Balaur

3:16 The Balaur are the draconic enemy race of Aion 2, an NPC-only faction, also known as the Dragon Clans, that serves as the main antagonist of both the Elyos and the Asmodians (Fextralife). In the history of the original game, as Azphel retells it, they began as a race Aion created, until one of them found a source of power beyond Aion's reach and ascended to rule the rest. The race turned its back on its creator and took the name Balaur, a few more of the empowered were raised to join him as Dragon Lords, and under five Dragon Lords the Balaur became a threat to humanity and to the Tower of Eternity itself. In Aion 2, set 200 years after the original, the Daevas "keep fighting while surviving under Balaur oppression" (Steam, Apr 21, 2026).

Quick facts

Origin

2:05 Azphel's recap begins in the Age of Dawn, when Aion made the mighty draconic race to protect Atreia and its humans. After thousands of peaceful years they tired of guarding lesser races, wiped out whole species, enslaved others and turned them on the humans, and finally demanded god-like powers from Aion, who refused.

Fextralife gives two slightly different versions of the same story. Its faction page says Aion created the Balaur "to rule and lead the other races", that they first appeared as benevolent monarchs, and that they became obsessed with power and set out to enslave the other races (Fextralife). Its general page says they were made "to protect Atreia and its inhabitants", turned against humanity and their creator out of hunger for power, and now seek humanity's destruction (Fextralife).

9:15 The Balaur's war with Aion's Empyrean Lords and their Daevas lasted a thousand years. It ended in disaster: during peace talks inside the Tower of Eternity, the Balaur lord Beritra was attacked, fighting broke out, and Fregion, the first of the Dragon Lords, broke the unshielded Tower in two with a single fireball. This was the Cataclysm that split Atreia, and the Balaur lords fled (see Story and Lore).

20:42 After the Cataclysm, the Balaur became the third side of the Abyss War, fighting both the Elyos and the Asmodians over the fortresses of the Abyss for more than 500 years.

58:48 The Dragon Lords are not a united command. In the later chapters of the original game, when the Dragon Lord Tiamat was cornered and killed, none of the others came to her aid, and Azphel explains that each Dragon Lord keeps his own legions and pursues his own plans. Beritra even silenced her call for help.

38:50 Tiamat also shows the Balaur's taste for experiment. Realizing that the Daevas' Aether-born immortality gave them an edge, she tried to create ascended beings of her own, and one failed result, an incomplete dragon, served her by breeding Balaur in great numbers.

The Balaur in Aion 2

NC America's announcement describes the Elyos and Asmodians confronting "the newly empowered Balaur faction" after the destruction of the Tower of Eternity (Games Press).

1:23 In CrusherXGaming's summary of the setting, the Balaur control most of Atreia, and the surviving Daevas are rebuilding behind a wall called the Bulwark.

2:37 Two new Dragon Lords drive the launch story. Azphel's summary says Ishta's forces took Poeta and Verteron and her legion turned captured Daevas into monstrosities, and that her forces kept spreading chaos after she withdrew. In Asmodae, Fafnir extended his influence through deception, collapsing legions and making crystals that stole Daevas' souls and turned them into his servants, until the sacrifice of Zikel and his Arkans trapped him in a prison of blood.

5:17 Ishta's experiments have a purpose. Balaur researchers found that a Daeva who suffers a strong physical shock briefly loses control of their body and the Aether around it is purified. The Balaur harvest this as a refined bio-energy, which Azphel's summary calls Surana, and a Daeva drained completely becomes a Sura, one of the monsters that roam Verteron.

16:36 A vision shown to the player by the Empyrean Lord Siel sums up the result: the two new Dragon Lords have conquered almost all of Atreia, Ishta by exploiting Daevas' bodies as a resource and Fafnir by stealing their souls to control their bodies.

Where players meet them

4:35 Both campaigns open inside Balaur strongholds. The Elyos story begins in Ishta's fortress in Poeta, a research center for her Daeva experiments, where a member of the Legion of Dawn finds the player locked in a test tube (Elysea). The Asmodian story begins in Fafnir's fortress in Ishalgen (Asmodae).

Fextralife's pre-launch region list ties several places to the Balaur (Fextralife):

22:50 Dredgions appear in the story as well. In the Asmodian campaign, Balaur devices extract the souls of captured Nornir, and a Dredgion appears overhead to collect them; in the Elyos campaign a Dredgion attack destroys the Legion of Dawn's camp in Poeta.

41:55 In the Abyss, elite Balaur officers and other Balaur share the islands with players of both factions, as NC's global team showed on Sep 11, 2026.

In Korea and Taiwan, the Sanctuary raid Corroded Decontamination Facility, added on Mar 11, 2026, is set in a ruined Balaur base "contaminated by experimental waste and abandoned test subjects", with the final boss Terminator Bargott; NC called it the most challenging PvE dungeon in the game at the time (NC).

A common enemy

4:13 Both faction storylines eventually turn towards the dangers facing the whole world, the Balaur among them, and the conflict grows into massive realm-against-realm war. Azphel's summary of the back history notes that 200 years before Aion 2 the Elyos and Asmodians did finally unite against Ishta's forces, but too late to stop them (1:43 Azphel).

Frequently asked questions

Can you play as the Balaur? No. Fextralife describes them as an NPC-only faction. The playable factions are the Elyos and the Asmodians.

Who leads the Balaur in Aion 2? In the launch story the Dragon Lords Ishta, whose forces hold Poeta and Verteron, and Fafnir, whose schemes reached across Asmodae until he was imprisoned.

Are the Balaur and the Dragon Clans the same? Yes. Fextralife uses both names for the same faction.

What Balaur sub-races are there? Fextralife names the Ancient Drakan, Draconute and Naga among others, and they range from humanoid creatures to towering dragons.

What is a Dredgion? A Balaur vessel. Fextralife's Dredgion Crash Site marks where one of the Papnir Legion came down in Elysea, and in the story Dredgions attack the Elyos camp in Poeta and collect stolen souls in Asmodae.

Where do you fight the Balaur? Throughout the campaigns, starting in their fortresses in Poeta and Ishalgen, in the Abyss, and in dungeons such as the Corroded Decontamination Facility.

Sources

• General Information, Aion 2 Wiki (Fextralife), updated Jan 9, 2026
• Factions, Aion 2 Wiki (Fextralife), updated Mar 9, 2026
• Regions, Aion 2 Wiki (Fextralife), updated Dec 22, 2025
• Aion 2 Introduces New Sanctuary Dungeon, 'Corroded Decontamination Facility', NC, Mar 11, 2026
• Announcing Aion 2's Global Release, NC on Steam, Apr 21, 2026
• Aion 2 Launching This Year on PC, NC America via Games Press, Apr 21, 2026
• The Entire Story of Aion!, Azphel, Nov 11, 2025 (video)
• Aion2 Lore: The Elyos Story, Azphel, Dec 21, 2025 (video)
• Aion2 Lore: The Asmodian Story, Azphel, Feb 21, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2: Which Class Should You Main All 8 Explained, CrusherXGaming, Aug 26, 2026 (video)
• Elysea vs Asmodae: Are Factions Even Different in Aion 2?, Ynoki, Sep 3, 2026 (video)
• Aion 2 PvP Gameplay Live Showcase, Aion 2 Official, Sep 11, 2026 (video)