Sanctuary is the ten-player raid tier and the ceiling of AION 2's instanced PvE. Where Expedition is the tier a group runs weekly, Sanctuary is the tier a group organises around. It carries the highest item level requirements in the game and the largest Odyle Energy cost per entry.
How Sanctuaries Work
Element | Detail |
|---|---|
Party size | Ten players. Sanctuary ran with eight before the Chapter 1 update on July 1, 2026 raised it. |
Entry cost | 80 Odyle Energy, doubled from 40 in the same update |
Final boss clears | One per week. That was cut from two, with rewards doubled to compensate, and the accumulated guaranteed-reward counters were halved at the same time. |
Mid-boss rewards | Removed from the older Sanctuaries; the payout now comes from the Odyle Energy that appears when the last boss dies. |
Difficulty | The newest Sanctuary ships in three difficulties rather than two |
Time limit | Two hours, since July 1, 2026 |
Resurrections | Two per character per boss room since April 22, 2026, counting skill resurrections and Resurrection Spiritstones |
Membership | Members can inject Odyle Energy twice when opening the reward cube; the Korean service added this on February 25, 2026 and the global Special Quai Membership lists the same benefit |
Final boss kill count | Once a Sanctuary's final boss kill count is used, the character cannot enter it again until the weekly reset (official guidebook) |
Mixed factions | Elyos and Asmodians can form the same force since March 11, 2026, and Sanctuary kisks are usable by both |
Disconnects | Ten minutes to reconnect and rejoin the same room without losing a count |
Loot | Force loot defaults to random since May 27, 2026, and the dice range is not limited by distance inside a Sanctuary |
Force changes | Since September 23, 2026 members can move between the force's parties inside the raid, except during a boss fight; the force leader's slot is fixed |
The global store page describes ten-player group dungeons as one of the three dungeon formats across a roster of more than 200 dungeons, which matches the ten-player Sanctuary size of the Korean service since July 1, 2026.
The Sanctuary Roster on the Live Build
Sanctuary | Korean name | Added (KR/TW) | Entry | Bosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
심연의 재련: 루드라 | Launch period | Item level 2,700 (official guidebook) | Isolation Specialist Rahu, Abyssal Wings Ketu, Eternal Ludra | |
침식의 정화소 | March 11, 2026 | 3,700 at launch; 3,500 since March 18, 2026 | Devouring Klawfly, Black Blood Blatt, Terminator Bargott | |
무스펠의 성배 | May 27, 2026 | Item level 4,500 at release; Normal added June 10 | Iscariel, Scourge Kaldrix | |
비탄의 설원 | September 9, 2026 | Item level 5,800 Easy, 6,000 Normal, 6,200 Hard | Triton, Deltras |
Sanctuary Summary
The official guidebook (updated September 14, 2026) sums up each Sanctuary like this:
Sanctuary | Minimum item level | Weekly limit | Signature rewards | Kina |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2,700 | 1 final boss kill | Ludra weapons, Ludra's Bracelet, Abyssal Bracelet, crafting materials | Bound | |
3,500 | 1 final boss kill | Corroded Ruler weapons, Corroded Afterimage Bracelet, Erosion Bracelet, crafting materials | Tradeable | |
4,500 | Unlimited attempts, 1 reward | Lava Heart weapons (Hard only), Kaldrix Brooch, crafting materials | Tradeable | |
5,800 Easy, 6,000 Normal, 6,200 Hard | Unlimited attempts, 1 reward | Liberated White Night weapons (Hard only), Deltras's Seal, crafting materials | Not listed |
In the two newest Sanctuaries the reward only comes from killing the final boss, and a character who has used the weekly kill cannot enter again. Chalice of Muspel launched on May 27, 2026 with a limit of two final boss kills, which the July 1 change cut to one with doubled rewards.
Gear From Sanctuaries
Each Sanctuary feeds a weapon line, and since May 27, 2026 a Hero-grade Sanctuary weapon or guard can be carried up to the next Sanctuary's version through Transfer Crafting with a Gear Change Voucher: Ludra weapons into Corroded Ruler weapons, and those into Lava Heart weapons. Two Sanctuaries also opened new equipment slots. The Brooch slot (May 27, 2026) is filled by crafting or by converting a Chalice of Muspel Gear Change Voucher with Kina, and the Seal slot (September 9, 2026) the same way with a Snowfield of Sorrow voucher. Liberated White Night weapons and guards from Snowfield of Sorrow can be broken down into materials for the next Draconic crafted weapons.
Deltras is a story boss as well as a mechanical one: once a hero and guardian of Elysium, executed in Asmodae, now a thought-form trapped in a mental space of his own making, repeating the same betrayal. Both factions have a reason to put him down, and the encounter has the players work with his daughter Elpistera to stop his body.
Hall of Fame
The September 9, 2026 patch added a Hall of Fame that records the first, second and third kills of a Sanctuary's final boss across every server, for the hardest difficulty only.
Recorded | Detail |
|---|---|
Identity | Character name, server, legion, class |
Performance | Highest combat power and highest item level reached during the run, force position, clear time |
Timing | The date the record was set |
Characters with no contribution are not recorded, and a record does not change if the character, server or legion is renamed afterwards. It is reachable from a tab on the Sanctuary entry screen.
On the Korean service the Hall of Fame covers Snowfield of Sorrow on Hard. NCsoft's global notice of October 5, 2026 says the global in-game Hall of Fame will be reset for the return of Ludra.
First-Clear Events
Event (KR/TW) | Sanctuary | Counted by | Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|
Raise the First Chalice (최초의 성배를 들어라) | Chalice of Muspel, from May 27, 2026 until the 20th force | Time of the Scourge Kaldrix kill | First force: Pet: Red Dragon (mailed the day after the first kill) and the title 최초로 불타는 재앙을 잠재운 자 ("the first to quell the burning scourge"), sent on June 10, 2026 |
Raise the First Chalice: Snowfield of Sorrow | Snowfield of Sorrow, from September 9, 2026 until the 20th force | Time of the Deltras kill | First force: the title 최초로 혹한과 냉기의 검을 꺾은 자 ("the first to break the sword of bitter cold") and a golden Void pet; forces 2 to 5: a silver Void pet; forces 6 to 20: a copper Void pet |
Only members of the clearing force at the moment of the kill receive the rewards. The pet names are given here as plain renderings of the Korean (황금빛 보이드, 은빛 보이드, 구릿빛 보이드); NCsoft has not published English names for them.
Commendations
The same patch added a commendation system that runs in Expedition, Transcendence, Expedition Ordeal and Sanctuary. After the last boss dies, eligible players can hand one commendation to one other player, choosing a reason from a fixed set: outstanding skill, reliable guardian, dedicated support, excellent leadership, or kind mentor. It is one per clear, it runs on a timer, and the totals accumulate on the character sheet.
Sanctuary Rules Over Time
Date (KR/TW) | Change |
|---|---|
November 26, 2025 | Sanctuary entry required at least eight players; Sanctuary monster levels raised |
December 3, 2025 | The Sanctuary screen shows the Odyle Energy needed and the guaranteed rewards; a minimum boss contribution for the cube was introduced |
December 17, 2025 | Mid-bosses of Ludra pay Abyss Boxes; cube contribution lowered from 5% to a single hit; loot distance limit removed inside Sanctuaries; Abyssal Forge monster levels lowered and its time limit raised to 60 minutes |
December 31, 2025 | Four attempts and two rewards per week |
January 21, 2026 | Retry function for Expedition, Transcendence and Sanctuary |
January 28, 2026 | The reward count was no longer required to enter; players with attempts left could still enter but could not open Odyle Energy Cubes without reward counts |
February 25, 2026 | Players with an active membership subscription can inject Odyle Energy twice when opening the reward cube |
March 11, 2026 | Mixed-faction forces; Ludra cut from four attempts to two with doubled mid-boss boxes; an instant in-dungeon retry when the whole force accepts, which spends an attempt |
March 18, 2026 | Ludra and Corroded Decontamination Facility both set to four attempts a week |
April 22, 2026 | Two resurrections per character per mid-boss and boss room |
May 27, 2026 | Kisks can no longer be placed anywhere in Abyssal Forge: Ludra and Corroded Decontamination Facility, and a vote-kick arrived for Expedition, Transcendence and Sanctuary; in a force a majority vote removes the target |
July 1, 2026 | Ten players, no attempt limit, one final boss kill per week with doubled rewards, 80 Odyle Energy per entry and a two-hour limit; accumulated guaranteed-reward counts halved |
July 8, 2026 | Sanctuary clear achievements lowered to match the single weekly kill |
August 19, 2026 | A player with no contribution who is outside the final boss area during that fight can now leave the dungeon |
September 9, 2026 | The Hall of Fame and commendations; entering a boss room also opens a portal to it at the starting point |
September 23, 2026 | Moves between parties inside the raid; commendations open to the whole force; the waiting room shows the difficulty |
October 7, 2026 | Higher chance of upper-grade Refining Stones from Chalice of Muspel (Normal and Hard) and Snowfield of Sorrow (all difficulties) |
Global Availability
Global service: Abyssal Forge: Ludra, which NCsoft's global notices call Sanctuary Raid: Ludra, was playable during global Advance Access. In a notice on October 5, 2026 NCsoft said Ludra had been defeated during Advance Access at a lower level of overall progression than intended, that every Daeva who cleared it in the Europe region during Advance Access would get a unique title, and that the raid was being temporarily removed with the full launch build while an updated version is prepared. The returning Ludra keeps its core identity but adds mechanics and attack patterns unique to the global version, and it comes with a new First Clear event and a reset of the in-game Hall of Fame. Ludra gear earned in Advance Access is also removed for now and will be returned, with upgrade materials refunded, when the raid comes back; NCsoft said it would announce the return date by October 16, 2026. That deadline passed without a date: as of the evening of October 17, 2026 (PDT), NCsoft's global notices, update notes, storefront news, press releases and official video channel had not announced one.
The global client's game data, as of its September 18, 2026 snapshot, contains Abyssal Forge: Ludra, Corroded Decontamination Facility and Chalice of Muspel, but not Snowfield of Sorrow. NCsoft has not announced dates for the other Sanctuaries on the global service as of October 17, 2026, so the rest of this page describes the Korean and Taiwanese service.
Related Pages
Dungeons for the full ladder. Expedition Dungeons for the five-player tier. Odyle Energy for the entry currency. Gear and Progression for what the drops feed.