockdown strike. |
Every Gladiator Stigma skill unlocks at character level 22. Stigma skills are leveled with Stigma Shards rather than skill points and keep every specialty they have unlocked.
Skill | Korean | Cooldown | MP Cost | What It Does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Blade Toss | 칼날 날리기 | 20 s | None | Throws the blade at a target up to 20 m away, cutting its Defense by 30% and its healing received by 50% for 10 s. Chains into Blade Dance (칼날 화무). Usable while moving. |
Focused Block | 집중 막기 | 20 s | None | Held guard: frontal block damage reduction rises by 100% and every frontal hit is parried with the weapon. Restores 110 MP and stamina once on a parry. On the Korean service Evasion drops by 10,000 while it is held. |
Armor of Balance | 균형의 갑옷 | 90 s | None | Raises impact-type status resistance by 50% for 10 s. Usable while moving. |
Wrath Wave | 분노의 파동 | 60 s | 200 | Hits up to four enemies within 5 m of the Gladiator with a 50% chance to knock them down for 3 s (always on NPCs) and heavy stagger damage. Non-target. |
Zikel's Blessing | 지켈의 축복 | 120 s | None | Raises the Gladiator's own Attack by 20% and Accuracy by 100 for 10 s. Self-only since July 8, 2026. |
Lifestealing Blade | 흡혈의 검 | 90 s | 200 | One strike on up to four enemies within 4 m that absorbs 10% HP. Spec 2 gives party members Predation for 20 s, a buff that drains HP on their attacks. |
Tenaciousness | 근성 | 150 s | None | Three seconds of immunity to damage and status effects, then +50% PvE and +25% PvP damage tolerance for 3 s. Some powerful attacks cannot be blocked, it is not affected by cooldown increases, and it shares a 30 s lockout with other classes' invincibility skills. |
Rage Burst | 격노 폭발 | 45 s | 100 | Strikes a target within 4 m and inflicts Wounded (Attack down 10%) for 10 s; the Gladiator gains +10% PvE and +5% PvP damage boost for 10 s, and Overhead Slam opens on the target for 10 s. Wounded does not stack with the Templar's Shrink from Taunt. |
Lunge Stance | 돌격 자세 | 60 s | None | Raises Combat Speed by 20% for 10 s. Usable while moving. |
Wave Armor | 파동의 갑주 | 60 s | 200 | Deals damage over time to up to four enemies within 3 m for 10 s. Usable while moving; its specialties boost other Gladiator passives. |
Forced Restraint | 강제 결박 | 60 s | 100 | Strikes a target within 4 m with a 75% chance to Seal it for 5 s (always on NPCs). |
Fracturing Rush | 분쇄 돌진 | 90 s | 100 | Added March 25, 2026 on the Korean service. Rushes 10 m forward, hitting up to four enemies on the path with a 60% chance to root them for 3 s (always on NPCs). Since September 23, 2026 on the Korean service it travels in the direction of the movement key held. Spec 2 adds Destructive Rush (파괴 돌진). |
Assault Strike | 강습 일격 | 120 s | None | Selects a target up to 20 m away and hits up to four enemies around it with a 30% knockdown chance (always on NPCs); Defense rises by up to 20% with the number of targets hit. The guidebook also lists MP damage, which the global client data places on spec 2. |
Skill | Korean | Unlock Level | What It Does |
|---|---|---|---|
Survival Stance | 생존 자세 | 1 | More HP, maximum HP, natural HP regeneration and damage tolerance. |
Protection Armor | 보호의 갑옷 | 6 | Raises Block and restores HP on a successful block (1 s internal cooldown). |
Blood Absorption | 피의 흡수 | 9 | 50% chance on hit to restore HP plus a share of maximum HP; when HP drops to 50% or less, instantly restores a large share of maximum HP (60 s cooldown). |
Identify Weakness | 약점 파악 | 11 | Raises Critical Hit and Perfect chance. |
Attack Preparation | 공격 준비 | 13 | Raises PvE and PvP damage boost, Defense and Accuracy. |
Impact Hit | 충격 적중 | 15 | Raises impact-type status chance and Double Chance (강타). |
Destructive Impulse | 파괴 충동 | 17 | Extra damage against targets that are staggered or under an impact-type status. |
Experienced Counterstrike | 노련한 반격 | 21 | Raises front attack damage boost. A successful block raises the PvE and PvP damage boost of the Gladiator and party members for 20 s; does not stack with the Templar's Fury. |
Survival Willpower | 생존 의지 | 23 | Raises status resistance; while stunned, knocked down, airborne, frozen or feared, gains damage tolerance and +10% status resistance per hit taken for 5 s (up to 10 stacks). |
Murderous Burst | 살기 파열 | 25 | Each hit grants a stack of Menace; at five stacks Menace is consumed to hit up to four enemies within 5 m and raise the Gladiator's critical damage boost for 3 s. |
Specialties (특화) unlock as a skill levels. On Mastery skills the five options unlock at skill levels 8 (the first three), 12 and 16, and the player assigns them to the skill's specialty slots. On Stigma skills the options apply automatically once the level is reached. The tables below give the options in the global client snapshot; Korean patch notes refer to them as Spec 1 to Spec 5 in this order. The Korean notes also mention a fifth Stigma specialty that the snapshot does not list.
How specialty slots, skill levels and presets work for every class is covered on Skills and Specialties.
Skill | Spec 1 (Lv 8) | Spec 2 (Lv 8) | Spec 3 (Lv 8) | Spec 4 (Lv 12) | Spec 5 (Lv 16) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Keen Strike | +20% MP restored | Absorbs 1% HP | +50% Multi-Hit on hit | -1s Ruinous Blow cooldown on hit | Adds Reckless Strike Chain Skill |
Rending Blow | -20% MP consumed | +200 Block while using skill | Changes to mobile skill | Deals up to 12% more damage when less targets are hit | Restores 50 MP on landing a Critical Hit |
Leaping Slam | Prepare for Battle effect on the caster for 3s | 50% chance to trigger Ankle Slice on hit | Resets cooldown on defeating an enemy | +20% PvE Damage Tolerance and +10 PvP Damage Tolerance for 3s | Changes to AoE skill and pulls in enemies |
Mocking Blade | Absorbs 4% HP, absorbs 15% HP of target with Incapacitated Immunity | Changes to AoE damage on down strike | Adds 2 additional strikes | +1s Knockdown duration | Ignores Block and Evasion and lands as Multi-Hit |
Overhead Slam | Absorbs 0.7% HP | Changes to AoE Skill | Adds Upward Strike Chain Skill | Critical Hit on hit | Remove cooldown |
Sword Aura Rampage | Absorbs 5% HP | Restores 120 MP | Changes to mobile skill | Multi-Hit on hit | -1s all skill cooldowns on hit |
Ankle Slice | 30% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s on landing Ankle Slice | Adds Ankle Smash Chain Skill | +16m Ankle Slice range | Ignores Block and Evasion and lands as Multi-Hit | 25% chance to reset Ankle Slice cooldown on Block |
Crushing Wave | Absorbs 2% HP | Restores 50 MP on landing a Critical Hit | Up to +20% damage when more targets hit | Resets cooldown on landing a Critical Hit | 50% chance to pull |
Rush Strike | Restores 300 Stamina on hit | +10m Range | Changes to Charge Skill and deals AoE damage | -10s cooldown | +25% Knockdown Chance |
Aerial Snare | Multi-Hit on hit | +25% Aerial Snare Airborne Chance | +100% damage to targets with Incapacitated Immunity | Adds Forced Fall Chain Skill | -50% Aerial Snare cooldown |
Ruinous Blow | +20% Skill Speed | +12.5m Range | +30% Skill Critical Hit | Extra damage on hit | Ignores Block and Evasion and lands as Multi-Hit |
Defiance | Adds Wrath Burst Chain Skill | Restores 1000 Stamina on using Defiance | Restores 20% HP on using Defiance | +2s Tenacity duration | +50% PvE Damage Tolerance and +25% PvP Damage Tolerance for Tenacity duration |
Skill | Spec 1 (Lv 5) | Spec 2 (Lv 10) | Spec 3 (Lv 15) | Spec 4 (Lv 20) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Blade Toss | +20% Blade Toss Incoming Heal reduction | Blade Toss inflicts Slow for 5s | Blade Toss breaks Protective Shields | Blade Dance has 30% chance to inflict Knockdown for 3s |
Focused Block | +1 consecutive use | Changes to mobile skill | +20% Move Speed for 3s on Parry | Restores 10% HP once on Parry |
Armor of Balance | +20% Ailment-type and Mental-type Resist | x1.5 Blood Absorption effect for the duration | x1.5 Protection Armor effect for the duration | +50% Impact-type Resist increase |
Wrath Wave | Up to +20% damage when more targets hit | Reduces Attack by 20% for 5s | Deals damage 1 additional time | +25% Knockdown Chance |
Zikel's Blessing | +50% Stagger Gauge Damage | +10% PvE damage boost and +5% PvP damage boost | +50% Multi-Hit chance | +20% Status Effect Chance |
Lifestealing Blade | Up to +20% damage when more targets hit | Predation effect on party members for 20s | -30s cooldown | +5% HP absorbed |
Tenaciousness | +100% Incoming Heal | Restores 20% Max HP when the effect ends | +20% Attack | Trigger Tenaciousness when afflicted with Impact-type status |
Rage Burst | -15s Rage Burst cooldown | +10% Attack reduction | Critical Hit on hit | +10% PvE damage boost increase and +5% PvP damage boost increase |
Lunge Stance | +5% Double Chance for the duration | Increases Move Speed by 20% for the duration | x1.5 Identify Weakness effect for the duration | 50% chance to reduce all skill cooldowns by 1s on Critical Hit for the duration |
Wave Armor | Absorbs 2% HP | x1.5 Experienced Counterstrike effect for the duration | x1.5 Murderous Burst effect for the duration | Reflects 10% of damage taken |
Forced Restraint | 50% chance to inflict Root for 5s | -1,000 Stamina | +2s Seal duration | +25% Seal Chance |
Fracturing Rush | +2 max targets hit | Adds Destructive Rush Chain Skill | +20% Root Chance | 50% chance to inflict Airborne for 3s |
Assault Strike | +20% Attack for 5s on hit | 500 MP damage on hit | +10m Range | +20% Knockdown Chance |
Changes from the Korean service's official update notes and class-care maintenance notices, from the November 19, 2025 launch to the October 7, 2026 update. Values are as published on the Korean service. The global service, live since October 5, 2026, runs its own build and has not published Gladiator balance changes.
Date | Change (Korean and Taiwanese service) |
|---|---|
November 2025 to early December 2025 | No Gladiator-specific changes in the launch-week notes; the December 3, 2025 note raised the base status resistance of Survival Willpower, a passive the Gladiator shares, from 11.5% to 16.5%. |
December 10, 2025 | More enmity from Keen Strike, Rupture Strike, Wrathful Strike, Rending Blow and Smashing Blow; Experienced Counterstrike's Attack bonus became a damage boost with new values; Sword Aura Rampage spec 5 now cuts cooldowns by 1 s; Prepare for Battle now keeps the longer of two remaining durations. |
December 17, 2025 | Rending Blow and Smashing Blow +10% damage and smoother motion while moving; Prepare for Battle from Leaping Slam and Ruinous Blow raised from 10% to 15% damage boost; Experienced Counterstrike's boost lasts 10 s instead of 3; Murderous Burst triggers at 5 stacks instead of 10; Impact Hit set to 12% base and 2% per level. |
December 24, 2025 | Faster Overhead Slam; Wrath Wave, Lunge Stance, Zikel's Blessing, Tenaciousness, Wave Armor and Forced Restraint now scale with Combat Speed (Assault Strike no longer does); Murderous Burst +20% damage; Crushing Wave spec 5 pull set to 50% (100% on NPCs). |
January 7, 2026 | Overhead Slam became usable while moving and its spec 3 now adds the Upward Strike chain; Aerial Snare spec 3 became +50% damage to status-immune targets; Blood Absorption gained a life drain stat; Murderous Burst gained a critical damage tolerance cut. Mocking Blade's grab became an impact-type effect that Defiance can break, and activation on status-immune targets became a base effect of Overhead Slam and Aerial Snare instead of a specialty. |
January 14, 2026 | Upward Strike visuals; Leaping Slam's on-kill cooldown reset made more reliable; Protection Armor tooltip fix. |
January 21, 2026 | Fixed Blood Absorption stacking with Wave Armor spec 2 (it applied 2.5 times); Attack Preparation's Attack bonus became a damage boost plus Accuracy. |
February 4, 2026 | Faster Wrath Wave; Rage Burst now opens Overhead Slam on the target for 10 s; Protection Armor's heal-on-block cooldown cut from 3 s to 1 s. |
March 11, 2026 | Fixed repeated Rage Burst casts not refreshing the Overhead Slam window. |
March 25, 2026 | New Stigma skill Fracturing Rush. Blade Toss: faster projectile, cooldown 30 to 20 s, its debuff became a 30% Defense and healing-received cut. Lifestealing Blade: faster, all hits area damage. Faster Forced Restraint. Tenaciousness: immunity cut from 5 to 3 s, followed by +50% damage tolerance for 3 s. |
April 22, 2026 | Life drain overhaul: specialty drains changed from a share of damage to a share of HP (Keen Strike line 2%, Overhead Slam and Upward Strike 2% plus enmity, Sword Aura Rampage 5%, Mocking Blade 15%); Blood Absorption reworked to heal a share of maximum HP on hit and below 50% HP. Lifestealing Blade spec 2 now gives party members Predation for 20 s. Rending Blow and Smashing Blow +7% PvE, Ruinous Blow +15% PvE, Wave Armor +30% PvE with a 10 s base duration growing to 20 s; Focused Block now lowers Evasion by 10,000 while held. |
April 29, 2026 | Rage Burst reworked: hit lowers the target's Attack by 10% for 10 s, raises the Gladiator's PvE damage boost 10% and PvP 5%, and opens Overhead Slam for 10 s; Prepare for Battle gained +15% status effect chance; Mocking Blade +20% PvE with 4% HP drain (15% on incapacitation-immune targets); Murderous Burst +30% PvE; Aerial Snare spec 3 raised to +100%; Lunge Stance spec 1 became +5% Double Chance; Tenaciousness now also removes damage over time. |
May 13, 2026 | Lunge Stance gained a 20% MP cost reduction while active. |
May 20, 2026 | Fixes: Keen Strike and Reckless Strike combos cancelling, Lunge Stance spec 4 tooltip (50% chance), knockdowns from Mocking Blade spec 5 and Ankle Slice specs ignoring block and evasion rules. |
May 27, 2026 | Murderous Burst's critical damage tolerance cut no longer stacks with the Templar's Shrink. |
June 4 and June 10, 2026 | Murderous Burst fixes: debuff overwritten by a lower-level copy; effect not clearing after Dodge at four stacks. |
June 17, 2026 | Rage Burst spec 4 doubled to +10% PvE and +5% PvP damage boost; Prepare for Battle raised to +20% PvE and +10% PvP; +5% PvE on the Keen Strike line, Rending Blow and Smashing Blow, and Overhead Slam and Upward Strike (also 10% faster); +10% PvE on Aerial Snare and Forced Fall; +20% PvE on Ruinous Blow. |
July 1, 2026 (Chapter 1) | Experienced Counterstrike gained a front attack damage boost (5, 10 and 15% at skill levels 10, 20 and 30) and its block buff became a 20 s party buff that does not stack with the Templar's Fury (PvE 17, 24 and 31%; PvP 8.5, 12 and 15.5%); Ruinous Blow +40% PvE; Rending Blow and Overhead Slam lines +5% PvE; Lifestealing Blade's Predation damage cut 40% while its drain rose from 2% to 3%; Keen Strike line spec 2 drain cut from 2% to 1%. |
July 8, 2026 | Zikel's Blessing became self-only and gained +100 Accuracy; Leaping Slam no longer costs MP; Murderous Burst at five stacks now raises the Gladiator's own critical damage boost; specialty swaps on Wave Armor and Armor of Balance. All classes lost 30% PvP damage. |
July 15, 2026 | Lifestealing Blade became a single hit with 10% base HP drain (party Predation drain 1.5%); Overhead Slam and Upward Strike lost 7% PvE damage; Murderous Burst and Wave Armor areas grow with range-extending weapons. |
July 22, 2026 | Rush Strike knockdown chance cut from 50% to 30%; Tenaciousness spec 5 duration bonus cut from 2 s to 1 s; Experienced Counterstrike front attack bonus cut to 4, 8 and 12%. NCsoft said a rework of Gladiator skill chaining was being prepared. |
August 12, 2026 | Lunge Stance lost its MP cost reduction; Blade Toss healing cut raised from 30% to 50% (spec 1 adds 20% more); the cancel point on Rending Blow and Smashing Blow moved from the first hit to the second; Ruinous Blow cooldown 30 to 45 s and Prepare for Battle 5 to 20 s; Keen Strike line +3% PvE. |
August 19, 2026 | Ruinous Blow changed from a charge skill to a normal area skill with stagger damage raised from 15 to 25, and spec 3 became +30% skill critical; Overhead Slam now strikes twice. |
August 26, 2026 | Every skill gained a minimum cancel time. Experienced Counterstrike's party values cut to 9, 13 and 17% PvE and 4.5, 6.5 and 8.5% PvP; Keen Strike line +20% PvE; Overhead Slam and Upward Strike spec 1 drain cut from 2% to 0.7%. |
August 27, 2026 (maintenance) | To keep the feel of the Rending Blow cancel sequence while adjusting damage: Overhead Slam and Upward Strike, and Rending Blow and Smashing Blow, each lost 10% PvE and PvP damage. |
September 2, 2026 | Fixed Protection Armor, Experienced Counterstrike and Murderous Burst not working while a low-level Armor of Balance or Wave Armor buff was active. |
September 16, 2026 | Leaping Slam, Ruinous Blow and Ankle Slice with its range specialty can no longer be used while rooted; Ankle Slice range specialty fix. |
September 23, 2026 | Fracturing Rush now travels in the direction of the movement key held. |
October 7, 2026 | All classes: fixed attacks made while in the air sometimes failing to land on a target even when in range. |
The global client snapshot of September 18, 2026 matches the Korean values for the Gladiator skills checked (Ruinous Blow 45 s cooldown, Blade Toss 50% healing cut, Experienced Counterstrike party values). Restrictions added on the Korean service after that date, such as the rooted-state limits of September 16 and the Fracturing Rush direction change of September 23, are not visible in the data and may not apply on the global service.
Gladiator for the class overview and role.
Classes for the full roster.
Stigma System for Stigma slots and Stigma Shards.
Status Effects for knockdown, airborne, root and seal.
Templar Skills for the other block-based melee kit.
